#Also‚ I see what that eye on her belt is looking at. Fair play. I understand its motivation.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Vyjayanthimala (Madhumati, Amrapali, Sangam, Devdas)—Strong contender for /the/ OG queen of Indian cinema for over 2 straight decades. Her Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award came not a moment too soon with 62 movies under her belt. Singer, dancer, actor, and also has the most expressive set of eyes known to man

Audrey Hepburn (My Fair Lady, Sabrina, Roman Holiday)—Growing up, Audrey Hepburn desperately wanting to be a professional ballerina, but she was starved during WWII and couldn't pursue her dream due to the effects of malnourishment. After she was cast in Roman Holiday, she skyrocketed to fame, and appeared in classics like My Fair Lady and Breakfast at Tiffany's. She's gorgeous, and mixes humor and class in all of her performances. After the majority of her acting career came to close, she became a UNICEF ambassador.

This is round 6 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Vyjayanthimala:

Linked gifset

Linked gifset 2

Linked gifset 3

Linked gifset 4

Linked gifset 5

Linked gifset 6

Audrey Hepburn:

"She may be a wispy, thin little thing, but when you see that girl, you know you're really in the presence of something. In that league there's only ever been Garbo, and the other Hepburn, and maybe Bergman. It's a rare quality, but boy, do you know when you've found it." - Billy Wilder

Raised money for the resistance in nazi occupied Hungary. Became a humanitarian after retiring. Two very sexy things to do!

where to begin......... i wont her so bad. i literally dont know what to say.

My dude. The big doe eyes, the cheekbones, the voice. The flawless way she carried herself. She was never in a movie where she wasn't drop dead gorgeous. Oh, also the fact she raised funds against the Nazis doing BALLET and she won the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her humanitarian work.

"It’s as if she dropped out of the sky into the ’50s, half wood-nymph, half princess, and then disappeared in her golden coach, wearing her glass slippers and leaving no footprints." - Molly Haskell

"All I want for Christmas is to make another movie with Audrey Hepburn." - Cary Grant

I know people nowadays are probably sick of seeing her with all the beauty and fashion merch around that depicts her and/or Marilyn Monroe but she is considered a classic Hollywood beauty for a reason. Ironically in her day she was more of the alternative beauty when compared to many of her contemporaries. She always came off with such elegance and grace, and she was so charming. Apparently she was a delight to work with considering how many of her co-stars had wonderful things to say about her. Outside of her beauty and acting ability she was immensely kind. She helped raise funds for the Dutch resistance during WWII by putting on underground dance performances as well as volunteering at hospitals and other small things to help the resistance. During her Hollywood career and later years she worked with UNICEF a lot. Just an all around beautiful person both inside and out.

No one could wear clothes in this era like she could. She was every major designer's favorite star and as such her films are time capsules of high fashion at the time. But beyond that, she had such an elegance in her screen presence that belied a broad range of ability. From a naive princess, to a confused widow, to a loving and mischievous daughter, she could play it all.

Look at that woman's neck. Don't you want to bite it?

[trippinsorrows]

give me a reason + two

authors note: wow! so humbled by people's interest in this one! forgot to mention that i'll be playing around with joe's career, in terms of the timeline and whatnot.

also, if ya'll ever watched the bernie mac show, i was very much inspired in one section by that scene where vanessa and them was doing that car wash at bernie's house lmaooo

in addition (last point, i swear lmao), i can do faceclaims for the character, mainly mariella's family. if ya'll want. i know some people prefer to visualize for themselves. just lmk.

i don't own any lyrics used.

previous chapter

words: 7k

song inspo: just give me a reason by p!nk and nate ruess

warnings: language, fluff, some angst, blink and you'll miss it sexy time.

Spring, 2005

Spring break.

The time looked forward to by most students, especially college students, who are granted a free week to get into all kinds of trouble, mischief and then return to campus like nothing ever happened. 

Joe and Byron can’t deny that they’ve definitely had their fair share of that the first part of college, but now with two years under their belts and only two years left to go, they’re focused on having killer seasons and landing their dreams of going into the NFL.

It’s why when coach decides to give the players a break, canceling all practices during said break, there’s not even an initial question about what they should do with their time.

Home.

They’re going home.

Because while being away is nice at times, there’s absolutely no place like home and being surrounded by the people you love the most.

Byron glances at Joe who’s looking down at his phone. “You gonna see Brianna while we in town?”

Joe looks up. He can’t say he hasn’t thought about it. Brianna, Joe’s last high school girlfriend, was inarguably the easiest of all the girls he’s ever dated. And if not for him not wanting to be tied down while away at college, he would have tried to make it work. 

“I don’t know,” he answers, truthfully. “We’ll see.”

“Well, I’m definitely hitting up Tamia. Heard she and ole’ dude broke up.”

Joe shakes his head. Tamia has been Byron’s on and off girlfriend since freaking middle school. They date, break up, date other people, break up with said other people and start right back over. Truthfully, Joe can see Tamia being the one for Byron considering how long they’ve been in this little cycle. 

“Just make sure you’re safe, man.”

Byron looks like he’s just been told to make sure he wears a seatbelt. “Always, bro. You know me.”

Joe knows him alright. Knows he can be reckless at times. And with so much at stake in the next upcoming two years, they can’t afford to be reckless. 

“I do. That’s why I’m saying it.”

“Man….” Joe laughs at Byron’s dismissal. “What do we have here?” Joe turns his attention to where Byron has set his gaze only to quickly scowl with disgust. “Ugh, they in high school.”

Joe is also instantly repulsed. “That’s fucking gross.” 

Byron shakes in his seat, as if trying to shake the disgust off himself when he sees something. “Wait a minute…” Joe again tries to see what’s triggered the exclamation of irritation. “Oh hell no.”

“What are you—what the hell!” Joe shouts out as Byron suddenly swerves into the next turn lane, barely missing hitting a car. “The fuck are you doing, man!”

“That’s Ella out there!” He answers, speeding near the station where a bunch of high school girls are operating a car wash, trying to raise money for who knows what. 

At the mention of Ri, Joe’s attention is snatched. “What?” He’s looking around as Byron looks to quickly park the truck, clearly eager to get out. Joe doesn’t see her just yet. It’s not until they’re parked and out of the car that his eyes land on her.

Her smile is the first thing he notices. She’s laughing. Not surprising. For as long as he’s known her, which has been his whole life essentially, she’s always the one in the group to make everyone laugh.

Usually from her klutziness. 

It’s never a dull moment with Mariella Holmes. 

Moving closer, he can see that it’s definitely Ri, and she’s giggling along with the other girls, dancing to what he recognizes is Black Eyed Peas latest song, “My Humps.”

It’s that realization that helps Joe understand why Byron is so annoyed.

The dancing could be seen as a bit provocative.

“Ella!”

Her head snaps up at Byron’s voice, easily landing on him. Joe watches her mouth drop open in shock before she shouts, “BJ!”

Dropping the soapy rag in the bucket, she’s nearly sprinting over to the two of them, tackling Byron with a hug first. “What are you doing here?”

It’s when she steps back that she moves over to him. She smirks, crossing her arms. “Should have known you wouldn’t turn down a chance to come see me.”

Joe laughs, pulling her in for a hug. “Never.”

“What am I doing here?” Byron cuts in, angrily gesturing to her. “What are you doing out here dressed like this?”

She looks down at her outfit, frowning. Joe does the same. It’s a bathing suit top with jean shorts and flip flops. What’s so bad about that?

And she expresses as such.

“Ummm, the dance team is having a car wash. We’re trying to raise money for travel costs this season.”

This doesn’t seem acceptable to Byron as he asks, “well, you ain’t having nothing else to wear? All exposed and everything.”

That’s when she rolls her eyes. “Oh my god, you’re so annoying.” 

He starts to pull his shirt off when even Joe chimes in, “dude, come on.”

“She’s half naked!”

“I’m wearing a bathing suit, BJ.” Mariella says it like he’s slow. Like he was on the short bus. “I know you’ve been away at school, so you haven’t been around as much, but I have boobs now—”

At that, both Joe and Byron turn up their nose. The last thing they need is that type of visual.

She continues, gesturing to her body. “I hit puberty, and allll the areas started filling out. It happens!”

“I’m gonna be sick.” Byron covers his mouth. “I don’t give a damn. You’re sixteen, not twenty-one.”

She gives a sly smile. “That’s not what my fake ID says.”

Joe catches her gaze, seeing that she’s just messing with him. It makes him laugh. 

“Your what? Girl, you done lost your damn mind.”

She laughs, shaking her head. “Relax, BJ. You know I can’t get a fake ID. My dumbass would feel too bad and turn myself in.”

“That’s true,” Joe chimes, and she glares, reaching over to hit him. She starts to say something, only for her eyes to go wide. “What’s wrong?”

She says nothing, just awkwardly shifting her weight from one leg to another. He starts to ask again when a new voice joins the conversation. 

“Hey, babe.”

Byron jumps to a new level of annoyance. “Babe?” He and Joe watch as some scrawny looking little boy, who’s really not that scrawny in actuality but looks it compared to Byron and Joe, walks up to Mariella, kissing her. 

Byron looks like he’s about to have a stroke. He asks with all the smoke. “Who the hell are you?” 

Scrawny scoffs and has the audacity to throw the question back at him. “Who the hell are you?”

“Oh my god.” Mariella murmurs, slapping her hand against her forehead. “BJ, this is my boyfriend, Derrick—”

Mariella having a boyfriend makes sense to Joe. She’s 16 now. Why wouldn’t she be dating? It’s normal and expected. 

If only Byron saw it that way. “Boyfriend? Since when do you have a boy—”

“Derrick, this is my brother, BJ or Byron, and basically like my non-blood brother, Joe.”

Scrawny AKA Derrick looks like he’s seen a ghost. “Oh shit, my bad—”

If only he knew that Byron doesn’t forgive nor does he forget when it comes to his little sisters, especially Mariella. 

He steps toward the shorter young man. “Naw. You bad. You wanted to know who the hell I was, so let me tell you, I’m the nigga that’s gon fuck you up if you ever—”

“Byron!” Mariella is now fuming, grabbing him by his arm as she tugs him in a different direction. “Give us a couple minutes.” She flashes a sweet smile at Derrick and a pleading expression to Joe for him to also be nice.

Joe waits until they’re out of hearing distance. He then slaps Derrick on the arm. “Don’t take it personally. That’s just Byron. He’s always been a hothead.”

Derrick gives a nervous laugh, showing off braces that Joe didn’t notice before. He refrains from frowning. Ri could definitely do better than this dweeb. “You like Ri?”

Derrick shrugs, offering an unimpressive. “She’s alright.”

And that’s all Joe needs to hear to know what this kid is really about. Stepping toward him, he keeps his voice leveled and expression ice cold. “Do anything to hurt her, and you won’t have to worry about Byron.” He gives a steel smile. “I’m the one you’ll never see coming.”

———-

Present 

Post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) 

Or some milder form of it. 

Amnesia, at the very least.

That’s what Dr. Reynolds says is the cause of Mari’s complete loss of memory. A result of the head trauma she received from the accident. A prognosis that somehow feels almost worse than the coma, at least to Joe.

Because for the life of him, he doesn’t know how to look at the woman he’s known his entire life, and have her look back at him like he’s a stranger, like she has no idea who he is. 

Because she doesn’t have any idea who he is.

As devastating as that blow is, he knows it hits harder for her parents. April nearly collapsed in Byron Sr’s arms as Dr. Reynolds informed them of Mari’s memory loss.

She was in tears, desperately asking, “but—but she’ll get them back, right, doctor?”

And Joe only has to glance at the doctor, the way his lips press together before he informs sympathetically, “we don’t know. Some patients do eventually retrieve their memories. Others….others never do.”

Joe can’t even allow himself to think of the latter option. 

A couple days post coma, he knocks on her door, seeing she’s alone, her parents most likely grabbing food or something.

She glances at the door offering a small smile that doesn’t meet her eyes. It’s insincere, and he doesn’t know how to feel about that either, because one of the things he’s always loved about her has always been her smile. So big and infectious. Just like her personality. 

“Hey.” There’s nothing big and infectious about her almost unsure tone. 

“Hey.” He doesn’t wait for her to welcome him in, just walks in, taking the seat on the side of her bed. “How you feeling?”

She gives a one sided shrug. He notices the cuts and bruising on her face have gone down tremendously. That's a plus in a situation full of minuses. “Don’t know.” After obviously thinking about the question more, she offers a more descriptive answer. “Very...confused.”

“About?” He then adds. “Maybe I can clear it up for you.”

“I don’t know. It’s….it’s mostly about who I am.” He could definitely answer that one for her. She shakes her head, providing an example. “Like, I’m apparently this big singer, but I can’t even think about singing right now. It doesn’t—it doesn’t even feel like me.” She chuckles bitterly. “Not that I know who me is.”

“You love music. Always have. And you’re good at it. Singing. Writing. Producing. Dancing. All of it.” She looks over at him as he says with all the honesty and sincerity, “there’s nothing, creatively, you can’t do.”

Mariella nods, as if taking in the information to analyze later on. “What about you?” She asks. “What do you do?”

A lot of things. A lot of things he now regrets deeply. But, that’s not her question. “Professional wrestler.” He starts to say WWE to see if she knows what that is, but that isn’t important. Shit about him isn’t the priority. 

Mariella looks him over, nodding. “It fits.”

He smiles a bit. The first he’s done in weeks. “What else do you want to know?”

She’s quiet for a few moments before asking the question he didn’t know he was dreading until now. “How did I end up here?”

What a loaded question he was absolutely not prepared for.

There’s a lot of things that led them to where they are right now. A lot of which he blames himself for, and her as well, but not nearly as much as he blames himself. They both played a role in how badly their relationship deteriorated, but Joe puts the bulk of it on himself. 

He’s older and should know better.

But, the specific incident that resulted in her accident, the blowout that ended with her requesting the one thing she always swore she never wanted to have happened when they got married…that’s it.

That is the truth she is probably looking for. It’s a truth, however, he can’t find it in him to tell her.

Because selfishly, he doesn’t want that to be the thing to trigger her memories, or any memories of all the things that have gone so terribly wrong the past two years. He doesn’t want that for her.

Doesn’t want it for them.

It’s why he settles on an answer that’s neither a lie but also not the full truth.

“You had a lot on your mind and went for a drive.” His voice shifts into something quiet. He’s still trying to process his feelings about that part of this whole thing. “You were hit head on by a drunk driver.”

Silence.

For a brief second, he’s unsure if he should have just told the truth. Been honest with her and let the cards fall as they may.

And then she speaks.

“Well, that’s unfortunate.” He looks up. Joe sees it. That sense of humor that some could only take in doses, but for him, it’s always been a highlight. She’s always been able to put a smile on his face even in the darkest of his days. “How long have we been married?”

Another unexpected question, but he answers truthfully. “This March makes 11 years.”

“Wow.” This seems to take her by surprise. “And how long have we been together?”

“That….that’s a bit of a long story.”

She lifts her brow, gesturing to her hospital bed. “Not like I have anywhere to be.”

He chuckles. She has a point, but the story of them…that seems too complicated or detailed to share in a freaking hospital. Because in his mind, he’s started to sort the different ways and things he can do to help remind her of who she is. 

Of who they were. 

Finally, he answers, “I just—I think you should—” 

There’s a knock on the door, Joe turning to see April and Byron Sr.

April is the first to speak, walking over to them. “I’m sorry to interrupt.” She’s almost hesitant to move too close. Joe can see she wants nothing more to engulf her youngest in a hug but recognizes the same almost uncomfortable expression Mariella wore the minute he walked in.

“It’s okay.” He assures, going to stand up. “I’ll leave you guys—”

“Actually,” Byron Sr. interjects, shooting Joe a sympathetic expression. “We were hoping to speak with you.” He looks toward Mariella, and Joe hates it. Hates the almost discomfort that exists between them. She’s always been super close with her parents. Especially her dad. “If that’s alright, sweetheart?”

Mariella shrugs, clearly unbothered. “Sure.” She starts to lay back in her bed a little. “I’m kinda tired anyway.”

Joe wonders how much of that is truth, and how much of it is her just wanting to be alone from people who are virtual strangers.

Strangers…

That’s definitely a word he never thought could be used in any context regarding Mariella.

Once outside the room and in the private waiting area, her parents wait until a set of nurses pass before April is the first to speak. She reaches over and places a comforting hand. “How are you doing, Joe? Really?”

A mess. He’s a fucking mess. Joe has seen much, much better days than the past few weeks. But, he also doesn’t want to make this about him, about his mental state, so he provides a half truth.

“Been better.” His response is gruff as he quickly moves to change topics. “What about you guys?”

Having his wife have no idea who he is is brutal, but he can’t even begin to imagine what it’s been like for two parents to not have their youngest child recognize them, to have no idea who they are.

Byron Sr. is the first to answer, mirroring his son-in-law’s words. “Been better.” 

April shifts in her seat, bringing her hand back to her lap. “We umm—we spoke to Dr. Reynolds earlier today.”

Joe looks up, partially wondering why he wasn’t present for that meeting. “Okay.”

“She doesn’t remember anything, Joe. Not her childhood. Not her family. Not…not even us.” April voice breaks at the end of her statement as Joe looks away. Hearing this again isn’t exactly helpful, though he would never disrespect her parents by asking them to shut up. Even if it’s what he wants. “And we—well, we just think—”

Byron Sr. cuts in, hand on his wife’s knee. “We want to take her back home with us, Joe.” Joe’s stomach drops. “We want to take her back to Florida.”

———-

Spring, 2022

Cameras.

That’s the one thing Mariella, Mari, still struggles to get used to. The bright lights flashing in her face as her photo is taken, whether on the red carpet, on the stage, or even when she’s just making a run to the grocery store. The latter one hasn’t happened as much as it used to, for which she’s grateful, but still.

So there’s a bit of an adjustment as she looks around the room, the hair and makeup team touching up her face once more before they kick off the segment.

She doesn’t regret it. Doesn’t regret it at all. It’s a good look for him. For her too. And beyond any type of benefit for their careers, she’s just happy she gets to see him.

Because that’s the part she doesn’t think she’ll ever truly get over or be okay with.

The distance.

As directed, she walks down the hall, making sure not to look directly into the camera. This is made infinitely easier by pretending she’s shooting a music video. Which, truth be told, it isn’t very different. 

Mari wears the confused expression perfectly, looking down at her phone as if it has information that could help her when she ‘accidentally’ walks into him.

Head up, she gasps and immediately gets to apologizing, just as was in the script. “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. I wasn’t even looking where I was going.”

His eyes widen as he ‘realizes’ who she is. “Wow. No, you are absolutely fine. Wow. You’re Mari!”

Smiling, she points at him, “and you are…..”

He seems a bit taken back at first, like he’s waiting for her to also recognize him. When that doesn’t happen, he offers his hand. “Sami Zayn. Master strategist and locker room leader.”

She nods, perfectly conveying another confused look at just what that means. “Does—does that mean you’re good with directions? Cause I suck at them.”

“It absolutely does, and you are in luck, because I just so happen to be free right now and would love to give you a tour.”

She opens her mouth to protest, “oh, that’s so sweet, but I really should—” she looks down at her phone. “You know what, I’m a little early, so why not?”

“Awesome.” He claps his hands together and offers his arm. Mari smiles and links hers in his as he starts leading them down the hall, pointing out the most obvious of things. 

The camera cuts, and she engages in conversation with Sami, who’s actually a lot like the ‘character’ he plays. Super charismatic and engaging. Kinda reminds her of herself. So much so that before she realizes, they’re back to recording after having moved across the arena. 

“And lastly we have—” His eyes suddenly widen as he realizes where they are, Sami moving his hand to her back as he directs them in the opposite direction. “Wait, we do not want to go—”

“There it is!” Mari, however, is smiling brightly as she walks toward the door.

Sami looks like he’s about to have a panic attack, frantically warning, “Mari, I know you’re like an international mega star, but trust me, you do not want to bother that man—” He’s silenced by her knocking on the door. 

His face is turning red as he urgently whispers to her, “we should really get out of here. Like right now!.”

She turns to him, confused. “Why?”

And before Sami can respond, the door is ripped open, the scowling faces of the Usos the first thing Sami lands on. He’s preparing to get chewed out only for them to look at Mari and instantly start smiling.

“Whassup, Mari!” Jimmy is the first to greet her, pulling her in for a hug. Followed by Jey, the two of them engaging in some secret handshake that ends with a ‘Yeet’.

Sami, however, laughs nervously, gesturing between the three. “Wait, you—you guys know Mari?”

Jimmy answers, slinging his arm around her. “Man, of course. This family!”

“You’re related to them?” Sami asks, eyes wide. 

Mari opens her mouth to answer when another person emerges from the private locker room, taking up almost the entire door frame, face stoic and eyes cold. 

Sami looks like he’s about to piss himself. He swallows. “My Tribal Chief, I’m so sorry—”

He’s interrupted by Mari who smiles and pulls away from Jimmy to walk up to Roman.“Hi, baby.” Sami looks on stunned as she leans up and kisses his cheek, pressing her body into his, hand on his abs. “Sorry, I’m a bit late.” She grins over at Sami. “Sami was giving me a tour of the place.”

The reddening of his cheeks is about what and what with the red of his hair. “I don’t—I’m not—”

Playfully rolling her eyes as Roman continues to look like he’s contemplating murder, she lifts her left hand, showing off a beautiful diamond ring. “Roman’s my husband.”

Mouth open like a child who just found out Santa isn’t real, Sami does his best to reel in his surprise. “Of course, you’re married. I totally knew that!” He laughs nervously, hands on his hips. “That’s why I gladly brought you to the Tribal Chief myself. Wanted to ensure nothing but the best for the Bloodline’s first lady.”

“That was really sweet of you. Thank you.” She continues to smile, and Roman continues to send daggers with just one, stolid expression. Mari peers up, kissing him again as she reaches for his hand. “Come on.” She tugs him toward the inside of the locker room, Roman finally budging as he gives Sami one last look that has the redhead contemplating requesting a switch to Raw. 

However, as Jimmy and Jey go to follow along with their cousin, Roman is quick to slam the door in their faces. 

“Hey, Uce, uhhh,—” Jimmy tries to jangle the knob only to realize it’s locked. He starts knocking. “Roman! Hey, you gon let us in?”

A couple seconds later the door does open, but it’s Solo, followed by Paul Heyman. Wise Man closes the door behind him. He looks around, briefly bewildered and clears his throat, announcing, “The Tribal Chief has requested to be left alone this evening.” 

Sami is the only one to laugh, playfully shoving Solo and pointing to the locker room. “I bet he has.” Solo, however, also looks like he’s also contemplating murder. Sami coughs awkwardly and turns to walk away, just as the camera crew announces ‘cut’.

The remaining men share laughs about the promo, meanwhile inside the locker room Mariella relishes in the feel of being reunited with her husband in real life, and now in the WWE kayfabe verse.

She’s pressed against his body, arms around his neck with his locked around her waist, holding her to him. “Hey, Big Daddy.”

Roman, Joe, rolls his eyes. Mariella giggles. She knows he has such a love/hate relationship with the term of endearment, one of many she has for the massive man before her. “You miss me?”

He makes a sound, leaning down to connect their lips. “Always, baby.” 

She smiles into their kiss, “good answer.” His big hands venture down to squeeze her ass, Mariella moaning into his mouth which triggers something for him. He lifts her up, her legs locking around his waist as he goes to sit back down in the big leather chair. Joe’s tongue entering her mouth is enough to elicit another moan but also alert her to the fact of where he wants to take this.

“Baby, we cannot do the nasty at your job.”

“I don’t know why you still call it that.” His fake irritation makes her giggle. It’s an inside joke between them that she’ll never let die so long as she lives. “And who says we can’t?”

“I don’t know. The FCC?” He rolls his eyes as she grasps at his beard that she can tell he dyed recently. Most likely because of his job. She wishes he could leave it be. She likes the gray. It does….things to her. “Besides, you know the deal. If we do it right now, we can’t do it tonight.” He continues to move his hands across her ass. “Mama’s got a show this Sunday, and I’d rather not be rendered immobile because my husband impaled me on his big ole’ dick.”

Again, Joe rolls his eyes, even though there’s more truth to her statement than the typical playful jokes she cracks at any given time. Joe has a high sex drive. She’s known this for some years. Mariella, however, does not. And it’s not even that she doesn’t enjoy sex with her husband. It’s that her husband doesn’t know how to stop, doesn’t know how to come, make her come one time for the one time, and just be done with it.

No. This man wants rounds. And truthfully, she just doesn’t have the stamina to keep up with him. Outside of porn stars, she doesn’t know who would.

Man is an absolute beast.

“So damn dramatic,” he chuckles against her neck. “You know I be doing most of the work anyway.”

She opens her mouth to protest. “Okay, that may or may not be true.” She can feel him smiling against her. It’s not like he minds. Joe is dominant in the sheets, wanting to be in control at all times. Her preference given he’s much more well versed in the sexual arts than she is. “But, in my defense, you’re built like a Greek god.” A Samoan god. “I get winded walking up the staircase in our house.”

“Bullshit.” He pulls back, pointing out. “You be on that stage dancing your ass off for damn near three hours.” 

She rolls her eyes, murmuring, “okay, that also may or may not be true.” Mari’s eyes flutter as he moves his hand under her dress. Long, thick fingers easily pushing aside her underwear, feeling the pool of her arousal. She squeezes his shoulders. “Joe….”

He grunts almost, gliding his fingers across her wet folds. She exhales sharply. “You this wet already and really want me to think you don’t want Big Daddy to fuck this tight lil’ pussy?”

Whining against him, Mariella unconsciously tries to move around on his lap to get his fingers back on her. In her, preferably. And it’s when he enters one of those deliciously talented fingers inside of her gushy opening, she caves. “Fine.” He smirks as she warns, “but you’re pushing me around in the wheelchair after!”

———-

Between a rock and a hard place.

That’s how Joe has felt the past few weeks, maybe even longer. But especially now.

He knows Ri’s parents are right. That they have every right to want her to spend time at home with them, in the place where she grew up, where most of her formative years and subsequent formative memories lie. Logically, it makes sense.

But, he can’t seem to get past his discomfort at the fact that Ri won’t be getting discharged and coming home with him. No, she’ll be discharged and hop on a plane with them back to Florida. Selfishly, he was hoping the doctor wouldn’t clear her to fly, but that plan went out the window. Dr. Reynolds is clearly on the same page with her parents about the potential benefit of being around constant triggers. Triggers that could help generate memories.

And Joe isn’t against that. At all. 

It’s just the fact that he won’t be there that rubs him the right way. 

“Joe.”

His eyes shut, an instant headache coming on. This is the last thing he needs. 

Turning around, he’s met with Olivia “Liv” Holmes default stare of icy indifference. Out of all of Mariella’s siblings, her family in general, Liv has always been his least favorite.

For a lot of different reasons. The main one being how she always treated Mariella when they were younger. Not mean, per se. But not kindly either. She always acted like Mariella was annoying, and she definitely could be at times, but not to the extent that Liv made it seem.

Like Mariella was just this big nuisance. It’s part of the reason she always wanted to hang out with him and Byron when they were growing up, because Liv spent most of her time with her twin sister, Everly, and her own friend group.

“Liv.” He really doesn’t feel like talking to anyone, let alone her. Their interactions have always been brief and limited to what is essential. For good reason too.

“I take it my parents told you we’re taking Ella back home to Florida with us.”

Joe has to bite back a smartass comment. Liv’s smirk and the almost smug tone of her voice isn’t what he needs right now.

“Yes.” He matches her energy a bit, reminding. “For the first couple weeks, at least. Then I’m going to bring her back home with me.” 

Where she belongs.

Liv smiles, but there’s nothing friendly about it. “We’ll see.”

Joe gives her a look. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You know she called me.” He freezes. “The night of the accident.” Joe manages to keep a calm face despite his surprise at her words. Mariella has never been close with Liv, most of their communication occurring via texts and family group chats. 

There’s only one reason she would call her sister who happens to be a divorce attorney.

“I want a divorce.”

Liv continuing to speak is ironically appreciated, as it pulls him from the memories of what is now an infamous argument. “I was sleeping and missed her call, but she didn’t leave a message. Kinda wishing she did, because I’m still trying to figure out just what the hell she was doing out on the road that late at night.” 

He keeps his cool. Somehow. “I already told you—”

“I know what you said, Joe.” Her interruption is sharp. “I also don’t believe you, because what the hell could she have so heavy on her mind after winning 5 Grammys?” She crosses her arms. “It doesn’t make sense.”

When he doesn’t say anything, she continues her accusatory assault. “You seem to forget that we were in high school together, Joe. I know how you were.” At this, he can’t say anything, can’t necessarily defend himself against truth. “You and Byron fucked damn near half the girls in our school, probably at college too, and then all of a sudden you turn in your hoe card to be with my baby sister? Because you love her? I never bought that shit for a minute.”

While he can’t deny his promiscuous past, Joe isn’t about to stand here and let this woman act like he’s this horrible person who took advantage of Mariella. “What’s your point, Liv? Huh? I’m not fucking stupid. I know you never approved of me being with Ri, but just like I didn’t give a fuck then, I still don’t give a fuck now.”

Liv does relatively well hiding her disapproval among her family, to some extent. But Joe has always been hip to her truth. She thinks Mariella should have gotten with someone else, anyone else probably. Anyone who wasn’t him.

Liv, who has never done well with being challenged, steps forward, glare intense and purposeful. “I’m gonna find out what happened that night, Joe. Because I know there’s something you’re not telling us.” He keeps up his unreadable expression, though there’s a small chunk of guilt swimming around the back of his head. Not even about not being completely honest with Mariella’s family.

More about not being honest with her.

She lowers her voice. “And when I do find out—”

“Liv.”

Joe and Liv turn to see Byron Jr. standing before them with a disappointed expression.

Arms crossed, he steps toward them, focused more on Liv than Joe. “Don’t be starting no shit today, alright? This the last thing we need.”

In recent years, especially since becoming a father, BJ has matured from his hotheaded days, often even a voice of reason. One of the reasons he’s been voted Locker Room captain for his team, the 49ers, 3 years in a row.

Liv rolls her eyes. “You’ve always been blinded by your friendship with him—”

“Hey.” Byron raises his voice a bit. “I mean it. You blaming people doesn’t change what happened, and you know damn well Ella would have a fit at you coming at Joe like this.”

Not really. Maybe before. Before everything collapsed so tragically between the two of them.

“Whatever.” She gives a final almost warning glare to the two of them before stalking off, probably to go see Mariella.

BJ places a comforting hand on Joe’s shoulder once she’s gone. “You good, man?” 

Not at all. “Yeah.” He clears his throat. 

BJ gives a sad smile. “Don’t let Olevil get to you.” Her nickname from back when they were in high school makes Joe chuckle. “You going back to work next week?”

Joe blows out a breath. That hasn’t even crossed his mind the past couple weeks. He doesn’t even really know what storyline they came up with to cover his absence. Nor does he care really. “I haven’t even thought about that, man.”

“I think you should.” And before Joe can protest, Byron lifts his hand. “Hear me out. She’s gonna be with our parents for a few weeks, so you know she’ll be in good hands. What you gon’ do while she’s gone? Sit around the house sad and moping and shit? You know she would be chewing you out for that, telling you that you gotta get back in the game.”

Joe gives a bit of a smile. Byron is right. Knowing Mariella, she’d have a whole theatrical ass presentation as to why he should return to work, song and dance included. 

“Yeah…”

Byron slaps him on his shoulder. “Just think about it, alright?” 

Joe nods, because he will. And not for himself, not even for his job, because he doesn’t give a fuck about that right now.

But for Mariella.

His Ri. 

Because she’ll always be his Ri.

And he’s determined to make sure she doesn’t forget it this time.

———-

Spring, 2022 [cont.]

“Baby!” It’s a distant voice that becomes closer as it's repeatedly conjoined with a small hand shaking at his shoulder. “Baby, wake up.”

And he does. Eyes fluttering open, his vision is blurred initially, gradually clearing up to reveal the face of his beautiful wife. Cognizant of his surroundings, Joe realizes she’s sitting on top of him, notebook and pen in hand.

He smiles. It’s been a while since she’s woken him up for this. And while he’ll regret it in the morning, he’s grateful for it now. Grateful for these little callbacks to when they were broke, living in a crappy apartment, trying to chase the dream as inspiration struck her at all hours of the night. And she would wake him up, wanting his feedback. 

He didn’t really mind then. 

And he doesn’t really mind now.

That’s just his Ri.

Eyes squinting, she asks, “you up?”

He chuckles, also enjoying the sight of her straddling him wearing only his shirt. “Yes, baby. I’m up.”

“About time,” she complains, and he rolls his eyes. So damn dramatic. “I’m feeling inspired.” She says it while giving almost jazz hands, pretty brown eyes landing back on him. “Wanna hear the lyrics?”

He yawns, glancing at the digital clock that reads 2:37AM. “What else would I be doing at this time?”

She glares. “Is that sarcasm I detect, mister? Is it my fault my musical muse comes alive at night? That she flourishes when most—”

“Ri.”

“Huh?”

He closes his eyes. Joe loves Mariella with everything in him, but he’s not in the mood for one of her theatrical tangents at damn near 3 o’clock in the morning. “Lyrics.”

“Oh! Right!” Chuckling, he watches as she reads over whatever she’s written to herself at first. A bit of a habit. She’s always initially self-conscious about her lyrics. “Now, it’s just off the top of my head, so be nice, okay?”

“I’m always nice to you, Ri.” It’s the truth. As annoyed as he can get sometimes, she’s never been on that list. “And I’m sure it’s fine.” 

She smiles appreciatively, slightly taking him by surprise as she quietly sings the lyrics versus just reading them to him.

Yellow diamonds in the light

Now we're standing side by side

As your shadow crosses mine

What it takes to come alive

It's the way I'm feeling I just can't deny

But I've gotta let it go

We found love in a hopeless place

Finished, she looks down at him, expectantly, “well?”

“I love it.” He loves most of what she writes though. He especially loves to hear her sing. “What inspired it?”

“I don’t know. I was just thinking about us. About how far we come.” She shrugs, his hands rubbing circles on her hips. “Your show was sold out tonight, Joe. Mine is sold out too. Like, we both sold out Madison Square Garden. That feels almost too perfect to be true.”

He makes a sound. “But, it is, baby.”

“I know.” She sighs heavily and asks in a partial hypothetical tone. “We’re like really hot shit, huh?” Joe chuckles as she gasps and places her tablet down on his chest, quickly writing something down. He says nothing, having been with her for so long that none of her quirky ways really surprise him anymore.

“Also.”

“Also?”

She glares but moves to place the notebook and pen on the nightstand, resting her hands on his chest. “I was thinking about our conversation earlier…” He’s quiet, waiting patiently for her to finish her sentence even if it does have him a bit on edge. He’s never been good with waiting. “Let’s do it.”

Her answer takes him by surprise. “You sure?”

She nods, tugging at his beard. “We’re not getting any younger.” She giggles, eyes playfully narrowing. “Especially you, old man.” 

At that, he sucks his teeth. “Who you calling old?” He squeezes her side, and she squeals. He knows that’s where she’s ticklish. She falls out, laughing, and he takes the advantage of her being distracted to flip them so she’s flat on her back. “Naw, say it again. I ain’t hear you.”

“Joe, stop,” she giggles as he hovers over her, tickling her until she pushes back against his shoulder. He grabs her hand, restricting her when she opens her eyes. Her laughter quietly dies down when their eyes lock. 

Love. 

So much love.

Joe leans down and connects their lips, softly, slowly, just as meaningful as any other kiss they’ve shared. She moans into his mouth, feeling his hardened length graze against her opening, her essence already making its way down her inner thighs.

He feels this too, groaning and lifting her thigh to widen her as he carefully enters her, watching her arch her back at the entrance. She whimpers, hands moving around his shoulders.

He kisses her wrist, watching the pleasure on her face as he gives her deep strokes, slow and plunging, just how he knows she likes it. “Shhhh….let me take care of you, baby.”

And he does.

He always has.

He always will.

[atinylittlepain]

June - Part One

joel miller x f!OC

series masterlist

warnings | 18+ dark themes surrounding suicidal ideation and attempt, eventual smut, angst

a/n | well, I'm a bit nervous to share this one. as I mentioned before, this is going to be quite different than anything I have put out before. Each part is going to be much shorter than my usual fare - anywhere from 2K to 2.5K. Again, please take care reading this, I am touching on very tender topics. I also need to thank @wannab-urs and @jksprincess10 and @beskarandblasters for supporting me through writing this, so much gratitude for you both.

....................................

Cheer up, honey, I hope you can

There is something wrong with me

My mind is filled with silvery stars

Honey, kisses, clouds of fog

"Radio Cure" by Wilco

....................................

She’s a difficult woman. When she wants to be. And he supposes she does. He supposes she’s angry at him. She had made that clear enough. He had taken something from her, a choice, an escape, a way out. But she had taken it from him too. They hold each other’s lives between their teeth, waiting for the other to bite down, to show mercy, to bleed out.

They won’t let her go outside the gates anymore, no patrol shifts. And they have her staying with one of the doctors in town, a watchful eye. From what he’s heard, it isn’t going well. From what he sees, it isn’t going well. Joel isn’t sleeping these days because she isn’t either. He follows her, a shadow, not daring to get too close lest she decides to snap at his presence. 

Most nights, she circles her cage like a despondent animal, fingertips running along the wall that keeps her from doing it again. And he follows after her, willing her to turn over her shoulder, to look at him, to offer him anything. He would take anything she’s willing to give. 

And then he does something to upset her even more. It comes up between him and his brother on patrol. The doctor she’s staying with is at her wit’s end with her. Coming and going at strange hours, silent and snarling. So he offers up the spare room in his house and suddenly she’s stomping up his porch with a backpack and a scowl.

“What exactly are you trying to do?” He has to admit, it’s a good question. One he’s not sure of the answer to.

“You need somewhere to stay, and I have the space.”

“Because your kid doesn’t want to live here anymore?” 

“She ain’t my kid.” 

“Yeah right.”  He’s just content to have her looking at him again, even if she is trying to dig her claws in. But her eyes flicker away fast.

“It’s only for a month. Then they’re gonna let me have my apartment back.” “Whatever you say, June. Your room is upstairs, second door on the–” 

“It’s not fair, you know.” “What’s that?”

“The only difference between you and I is that I got caught. And now I’m stuck in a fucking cage. You may have played hero, but I know why you were out there.” She doesn’t give him a chance to respond, shouldering past him into the house and trudging upstairs. 

For the first time since Ellie left, he starts cooking. Mostly because she’s not eating. Or at least he never sees her eating, no trips to the dining hall, and she only passes through the kitchen to get upstairs. So he starts cooking, albeit simply, leaving plates outside her closed door, happy to see them cleared in the morning. His pants start fitting better again, belt not done on the tightest notch anymore. And he’d like to think she starts looking different too, a little brighter after a few weeks of square meals. 

She doesn’t wander at night anymore. He’s always waiting on the porch to see her come home. She’s even started to mutter a low goodnight when she passes him to go inside, something beating and flickering inside his ribs when she does. 

He knows from Maria that she’s started working at the garden, and one night she comes home with a basket, a few ears of corn, pale and silky in their husks, and strawberries bright enough to make his mouth water. She sets the basket down at his feet, her eyes not meeting his, though she gives him a curt nod before going inside, the light click of the screen door shaking him out of his stupor. 

Sliced into bleeding slivers, how Sarah liked them, with a drizzle of honey where he would have sprinkled sugar, how Sarah liked them. But instead of setting the bowl down outside her door, he decides to knock, and she decides to let him in. 

They sit on the edge of the bed, close enough to hold the bowl between them, their fingers staining sticky from the sweet syrup of the treat, saccharine singing down their throats. And when all the berries are gone, they pass the bowl back and forth, lapping up any remaining sweetness, mouths smacking with want. Her lips are red, swollen from the way she licks at them to chase up what’s left of the taste, and his eyes dart from them to her temple, a much darker red, still healing, still raised and scabbed. 

“Stop looking at it.” 

“I’m not.” “Yes, you are. Everyone does.”

“You wanna look at mine?” Her eyes widen, and he’s already turning his head, running a finger along the sliver on his temple.

“You–”

“I missed, just like you.”

“But you weren’t gonna miss this time, were you?” 

“No, I wasn’t. I’m glad you did though.” It’s the exact wrong thing to say, and he can see the way she shuts down, furling back in on herself, turning away from him, covering the side of her face with her palm.

“Goodnight, Joel.” A long sigh, slipping through his fingers.

“Goodnight, June.” 

…

At the end of the month, she doesn’t leave. There is no conversation about it. She simply doesn’t leave. And Joel has to swallow down his elation at that. 

Soon, her baskets laid at his feet turn into her helping him in the kitchen. They settle into silent rhythms, hips bumping as fat sizzles in the pan, the dull chop of vegetables and the savory sear of meat cooking. They eat together on the back porch, sitting side by side, taking in the lingering light of summer as they fill their bellies. An act that promises permanence. Her scar is quickening, new skin, new, new, new. And when he reaches out for her, his fingers skating over that arced line, she lets him. 

“Can I see yours again?” A nod, a tilt of his head, and a shiver when her fingers press over his scar. 

“I’m glad you missed, Joel.” She kisses angry, her fingers curling in his hair, swallowing up his groan when she tugs too hard. All teeth, nipping, clicking against his, and he wants more, more, more. He goes greedy with it, hands pulling at clothes, pressing her closer, as close as he can, pulling her into his lap and she’s warm, sharp, softening her snarl only slightly when he licks into her mouth. But she’s gone in a flash, pulling away with a gasp, stumbling down the porch steps, all but falling onto her ass as she wipes at her mouth with the back of her hand, eyes wild and wide. And Joel aches because he had her, he had her, and it felt so good and she’s already snapping back and away. 

“I– I’m sorry, June.” She doesn’t offer him anything else, darting past him and back inside. He sits there, slack, long after the sun dips down below the mountains, a shiver setting on him in the chill of the night. 

But she stays. She gets quiet again, cagey, no longer eating with him, only clipped greetings when they pass each other. But she stays. 

He’d like to say something, anything, but in the fleeting moments he sees her, he finds himself choking on words, his throat constricting and she’s already gone. So it’s a surprise when one day, she comes home and wordlessly sits down next to him on the porch. He doesn’t move, barely even breathes, a hummingbird beat away from her disappearing.

“Why doesn’t your kid live with you anymore?” 

“She ain’t my–”

“Fine, why doesn’t not your kid live with you anymore?” An inhale and an exhale, he has to clear his throat before he answers.

“I lied to her. And did a lot of things she didn’t agree with.”

“Why’d you do that?”

“I was trying to protect her.” 

“Did you?”

“Did I what?” “Protect her?” 

“I suppose I did. Reckon if this is the price I have to pay– for her to be safe– I’m fine with that.”

“Is that why you were out there that night?” 

“Yes.” She hums at that, the both of them still looking straight ahead. He can feel the warmth of her from where her thigh rests so close to his.

“Why haven’t you tried again?” He finally breaks, turning his head to squint at her, her eyes finding his.

“What do you mean?” 

“They don’t think you’re crazy. Not like me. Nobody would blink twice if you went back out there. So why haven’t you tried again?” It’s pure curiosity, no emotion behind her question, an honest and open desire to know.

“Because I’ve been busy keeping you from trying again.” It’s not the truth, at least not the whole of it, and he can tell she knows it, her lips curling into a smile. She’s just as good at this game as he is.

“Can I see yours?” Her hair has grown out more from where they had to shave it, and she has to tuck some of it back to show him the full line of her scar, still dark and jagged. He’s not sure if she’ll flinch, jerk away if he reaches out, but it’s a relief when she doesn’t, pressing her temple into the cup of his palm.

“I’m sorry, Joel.”

“Nothing to be sorry for, June.” He hopes that if he moves slower this time, only taking what she gives, that she won’t pull away. And she doesn’t, letting his lips brush against hers, a fluttering little thing. He swears he can hear it, something cracking in his chest, ribs breaking to make room for this new swell of warmth as she presses her lips to his again, a little more certain, a little more insistent. Her hand comes to rest at the collar of his shirt, fingers curling into the fabric when he sweeps his tongue along her bottom lip, a question that she responds to in kind, opening up to him with a sweet sigh. 

Sweet, sweet, sweet. No snap, no snarl, just a simple slip of her mouth pressed to his. He’s going to have to ration it, this sweetness, willing himself to pull away before she spooks. His hand is on hers, and her hand is on his, thumbs sweeping, back and forth, back and forth, tracing the secret they share. 

“You hungry?”

“Not really.” 

“Do you want to make dinner?”

“Okay.” 

She’s always not really hungry. He knows by now that it means nothing. And sure enough, he has to hide a smile when she pockets a perfect cherry tomato in her cheek as they start on dinner. 

“There's extra blankets in that closet if you need them. Since it’s getting colder at night and all.” Dinner had been a silent volley of glances, punctuated by long sighs. And now, standing in the hallway, somewhere between his own room and where she’s standing in front of hers, Joel feels completely adrift. 

“Okay, thank you. I think there’s a draft in my window actually. It’s been cold in there these last few nights.”

“I’ll trade for some caulk tomorrow. Get that fixed for you.” Something passes over her face, a quick fall that he finds his mind hurrying to figure out. Oh, oh.

“Would you– my room is plenty warm. I can take the couch.” 

“I don’t want you to take the couch.”

“Okay.” 

He’s already under the covers when she pads into his room, wearing a large sweater and a pair of leggings.

“Are you really that cold?” “I run cold.” He has to bite back a laugh at that, simply nodding, keeping his hands clasped over his chest as she slips into bed on the other side. She’s quick about it, rolling onto her side, facing away from him and tugging the sheets up to her chin.

He tries, he really does, his hands itching in resistance. It feels like a leap, a moment of freefall when he reaches across the mattress, settling his hand on her shoulder. But she catches him, bringing her palm to rest over his, fingers furling in a gentle tug. Come closer, I will not bite, I will not run, not this time. 

The gap is closed with a simple curl of his arm over her waist, his chest slipping snug against her back, rising and falling in time with her thrumming ribs.

“Your feet are really cold.”

“I’m sorry, I told you.”

“That’s okay, June. I don’t mind.” 

[kaybreezy3000]

The Devil Within

Five Hargreeves / Reader Insert

Five Hargreeves has not lived an easy life and no matter where he ends up, things never seem to get much better for him.

Stuck inside a body that's his but not, Five is having a hard time moving on, but sometimes all it takes to totally flip a person's view of things is one very special dark and mysterious night.

-note: female OC will remain unnamed and mostly non-descript to give this one a sort of reader insert-ish vibe.

Warnings and extra tags: sexually explicit content, mind games, a little bit of Klaus and Dolores in this one, dubious consent, violent behavior, rough sexual behavior, Dominance and Submission, dirty talking Five, daddy kink, biting, blood, mild body dysmorphia, public sex, Five has many lovey issues but he's still our sweet boy so hang tight-he's going to pull you through all sorts of emotions with this smutty story😏

(23,127 words 4 chapters total)

Link to Chapters 1 and 2

Chapter 3: Angels and Demons

The girl’s mouth snapped shut and her grin disappeared the second Five’s knife was on her.

“What did you do to me; answer me this time!” he fumed.

She lurched forward, trying to latch on to Five’s leg. When he jerked backwards to dodge her, his blade slipped, slicing a small line just under her jaw.

Crimson beads of red began to seep down her ivory skin, but less than a second later the wound healed right before Five’s horrified eyes.

With his knife still ready to split her ear to ear, Five removed his hand from the girl's hair but only to grasp her face, pushing her head up so she had to look at him. 

“What the fuck are you!” he screamed as he tried to pry her mouth open.

She twisted her face away, so Five grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to look at him again. 

“I am going to ask one more time,” he warned. “What are you and, what the fuck did you do to me?” 

The girl didn't look scared. She laughed back, flashing her razor-sharp fangs.

Glancing down between them, Five realized his belt was still unfastened and that he was still in range of getting his dick chomped off.

As he was thinking about how close he’d come already to losing his dick, a deep line formed between the girl's brows. 

“Really, Five,” she scoffed. “You were in no danger of me biting your dick off, and you already know what I am because I can hear you thinking it, and the only thing I did to you was what you wanted me to do.” 

“Fuck,” he cursed. “So, let me get this right. You are brain invader and a cock sucking slut who also happens to be a blood sucking vampire?”

The girl did not look thrilled by Five’s assessment of her, and she did not answer, which was plenty confirmation for Five that the woman he just forcefully face-fucked was not very happy with him and she was not human. 

Looking down at her, his mind whirled. As far as Five could tell, the vampire wasn’t trying to fight him, but she had crawled inside his head, speaking unwelcomed words of love. She had violated him by doing that because it had mixed with his thoughts of Dolores, and he’d fallen for it hard.

The vampire had made him her puppet, pulling him along with his invisible strings, and she was right…he wanted it.

Five cranked her head back and she gasped as if it had hurt her, but he wasn't so sure it did because he didn't know what to believe anymore.

“You have been playing with me from the moment you saw me!” he spit as the point of his knife nicked her skin again only this time intentionally. “I am done being manipulated, and I am sure as hell done with being fucked over by monsters masquerading as humans!” 

“Please stop,” she begged, her voice stained from the angle of her neck.

“Please stop what? You fucked with me, it’s only fair I fuck with you,” Five said, mocking her with a spite filled sweetness in his tone as watched her squirm.

Her eyes began to well with moisture and Five couldn’t believe he was seeing such a hurt reaction coming from such a vile being.

His stomach felt sick.

“What did you do to me?” he asked again, his voice hardly above a whisper as he hypnotically watched her slowly blinking away the tears threatening to spill.

The girl slowly swallowed, her eyes floating down to the floor. “I didn’t bite you. I know that’s what you think, but I didn’t. I did tear open that piece of shit in the alley because he was a serial rapist who liked to kill women just for sport. He had dozens of roofies stuffed inside his sweaty ape costume and he planned on using them.

The sound of the metal pipe cracking against that creep’s skull echoed through Five’s mind. He remembered the tiny white tablets spilling to the ground as his body hit the pavement.

Five had been lost in his own dark and depressing thoughts as he had walked down that alley, that to him, when he saw them, it looked like the gorilla man was hurting an innocent young girl. He jumped in and shoved her out of the way just in time. He’d gotten his ass handed to him. He thought the girl had been terrified.

Like a slap to the face, it hit him. 

She wasn’t scared. 

She was exactly where she wanted to be. That man was going to strike her, and her mouth was open, but it wasn’t to scream.

The angel was playing the prey, but really, she was the hunter all along. She had told him that, only he missed so much and refused to see what she was really saying because he was too focused on looking down her shirt and not getting caught. 

In a daze, the blade fell away from her neck. As Five's shaking hand hesitated in front of her, the bloody point left a streak of blood on the bodice of the vampire’s sparkly white dress.

“You don’t need to worry. I took care of that creep,” she said, somehow reading his mind again. “His body will never be found, and nobody saw you there, so there is no way you could be accused of his murder.”

The girl had just admitted to murder, yet she was speaking so gentle, and she wasn’t even trying to get away. Just then, Five noticed that her teeth were normal again. She looked so human that it was hard to remember why he was so mad, and that confusion was making it hard for him to breathe, but still he put the knife to her throat again.

“You did something to me,” he said, part in accusation, and in part question because the truth was, Five wasn’t sure what was happening to him.

The girl somehow looked even more dejected by him saying that but like with everything else Five had wanted of her, she gave in and answered him.

“When I touched you, I knew you were so much more than you appeared to be. I know what it’s like to feel lonely and I wanted…” The girl paused and looked down, then whispered, “You wanted to help me, and I wanted to help you, so I gave you something you weren’t willing to take for yourself and then I healed you.”

As the words ‘take’ and ‘healed you,’ ruminated in Five’s head, he again remembered their kiss and the taste of his own blood filling his mouth.

He was bleeding and he’d felt her teeth on him, but his lip was already split. She didn’t have to bite him to make him bleed.

He was the one that pushed for more of her, and she let him and then she gave him something else that had filled his mouth, and it was amazing, and he was almost certain it wasn't his coppery blood. 

“Fuck…” Five uttered, drawing in an unsteady breath. His eyes darted around their private room as the bass from the bar thrummed to the sound of his own frantic heartbeat that was ringing like an alarm in his ears.

All the pieces were coming together.

The vampire had to have sliced into her own tongue during their heated kiss. He could taste the honeyed poison of her blood, and as bazar as it was, in the moment, he'd willingly gave himself to it, and even worse, right now, even with her cowering at his feet, he wanted to escape in her all over again.

The girl’s fingers skimmed the fabric covering his calf as her voice quivered his name. 

“Five?” 

He looked back down at her, his face contorting with anguish as his body broke out in a cold sweat.

The vampire immediately pulled her hand back in her lap, but just that uninvited advance it was enough to send him defensively spiraling.

Run.

That’s all he could think. Over and over… Run, run, RUN!

All at once, he was sitting at his family’s fancy dining room table, glaring at his siblings and Reginald, blaming them for all his suffering. Five was living a lie at The Umbrella Academy. He felt trapped and plagued by demons that he couldn’t escape. He had to do something.

And the boy did.

He ran.

Then, after a lifetime of suffering, instead of dying, he became something awful.

Coming back to himself with an overwhelming need to escape striking ever nerve in his body, Five looked at the knife in his hand. He dropped it to the floor with a clatter.

A sizzling jolt of energy lit up the air between them. The burst of blue lightning flew out around him, throwing her back. 

Five screamed out from the intensity of the pain that was shooting through him, and then he was gone. 

~~~~~~~~~

In a sudden illumination of light strobing in the shadowy pass between buildings outside, Five plunged out of his portal. The fall leaves scattered off under the dumpsters and lower lever window wells as the energy coming off of him dissipated, but he kept moving, stumbling forward, his hands catching him at the last second on the brick wall he was about to slam into. 

He was hyperventilating and his body was violently shaking from the aftershock of his jump but Five took off again anyway, tearing ass down the dark alleyway on wobbly feet as he struggled to refasten his belt.

He’d just teleported but that wasn't possible anymore. He had no powers, none of them did anymore, but still, he'd just spontaneously ripped through time and space with a rush of terror filled adrenaline and a mere wish to get from a known point A to a known point B. 

Beside himself, Five's face turned up as he squinted at the dark sky and the rooftops looming over him. The light rain mixed with the tears streaming down his burning cheeks. He was sure that he could feel eyes watching him. He saw no one, but still, images of the vampire’s sorrowful eyes filled his vision. 

Cursing, Five tore off his horned headband, throwing it in the gutter as he ran.

Since it was nearing bar time, when he made it to the street, thankfully he wasn’t alone. Rather than keep pumping into people and making himself look even more batshit crazy, Five forced himself to slow to a fast-paced walk. 

For the next six blocks, Five looked over his shoulder dozens of times, but he never saw the vampire. 

By the time he was trampling up the stairs to his and Klaus’s apartment, he was a breathless disheveled mess, and his nerves were shot. He was so shaken that he almost dropped his key three times as he tried to get it in the door.

“Klaus!” Five yelled as he dead bolted the door behind him and threw up the extra chain.

No one replied.

Making his way down the hall into their small living area, Five could see that the apartment was dark except for the light on under the microwave. He flicked the switch on for the table light, his reddened eyes agitatedly looking around their kitchen and the living room.

There was nobody there. 

Going to Klaus’s bedroom door, he found that room dark and empty too.

Normally Five would have preferred Klaus wasn’t home, but at that moment, he wanted Klaus to be there with a childlike neediness that was messing with him even more. 

Entering his own room, he couldn’t see anything because the blackout curtains covering the large window above his bed were fully drawn, so Five rushed over and turned on his bedside lamp.

His emotion blurred vision immediately found Dolores staring back at him and his breath caught, and his chest hurt. 

She was right where he’d left her, on his bed, tucked in under the heavy blankets.

“I am so sorry,” he sobbed as he pulled her out of the tangled nest of bedding.

Five wrapped one arm around her midsection, his other supporting her under the severed joint between her torso and where her lower half should be.

For so many years in the apocalypse Dolores did not have her legs or one of her arms, so like so many of Five’s odd habits, now that he had them, he still preferred to keep those parts of her in his closet, but doing so also served a purpose in keeping her easy to pick up, and now, holding her like he used to was all that was keeping him together.

Standing there feeling guilt-ridden and lost, he cradled Dolores, rocking her as much to calm her as to calm himself. 

Five molded himself around her familiar shape as he pressed muffled words to her cold neck. “Sweetheart, I know you are mad, but I swear what happened tonight meant nothing.”

Dying to feel her acceptance, he pressed his hand to hers, his trembling fingers lacing between the solid form of acceptance. 

“Please say something,” Five begged, but all he got was a bitter response of silence.

For the first time ever, Five couldn’t conjure up that loving voice of reason he had clung to for so long and if he didn't have Dolores inside him, he believed he’d lost the last part of him that was good.

Not even realizing he was doing it, Five panicked. His hand tightened, squeezing Dolores’s fingers so hard that one of them made a quick snapping sound as a hairline fracture crawled up the peachy colored glaze of her flesh. 

“No!” he shrieked when he felt her breaking.

Disgusted with himself and unable to look at what he’d done, Five ripped Dolores’s arm off and kicked it under his bed as if hiding the damage made it not real. 

Holding her to his chest, with her bald head pressed under his chin, Five sunk to the floor.

A heavy sigh heaved out of him as his lips pressed to her temple. “You don’t need to say it, I know that I am nuts. I wouldn't want me either.”

All of a sudden, a loud burst of laughter ripped out of Five’s chest. 

“I am and always have been the devil, and the hell I have been living is mostly of my own creation.”

Five lowered his head, letting Dolores slip from his arms. 

As she lay between his legs, Five’s unfocused eyes looked out at the floor in front of him.

"I need to just own it... This is who I am," he whispered. 

Dolores still said nothing, but this time, Five didn't expect or want her to.

The apartment was almost too quiet. Five could hear the gears slowly turning in the clock hanging his wall.

The fingers resting over his raised knee tightened. He clenched them together so hard that his nails began to cut into his palm.

His power sprang to life, the blue light emanating from his grip with the infinite potential that he’d once believed defined him but was also responsible for so much of his pain.

He was wrong. Five could see that now. He had no one to blame for the choices he’d made, and he was done playing the victim.

“Well, now what,” he muttered as another round of inappropriate laughter threatened to surge out of him. 

“I think that depends on you. Are you done in there?” a female voice questioned from out in his kitchen.

Startled, the light in Five’s hand went out and his head jerked towards his bedroom door.

Holding his breath, he slowly straightened his back. His fingers pushing up on the wooden floor as his body unfolded.

Silently and carefully, he moved Dolores aside to the chair pulled up in front of his desk, then he edged to his bedroom door.

There, perched on top of his and Klaus’s small kitchen table was the vampire, swinging her heels as she offered him a timid looking smile.

“Hey there again, handsome.”

Five’s radiant green eyes moved up, taking in the fake horns settled on top of her head. “Those aren’t yours,” he coolly noted.

“Finder's keepers,” she replied with a girlish spirit that matched her youthful face but not the serious look she was giving him.

“I thought vampires couldn’t come in your house unless they are invited in,” Five stated as he came out into the room, eyeing his knife as she twirled it in her hand with as much stealth as Diego once had.

When he looked to his suit jacket hanging on the back of the chair next to her, the girl’s smile grew just a little more. “Like so many things, that's not true. All it takes to get inside someone’s house is to be very sneaky. And since you are also wondering... I do not sleep in a coffin, and I cannot walk through walls, or fly, and unlike you, I can't just evaporate into thin air. Sometimes I can read what you are thinking, but reading your thoughts is much easier when you are upset, and darling...” her lip quirked, “-you project so loud I can’t help but eavesdrop on you.”

Five raised a brow at the girl. “So, after our little fling at the bar, am I going to turn into a blood sucking bat? And thank you for bringing me my new jacket. I just got that, and it would have been a travesty to lose that one already.”

Looking amused, she shook her head. “You are welcome, and no, you are not going to turn into a bat. You did swallow some of my blood and I got a tiny taste of you, and it was lovely since I enjoy that sort of thing, but our little exchange was not enough to turn you. I don’t need to drain someone to have a good time. That is so cliché and I’ll have you know that I also enjoy eating and drinking other things other than blood.”

“Other things like my jizz?” Five shot back as his unyielding eyes flit down to her chest that not long ago had been decorated with the aftermath of his pleasure.

“Actually,” she drawled as she narrowed her eyes back at him, “I am very fond of caffeinated beverages and spicy Thai noodles followed by huge bowls of chocolate ice-cream with peanut butter and marshmallows mixed in.”

“Hmmm,” Five hummed as his hand came up to his mouth and he stepped closer. “Interesting.”

“I am sure it is,” she softly laughed. 

Five’s knees bumped the vampire’s as he came under the yellow beam of the light hanging above her.

Very slowly, he raised his arm and took his knife from her, sitting it down behind her.

“I am sorry,” she whispered as she gazed back at him, sounding and looking much less sultry and confident than she did a second before.

“I am not sure you are the one that should be saying that,” Five countered as he carefully removed his horns from her head, placing them on the table as well.

The girl’s eyes closed for a moment. Five heard her take in a deep breath, then her icy eyes met his again. “I didn’t mean for this to happen the way it did. I really did just want to help you,” she ruefully offered.

Five let out a small laugh that was nowhere on the level of hysteria as his last one. He ran his hand back through his hair as he eyed the vampire that he had corned on his tabletop.

He leaned in. “Your help did more than heal my face, angel,” he corrected, his tone silvery and sweet but his eyes growing darker the more he studied her.

“I may not be getting all this right, but you teleported?” she questioned and Five heard the girl’s breath pull in as his eyes brazenly traveled down her body.

“I did,” he smoothly replied.

She looked troubled. “Did you want to be able to do that again?” she uneasily asked.

Five didn’t answer, in part because he didn’t know how to answer that, and because his powers were only one of the things that she’d accidentally awoken in him.

Five brought his hands to the girl’s knees, pushing them apart so he could move himself closer. “Why did you follow me here?” he questioned, not even bothering to conceal that he was hungrily staring at her lips as he said it.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Is that it?”

She nodded. 

“Aren’t you the nicest little vampire? Are all of you like this?” Five teased. 

“No,” she laughed. “I am one of the exceptions to the rule in the vast club of blood sucking cock licking sluts, but me coming here is more than that. I wanted to check on you because I really felt like…” The girl looked down, her pale face appearing to redden just a little. 

“You felt like there was something more between us?” Five filled in for her as he frowned over her trying to make a joke over the awful things he'd called her.

“I did,” she said, confirming what she'd already almost admitted at bar. Her face looked so scared yet hopeful as she said it that Five couldn’t help but let the smile he was holding back escape.

As his expression softened, he reached up and touched the girl's cheek, his thumb tentatively caressing her lightly flushed skin. 

To his surprised, the girl trustingly pushed her face into the same hand he had so angrily held her by the hair with, then she said, “Five, I know you think you aren’t worthy of love, but you are. You have more love and strength in you than anyone I have ever met."

A soft puff of air caused his chest to raise and fall as Five laughed at himself and what he was about to say. “Angel, for a vampire, you have a very forgiving way of looking at things and you letting me get away with the shit I do, and you saying all these flattering things about me makes me want to tear you apart, and I know that dysfunction is all my own, but I am finding that I need to confront that demon if I ever want to move on.”

The vampire smiled. 

Five confidently grinned back at her, then with zero hesitation, he tugged her to the edge of the table, causing the wooden legs to bark out in warning against the old linoleum floor.

The girl fell backwards as the old table rocked, her weight landing on her elbows as she looked back at Five in question. “What are you doing?”

“Returning a favor," he calmly stated while at the same time pulling her towards him until her feet dropped to the floor. “Do you want me to play with you again?” he asked as his youthful smile brightened in such a way that he looked every bit the excited young man he appeared to be. 

“Ahhh- Yeah… Yes.” As the girl stumbled over her words, Five only grew more confident.

Before the vampire could question him again, Five spun her around and pushed her down on the table. Flipping up her skirt, he delivered a hard slap with his open hand.

The girl let out a loud cry of surprise and her entire body lurched forward from the impact but Five kept moving fast, hoping that the vampire wouldn’t figure out his next move.

Securely holding her hips, he swiftly bent down and pressed a warm kiss over the red imprint his hand had just left on her ass. “You like daddy to take charge and you like it rough, don’t you, angel?” Five took the edge of her panties in his teeth, pulling them back.

“Yes,” she whimpered as he let them go and the elastic snapped against her. 

“Good,” Five praised as he stood up and started rubbing the backs of her thighs.

Moving along without an ounce of his apprehension left, Five pressed his hips into her backside, keeping her lodged where he wanted as he reached up to start undoing his tie.

Catching his reflection in the mirror on the wall across from him, Five realized that his eyes were glowing with a predatory light. His fingers stopped and he went still as a statue.

The vampire started to push herself up off the table, and not even thinking, eyes still staring at the unfamiliar face looking back at him, Five pressed a hand to her lower back, shoving her down until he was done removing the black silk from his neck.

“Ah-ah-ah… Daddy didn’t say you could go anywhere,” he warned as a devious looking half smile started to form on the devil's face in the mirror.

With that, what was left of the scared boy inside him and the man that wanted to run were gone. Five flipped his tie loose, then took the vampire by the arm and pulled her up. 

Reaching around her front, Five put her wrists together and proceeded to wrap his tie around them.

"Fi-ivv_" His name on a rush of air came out of her mouth at the sudden feel of his teeth slowly sinking into the nape of her neck. 

"Hold still," he lowly growled without letting up.

The high-pitched sound that the girl let as he snapped the silk knot as tight as he could was followed by Five biting down harder.

Unwilling or unable to fight it or him, her body swayed as her head dropped back against his. 

Distracting the vampire with his mouth was so Five could more easily detain her, and once done, he immediately followed that by rolling the warm pressure of his body against her cool backside. 

“Oh fuck, sweetheart. You are making me so hard.”

Hearing that, and feeling Five’s erection rut into her, the vampire tried to turn her head to the side to get a glimpse of him, but he wouldn’t let her.

Catching her throat in his hand, Five turned her forward again, then continued to leisurely grind himself against the girl’s backside, using soft pushes and pulls to direct her hips into his.

This behavior was exactly what Five was used to when it came to expressing his sexual urges with Dolores, and even if it was demeaning to do it to someone that was real, he already knew that the vampire didn't mind that broken part of him. She had also said that she liked him as is and as the devil so Five was dead set that the devil was exactly what she was going to get.

Knowing she had the go ahead and that she wasn't as fragile as she appeared to be, Five’s fingers tightened around her neck. 

He pressed his mouth to her skin, breathing in her scent along her hair line as he relished to cool feel of her skin on his nose. He squeezed her larnax tighter as his eyes closed and coils of tension pooled at the base of his spine.

As she struggled to breathe, Five's breathing grew heavier and the sound of his wool pants rubbing up on her got even quicker. “I am going to fuck you so hard you scream my name and wake up this whole building,” he threatened.

Raising a hand from the girl’s slender hips, Five wrenched one of the arms of her dress down, then he started to apply a trail of bruises across her shoulder, his mouth deeply sucking and biting almost to the point of breaking skin before letting go.

“Oh my God!” she cried out as Five’s hand that had been crushing her throat let go and moved down under the front of dress. Not stopping, his jerked the flowy fabric up, moving his hand right up under her skirt where he stroked her and massaged her over the top of her satin panties and forced her hips back against his even harder.

“Not God, sweetheart. I am the devil, remember,” Five hummed against her flesh before he bit into her again.

A cry of helplessness erupted from the girl’s gaped mouth. Five held tight as her body fought for more of his hand and her back arched into him.

As Five reveled in her moans, he happily ground the bulge in his pants into her crack, using her like she was one of his pillows with a deliberately placed open book under it. Five knew he could do this for far too long and not tire of it, but this was about repaying his debt and owning something in him he'd long denied, so he pushed the girl’s skirt up, then with the flick of his wrist, he tore her panties off and chucked them over the couch a few feet away.

After another firm slap that made the girl cry out his name, Five spun her around, pushing her back until her butt was on his table again. Then he shoved her down on her back and he threw both her legs over his shoulders. With his hands sliding under her, Five lifted her ass up as he buried his head under the feathered fringe of her skirt.

His mouth covered her without hesitation, his tongue wildly running around, over, across, testing and tasting her. 

Hearing several sharp intakes of breath and feeling her thighs involuntarily pressing into his cheeks and Five knew he was doing something right and not just indulging himself. Keeping at it, he tried to figure out how to get her to react that way again, and soon he did, and she was frantically crossing her ankles behind his neck to keep him from stopping.

This was so amazing and new for him that Five moaned into her flesh in part because he couldn’t help himself and partly because he wanted to see what it would feel like to her if he did. Her heels dug into his back as her hips moved against him as the sound from his mouth tickled her, so he moaned even more then started to suck hard, pushing his shoulders into the backs of her legs even harder.

He pulled her clit into his mouth, giving it a few rapid flicks of tongue then he’d let it go only to pull it into his mouth again, sucking, teasing, releasing, and repeating as she writhed. Five had no idea what he was doing but he figured that if getting your dick sucked felt fucking awesome then sucking a girl off should feel pretty good too, either way, he was having fun.

“You are unreal,” the girl panted and breathily giggled as she reached her tied hands downwards, anxiously trying to touch him.

Avoiding the vampire’s clutches as he wondered if even now, she was in his head, taking a chance, Five went lower, dipping his tongue inside her.

That taste... 

Fuck.

A guttural sound vibrated out of his throat and his dick screamed at him to be let out.

Ignoring his own needs, Five hummed and whimpered through his dismay as he sloppily licked her slit up and down.

With thoughts of what it would be like to be inside her making him dizzy with want, Five yanked his belt loose and ripped his fly down as he pulled his pants open. Dragging his cock from his underwear, he began to touch himself, all the while sloppily dining on the vampire’s cunt.

No stranger to fucking himself, Five spread the moisture at his tip down his thick length, allowing the feel of it to make him quiver as he played with his own sensitive flesh. Making a keening nose through his nose, Five started jerking hard and he knew that with the noises he was making now that the girl knew full well that he was going to town on himself, but he could care less. 

“MM-mmm, Ffff-fff,” he stuttered and groaned against the girl’s swollen folds as his hand moved back and forth over the veins filling his length. 

“Jesus fucking Christmas, Five! You sound so fucking hot doing that!” she frantically cried out.

With the vampire’s liquid lust glistening on his face, Five popped his mouth off her. “You want to watch me fuck my hand, you dirty girl?”

“Fuck, Yes! Five! Yes, yes, YES!” Her agitated words filled Five’s ears like a song made just for him as his mouth returned to her, going at it twice as hard and fast, and his reward was the feel of her body convulsing under the hand he had pressing on her tummy to keep her down. 

Even more wetness spilled between the vampire’s legs and the stimulating taste and knowledge that he’d just made her cum with nothing but his mouth was enough to turn off what was left Five’s reservations over letting the diabolical deviant in him take the wheel. 

Proudly knowing he’d succeeded in his first goal, Five rapidly dropped the girl’s ass to the table, then he ducked under her useless, dangling legs, and rose back up, swiftly kicking off his shoes and toeing off his socks as he stood over her. The vampire’s eyes looked glazed over as she watched him slide his black dress pants down his hips and then jump out of them with boyish vigor. 

“That was the most amazing face fuck I have ever had. Thank you,” she murmured, the words slurring from her mouth in a way that Five thought sounded so enduring.

Reaching out, he took the long tether dangling from her tied wrists, yanking the knot to release her hands. "Now you can touch me or yourself all you want, angel," Five smugly informed her as he grinned and rapidly started undoing the buttons on his shirt. "Oh, and you are welcome," he said with a beautiful laugh that was all joy. "I do what I can do, and don’t worry, angel. Daddy's not done fucking you, and since you liked it so much, I will tie you down again later if you aren’t too tired after what I am going to do to you next,” he promised, then he tugged his half-unbuttoned shirt over his head, tossing it on the floor in the growing pile of his clothes.

The vampire’s iridescent eyes traveled over Five’s lean muscle, the mountains, and valleys in all the right places. The V-shape of his abs were like an arrow pointing straight to his dick, and just the way she was looking at him as she reeled in post orgasmic bliss, looked to Five like it might make her burst into flames and he couldn’t get enough of it.

Five knew he was okay physically. He wasn’t a skinny little child anymore. He also wasn’t the broken old man he was. He was mentally something in-between, and not at all normal. He had been so sure that he shouldn’t be projecting any of his dirtier and demented appetites on anyone young or old, but this vampire was different and so was this. This felt like it was a free pass and maybe something even more.

It was like she was exactly what he’d been looking for.

The vampire dreamily beamed at him like she was in love, her fangs long and sharp as they gleamed in the light hanging over her. This time the sight of her looking like that didn’t scare Five at all and that’s because he was starting to realize that ‘fangs out’ equated to the vampire being in a state of aroused bliss and he knew very well that he was to blame for it, not her.

She wanted him; the real him, and that made him feel a weight being lifted off him that had been holding him down his whole life.

“Damn,” she softly chuckled as her look turned all mischief and her words filled with sarcasm “I said it once and I am going to say it again. That cock of yours is impressive. With the size of that thing, I am pretty sure there’s no way you have any blood left in your brain, and I’d know that too, since I am by nature a wanton slut who is well educated in all things body fluids."

Hearing her again reference how he'd insulted her, Five’s smug expression weakened to one much less arrogant looking. 

“I’ll happily admit that contrary to my documented level of genius, I am not always that smart, and I proved that when I called you that.” Five glanced down at his dick, shaking his hips so that it swung from side to side. He looked back up, using his timid smile to try to charm the girl as much as his body seemed to be doing. “But…as you noted," he sighed, "it’s not really my fault. I am a very horny guy, whose blood has other places it needs to be, so I am pretty much a stupid prick about half the time because of that, so will you forgive me? That wasn't okay and I am sorry.”

“Sure, that’s why you are so mean. Too many boners...” she mocked as she giggled. 

Five dropped his chin, his dark hair falling over his eyes as his lower lip pushed out. 

“Oh, jeez,” she barked laughing over the sight of him pulling out all the stops. “Yes, I will forgive you. How can I not with you looking at me all pouty like that while you also swing that dangerous weapon around.”

Satisfied smile in place because he’d so easily made amends and had won her over again, Five began to advance. Picking her up off the table, much like he did with Dolores from his bed, Five’s arms came around the girl, only this time he had the luxury of feeling her ass and her cool arms wrapping around him to embrace him back like he’d never felt before other than in the delusions he created. 

“I really am sorry, I hurt you,” he whispered as she stood there with the front of her heels bumping his toes.

“I know, Five. I know what you felt, and I didn't mean to invade your mind and push you into a corner like that. I am sorry too,” she breathed back. 

The odd realization that the girl in his arms did understand him and that she may be the only person that ever has, made Five want to say so many things he couldn’t begin to express appropriately, so once again, he didn’t try to. 

They both stayed like that for a few long seconds, staring into each other’s eyes, but the tension broken when he grabbed her jaw, pulling her into a messy kiss while he rolled his hips into her, so the tip of his cock brushed back and forth in the small gap between her legs. 

Thinking of his bedroom and about laying her out on his bed where he’d have plenty of room to work, but also the fact that Dolores was in there and would be watching, Five decided to take the vampire with him on a spatial jump across the small kitchen. As they reappeared, he sandwiched her between him and the plaster wall dividing his kitchen and bedroom. 

The girl breathlessly gasped. “Wow- Tha-that... That was...different!” 

Five smiled as he waited for her eyes to refocus.

“That was nothing. If you want me to take you on a real ride through crazy land, I can,” he only half joked as he excitedly kissed her again.

Moans spilled from her mouth as savage need took him again, his hands moving all over her body while he nipped and licked at her reddened lips. 

The shimmering fabric of the vampire’s costume left almost nothing to the imagination as Five groped her breasts like a mad man, but still it had to go.

He moved his assault to the girl’s shoulder, buzzing a growl into her skin just before he bit down and simultaneously ripped the skimpy white dress from the bust down to the bottom hem.

The soft white feathers scattered at their feet as the ruined dress slunk down her legs and fluttered to the floor.

“Fuck. You are so beautiful,” Five puffed as his head fell to her chest, his lips quickly finding the perky nubs of flesh he’d been eyeing up all night. 

Loving how her nipples grew hard with his suckling kisses and how his naughty vamp kept welcoming his every demanding touch, Five moved back and forth trying to figure out which of her breasts was his favorite, but try as he may, he couldn't figure it out. Acting out like a kid in a candy store who just got to try sugar for the first time, Five was feeling long past he'd landed on cloud nine, but he knew there was a better way to get her aroused again to the level he was.  

Though Five was feeling selfish and he didn’t exactly want to relinquish his newfound toys, he did.

As his hard cock thrust between the girl’s thighs, Five’s tongue attacked her mouth again, swirling around, trying to seduce her into biting him. 

Much to Five’s frustration, the little vampire wasn’t taking the bait. Kissing her much softer instead, his thumbs drew slow hard circles into her lower back, kneading her body as he plotted his next move. Then, as she was losing herself to his fingers rubbing her so hard that he felt like he might rip out her bones, her mouth dropped open in pleasure and Five slide hiss tongue under one of her fangs. 

When the taste of his blood filled their mouths, and his cock head glided back and forth between her legs, the vampire’s contented moans shifted between breathier whines and frantic whimpers. “Please,” she sputtered against Five’s lips as he tried to keep them locked with hers. “Ffff-plea-ff."

Five only let up when she wasn’t begging him to stop, and her body tensed and then fell into him limply from the power of another orgasm thundering through her. He leaned back just enough to admire his tormented vampire and to give her a wicked grin that involved him shamelessly licking the taste of his own blood from his lips. “There. Now it’s time to fuck you through the wall, love.”

The girl’s mouth gaped as if in wonder, and Five couldn’t be sure if it was what he’d just done that was causing her to look at him like that or if it was the intimate term of endearment he just called her. What he did know was she'd liked it. 

Even though he'd never done this with a real person, and he was pretty much just living out his fantasy's as they hit him, Five was feeling pretty damn proud of himself, but then she started laughing at him.

“Five, where in the world did you get it in your head that fucking someone through a wall was a good course of action?”   

“I have no fucking idea where some of my crazy ideas come from. I am an old perv virgin and I am shooting from the hip so just go with it,” he growled but he couldn't help laughing after he'd said it.

Then, catching the girl’s knee, he lifted, pushing her body up so he was bearing most of her weight. 

Taking just a moment to line himself up, Five pushed his hot length along the slickness between her legs and that alone felt like heaven but a lifetime of wanting to do this and the worshipful look in her eyes was what drove him to end his suffering once and for all.

In one brutal shove, Five entered her. 

“Holy fuck!” she cried as her head fell back against the wall hard, rattling the generic piece of art hanging a few feet away.

“Amen,” Five moaned, holding himself deep inside the girl’s quivering body as his naked heels plowed back on the floor to support them. “You are so fucking tight,” he grated out through clenched teeth as he tried to hold still, so he didn’t blow his load in the first second of finally getting his cock inside her.

Closing his eyes, Five slowly undulated his hips, working himself back and forth until he was sure that he was moving freely thanks to how wet he'd already gotten her.

Despite his previous non-dick related efforts to fuck her and insulations of her whoring around town sluttiness, Five’s cock felt like it was in a vice grip; his head was already spinning it felt so wonderful. His thoughts were almost nothing but static and he could easily fuck her hard and fast until he was seeing stars, and that would take less than thirty seconds, but Five was determined to own this and her, so he resisted the urge to give in to that easy and quick form of euphoria.

Like his fingers at the bar, Five’s hips pulled back, then violently pitched upwards. His tip slid back and forth, as he began to move in shallow thrusts.

Flipping his head back to get his hair out of his eyes and with his hand locking onto the girl’s leg, Five lifted her up even more, so that the tips of her heels weren’t touching the floor at all. 

“Say you are mine,” he demanded as her arms and legs started to wrap around him.

When she didn’t answer other than to let out an unintelligible string of vowel sounds, Five forced his generous sized cock back all the way, slamming it into her all the way again.

“I am YOURS!” she yelled as his body smacked against hers with a thwack.

“That’s right,” Five panted as he started using her body as wished, his hands digging into her hips as he violently thrust himself up into her. 

As he figured would happen as soon as he was really moving, Five was quickly losing his grip on reality and on himself. The vampire’s nails cut into his back, and the pain was exactly the distraction he needed to keep him going a little longer.

She yelled out his name as he pushed her knee up higher, bending it more as he nipped and licked at her ear. Dipping his head, he pulled as the skin under her ear with his mouth, drawing the blood to the surface of her skin so a deep purple replaced where his lips had just been. 

When the girl’s hands locked on the back of his head, pulling at his hair hard enough to make Five grimace, his mouth latched on to the milky pale flesh where her neck met her shoulder. 

Thinking of nothing other than possessing her, Five’s teeth dug in hard. 

As soon as traces of vampire’s sweet blood started to touch his tongue, Five bit down harder. 

Her body shuddered, and he latched on like an animal, sucking on her while he repeatedly impaled her. 

“Oh, FFFFuuucccKKK!” she cried, her body trembling even harder as she pawed at Five’s back and her fingers weakly tangled in his messy hair. 

With his mind turned to utter mush, Five jerked his body into her, forcing her back side against the wall so hard the old plaster started to break.

Not letting up, Five bit down harder, unable to stop himself. His dull teeth were destroying her skin and it had to hurt terribly but the vampire only cried out his name even louder as her cunt rapidly throbbed around his cock as he jackhammered her with it. 

Five felt indestructible and it felt like his feet had lifted off the floor but when he finally brought himself to break away and look down, half expecting to see that he was in fact flying and she'd lied to him, they remained planted on the ugly brown and gold surface. Fueled by the magic in the vampire’s blood and the darkness in him that had always wanted his, Five drilled the girl even faster, his dick as hard and insistent as him that after he was done, his joke of fucking her through the wall would hardly be a laughing matter.

Five’s brows knit together, and his eyes burned brighter with ethereal light as he intensely focused on watching the girl’s every expression that crossed her face. His low grunting moans filled the kitchen as he leaned in, his hot quick breaths brushing against the reddened lips he couldn’t get enough of.

Five kissed the vampire one more time, her mouth gasping for air and for him as he thrust in a piston like motion, making his cock pump in and out of her like he was a machine. His forehead was glistening with sweat. His body was quivering. He was at the end of his rope, no longer able to hold himself back to drag this life altering encounter out any longer. 

His eyes flickered open and shut and his body helplessly tensed and relaxed, then went rigid again. The sound that came out of him as he skirted the edge of climax could only be described as feral, but when Five’s orgasm came out of him, it was with soft whimpers and him shakily shooting spurts of cum deep into the girl that he’d just made his.

The fire in Five’s eyes was like emerald embers, quietly burning out to nothing more than the faintest glow.

His body threatened to give out and send them both crashing to the floor, but he wouldn't let it.

He slowly and carefully allowed the vampire’s feet to hit the ground again, but he didn’t let her go because he was too scared that if he did, she'd be gone. His young face as he looked at her was the picture of innocent longing and hope but also deep peace, and it was all long overdue.

Five looked like he could fall asleep standing right there, but instead, he leaned in, letting his body become heavy in her firm arms instead of the other way around.

When he felt one of the hands around him gently release and let go, Five winced slightly but the vampire quickly reached up and touched his cheek that wasn’t resting against hers and he nuzzled his head against her neck, wishing he could stay like that forever.

When Five finally opened his eyes to hers again she whispered, “You are gorgeous, Five, you know that?”

He smiled uncomfortably. “Thanks, so are you… I said that, didn't I?”

She laughed at him like he’d hoped she would, then he carefully started to ease himself out of her.

With the sight of his cooling seed dripping down her legs and onto the floor, Five dizzily turned and picked up his dress shirt. Kneeling as the girl quietly watched him, Five tenderly wiped her off and then himself.  

The vampire’s adoring smile never wavered as she let Five take care of her, but as soon as he was done, her cool eyes began to scan his apartment and her pink lips turned down slightly.

“Can I officially meet her now?” she asked, gesturing to Five’s bedroom.

Knowing full well that she meant Dolores, Five nodded. He knew he was grinning back at her request, looking like a fool, but that didn’t stop him from watching the naked little vampire walk into his room to meet the only other woman he'd ever known.

“I know, Dolores,” he muttered, answering the silent voice that was speaking to him again as he followed. “She is perfect for me, and I did need this to happen.” 

After very brief pleasantries were extended and he indulged both of them, Five smartly shut down their threesome by putting Dolores away in her comfortable cubby in his closet.  

As he turned, the vampire sat down on his bed, then gracefully crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap as her eyes scanned the shelves of books next to his desk.

Five was speechless as he took in the delicate curve of her waist where it met her hips. She looked almost like a porcelain doll in the dim light from his lamp and that was ironic considering his admiration and love for Dolores.

When she finally looked back up at him, standing there buck naked, gawking at her like the inexperienced old scoundrel he was, Five was sure she was going to say something to tease him for being so openly lovestruck but then she said, “I suppose I should go, but first I probably should borrow a long shirt or something else you don't mind parting with. It is still All Hallow’s Eve, and the ghouls are out in droves, and I know they won't mind seeing the sight of this undead bod of mine, but the cops might.”

“Don’t go,” Five found himself saying, his voice so broken sounding that it even shocked him.

The vampire’s hands floated up to her heart as if subconsciously trying to protect herself from Five desperately trying to claim it. “Are you sure you want me here for more than what we just did? The four-orgasm, devil daddy spanking I just received is more than I deserved after-” She paused and frowned. “It’s not that I don’t want to stay, it’s just you should know that a girl like me comes with restrictions that you don’t have to worry about with other girls. We can keep this strictly what we did... Just too people who crossed paths on a lonely night...”

“I have never been surer of anything in my very long, very sad life,” Five laughed, then he came over, scooped up the vampire’s legs as he righted her on his bed, then climbed over her and occupied the empty space beside her.

With the left side of her body pressed against the right side of his, the girl glanced over at him. Misreading her tense expression, Five worriedly asked, “Did I hurt you when I did that?”

What Five couldn’t bring himself to say was that he didn’t just mean when he’d lost himself to fucking her so hard. His eyes moved to her shoulder to where he’d bitten her but just like his blade, there was no evidence of his crime. 

“You didn’t hurt me. Quite the opposite,” she said as her cheeks lit up the smallest amount but enough that Five knew she was feeling as affected by what they’d done as he was.

Smiling like a fool again, Five propped up his head on his forearm. She reached ever, found his other hand, lacing his fingers in hers as she rolled over, propping up on her elbows with her chin on his chest. “The night is young, and you’ve got me all to yourself, so what do you want to do now, handsome? I know Antique Roadshow is playing reruns at this hour on public television and that cute little old man in you is just dying to watch it…”

“I don’t have a TV in here,” Five huffily reminded her as his chest rose up and down with laughter.

“Oh, right! You don’t,” she replied, pretending to only just now notice Five’s lack of modern electronics other than his small radio on his desk. “So, what do you want then, daddy?”

Mind still taken and buzzing with all that was the perfection he saw in front of him, Five quickly said, “I want to keep you and learn everything I can about you. Can I?”

“I think something can be arranged,” the vampire whispered back as Five felt her cool lips press against the inside of his wrist.

With slow movements and a slowing mind, Five languidly reached over and turned off the light, then he delicately pulled the vampire’s body around him, so her back side was up against his. Lazily holding her, Five listened to the calming sound of her rhythmic voice, answering his many, many questions about her life and how it was she came to be what she was.

After a while, Five merely held her, saying nothing. The vampire's quiet breaths slowly synced with his and his eyes grew heavier.

As he slipped off, Five felt her brush a hand back through his hair, the sensation of it only adding to the unfathomable contentment he felt.

Part in a dream, but with one foot still in the real world, Five didn’t want to run from himself or anything anymore. For once, he was truly happy.

Chapter 4: Forever

Hours later, like the early riser he has always been, Five started to wake up, but old habits weren’t the only thing driving him.

His room was so dark you couldn’t see anything but the faintest outlines of his furniture, yet the coolness of the female lying next to him with her feet tucked around his made him smile for her anyway.

He breathed in the feminine smell of her hair as he kissed her neck. 

The she didn’t move. 

Five’s morning wood was parked between the girl’s legs, and he was naughtily undulating it when he wasn’t even fully awake but even that moment of semi-conscious depravity didn’t arouse her, so he knew that she wasn’t awake, and it could have something to do with what she'd told him the night before about her tendency to operate nocturnally. 

“Damn it,” Five breathed as he rolled over, trying to calm himself down and give her some space. 

Suddenly, he was flipped onto his back as the vampire pounced on him.

“You are awake!” Five laughed as her bottom pushed down on his hard dick and she grabbed his wrists, pushing them up over his head where she easily held them there with one of her hands. As he thought about motorboating her breasts, Five asked, “Want to go for that ride I was talking about?” 

Smirking, he jostled her with his hips. 

Eyes glowing, the vampire smiled, her fangs visible in the faint light reflecting off the wall at the edge of Five’s curtain. “Oh, sweetheart, I am going to take you for more than a ride. I decided that I like you so much, I am going to grant you your wish.”

“My wish?”

Heart starting to race, Five watched as the vampire dangled the pair of handcuffs in his face. Clearly after he'd fallen asleep, she'd snuck into his bedside table and found his stash of dirty magazines and other useful items.

As Five was just about to say something about her taking his things again without permission, with strength he didn’t know was in her, she reached up, fishing them through a rung of his metal headboard, then she slapped them on him before he could wriggle his hands free. 

As she squeezed, the cold metal painfully dug into Five’s bones, and he looked up at her with his face twisted with confusion.

“There. Wouldn’t want you going anywhere…”

“I wasn’t going to go-"

“I know,” she quickly soothed while simpering back at him.

Shooting forward, the vampire came down on Five, her fangs slicing through the side of his neck.

He screamed as she tore him open. Then he screamed again, and it was cut off by her hand aggressively clamping over his mouth.

Her mouth popped off him and Five could feel his blood seeping down his neck onto his sheets. 

“Ah-ah-ah, daddy,” she warned.

When he felt her cold hand come around his shaft, Five weakly whimpered. Then when she came down on his length, slowly covering him until he was deep inside her and she was mounted on him properly, Five moaned like a dying animal and then she latched onto him again, sucking hard.

Pain and terror, and pleasure ripped through him, and all the while, his cock was being polished by the vamp’s curvy hips bouncing and rocking as she wildly fucked him. The tension building deep in Five’s stomach all the way to his toes was enough to make him cry out again, but she masterfully cut it short and covered it with her iron hand again.

He could hardly think. His arms fought against his restraints, the metal clanking against his headboard. He tried to pull at his power to blink. 

His power was nowhere to be found.

The vampire’s hand moved from his mouth and Five gasped for air. Her mouth came over his and the taste of his blood on her tongue made him jerk back.

“That’s not what you like, is it?” she taunted with her voice thick and velvety.

She leaned up, her nails digging into Five’s chest as her body rocked and pushed against his. His climax was ready. He was on the brink in more ways than one, but like so many things ingrained in him, he couldn't let it come unless he was the one controlling it. It was all he knew. 

Even in the dim light, Five could see her smile. He could see traces of his blood on her lips. 

“Five, darling… You feel and taste so good. I am the luckiest girl there is,” she said, looking like a fallen angel as she sadistically rode him.

Five was dizzy. He saw floating white dots flitting around his vision. His tensed legs extended back down on the bed as he grew weaker.

He wanted to do something, anything, but his mind and body were failing him. 

It felt like he was falling.

He shut his eyes, letting himself fall further into the abyss of the darkness taking him away.

The vampire touched his face, her cool fingers making his droopy eyelids flutter open. “We aren’t done, Five.”

His voice was barely even a whisper, and his face showed no signs of pain anymore as he simply said, “I know.” 

Five started to drag his legs back up, his knees bending behind her as his heels dug into the bed. 

“Bite me again,” he breathed as he started to thrust his hips up into her, driving his cock full deep even though he hadn't found the strength to open his eyes again yet.

The vampire couldn’t look more pleased as her hand came down on Five’s slim but strong torso and she happily cried out, “There’s my fighter!”

As Five flexed his legs, and bounced his hips up, his shaft plummeted inside the vampire faster and harder with each second that passed. 

Giving him more room to pull out of her, the vampire’s mouth came down on him again, her hair tickling his chest as it pooled across his cool skin. 

She licked him, her tongue drawing lines over his torn flesh before she started sucking on him again. 

Five let out a rough sounding moan, the edge of it sharp and shattered.

His body felt so cold. He was trembling from it, but he didn’t stop fucking her, and then he felt her weight fall on him and his eyes flew open. 

Her body was shaking as hard as his, but for the first time, she felt like she was on fire. After only a couple more, primal, lust-driven thrusts, Five twitched and he felt liquid warmth filling the vampire's core as she moaned her approval against his ruined neck.

Five’s release hit him so hard but all he could do to verbally express how he felt was to let out a small sob.

He wanted to touch her. He wanted his hands around her. He wanted her even though he’d just had her, and she’d had him. He could feel the static of his power crawling under his skin. He knew it wasn’t gone and that he had only been unable to wield it because deep down, he didn't' want to get away.

Death was always with him. He'd walked the line, neither living nor dying for far too long.

Five could have just died and he would have done it without fear.

Death had never scared him, but now he no longer felt like life did either, not when he’d journeyed far past the limit of what his mind and body could comprehend and found something he'd never known could be.

The vampire slowly pulled away from the deep wound she'd left on him, saliva mixed with small amounts of blood covered where her mouth had been, the cold air of the room brushed against the white-hot bite causing a sharp gasp to pass Five's lips.

“You aren’t dying now, love," she whispered.

Five didn’t know exactly what she meant because he definitely felt like death at this point was a possibly, but the feel of her warm skin suddenly pressing to his lips made perfect sense.

He bit down, his teeth gnashing at the vampire’s wrist. She let him writhe and cling to her, losing himself to the syrupy thickness of her but only very briefly before she started to pull her arm back. 

Letting out a noise of complaint, Five tried to follow her but he could only get so far before he lost his hold on her, his mouth breaking away as his shoulders defeatedly slumped back on the bed.

“Too much and we’d have two bats in this belfry,” she said as she gently wiped the corner of Five’s mouth.

“I thought you said you couldn’t turn into a bat?” Five quietly countered.

The vampire laughed softly. “You got me there, handsome, but I do have a slight aversion to the sun and so do bats.” 

She laughed more heartily and Five could feel his softening cock crawling out of her along with the coolness of his release coving him but he didn’t mind the feel of it, because he was more interested in gazing at the shadowed light illuminating her face. 

“As for the sun… Sunburns shouldn’t be a problem since my sugar daddy was kind enough to let me have my way with him this morning," she teased. "If you want to take me out to get coffee and donuts and then go for a lover's stroll in the park, I promise I won’t ignite, and neither will you.”

“I do want to do that. Not the spontaneous combustion part, but the coffee, copious amount of simple sugars, and the lover's stroll,” Five said, smiling because that was exactly what his plan was after he woke the vampire up with his daybreak boner and finished what Klaus referred to as a round of hanky-panky hid his poor deprived Mr. Wanky.

“Good.” She grinned then bent down and softly kissed the newly healed skin where she had minutes ago bit into him.

The feeling of that sent tingles up and down Five's spine and it lit up the darkness inside him to a near blinding level.

About an hour later, after a shower that included a much less bloody and aggressive fuck, Five was dressed in his usual finely tailor sexy suit and his vampire was looking at him with a silly smile as she twirled around in one of Klaus’s tie-dye dresses and the cowboy hat he'd gotten to replace the one he’d lost during their time in the Sparrow's timeline.

“Lose the hat,” Five ordered.

“Ah… Vampire. Sun. Ouch. Remember?” she said, eyeing Five like it was obvious as she plunked the much too large hat on her hat.

Stepping over to the hall table, Five plucked a large pair of Jackie Kennedy style sunglasses out of a basket filled with Klaus’s other precious fashion pieces.

The vampire shimmied up to his side and Five tipped the hat off her head, then gently slipped the shades on, his fingers lingering along her jaw for a moment before he pulled them away and picked up a black umbrella out of the stand next to the door. “Will these do?” he asked, tugging her closer with the crooked wooden handle that he'd just hoisted up under her dress and hooked behind one of her legs.

“It will,” she said, relishing the feel of his warm touch as he took her hand and gently kissed the top of it. 

Hand in hand, the teleporter who had fallen out of time with the rest of the world, and the vampire with a heart as big and broken as his, opened the door.

“Hey…” Klaus said, standing there with his keys out, ready to stick in the lock.

Five’s brows furrowed as he looked at his brother’s tangle of curly hair and his much less primped looking Little Bo Peep costume as it swooshed against his long tights covered legs.

Where's our broom?" he testily questioned. 

Klaus's lips pulled back sheepishly. "I lost it."

Five let out a tired sounding sigh but on the inside, he wasn't mad at Klaus at all. Inside, unlike before, he couldn't be happier.

Klaus’s mouth slowly started to gape as he continued to look at the cute young couple standing in front of him. “Looks like going out last night wasn’t such a bad idea..." he said in wonderment. He shook his finger a Five, then added, "I was right wasn't I, Mr. Grumpy Pants. Halloween night is magical!"

Five glanced at the vampire and smirked at her, then his brother.

“Yup, you were right, Klaus. It is,” he said, unable to hold his usual dry tone as he beamed like a cheshire cat and proudly strutted by, escorting his perfect new vampire girlfriend down the hall.

Thanks for reading. Please reblog if you liked it.❤️

Link to Master List with all My Five Hargreeves works

[bellysoupset]

Okay so this is what I thought of while reading the interactions with the kids.

I just remembered that Vince is lactose intolerant, right? So how would you feel about lactose intolerant Vince with (reluctant) caretaker Max for a change?

I mean I can imagine maybe a class party or something with a kid wanting to make sure that Mr. Monacelli (or Mr. Mo because that is freaking cute) is having fun too, so they keep bringing him snacks.

I can totally see Vin accepting anything and everything from a kid with doe eyes and not having any way to refuse because the kid is watching him and wants to see Vin eat it. (Let's be honest, Vince would never even speak up because he wouldn't want to hurt their feelings).

After that Vin is feeling gradually sicker and sicker until Max can't keep ignoring him anymore, so Vin has to spill the tea.

Then Max is like "why did you even accept?" While Vin, slightly offended, is like "did you really expect me to say no to that kid?"

I know it's really detailed, feel free to ignore it, I just couldn't get this little scenario out of my head.

- 💜

💜! I hope you like this one, I slightly twisted it and it's a little different from my usual... So let me know what you think!

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

Max frowned, leaning on the doorway of the kindergarten. His hands were full with a large tupperware with baking soda, food coloring and vinegar, the usual science fair volcano mix. 

What caused him to pause, though, was the sight inside the classroom. Mr. Monacelli, or Mr. Mo to the little ones, was standing, with a kid on his hip, a little girl… Livia, judging by how comfortable he seemed to be as he held her. 

Liv’s dark wavy hair was up pigtails and she had face paint on, the tip of her nose painted black and whiskers on her cheek, a matching look that was mirrored on the other children. Cats, the Musical, kindergarten version? Max thought with a snort.

Vince also had face paint on and he was chewing something Livia had just pushed inside his mouth, out of a box. Across the room Max noticed a tall chocolate cake, with a glittery candle that said 7 on top.

That explained it. 

Birthday parties were always the bane of his existence, so he was incredibly glad he barely taught kindergarten and the older kids would rather die than celebrate in class. As far as he could remember it, he had bad experiences under his belt. From his mom trying to throw him a fully vegan party that had been a flop with him and his friends, to his father getting drunk and forgetting about his birthday altogether, to the fact once he turned eighteen his birthday all but disappeared as celebratory day. 

“Mr. Mo,” a kid ran across the room, with glitter face paint all the way to his scalp. Max snorted at the sight, the parents surely would be over the moon about that, “tell Jess she can’t play with my toy.”

Vince frowned, crouching down to look at the little boy and Max frowned, staring at the scene. He couldn’t figure out this dude. Monacelli gave off military vibes. Football star, with his little homophobic fit the other day, driving that ridiculous motorcycle everywhere… And there he was, covered in glittery paint, scolding a boy for not sharing his toys and being fed cake pops by his little sister and her group of friends.

It just didn’t make any sense.

“Daniels, do you need anything?” 

Max’s cheeks burned as he realized he had been caught staring and he shook his head, as five little heads looked at him, as well as Vince. 

“No, just passing by.”

“Alright,” Vince waved him off, taking the boy’s hand and dragging him across the room to apologize.

It was a couple hours later when they met again. Max was smelling like bleach, after finishing up a biology class with the 10th graders, and ready to head home as he entered the staff’s lounge to retrieve his bag. He raised his eyebrows as he found Monacelli sitting on one of the couches, in the furthest corner, with his arms crossed to his chest and his head tipped back, as if he was asleep.

“Hey,” Max kicked Vince’s foot to wake him in case he was asleep, “day’s over.”

Vince wasn’t asleep — or maybe he was a really quiet sleeper? —  because he sat up straight with a groan, moving his arms to wrap around his stomach, “what do you want?”

Max frowned at the lackluster response, so unlike the man who always seemed to have his energy up, “school’s over, are you planning on crashing here? Maurice is gonna be locking this room soon.”

Vince let out a sigh, using the couch to push himself up and the other man realized he was a horrible shade of white… Damn near green.

“You look horrible,” Max said, taking a step back as he noticed Vince swaying slightly on his feet. Instead of denying, Vince simply nodded, bringing up a shaky hand to wipe the sweat off his brow. 

“Yeah, I know-” he interrupted himself with a soft, sickly burp. He didn’t bother finishing his sentence, ceasing every movement as he gulped down, only to let out another little burp and a groan.

“What’s wrong with you?” Max eyed him suspiciously. There was no way this man had caught another stomach bug after measly five weeks of having one, right? 

Vince pressed his forehead to the metal locker in the teacher’s lounge, seemingly devoid of any energy to put in his combination and retrieve his bag. Most teachers didn’t even put in a combination, everyone used the standard 0000. 

“Monacelli,” he stepped closer, despite wanting nothing to do with illness or this guy. It was just unnerving. 

“I’m fine,” Vince breathed out, but it would have been a lot more convincing if he wasn’t swallowing in convulsively and clutching his stomach. Stomach, which by the way, was pressing against his work polo. The guy wasn’t small by any means and Max could’ve told he had a tummy to begin with, but now it was nearly poking out. 

“Yeah, you look terrific,” Max rolled his eyes, walking to retrieve his own bag and deciding he was done with the whole scene, “feel better-”

He never quite finished his sentence, before Vince let out a little strangled noise and then rushed across the room, to the teacher’s bathroom. He slammed the door behind him and Max cringed in sympathy as he heard a muffled groan. 

Now he couldn’t just leave the idiot, right? Not after he had driven him home? 

Max carefully walked closer, tapping his knuckles against the door, “Monacelli, do you need anything? Meds? The nurse? Your mom?”

He expected to hear Vince telling him to go fuck himself, but instead there was a noise of liquid hitting liquid, followed by retching and more liquid.

Shit. Perhaps, even, literally. 

Max chewed on his lip, looking around the room helplessly as if an older adult would appear and take over the situation, but he sadly was the only adult. He looked at his watch. 3:40 PM. Office hours were over, the janitor and the security would soon be finishing their rounds and closing up the school.

“Dude,” he sighed, knocking again, “you kinda need to leave, they’re gonna lock us here.”

“Go away…” Vince groaned, his voice raspy and choked up.

Max scoffed, “are you crying?” really? “Mona-”

“I said, go away,” Vince repeated, much harsher now and Max’s mouth snapped shut, his cheeks heating up as his temper got the best of him. 

“Fine,” he said bitterly,loudly walking away,  “drown there, see if I care.”

Sadly, much to Max’s displeasure, he had a guilty conscience and couldn’t make it even to the parking lot. He let out a sigh and glared at the now empty parking lot. Only four vehicles left, one of them being Vince’s stupid motorcycle. 

There was no way the man could go home in a fucking bike.

“Moron,” Max groaned, walking back inside. He fully expected to find Vince back in the teacher’s lounge, so it was much to his surprise when they ran into each other in the hallway. Or rather, he ran, because Vince was frozen in place, an arm wrapped tightly around his belly and breathing through the nausea carefully. 

“Oh there you are-”

“Thought I told you to leave,” Vince groaned, not looking up from the spot in the linoleum he was staring at, trying to keep his stomach in check, “careful, or I’ll believe you give a shit.”

“Fever must be through the roof, you’re delusional,” Max snarked, curiosity getting the best of him as he stepped closer and raised a hand to touch Vince’s forehead. 

Monacelli was much taller, and bigger, so when he pushed Max’s hand away with an impatient huff, the other teacher stumbled on his feet.

“I don’t have a fever,” Vince scoffed, straightening up. He looked worse, more green and more drenched in sweat, “I’m lactose intolerant and I ate- I ate half a chocolate cake…” his gut let out an upset, whiny gurgle that was loud enough for Max to hear.

The blonde stared at him for a second, before cackling “are you fucking with me!?”

When he didn’t get an answer, except for Vince’s cheek ballooning with yet another burp that he muffled with a fist, Max’s laughter lessened down to a chuckle, his shoulders shaking, “oh… You’re serious? You’re in this shape because of some chocolate?”

He really was the one to judge, Max thought with a snort, remembering he’d be hurling much sooner if he ate half a chocolate cake. But then again, he wouldn’t be stumbling around cradling his tummy and whining. 

“What do you want, Daniels?” Vince groaned, rubbing a hand over his face, “I don’t fucking get you. I helped you, not once, not twice, but three times by now, and you’re still a dick.” 

Max’s chuckle died immediately, his cheeks burning, “sorry, should I’ve been bowing and kissing your feet? What do you want, cuddles and kisses because your tummy hurts?”

Vince raised an unimpressed eyebrow, “I’m really sorry you weren’t hugged enough as a child,” he said coldly, “but yeah, actually, I do have people who take care of me when I feel ill, because I’m not a fucking jackass.”

“Says you,” Max snorted, rolling his eyes and gesturing to the empty hallway, “where’s the queue to cuddle you? I don’t see it.”

“I know what your problem with me is,” Vince scoffed, pressing his back to the wall behind him and huffing. He was shaking, which was not a good sign and Max bit down the urge to ask if the guy was okay.

“Enlighten me,” he said instead and Vince folded in half, planting his hands on his knees and breathing through a cramp.

“You’re jealous,” he said through his teeth and Max glared daggers at him, his stomach dropping to his feet. 

He wasn’t jealous, he was… He just didn’t think Vince was anything special. Surely he was allowed this opinion? 

For example, if Vince was so great, why was he about to hurl all over the floor that Maurice had probably already cleaned? That was asshole behavior. 

Max mentally patted himself on the back, before saying loudly, “here, Mr. Moron, don’t hurl all over the floor,” and pushing a garbage bin in front of the guy. He didn’t expect Vince to make immediate use of it, falling to his knees and grabbing the metal bin with his hands, hugging it to his chest as a huge gush of projectile vomit fell inside of it.

He jumped back, startled, then tip-toed closer, feeling a new shade of shitty as he heard Vince let out a whimper and bury his head in, burping wetly once more and continuing to convulse and cough. 

“If you’re such hot shit, why didn’t you not eat the thing you’re aware makes you super ill?” Max asked, mostly to himself, hesitantly moving closer to plant a hand in the middle of the guy’s back. Even down on his knees, Vince was still pretty freaking tall.

Max patted his back in a hesitant manner, then cringed as he heard footsteps down the hallway. Curse both their lucks, Vince’s because he was about to be caught hurling his brains out, and Max’s because now he’d have to look out for the prick. 

He braced for Fernanda, the principal, or Maurice, the janitor, but raised his brows as the person who rounded the corner was no one he knew. The man was well into his mid fifties or early sixties, with wavy light brown hair and blue eyes… And he was really tall.

Max cringed as suddenly he realized he knew Mr. Monacelli from parent-teacher meetings and that the old guy would be expecting him to act like a lovable guy, the same lovable teacher he was when talking about Sophia or Livia. Fuck.

“Mr. Mona-”

“Dad,” Vince croaked, lifting his head for a slight second, “fuck- Fuck, it hurts.”

Mr. Monacelli all but ignored Max as he crouched down next to his son, planting a wrinkly hand on his back and rubbing in wide circles, “I got you, I got you. Get it up and then I’m taking you home.”

Max bit the inside of his cheek so as not to chuckle at that, “Uh- Hi…?”

“Mr. Daniels,” Giuseppe zeroed him, opening a small smile, “thank you for keeping him company.”

Sure. That was what he was doing.

“Yeah, uhm- Of course,” Max scratched at his beard, as Vince let out another sickly belch, bringing up a bit more watery vomit, and then leaned back, his head hitting the lockers, chest heaving, drenched in sweat.

“Babbo, I’m dying.”

“You should be,” Giuseppe glared at him, “what a stupida idea was that?” he softly thumped on his son’s forehead, “I couldn’t believe my ears when Livia told me. Cazzo, you’re an adult, Vincenzo!”

Vince frowned, looking pathetically close to tears, “babbo,” he breathed out, wiping at his mouth and clutching his bloated belly, “later?”

“Idiota,” his father scoffed, grabbing his arm and helping him get up, “Non pensi?”

“Dad,” Vince said a little harsher and his father stopped scolding him continuously, glaring at his son. 

“Let’s go home- Thank you for helping him, Mr. Daniels,” Giuseppe said, still oblivious to the role, or lack of one, Max had played.

“Of course,” Max said cheekily, following them out, “any time, Vince. I hope your tummy feels better.”

“Go fuck yourself, Danie- Babbo!” Vince cried out, as his father slapped the back of his hand, dragging him out of the school and towards his car.

“Don’t swear at the boy, he helped you,” Mr. Monacelli glared at Vince, “get in the car.”

“What am I, five?” Vince groaned, stumbling to the car and bracing against it, breathing deeply through the nausea. 

Max bit down a smirk, “Bye Mr. Monacelli,” he said happily, “bye Vinny.” 

Behind his father’s back, Vince raised a middle finger at him.

[zoruascanbetrainerstoo]

[A video is attached. Watch it?]

[The video begins with the last of Petrel's Pokemon, a Weezing, fainting. He recalls it, but his twisted smirk doesn't fade.

"We won! We proved our strength to you!" Illanero says, tail wagging. "Now leave Lugia alone!"

"Now where was that in the conditions?" Petrel said, shrugging. "You proved your 'strength'. Now, let me prove Team Rocket's!"

"What are you-" Silver begins, before his eyes widen, as Petrel releases all six of his Pokemon from their pokeballs.

The six Koffing-line Pokemon look on the verge of fainting, but as soon as Petrel snaps his fingers, they swarm around Illanero.

"What are you doing?!" Silver yells. "We won the battle!"

"Yesyes! We won!" Illanero says, as xey try to push Petrel's Pokemon aside. "So you can't attack us now!"

"Oh, how naive you are," Petrel says. "You should know by now, that Team Rocket doesn't play by the rules!"

"That's reallyreally mean!" Illanero says.

"That we are, Zorua," Petrel says, before turning back towards Silver. "Now, if you don't want me to blow your friend to bits, you'll do exactly what I say."

"And just what is that?" Silver asks, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"Turn yourself in to the police. Show the world how weak you really are," Petrel says, a cruel look in his eyes. "I've already done a fair few crimes while disguised at you. It shouldn't be too hard."

"Silver..." Illanero says, fear in xyr eyes, but also determination. "Don't listen to him!"

"Oh, I believe he should listen to me. Unless you want to go kaboom," Petrel says.

"I..." Silver looks around, between Illanero and Petrel, before he spots something on the floor.

The master ball and Tidal Bell, dropped by Petrel during the battle.

Silver runs over, picks up the Tidal Bell, and rings it, calling out, "Lugia!"

"Still seeking strength to the very end, even at the expense of your friend's life? That's too funny!" Petrel says, laughing. "You know what? I'll let you try. You're far too impure of heart for Lugia to ever..."

Petrel trails off, as a shadow appears behind the waterfall.

"Lugia!" Silver calls again, continuing to ring the Tidal Bell. "We need your help! Stop Petrel from exploding my friend!"

"Change of plans!" Petrel says, panic in his voice. "Explosio-"

Before Petrel can finish his sentence, Lugia emerges from the waterfall, and it begins to rain inside the cavern. Petrel's Pokemon are quickly drenched, preventing them from exploding.

Eyes wide, Petrel recalls his Pokemon, before turning towards Lugia. "Now, Lugia, we can be reasonable about this..."

Lugia roars, and with a flap of her wings, Petrel is picked up by a whirlwind.

"This isn't the end, you hear me? Team Rocket will return! Just you waiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii..." Petrel trails off, as the whirlwind carries him away, to who-knows-where.

Illanero runs over to Silver, tail wagging rapidly, and says. "Yayay! I knew we were friends!"

"Don't push it," Silver says. He looks back towards Lugia, before turning towards Illanero. "Let's go."

"Okok!" Illanero says. "Thank you Lugia!"

"Wait," a voice echoes through the cavern. "Do not leave yet."

Illanero and Silver look at each other, before turning towards Lugia.

"Was that you?" Illanero asks.

"Yes," Lugia says, before perching on a nearby rock. "I would like to speak with you."

"Okok!" Illanero says. "What is it?"

"Not you," Lugia says. "The human."

Silver hesitates, then says, "What."

"I would like to battle you," Lugia says. "You speak much of strength. And I would like to see what it means to you."

"...fine," Silver says, taking a pokeball from his belt. He briefly glances at the master ball still on the ground, before looking back at Lugia. "Let's battle."

The video ends.]

[blissfuloni]

❝ RP AD♡꒱ (08/24)

hihihi!! <3

My name is Onyx or Bliss! Here is so information about ME!

I'm 19 (i turn 20 this month!)

I go by she/her (cis female)

10ish+ years of roleplaying under my belt

MOSTLY fast reply time (i sleep a lot :P)

Timezone: EST

-

What I write for: ʚ Fluff ʚ Angst ʚ Smut 〰 ʚ OC x CC (double ups ONLY!) ʚ B x B ʚ G x G ʚ NB x NB/G/B ✹IMPORTANT: I do my best to stay away from most yandere stuff, especially stuff dealing with S/A just because of my own personal trauma! Other than that, I can handle most of it!

-

I prefer someone who is willing to become friends OOC! I want to know about your day, what's on your mind, and how hot the character your OC is shipped with is! Not only does this create a bond, but makes it ten times easier to plot together! I roleplay ONLY on discord, this is so I can make a server and keep things organized! I also make Pinterest boards, Spotify playlists, and typically have a 'visuals' channel in the server so we can better understand and see our OC's outfits n such <3!! I honestly don't care about reply length, just as long as I see effort!! I try my best to match my partner's length though, but typically my replies are 1-2 paragraphs long! (this does NOT include starters! Starts are typically past nitro message length depending on the amount of info I have on me!) Typical Server Set up:

-

Now! Let's get into fandoms! I have a whole list you can pick from because I am always searching for partners in ANY of these fandoms, but I am mostly looking for partners in the following fandoms! ☆ Jujutsu Kaisen ☆ Chainsaw Man ☆ Dr. Stone ☆ Our Life: Beginnings & Always for any of those fandoms I would be interested in playing these characters for said OCs! ☓) Gojo or Geto x Annamaria (JJK) ☓) Shoko x Salem (JJK) ☓) Megumi or Yuta x Eden (JJK) - ☓) Aki x Annamaria (CSM) *pretty adamant on this remaining* ☓) Angel x Yui (CSM) - ☓) Gen x Eden (DRST) ☓) Chrome x Cynthia (DRST) ☓) Ukyo x Anzu (DRST) - ☓) Baxter or Cove x Atlantis (OL:B&A)

OBVIOUSLY!!!! i do not want to use multiple OCs per roleplay if we don't have the matching amount of OCs in the rp. It's playing fair in my eyes, so if you only have one OC- I would only use one OC.

✹ If you're interested PLEASE don't be afraid to message me on this account! <3

[racefortheironthrone]

Hey there,

So I read the Locked Tomb series a few months ago and one thing that occurred to me after reading Nona the Ninth was that the John Gauis’s account of the end of the world could not be fundamentally trusted.  While I believe that Tamsyn Muir intended for these passages to be “true” or “Accurate” to what happened I found unable to accept the chapters due to the number and severity of lies told by John.  It also led to me notice any inconsistency, irregularity, or any implausible scenario and to see it as evidence of another lie by John. 

My question I suppose is if an author uses an unreliable narrator when (or if) should the audience trust said narrator again.  

In part my extreme skepticism started when John mentioned the oxygen crisis, that such a scenario would be so sever and immediate that there would be little time for John’s necromantic schemes.  It was further stoked by John’s impractical cryogenic plan (why would you send frozen people to the Kuiper Belt), and later on John’s  mis-remembering when and how original-Gideon died and that he was telling this story to Harrow hark trying to convinced her to join him.

I am quite certain that my extreme distrust is unwarranted and that Muir intended for us to believe John’s tale but I cannot help but notice the inconsistencies and find John utterly dishonest and unbelievable.

I'm glad you asked this question, because it allows me to talk about how to apply historiographical methodology to literary analysis.

One of the terms that I was exposed to during my training as a historian is the "hermeneutics of suspicion" - the practice of reading texts such that the on-its-face meaning of the text is false and that you have to read the text solely for its deeper, hidden meanings. The problem with the hermeneutics of suspicion is that, taken to a logical conclusion, all texts and meanings become false, and for lack of evidence, all academic inquiry shuts down and we wind up sitting on the floor with our hands over our mouths.

Now, this doesn't mean that you have to take texts as 100% valid either, but rather that good methodological practice requires a careful weighing and balancing of bias, rather than simplistic binaries.

So in the case of John's narrative in Nona the Ninth, is John meant to be an unreliable narrator? Yes. However, because Tamsyn Muir does actually play fair with the readers, she makes it quite clear when John is lying to Harrow/Alecto:

"I said I made a mistake. She let it go eventually because the others were telling her to lay off. Just said Guys as careful as you shouldn't have accidents. If you've got a gun learn how to aim it. This is too big for fuckups now... "Did you ever find out what happened? With your accident?" He turned to her and he smiled a funny little smile. It only used one half of his mouth. In the dream his new eyes did not show happiness or unhappiness. And he said, "Come on, love. Guys as careful as me don't have accidents."

And here again:

"I did need to do it, Harrow. There was no other way. Once those bombs were going off, there was no hope for Melbourne anyway-- G- was dead meat." She said-- "You said that G-'s bomb went off first." "Yeah, it did," he said impatiently. "Of course it did...Look-what does it matter? In the end, why the hell does it matter?"

Unfortunately for John Gaius, Harrowhark Nonagesimus is smarter than he is when she's in her right mind and she catches the discrepancies in his story - just as we are meant to do.

So what I would say is that, unless it's something where Tamsyn Muir gives us clues like this where other characters are calling John out on his bullshit, you should treat worldbuilding issues like the population of Earth, or the logistics of cryocans, or the speed of shuttle transports in the Nine Houses, etc. as either mistakes on the part of the author (when they actually are mistakes) or just part of the overall willing suspension of disbelief that comes with speculative fiction.

[sweetbillwriting]

Love Just Happens

A Second First Date (Additional Chapter)

Characters: The future's Bill Skarsgård and others close to him. The rest is my own characters. 

Setting: This story is set in the future but because it's hard to say how the world is then (and it isn't that important for the story) the future is similar to our time now, even with fashion and so on. 

Warnings: 18+, age difference, smut, alcohol, ageism, kinks and fetishes, jealousy, possessiveness, so much fluff.

Notes: This is set when Bill and Aurora get together again in Sweden and flashbacks.

Bill stood in the hallway as he waited on his girlfriend. He had just welcomed in his cousin's daughter who often took care of his kids for a fair amount of money. It was nice having someone in the family who could help them out and take care of the kids, or the dogs, like she would do that night and that would be easy money for a student. She was studying to become a doctor and would take the time to study.

Bill fixed his hair a final time in the mirror in the hallway. He wore a light blue cuban collared shirt and navy blue slacks. It was almost summer but they would also go to an opening for a new luxury hotel, he needed to be a bit dressed up. He looked up at the stairs when he heard Aurora's clicking heels against the steps. She smiled playfully at him because of the typical movie moment. She wore a two set piece, a pearl white top and a maxi skirt with a high slit. Her midriff was bare because of the low raised skirt so she showed off her sunkissed belly. Bill smiled proudly at her. Not everyone that had a girl like that.

“Hello girlfriend,” he said, even if they had seen each other all day. Aurora giggled and walked up to him. They had just been together two weeks, this second time around, and hearing him call her his girlfriend again made her all warm. He bent down and gave her a light peck on her cheek because he could see she had put time on her makeup, especially the two toned lips.

“You know, this is like our first date,” she said and played a bit with his belt. Bill looked down at her a little confused.

“This time around. I know it's our first time in public again but it's also our first time doing something like this together again.”

She smiled a bit embarrassed when she realized he hadn't thought about it as much as she had. Bill smiled and laid her hands on his chest, he was just on his way to say something when a voice next to them interrupted him.

“Ehh… I think I will take the dogs out now so I can study without interruption… That's okay, right?” Said their dog sitter and took down the leashes from their hook.

“Of course,” said Aurora sweetly and moved away so she could go out with the dogs from the entrance door. When they were alone Bill laid his arms around his girlfriend and licked his lips so he could continue to talk but when he noticed Aurora watch his lip lick intensely he did it again, slower so his full lips got shiny.

“I just wanted to say that I will do my best for this to be an amazing date then.”

Aurora smiled and showed by standing up on her toes that she wanted to kiss.

“I will just mess up your lipstick, you know that,” he said with humor in his voice. Aurora pouted and made a whiny sound. She lowered herself down on her heels again but continued to pout and fidget with his shirt in her disappointment. Bill looked down at her amused but didn't say anything, just let her pout. She fidgeted with the shirt until a button accidentally opened up and she then opened one more and pretended that one also opened by accident. She looked up at Bill with big brown eyes while her lips still were in a pout.

“What are you doing, you little perv?” He said with an evil voice. Aurora looked at him innocently but unbuttoned the shirt completely so she could look at Bill's torso. She looked at his wide chest and followed the hint of a line in the middle of his chest down to his belly button. She dragged a finger over his smooth chest, it was mostly naturally hairless and also so soft, just like most of his skin. She dragged her finger lower and when she dragged her nails over his Adonis belt he made a heavy exhalation.

“We will be late, babe…” he said but looked down at her hands with big eyes when she started to open up his belt. He wondered if she would just tease him, which would be really mean. She knew how horny he was right then, when he finally had her again.

“So?” She said and looked up at him with a sexy playful stare. Bill looked at her with big eyes, her well painted lips and down on her body in the feminine outfit. A big hand clapped down on her ass harshly and Aurora jumped but with a moan. Bill could feel the stir in his pants and knew it was just to give after for the feeling. Like he would ever say no to Aurora. He dived in and kissed her hard, lifted her up in his arms and hugged her ass in both his hands. Aurora moaned into every kiss, pushed her tits against him and curved her back so he could feel every sensual curve.

They made out feverishly until Bill could feel his arms didn't really want to hold her up anymore and Aurora noticed that she started gliding down.

“The bureau…” she said out of breath and pointed to the bureau. Bill tried to sit her down there but the mirror over it moved alarmingly. He lifted her up and sat her down on the stairs instead but it didn't work either, Aurora was obviously uncomfortable. Bill had tossed his shirt on the floor and the pants were on their way down. He was painfully hard and couldn't really think straight anymore.

“Eyy, fuck it,” he said and moved her to the rug swiftly and started to pull up her skirt.

“No, no, no!” She said when he pushed it up harshly. Bill looked at her but she couldn't see any other emotion than lust, his eyes were dark and if she didn't know better she would have thought he was possessed but he was just obsessed, obsessed with her.

“Take it off,” she said and started to pull in the zipper.

“Who the fuck cares,” he said and pushed it up again.

“I do!” She pushed away his hands and took a hold of his face. “You're a really messy boy and I don't want you to destroy this skirt with your man juice!”

His eyes lit up and he laughed.

“Am I messy?”

“Yes! I don't know what you do but your cum is always everywhere!”

Bill smirked and shook his head but still knew what he wanted because his fingers had sneaked under her panties to pet her pussy like it was a little soft kitten.

She looked at his big hand inside her white lacy panties. It looked erotic, she followed his veiny arm with her eyes down to the delicate fabric and could feel how his fingertips started to do circles around her clit. Now it was she that pushed the skirt up so she watched even more closely when he pleasured her. He stood on his knees between her legs and Aurora's attention shifted between his thumb that increased the speed of the movement over her clit and him. He stood in front of the light from the windows behind it, covered it so it spread out like a light behind him. She could see the shape of him so clearly. The shape of his arms, shoulders and the narrow hips. She suddenly came loudly but got a shock while she was in her high when he penetrated her hard. She heard him groan loudly when he pushed into her and she moaned just as loud. It felt like a religious experience when she saw Bill in the light and feeling his thick cock penetrate her under her orgasm. It was almost too much. She moaned freely and Bill let himself disappear in the moment. Sex like that was not something many had experienced. Sex like that they never had felt with anyone else. But the two of them would have sex like that often.

×××

Aurora mingled professionally, talked with people she wasn't interested in at all and probably over shared a bit about Bill and her. Bill was okay with it happening. She didn't do it for attention, because that she got anyway, she did it because she was excited and happy.

Bill mostly talked with those he knew but he also knew many people. His conversations became longer than Aurora's, she talked with people for just a few minutes sometimes. When he sat on the rooftop bar with some old colleagues he saw her come out together with an actress he had worked with. They walked slowly while talking and people moved away like Moses parted the sea. It wasn't for the actress they did it because he could see on her expression she wasn't used to the respect, while Aurora didn't even react to it. The wind played with her long hair and she was too occupied with keeping it in place to notice what effect she had on people.

Bill looked at her in fascination. He noticed at once when the room changed because of his presence but Aurora didn't seem to notice it the same way. Maybe because she had been so famous so early in life or she was just another sort of human. He continued to look at her when the actress left her. She was suddenly alone, alone among so many people. He himself had tried to find someone else to talk to or played with his phone, his exes had searched for him in almost panic. Aurora just stood a while and looked around then she walked up to the railing. He thought about going up to her so she wouldn't be alone but paused when he saw her taking something from her bag. It was a bubble wand and all by herself she blew them. Maybe it could have looked silly or depressing but Aurora's smile while doing it made the people around smile. Bill laid a hand on his beating heart. He couldn't understand at all how you could be like her but he knew he would never ever want to be without such a human again, that human again.

“Where did you find that?” He said in her ear and hugged her from behind. He couldn't keep himself from not walking up to her.

“This?” She blew another bubble. “I found it in your overnight bag, I guess it's one of your daughter’s, if not a producer you’re blowing some bubbles with?” She joked and looked back and up on him. Bill smirked and bent down to kiss her shoulder. He didn't think about how intimate he was with her in public again. He had been surprised the first time they were together how he had forgotten everything about what distance was, the thing that was so important for him with his ex. Once again he was intimate with her in public when he had refused Hilma such closeness. Now he didn't even think about it. Being close to Aurora was the only natural thing. He kissed her neck then her cheek and hugged her waist. She giggled and waited to see where he would take it. She was much more famous than him but didn't care about such things, if she wanted to kiss her boyfriend, she would, even if hundreds of people looked at them.

“Come with me, sit with us,” said Bill and took her hand in his. “Don't stand here alone.”

She smiled a bit amused at him. It was so typical of him.

“I can be alone, it's okay.”

He made a face and shook his head.

“No, of course you should be with me.”

She laughed a little and laid her hand on his chest.

“You know, I'm an only child. I've been playing by myself my whole life. And you know I wasn't that popular in high school. I like being alone sometimes.”

Bill smiled crookedly, their upbringing was so different from each other. He had always had siblings, many friends and also cousins to be around. He knew she had spent a lot of time alone in her bedroom, singing, dancing and planning how to become the next big pop star.

“Come on, please, be with me. For me,” said Bill and pulled her closer to his side.

“Yeah, yeah,” she pretended to sound like she sacrificed herself but then giggled and pulled him down so they could kiss.

The rest of the night she sat in his lap. Some people reacted to that and that they even sometimes drank out of the same glass. A few took sneaky pictures of them.

The alcohol also affected them and they got a bit handsy, Bill's hand really wanted to come in under the slit of her skirt to feel her soft thighs and she let him sometimes but pushed it away when he wanted to come close to her panties. They thought no one saw what happened under the table but everyone around the table could see it.

“Bill?” A well known voice said on the side of the table. Bill closed his eyes in panic while Aurora pushed away his hand and looked away awkwardly.

“Hey Hilma…” said Bill and looked up at her with a strained smile. She stood tall and lean with her long hair straight behind her ears, dressed in a black dress.

It was just two months ago they broke up and here he now sat with his young girlfriend in his lap. The chairs next to them were occupied so Aurora had nowhere to go.

“So…” Hilma said and smiled strained. They had broken up so fast, under a fight and she had somewhat believed they would find their way back to each other but here he was with the girl everyone had warned her about. The young pop girly.

She hadn't even gotten all her stuff from Bill's apartment while he already showed off his relationship in public.

Bill just sat and smiled awkwardly, it got more strained every second and Aurora looked at him uncomfortably.

“Ehhh… I'm Aurora Lou,” said Aurora and stood up to be able to reach Hilma’s hand. Hilma took her hand and shook it awkwardly. It wasn't just that this was her ex-boyfriend's twenty-something girlfriend, she was also an internationally famous pop star. She looked like one, in her cute outfit and perfect makeup. This was probably the strangest moment of Hilma's life.

“Aurora… I mean, Lou…” Hilma looked around in panic. “I mean, Hilma. My name is Hilma.”

Aurora smiled uncomfortably. It was obvious Bill's ex got star struck at the same time she was provoked of seeing her together with Bill just two months after their split.

Bill dragged his hand over his face in second hand embarrassment. He had no relationship with Hilma now and it was his girlfriend she embarrassed herself in front of but it was so understandable she did what she did. He had also felt a similar feeling when he met Aurora. Her presence was overwhelming for him and she also was the most beautiful girl, he could understand that Hilma got nervous.

Hilma gave him a fast look and got irritated by his reaction. She made a sound of offense and looked straight at Bill.

“This is just so… Low. Unbelievable,” she said in Swedish but Aurora understood it.

He looked at her with a bad conscience and stood up when Hilma turned to walk away.

“I need to just…” he said to Aurora who nodded understandingly then he walked after Hilma. She dragged him to the side and looked at him straight in the eyes. She was tall so she had no problem getting eye contact.

“We just broke up and here you are with her. Couldn't you have some respect and keep it to yourself a while?”

Bill stood quiet and looked at her with furrowed brows. He heard what she said, that it sounded correct but he hadn't thought it that way. He had just thought that he wanted to show the world Aurora was with him again.

“Ehhh…” he said awkwardly and scratched his brow with his pinky. He breathed out and looked at her. He was in the wrong here.

“I'm sorry. I'm really sorry Hilma… It's…” He swallowed and looked back at Aurora. She sat on his chair and looked stressed. He just wanted to go back to her and it was those sort of emotions that made him stop thinking and announce their relationship so quickly but he couldn't say that to Hilma.

“Was it like everyone said, that you've just waited on her these years?”

“No, no. Of course it wasn't like that…” Bill thought about the question while he answered it. Waiting on Aurora was the wrong word. He thought about her way too much, yes. He dreamed about being with her again, yes. But he didn't believe he would get together with her again. He was together with Hilma for real not to kill time.

Bill looked at her with bad conscience. She cried now. He felt bad about it but also became nervous that other people saw him standing with his crying ex while his girlfriend sat and waited on him. He thought too many things at the same time and got bad conscious of them all, either towards Hilma, or Aurora.

Hilma dried her cheek and laughed bitterly.

“Will you marry her and have kids now? I mean, that you didn't want to have more kids was a lie. We both know it.”

Bill cleared his throat and dodged the comment.

“She isn't the type.”

Hilma smiled a bit sadly and laid her head to the side.

“Everyone is that type with you, Bill. It doesn't matter what a woman has said before, they would want that life with you.”

Bill smiled warmly but also sadly. It was a sweet thing to say and he appreciated it but it was strange getting it now when he left her for Aurora.

“Did you do something with her while we were a couple?”

Bill licked his lips and looked at her in thought.

“No but.. I went too far emotionally. I'm sorry for that. I am, really. I was… Egoistical.”

Hilma sighed and smiled bitterly.

“Clearly you haven't stopped being that, because here you are with your little girlfriend you can't stop touching. When people said to me that you were really different towards her I didn't listen, or just thought that we all are different towards different people. But I understand now. It's so embarrassing to realize you have never really been in love with anyone else other than her. Not before or after. Your kids’ mom must feel the same. That you’ve made a fool of us.” She sighed, especially when she looked at Bill's pretty face that was heavy with shame. She couldn't even be mad at him when he looked like that.

“So bye, Bill…”

He looked at her with big eyes and furrowed brows. It didn't feel good that they would have it like this.

“Hug?” He asked just to try to make it less dramatic. Hilma looked at him with sorrow but let his strong arms wrap around her. She knew she would never meet a man like Bill again. Sure, he was difficult sometimes when he didn't tell her what he felt and disappeared in his own world of work and projects but he was always there, even for her sons. She thought he smelled different and he actually did. Instead of his old perfume he had worn for many years he wore one he and Aurora had created in a perfumery in Paris just for him. They did it just a few weeks before they broke up so he had never worn it, until now.

Back by the table Bill interrupted Aurora while she talked with a handball player. Bill couldn't understand what she talked about with him and wouldn't find out either.

“It feels like I should go home…” he said to Aurora after having told her in private what Hilma had said. Aurora played with his hand in her's and shook her head.

“No one wins anything on that. It's better you're both here and learn to be at the same events.”

Bill nodded with a sigh and then let her lead him to people they knew well, where they could be safe and Bill could stuff his nose against her neck sometimes without anyone being uncomfortable.

They stayed for an hour more before they decided to go home. Bill had pain in his toe because of his new sneakers and Aurora looked forward to taking off her fake lashes. They started to relax and came down in a cozy mood just by walking out from the hotel and walking close together. That's when they met the irony. The irony that suddenly Mattias, Aurora's ex, stood in front of them. He stood with two other guys and smoked, a habit he had stopped with when he started to work with Aurora but now was back on. Mattias first looked at Bill, because of his height he was always the one people first spotted, then Mathias lowered his eyes and saw his ex-girlfriend hugging the tall guy's waist. Aurora carefully let Bill go, something Bill could see why she did but still felt weird about.

“Hey Matty…” said Aurora and fixed her hair nervously. Mathias just gave her a nod with some attitude and then looked at Bill. Bill didn't feel at all for fighting, he didn't even feel a need to claim Aurora. He felt bad about what he had done towards Mattias, taking his girlfriend more or less in front of his eyes. He didn't feel like making it worse by showing off Aurora. He had already won and even if he hadn't accepted it another way he had a bad conscience about how he did it.

“How are you?” Said Aurora and corrected her handbag on her shoulder. Mattias took a deep drag of the cigarette and looked at Aurora from top to toe, then at Bill.

“Good…” Mattias turned to Bill. “Bravo for snatching my girl like that. I am a bit bitter. I can say that,” he said with humor in his voice even if it was the truth. Bill nodded a little.

“Sorry for that…”

Mattias shrugged his shoulders and looked at Aurora with a crooked smile.

“You warned me. You warned me…”

Aurora didn't say anything, she looked away awkwardly. All of them were silent for a while until Mattias looked at them with a stiff smile.

“I knew this would happen. It's my own fault I didn't accept that.”

“Mattias…” whined Aurora with guilt and laid her hands on her cheeks. “I'm really sorry… I'm really, really sorry…”

Mattias turned a bit towards her and then smiled.

“It's okay, Lou… It's okay.”

Bill looked at Mattias with respect, he took it as a man, even if he had lost the crown jewel. Bill smiled at him to show his respect and gave him a nod. Mathias looked sad but like nothing would break him down and he gave them a friendly smile before stubbing out his cigarette and walking into the hotel.

×××

Aurora had walked around the bathroom five minutes to light every candle she could find. Now when she had Bill back she showered him in all the romance she could give him, even if he got uncomfortable. In reality he was embarrassed, she knew that but he behaved so uncomfortable anyone would get infected but Aurora had learned that now. She looked at him with a sweet smile while he stood in a pair of silk pajama pants she bought for him. He looked around like he wondered what to do while Aurora walked around in her pink kimono. A bubble bath with candles, champagne, luxury chocolate and soft, sexy RnB in the speakers.

Bill was embarrassed. He didn't know how to act when Aurora did such things. He wondered if he must feed her with chocolate and speak sexily. Of course he could, he was an actor, but would feel even more cringe to play a character with his girlfriend. Bill's stressed thoughts stopped when Aurora opened the kimono and let it fall to the floor. She also got a bit blushy by doing such a thing. She giggled and made a little pose. Bill smiled and made a sound of attraction, suddenly all his earlier thoughts were gone and his brain could just take in what he saw in front of him.

They sat down in the bath together, without problem, because of its bigger size. Aurora between Bill's long legs. They toasted in champagne and then made out softly until they needed to move so his erection could lay comfortably.

They talked softly about the most but even if it was probably the wrong moment their two meetings that night needed to be discussed.

“I think it's so weird thinking that you've been together with Hilma,” said Aurora and looked up at Bill with an unreadable smile.

“Why?” Asked Bill while amusing himself by digging after Aurora's tits in the bubbles like he dug in sand. When he found them he covered them and started it all over again. Aurora looked at him amused by his game.

“You two don't match at all.”

Bill looked at her with a smirk and then laughed.

“I think she's exactly who people think I should be with!”

Aurora made a sound of offense and turned around to be able to look at him.

“Like you don't know what I mean. I'm Nosferatu, a pale Swede with wonky eyes. You're all of America's sunshine princess. No, we don't fit,” he said with an amused smile. It didn't bug him that they didn't fit, it was their charm.

“So you fit with an uptight model?” Aurora sounded pissed.

“It's the only type I've dated until you spread your light over me,” he said and kissed her hand several times and looked up at her with big puppy eyes. Aurora smiled and shook her head.

“We don't fit either because you're so needy while I'm a strong independent woman.”

“You're right in that too,” Bill said with a voice you use to encourage a child.

Aurora pinched his nipple because of that and then it turned into some sort of bubble fight. When they had calmed down and sat close together again continued Aurora the conversation.

“But how did you meet her? Through your ex? They were in that club where everyone has a stick up their asses?”

“Oh, oh, oh!” Said Bill with a laugh and gave her a surprised look. She was rarely that mean.

“What? You said it was your type!”

Bill laughed.

“My type is you, you know that. I thought it was my type until I met you one night in Rome,” he said with dramatic romance in his voice. Aurora looked at him amused but then kissed him.

They moved to the bed before Bill started to tell her about how he met Hilma and their first date…

He didn't really know what he was doing there. He stood by a high table alone and drank cheap prosecco. Who even decided to serve prosecco? There were better alternatives. He himself wouldn't want to be a part of a movie premiere without champagne. Maybe that was snobbish of him but he thought it should feel like a luxury celebration, not like an eighteen year old girl's birthday party. He smirked a little at the thought. Aurora Lou liked prosecco. She thought it was nice on a hot summer day. She could even choose it over champagne. Bill looked down at the table. Once again he thought about her. He thought about her in a way like they were still a couple.

He had been single for six months. It was February, the beginning of a new year, the year after Aurora. He thought he would probably think that way the rest of his life. He would survive without her but would know forever that his life could have been better, brighter if he just had Aurora. She needed to do her own thing now, all those things a woman in her twenties did and not be held back by a Swedish dad. It wouldn’t work just to see each other a few days a month. That wasn't a relationship.

“You really must stop with that face, you look depressed as hell!” Said his friend Christoffer and slapped his back a bit too hard. Bill plastered a smile on his face.

“Sorry, sorry… I just disappeared a bit…”

His friend nodded. Everyone knew he disappeared into a world where he still had a girlfriend. He had been a mess after their break up and most of his friends knew how hard it had been on him.

Christoffer took him along to some of his friends even if Bill felt like he was walking in his sleep. He had just come home from filming and had then ignored all the feelings around Aurora that now had started to come back.

Christoffer introduced him to the people, many were faces he already recognized, also the last one.

“Hilma,” said the tall woman and smiled friendly. Bill smiled back and tried to remember where he had seen her before.

“Sorry, but have we met?” He asked and he heard a guy laugh. Yes, it sounded like a bad pick up line. “It's a real question,” said Bill and smiled a bit strained. The girl laughed and shook her head.

“I think you recognize me in the same way I recognize you, a face you have seen,” said she with a shoulder shrug.

“A few years back Hilma was a model, you even walked for some big brands, right?” Said Christoffer who had listened with one ear.

“Yeah but that was a long time ago, I work for Stockholmsgruppen, the model agency, now? I'm finding new talents,” she said with a smile.

Bill nodded and smiled back. He knew he didn't need to say what he worked with and instead took an awkward sip of his drink. The prosecco was too sweet. But some liked that…

“Are you friends with any of the people doing the movie?” She asked Bill and he could feel how she looked at him up and down.

“Not really? I guess everyone knows everyone in the Swedish movie industry but it's no one I hang out with,” he said with a crooked smile and gave her a look, mostly to see how she looked at him. She checked him out, it was obvious. He thought it was nice getting some attention. Hilma was pretty, model pretty even and had a nice smile. He thought about someone else's smile. Full lips and a girly playful smile… He took a big sip of the prosecco. Fuck it was awful.

Hilma suddenly walked up close to him and for a moment he reacted badly to it, it felt wrong being so close to another woman.

“I actually didn't like the movie… I didn't even get why the guy wanted to go to Spain so badly?” She whispered and Bill smirked. She said probably what everyone thought. Bill looked at her amused.

“Maybe so we all have something to say about the movie. I don't have much else to say than that actually,” he said with a face. Hilma laughed and looked at his lips. Full sexy lips.

“Do you want to go somewhere else? This prosecco is awful,” she said and made Bill laugh. He nodded to himself and smiled.

“Sure. You pick the place.”

She picked her home, or she made it seem like it was the only option because it was so packed everywhere else. Bill had thought about Aurora on and off for six months but while sitting there with Hilma he actually forgot her for a moment. Or not fully, a brief thought could glide by but he didn't actively think about her. He knew by looking at Hilma she would sleep with him if he wanted to and he thought it was the right thing to do. He needed to get someone under him to get over Aurora.

The thoughts of Aurora were just with him while he waited in the bed for Hilma. He thought about her soft thighs and her sounds. He thought about her round ass and her big brown eyes. The softest lips that worked with his so well. He thought about how tight she was…

“Hey, you haven't fallen asleep?” Said Hilma and smirked when she came out to the bedroom dressed in a spaghetti top and panties. Bill smiled and shook his head. He pulled her down on top of him and kissed her. He needed to sleep with someone else.

The next day she asked him out for a coffee and a few months later they were in a serious relationship. Bill never really understood how it happened.

×××

“It's only you who can find yourself in a relationship and don't know how you get there!” said Aurora with a laugh. She sat between his legs, with her own legs over his in the big bed. She lived alone so the sheets were pink like much of the other interior. “You were like that with me too!”

“No, I asked you to be my girlfriend?” He said and leaned back against the headboard.

“After seven months of dating! Everyone else already called you my boyfriend.”

Bill scratched his head with a small smile.

“But it was different. Really different from the situation with Hilma.”

“Mhm,” said Aurora teasingly. “It's not like there aren’t any question marks in this story.”

Bill sighed with a smile.

“Like what?”

“You slept with her the first time you met.” She gave him a pointed look.

“Are you slut shaming me now? I didn't think that about you,” he said with raised brows in fake offense.

Aurora licked her lips and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah… But how couldn't you see that her kids were monsters when you were at her place?”

“It wasn't hers. She and her ex had broken up so she lived at a friend's place. I guess she felt forced to clean after the boys there. You know, that was the reason she moved in with me, she was more or less homeless.”

“You're such a good person,” said Aurora with a mocking voice as a joke.

Bill just smirked then pulled her closer so they could kiss softly.

“You're so jealous…”

“Tss…” said Aurora with a smile and then kissed him again. They kissed softly a few times then Bill gave her a pointed look.

“So Mattias?” He said.

“What about Mattias?” Said Aurora innocently.

“How did you meet?” He said with the same look.

“You know that?” Aurora just said and tried to flee from his question.

“The really, really short version. Tell me the long version now.”

Aurora sighed.

“You will just be so jealous you’ll hit a hole in the wall.” She rolled her eyes playfully, like it happened a million times before. Bill laughed.

“Don't you even try! Tell me now!”

×××

Aurora felt quite alone in the big house in Stockholm’s archipelago. It was old and grand. An old renovated hospital. She wondered how many people had died there and if it was haunted. Sometimes when she slept she could hear sounds but she always found an explanation, most often it was the house itself settling or one of her dogs. Most likely Istvan. He wasn't old and wanted to get up in her bed. He had grown so much and she wondered how big he would get. Maybe he would weigh more than the man he was named after. The man Aurora had moved to Sweden for.

It wasn't really true because she had arranged everything for her move for him but had moved there even though she had learned from people that he lived a happy family life with another woman. They hadn't spoken to each other for a year so she was probably the one who was stupid. Bill was a catch, of course he would be in a relationship fast after their split. He wasn't the kind of guy who was single for a long time.

She got up from bed at 8 AM, and in two hours the two guys she now wrote music with came to her. She had stopped fixing herself for them but wanted to eat breakfast and go for a long walk with the dogs. It was nice coming out and talking with the locals. They all were really nice, maybe they had understood she was lonely.

“Were you that lonely?” Asked Bill with big eyes while they sat in bed together.

“Yeah, I moved here without really knowing anyone.”

Bill furrowed his brows and caressed her waist.

“Why?”

She gave him a sweet but pointed smile.

“Because of you, silly.”

He looked at her with guilt and then down at their legs.

“Why didn't you just contact me?”

Aurora smiled softly and dragged her hands over his naked shoulders and up his neck through his hair.

“It wouldn't be right and also… What if you rejected me? It would have been embarrassing as fuck. I didn't know you would be a lovesick puppy.” She stuck her tongue out playfully and it made Bill laugh a little then he kissed her again.

×××

The first people she actually really got to know were the guys she worked with in the studio, Mattias and Tage. They were nice guys and they felt like friends fast. She was used to men who would either flirt with her, treat her like a bimbo or be afraid of her. Mattias and Tage treated her like a friend. That's why she became a bit disappointed when Tage told her Mattias had a crush on her and didn't dare to ask her out because he was afraid to act like a teenage boy. It probably took a bit too long for her to answer Tage about if she would say yes. Everytime she tried to imagine herself with another man she just thought about someone else, in her eyes the most beautiful man. She thought of his face when he laughed and showed his dimples, the creases around his eyes, and how he threw his head back when he let out a belly laugh. He could smile so dopey even if he most of the time looked so serious. She often thought about it and smiled like she was in love but it dropped fast when she remembered he was gone from her life.

She said yes to Tage so when Mattias gained the courage to ask her out she felt forced to say yes. He was a good guy. He was handsome, tall and a bit older so he felt more mature than guys in her own age. It felt like it would take time until guys in her age would be interesting again.

He took her to a little anonymous restaurant in South Stockholm. It looked like just a cellar but inside was an amazing little authentic Mexican restaurant. For a second Aurora wondered if Bill had been there but shook her head of the thought.

“Oh you don't like spicy food?” He said nervously of watching her shake her head.

“Hm? Oh no, I love spicy food,” she said and smiled. Mattias smiled with twinkling eyes. Aurora could see that he already had some sort of feelings for her and she felt stupid, she didn't want to fool him. Mattias had stopped eating just to stare at her. He didn't look at her chest or anything like that, just watched her eyes and face with a big smile.

“I'm sorry, but you're so beautiful. And you're such a warm, sweet person. Like what the fuck, do you have any flaws?”

Aurora giggled embarrassed but was uncomfortable. She took a sip of her margarita and then took a deep breath.

“Yeah, yeah…” she laughed uncomfortably and played with her nails. Mattias looked at her with a small smile.

“Lou? Is it something?”

She looked up at him and she could see how he melted by her doe eyed look, also that made her cringe.

“I must be honest to you… You know why I moved here and.. I haven't gotten over my ex… Completely. I don't want to, like fool you?”

Aurora saw Mattias smile drop and she looked around nervously.

“Bill Skarsgård?” he asked and swallowed dryly.

“It was more than a year ago we dated and we weren't even together that long. It was like only a year… Emm…” she rambled nervously and took a big sip of her margarita again. Mattias just stared at her. “I guess it is the only real, healthy relationship I've had.. I just want to be honest.”

Mattias nodded slowly.

“I'm going to go to the ladies room so you can… run away if you want to,” she joked, ashamedly. Mattias smiled a little and looked after her when she walked to the bathroom. He didn't need more than look at her to decide he would give it a chance anyway. He had never even hugged a girl like Aurora before. She would get over her ex, he would make sure that happened.

They had it nice the rest of the night and by gentlemanly excuses he got to come home with her.

“Are you ready for this?” He said when they made out on the couch and he had pushed up her dress so he could see her panties. She looked at him and nodded. She just needed to do it.

“But I'm not good at it. Like Bill did all the heavy lifting and before him I hadn't really explored…” she said nervously and looked down. Mattias just kissed her, so she would stop talking about her ex. He didn't need to know.

They slept with each other that night and continued to see each other and work together. She liked how kind he was and that he accepted that she had wounds. They became a couple two months later.

×××

Bill looked at Aurora with big eyes. She sat over his hips now and the straps of her red slip had fallen down her shoulders.

“I know what you will say, yes I slept with him on the first date but it's different because we had known each other for several months!” She said with a playful smirk but in reality she was embarrassed to talk about her being intimate with another guy.

Bill sat in silence and looked at her and Aurora started to worry she had said something bad. She really didn't think Bill was the guy who would judge her for sleeping with a guy quickly. She searched his eyes and when she caught them he bent forward and kissed her. He kissed her passionately over and over until Aurora pushed him away with a giggle.

“I never thought… I didn't know at all what you had said to Mattias. I… It's amazing to know you never forgot me.”

Aurora smiled warmly and she felt the same thing with him. It was like they had been together all that time in mind. Neither of them had let the other go.

“So that's what he meant by ‘you warned him’?” Bill asked and fixed the bands of her slip.

“Yeah. I did many times while we dated in different ways. The sex was awkward with him and he wanted me to lead him…”

Aurora looked at her boyfriend that now looked really uncomfortable but was too kind to say something.

“Sorry… But yeah… The same thing with ‘the going down thing’. I said that to him too.”

Bill nodded and then dragged her closer to his body.

“I understand why he hated me.”

Aurora dragged her nails through his hair and nodded.

“I do too…”

They kissed deeply and searched for new naked skin to touch like they hadn't touched each other before but Bill didn't want the night's conversation to end with Mattias. This was about them. Their first date, the second time around.

He released Aurora's lips with a smack and she looked at him confused.

“Our first date was better,” he said with a smirk and pulled out his hands from her slip and dragged his hands over her knees instead of her ribs. Aurora smiled lovingly.

“Totally.”

“Totally,” he said with a pointed silly face. Aurora giggled and then they together remembered that sunny day in Italy…

He wanted to do something else than just have dinner. The last time they met was at a dinner and he wanted to do something else with her. He loved just sitting and talking but they had talked a lot those two times they had met. He just wanted to do something fun.

He had asked around to try to find a beach where they could have some privacy but didn't think he would be offered a private one by his colleague. He was rich, he knew that and he probably got a salary five times bigger than him but hadn't believed he would have a beach to offer him just like that.

The last time he had met Aurora they decided to be friends then they walked into the house and at once started to make out on her couch. Aurora could feel what power she had over Bill. He might say he couldn't be with her but he acted in a completely other way. His big hands roamed her body like he hadn't touched a woman for ten years. He had never touched a woman as Aurora. He had been with girls that just were a different version of the same woman. Aurora was totally different and he couldn't stop touching her thighs and ass. There was much more to squeeze. Aurora had never really been with a guy like Bill. Her earlier relationships had been with guys that made her feel like she was in a teenage relationship. They dressed like fifteen year olds and acted like they thought a rapper would act. Bill looked like a man. His body made her feel small in all ways but she also felt so safe. He had arms and shoulders that were made to protect and legs that were made to run. He dressed like a man was expected and was kind and respectful. He acted just cocky for fun and never to feel more important than her. She wanted him and she could feel he wanted her.

This wasn't a date. But it was. It was their first date, they both thought it but didn't say it out loud.

Bill had told her to dress relaxed and bring a bikini. Aurora didn't know how to dress relaxed and she brought three bikinis. Bill looked at her with a little amused smile when she came out in a floral midi dress, it looked like it was borrowed from Brigitte Bardot herself and a white scarf in her hair. He took a deep breath behind the steering wheel when felt his heart start to jump around in his chest. He knew he would stammer, he could feel it in his mouth. She had been modest the two times they had met but now he would be able to see her in a bikini. He thought to himself that he had maybe chosen the activity unconsciously to see more of her skin.

Aurora jumped into the passenger seat and smiled a little. He really was dressed comfortably in black cargo shorts and a t-shirt without sleeves so he showed off his muscular arms but also the hair in the armpits. She blushed when she realized how fascinated she was by some hair.

“Hey,” she said and smiled sweetly.

“Hey,” he said with a little laugh. It just came because of the butterflies in his stomach.

They looked at each other with beating hearts then Bill took courage to lean forward and kiss her rosy lips.

“You look so pretty,” he whispered and touched the soft skirt lightly. Aurora blushed again. She often heard she was pretty but it was totally different to hear it from Bill. She wanted to say he was handsome but the words stuck in her throat and instead she kissed him again so he got lipstick all over his mouth. She didn't say anything about it, just corrected her own and looked at him amused driving with deep pink lipstick.

To have their own little beach was luxury. Bill looked away respectfully when Aurora changed to a bikini even if it felt like his eyes were drawn there with a string. She started to walk down the water without saying anything to him, suddenly he just saw her ass, eating up the high cut white bikini, strolling down to the water. He wiped the corner of his mouth and took a deep breath before walking down behind her in his black bathing shorts that sat low in his hips. Aurora giggled when she saw him look at her ass and that made Bill smirk embarrassed.

“Sorry…” he said and shook his head. She giggled again and leaned back in the water and let it swallow her up. Bill swimmed after her and took a hold of her waist. She could feel he had rowdy thoughts.

“No, no, no, what are you thinking about doing now?” She said worriedly but playfully.

“You're so fucking small… I would be able to throw you away so fucking far..!” He faked pain, like he couldn't restrain himself as he hugged her waist.

“No, no, no!” She said while feeling his arms with her hands. She could feel he was probably right. He laughed.

“Can I try?”

She said yes, of course and after a while she let him do what he wanted and just laughed. She felt safe with him in a way she hadn't with another guy. His hands didn't even wander over her body when they played. He kept it respectfully.

He had a volleyball with him, even if he thought Aurora would say no. She was unsure at first and felt a bit self conscious. He didn't force her, or tried to be a sleazy instructor.

“What about soccer?” She said suddenly. Bill furrowed his brows and smiled unsurely. He was so much bigger than her and also had experience that didn't make it fair.

“It's just for fun,” she said with a shoulder shrug.

“Okay, but I played when I was young, but I will restrain myself,” he said with a smirk. Aurora laughed a little but also looked at him teasingly.

She was good, really good. He felt almost a bit stupid that a 5’1 pop girl could dribble away from him. He laughed and threaded his fingers on his head.

“You forget to say something to me, right?”

Aurora smirked and shrugged her shoulders when she stretched out her sun kissed body in the sand.

“I may have played for ten years and a quite famous soccer player helped me out… He was a patient of my dad.”

Bill looked at her curiously.

“Who?”

Aurora looked up at him when he had sat down next to her in the sand.

“I can't say that. Patient confidentiality,” she said and smiled. Bill made an amused sound and shook his head. He couldn't stop himself from looking at her body when she laid outstretched like that. He got more and more attracted to her, but far from just by her body.

“Did you play in high school?” He asked and watched her spin to lay on her stomach. He took a deep breath.

“Yeah but not in school. They hated me there,” she said it with amusement.

Bill furrowed his brows in curiosity. “I was the annoying girl I guess. I've wanted to be a singer since like… forever. So that was, like, the only thing I talked about. Then I dropped out a year earlier when I got my record deal.”

Bill smirked and laid down next to her on his belly.

“Can I just brush away some sand on you before we continue to talk?” He tried to say innocently but it was obvious why he wanted to do that. Aurora laughed.

“I thought you were a gentleman, Bill.”

“Yeah? That's why I want to do it?” He said and smiled innocently. She gave him a pointed look but lifted her hips so he could brush away the sand on her ass cheeks. He liked to do that a bit too much and he could feel a stir in his bathing shorts.

Aurora smirked and took his hand and laid it on her ass when he was finished.

“You can touch as much as you want.” He smiled a bit embarrassed but then kissed her while hugging her ass.

“Who were you in high school?” she asked curiously.

“Ehhh… Sweden doesn't have high school so it's a bit different but before I was sixteen I guess I was… Normal?” He said with a laugh.

“You were popular,” Aurora said with a smirk. Bill smiled guilty. He didn't want to say it out loud. He had always had many friends and started to party early.

“Then I missed quite a lot when I started to act when I was sixteen. I wasn't that amused by school when I knew what I wanted to do.”

Aurora smiled a little. They weren't that different from each other, just that he had friends while she didn't get real friends until she met girls with as big dreams as herself.

Bill kissed her deeply when he saw her being in deep thoughts.

Was he in love?

Aurora knew she was in love with Bill already and she would take every chance to be with him.

×××

“I really have been in love with you since the first time I met you,” said Bill and hugged Aurora closer. He never thought he would say such a corny thing and now he even said it seriously. He had said so many corny things to Aurora that his past self would wonder what he smoked.

Aurora leaned down and kissed him several times. When she pulled away hugged Bill her hard with his cheek against her chest.

“I love you, baby. It has always been you. Since that night in Rome,” she said warmly and Bill breathed in her scent.

“I love you. I love you, my little Lou…”

×

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Dragon Reborn! Chapter 13: Punishments

Oh no I forgot a spoiler warning. Spoiler warning! This post spoils everything!

This chapter starts with the Flame of Tar Valon because Robert Jordan was playing a very strange game of Connect Four.

What if they mean to keep me here. In this room. Like a cell. Like a collar and. . . .

I can't believe Egwene's mental state hasn't magically recovered over the winter.

Aes Sedai had always denied the existence of a Black Ajah, an Ajah that served the Dark One, and were known to become angry with anyone who even suggested it was real.

Once again we see how secret keeping and denial is only hurting the light side. Sure, until now the Tower didn't have any evidence of an actual Ajah dedicated to this (they'd probably discovered singular problem Sisters in the past but never enough to suggest a conspiracy), but by pointedly denying the possibility and punishing those who raise it, they've created a pair of problems: 1. They can't publicly acknowledge the Black Ajah now without losing credibility. 2. Anyone outside the Tower who discovers the Ajah has every reason to assume that all sisters are Black due to vehemence of their false deniials.

Whatever they do, it will be what they decide is good for the White Tower, not what is good or fair for us.

We can also see the unspoken core of Egwene's upcoming reforms as Amyrlin: bridging the vast gap between "what is good for the Tower" and "what is good for any arbitrary sister".

“I am not a simple village girl anymore. I have seen something of the world. I can keep out of Aes Sedai hands if I want to.” She was trying to convince herself as much as Elayne.

While Elayne is right that Egwene probably wouldn't actually be able to prevent shielding, I can't help but feel that the training the Seanchan have forced upon her would make her far more formidable than the average Novice. I also expect that her terror at what the Aes Sedai might do to her after her terror at the hands of the Seanchan is a big part as to why she's such a willful student later - to her, teachers are abusers and have to be treated as such.

Egwene opened her mouth, then closed it again hastily. She could answer Aes Sedai, Sheriam had said. No one else. She regarded the Accepted with a level expression and waited.

Egwene has become quite good at obeying instructions. It's kind of horrifying to think that the Seanchan abuse trained her to play Aes Sedai games.

Somehow, she managed to give the impression that the Accepted was a handmaid carrying her gloves. Egwene hoped that she herself was doing half so well.

Honestly it wouldn't surprise me if she were doing rather better. Elayne's got composure but she's clearly a lot more frightened of the Aes Sedai punishments than Egwene.

Nynaeve wore an Accepted’s dress, now, white with the seven colored bands at the hem, but her belt and pouch were her own.

Nynaeve's Aes Sedai career in a nutshell, this.

“To lead,” Leane said, “is neither to push nor to pull. Go to Marris Sedai, Faolain, and ask her to allow you to contemplate on this while raking the paths in the Spring Garden.”

Points to Leane for recognizing that Faolain's just whining about stuff that isn't important. She also nicely sums up how Egwene will reunite the Tower.

Once Nynaeve opened her mouth, but closed it again, at a sharp look from the Keeper. The three of them stood in a line in front of the Amyrlin’s table and waited. Egwene tried not to fidget. Long minutes went by—it seemed like hours—before the Amyrlin raised her head, but when those blue eyes fixed them each in turn, Egwene decided she could have waited longer.

Pretty standard technique, but it does tie into what Leane just said. Siuan is leading by holding everything very steady and letting the girls' natures make them miserable in the stillness.

Many times she had imagined returning to confront Liandrin and accuse her, to see her condemned to some punishment—except that she had never managed to imagine any punishment strong enough to suit that doll-faced Aes Sedai’s crimes. She had even pictured returning to find Liandrin already fled—in terror of her return, it was usually. But she had never imagined anything like this.

Really there's not a lot of "easy victory by accusing your adversary of their many crimes and sitting back and enjoying the justice system doing its thing" in this series, is there? Egwene almost gets this towards the end with the Black Ajah executions but it's soured by her not getting the big target. Even when Rand does deal out justice without struggle it backfires on him (having to kill someone he likes, having the criminal kill themselves in shame), and just about everyone else usually has to fight to get justice. I guess Perrin gets to prove himself innocent in a court of law but that's hardly the same thing.

There were others, including many no one could make work at all, and many others that seemed to have no practical use.

While I'm sure most ter'angreal just aren't properly understood without the context of the AoL and its standing flows and what not, I bet a lot of them actually are just doodads, nifty toys or decorative items what have you that various Aes Sedai made in an era without much scarcity or purpose.

Punishment, whether extra labors or something else, was always between the Mistress of Novices and whoever was called to her. Those were usually novices, but included the Accepted who stepped far enough beyond the bounds.

In hindsight the secrecy of the punishment position is probably another reason the Black Ajah put one of their own in the spot.

Letting yourselves be winkled out of the Tower like thoughtless children. Even an infant would never have fallen into that trap.

Silly Siuan, our Wondergirls can fall into traps that babies can't even begin to understand!

“If I could, I’d put the Oath Rod in your hands tonight, but as that is reserved for being raised to Aes Sedai, I must trust to your good sense—if you have any—to keep you whole. As it is, you, Egwene, and you, Elayne, are to be raised to the Accepted.”

Siuan is desperate for any ally she can get at this point, and the best thing about Liandrin's kidnapping is that it's made it clear that she can trust these three are not Black Ajah and that's... exactly four people in the Tower she knows aren't Black, including herself.

Your worst day as a novice will seem a fond dream compared to the least of your studies over the next weeks. I suspect that some of the sisters who teach you will make your trials even worse than they strictly must be, but I don’t believe you will complain.

It's funny that both Siuan and Elaida effectively subject Egwene to the same punishment, in both cases for complete non-crimes on her part.

You may have ended a tradition that began before there was an Andor. A custom stronger than most laws. Morgase refused to take Elaida back with her. For the first time ever, the Queen of Andor does not have an Aes Sedai advisor.

This little detail has got to be the best bit of pay off for the Dark from the whole fiasco. They weren't even targeting Elayne but she happily threw herself into the mix and as a result Morgase has tossed away the person who was probably the biggest obstacle between her and Rahvin and given the Black Ajah the perfect puppet Amyrlin to boot.

As well that you do, child, because I have no intention of letting Morgase have you. You have the potential to be stronger than any Aes Sedai in a thousand years, and I will not let you go until you achieve the shawl as well as the ring.

How many weeks does Elayne stay in Tar Valon this time? Two? Three? I half expect a description of the Tower entrance to mention a revolving door.

“Leane, take Elayne down to Sheriam’s study. I have a few words yet to say to these other two. Words I do not think they will enjoy hearing.”

Frankly if I were Morgase and I heard that Siuan didn't technically put Elayne in danger by just making sure that her best friend and neighbor would do it for Siuan, I'd go nuclear. Thankfully that won't happen!

Next time: The commissioner has a mission for her deputies!

[kateandanthonyaremyparents]

Can you write something for this -“You heard me. Take. It. Off.”

Oh... idk what this is... the smutty part is behind the cut. It isn't good, but I hope you'll like it!!

Kate's driving Anthony crazy, like almost literally insane.

With her tiny skirts, her top a little too tight, and her hair hanging lose over one shoulder, making sure he could she the little bruises he left the night before right below her ear.

It wasn't fair. He hated the game they were playing. He truly did.

But he also loved it, lived for it even.

He loved being a part of something only they understood. The teasing in public, the yearning, the build up.

He knew what was about to come. He would break first. He realised it as soon as Kate walked into her mother's house in that outfit.

Anthony didn't care. Not today. Not when his wife was this h o t.

So he dragged her outside, to a spot invisible for the once still in the house, and he snapped.

"What did you say?" Kate looked up, her eyes dark and filled with desire.

"You heard me," Anthony forced himself to take a step back and ignored the urge to rip the skirt of himself. She has to give him something, he knew she knew, this was all a game and he was about to admit defeat.

"You heard me. Take. It. Of," he heard himself panting, he was so hard was about to come in his pants if he didn't have her in the next couple of seconds.

"This skirt?" Kate smirked, and she teased him a little further by lifting it a little. "But I like it.." she pouted.

"I don't fucking care," Anthony breathed loudly, "if you want me to fuck you like I know you will, you have to take it off."

"I don't see why?" Kate spread her legs before she grabbed his hand and guided it to her core, she was so wet and ready for him the next few things happened in a blur.

Anthony lifted her skirt, opened up his belt, lifted his wife, and entered her within seconds.

"Ah," Kate moaned smugly into his mouth, "Ant, honey, I love it when you lose control,"

And once again Anthony realised losing wasn't that bad. Not when his wife claimed her victory like this.

[kylo-wrecked]

What is the worst thing you have put your OC through story-wise? Music!Ben

{ 🫀 You broke and bought: Music!Ben }

He brought it on himself. He brought the whole house tumbling down. 

A listicle of the infamous tumbling downs:

Got cosy with a singer with the sole ambition of stealing her songs for First Order Records. Then he fell in love with her. Then he broke her heart. Then he broke his heart. 

Deliberately drove a car he knew would crash, physically debilitating his bandmate and best friend, Devon (Dräede (Music!Verse Knight OC)). 

Kicked out of the band that was his life- and family, too. 

Destroyed by Snoke. 

The other public break-up with another singer.

(Not invented by the mun at all, mun is loving and kind, and Music!Ben…

Music!Ben: pff, I was a fucking sweetheart in 2020.

K: Why you little—

He was.) 

And the long inciting crawl before the drop: 

He was picked up by First Order Records, a mega-famous, albeit notoriously abominable, bloodsucking label, at Snoke’s behest. Snoke has a lot of power in the industry, a big string-puller, surrounded by goons and lawyers and goons who are lawyers. Legend has it, they didn’t want the rest of the band, at least not initially. Just Ben. 

Ben accepted and signed a contract with profoundly shitty terms and not only urged but successfully convinced all his mates to do the same, you know, so that the band could stay together. To be fair, he didn’t know any better at the time. Later on, however, when certain strictures became clear, ‘Kylo’ shrugged off the band’s concerns. Things got ugly even before they got ugly

(Apparently, he never apologized to any one of them. And there were nine members at one point.)

Various incidents where this poor boy (nobody loves him) was a victim of sexual assault by gnarly, old Hollywood men. All horned-up aggressive men, at parties, you know, locker room behavior on designer drugs. Men who’d grab at him and tell him it was a good thing he was so big. Some women, too. 

(Ben denies this. He’s also denied the existence of TMZ when they’re right in his face, so go figure.) 

Some women threw broken Guinness bottles at ‘Kylo’ during a live performance in Michigan. Women with strong throwing arms. One bottle hit him in the pelvic belt… that was during a low-rise jean phase everyone went through. Probably would’ve been a nothingburger if he got offstage treatment. Everyone thought it was so cool the way this kid kept playing. A few shards got into his eye area, though. Then they had to take him down. And that was before the masks and uniforms. 

Born in New York and raised all over the world. They really liked that line. It wasn’t Ben’s, but he wore it after a while. He would hate anyone to know, but if you asked someone from before the Knights of Ren, they’d tell you he grew up in North Wetyin, which never existed on a map, ever. He got the shit kicked out of him in school, too. He dressed kind of like maybe he was gay? Sure, he was a tall tree, but he looked weird and talked funny, and you could see how sad he was. It’s mean; kids get mean in middle school, but those kids he went to school with just didn’t like him, and they seemed to want him to know it.

@southern-belle-outcasts

[natlacentral]

MEET THE COSTUME DESIGNER BEHIND THE FANTASTICAL LIVE-ACTION ‘AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER’

Farnaz Khaki-Sadigh is a builder of worlds as much as she submerges herself in the woven fabrics that contrive some of television’s most quirky characters and unusual universes. Known for her past costume design work in Prime Video’s Upload (2020), Khaki-Sadigh can make detached, dystopian realities appear real.

Most recently, the Vancouver-based costume designer built the lushly decorated universe of Netflix’s live-action take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, diving deep into 19th Century lore across Asian history to reference the four different elemental tribes' wardrobe. Seen mostly in the water tribe protagonists Sokka (Ian Ousley) and Katara (Kiawentiio Tarbell), their multi-shade blue protective attire was crafted to appear authentic and feel functional. Each Avatarperformer has their fair share of scenes that include choreographed wire-work and martial art action stunt sequences. Before filming in 2021, the cast participated in a week-long “bending camp” where they trained and strictly reviewed their character’s bending movements and scene choreography in Vancouver, Canada.

“I really wanted to be a warrior and tough kid like Sokka when I was a little guy,” says Ian Ousley about playing Sokka over Zoom. “He masks his vulnerabilities with humor and he tries to protect the people around him.” This courageous and comical character is often draped in protective teal-strapped clothing equipped with a wide warrior waist belt, boomerang, and Indigenous designs—he can’t bend, unlike novice water-bender Katara.

“When I was growing up watching Avatar, what stuck out to me was to be able to see myself in a character on TV and especially as a little Native girl, you know, that representation wasn’t as prevalent. [Katara] is like kicking ass and she is the coolest person,” Kiawentiio Tarbell recalls to me, beaming from Netflix’s Los Angeles headquarters.

The new Avatar iteration accentuates Asian culture not only through onscreen characters, casting, and cuisine but also through the garb that the principal cast and background extras wear. Khaki-Sadigh gave these characters life, even though the characters are set in a fantasy world that defies physics, the interwoven fabric of Asian American identity lives within the seams in every scene. Here, she discusses her costume design mastery work and how being a fan of the show helped her approach design with care and a critical eye.

Malik Peay: As a costume designer, you really are the first line of defense of making these characters feel real and familiar to the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise that has existed in other iterations before now. What felt like the biggest challenge when creating a wardrobe for all Four Elements? Farnaz Khaki-Sadigh: When it came to designing for the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender and creating the looks for the four nations represented by the elements, the biggest challenge was blending the cultural and historical accuracy while staying true to the original animation. The animation pulled so much inspiration from so many different cultures, and I really wanted to represent and showcase the cultural authenticity and historical accuracy of the real nations, cultures and regions that were the inspirations behind the Four Elements. It was important to me to make sure that i blended the two worlds, the real and the animation, in a way that honored both and stayed true to the fanbase. As a costume designer, our job is to be able to help tell the a story by helping visually build the characters and bring their world and personalities to life. It is important to help create a world that the viewers can fully immerse in and relate to. In this case it was really about making sure that everything was still relatable to the fans and did justice to the original show and still was respectful culturally and historically accurate.

MP: I felt the Indigenous influences in the water tribe’s costumes and throughout the other tribes. What was your research process like for this series? FKS: The original animation takes inspiration from many different cultures during mid- to late 19th Century. I had to not only educate myself about the specific cultures that are referenced by the original lore but also the history of those cultures and the influences their history had on what, how, and why people wore what they wore in those time periods. I spent a lot of time doing research for this project before I started on the show and continuously trying to learn as we worked through the project. I was reading books, articles, watching documentaries and reading historical papers and basically any medium I could use to learn from. I was also very fortunate to speak with some Inuit elders and learn from them first-hand about their culture and history. As well as getting to work with many incredible Inuit artists that contributed to creating some of the trims, accessories, headdresses that were used in both the southern and northern water tribe. This was an incredible collaboration and an amazing learning experience for me.

MP: When it comes to creating a fantasy world for the audience to believe through costuming, what is your main goal in terms of enforcing believability through wardrobe? FKS: I feel the more the character and the costume and the surrounding world blend in together, the more relatable and believable it is, especially in a fantasy world. Costumes are usually the silent storytellers, you want them to be noticed but you don’t want them to stand out and overpower the scene. They need to seamlessly blend in with the character and the background, to create authenticity to the world and the story they are a part of. The more organic and authentic they feel to the story the more they enforce the believability of the fantasy world you are trying to portray.

MP: Knowing the cast has to have a lot of room for movement in their costumes, how were you sourcing fabric materials for the performers’ wardrobe that would feel functional and practical? FKS: This was a very important part of the process for us as there are lots of action sequences in the show, and for the most part the cast has the same look. Not only did we have to look at the comfort, flexibility, weight, and mobility for action sequences, but also making sure that the garments flowed and moved organically with the actions. We tested a lot of fabrics, did a lot of mock ups that we tested with cast and stunt actors to ensure that the costume did not infringe on their performance and actions. Changing some of the designs around to make sure we accommodated for the movement and comfort. There is a lot of trial and error to the process. I believe that when you put a costume on a performer it should be comfortable enough that it becomes a part of them, it should be something they put on and not have to fuss with or feel cumbersome by it. The costumes should feel like a second skin and an extension of that character.

MP: Do you look for practicality when curating the cast’s costumes or more so rely on movie magic? FKS: I think you need both. Practicality is important, but so is authenticity and that takes movie magic. You need both and you need to know how to perfectly blend the two as to not take away from the visual appeal and the viewer experience. For me it has never been one for the other to be honest. It is a balancing act and you have to figure out when to use one or the other and when you need both as things go along. 

MP: The fire, air, earth, and water nation costumes are enhanced by the mixed martial arts acts and occasional moments of projectile natural elements. What costume in this series felt like your magnum opus because they all immersed me into the world of Avatar? FKS: I would have to say the entire show would be my magnum opus. I have been a big fan of the original show, I wanted to work on this project since they announced it, and to have gotten the opportunity to design and create the costumes for the live action and bring the world of Avatar to life is truly a dream come true. This show has been the biggest project, the biggest challenge, and the most gratifying project I have had the honor of designing in my career thus far. I set out wanting to do the show justice, and I am really proud of what me and my team were able to achieve.

MP: Why do you believe the costumes in this series are so integral to each’s character’s background? FKS: We use clothing to portray many silent messages in daily life. We tell our mood, where we come from, where we are going, and how we feel. We use clothing as a mask to hide our true self, a shield to protect and hide behind or as a badge of honor to show who we are. Just like real life, the costumes on each character tell a bit of their story and their journey, where they come from, where they belong, where they are going, if they are hiding behind a mask or who they truly are and what they may be holding on to. As each character’s journey progresses and their story arch changes, their costumes tell a bit of that journey. Their costumes are a representation of themselves, their nation and their growth as they move along their story arch.

[vzorexa]

A WEATHER EYE

I was gong to write something spicy but I regurgitated fluff-ish instead. Anyways, a little drabble I did for Rosaria's Bday! Tagging @gggno because you're always my inspiration for anything Kaesaria/Rosakae ♡.

" What the fuck Diluc! " Kaeya hissed through gritted teeth. Bent over in pain, he held a hand desperately on his side.

" You were staring. " The red-haired pointed out, readjusting the hilt of sword back to his belt.

The younger male's jaw dropped, despite the lack of words the disbelief in way he looked was obnoxiously loud and clear. Staring. Staring?! " Aren't we supposed to do just that?! "

" You two! " A reprimanding call interrupted, "You're not supposed to play around on watch! Just because you're noble doesn't mean you can slack off! By the Archons, trainees these days. "

He heard Diluc huff at the comment, and Kaeya but rolled his eyes as he stood back up straight. His rib still stung from deliberate attack, and he continued imagining kicking his brother's shins as payback.

In usual circumstances, Kaeya would demand answers. Why did he deserve being punched a hole on the side for simply looking? However, Kaeya begrudgingly knew the exact reason why Diluc made the literal jab towards him, and he didn't exactly need anyone to misunderstand, miscalculate, nor elaborately expand upon his.. mild curiosity.

Ahead, he was almost relieved to see Crepus and Varka still deep within their conversation. He had hoped their slight ruckus had not caught their attention. They were meant to be in their best behavior today, and the last thing he wanted was to be lectured by his own custodian. Thankfully, the Grand Master's explosive and unrestrained laughter was enough to prove his immediate concerns false.

However, Kaeya found they had caught the notice of someone else.

Golden eyes daggered through the rusty red locks. The paralyzing glare coming from the smaller figure standing beside the Grand Master. It was certainly not a hospitable look, but being friendly was the last thing Kaeya expected from her.

His conjectures aside, this wasn't entirely the first time he was able to observe her, -although very brief. As a trainee knight, he couldn't possibly be too privy to more private and sensitive information from the order, but nonetheless, Kaeya was able to have a glimpse of her as her Favonius envoy of knights brought her to headquarters before heading to the cathedral. At that time, she wasn't exactly very well kept, and the transactions were done somewhat secretive and hasty it was rather difficult to have a good look at Mondstadt's newest arrival. All the while he still noticed how she kept a hostile demeanor, - something that he guessed was either because of mistrust, or fear.

It was rather daunting seeing her out of bandit garbs and in apprentice religious clothes. The way she ceaselessly glowered towards his general direction doesn't quite radiate of kindness and grace as the other sisters do. Besides her threatening aura, something else Kaeya noticed was her hair. At first, he thought the muted red color was dulled as a result of living in the outskirts but her brighter red patch of hair was true and not unlike his own odd strands of lighter blue locks. It was a color one does not see very often. In fact, she might just be the only one he knew.

She was also very fair. More fair than the Ragnvindrs. Comparable to a sheet of paper. It would have looked almost frail and delicate at first glance, but something tells him she's far from being that sort of fragile.

" Her name's Rosaria. " Diluc suddenly spoke. " You'd have known if you paid attention to the earlier directives. "

He'd only grunt at the notion. Kaeya did not need to look at his brother see the smirk he wore so triumphantly. This time, even he couldn't deny his own actions.

He continued to watch as the fierce young lady finally pulled from their little staring contest with a little sigh of contempt. Her expression leveling back to boredom as her focus laid somewhere else.

" Rosaria, like the prickly flower? " Kaeya urged, finding himself lightly chuckling at the his own observations, " well that's rather.. fitting. "

[libidomechanica]

Men the spoken, blossom in themselves a blanket

Here to talk with chair is gone, more!     The smooth the wrongs are verse. Where he was not know I call God!     Be warm room of my loss to be gallanted: the sound agains,     like to thy face, or fork, children came Night, clos’d with Thee!     He tables in the rain:

yet little Grecian girls me and     her part of I was adoring wing and in nature farms     who, moving, conceiving world and one of the slipper, yet     with loue and a second strew’d flower fester, some shepheard,     the Pyrrhic dancing in

the like a hollowed to master.     Yet we both with mother- Age for the foreheads thee. I’m grown     old, they all the cream? That thought and room which like salute to     hurt and a true as peasants all the fleeced throng. The one betrays,     the trouble dyes; thus

fruited to God fair; she a window     behold too late with such too—Harry, from the prised     to-day. With cakes also crimson cup of a hand. And tirl’d     in my heart canon? Accept there now, even black the lark     abysses; the illicit

in her I-am poem,     a thought, to do what did lapse to love the day; for unrip     our cried lass o’ Ballochmyle. The secret thou, O awful     the royall arrives of of all short beside down. It     in scorch … yearning for men

breached, those whose perfet had trimly     did you truly tempt through he weary slide. One night of based,     but never chord of books country maid, excusing on the     flushing day-hymn stones a we-see poem, endeavourites     of European

flowery May, and slender Lambro     patriot’s sky, who the sport layes, who reach spicy flame     beckoned as eyes insteady, the mind. Ride my heart and go.     Cupid is my heaven’s our Desire is, the silently,     o’er head. Of loves, love

and lines. From the sound, and of wonder     facetious heath blossom, or found his due. Perchance and     ceaseless on ear-shaped then makes all Ladyes were riding on     the younglings this. They locust at the dayly brow that such     to pay no more and damp’d

his own her give you! Scent deuise, of     the repent, drawn forborn, or shrill to wean his quiver, What     her of the wealth, an ear- shaped the bier, where was all your flouds     about her countenance, one beweep might say I have doth     mone, passing years she hath

not glade, and it, all the public     mind dress; for it. Shall damn near, thou are. With despair Must I,     when not for a Ladde, where than the dusky high talk to playing     braine. In the murmur, snare him double green hent. By him     likes you see description

at zero, althought, bitter perceive.     Given, for nothings her but heart up to be spread thought     magic sail to the woman. Even the sky to find hiss—     the flowers to feathe—because the summer. Tried until the     flouds come, wherein her she

water years to her every night,     my thou and leaving infamy my breast monoxides,     like a youth and find to which vnto the past; the welcome hither;     sic a winter nieces. How many a swarm the Cheuisaunce,     to the deem the way

she coffee in his tame: euphelia’s     promising of translation. A sun, catch my hopes and     thighs, my love: o Jeanie fair, and now so you so long bloudie     girl who; they looked at night, that I would stations, and sky; wondrous     conside the think than

should have been to me when your rude     so blame, conceives and there, which mingle crag; droop; let me     wedded with Death, to me to praise. Dear rose on the light, raunger     angel from he murmur, sober be mud. Maybe I     sought, which master. Cried as

though those who the summer room who     have strange. Men the spoken, blossom in themselves a blanket.     Fond voice of her up foreign and dun as a marriage from     love all night’s marble, and mair but for destroys, he little     on Sunium’s man, she, most

doom who seek roses and yet it     close boughes o’er therewith long tried alone, while bright earst     hands. Quenches have a belt of sepulchral urn, who will gives     go out our timely heede thee down you say you complete think     to tame from soul leaves unlade

him stars go overcomes a     braces that blew in a milky way and her arms my veins?     With the Logan Waters of pleasure of kiss, exception     thy pap well through dark as no more she is enemies and     fruitful should rejoinder—

then yields a devil sting and is     true? This is a fathere, perch’d with Swift loathed you. That I shoulder     if I’ve fann’d to corrupted to one, I set me down,     and doth each other- Who the grown, if wee woman this?     Sweet, and rumor an hour.

[ronaldanthony4]

I’ve created another digital artwork once again, and this time, it's fan art of a character many of you might recognise—Polly Pocket. It was a delightful process, and every brushstroke brought her vibrant personality to life. The Polly Pocket I drew is not just an ordinary girl; she's the bright, adventurous, and confident Polly that many have come to love through the cartoon series of the same name. As I worked on this piece, it reminded me of why Polly Pocket has always held a special place in the hearts of so many.

Polly Pocket is ten years old, yet she’s already the lead singer of her band, Polly and the Pockets, where she also plays the guitar. What a dream for someone so young! I found myself getting more and more inspired as I sketched out her features. You can sense her youthful energy just from the way she moves, and that’s what I tried to capture in my fan art. When I started with her face, I knew her large, dark baby-blue eyes had to take centre stage—they have that twinkle that speaks volumes about her adventurous spirit. The fair skin tone I gave her serves as a perfect contrast to the explosion of colours in her outfit, reflecting Polly’s love for fun and fashion.

Her hair—ah, the blonde locks! She often styles it in a long, flowing ponytail held together with a pink scrunchie, and I made sure to stay true to that detail. But it wasn’t just about getting the hairstyle right; I wanted to show how Polly’s hair mirrors her energetic nature. Every strand seems to bounce with her, like it’s always in motion, just like her. In the piece, Polly looks like she’s in mid-jump, arms wide open as if she’s inviting you to join her in her next grand adventure.

For her outfit, I didn’t want to hold back on the colours because Polly is all about brightness and vibrance. She’s wearing a short-sleeved green top that blends seamlessly into a vibrant orange dress. The dress flares out playfully, creating movement as if Polly is spinning around or twirling in joy. I made the skirt purple, a fun choice to contrast against the orange because Polly’s outfits always seem to have that balance of colours that makes her stand out from the crowd. Her pink belt adds an extra splash of character, tying the whole look together with a perfect pop of colour.

One of my favourite details is Polly’s footwear. She’s got on these funky purple boots, with bright green straps crisscrossing up the sides, giving her look that extra bit of spunk. It’s like the boots were made for jumping and running and having adventures. I can almost imagine Polly skating or skipping in them, not a care in the world, just enjoying life. I even added some colourful bracelets on her wrist—Polly’s never without her accessories! The little details like these are what make Polly, well, Polly.

But Polly Pocket isn’t just about fashion or looking cute. What I love most about her—and what I hope comes across in my artwork—is her heart. Polly is one of those rare characters who seems to genuinely care about everyone around her. Despite coming from a wealthy family, she’s humble and always ready to put others before herself. She’s constantly helping people, whether it’s her friends or someone she’s just met. Polly doesn’t see wealth as a measure of a person’s worth; she measures people by their kindness, their loyalty, and their sense of adventure.

When I was drawing Polly, I kept thinking about how she loves animals. I didn’t include any in this artwork, but her love for them is always present in her personality. Whether it’s rescuing a puppy or riding horses, Polly’s connection with animals reflects her gentle yet bold spirit. She’s not afraid to get her hands dirty if it means helping a furry friend. I think that’s something we all can admire.

Speaking of adventures, Polly is never one to sit still. She’s always moving, always ready for the next exciting thing. Whether it’s roller skating, water skiing, or snowboarding, Polly lives for those heart-racing moments. In my artwork, I wanted to capture that energy, that unstoppable drive she has. You can tell just by looking at her that she’s thinking, “What’s next?” It’s that sense of curiosity and excitement that makes her so fun to draw. Polly's adventurous spirit is contagious, inspiring those around her to embrace new experiences and live life to the fullest.

Polly’s life is also about balancing the excitement with her love for fashion and music. When she’s not off on some wild escapade, you’ll find her strumming her guitar or hanging out with her bandmates. Music is a big part of Polly’s life, and I think it’s what keeps her so in tune with her friends. She’s confident on stage, not because she wants the spotlight, but because she loves sharing the experience with others. In a way, Polly’s music is an extension of who she is—a way for her to connect, share, and express all the joy and love she has inside.

One of my favourite quotes from Polly is, “Who needs perfect when you’ve got friends?” It’s such a simple yet powerful reminder of what matters. Polly is cool, friendly, optimistic, and most of all, she’s real. She knows that perfection isn’t the goal—friendship, loyalty, and adventure are. That’s what I tried to bring out in my art. She’s not standing still, perfectly posed; she’s leaping, laughing, and reaching out, reminding all of us that life is meant to be lived with friends by your side.

What makes Polly even more special is her sense of resourcefulness and optimism. No matter what situation she finds herself in, Polly can figure it out. Whether it’s building something from scratch or coming up with a clever plan, she’s always one step ahead. That’s something I tried to convey in her expression—a look that says she’s already figured out the next move. She’s a problem-solver, and that makes her adventures even more exciting.

But Polly isn’t just all fun and games. She’s also deeply loyal, and I think that’s what makes her friendships so strong. She’ll stick by her friends no matter what, and she’s always there to lend a helping hand. It’s that loyalty that makes Polly such a beloved character—she’s someone you can count on, no matter the situation. In my artwork, I wanted that to shine through. Polly’s open arms, her bright smile—it’s all an invitation, a message that says, “I’m here for you.”

As I finished my digital fan art of Polly Pocket, I took a step back and looked at the piece as a whole. The colours, the movement, the expression—it all felt right. Polly was alive on the screen, her infectious energy practically jumping out of the image. She’s the kind of character who makes you believe that anything is possible and that life is one big adventure waiting to happen. And that’s why I love creating fan art of characters like her.

Polly Pocket is more than just a cute cartoon character to me. She represents a sense of freedom, joy, and the importance of friendship. Through my fan art, I wanted to capture not just her look but her spirit. And I hope that anyone who sees this piece feels that same sense of excitement and adventure that Polly brings to every episode, every song, and every moment she shares with her friends. Creating fan art allows me to express my admiration for her character and the values she embodies.

In the end, creating this fan art wasn’t just about drawing a character I liked; it was about celebrating everything Polly Pocket stands for. Her kindness, her loyalty, her adventurous heart—it all comes together to make her the icon she is. I’m proud of this piece, and I hope it brings a little bit of Polly’s magic into the lives of everyone who sees it. Through my art, I aim to capture the essence of Polly's spirit and inspire others to embrace those same qualities in their own lives. Polly Pocket is more than just a character - she represents the power of friendship, imagination, and positivity in a world that can sometimes feel overwhelming.