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captainsophiestark · 7 months

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Mad Scientist

Kol Mikaelson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2023!

Fandom: The Vampire Diaries/The Originals

Day 5 Prompt: "You're the smartest person I know."

Summary: Kol's dating a scientist who's buried in college-level work and more than ready for a ridiculous, fun version of science for a break.

Word Count: 1,685

Category: Fluff, Humor

Shoutout/Credit to The Scientific American for the info on how Mentos-Coke reactions work!

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Darling? What do you think would happen if I made pancakes with Mountain Dew instead of water?"

I paused, my pen hovering over the page in the middle of summarizing my findings for a lab I'd been working on at my university. I didn't turn around to face my boyfriend, Kol Mikaelson, who stood behind me in the kitchen, instead just staring off in thought for a moment.

"I don't know," I said, finally turning around to look at Kol. "As far as I'm aware, water's not one of the things like baking soda or eggs that's insanely important to the chemistry of baking. As long as you have the same amount of liquid, it should be fine. Maybe a little sweeter than normal, but basically still a pancake."

Kol grinned. "Excellent."

"What exactly brought this on?" I asked, standing from the kitchen table in the Mikaelson compound where I'd been working and wandering towards my boyfriend. "Just out of curiosity."

"Well you see," he said, holding his hands out in a grand presentation gesture and fixing me with a giant grin. "While I was getting the ingredients for making pancakes, I also found Mountain Dew. The rest is history."

"Interesting..."

I trailed off as I finally reached Kol, stopping so I could hold onto his arm and lean around him to look at the ingredients laid out on the counter, Mountain Dew included. My eyes wandered back to my books, still open and waiting for me on the table. I had no desire to go near them again right now, and this was the absolute perfect distraction. I looked back up at the grinning face of my boyfriend.

"Do you need any help?"

Within half an hour, Kol and I's initial experiment had expanded to encompass the entire kitchen and just about every ingredient we had in it. The Mountain Dew pancakes hadn't been much different than the regular pancakes, so we'd gotten progressively more creative in our ingredient substations, snacking on our successes as we went. My books lay long-forgotten on the table, Kol enabling my chaotic science tendencies in the best way possible.

"What if we put pop rocks in it?" asked Kol as he riffled through a drawer of sweet treats in one corner of the kitchen. I hummed to myself as I mixed our latest version, with orange juice instead of water.

"I don't know," I said. "I think we'll just get little pieces of candy in it without the pop, since the liquid in the batter would probably dissolve the candies enough to trigger the reaction before anything else. We won't know for sure unless we test it, though."

I finished stirring, then wandered over to join Kol. He'd set the pop rocks on the table along with a few other types of candies, and now stood in the open door of the fridge. I rested my head on his arm and hummed thoughtfully, until my eyes landed on something else interesting in the fridge.

"Since you've been back in the modern world... has anyone introduced you to the marvel of Coke and Mentos?"

Kol turned to face me, eyebrows furrowed but a smile on his face.

"No love, I can't say they have."

I grinned. "Then I can't wait to be the one to show you."

I snatched the bottle of Coke out of the fridge, snagging the Mentos and a piece of paper with tape too before plopping them both down on the table where we'd been mixing our batter. Excitedly, Kol joined me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Okay, so first we need to make the tube to hold the Mentos, to make sure they all drop in at the same time when we want them to," I explained while I worked. I rolled the paper into a tube, covering one end with my thumb and then holding it out for Kol. "Put seven Mentos in there, please."

He complied, sneaking one for himself and then passing one to me. I looked over my shoulder at him, smiling, and he leaned in to give me a soft kiss.

"What's next, darling?" he asked, his voice low. I leaned back into him a little more, but returned my attention to the Mentos.

"Now, it's time for the reaction. Unscrew the lid of the soda, please." Kol took care of it, shifting a little behind me in anticipation. "Good. Now, I'm gonna dump these in, and after I do we're gonna step all the way back, okay?"

"Okay. And what happens after that?"

I shot him a grin over my shoulder. "Science."

With that, I put the tube of Mentos to the neck of the bottle, then quickly moved my thumb and let them drop all at once into the soda.

Kol's grip tightened on my waist as he used his vampire speed to get me to the far edge of the kitchen, hopefully out of the splash zone. A moment later, the reaction started, and the soda quickly bubbled and fizzed until it became a geyser, exploding out of the bottle. Kol gasped from behind me as it hit the ceiling, and I smiled.

The reaction didn't last very long, but once it fizzled down, it took Kol a minute to let me go and move to meet my eyes. He had a ridiculous grin on his face that I quickly mirrored.

"That was amazing, darling," he said. I practically glowed at the compliment.

"Thanks! It's really cool how it all works, actually. See, carbonated beverages are full of dissolved carbon dioxide gas, which wants to form bubbles and escape the pressure of the liquid. But to do that, it has to break its bonds with the water and interact with itself. Because the Mentos candies are actually covered in a bunch of tiny grooves, it makes it easier for the bonds between the carbon dioxide and the water to break, making the reaction of bubbles escaping the soda happen at a much, much faster rate!"

I'd started pacing a little, gesturing with my hands as I explained, but froze when I realized I'd been rambling for more than a little. I turned back to Kol with a grimace.

"Sorry. I know you probably don't care about how it works-"

"What? No! That was excellent, the way you explained everything!" He grabbed my hands in his as he pointedly met my eyes. "Darling, you're the smartest person I know. And it's absolutely incredible. Please don't ever apologize for the way your eyes light up and your voice gets all excited when you talk about something you love. It's one of my favorite things in the world to see."

I started tearing up a little bit at Kol's words, and as soon as he finished speaking I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him to me, kissing him, hard. He smiled into the kiss and wasted no time wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me tighter to him. Finally, after a few long moments, I pulled gently away.

"As much fun as I'm having... I do need to finish the lab writeup for my actual science class."

Kol sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then fixed me with a devilish grin.

"Fine. As long as you promise to let me know anytime you have an experiment to do that I can sit in on."

I beamed back at him. "I promise."

Kol gave me a sweet smile, then leaned in and kissed me one last time. Despite the homework hovering in the other corner of the kitchen, I could feel Kol sucking me in and distracting me to the point that I didn't care about my work. I was just about to give in, too, when someone coughed loudly from behind us.

Kol and I turned around to find Elijah standing in the kitchen doorway, his eyes scanning the disaster zone the kitchen had turned into. Soda still dripped from the ceiling, and horrifying pancake mutations were spread on almost every surface.

Elijah sighed heavily, his exhausted stare turning back to me and Kol.

"I trust that this will all be cleaned up before the two of you run off to other activities? Preferably sooner than later?" he deadpanned. Kol scoffed, and I tried and failed to fight a guilty grin.

"Yes, Elijah. We'll take care of it," I said. He nodded once, pausing to stare at everything for an extra moment before shaking his head.

"Good."

With that, he turned and walked out of the kitchen. Even without vampire hearing, I heard his heavy, long-suffering sigh from the other room. I turned to Kol and giggled.

"Oops."

"He loves it," Kol said confidently, waving me off. "We keep his life interesting."

"Well, that second part is definitely true. Come on, let's clean up at least a little bit of the mess. We need to do it at some point anyway, and I really do need to go back to my homework."

Kol booed and rolled his eyes, but moved to start helping me deal with the mess anyway. He picked up the now mostly-empty bottle of soda and held it thoughtfully, then turned to me with a glimmer in his eye that I loved.

"You know darling, if we pointed these in a specific direction for the reaction... we could probably shoot the soda at Elijah and the rest of my siblings."

I grinned. "We absolutely could do that."

We stared at each other for a few beats, nodding slowly, communicating without words.

"I'll superspeed cleanup," Kol finally said. I nodded.

"I'll finish my lab writeup as fast as possible."

"And I'll go get more soda and Mentos while you do."

I high-fived Kol as I crossed the room to retake my seat at the kitchen table and he turned into a vampire-tornado of cleaning. We had evil masterplans to enact, after all, and with the two of us working like a well-oiled machine, the rest of Kol's family and anyone else in this house didn't stand a chance.

****************

TVD/TO Taglist: @elenavampire21

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gyuletters · 10 months

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★ the perfect moment! | hueningkai , (휴닝카이)

gn!reader ، wc: 2.7k ، genre: kissy fluff ، tw: none

— request (please let me know if u liked it) ♡

listen to i love you boy by suzy for a better reading.

tired of waiting. that's what the poor boy was. extremely tired.

but, it is kind of his fault as well.

he wanted it to be perfect. it's your first kiss, for god's sake! it shouldn't be a mundane thing.

it's the first time you and hueningkai will feel all of the sparkles, shivers and lovely torments that a kiss shares. that's why it should be perfect!

but… oh, boy! was he so tired of waiting for THE moment.

his mind keeps wandering about how it would be to have your sweet lips on his own. even though kai has no idea if your lips are indeed sweet, he already made up his mind that they will taste like candy.

you just look so tempting now. the night lights of seoul blending with your beautiful skin, the cold breeze moving your hair, your hand on his big coat (you forgot to bring your own, even after he told you a million of times it was going to be a cold night), your eyes reflecting all the galaxies in the universe. this is the right moment he has been waiting for the longest time.

isn’t it?

hueningkai stops, making you look at him. your eyes filled with worry and now he feels a little guilt for stopping at such a random moment. but… he just couldn’t wait anymore.

“y/n… i…” kai starts but you interrupt him. your hands all over him, worried he might be hurt.

“is everything okay, baby? do you feel sick? is it the wine? urgh, i knew i should have ordered soda.”

huening laughs a little. doesn’t matter how long you two have been together, you never fail at looking so adorable in his eyes.

“i’m okay, love.” - he takes your hands on his. - “i just need to tell you this before i lose courage.”

you nod softly at him, motioning that he can say it.

“y/n, i’m just so tired of waiting for the right time. honestly, i feel like it doesn’t matter how or when i decide to do this. when it comes to you i just want everything to be like it was straight out of a romance book. but if i don’t tell you this now” - both of his hands cupping your cheeks. - “i never will.”

“so tell me hueningie” - the lovely nickname falling out of your lips, making his heart skip a bit. - “tell me what you want.”

the way you say it makes him think you want this too. that you know his mind and heart desires. maybe you have been waiting for the perfect moment as well and just couldn’t tell him.

hueningkai comes closer to you, dragging his thumb on your lips so softly, before making the final question: “y,n… can i please kiss you?”

he sounds desperate, but who cares at this point? he needs you, he wants you.

that’s when a bright smile appears on your face. making you shine in the middle of the night.

“i thought you would never ask, baby.”

with this, kai’s lips are on yours.

and just like he wanted, sparks fly all over. everything is sweet, delicate, gentle. almost like you both are afraid of breaking each other.

huening can only think about how much he wants to imprint your lips on his brain, even if it’s impossible. so he never forgets about how they taste, how they feel like and most importantly, how they make him feel.

but suddenly, the air gets colder. something very cold touched him, making shivers appear on the surface of his skin.

you two break the kiss and look around.

the first snow of the season has fallen. so pretty and white, that it looks transparent. as if the sky was also waiting for this moment.

you make eye contact with each other and smile widely.

in the end, it really was the perfect moment.

💌 taglist: @impureperhaps @sunoooism

status: requests closed , permanent taglist open.

© gyuletters, 2023 - do not repost, copy, or translate. // i know i took almost a month to answer your request, mumu. and im so so sorry 😞. im a little rusty with my writing, since i havent written for a while. so keep that in my mind while reading it hihihihi. 🤗 but, i do hope you all enjoy and like it a lot! love u. 💕

#💋glettrs.©#tomorrow x together #txt fics #txt x reader #txt imagines #txt fluff #txt soft hours #hueningkai #hueningkai fics #hueningkai imagines #hueningkai x reader #hueningkai fluff #hueningkai soft hours

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leetaehwan · 3 months

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KASS CAFÉ FEATURED MENU TOP 20 TITLE TRACKS OF 2023 insp: x, x | cr: flaticon

tagged by my beloved @xiaojuun 💕

*walking in late with an iced coffee* hii welcome to kass café ! home of my top picks of the year! here are 20 of my favorite title tracks, singles, and pre-releases from 2023, loosely organized by Vibe™️ and paired with some of my favorite coffee shop drinks. come by if you like and share a tune and a fun little beverage with me ! hot and caffeine free options also available 😊

in no particular order: PERFUME - NCT DOJAEJUNG / SPICY - AESPA / CREAM SODA - EXO / MOVE - TREASURE (T5) / SUPER - SEVENTEEN / PERFORMER - VANNER / FACT CHECK - NCT 127 / S-CLASS - STRAY KIDS / LOVE WAR - YENA / SWEET JUICE - PURPLE KISS / CHILL KILL - RED VELVET / ROVER - KAI / GOLDEN HOUR - MARK LEE / FIGHTING - BSS / HANA - INI / GROOVY - CRAVITY / KICK IT 4 NOW - TNX / MEMORIES - RIIZE / LIP GLOSS - THE BOYZ / SUGAR RUSH RIDE - TOMORROW X TOGETHER

i'm definitely one of the last people to do this so i won't tag anybody but if you see this and wanna share consider this ur tag! :)

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talesofexchanges · 11 months

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🥤Sweet Soda sign-ups are open now! Click here to sign up!

#announcement #sweet soda 2023

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starlightkun · 6 months

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love bites ❧ teaser [sungchan]

❧ teaser word count: 746 | full fic: 25.5k ❧ warnings: cursing, talking about like werewolf biting/marking and scenting and stuff, this is a werewolf fic either you’re into this stuff or you’re not lol ❧ genre: fluff, so incredibly fluffy and sweet it should’ve been a warning honestly, established relationship, modern magical creatures au, college au, werewolf sungchan, human reader, ft. siren shotaro, werewolf jeno & various magical neos, same universe as strawberry sunday, sequel to changer ❧ extra info: this is a sequel to changer! it cannot be read as a standalone, you must read changer first! this work is set in the same universe as strawberry sunday but can be read as a standalone! there is no continuing plotline between fics in this universe (aside from changer to this one), they simply take place in the same world/magic system and may have overlapping characters (neos may pop up in more than one work!) ❧ author’s note: so this is technically the spiritual threequel (fourqual?) to my werewolf jeno fics (pupsick + abh) but you still don’t have to read those to understand this one at all! this is absolutely meant to be read by itself (after changer, ofc) ❧ estimated release: saturday, november 18, 2023 2:00 p.m. eastern time

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ explore the strawberry sunday universe more here!

“So what were you so invested in on your phone?” Shotaro asked, cracking open a seaweed-infused sparkling tea drink popular with younger sirens. “You usually love Real Sirens.”

You popped the tab on your soda, taking a sip before answering. “I was doing some research, on what we were talking about earlier—”

“I thought you said there wasn’t a lot of research on half-werewolves.”

“Not a lot of scholarly research. But I found some people posting online about their own experiences either as half-werewolves themselves, or dating half-werewolves. About the scenting.” You explained, pausing to take a bite of your food. “And it seems like the general consensus is that most likely because their sense of smell isn’t as great as full werewolves, but they still can smell that kind of stuff, unlike humans, half-werewolves get a little more… intense with scenting behaviors.”

“Gross.”

“I meant the clothes and the hugging, dude.” You soft-balled a kick at his shin under the table. “Not my fault you’re immediately gross.”

“Does it ever stop?”

You grimaced, “Well…”

“No?” He asked with wide eyes, presumably having the rest of his recently renewed lease flashing before them.

“Again, there aren’t a lot of half-werewolves. Or at least ones talking about it. But there is one half-werewolf/human couple I found who says that the scenting took better, and the behaviors therefore decreased after…” You trailed off, messing with the strings of Sungchan’s hoodie.

“After…?”

“After they followed through with the werewolf mating bite.”

The siren stared at you blankly. “Oh.”

“They’re the only ones I could find online who has done that, so who knows if that’s a guaranteed result, not to mention that at that point they were also human married, and had been together for over five years, so there was definitely just a lot of security in their relationship not to mention they’d been living together for years so they were going to smell like each other anyway—”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it.” Shotaro stopped your defensive rambles gently. “You two don’t need to do that for me. Just wear his clothes and be annoying, it’s fine.”

You stabbed your fork into a bun. “Yeah, I know that.”

“That was some weird stressing of your words there, Y/N. Anything you want to share?”

You let out a long, steady breath, your lips just a centimeter away from being pressed together. Your mind was swirling with the memory of Sungchan’s last shift. Of him asking you to take his bite. He hadn’t mentioned it again since, but you couldn’t stop thinking about it. Especially because he hadn’t brought it up again since. And seeing his dad’s last night…

“Sungchan mentioned it once, but I don’t know how serious he was being, and he hasn’t brought it up again,” you admitted before tearing into the bun you’d just assaulted. It was filled with delightfully seasoned veggies wrapped in smooth, pillowy dough. God, these really were some of the best steamed buns you’d ever had.

Shotaro practically did a spit take with his tea, dribbling the sip he’d just taken back into the bottle. “He what? When?”

“Shotaro—”

“No, he brought up essentially werewolf engagement to you— What? While you two were playing video games or something? And neither of you mentioned this to me?”

“It wasn’t like that but... sure. I guess.”

“No, no, what was the context? Post-nut confessions or something?”

“God! Why are you like this?” You groaned, dragging a hand over your face in exasperation. “No, he let me be with him for his last shift, it was when he was coming out of it. He wasn’t all there, he was tired, he had all the extra adrenaline and everything else going through his body still.”

He didn’t seem convinced. “So I was right.”

You gave him an unamused look. “Think more like a boxer with a concussion.”

“And you haven’t brought it up with him since?”

“I was just focused on making sure he was okay. And now, I don’t know, he hasn’t mentioned it again. Maybe he wasn’t serious about it?”

“If he was... would you say yes? To be werewolf married?” The siren waggled his eyebrows at you teasingly. “Or half-werewolf married? Half-werewolf half-married?”

“They really need to make like even a single MCS class mandatory in the Gen Ed requirements, because what the hell are you saying to me right now?”

“You know what I mean. Would you say yes?”

⤷ blog masterlist ⤷ anthology masterlist

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toloveawarlord · 1 year

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Event: Be My Valentine 2023 (Edition: White Day)

Pairing: Reo Mikage x fem!Reader

Prompt: "In my defense, they didn't have a smaller teddy bear in stock. Hope you have some space in your bedroom"

wc: 1k

a.n: I am working on the requests! Here is some sweet Reo. Since Japan's "Valentine's Day" is kinda split between Valentine's and White Day, I made this one a White Day version which is the female receiving a gift from the man.

There were long chunks of time that Reo was away.

You were unable to travel with him this time, due to your class schedule and upcoming midterms. The university wouldn't allow your professor to reschedule the exam to allow you the time needed to fly overseas for Reo's game. It was frustrating but the two of you made it work with lots of phone calls and face chats whenever Reo had the chance.

Even if it was only a few short minutes, Reo claimed that he couldn't survive without hearing the sound of your voice and seeing your pretty face.

You'd settled in for the night, having ordered take out for a late night dinner. The remnants were littered across the coffee table in front of the couch that you lounged on, scrolling through social media before you inevitably fell asleep right there.

The doom scrolling was interrupted with a goofy photo of Reo popping up on the screen, the sound radiated out that he was calling.

"Reo!"

"Hey, baby! I was afraid you might be asleep at this hour." His face was incredibly close to the screen, filling the whole space. You were supposed to be asleep; you had an eight am class but Reo was fully aware that sleep meant little to a college student.

"Not yet. I have to get my daily dose of your face before I can sleep. Nagi's new girlfriend is such a doll and took a ton of awesome shots from the game." You'd quickly become friends with her, spending an ample amount of time conversing about the best friends and bonding over being soccer girls.

Reo laughed, gaze shifting ever so slight away from the phone as he walked. "You'd be pleased to know that she wore that awful shirt with our faces plastered on it to remind all the fangirls that I'm still yours."

"Oh my god! She actually wore that?"

"With a huge grin. Nothing embarrasses that girl."

This was how it was. If you closed your eyes, you could immerse yourself in his voice, imagining that he was here in the room with you. He continued to spill all the details about the game, the juicy ones that no one could see just watching.

You've known Reo since childhood. You'd been there when his parents told him that his future was set by them, and seen how it had affected him. It wasn't until he started playing soccer that Reo finally came into his own. He started doing things for himself, things that truly made him happy.

That included confessing to you. He was a mess that day, an adorable, blushing mess.

"What's got you smiling so happily?" Reo asked, drawing you out of your memory and back to the present.

"You, obviously." Perhaps it was the day that made you so nostalgic. It was impossible to miss all the couples and love in the air. Every commercial on the television was an advertisement for White Day.

"Baby, don't tease me! My heart can't take it."

A loud knock at the door interrupted.

"Hang on. Someone's at the door." How annoying. You were certain you hadn't ordered anything, so it was probably you're fussy neighbor. She hated any kind of noise, stating that she could hear your headphones leaking through the walls. Crabby old bitch.

But when you jerked the door open, ready to give her a peace of your mind, you were greeted with a peculiar sight. Instead of a wrinkly old woman, it was a giant, brown teddy bear.

"Wha-"

"Happy White Day, baby!"

It surely sounded like his voice on the other side of the monstrous sized bear. You caught a glimpse of his messy purple hair sticking up over the shoulder.

Several seconds passed in silence. You felt like a soda can being shook up, about to explode. The lovely gift turned into an adversary, in the way of you being in the arms of your love. Wrestling the heavy bear away and letting it crumple to the floor, you launched at him. "Reo!"

He easily caught you, embracing the full body hug. His strong arms holding you up, your legs latched around his waist. "I missed you, too. Was afraid I wouldn't make it in time. Traffic from the airport was a mess."

You grabbed his face and kissed him, savoring the taste of his lips. Time apart truly did make the heart grow fonder. "You jerk!" You finished your passionate kiss and landed a soft punch to his shoulder.

"Ouch!"

"You absolute-" How he'd managed to pull this off, you couldn't fathom. "God, I love you so much!" Your heart was flipping in your chest. The adrenaline pumping through your body. "I can't believe you're here."

Reo was proud of himself for pulling this off. It had taken a lot of work, and convincing the head coach to allow him this trip between games was hard won. "I'd do anything to see that gorgeous smile on your face."

As if you needed a reminder of how smooth his was, Reo easily carried you and the bear inside. Lingering in the hallway might summon the neighbor and he didn't want this elated mood to drop even a smidge.

"I love the bear, too. Even if he's triple my size."

"In my defense, they didn't have a smaller teddy bear in stock. Hope you have some space in your bedroom," Reo replied, setting you on the counter in the kitchen. His hands slid over your thighs, simply glad to have you in front of him.

You were the same, unable to keep your fingers from running up and down his biceps. His kisses were soft, lips barely leaving yours to take a little breath and then tasting you again.

"I suppose he'll have to take your spot on the bed. Don't worry, the floor is very comfortable- ah!"

Your teasing invigorated Reo to attack your sides, tickling you into a fit of hysterics. Your laughter was infectious, one of his favorite sounds. He loved being on the field, competing on a stage, but this was what filled him with true warmth and passion.

You.

"Welcome home, Reo."

"I'm glad to be home to you." The visit may be short, and soon he'd be back on an airplane to rejoin his team, but every second until then, he promised to spend with you, exchanging kisses and giggles

#blue lock #blue lock reo #reo mikage #reo mikage x reader #reo x reader #blue lock x reader #blue lock fluff #bllk #bllk fluff #white day

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lokiondisneyplus · 9 months

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How Marvel officially added McDonalds to the MCU

On the very last day of filming on the first season of the Marvel Disney+ TV series Loki, executive producer Kevin Wright sat on the steps of The Citadel at the End of Time with costar Sophia Di Martino (Sylvie), and they started to chat about what might be next for her character. Not in any official script capacity, just as fans of the story they’d just finished filming.

“This character had been on a decades-long, maybe centuries-long revenge mission, and the classic trope of those stories is that it’s all-consuming and she’s not thinking about what comes next,” says Wright. “Now she has this moment of opportunity, where is she going to go?”

Di Martino thought about it for a moment, and said, “She’d probably be pretty hungry.

There are more than 13,000 McDonald’s across the United States right here in 2023, and untold more across the multiverse. In a new campaign launched this week, the fast-feeder gave Marvel and Loki fans a peek at its own cameo in the series’ upcoming second season, set to launch on October 6.

“As Featured In” is the Golden Arches latest Famous Orders meal campaign and, instead of being tied to a particular artist or character, it celebrates all the instances in TV and movies that McDonald’s has appeared or been mentioned by characters: Friends, The Office, Seinfeld, Space Jam, Coming to America, and many, many more. But at the center of the campaign is Loki, one that hasn’t even happened yet, which is probably appropriate for a show that revolves around the multiverse and many different timelines.

The meal itself—a choice of a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, or Big Mac, with medium fries, a Loki-branded Sweet ‘N’ Sour Sauce, and a medium soda—is, like the Famous Meals before it, nothing all that special, but that has always been the point. The genius of Famous Orders is that it drives customers to McDonald’s core menu items rather than a limited-time stunt. There is, of course, also a merch collaboration, this time with streetwear darling Palace Skateboards. The packaging features QR codes that customers can scan to get fun Loki content and buy pieces from the Palace collaboration.

Long after his conversation with Di Martino on the Citadel set steps, Wright and his team were developing season two, and they were finding it difficult to pick up a new Sylvie storyline. She had just killed He Who Remains in season one, where does she go?

“When we stayed in the view of character, this woman who went on the run as a child, had been running through time, a fugitive of time, living in apocalypses, never being able to relax or slow down, the novelty of walking into a 1980s McDonald’s looked appealing,” say Wright. “You play a Little League game and go to McDonald’s. You go to a kid’s birthday party at McDonald’s. Someone like Sylvie would never have experienced that, and would be really taken by that.”

Marvel Studios has been a brand partnerships factory since Iron Man first ate a Whopper in 2008. Typically these things happen when there is a finished script, and producers go through it with the studio’s brand partnerships team to see where opportunities may be. A car chase, you say? What brand of car should we use? Maybe an Audi?

But this latest collaboration happened in reverse. A 1982 McDonald’s was specifically written into the script, so Wright approached Marvel’s partnerships people to talk to the brand about helping them out with the details. “I was worried that McDonald’s would think we wanted to do something ironic or make fun of them,” says Wright. “But we were selling an earnest story, a love letter to nostalgia through a character’s eyes who will see all of the novelty and joy of it.”

He needn’t have worried. “When I pitched it, our internal team said, ‘Uh, you realize we have a partnership with McDonald’s already, right? The fact we’re going to them wanting to do something makes it even better.”

Around that same time mid-last year, McDonald’s marketing execs were on a tour of sorts, meeting with content creators and creative teams at studios like Disney about the brand’s interest in participating in cultural moments beyond the typical product tie-in. That’s when the call from Marvel about Loki came in.

“We tend to embrace things like this,” says McDonald’s global chief marketing officer Morgan Flatley, “which we feel can be an opportunity for us to learn, especially because we felt that between Marvel and Loki, there was a real willingness to take their rabid fandom and mix it with a fan truth around McDonald’s and bring them together.”

The fan truth Flatley refers to is of McDonald’s as a congenial gathering place, a common experience for so many people. “Sylvie’s storyline perfectly aligned with how we think about our brand in terms of providing comfort and familiarity,” says Flatley. Familiarity is the key to the emotion of nostalgia and shelter that Wright was aiming for in the story.

That same familiarity is indicative of a brand so ubiquitous, it’s become a cultural touchpoint. Hence all the McDonald’s references in TV and movies. There’s a reason McDowell’s works as such a big bit in the classic comedy Coming to America. We all get it.

That all sounds great, but many brands get nervous or overprotective when they aren’t in full control of the creative. Not that long ago, McDonald’s was among them. The success of Famous Orders, allowing artists and partners like Cactus Plant Flea Market to play with its brand logos and characters, and the passionate response from fans—along with the sold-out merch and boosted sales—has given Flatley and the brand more confidence than ever in what she calls “sharing the pen.”

“I’ve become a big believer that if we lean into the right kind of creators in the right cultural phenomenon, and loosen some of our control on the brand, magic will happen,” says Flatley. “A few years ago, I don’t know that we would have felt as comfortable handing over key aspects of our brand to be part of a storyline like this, but today we’re really aware of the authenticity of our brand and the role that it can play.”

Wright is very familiar with the pitfalls of ill-conceived brand partnerships, and the impact they can have. “Wayne’s World was making fun of this stuff 30 years ago,” says Wright. “When it’s done poorly, it looks like business not driven by story. I don’t think that was ever a concern for us, mainly because we knew it was being driven by our story, and the more McDonald’s partnered with us, the better we were able to service the story.”

Multiversal marketing? Let’s see McDowell’s try that.

#loki #season 2 promo #mcdonald's

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tomorrowusa · 2 months

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A rich guy who died 17 years ago is still funding rightwing causes. The only good news is that the money runs out in 2025.

From the Ambien and Dramamine in millions of bathroom medicine cabinets, to the sugar substitute that makes diet sodas sweet, to the first-ever birth control pill, some of America’s most common medicines and supplements can be traced back to the G.D. Searle pharmaceutical company. Now, more than a century after the company’s founding, the massive family fortune built from those scientific advances has emerged as a major benefactor of the right, mostly out of the public eye. The Searle Freedom Trust, a foundation funded by the company’s former chairman, has doled out more than $200 million in grants over the last decade, sending more money to conservative nonprofits than nearly any other private foundation in recent years, according to a CNN analysis. This year, the Searle trust is poised to play an even bigger role as it empties out its coffers. Following the wishes of its founder, the late Daniel C. Searle, the trust is closing down in 2025 and planning to award most of its last major grants in 2024. That means a potential windfall during a key election year for groups that push conservative policies: as of the beginning of 2023, according to its most recent tax return, the trust had more than $59 million left to spend.

Thanks to the Republican Supreme Court, the filthy rich can shit money into the coffers of rightwing causes and candidates.

“The fact that our political system works in a way where wealthy people who died years ago can continue to have such profound influence over our politics and our beliefs about science and the world is just incredibly damaging,” said Galen Hall, a University of Michigan researcher who’s studied the flow of money from foundations like the Searle trust to climate change denial groups. “It’s one of the key aspects of American politics that makes positive change on issues like climate change so difficult.” [ ... ] The Searle trust is one of the most prolific funders of conservative groups among all private foundations, according to a CNN analysis of nonprofit tax data. From 2020 through 2022, it has given a total of more than $29 million to a selection of conservative nonprofits identified by CNN. Only one other private foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, reported giving more to the groups over the same time period, based on data from hundreds of thousands of public tax filings. The analysis only included publicly reported donations, so it may be missing some foundations that donated through donor-advised funds, which help conceal the path of their money.

The billionaires and their poorer multimillionaire buddies know that liberals tend to overlook state governments. So they focus disproportionately on controlling state legislatures and passing reactionary laws. The late Daniel C. Searle was no exception.

The trust has also given more than $2.75 million to the American Legislative Exchange Council, which over the years has written cookie-cutter model legislation that has inspired conservative bills around the US – including laws that expanded the use of private prisons, restricted the ability of state pension funds to consider environmental risks when making investments, and limited local governments’ ability to restrict firearms. The Searle trust has “been a key financial driver of the development of right-wing political infrastructure,” said Brendan Fischer, the deputy executive director of the progressive watchdog group Documented. “They’ve had a pretty successful track record in areas including attacks on workers’ rights, the freedom to vote, state efforts to thwart action on climate change.”

We can no longer afford to be slackers when it comes to state politics. Increasingly we need to give extremist Republicans more pushback in state capitals.

Take more interest in legislative matters in your state. Let news outlets know you want more coverage of what legislatures are up to. Support outlets which already do provide such coverage.

And find out who exactly is representing you in the legislature. If it's MAGA Republicans who get loads of campaign contributions from billionaire sugar daddies, work for their defeat in the next state election.

Find Your Legislators Look your legislators up by address or use your current location.

This is a Substack about state politics by the idiosyncratic Carolyn Fiddler. It looks at state politics from a national and Democratic perspective. It's worth subscribing to.

This Week in Statehouse Action

It's good though it isn't a substitute for a news source for your specific state's politics.

Filthy rich rightwingers can be stopped if we get involved and remain focused. Winners in politics are not people with short attention spans.

#the filthy rich #searle freedom trust #daniel c. searle #rightwing political infrastructure #billionaire contributors to rightwing causes #republicans #galen hall #brendan fischer #get involved in state politics #state government #vote blue no matter who #election 2024

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mygirljunhee · 4 months

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ADDY'S TOP GG SONGS OF 2023 ~ [BG VERSION]

Thanks @strhwaberries for tagging me for a top 10 ! I was tagged to do a BG version of a top 10 so I'm just doing the girls Honorable mentions: Kill Shot - Itzy // Die for You - EL7Z UP // Acid Dream - Kim Boa // Siren - 1CHU // Strawberry Soda - Loossemble // Underwater - Chuu // Love or Hate - Ryu Sujeong // Sweet Juice - Purple Kiss // Lemonade - DreamNote // SEOUL - H1-Key I think most people have done this already but tagging @mizugucci @shiningwonho @floweruna @possession1981 @sunghanbin @kingleedo @honeydewtual

so you all can look at My Mijoo - or in case you want an excuse to do a top 10 / GG top 10 !

#mijoo #aespa #natty #chuu #kiss of life #ryu sujeong #odd eye circle #loona #heejin #limelight #artms #lightsum #juju secret #lovelyz #addy.gifs

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can-i-see-your-passport-please · 1 year

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SWEET VOICE COLOR HEADCANONS BECAUSE I'M NORMAL AND FINE

Now, I think that Sweet Voice... can't FULLY be encapsulated in English. The colors do mean general emotions, yes, but also different shades of one color can mean different things, and most importantly, every bubble of Sweet Voice is a thought. You can't just generalize a stream of consciousness into a rhyme without cutting out a lot.

Tommy's rhymes work, but they aren't the whole story. What EXACTLY Benrey's trying to communicate depends a LOT on context, and relying PURELY on the rhymes can mean a lot is lost in translation. This can also be at least confusing when it comes to a color like orange, which is notoriously hard to rhyme, but can be very important to communicate.

However: once again, colors mean specific emotions, and remembering combinations through rhymes can be helpful, and also it's just easier. Context matters, of course, and relying completely on the rhymes can be very unhelpful, but... it's like knowing that a recipe needs specific ingredients. Like, a cake generally needs sugar, flour, eggs, and baking soda/powder. Specific quantities may vary, and there may be more or less of an ingredient, new stuff may be added, some may be removed. And of course, what KIND of cake you're baking can change the ingredients a lot. But knowing the base of what a cake needs can be helpful.

I'm not completely sure if this metaphor is getting what I mean across. What I mean is: knowing the base emotion behind a color can be helpful, though it won't get the exact stream of consciousness across. A translator can elaborate on the thoughts in each bubble (with permission of the SV user), but generally knowing the colors and what they mean is helpful. But again - context matters.

With that being said...

THE WHOLE PRIDE FLAG

Red - Fear and danger. Often used as a warning, like a caution sign. Light shades of red can mean just nervousness, but vibrant red is a sign of fear. Tastes like medicine and caffeine.

Orange - Pain. The pain can be mental or physical, but no matter what the type, orange means pain. If the SV user is singing in orange, it's a sign they need some kind of support. The taste is hard to figure out, because it burns like acid. Best guess of any taste is blood.

Yellow - Guilt and self-hatred. While orange can be used for physical or mental pain, you still need to guess which one, and the singer can easily lie about which kind of pain it is. Yellow sidesteps that. If you see yellow, the SV user is in mental distress and needs comfort. Tastes like mango.

Edit (12/04/2023): I'm changing yellow to something different! I'm a better writer now, and have a better definition that can be used more.

Yellow - Power. It can be the type of power that corrupts you, that tears you apart from the inside out. But power is not exclusively bad. It can and must be used, dare I say it, responsibly. To protect, to support, to help others and make their lives easier. Tastes like salmon.

Green - Safety and reassurance. Used as a white flag, or a way to reassure someone that they're not going to get hurt. Can also be used as a sign of feeling safe and happy in your surroundings. Tastes like chocolate.

Blue - Thoughts and relaxation. An indication that the person is thinking about something, turning it over in their head. One of the most common colors used. Lots of blue usually means the person is thinking very deeply. Tastes like blue raspberry. Blue is a bit of a unique one in the bunch, as it can actually affect one's body. All Sweet Voice can do that, to an extent- being hit with red makes you feel some of the fear they do, and orange makes you feel a smidge of the pain they feel- but blue is the most effective at this. Being hit with blue will make your muscles relax, and usually helps your thoughts calm down as well. It can sometimes even dull pain (though not healing it).

Teal - Healing and recovery. Closely related to blue- teal can affect the body quite strongly when combined with black or green, and helping someone relax is helping them recover, in a way. However, they ARE different. While blue is most effective at calming someone down by itself, teal is most effective when combined with another color. Tastes like mint.

Teal and green (heal beam) will usually help speed up a healing process, helping cuts stitch themselves back together, bruises fade, broken bones heal. There are limitations, of course. Heal beam speeds up a healing process to help you recover, and can't help you, say, regrow limbs. Using heal beam consumes energy as well (it's one thing to just use Sweet Voice, it's another to use its power to heal someone.)

Purple - Joy and blissfulness. A sense of peace and happiness with the world, with oneself, even just with the moment. Lighter shades of purple usually mean more energetic happiness, while darker shades usually mean more calm, sleepy peace. Tastes like ice cream.

Pink - Love. Platonic, familial, romantic, pink means love. Different shades of pink can mean different kinds of love, but as there are basically infinite types of love, you cannot nail down specific shades to mean specific types of love. It's fluid. Indescribable delicious taste. [He tends to use this when trying to protect someone - literally surrounding them in his love to keep them safe. He uses this a lot around the team especially.]

OTHER COLORS

White - Numbness. When you feel everything so much that your brain just shuts down, and you can't feel anything at all except lethargy. (Based on the fact that if you put all light colors together, it just makes white.) Tastes like TV static.

Grey - Confusion. Sometimes used as a quick way to ask a question, sometimes used as a quick way to say you don't understand. There is symbolism here. Tastes like noodles.

Black - Anger. Tastes like pen ink. Unpleasant. The most pure anger is completely black, like a void. [Usually, Benrey's anger is playful. Not serious, joking around, silly. When he's pouting, getting overly annoyed about something, whining like a child... It's not genuine anger. And if it seems like he's angry and he's yelling, it's most likely an expression of something else. Benrey's genuine anger is quiet. Silently stewing in the corner, completely quiet, ink-black Sweet Voice leaking out of his mouth. You can swear his shadow is shifting and changing, despite how still his body is. He's not screaming and whining, he's completely silent. His gaze is fixed at a single point. And when he lets that anger out... It is never pretty.]

Brown - Negative emotion in general. Sometimes you're feeling so much negative emotion that you can't just place one label on it all. It's so much hurt that your mind feels muddy. Brown often comes mixed in with other colors meaning negative emotions, but often it can exist by itself. Tastes... confusing.

Rainbow - Basically the equivalent of your brain breaking. Not to be mixed up with confusion- this is more like when you try to say something, but jumble your words together, or when you're feeling so many things at once that no one color combo works. Tastes like everything.

WEIRD LITTLE FACTS AND OBSERVATIONS

Warm and monochrome shades tend to be more negative emotions (with the exception of grey and yellow, but again, context matters), while cooler shades tend to be more positive emotions.

The more vibrant a color, the stronger the emotion. For example, vibrant pale purple usually translates to strong excitement, and vibrant pink translates to deep love. And the duller a color, the weaker the emotion. Going back to purple, dull purple usually means something along the lines of "oh that's cool."

You cannot lie through Sweet Voice. You can lie about what the colors mean, and you can suppress what thoughts are shown, but that doesn't mean the thoughts aren't there. It just means they're quieter. Sweet Voice is pure thought and emotion. It's laying bare your current mindstate, hiding that is hard. The only way to for sure not show someone specific thoughts is through not using Sweet Voice, which is very hard. The safest way to do that is holding back the Sweet Voice until you can let it all out later (which has a high chance of failure with all the Sweet Voice coming out all at once). The most effective way to do that is physically swallowing the Sweet Voice back, which is usually painful.

I cannot stress this enough: SWEET VOICE IS PURE THOUGHT AND EMOTION. Every bubble of Sweet Voice is at least one thought, and depending on how stuffed your mind is, it can be several thoughts. Sometimes it's one thought, repeated in several bubbles. The point is: the color is the emotion, the bubbles are the thoughts.

Sweet Voice is generally used for quick communication of certain things. For example: say you and your gang can all use Sweet Voice, and you're currently separated. From farther away, you hear someone use Sweet Voice. You turn, and see one of your friends is using red. Your group quickly races over, and they explain the danger. Or say someone is trying to explain an idea, but can't figure out how to put it into words, so instead they use Sweet Voice, and you can read their thought process. That is the biggest evolutionary purpose of Sweet Voice.

Learning Sweet Voice is INCREDIBLY difficult, but possible. It's basically a second language, except you're on nightmare mode. After all, learning how to read Sweet Voice is learning how to read someone's thoughts, their emotions, basically their soul. Which is not easy. However, learning Sweet Voice is not impossible. It just takes a fuckload of time.

You can't learn how to SPEAK Sweet Voice. It comes from a gland in the back of your throat that humans don't have, and you can't just put that in the back of your throat or use magic alien hormones to grow it. If you tried to take alien HRT you would probably die lol

If you just took audio of Sweet Voice, you wouldn't be able to translate the exact thoughts. However, if you took video with NO audio of Sweet Voice, you still wouldn't be able to translate it. Translation relies on both audio and visuals, unless you are ABSURDLY fluent.

This is ABSOLUTELY not consistent throughout my art and writing, however I do not have the energy to care. Also Tumblr is so mean for not having a different shade of blue

EDIT (12/04/2023): I HAVE MORE BITCH I HAVE COLOR ASSOCIATIONS WITH THE SCIENCE TEAM

I don't associate Darnold with orange and feel he shoulda been red, and so red he is- red is the color of fear, the color used to signal danger. And Darnold is the most cautious, the only one to take the VERY FUCKING REASONABLE fear of the Rescas and military, and chose to just fucking leave! And fucking good for him!!

Bubby is associated with teal, the color of healing. Bubby would definitely be REALLY FUCKED UP after getting out of his tube and getting out of Black Mesa as a whole. He would be going from constant supervision and inability to leave a confined space, to freedom to move around Black Mesa but still constant supervision and inability to leave, to total freedom and no oversight from Black Mesa. Bubby would need to heal really fucking bad after all of that!! Healing and growing and becoming better is a necessity for him, and has been since he was freed from his GOD DAMN TUBE

Tommy is associated with yellow, the color of power (and the main reason i changed yellow). Tommy is one of the most powerful of the team, able to overpower and gun down 300 clones on his own, while also keeping Gordon alive. Depending on your interpretation, he's at least a little nonhuman, being either related to or adopted by FUCKING GMAN. In my mind, he is a representation of the good power can do, while at least in canon not having yet gained control over it (see: this is all instinct mr freeman i'm scared).

Benrey is associated with blue, the color of thoughts and relaxation. And my reasoning for this is fairly simple! Benrey's a chill guy, just wants to play games with his friends. But in my beautiful world, he's jam-packed with so many thoughts (except when he thinks nothing). Benrey's a chill dude who likes chilling, who's also got a buncha thoughts in his silly brain.

Coomer is associated with green, the color of safety. And this does work well for him! Dr Coomer is, at the end of the day, a safe person to be around. He does try to help, even though his AI is SEVERELY bugged out. The clone fight is an exception to this (and there, his text was surrounded by red, color of fear, my god the symbolsim), but even after THAT, he still did move to try and help Gordon, reassuring him that he was safe, and wouldn't hurt him ("Don't let my bloody form frighten you, Gordon. It's me, your friend, Dr Coomer!"). Coomer is a chaotic person, yes, but at the end of the day, he's a safe person. One of these days I will write an essay on how those little moments of kindness in HLVRAI and them so good I'm normal

(Additionally for all the old man yaoi fans: green is safety and teal is healing. Boomer colors are literally safety and healing)

Gordon is a bit of a complicated case. I associate him with orange during and before the Rescas, but purple after it, after he starts healing. And I have good reason for this: orange is associated with pain, and purple with happiness. And during the Rescas (arguably beforehand too), Gordon was constantly in some form of pain. Even putting aside the physical pain of being in The Worst Suit Ever, he was under the stress of trying to keep himself and all his teammates alive. That is PAINFUL.

But (HL2VRAI HAS NOT COME OUT AT TIME OF WRITING AND I AM IGNORING ITS EXISTENCE) as time went on after the rescas... Gordon healed. He got better. He becomes a more self-actualized person, becomes happier with himself. He gets out of the Rescas alive, and heals from it after all the bullshit, with the help of the friends he made along the way who love him so, so, so much.

Which brings me to something else- I associate the Science Team all with specific colors, yes. But as a whole, I associate them all with one color: pink. The Science Team is, at the end of the day, built on love. They all love each other so, so much.

It's shown in how Gordon constantly worries about them all and tries to protect them, keeping them out of the way of danger, letting Coomer use the HEV charger before him. (Hell, even with Benrey, who he despises, he worries about him constantly. He yells for him to not run into danger, and is clearly INFURIATED when Forzen kills him.)

It's shown in how Darnold, someone who clearly doesn't really like Gordon all that much, still moved to help him, to give him back his arm and keep him alive, even when he clearly found Gordon at least somewhat irritating.

It's shown in how Dr Coomer, a minute after trying to murder Gordon in a desperate attempt to be free of the game, upon seeing just how much distress he was in, moved to reassure him: I won't hurt you. I am your friend.

It's shown in how Bubby, after everything, helped Gordon after they reunited (and didn't throw Benrey under the bus for the things that happened).

It's shown in how Benrey clearly loves Gordon in some way, and how he tells the skeletons to not hurt Tommy, and sings pink at Tommy when he first sees him.

It's shown in how Tommy, in an attempt to comfort Gordon after the nightmare that just happened, offered him a soda.

The Science Team is built on love.

#hlvrai #black mesa sweet voice #sweet voice #cassie rambles #🛂can i see your passport? please [benrey freeman]#🧪delete that. delete that right fuckin now. [darnold pepper]#🚀a girl never kisses and tells! [dr bubby]#🧃slower than molasses drips off a spoon! [tommy coolatta]#🥊look gordon! ropes! [dr coomer]#🔫I’M GOING FUCKING NUTS [gordon freeman]

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mamsieur · 6 months

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Perseus and Andromeda | Javy "Coyote" Machado x Reader

Summary : Javy's not a big fan of night clubs, and yet he agreed to accompany his cousin for her birthday. When all seems too much for him, someone turns his evening for the better.

TW : mention of alcohol, slight panic attack, fluff

Length : 3079 words

AN : That man doesn't have enough works about him. I'll maybe turn this one into a series, who knows.

posted on AO3 October 13, 2023

Javy has never been the type to go clubbing or partying too much, despite what everyone seemed to think. He much preferred a quiet evening with his buddies over a few beers and pizzas, watching a game or a good action movie. The comfort of his home was something he always yearned for when he was out for more than a few hours. Especially since he was permanently stationed in San Diego, his apartment was truly a home, not just a house. He had even adopted a cat from a shelter; an old one named Gizmo.

His friends, especially Jake, never seemed to understand why he didn't like to stay out late, even on weekends. He didn’t have a girlfriend, he was barely thirty, and his outgoing personality seemed to categorize him as someone who liked to go out and seduce, like his friend Jake. Sure, he liked to flirt and go out once in a while, but he liked the coziness of his own home even more. The only ones in the squadron who seemed to understand and who did not tease him about it were Bob, because of his more reserved and introverted nature, and Bradley, who always claimed he was getting too old to go out every weekend.

And yet here he was, in the middle of a nightclub.

Under pressure from his aunt, he had no choice but to be a chaperone for his little cousin Ava, who was celebrating her twenty-fifth birthday. She decided to visit him at the last minute and celebrate with her friends in a well renowned club. Ava was sweet, but also a real party girl. She loved to go out, dance and drink the night away. The last time she dragged Javy to a party, he remembered waking up with the worst headache of his life, so he promised himself not to let her make him drink. Also, as Javy didn't want to be alone with his cousin and her three best friends, he managed to bring Jake, Rebeun and Mickey with him. Unfortunately for him, the three boys enjoyed the party with the girls, leaving him alone with his drink at the bar.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, he looked down at his phone to check the time. Not even ten minutes had passed since he had last checked. The music was way too loud, the lights were starting to hurt his eyes, but he had to stay at least four hours, if not five, knowing Ava. He loved her for sure, but being here was torture for him. He sighed again and ordered a soda to the bartender, keeping an eye on his baby cousin and her friends.

The atmosphere of nightclubs always made him feel that nothing was real, that everything was fogged in a cloud of alcohol, sweat and uncomfortable heat. He was not uncomfortable per se, but he was not in his element either ; so, he always preferred to stay at the bar, like a ship anchored in a harbor. But tonight Ava seemed to have decided he wasn't going to stand by and watch. It was all right if he didn't drink, but she wasn't going to let him stand by the bar like some kind of security guard.

"Come on Javy, it's my birthday," she whined, "just one dance, please!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him - with great difficulty - to the dance floor.

"Yeah Coyote, loosen up a little," Mickey encouraged with a big grin as he danced with one of Ava's friends who giggled in his arms. The taller man groaned, not very comfortable in the crowd Ava had pushed him into. He sighed as she used her puppy dog eyes to get him to dance with her.��

"Just one dance, Ava. Just. One." He reminded her, holding up a finger. She chuckled as she nodded, a mischievous look in her eyes. Javy sighed and started to dance with her and the others, Jake encouraging him with Reuben. One dance became two, then three, then four... until he lost count. He was kind of stuck in the middle of the dance floor anyway.

As the minutes and hours passed, Javy had this strange feeling, as if between dream and reality, this gray area where everything seemed unreal and suspended. He knew the music was still loud around him, but he could barely hear it. He felt like he was in absorbent cotton, like after a flight with a high G-force. It wasn't a pleasant or unpleasant sensation, just strange, as if time was passing in a different way. He looked around to spot his friends in the crowd; Mickey was still with Ava's friend, Jake was flirting with an unknown blonde, and Reuben was dancing with Ava and her other friends. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, and Ava waved and smiled at Javy, gesturing for him to join her. He shook his head and mouthed that he was going back to the bar. Ava pouted, but then shrugged her shoulders with a grin, already happy to have trapped him into dancing with them for almost two hours.

He closed his eyes for a moment to ground himself, but it didn't seem to work. He needed to get some air, to breathe. But every time he tried to take a few steps, he was blocked. So he stayed a little longer with his friends and Ava. The young woman seemed to be having the time of her life, dancing with her friends and then with Jake or Reuben, strangers or Javy. It reassured him to see her so happy and still in full possession of her senses.

But a feeling of anxiety slowly crept over him. He hated being stuck between so many strangers. His impression of being in cotton was replaced by a feeling of hypersensitivity to the sounds, heat and movements around him. Fatigue didn't help him control the situation. He tried again to make his way through the drunken, dancing crowd. He forced his way through, his eyes fixed on the door to the smoking area. He didn't smoke, but it was the only way to get in and out quickly and safely. He moved forward one by one, apologizing as he went, slipping between people as best he could, avoiding the sticky couples, his gaze always straight ahead. He moved faster and faster as he reached the end of the crowd. When he finally reached the door, it swung open in front of him, stopping him dead in his tracks. He was faced with a young woman he didn't know, but her face was familiar. She seemed as surprised as he was. Javy's ears were ringing and he couldn't hear anything coherent between the music, his own brain telling him to hurry and the young woman in front of him who seemed to be talking to him. His own breathing seemed far too loud, and he could even hear his heart beating in his ears. The stranger's eyes were filled with concern as she recognized Javy's anxious, almost panicked look. And when she gently grabbed his forearm, everything in the pilot's mind seemed to calm down.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Her voice was soft and reassuring, and Javy could only hear it now; everything had faded away behind him. He blinked a few times before answering.

"Y-Yeah... I, uh, I just need some air, I think..." he stuttered a little. The stranger nodded and let him through the door. She joined him on the small bench. Javy was surprised that there was no one in this smoking area, but it was kind of relieving. He took a moment to simply breathe. He had experienced a panic attack in the past, but he didn't think he could have one just by coming to a club.

"So... what's your name?" the young woman said softly, looking at the stars above them.

"Javy... you?"

"Y/N," she smiled at him and turned to him, "are you feeling better Javy?"

"Yeah," he nodded and sighed, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me..."

"Don't be, it happens. I've seen a lot of customers get anxious when they spend too much time in crowds," she handed him a small bottle of water from her purse, "I think you should drink some water."

He took the bottle and looked at her suspiciously, "Are you trying to drug me?" he teased, feeling himself blush at the pretty laugh she let out.

"Believe me, pretty boy, if I wanted to drug you, I would have put it in your soda earlier," she winked at him.

And it clicked in Javy's head, "You're the bartender. We're not in the smoking area," he pointed at her and then at the door, realizing the situation.

"I am and we're not. We're in the staff area," she chuckled, "that's why I asked if you were lost."

"I... I didn't quite hear you," Javy admitted with a bashful smile as he stood up, "Maybe I should let you enjoy your break ?" he gestured toward the door and she shrugged.

"You can stay a while to relax if you want, my shift just ended, I can tell my boss you're a friend. I'm sure you'll be more comfortable here than in the smoking area," she smiled kindly, "it's up to you."

Javy looked at her and pondered his options. He could go to the smoking corner and choke on the smoke, or he could stay with her. He could go back to a tiny room that would surely be crowded with people, or he could stay here with the cute barmaid.

His choice was quickly made.

"Okay, I'll stay here, but only because you didn't poison my drinks," he smiled and was rewarded with another pretty laugh. He wanted to hear it over and over again. It was like a melody, a soothing one. Javy had had his fair share of dates and flings, but none had made him feel like this. It was weird, but not in a bad way. He wanted to know everything about Y/N, from the most insignificant thing to her biggest milestone, from her favorite color to her entire childhood. When her eyes met his, he felt like a teenager again. He cleared his throat and smiled.

"So you work here?" he asked, immediately cursing himself in his head for asking such a stupid question.

"Yes I do, but it's only temporary, at least I hope so," she smiled at him, "And what do you do, pretty boy?"

"I'm a naval aviator, ma'am," he smiled at the chuckle she let out as he mockingly saluted her. She was so pretty when she laughed; her eyes were sparkling, her cheeks were rosy, and her nose wrinkled in such a cute way. Javy felt his heart skip a beat when she looked back at him with such a soft and adorable grin.

"So you're one of those handsome flyboys... What's it like? I mean, flying so high and so fast?" she asked, her curiosity piqued. Javy smiled and sat down next to her, his eyes drifting to the starry sky. As he explained what his job was like, she continued to question him with sincere interest. He always answered as best he could without being too technical. After that, they talked about everything and got to know each other. Javy was proud and happy when he could make her laugh. A silly anecdote about a locker room accident between him and Jake made her laugh out loud and she grabbed the young man's forearm to keep from falling over. He felt goosebumps run up his arm and down his back. He didn't want her to let go and she didn't. She gently hooked her arm into his and rested her head on his shoulder.

Everything seemed so simple and easy with her, so crystal clear. There was no awkwardness between them, as if they had known each other for a long time.

They talked about everything. Javy learned that the young woman loved San Diego, but that her job wasn't fulfilling despite the decent pay, that she rented an old apartment from an unpleasant old man, that she loved admiring the stars but had never really taken the time to learn the constellations. So he told her what little he knew, including the story of Perseus and Andromeda, the story of a hero who flew to save a beautiful princess.

"I could fly and save you from your landlord, just as Perseus saved Andromeda," he teased, and she laughed and shook her head.

"Sounds like an interesting prospect. But just so you know, I'm not a princess in distress either, dear Perseus," she winked at him with a playful smile, her fingers brushing gently along his forearm in lazy circles.

"I never said you were, Andromeda wasn't really in control of her life. You seem to be a strong, independent woman," he winked back, "But if the myth is true, I personally think that Andromeda's beauty wouldn't stand a chance against you," he added, smiling as she blushed and giggled to hide her embarrassment.

"You're being a little too flattering, Perseus..." she whispered. Javy leaned closer and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Just telling the truth, Andromeda," he smiled at her.

"And if anything, I was the one who saved you tonight, I should be Perseus in this story," she teased, and he laughed.

"Touché."

The evening had taken a rather pleasant turn for Javy. He had almost forgotten about Ava and the others. Only when he felt his phone vibrate did he realize what time it was; the nightclub was about to close and he'd just spent two hours with Y/N. Noticing the time, the young woman swore and sighed. It was nearly three in the morning.

"The club is closing... we have to be discreet on our way back in, the lights all must be on," she said as she stood up and slid her hand into Javy's, "You'll have to follow me very closely flyboy," she smiled and the young man blushed. He nodded with an equally wide smile and squeezed her hand slightly, "Lead the way, Andromeda."

She chuckled and headed for the door. She checked carefully to make sure the way was clear and then quickly pulled Javy inside with her. She looked back at him over her shoulder and they started giggling like kids who didn't get caught stealing candy from the pantry. They slipped through the crowd toward the exit, staying close together. Javy looked around for his cousin and the others outside. He spotted them near their cars, Ava waving at him. Then he looked at Y/N, their hands still in each other's, fingers intertwined. He didn't want to let them go, but he had to get back. And he didn't want to burden her with Jake and Ava's comments or Reuben and Mickey's knowing looks.

To his surprise, it was the young woman who spoke first, facing him.

"I had a really good time with you... and... I was wondering... I was wondering if..."

Javy couldn't help but smile a little as she fought down her embarrassment to ask him her question. He ran his free hand over her cheek, lifting her face a little to plant his eyes in hers.

"If your question is whether we can meet again, the answer is yes, Andromeda," he winked at her. The young woman blushed but smiled adorably before handing him her phone so he could punch in his number. Javy laughed a little as she saved it under "Flyboy/Perseus". She sent him a short text message so he had her number too and he saved it as "Savior/Andromeda". It made her laugh and Javy felt his heart flutter. He couldn't wait to ask her out on a real date. So he did.

"So... are you working tomorrow night?"

"No, actually I'm not working until Tuesday," she smiled, "Why?"

"Great. I'll pick you up at 8:00, I know a place where we can do better stargazing than the staff area at the back of the club. I'll bring some food too."

She giggled and nodded, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling with excitement, "Sounds lovely, I'll text you my address."

Behind them, Javy could hear his friends and cousin getting a little impatient. He turned his head a little to see what they wanted; while Jake gave him both thumbs up, Ava gestured for him to hurry up; she probably had an after party planned at the Airbnb where she was staying. Y/N followed his gaze and blushed a little when she saw all those eyes on them.

"I think they're waiting for you," she chuckled and squeezed his hand.

"I think they can wait a few more seconds," he muttered, catching her chin and tilting her head a little so she was looking up at him. They were so close that his breath made her skin tingle. She bit her lip, blushing even more when his eyes flickered between her eyes and her lips. She rose on her toes, closing the distance between them a little more, and Javy kissed her gently. And it was as if the world disappeared. Her free hand slid down his neck and his down her waist. She was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted in his life, her lips so soft against his.

When they parted, they could hear Ava and the others cheering for them and Y/N snorted a little.

"Okay Perseus, I think your friends are getting a little too excited for you here."

"You think?" he grinned, "In my opinion, they're jealous."

He kissed her again and felt her smile against his lips. But he had to go.

"See you tomorrow Andromeda, be safe on your way home," he whispered to her, smiling. She nodded and gently pulled away. "Be safe too, Perseus," she smiled before walking to her own car, waving to him and his friend behind her. Javy watched her go and finally joined his group with a light step and a throbbing heart. After all, it hadn't been such a terrible evening, and the comforts of home seemed almost bland. There was only one thing he could wait for: the next evening.

#top gun maverick #top gun imagine #javy coyote machado #javy machado x reader #javy machado fic #night sky #night club #jake seresin #mickey garcia #reuben fitch #post movie top gun maverick #pov third person

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