#Chrysler Hall

[blackrosesredwineblogspot]

Last night watching the Chinese dance performance 😲

[residentalucardkisser]

'tis the season to get trigger happy (and swatted at by integra)

[halcyonterror]

happy chrimmus

Hallowed be thy ween, my dude.

[rabbitcruiser]

On June 8, 2018,  Anthony Bourdain died by suicide while on location in France for Parts Unknown.

[mayday396]

YOU BETTER WATCH-

[queeniesretrozone]

merry chrysler!

I got Rob and Joe for Christmas! (and other stuff too.)

and my mom let me get Andrew a couple of days early! (the day all three shipped, 12/21/2023) no shipping updates on Zubin or Ross tho

AND MY MOM ORDERD THE MARVINS CD FROM NEEDLEJUICE!!

(which means I only have to order G&E with my birthday money! context: I planned to order Marvin's and G&E with my birthday money)

[briseroyawritingsblog]

𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔

𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒎𝒂𝒏!𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒏 𝒙 𝒇𝒆𝒎!𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

• +18 minors do not interact. faul language, inappropriate thoughts, mutual attraction, large age gap, etc.

𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 / 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕

divider by @anitalenia

Working in red light district was nothing but dangerous. Even though it paid your bills perfectly you hated your job. You hated the fact that men gawked at your body, sticking their drunk ugly faces on the window. Your job was to stand behind the glass and to lure more men inside the pleasure house. It was called bordello but it was a bar, strip club, and much more. It was filthy, men were disgusting. Treating women like objects. You would never let men treat you that way or even touch you. Applying cherry lipstick to your lips it was your turn to stand behind the glass— few hours of misery. This time there was a chair where you could sit but you had to give a little show to desperate married men who came in and threw dollar bills at your box because you were so damn pretty for them. Behind all that makeup and pretty stockings was just a normal woman. A woman who had a normal soul and who was never touched by a man before.

Logan groaned as he parked his black Chrysler just in front of the bordello. Your gaze immediately landing on the men who were stepping out of the limo. Chatting and holding bottle of dark liquor. The driver seemed to be a tall man dressed in black. His grey hair complimented his outgrown beard and the specs on top of his nose only added to his handsomeness. You sat down on your chair, parting your legs biting your lower lip. The men which came out of his limo were already glued to the window swooning at your legs and your high heels. One of them even licked the window and you smiled. Logan met your gaze, your beauty mesmerised him— you were there like a doll. So small.. he grunted shutting the door on his limo lighting a cigar leaning against his car. He was told to wait so even if he would wait for hours he was getting paid for it. He didn’t mind that- it just really gave him some time to drink away his worries and aches in his body. Holding the cigar between his lips he looked at his phone. The more you observed him, the more he reminded you of someone. Taking your time to observe his trembling hands, his cough gave you a tiny worry. Maybe he was sick? But why so much liquor?

“Come on sweetheart give us a twirl maybe bend over so we can see those pretty thongs are you wet for us? Are we getting lucky? look at you let me pay you for the night. How much do you want?” One of the men approached your glass and you smiled. How did you want? You wanted to get out of the box and just go home. “I am not a toy” you replied making him chuckle gulping on the whiskey which he held in his hand telling his friends that somehow he wants only you. “Of course you’re a fucking toy, now get out of the glass and suck my dick.” Logan heard it, oh he heard what they were saying. Choosing to ignore the thunder in his chest he sighed. You looked at the man by his limo and then back at the rude men tears filling your eyes. How long did you have to endure this torture. Your line of work came with so much hatred. “Nah dude she’s not going to move, let her go. Let’s go inside” you sighed with a relief as they disappeared inside the club. Your heart nearly jumping out of your chest.

Logan didn’t look at you. He couldn’t look at you because you were too beautiful to look at. You were a sin and he was an old man who would never have a chance to be graced by your presence. You weren’t a stripper for sure and you weren’t a ‘working’ girl either. You were just… you.

The next following days you had the same customers coming to the bordello. You cringed at the sounds which could be heard from the down the hall as you walked out your closet. You wore a black mesh dress, your neck occupied black beads with a cross. Your hair was straightened this time and you had a black matte lipstick on your lips. Stepping inside your box you gazed outside, men were standing outside drinking and smoking and there it was. The black limo parked just opposite the club, smoke coming out the window. Logan was watching you again, he waited until you came on. He could indulge gazing at you all night long if time would allow him. You were gorgeous— your outfit was different and he understood that you had to dress up to meet men’s expectations but hell you looked like a sin. The way your lips wrapped around the cross he groaned and looked away. Why was he even there? Why did he stay? You knew he was looking at you and it was nothing wrong with it. In fact he was giving you a sense of safety. You were desired and hungered for but this man was different wasn’t he?

Finishing your shift three hours later, you changed out of the clothes which you hated the most and slipped on a pair of jeans. An oversized shirt, pair of fluffy socks and uggs. Wrapping yourself in a hoodie you grabbed your bag and car keys to leave. Like this you were almost unrecognisable— walking out the club using the back door of course you heard men nearby. You hurried to your car until they stopped you by pushing you against it.

“Here she is! Are we getting what we want tonight?” You wanted to scream. A hand came up to your lips shushing your whimpers and screams tears rolling down your cheeks. No.. you didn’t want to die. You didn’t want to be hit. Closing your eyes you prayed..

Oh god.. help me..

[sebstanaddict]

Stuck With You

Sebastian Stan x Reader One Shot

A/N: This might be the fantasy of every Seb fan out there 😆 Just a little something I wrote for fun that will hopefully put a smile on your face. Enjoy 😊

Summary: What happens when you get stuck in an elevator with the one and only Sebastian Stan? 😁

Warning: fluff, some cursing

Word count: 8.3k

Read more of my One Shots here.

---

Chrysler Building, New York, July 2023, 9 am

—

The sound of heels clacking on the marble floors echoed throughout the main lobby. A pair of feet wearing black closed toe high heel shoes walked swiftly across the hall towards the elevators.

Five more minutes! Y/n glanced at her watch in panic. When she looked up she saw the only elevator that was still open was about to be closed, so she decided to run.

“Hold the elevator, please!” She shouted.

A hand shot out from the elevator and held the elevator door open. She slipped inside and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.” She looked up at whoever held the elevator door open and felt like her heart just stopped.

“You're welcome.” The person smiled at her and she felt like her knees were about to give way.

She couldn't believe her eyes. After ten years living in New York, she finally met him! The love of her life!

She leaned back onto the elevator wall, trying to keep herself together while inside she was hyperventilating.

The person furrowed his perfect eyebrows at her and spoke in the most gentle voice she had ever heard. “Are you.. okay?”

“Y.. yeah..” she stammered, her heart still beating so fast in her chest and her palms started to sweat.

Get yourself together, d****t! She scolded herself internally and took a deep breath.

“Okay.” The person nodded and smiled again then turned his attention towards the elevator door.

The elevator dinged then stopped. Another person standing next to her excused herself and went out of the elevator. She didn't even realize there was someone next to her, so focused she was at the love of her life. She looked around and noticed two other people standing behind the love of her life.

Okay, maybe she should stop calling him the love of her life. He was practically a stranger whom she only knew from the screens of her cellphone or TV. He wasn't the love of her life, but she sure hoped he was.

She turned to look at the elevator door, trying hard not to glance at him every now and then, but of course she couldn't help herself. He really was way hotter in person, just like most of his fans that have met him said. He had thick stubble around his mouth and jaw. His brunette hair was thick and fluffy at the top but short on the sides. He wore a blue blazer with a white t-shirt underneath and matching blue trousers, he also smelled really good, just like what other fans that have met him said.

He glanced at her and smiled and she quickly turned her face away, butterflies flying around in her stomach.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself but caught his smell again, making the butterflies in her stomach fly around even wilder. There was no use, she couldn't be calm, how could she? She decided to just enjoy inhaling his intoxicating smell, trying to ingrain it into her memory as she was sure she wasn't going to meet him again ever.

The elevator dinged again and the other two people standing behind him walked out, leaving her alone with the love of her life!

Her heart beat even faster as the elevator door closed, leaving her alone with him.

“So, we're going to the same floor, huh?” He said and she looked towards the floor numbers on the panel of the elevator. The only number that was lit up was the 50th floor.

“Oh! Uh… I'm actually going to the 48th floor.” She said as she pushed the number 48 on the panel and felt warmth crawling from her neck up to her cheeks. She was way too focused on him that she forgot she was about to have an important meeting on the 48th floor.

“Oh, okay.” He nodded and smiled at her, making her knees feel weak again.

She smiled back and quickly turned her face away towards the elevator door, trying hard to compose herself.

She looked at her watch then up at the floor number display on the elevator panel and felt a slight panic. The meeting was supposed to start and she was still on the 20th floor! She never realized the elevators in her office could be so slow.

The lights flickered all of a sudden and the elevator abruptly stopped, jolting them up and down for a brief second, then complete darkness engulfed them.

Her heart dropped to her stomach as she held onto the railing of the elevator next to her.

“What the..” He commented as they stood blindly in complete darkness.

The emergency lights flickered on moments later and she looked up to see that they had stopped on the 25th floor.

“Looks like the power is out or something.” He commented.

“Y.. yeah. Seems like it.” She stammered, not believing the situation she was in! She was stuck in an elevator with him! Oh, her friends in the fandom were going to be really jealous of her. But then again, that was not supposed to be her focus. She needed to attend the meeting or her boss could get really angry at her.

He pushed the emergency button and it lit up but nothing else happened.

“Isn't there supposed to be like a phone or an intercom or something?” He asked as he studied the panel.

“Umm.. I guess so.” She replied, realizing she needed to also figure out what to do.

“I'm going to try and call one of my colleagues and let her know we're stuck here.” She said and he nodded.

“Good idea. I’m going to try and contact my friend too.” He said, pulling out his cellphone.

She looked at her cellphone and her heart plummeted. There was no cellular signal. She tried connecting to the building's WiFi but there was no WiFi on. She tried again to manually search for a cellular signal but her cellphone still couldn't pick up any signal. They were stuck and had no way of communicating to the outside world!

“Do you have a signal?” She asked, looking up at him as panic started to set in her heart.

“No, I was going to ask if you have.” He sighed.

“Oh no. Looks like we're completely trapped here.”

“Yeah. Let me just try and open the door. Who knows, it might work.” He said as he started to push the open button on the elevator panel, but the door remained closed.

“Alright, let me try and do it manually.” He said as he put his fingers in the middle of the elevator door and he tried to pry it open.

“Uuugghhh…” he grunted as he tried to exert a lot of force to his hands. She glanced at his arms and noticed his big bulky bicep underneath the sleeves of the blazer. She knew what she felt was wrong, but she couldn't help to feel the warmth at the base of her stomach at the sight of him.

Control yourself! She scolded herself internally as she realized what she was feeling.

“D****t!” He cursed as the elevator door remained closed and he released his fingers from it.

“I'm sorry, I can't.” He said, turning to look at her, his eyes full of regret.

“It's okay.” She smiled. “Looks like we just have to wait.”

“Yeah, I hope people out there will respond soon. I'm sure that emergency button does something.” He said and she nodded.

“Yeah, I'm sure it does.”

“I'm Sebastian by the way.” He extended his hand.

“Oh, I'm Y/n. Nice to meet you, Sebastian.” She shook his hand and she felt her heart galloping fast in her chest as his hand touched hers.

She couldn't believe it! Sebastian Stan just touched her!

“Nice to meet you too, Y/n.” He smiled and shook her hand back, letting it linger for a moment longer than necessary.

“So.. do you work here?” He asked, dropping his hands and putting them in his pants' pockets.

“Yeah, I work at Quantum Capital up on the 48th floor.” She replied.

“Oh, do you know Michael?” He asked, looking at her expectantly.

“Umm.. Michael Sheehan?” She asked.

“Yeah! He's my investment manager.” He replied and her eyebrows raised.

“Really?” She asked.

“Yeah, been working with him for a year now. I”m actually going to have a meeting with him later on today after I'm done meeting my agents.” He said.

“Well, funny he never mentioned working for you considering.. “ She trailed.

“I know what you mean.” He chuckled.

“I specifically asked him to keep my name confidential. You know.” He explained.

“Of course, I understand.” She nodded.

Still, she needed to grill Michael later on and asked him why he never mentioned this at all. But then again, why would he? He didn't know she was a fan of Sebastian. No one in her office knew. Heck, no one in her life knew except some fellow Sebastian Stan fans in the fandom. Michael was right to keep the information private.

“I wonder what caused this blackout.” He said.

“Yeah, I wonder too.” She said.

“Have you ever experienced anything like this?” He asked.

“No. I've experienced power outages here several times though, they usually didn't last long. So I hope it will be up again soon.”

“Well, I hope so too. I'm supposed to meet my agent now.” He said, glancing at his watch.

“Yeah, I have a meeting I'm supposed to attend too. My boss is going to kill me if I don't show up.” She sighed, expecting her boss to be really angry at her.

“Sorry to hear that. Guess we're both late.’ He responded.

“Yup.” She shrugged.

“Well, in any case, I'm glad I got stuck here with you.” He winked and she felt her heart leapt out of her chest.

“And why is that?” She asked slowly, still not believing her ears.

“Well..” He trailed as his cheeks started to redden a little. Was he blushing? She couldn't believe her eyes!

“Being stuck in an elevator with a beautiful woman beats being stuck with anyone else, really.” He said, giving her a side smile.

She froze and wasn't sure how to respond. Sebastian f*****g Stan just called her beautiful?! He just f*****g flirted with her?! What were the odds of that happening?! She thought in disbelief.

“I.. uh.. I'm sorry if I make you feel uncomfortable.” He quickly said when he saw that she stayed silent and frozen as she tried to process what was happening. He put one hand behind his neck and looked down in embarrassment.

“Oh, it's okay, Sebastian. You just..caught me by surprise. That's all.” She smiled and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh, good. I really don't want to make you feel uncomfortable seeing that we'll be spending some time here together for God knows how long.” He responded.

“Don't worry about it, Sebastian. I don't feel uncomfortable at all.” She said as she felt another kind of emotion, disbelief mixed with utter joy as she experienced something she thought would only ever happen in a dream.

“That's good to know.” He smiled in relief.

“Anyway, I hope you don't mind me. But I'm just going to sit down here.” He said as he went down and sat cross legged on the floor.

“Oh, of course not. In fact, I'll join you.” She said as she went down and sat on the floor too, across from him. She was wearing a rather tight knee length pencil skirt so she couldn't sit cross legged, instead she folded both legs on one side and she pulled the hem of her skirt to try to cover up as many of her legs and thighs as she could. She glanced at him and caught him looking at her thighs and his cheeks reddened. He looked away immediately as she tried to process what happened again. Did he just check her out? Once again she couldn't believe it.

He cleared his throat and looked back at her.

“So, how long have you been working here?” He asked.

“Three years.” She replied.

“I see.” He nodded.

“What about you?” She asked.

“Oh, I don't work here.” He chuckled.

“Of course you don't, I mean..” She trailed, kicking herself for asking something stupid like that.

“I just moved to a new agency, the agency's office is here.” He explained, saving her from more embarrassment.

“Oh okay.” She nodded.

“Are you from New York?” He asked.

“Oh, no. I'm from Tulsa, originally.” She replied.

“Tulsa huh?”

“Yeah. I went to Oklahoma University and after I graduated I moved here to work.”

“Oh okay. And how long have you been living here?”

“Ten years.”

“Ten huh? How do you like living here?”

“Well.. it's been tough, you know it's a literal concrete jungle where the survivors are the powerful.” She shrugged.

“Oh, I absolutely get that.” He nodded.

“Yeah. But I still love it here. I love how it's a melting pot of almost every country and race in the world. I love just walking in the streets and finding myself among these different people and race and culture. I mean, in one block you feel like you're in Italy and in the next you feel like you're in India. It's just fascinating.” She replied.

“I agree. There's nowhere else like New York.” He smiled with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Nope, nowhere else.” She smiled back.

And I love it even more that I finally meet you here! She said internally, wishing she could say it out loud.

“Where do you live by the way?” He asked.

Her heart seemed to stop as she heard the question. He wanted to know where she lived?! The Sebastian Stan wanted to know where she lived?!

“You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I mean.. I get it. The world is a crazy place and people can just stalk you or something. You know. I was just making small talk.” He quickly said when he noticed she stayed quiet too long. His face reddened a little again.

“Oh, it's okay, Sebastian. I..uh..I live in Brooklyn.” She replied.

“Oh okay, we're not exactly neighbors then.” He commented.

“Where do you live? If you don't mind me asking.” She asked.

“Soho.” He responded.

“I see.” She nodded.

“I love going to Brooklyn, though. I mean, I love reading and I think Brooklyn has the most indie bookstores out of all of New York.” He commented.

“Yeah, that's true. I bet you've been to McNally Jackson then.” She commented, referring to one of the large bookstores in Brooklyn.

“Oh yeah, I like the open floor plan and high ceilings. It's a beautiful bookstore.” He commented.

“Yeah, it truly is.” She nodded.

“Have you ever been to Quimby's?” He asked with a small smile on his lips.

“Oh yeah, it's such a unique place. Do you know they offer tarot card reading at the back? Not that I believe in those kinds of things.” She replied and he chuckled.

“I do know that. That's not why I usually go there though.” He laughed.

“Oh, yeah, I'm sure you're there for the books.” She replied.

“The comics actually.” He said and his face reddened again.

She laughed out loud, making his face even redder. Quimby's was famous for stocking some questionable saucy comics. She couldn't believe he would tell her that.

“I’m sorry, I'm not gonna judge you. I mean, if you enjoy the comics, good for you.” She said and he laughed.

“Thanks. Maybe we should change the subject. This is starting to feel weird.” He commented and she laughed again.

“You have a nice laugh.” He said and her eyes widened.

Was he flirting with her again?! She couldn't believe it.

“Oh, thanks. I can't say anyone has ever complimented my laughter.” She chuckled, trying hard to keep her cool.

“Really? That's weird. I swear your laughter is so nice to see and contagious too.” He said and she couldn't help but feel her cheeks burn.

“Thank you.” That was the only thing she managed to say.

“Alright, pizza.” He stated.

“What?” She asked, dumbfounded.

“I said we should change the subject. So, pizza is the new subject.” He replied and she laughed again.

“Oh okay. Yeah, pizza. I love pizza. Especially New York pizza.” She smiled.

“Yeah, New York pizza is something else. Like the saying goes, pizzas are from Italy..”

“But they're perfected in New York.” They chorused and laughed together.

She looked up and couldn't believe she caught it with her own eyes. He was doing a cute nose scrunch as he laughed. Something he sometimes did when he found something so funny.

That was it. She could die now and be happy. Being able to witness his cute nose scrunch in person was an experience enough to beat all other amazing life experiences.

“So, what's your favorite pizza place in Brooklyn?” He asked after their laughter subsided.

“Well.. I bet you think I'm gonna answer Grimaldi's or Joe's Pizza.” She replied, referring to two country wide famous pizzerias known to be the hot spot for some celebrities.

“Well, both have amazing pizzas.”

“I agree. But my favorite is Dellarocco's in Brooklyn Heights. Their Tartufo pizza is to die for!” She gushed and felt her mouth slightly watered just thinking of the pizza with truffle cream, gorgonzola and mozzarella cheese topping.

“Can’t say I've heard of it.” He said.

“Well it's at Hick's Street. Right around the corner of Remsen Street where my apartment is.” She explained.

“Oh, okay. I might just drop by some time then.” He said and her jaw dropped.

“To the Dellarocco's, I mean. Not to your apartment.. I mean.. unless.. you want me to..” He trailed and his face reddened yet again.

She could feel the burn on her cheeks again as she tried to grapple with the situation. Was he.. interested in her?

“Umm..” She trailed, not sure how to respond.

“Sorry, just forget it. Forget what I said. We should do something else.” He quickly suggested.

Noo.. I would love for you to drop by my apartment! She shouted internally but all she could say was “Oh okay. What do you have in mind?”

“Let's play a game.” He responded with a small smile on his lips.

“What kind of game?” She asked, her eyebrows raised.

“Just something simple, seeing how we don't have much resources.”

“Okay, sure.” She nodded.

“Let's play truth or dare.” He said and she laughed again.

“If you don't want to play it's fine. We can do something else.” He quickly said.

“No, let's play truth or dare. This is going to be interesting.” She said. Interesting was an understatement. She thought. If anyone in the fandom knew what she was doing with him, they were going to freak out for sure.

“Alright, let's flip a coin to decide who asks the question first.” He said, pulling out his wallet and picking up a coin from it.

“Call it.” He said as he flipped the coin and caught it in his hand then put it on the back of his hand.

“Heads.” She said and he opened his hand to reveal heads on the coin.

“Okay, you go first then.” He said as he returned the coin back to his wallet.

“Wait, I have just the thing to help with this game.” She said as she pulled out her cellphone.

“What is it?” He asked, looking at her with eyebrows furrowed.

“I hosted a party some time ago where we also played truth or dare. I used this app to help generate random truth or dare questions.” She answered as she scrolled on her cellphone and pressed the Truth or Dare app on her screen.

“Well that's convenient.” He commented.

“Yeah. Anyway, here it is. Are you ready?” She asked, looking up at him while her thumb hovered above her cellphone screen, ready to press on either Truth or Dare buttons.

“Ready.” He nodded.

“Truth or dare?” She asked.

“Truth!” He quickly answered and she pressed the Truth button on her cellphone.

She smiled as the Truth question appeared on her screen.

“When was the last time you lied?” She asked and his eyes widened.

“Well..” He said, scratching his head.

“You never lied?” She asked.

“I'm not an angel, of course I have lied.” He responded and she laughed.

Well, you are an angel in my eyes, she thought as she continued to look at him and admired his perfect face.

“In fact, the last time I lied was this morning.” He finally answered.

“I had to tell Anthony that I can't meet him this weekend because I have to work.” He said, grimacing.

She laughed out loud.

“Anthony Mackie?” She asked.

“Uh huh.” He nodded and she laughed again.

“You know you don't have to answer it in detail. The question didn't ask for details.” She chuckled.

“Yeah well. I don't mind sharing some detailed truths to you.” He winked and she felt her cheeks burn again.

“Alright, my turn. Truth or dare?” He asked.

“Ummm.. Truth.” She said as she gave her cellphone to him, feeling her heart beat raised as she waited for his question.

“Okay.” He pressed the Truth button on her cellphone and soon a question popped up.

“What’s the worst thing you've ever done?” He asked with a small smile on his lips.

“Oh great, that is a hard question.” She complained and he laughed.

“You can switch to dare if you don't want to answer it.” He suggested.

“No, it's okay. I'll answer it. The worst thing I think.. that I have ever done is.. not letting my mom know that it was me that broke her favorite vase.” She replied.

“What?” He asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Yeah. I was like.. five.. we had this ginger cat as a pet. And one day I was in the living room just doing some ballet practice. You know. I was enrolled in a ballet class like most girls my age.” She explained.

“Okay.” He nodded as he continued to look at her in amusement.

“Anyway, I was doing some pirouettes, you know, I twirled around and my legs hit the vase and it fell onto the floor, breaking into pieces. My mom was really angry, she bought it in Italy during a vacation to Rome and it was just so precious to her. I told my mom our ginger cat broke it. She was so angry that she gave our cat up for adoption.” She explained, feeling the burn on her cheeks.

“Oh wow. Okay. That is the worst thing anyone has ever done. What a poor cat.” He commented but she couldn't help but notice the small smile on his lips.

“Yeah. It's the worst isn't it? Sometimes I still wonder whether our ginger cat is okay and what would have happened if I had told the truth.”

“Well, one thing for sure. I'm sure your mom would not give you up for adoption.” He commented and they laughed out loud.

“Okay, my turn again?” She asked.

“Yup. Go on.” He nodded as he gave her cellphone back to her.

“Truth or dare?” She asked.

“Umm.. let's go with dare this time.” He responded.

“Okay.” She nodded as she pressed the Dare button on her cellphone screen.

“Hmm.. this is not so bad.” She commented as she read the question.

“What is it?” He asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Show me your search history.” She commanded.

“Search history? You mean like in the browser?” He asked.

“Yeah.” She nodded.

“Okay. Get ready to find my dirtiest secret.” He said as he pulled his cellphone out and started swiping on it, making her laugh again.

“There you go. Judge me all you want.” He said, giving her his cellphone.

She smiled as she read his search history.

“Tiramisu recipe”

“Pannacotta recipe”

“Best Investment 2023”

“Best stock to have 2023”

“Donald Trump biography”

“Donald Trump history”

“Donald Trump fraud cases”

“Ric Flair biography”

“Ric Flair history”

“Okay, the first two are interesting, and the next two are alright, considering you're going to have a meeting with Michael later on. But.. what's with the Trump and Ric Flair searches though?” She asked, her eyebrows raised.

“Umm.. this is supposed to be a secret, as there's nothing definite as of now. But.. I'm in the running to play Trump and Ric Flair.” He said, looking at her expectantly.

“What?!” She exclaimed out loud.

“Not in the same movie, of course.” He quickly explained.

“So, two biopics?” She asked.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“Wow.” That was all she could muster. She knew he was somewhat in the running to play Ric Flair as he was seen having lunch with Ric Flair earlier that year, but Trump? That was completely new to her. The whole fandom was going to have a melt down if he played Trump. She was sure of it.

“This is like.. really top secret. So I beg you not to tell anyone about this.” He said, his eyes pleading.

“Don't worry Sebastian, I won't tell a soul. I'll keep this to my grave.” She said, making a gesture on her mouth as if she was zipping it close.

“Well I hope not to the grave.” He chuckled. “I mean, if I get the part and the news comes out officially you can tell other people.”

“Oh, right. That's a relief.” She nodded and he chuckled.

“Okay, it's my turn now. Truth or dare?” He asked.

“Dare.” She said, giving both his cellphone and hers to him.

“Alright.. oohhh.. this is interesting.” He teased.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Swap your clothes with someone.” He stated and her jaw dropped.

“What?” She said, flabbergasted.

“Yeah, since I'm the only someone here with you, I suppose we should swap clothes. But if you don't want to, it's okay. You could just switch to truth.” He quickly said.

She couldn't believe it! She was expected to strip in front of him?!

But then she realized something as she looked down at the clothes she was wearing and what he was wearing and realized they could just swap one item of clothing without stripping themselves naked.

“It's okay. We could just swap our blazers.” She said and realization seemed to dawn in his eyes.

“That's brilliant.” He commented and so they took off their respective blazers and gave them to one another.

His blazer was of course too big on her but it smelled of him and it felt warm, making butterflies fly around in her stomach. Her blazer on the other hand was so small on him that he could barely get his bulky arms into it. Afraid of ripping it, he decided to just drape it around his shoulder like a cloak.

“You look..” She trailed.

“Ridiculous.” He shrugged and she laughed.

“I didn't say that.” She protested.

“I know you didn't but I know it's at the tip of your tongue.” He said and she laughed again.

“You, on the other hand.. you look.. great.” He winked after checking her out, making her blush once again.

“No, I look like a five year old playing dress up in her father's closet.” She stated and this time he laughed.

“Still looks great though.” He said after his laughter subsided. She couldn't believe how flirty he was to her!

“Anyway, let's continue.” He said, giving her cellphone back to her.

“Right, truth or dare?” She asked.

“Dare. I feel like doing more daring stuff.” He said and she smiled in amusement.

“Okay. Hmm.. Talk in an accent.” She said as she read the question on her cellphone screen and he laughed.

“Shouldn't be too hard for an actor, huh.” She commented and he laughed again.

“Yeah well, it depends on the accent. What accent do you want me to have?” He asked.

“Italian.” She immediately said, smiling a little. She had heard him speak Italian before in two of his movies and he was sexy as h**l in those movies. She couldn't believe she was getting a front row seat to see him do another Italian accent.

“Okay.” He nodded and cleared his throat.

“Ciao bella, como estai? What pizza would you like to order today?” He asked in a thick Italian accent, pretending to be a waiter at a pizzeria.

She laughed. “Oh, I'll have the margherita, please.”

“Ah, fantastico! Excellent choice, bella.” He said, still in a thick Italian accent, making her laugh again.

“That was good.” She smiled.

“Sai, non ho mai visto occhi belli come i tuoi né un sorriso così luminoso e carino come il tuo. Esci con me, forse?”

(“You know, I've never seen eyes as beautiful as yours nor a smile as bright and pretty as yours. Go out with me, maybe?”)

He said still with a thick Italian accent and she froze. She didn't speak Italian so she had no idea what he was saying but it sounded sexy as h**l, making her heart flutter.

“You know, I have no idea what you're saying. But.. you were so so good..” She commented.

“Oh.. yeah..” He said, putting his hand behind his neck again and she could see his face had slightly reddened again.

“So.. what does it mean?” She asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Oh! Nothing. I was just commenting on the weather.” He said and he looked down, fiddling with his fingers.

“Hmm.. okay. Well, it's your turn now.” She said, giving her cellphone to him. Somehow she felt like he was not telling the truth about what he said in Italian, but she couldn't push him about it, it would be rude to do it.

“Right. Truth or dare?” He asked, accepting her cellphone from her.

“Dare.” She said.

“We're both pretty daring people, huh?” He chuckled.

“Guess we are.” She laughed.

“Alright.. umm.. ooh ho ho. This! I'd love to see!” He exclaimed out loud.

“What?! What does it say?” She asked, her heart beat faster in her chest.

“Do a freestyle rap.” He said gleefully and her heart dropped to her stomach. She had never ever rapped in her life.

“I can't.” She shook her head.

“Oh come on. Just do something short. Like a line. It's not that hard.” He persuaded her.

“Well if it's not that hard why don't you do it first?” She said with a glint in her eyes.

“This is not how this game is played.” He shook his head and she laughed.

“Well, I'm not doing it unless you do it first.” She folded her hands in front of her chest.

“Fine.. okay. Here goes nothing.” He said, clearing his throat.

“You better lose yourself in the music,

the moment

You own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo”

He rapped the song Lose Yourself by Eminem. She laughed and closed her mouth with her hand. She couldn't believe what she just witnessed. Never in her whole existence as a Sebastian Stan fan did she witness him rapping at all, so the moment was like gold to her.

“Oh my God.” She continued to close her mouth with her hand, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Was it that bad?” Sebastian asked, his eyebrows knitted together.

“Oh no no! On the contrary, that was brilliant!” She exclaimed breathlessly.

“You're not just teasing me, are you?” He asked, still with his eyebrows knitted together.

“Of course not! Now how am I supposed to top that?” She complained and he laughed.

“You know what, do you know the song Love The Way You Lie by Eminem and Rihanna?” He asked.

“Oh yeah, I know that song.”

“Well, what do you think if we sing it together? You sing the Rihanna part and I'll sing the Eminem part, well.. rap the Eminem part more like.” He asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Well.. okay. Sing? I can do that.” She smiled.

“Good. As it happens, I have the song stored here on my phone so we can just sing along.” He said.

“That's brilliant!” She smiled and he smiled back warmly at her, making the butterflies in her stomach fly around again.

She couldn't believe what was happening. She was going to sing with Sebastian Stan?! She definitely woke up on the right side of the bed this morning.

“Okay, ready?” He asked, his thumb hovering on the play button on the music player of his phone.

“Yeah.” She nodded, her heart beating so fast in her chest.

“Okay.” He nodded then pressed the play button.

Rihanna's voice immediately came out from the speaker and she sang along as best she could.

“Just gonna stand there and watch me burn?

Well, that's alright, because I like the way it hurts

Just gonna stand there and hear me cry?

Well, that's alright, because I love the way you lie

I love the way you lie”

Then Sebastian started to rap along with Eminem.

“I can't tell you what it really is

I can only tell you what it feels like

And right now, there's a steel knife in my windpipe

I can't breathe, but I still fight while I can fight

As long as the wrong feels right, it's like I'm in flight

High off of love, drunk from her hate

It's like I'm huffing paint and I love her, the more I suffer

I suffocate and right before I'm about to drown

She resuscitates me, she fucking hates me

And I love it, "Wait

Where you going?" "I'm leaving you"

"No you ain't, come back"

We're running right back, here we go again

It's so insane 'cause when it's going good, it's going great

I'm Superman, with the wind at his back, she's Lois Lane

But when it's bad, it's awful

I feel so ashamed, I snapped, "Who's that dude?"

I don't even know his name, I laid hands on her

I'll never stoop so low again, I guess I don't know my own strength.”

She was amazed at how good he was at rapping. They ended up singing along to the whole song. Her heart soared in her chest as they sang and rapped together. Granted, the song was a sad song, but it didn't matter to her. She was singing with the person she most admired in the world and nothing felt as amazing as that moment.

“That was awesome! You have a beautiful voice!” Sebastian exclaimed excitedly as soon as the song finished and she couldn't help but blushed again.

“Thank you, Sebastian. You were awesome too! Never knew you could rap!” She commented excitedly.

“Yeah well. That's another secret of mine I just shared with you.” He winked and she felt herself red in the face again.

“Anyway, guess it's my turn again?” He asked, putting his cellphone back in his pocket.

“Oh yeah, that's right. So, truth or dare? She asked.

“Dare.” He answered.

“Alright, another dare huh.” She said as she pressed the Dare button on her cellphone.

“I told you I'm feeling daring today.” He said and she smiled.

She read the question on her cellphone screen and felt like her heart just stopped. It couldn't be!

“So, what's the question?” He asked.

“Umm.. here. It's better if you read it yourself.” She said, feeling her cheeks burn again as she gave him her cellphone.

“Oh.. okay.” He nodded and accepted the cellphone from her.

The corners of his mouth turned up slowly as he read the question then he looked up at her.

“Kiss.. someone.. here..” He said in a low voice.

“You don't have to if you don't want to. We can just press the button again so another question will pop up. Or you can switch to Truth if you want. Or we can just stop..” She said frantically but she couldn't continue saying what she wanted to say because he suddenly put his index finger on her lips, startling her.

“Y/n.. it's fine. I'm willing to do it.. unless.. you don't want me to? Because you have a boyfriend? Maybe?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowed as he dropped his finger from her lips.

“Umm.. no.. I don't have a boyfriend.” She replied, her heart galloping fast in her chest and her palms started to sweat.

“Okay. Good.” He smiled warmly at her and if her eyes didn't play tricks on her, his eyes seemed to darken a little as he looked at her, making her feel the warmth in the base of her stomach again.

He stood up slowly and extended her hand to her. She picked it up and stood up slowly, feeling pins and needles on her legs and winced a little.

“Are you okay?” He asked as he stood closer to her and looked down at her with his eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah.. it's just that my legs feel a little numb..” She grimaced.

“Okay. We can wait if you want until it feels better.” He suggested.

“No, it's okay. It feels better now.” She said as the numbness slowly went away.

“Alright.” He nodded and moved even closer to her. He gently placed one hand on her waist and another on the side of her face.

Her heart continued to beat fast in her chest as she looked up at him and waited for him to make the final move. His gorgeous ocean blue eyes were hooded and he went inch by inch closer to her to the point his lips hovered above hers and she could feel his gentle breathing on her lips.

Their lips were just a split second away from touching when a bright light attacked them and the elevator door slowly opened.

They immediately broke apart and turned to look at the door. Two men wearing technician uniforms looked at them curiously.

“Oh, thank God you guys are okay.” One of the men said.

“Yeah, we're.. we're okay.” Sebastian said, smiling at the men but his shoulders were slumped.

Ugh! Bad timing you guys! She protested internally.

“So, what happened?” Sebastian asked as they finally got out of the elevator together.

“There was a power outage. It was restored half an hour ago and all the other elevators started to work again except this one. We've been trying to contact you guys through the intercom but it didn't seem to work.” The other man said.

“What intercom? I didn't see any. I just saw the emergency button.” Sebastian said, his eyebrows raised.

The technician guided them back into the elevator and showed them a small button under the current floor display as well as a speaker next to it.

“Ah okay, we didn't see it.” Sebastian said.

“Even if you didn't see it, it was supposed to work when we called you from the control room but it didn't. We're really sorry, sir, it seems it's broken.” The man said.

“Oh okay. Well, the important thing is that you managed to get us out. So thank you for that.” Sebastian said.

“Yeah, thank you guys.” She said.

“No problem, sir, ma'am.” The man said, smiling at them.

“If you'll excuse us, we need to repair the intercom. You can use the other elevators.” The man continued.

“Alright, thank you so much, man.” Sebastian said and the men nodded at him.

They entered another elevator next to the one they were trapped in, finding two other people already in it. He stood at the very back of the elevator after pressing the 50th and 48th floor buttons on the panel. She stood next to him and both faced the door.

Her heart dropped to her stomach as she realized that this was it. He was going to leave her life and they were never going to see each other again. That kiss would never happen. She was sure of it.

The elevator stopped on the 48th floor and she turned to look at him.

“I guess I'll see you around?” She said, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah. Let me walk you to your office.” He said, startling her.

“Oh, okay. Excuse us.” She said as they walked out of the elevator together.

They arrived at an empty hallway where her office was located. The elevator door closed, leaving them alone in the stillness. They stood face to face, his hands in his pockets while her hands hung loosely by her side. Her heart beat fast in her chest as she anticipated his next move.

“So.. Thank you for being a nice companion during a bad situation. I had fun being stuck in an elevator with you.” He smiled, gazing down at her intently with his gorgeous ocean blue eyes, making her heart flutter wildly.

“Oh, you're welcome. Thank you for being a fun person too, back there. I.. I had a lot of fun too.” She smiled back.

“Good. I'm glad. Anyway, I believe this is yours.” He said, taking off her blazer from around his shoulder.

“Oh yeah.” She said as she took off his blazer and gave it to him.

Just then his cellphone and hers rang at the same time, making them both jump. They sighed and they pulled out their respective cellphones together.

She glanced at her cellphone screen and saw her boss' number flashing on the screen. Her heart plummeted and she immediately picked it up. Just as she did so, Sebastian turned away from her and talked on his phone too.

“Hello.” She answered the call, dread filled her stomach as she turned around.

“Y/n! Where have you been?!” Her boss' loud voice came out of the speaker.

“Mr.Thomas, I'm really sorry. I got stuck in the elevator during the power outage.” She immediately explained.

“Oh for God's sake Y/n. Out of all days, why did you have to get stuck in an elevator today?!” Her boss complained.

“I.. I'm sorry Mr.Thomas.” She stammered.

“Where are you now?”

“I'm on my way there, sir.”

“Alright, make a run for it.”

“Yes, sir.”

And her boss hung up without saying anything.

She turned around and found Sebastian still on the phone, his eyebrows furrowed, his mouth turned into a frown. She didn't want to bother him so she waved her hand in front of him and mouthed while pointing her thumb back towards her office. “I have to go.”

He nodded and mouthed “Okay.”

She nodded and turned around, sprinting towards her office.

She didn't expect their good bye to be like that. She expected him to do more because it seemed he was genuinely interested in her.

But then again, maybe she was just imagining things. Even if they never see each other again, she was still so happy to have met him. At least she now belonged to the group of fans who have met him in person. In fact, she thought she even got the best experience with him! So, yeah, she was still so elated about it. That day was definitely one to go down in her history book as one of the best days of her life!

—

Dellarocco's Pizzeria, Brooklyn Heights, New York - the next day, 1 pm

She opened the door to her favorite pizzeria and smiled widely as the smell of pizza baking in the brick ovens traveled into her nose. Her stomach rumbled as she walked towards her favorite spot by the window and took a seat.

“Ciao bella, como estai?” A waiter came by her table and greeted her.

“Hi.. I'm good, thank you.” She smiled. She didn't know Italian but she knew enough of what the waiter just said to her.

“The usual, miss?” The waiter asked.

“Yes, please, thank you so much!” She replied and the waiter nodded. Soon she was left alone to enjoy the atmosphere of the pizzeria.

She looked around and found the pizzeria not to be too crowded. There were only eight tables occupied, aside from hers. There were two tables occupied by a family of four, four tables occupied by two people who seemed to be having a business meeting of some sort, one table occupied by a couple and one table occupied by..

Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened as she registered the person sitting alone at a table across from her. The person held a comic book in his hand and was smiling as he read it. Then he looked up and his eyes widened as he looked at her.

Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest as the man smiled at her and closed his comic book. He stood up and sauntered over to her.

“Ciao bella, como estai?” He greeted her and she laughed.

“Hi Sebastian. I'm good, thank you. How are you?” She asked, looking up at him with butterflies flying around in her stomach.

“I'm good too, thank you. Mind if I sit down?” He asked.

“Of course not. Please take a seat.” She smiled, gesturing for him to take a seat.

“Thank you.” He smiled and pulled out the chair in front of her then sat down.

“So, what brings you to Brooklyn Heights?” She asked.

“Well, I have some free time today and I realized I haven't visited Brooklyn in a while. Our conversation yesterday reminded me that I need to get a new comic book from Quimby's.” He explained, showing her the comic book in his hand and she laughed.

“And then.. I remember you said the pizza here is to die for. So, I got curious and tried it.” He continued.

“And, what do you think of it?” She asked with a small smile on her lips.

“You were right, it was to die for!” He gushed and she laughed.

“Told you.” She winked and this time he laughed.

“Anyway, I also have some unfinished business here..” He trailed, gazing at her intently, making the butterflies in her stomach fly around wildly.

“With the most beautiful woman in New York.” He continued with a low voice, making her tremble.

“I see..” She said, trying hard to keep it together even though she felt like she was moments away from fainting.

“You see. There are two things I need to tell her.” He said, the corners of his mouth turned up a little, his gaze unwavering towards her.

“Two things?” She asked and swallowed hard.

“Yes, the first one is. I need to tell her that I was lying.”

“Oh? About what?” She asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Do you remember the Italian words I said yesterday?” He asked.

“Oh, the one where you talked about the weather?” She asked, her eyebrows raised.

“Yes, that's the one.”

“What about it?” She asked, curious as to where this was going.

“Well.. I wasn't talking about the weather..” He trailed.

“Okay…what were you talking about?”

“Sai, non ho mai visto occhi belli come i tuoi né un sorriso così luminoso e carino come il tuo. Esci con me, forse?”

He asked and once again she had no idea what he was talking about but she still swooned over him nonetheless.

“It means..” He said with a low voice as he leaned closer to her and she leaned closer to him too.

“You know, I've never seen eyes as beautiful as yours nor a smile as bright and pretty as yours. Go out with me, maybe?” He asked with a husky voice.

Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest and her knees felt like it was made of jelly as she listened to him. Sebastian f*****g Stan just asked her out?! Was this a dream?!

He continued to gaze at her expectantly as she froze in front of him.

“So.. what do you say, Y/n?” He asked again.

She blinked and willed herself to calm down.

“Of course, I would love to go out with you, Sebastian.” She finally managed to say.

“Okay. Phew. That's a relief!” He exclaimed and she laughed out loud.

“So, what's the second thing you need to tell me?” She asked as her laughter subsided and they both leaned back on their chairs.

“The second thing is..I believe I owe you something.” He said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Oh? What is it that you owe me?” She asked, her heart beating so fast in her chest as she had an inkling on what he was talking about.

He looked around for a second then moved to sit on a chair next to her. He placed one hand on her waist and turned her to face him.

“I believe I still owe you a dare.” He said with a low voice, leaning even closer to her, making her feel like her heart was going to burst out of her chest.

He placed one hand on the side of her face, taking his time to stroke her cheek gently with his thumb while his gorgeous ocean blue eyes studied hers intently. Then he pulled her face closer to him and their lips finally met.

Nothing could describe what she was feeling as they kissed. No words would suffice. Incredible, amazing, great, awesome, earth shattering. Those words were an understatement of how his kiss made her feel. It was the best kiss she ever had, and it was the start of many other kisses they shared together over pizza, over comics, in between singing and rapping and even inside elevators.

When she thought she just met the love of her life yesterday, she never expected to be right. Against all odds he really was the love of her life and she was happy to be stuck with him until the day they died.

[penname-artist]

Merry Chrysler-

I MEANT TO POST THESE CHRISTMAS HEADCANONS A YEAR AGO

THIS HAS BEEN IN MY DRAFTS SINCE THEN

I'M SORRY CHILDREN YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CANDY NOW

I swear I am totally not biased when I say that I'll side with Shu's headcanon of Lightning being very into singing and then getting caught doing so and being good at doing so while putting up Christmas decorations. Okay. Maybe a LITTLE bit biased.

But I am NOT biased when I say that he and Mater BOTH do it and they have a habit of starting a lyric and waiting for the other to give them the next one so they can duet the rest. It's adorable, but it drives the town crazy just as much.

Red always puts something happy and festive on the old Stanley statue. Some years it's a wreath. Some years he has a red glowing nose. Sometimes he gets little antlers. It's a nice nod to his love for the holidays, and it makes Lizzie so happy.

Finn and Leland used to play that silly Hide the Pickle game on Christmas morning, except with very ramped up stakes because they loved a challenge. Since his passing, Finn's now dangerously taught both Mater and Holley to play. Mater tries his best, though he's not great at hiding them and he's lucky at best with finding, and Holley, well...let's just say that she did such a good job her first time trying to hide it that they all gave up looking, and ended up having to buy another one to use.

Every year, Dusty goes out and puts up tacky Christmas lights for the year. And every year, he and Chug get tangled in it. And every year until 2013, Dottie was tasked with helping them out. Since 2013, every year she puts it up to Skipper and Sparky to do instead. Never fails.

You ever heard of something called a "Drive thru nativity scene"? I've been to one, once. You sit in your car and drive through a live reenactment of the towns and the nativity, and you pay fake coin taxes at certain stops, and dad almost got put in fake jail by Roman soldiers because he wouldn't pay those taxes anyways the point is they have one that they do at Radiator Springs now and over the years they have garnered a lot of traffic. Sally and Lightning only did the Mary and Joseph bit one year, and it ended in Joseph being run over by fans and backing up the line, so he lent his role to someone else (it changes every year)

During his reign over the Lodge, Cad Spinner went above and beyond for Christmas light displays during the holidays, which ate up the electric bill for one and left a fire hazard for another. When Jammer took over his position, though, the annual display had become wildly popular, so - with the assistance and better pay of the Piston Peak fire and rescue - they kept the event running. So long as Ryker stayed close by.

The Smokejumpers pulled an Epic Christmas Prank on - or rather with - Cabbie one year. He had no idea what everyone was giggling about, as they boarded up to drop over a fire. And then later, Maru held up a photo he got of him while he was taking off with them. He rolled his eyes at the sight of the bright red "ELF BACKUP" sign written across his hatch.

Blade's not really a Christmas guy, but, there's one thing he enjoys during the Christmas season, and that's peppermints. He's fucking addicted. Maru will catch him swiping them from the little bowl Patch puts out in the mess hall, and they go through a whole bag in less than two weeks. Addicted I tell you.

Specifically in humanized land, Cabbie has whittled - while Windlifter paints - simplified wooden nutcracker statues, reflecting the features of each of the Smokejumpers. There's five on the mantle in the mess hall for them, and another shelf that holds a handful more for the jumpers past.

[kyber-crystal]

MURY CHUMES‼️

in honour of christmas 2023,could u makefestive/holiday obiwan hcs bc hes so silly and i know he'd "deck the halls" (im so funny) (im not)

obi is the type of guy who would cuddle w you by the fireplace n drink hot tea or hot chocolate <3 (and he'd spoil you to death my goodness!) (also sorry if this is wasnt what u meant i didnt know what u meant by send asks HSJSHSJ)

OMG HI THIS IS SO PERFECT I NEED THIS SO BAD so thank you for sending this in <3 ur my new fav person

&& MERRY CHRYSLER :) consider this my gift to you!

"i don't get why we had to be sent away DURING the holiday season. the council couldn't have waited?"

you grumbled some variation of this under your breath for several minutes straight while preparing the flight out to dantooine

and obi agrees

the two of you are being sent on a long-term operative mission. there's no daily wars or hard combat to face—it was more of a stakeout of sorts—but still, you had to stay alert. just in case

you were mainly upset at the fact that you couldn't relax in your quarters or with your family for the holidays

obi-wan, sensing your blues, decides that he's not going to let that ruin the festivities

you're staying in a quaint little home for the next few weeks. it's plainly, but relatively tidy

"there's a life day market in town! we can pick some food up there, and decorations, if you're up for it" obi had suggested, so that's what you end up doing

while at the market, which is bustling with people from all over the galaxy (you later find out that dantooine's life day market is one of the biggest there is), the two of you are mistaken for a married couple

but hey, the status gets you several discounts on fresh fruit

even after you leave the produce booth, he keeps his hand interlocked with yours

(and you like it. though you'd die before admitting it lol)

you haul several giant bags and baskets of supplies back to your place

(correction, obi-wan does most of the heavy lifting. you're only carrying the tree decorations so you look like a tangled bundle of color that has no start or end)

it takes you everything you have not to stare at how his arms flex when he moves things

you didn't realize obi had a creative side to himself, so when you let him take charge of decorating, you didn't know what to expect

but once the two of you finish decorating you're pretty amazed

the tree glitters with woven string lights and ornaments that look like stars plucked straight from the heavens, shining in hues of rose gold and ivory white

"it's so beautiful," you exhaled

"indeed, it is," obi-wan replied, but he wasn't even looking at the light fixtures (he was looking at you instead)

you're about to unpack the groceries and start cooking but he stops you in your tracks, placing his hands on your shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze

"let me handle this, darling. i insist," he says—and you can feel your face growing warm at the term of endearment

so you sit down by the fireplace with a blanket around your shoulders and watch as he carefully cuts up the starfruit and places it in a porcelain bowl, dices the meat and vegetables, and pours hot chocolate (you made a mental note to ask him later which booth that was from) into two mugs

for a moment you get completely lost in the idea of living a peaceful, domestic life with him. one where you wake up every morning to the fresh smell of coffee and berries and are greeted with a tight embrace

but you're brought back to reality with the reminder that technically, you're on a mission right now, and you're both jedi

so no amount of wishing and praying will make any bit of that domestic life come true

:(

"you've been so quiet," he suddenly speaks up

"just...tired," you reply, and it's the truth. the entire flight over, you didn't sleep a wink—you always had trouble falling asleep

he decides not to question you further—he knows what's bothering you; he always does

dinner is amazing as always—you're good at cooking, too, but your skills pale in comparison to what obi has

after you eat, you sit down by the fireplace, wrapped up in several thick blankets with steaming hot chocolate in hand

"how long has it been since you last saw your family?" he asks

"seven years," you say. "we write letters to each other, but you know, given my schedule, it's hard to pay them a visit. i hardly see them anymore..."

"i can be your family, then," he offers with a sad smile

and you feel your heartbeat pick up speed just a little

not because you're secretly in love with him...of course not lmao

but because he's always been here for you and continues to be

you lean against him and close your eyes and just. take him in

like. how does this man smell so good...

it's as if he bathed in every warm and comforting scent you could think of

and you can almost pretend that you're right back home in the arms of the one you love, and not millions of miles away on a foreign moon

(jokes on you, he is your new home)

you're not sure how long you stay cuddled up like that for, but you wouldn't mind if it lasted for the entirety of your mission

"you know i love you," he says quietly after he thinks you've fallen asleep, and he gently kisses your forehead

but you manage to whisper back an "i love you too" before drifting off

obi-wan finally feels at peace

& so do you

(i'm so sorry if this wasn't what you expected hiusahfiuherguheg but hopefully it makes you feel all warm & cozy inside!! hehe merry christmas)

tags (this list hasn't been updated in a while so apologies if it seems off...lol): @voguesir @fl0ating @lady-elena-adeline @katelynnwrites @freeshavocadoooo @buckysbeloved @kelieah @kaleidoscope1967eyes @lam-ila @amelia-song-pond @unstablecaffeinatedmind @elenavampire21 @joyfullyswimmingface @arkofblake @hellotherekenobi

[seat-safety-switch]

We both know that, at some point in the past, you’ve been to a town that was enjoying a carving competition. Lumber, ice, marble: it’s human nature for some incredibly talented individuals to carve a statue out of another material, and then have their fellow cattle appear to gawp at it. Recently, I was in a small town, and they were doing a chainsaw carving competition. Artisans were busy hewing classical art out of broken trees, and it really got my creative juices flowing.

When I got back home, the only thing I could think about was making art of my own. Of course, I don’t own anything as clumsy as a chainsaw, and the municipality in which I reside has only recently removed their “no tree zone” bylaw, enacted after a particularly bad weekend in 1912 in which several beavers invaded City Hall. In their place, respectively, I chose an angle grinder, and the three-sixteenths of a 1974 Chrysler Newport that had been clogging up the corner of my yard for four presidents.

Of course, as with any art form, my first attempt at it was clumsy. Inexpert. I became frustrated at not being able to get my emotions into my work. I also went through a lot of AliExpress’s best “Holy Shit Very Sharp!” brand carbide wheels, some of which fractured even as I was loading them into the white-hot grinder. I persisted. My second production would be better, I told myself, and threw myself into it. Days turned into nights, and nights turned into days, because otherwise that would be kind of weird.

There is a name for the phenomenon which I was now experiencing. “Outsider art” is the polite way that the art community refers to anyone who had not received any classical art training (I never even learned finger painting, because my pre-school teacher, Ms. Ellersly – who I cannot remember the face of, but who drove a 1958 DeSoto Adventurer in puce – got busted for pot that day) but still manages to make art. Well, bitches, I got a whole gallery full of it now, and every tuned-in patron of sculpture was lining up to tell me how brilliant I was and how I should be asking millions more.

Well, I stopped doing it shortly after that. They say you should always leave your audience wanting, but that wasn’t it at all. Between you and me, I’d probably be making more, but I got bored of the whole thing. And I definitely didn’t want to cut up any more cars. At least, not any cars that I owned, and something about the high-boron steel superstructure of the Kia Sportage that keeps parking at the end of my driveway on weekends is not conducive to my particular muse. Oh? You’re right, I can keep it on hand in case I need some rust repair panels in the future.

[coimbrabertone]

If You Ain't Cheating, You Ain't Trying...Part Three.

There is a mission in Red Dead Redemption 1 titled "Liars, Cheats, and Other Proud Americans" which I considered using as the title for this blogpost. That being said, the old adage "if you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'" is perhaps most closely associated with NASCAR.

And the poster child of cheating in NASCAR? None other than Smokey Yunick.

Henry "Smokey" Yunick had been a pilot in World War II and turned to NASCAR when he came home, driving in the early years of the sport. He is, however, known far more for his work as a crew chief. Particularly the cheated-up monstrosities from the 1966 season.

That story actually begins in 1965, when Dodge and Plymouth banned from competing as their powerful 426 Hemi engines had not met the 500 production units for homologation standards. In protest, Chrysler Corporation pulled all their teams and drivers, including NASCAR legends Richard Petty and David Pearson.

This was a major problem, thus, in 1966, NASCAR allowed the Hemi engine. Dodge and Plymouth returned, along with their star drivers, but in turn, the Ford factory entries pulled out in protest. Thus, Ford driver Curtis Turner instead signed for Smokey Yunick to drive a Chevrolet Chevelle.

Everyone knew this Chevelle was flagrantly illegal...but nobody knew exactly how.

The most popular explanation had been that Smokey built a 7/8ths scale replica of a Chevelle with an oversided engine.

In reality, car was the right size...sort of.

Smokey had raised the floor, lowered the body, moved the body three inches back on the frame for better weight distribution, smoothed out the underside to effectively give it a 90s F1 style flat floor, had the fenders and bumpers flush to the frame, and changed the angle of the front and rear window for better aerodynamics. Yeah.

It gets worse.

Come the August race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, NASCAR had reached an agreement with star Ford driver Fred Lorenzen to get him back in the sport. He, along with another famous crew chief, Junior Johnson, were basically given a blank check to do whatever they wanted for the race, they weren't going to get disqualified.

Thus, the 1966 Ford Galaxie, had its nose to the ground, its rear swung upwards for better aerodynamics, and the windshield was 20 degrees lower than normal. Not only that, but because it was an oval turning to the left, the left side of the car was a whole three inches lower than the right side. This is still done on oval racers today, but uhh...three inches is rather obscene. So obscene, in fact, that Lorenzen needed help just to get in and out of the car.

Painted yellow and with that swing from front to back, they called it the "Yellow Banana."

Smokey's Chevelle, in all fairness, had all the earlier infractions and by now had added an extension to the back of the roof that effectively functioned as an extra spoiler.

Both cars passed inspection.

Cheating had gotten so extreme that, for the 1967 Daytona 500, NASCAR would introduce body templates, essentially the shape that a car needed to be in order to be deemed legal. As advanced as its gotten now, NASCAR still more or less works based on templates.

The key thing is though, in NASCAR, Junior Johnson and Smokey Yunick are venerated. They were both part of the inaugural class of International Motorsports Hall of Famers in 1990. Johnson was then part of the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010. Lorenzen and Turner, who drove those cars are Hall of Famers as well. If anything, they're more popular because they cheated.

With Smokey Yunick in particular, there's an almost folkloric aspect to his cheating.

One story goes that, shortly after NASCAR finally regulated the size of the fuel tanks, Smokey drove one of his cars into inspection. NASCAR took the car apart, removed the fuel tank, and told Smokey that they found nine things wrong with the car. Smokey shrugged, turned the car on, said "better make it ten" and drove off.

How? eleven feet of two-inch diameter fuel hose, wrapped around the car. Allegedly Smokey said "I coulda driven that sumbitch to Jacksonville." Realistically, it seems that much fuel hose would only be good enough for five gallons, and I'm not sure how fuel would get from the line to the engine without a fuel tank in between, but hey, five extra gallons is still an advantage.

Anyway, the point is that cheating is considered commonplace in NASCAR and the greatest cheaters are revered. Even now, there's a belief that the Championship Four cars at Phoenix are cheated up to high heaven because they know NASCAR isn't going to disqualify a championship contender.

Or the car that Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove at the 2001 Pepsi 400 - the first race at Daytona since his father's death at the 500 earlier that year - he was driving away from the pack in clean air on a restrictor plate track. Some people say it was a gentleman's agreement not to get in Jr's way if he was in position to win, some people say the car was the most blatantly illegal thing since Smokey Yunick. Others say the team did nothing wrong but NASCAR gave them a restrictor plate with a bigger opening to get the narrative they wanted.

Nobody knows for sure, but the point remains. Cheating is part of NASCAR, always has been, and it pretty much always will be. Whether it be "HMS never legal again" or "Dem Cheatin' Yoders" NASCAR twitter will constantly have somebody throwing out cheating allegations at one team or another, but nobody really blinks an eye at it. It's just part of the culture there.

Therefore, it's interesting to see the culture clash between the two worlds of American motorsports. On the NASCAR side, cheating is revered, with these stories being told and retold and exaggerated into the folklore of the sport. Meanwhile, on the Indycar side, it's turned Team Penske, and particularly Josef Newgarden, into a villain in the eyes of many fans.

For the two most popular racing series in America, they sure do view cheating through a different lens.

[rat-clinic]

[echoing]

Jack, do you remember the day we met?

Yeah, it was in front of Federal Hall… there were all these tourists around you.

They were asking me which building it was that King Kong was climbing in the movie.

I said it was probably the Chrysler Building.

[funnylittlelad]

So, I've been thinking about Appalachian!Eddie and Steve meeting as kids when Eddie's mom cleans Steve's house

disclaimer here: i grew up in the very northern bit of Appalachia and i went with my mother to clean houses growing up so this may have been a little thing just for me at first

wc: 2.3k

steddie masterlist

Eddie’s childhood was spent in grandiose houses with giant yards and more facilities than a home could ever need. Not because he lived in them, but because his mother cleaned them. She worked for a private cleaning business that would send her, and therefore Eddie, in her shitty little Chrysler at least forty minutes into the middle of the state. To where all the miserable people lived. 

That's what his mother called the people who lived in those grandiose houses. She'd tell him that their houses may be nice, but they're miserable because they have to work so much to pay for it that they never get to enjoy it. He supposed she must be right. No one was ever around when they were, after all. As he got older he couldn't help wondering if those people were miserable then what was his family? Damned, he guessed.

There was one house at the start of one summer, a little further than normal that Eddie remembers better than the rest. They would visit his Uncle Wayne who lived nearby whenever they were there. It had a ruby red door despite an otherwise drab exterior. Eddie remembers this particular mini mansion because someone was home. A boy, around Eddie’s age with fluffy looking hair and cautious caramel eyes. Eddie was enamored instantly. Those eyes and the moles dotted around tanned skin shot Eddie through the heart with a harpoon. His parents were never around. It was always just him and the nanny. 

The first time Eddie walked into the house it was a lot like all the others. Towering ceilings, giant stairs, and all the makings of someone’s wildest American dreams. The boy didn't really talk to him in the beginning. In fact, Eddie tries to say hello when the boy walks past him and his mom, but to no avail. The boy continued on as if he wasn't there. Fifteen minutes later he was sent into the kitchen to find extra clorox. His mom didn't grab some like she thought. When he reaches the side entrance, he hears them.

“Why does it matter?” The boy asks petulantly. It’s Eddie's first time hearing his chime-like voice, “They're just cleaners.”

The nanny sighs and shakes her head. She levels him with a disappointed stare.

“The people who work for you are still people, Steven. Just because your parents are-,” another sigh, “Your parents may not act like it, but the people who take care of you and your home deserve to be respected too. If that's how you're going to treat them, that's the same as treating me that way.”

Eddie expects to hear the boy fight back. He expects some kind of tantrum he’s grown to accept as normal from people who live in places like this. Nothing like that ever comes.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly.

“It’s okay, Steven,” she replies gently, “With your parents… it's no wonder.”

Eddie isn't sure what that means. He doesn't get too long to think about it either. His mother calls his name from down the hall. It jolts him into movement. Silently, he enters the kitchen but keeps his eyes ahead of him. He begins to scan the doors of all the cabinets. It's an overwhelming amount. Way more than the four they have at home. 

“Do you need help finding something?” The boy’s voice asks from behind Eddie.

With a start, he spins around. The boy is smiling at him. It’s small, but it's there and it's friendly. It strikes Eddie that, even at the ripe age of ten, this boy is pretty. Almost like those porcelain dolls his grandma used to hoard. 

“My Ma needs the bleach,” he replies slowly.

The boy's smile grows ever so slightly. He nods and goes to the cabinet beneath the sink. It's a strange place for cleaning supplies, Eddie thinks, but he’s noticed a fair amount of the miserable people do it. His mother always kept the chemicals high and out of his reach. 

“Don't you usually bring your own?” The boy asks, seemingly to be genuinely curious as he hands over the blue spray bottle.

“Reckon she thought she’d brung’it in her poke, but came up empty,” Eddie shrugs.

The boy blinks at Eddie as if he’d suddenly grown a second head. 

“What?” The boy asks, a laugh teetering on the edge of his lips.

Eddie’s defenses go up instantly. The boy must be able to tell because he holds out his hands to assure Eddie all’s fine. 

“Sorry- Just-” The boy shakes his head a little, “I didn’t understand like… any of that.”

Eddie regards him, trying to decide if he’s messing with him or just that stupid.

“What part?”

“Well, what’s a poke?”

“Y’don't know what a poke is?”

The boy shakes his head. Eddie scoffs a bit and looks around for help, but they're alone. How could this kid not know something so simple?

“Like what groceries go in,” he tells him.

The boy's head cocks to the side.

“Oh, you mean a bag?”

“That's what I said,” Eddie states annoyed, “A poke.”

The boy is blinking again. 

“Where are you from?” He asks suddenly.

“Not from this neck. We moved from the Cumbies out t’ward the state line,” Eddie answers.

“The Cumbies?”

“Yeah, the Cumberland Mountains.”

The boy let out a fascinated huh. Eddie nods awkwardly. His mother says his name from the doorway. His eyes shoot to her. She wears a slightly amused yet scolding smile. He offers her a sheepish smile in return. 

“What’d I tell you about talkin’ when we’re places like this?” She questions knowingly.

“To use my proper people words,” Eddie drones.

“That's right. Now c’mon, we don't want anyone put out.”

Eddie nods and hands his mother the bleach. He goes to follow her back to the bathroom she’s cleaning. 

“Wait,” the boy says.

Both Eddie and his mom look over their shoulders. They’re almost the same image. The boy flushes at the sudden attention.

“You can keep the bleach,” he tells them weakly. 

“Thank you,” Eddie’s mother smiles.

Steven and Eddie hold eye contact for another moment. It feels like Steven wants to say something else, but he doesn't. Eddie drags his eyes away to follow his mother. He doesn't see Steven again that day. 

Eddie’s mom doesn't get that house to clean again until a month later. Steven and his nanny are once again the only ones home. This time Steven never ignores Eddie. He finds Eddie and his mom in the living room. Eddie is curled up on an armchair with a rather thick looking book while his mother vacuums. Steven comes up behind the chair and taps Eddie on the shoulder. Eddie’s deep brown eyes fly to Steven curiously. 

“Wanna play outside?” He asks.

Eddie considers him for a moment before closing his book and nodding. His mother smiles at him as they dart out of the room. When they get to the backyard Eddie comes to a stop. He looks around and his nose crinkles. It's pavement and pool as far as the eye can see. 

“You call this a yard?” Eddie scoffs.

Steven pouts as he takes in his own yard with fresh eyes. He shrugs.

“Yeah, what would you call it?”

Eddie picks up a half deflated beach ball and looks at Steven with a deadpan stare.

“Sad.”

“Well, what's yours look like?”

Eddie flashes a toothy grin.

“Back home we had a lotta land. I could get through those woods with my eyes closed,” he answers, his words sounding thought out and intentional.

Steven frowns a tad. Where’s the quick talking hard to understand boy from last time? 

“There are woods,” he points to the thin cropping of trees beyond the fence.

Eddie snorts.

“No, those are some trees. I’m talkin’ woods.” 

Steven leads them to some pool chairs while Eddie describes the woods back home. He goes into great detail about the green of the trees, the thickness of the trunks, the solitude of being out there, and the animals he's learned to interact with. Steve hangs onto every word, but something is bothering him. Eddie is still talking in that measured way that sounds nothing like the last time.

“Why are you talking like that?” He blurts out while Eddie is telling him about a nearby stream.

It was the way that Eddie hesitated and struggled with the word stream that prompted his outburst. Eddie narrows his eyes at Steve.

“Like what?”

“I dunno, you’re not talking like you did last time,” Steve shrugs insecurely. 

“I’m… s’pose to be learning how to talk more proper,” Eddie sighs, looking down at his hands.

“Why? What's wrong with how you talk?”

Eddie’s wide deep brown eyes shoot back up to Steve curiously.

“It makes people think I’m stupid,” he answers.

Steve’s face scrunches in a way that makes Eddie smile a little.

“I don't think it makes you sound stupid. You can talk normally around me,” Steve tells him.

Eddie blinks for a moment. Steve’s words latch right onto his heart. You can talk normally. No one outside of where they're from has ever made Eddie feel anything less than weird, or an outsider. Here Steve sits in front of him calling how he talks normal.

“Y’sure?” He checks, his smile growing.

A grin starts crawling across Steve’s face as he hears the startings of a twang. He really likes the way Eddie talks. He sounds so much different than anyone else Steve has talked to. It grabs Steve and makes him want to solve every sentence like a puzzle.

“I’m sure.”

The rest of the time Steve spends trying to guess what Eddie is saying. Eddie, the little shit, isn't making it easy for him. He just smiles more and more mischievously each time Steve fumbles. By the time Eddie’s mom is done with the house they're chasing each other around the backyard giggling like mad. She feels bad for breaking it up. It's not often she gets to see Eddie playing so care free with another kid. He hasn't had it easy since moving to Indiana. 

She starts taking Steve’s house more. Eddie and Steve quickly become best friends. When they’re together they're completely wrapped up in each other. Eddie’s mom finds it a little funny, but figures boys will be boys. Steve never stops encouraging Eddie to talk how he normally does around him. Eddie never stops complying, reveling in the feeling of being normal. 

One day they're there a little later than usual. Steve’s parents left a mess from hosting a bunch of fancy guests. The sun slowly dips below the horizon, orange hues drench the sky. Crickets chirp and the high pitch trills of gray tree frogs fill the air. Steve and Eddie had been trying to skip rocks across the pool, but have since transitioned into sitting with their feet in the water. Steve doesn't need to guess or fumble anymore, he’s officially fluent in Eddie. As the summer winds down the impending school year looms over them. Eddie won't be going with his mom to work anymore and Steve won't be around if he does. 

“Maybe you can come over on the weekend,” Steve suggests hopefully.

“I dunno, Stevie. My Ma has to carry us pert near an ahr to get to these parts.” 

Steve frowns. He didn't know they drove close to an hour every time they came here. 

“Maybe I can come to your house then,” he switches gears.

He doesn't want to give up Eddie yet. Eddie doesn't expect Steve to be anything other than who he is. Steve wants to desperately cling to that as long as he can. Everyone in his life wants him to be something else, even at ten. 

“No,” Eddie shakes his head vehemently, “Y’don’t want that. My dad… Well, he gets het up easy. He’s ill.”

“Like he’s sick?”

Eddie sighs. Not because Steve doesn't fully get it, but because he has to talk about this at all.

“He’s gotta bad temper.”

Steve simply nods. He gets that more than Eddie knows.

“You’ll be around next summer, right?” Steve checks.

Eddie smiles widely.

“You betcha!”

“You promise you won't forget me?”

A funny expression takes over Eddie’s round features. His eyebrows furrow, his nose gets a crinkle, and his mouth quirks into an amused smirk.

“Ain't no way I’m forgettin’ you, Stevie.”

They spend their last evening together not worrying about the eyes and opinions of other people. When with each other they only have to worry about Steve and Eddie. It's a reprieve that they both miss come the school year. Eddie gets distracted by bullies, his mother passing suddenly, his father deciding he’s man enough to help provide now, and attempting to teach himself guitar. Steve spent the whole school year waiting. 

The first week of the next summer Steve waits, vibrating with anticipation. When the day the cleaners usually come swings around, he’s all but bouncing off the walls. His nanny even scolds him a few times for his restlessness. The sound of the doorbell has him speeding to answer the front door. He swings it open with a wide grin ready to greet Eddie and his mother. 

Steve’s heart falls flat on the floor and his smile drops. Waiting to be let in isn't Eddie or his mom. It’s some older woman in the same shirt Eddie's mom always wore. That tells Steve his parents didn't change companies, but Eddie still isn't here. He decides maybe it's a fluke. Maybe something happened so they couldn’t come this week. They're nearly an hour away, after all.

The next week Steve repeats the same process. And the week after that. And the week after that. Until he finally gives up on the idea of Eddie altogether. Steve spends that summer locked away in his room mostly. He wallows in his loneliness while all his friends from school are on lavish vacations with their families. He spends his summer in Hawkins alone missing the only friend he really felt himself around. Meanwhile, Eddie spends the summer lifting cars with his dad to afford to continue living in their house after his mother’s death. Every day, his thoughts wander to Steve and how much he wishes he had a way to tell him he didn't forget. He'd never forget. 

part 2? | steddie masterlist

[rabbitcruiser]

The first red and green traffic lights were installed in Manhattan on February 26, 1930.    

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Florine Stettheimer, Family Portrait, II, 1933. Oil on canvas.

Dressed in a black pantsuit and with palette and paintbrush in hand, the artist appears at the far left side of this family portrait. She is joined by her mother, who sits upright in the golden armchair at right, and her sisters, Ettie and Carrie; the former reclines in the chair beside the artist, and the latter flanks the scene at the opposite end, a cigarette between her fingers. An artist, set designer, and poet, Stettheimer led a New York salon where she entertained her family and a close circle of artists, critics, and curators, exhibiting her work and sharing her poems.

Signs of her 1930s Manhattan milieu abound in this painting’s backdrop—an imagined skyline that features the Art Deco skyscraper at the heart of Rockefeller Center, known today as the Comcast Building, as well as Radio City Music Hall, the Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty, and a dragon-adorned decorative fragment from Alwyn Court, the midtown apartment building where the artist lived and worked. Overtaking these monumental and modern structures, Stettheimer depicted a trio of fantastically enormous blooming flowers at the painting’s center. She was unabashedly proud of this unconventional and personal portrait, frequently referring to the painting as “my masterpiece.”

Photo & text: Museum of Modern Art