#I could have postponed this at least one more round

[onepiece-polls]

One Piece Shipping War - Round 4 Quarter Finals

Propaganda under the cut.

Propaganda for Shanks x Buggy:

What if we were childhood friends who gave up our drama for each other then never saw each other again for years

What can I say, I'm a fellow shuggy truther too 🤝

Shanks obviously adores Buggy, and Buggy is so tsundure~! Mr 'I hate Shanks'-but-will-take-every-opportunity-to-talk-about-him-and-be-with-him.

Oden says in his journal that he can't tell if they're friends of enemies, and I just love that. Plus when you add in the revelation about Shanks and Buggy in the recent chapters.

They're childhood friends. They're exes. They've been married for 20 years. They're opposites. They're the same. They're silly goofy guys who make me want to cry my heart out. Red/Blue is always meant to be.

Buggy """""HATES""""" Shanks. This hate is so strong that he WILL yell at this red-haired bastard despite the fact that he is a coward, who is terrified of all the Emperors. Everyone thinks this is strange. However, when you grow up with said Emperor on the same boat, watching him stumble over his feet as he's trying to learn to use a sword, stuck scrubbing the whole deck because he was stupid enough to prank "Dark King" Rayleigh, and make that same stupid pouty face every time his Conqueror's Haki doesn't do anything because he is an itty bitty child, most of that fear gets pretty quelled. Also, that same fucker lost an arm because he's a DUMBASS and he deserves to be made fun of for it (not because Buggy is worried and missed him not at all no no Shanks is just DUMB and needs to be TOLD he is dumb more. But just by Buggy. Because Buggy has known his idiocy forever. He has earned the right to yell at this stupid, stupid Emperor for being a self-sacrificing fool and for giving away that stupid hat and... Wait, hang on, when did this bastard get hot!? WHAT THE FUC-) And Shanks just keeps smiling at Buggy and his antics because he has 100% been in love with him since they were children (his actions while they were on the Roger pirates are the DEFINITION of pigtail-pulling as flirting) and he is just happy to see that he's safe while being exactly the same larger-than-life clown he always knew. He would gladly give up his life of sluttery (that I am convinced this man has. Just look at how he exists) if Buggy would just agree to join his crew, but will not push him if he doesn't want to. He just loves his pretty clown from a distance and waits. TLDR: Buggy is mad that he's in love with Shanks and Shanks just likes existing with and/or annoying Buggy (they come as a pair). GOD I just love childhood friends to lovers bro. Just let the cabin boys kiss.

[Spoiler Warning] Red and Blue gays! Emperor husbands! Childhood friends to enemies to lovers!

Propaganda for Nami x Vivi:

Yes, Nami has a new girlfriend on every island, but her heart belongs to Vivi. Vivi in turn refuses to marry, because her heart belongs with a pirate ❤

THEY’RE LESBIANS! IN LOVE! another point: my friends who are watching OP for the first time came to me and asked “so Nami and Vivi… they’re gay right?” So it’s pretty apparent to even newcomers

I just think they’re neat! And in love. Nami gave up money for Vivi that’s True Love

Anyone who saw them can just tell they’re gay. Like Nami gave up money for her

They're one of the rare lesbian ships in op, they care for each other so much !!

Lesbians

Lesbians

They were so gay that Luffy offered to share food to cheer Nami up when they were separated.

i dare you to read Baroque Works through Alabasta without shipping them. the way Vivi and Nami are so affectionate with each other, and Vivi putting saving her nation on hold to get Nami healthy again ???

Lesbians

Let’s go lesbians!!!!! Ok but actually, I think Nami saw a lot of herself in Vivi (ha) especially when Igaram “died” and then throughout their journey together Nami really encouraged her to open up to the crew. Nami showed Vivi it was ok to ask for help just like Luffy showed her.

Vivi was Nami's gay awakening and you cant change my mind. Nami was in love with Vivi and Vivi def had some kind of feeling for Nami. They were so close and they were more then just 'gal pals'

Lesbian Pirate Supremacy! they clearly care a lot about each other and considering when nami meets vivi she is probably one of the first close female friends she gets to have.

[lcriedlastnight]

Y/n thinks Lando slept with someone else and they have a big fight about it, only for y/n to learn Lando needed help proposing

as soon as i seen this in my inbox i got excited to write it! thank you anon, it's a great idea!

tw: fem!reader, swears, sneaky lando but i'm sure you know where it's going based on the ask, lmk if you want me to add anything.

w/c: 1.8k

lando has been acting very suspicious lately. at first you has brushed it off to busy weeks filled with important racing duties but when he was still secretive after a lovely spa day you had set for him at your apartment, you knew something was up. the night of the spa day you were laying in bed with lando and usually if he's forgotten to set an alarm for the next morning, he will ask you to just go onto his phone and set it for him, so when he asks you to hand his phone over so he can set an alarm? well it sets off your own alarm bells in your head.

lando had never ever hidden his phone from you, always completely open with you and willing to scroll through his phone if you wanted to. you had never felt the need to but sometimes you liked to scroll through his photos and have him explain them to you.

you did not say anything to him about it that night, or afterwards but you kept a note of things you found suspicious or weird or even just a little out or character for your boyfriend, knowing that if the time came where you found out something you could not even think about then you had have evidence. if you had more guts you would have asked to scroll through his phone that night to see what he did but you did not want to fight after such a lovely day. maybe you were just postponing the inevitble.

the next time you had written down in your notes was a doosy. you had gone out to lunch with a few of your friends and lando had offered to drop you off and pick you up once you had all caught up. you had gotten ready and lando had dropped you off with a sweet kiss goodbye and promises of picking you up whenever you wanted to come home, you were just to give him a call. you grin and agree as you close the car door and make your way to the table your friends had sat at. it seemed you were the last one to arrive.

it is only when you have sat down and gotten comfortable that you realise, your best friend is not here.

"hey, where is lacy?" you ask the group, confused as last night when you were all confirming in the group chat if you guys could make it or not, lacy was the first one to confirm.

everyone mutters that they are not sure or that they thought she mus be running later. you all shrug and you try to forget about it but you have a lingering feeling in the back of your mind. it is a bit big to push all the way to the back of your mind but a few drinks and a gossip with your friends would do the trick.

you guys chat away and drink through three or four rounds. none of you drunk, really but none of you even thinking about drinking and driving. everyone had sorted out how they were getting home before coming. "responsible group of girls." you had joked when you had asked about it and they had all told you they had a way home.

everyone texts their lifts home as you head to the foyer where it is a bit quieter and call lando. it send you to voicemail. you try him again but it does the same thing, ringing until the voicemail blared in your ears. you were pissed off to say the least. you did not mind if he wanted to go out and do things without you but do not promise you will pick someone up if you will not be back in time! is that not just common courtesy?

you ask one of the girls if her boyfriend can take you home and she says it is no problem. you are embarrassed because you are just after bragging about how amazing lando was and now here you were... getting proved wrong.

good job you remembered to bring a key with you so you did not get locked outside. you thank your friend's boyfriend as you get out your car and see lando's car parked in front of the apartment complex.

you stomp into the apartment and throw your keys down on the table in the hallway.

"thanks for remembering to pick me up lando! i had to get a ride with micheal and amy!" you shout as you pull your trainers off and put them in the rack. you walk into the living room to see lando on the couch and lacy in the kitchen, making tea.

"what the fuck?" you ask, internally freaking out but not showing it. this paired with your suspicions that lando was cheating send your brain into panic mode. instead of freaking out and jumping to conclusions you ask "why weren't you at lunch? and why are you here now?".

lando could tell you were pissed and at this point, he felt like saying he was cheating would be the easier option, rather than hiding all of this from you. he hated lying to you. the boy had literally never done it before. you could tell from how sloppy he was, this being a prime example.

"i couldn't make it to lunch in the end. you know that boy i've been talking to? he asked me out on a date and i just couldn't say no." lacy explained, handing you a cup. her explanation did not ease your worry though, lando could easily be the boy she was talking to and they have went on a date when you were busy out with your friends.

"i came over to tell you about it but i forgot you were out at lunch with the girls. i've only been here like ten minutes." lacy adds, lando nods on the couch not really doing much. you decide to believe them but you put it in your notes. lando and lacy out together? while i'm with my friends. lando cheating on me with lacy???

you end up taking that out of your notes a few weeks later. you lay in bed while lando is in the shower and you think that now is a good time to go through your notes, thinking about things you could add or take away and if it all still makes sense in your mind.

as your sorting through the semi-long list you make you lando's voice. you had not realised the shower had stopped. at first you think he is talking to you so you are about to shout back when you hear the distant sound of someone speaking through the phone. not to sound like you were accusing your boyfriend of cheating but it sounded like a girl. it sounded like a girl you did not know.

"i can't tell her. it's stressing me out to no end. i just want to be done with it now." you strain to hear his hushed words, done with what? tell who? you? why was he stressed?

you are tired of all the secrets. the hushed conversations, lando hiding things from you. you do not think you can deal with it anymore.

once lando is off the phone he makes is way into the room, a towel wrapped around his waist. "hi, baby." lando acknowledges you as you lay on the bed. the towel around his waist distracted you for a moment before you got your mind back on track. it helped that he had gotten changed into some pyjama trousers, although his abs were still on display.

"are you cheating on me?" you just come out and say it, you voice is a little worried. lando drops the towel in his hands at your words.

"am i what?" lando stares at you. "is this one of those tiktok trends? what am i supposed to say that will get the most views. where's your phone we can start again?" lando glances around the room for your phone. he thinks this is a joke. a tiktok prank. you does not think you are distressed over this.

"i'm serious lando. you've been acting weird for a while now." you tell him your frown deep as you speak.

lando is surprised and practically leaps towards you.

"i'm not cheating on you. i swear to you. i would never even think about hurting you like that." lando swears his hands holding your face gently to stop you from avoiding his eyes.

"then what are you doing? because you're acting weird. you're not acting like you. i miss the old you, when you didn't set your own alarms." you pout at him.

lando sighs. "i guess i'm gonna have to tell you, huh?" the driver asks. you are confused as he gets off the bed and walks over to your dressing table. on top there is a small dish where you keep all the rings you wear when they are not on your fingers. you prefer the dish to a box, it is less work to get to them. lando calls it lazy but you call it time efficient. he grabs the one your grandma got you for christmas back when you were still at school. it is old and most of the rose gold plating has come off, the colour does not match with the rest of your jewellery but you wear it everyday.

it is quick and sudden the way he is standing in front of you a few steps away from the bed, then he is on one knee holding out the ring. "the ring i was gonna use isn't here yet because you're too impatient for me to do anything properly. i had a whole day planned out, you know?" lando is joking with you but there is nothing in you that wants to laugh right now.

your hand slapped over your mouth as you feel your eyes well up with tears.

"what are you doing?" you ask him, it is muffled from your hand but lando can make you out.

"what's it look like? i'm proposing. will you marry me please, baby?" he asks the old ring sits in between your fingers as you stare at him, tears finally falling.

"yeah." you murmur.

"yeah?" lando asks, a little cocky but mostly to make sure.

you nod frantically, lando takes your right hand and slides the ring on your middle finger (it is where you usually wear the ring. you honestly cannot believe he even knows where it goes). you then jump towards him, arms swinging around his neck to pull him in for a kiss.

lando's lips mould over yours as he you kiss him frantically. the kiss is cut short because lando can not stop laughing.

"why're you laughing?" you ask him, smile plastered on your face from his laughter.

"just can't believe i get to love you for the rest of my life. i can't wait." you kiss him again.

[toxic3mmy]

prompt: you wake up in a girl’s body and fuck your best friend

okay soooo, i got this idea from an ao3 one shot i read the other day and well, this came outta it

it may not be everyones cup of tea but i always loved gay fics where one guy magically turned into a woman??

IDK

ALSO IM REALLY DEPRESSED SO I LIED ABT GETTING TO UR REQUESTS DONT HATE MEEEE MY BOOBIES <3

warnings: SMUTTTT, mentions of witchcraft and body switching

you and quackity were best friends from a very young age. you and him were inseparable, as if you were one person.

the two of you went through school together. everything changed when his youtube career took off and he changed his focus to that which of course you didn’t mind. you thought it was so awesome the way he was passionate about this.

the two of you were so close that living together through college eventually turned into living together as adults. now, you were working at a law firm as an intern while alex pursued his online career.

truthfully, you were in love with your best friend. you had been from a very young age, it was only natural for you to fall so hard for him.

on a drunken night, you decided to come clean. you told him how much he meant to you. you confessed that you were in love with him.

he smiled sadly and hugged you close

“i wish you were a girl”

those were his drunken words and the two of you never spoke about it again

but within your friend group, everyone liked to tease the two of you as if you were gay together. of course you would enjoy every single interaction like this, hell you two were even dared to kiss once!

it was too easy to fall for your best friend

—

you had gone to visit your family in mexico for a few days and finally you were home. you walked into your shared home as quickly and quietly as possible so that you didn’t wake alex up.

your trip was great. you got to catch up with family and spend some quality time together.

while there, you confessed to your favorite and closest cousin about your feelings for alexis. she was very accepting of your sexuality and even encouraged you to go for it.

you filled her in on what happened when you did confess to alex and her eyes lit up with a devious look. she had an idea and although you were a bit skeptical, you agreed.

you knew she was learning the traditions of brujeria in your family and you were really interested in it. but what she wanted to do was crazy. she wanted to try something new and of course you agreed, not expecting anything to come of it because of how impossible it seemed.

so the two of you spent the last day of your trip together so that she could work on it. and well, you went home that same night.

the next day, you woke up like any normal day. you sluggishly walked to the bathroom and relieved yourself. you felt a warmth trickling down your legs and you were speeachless

“aw shit” you murmured to yourself as you knelt down to clean the floor of your piss

you couldn’t believe it worked

you looked at yourself in the mirror and loved what you saw. your face was a bit more round, your hair reached your ass now, and you had a great rack. you were ecstatic, practically gawking over yourself

and then the fear set in when alex knocked on your door saying that breakfast was ready

“uh… im not feeling well! go ahead and eat without me, thanks” you said, trying your hardest to deepen your voice

“are you sure? whats wrong? your voice sounds weird, are you sick?��� he asked worriedly

“i think it’s a virus or something, don’t worry”

“i wanted to have a little day with you since you’re back from mexico… i guess we could postpone it until you feel better”

“thanks” you said quickly, hoping he would go already

“are you… going to stay in there all day? i mean, at least let me in so i can take care of you” he sighed, resting his head against the door

“n-no! im fine, really!”

“c’mon y/n, let me in so i can at least make sure you don’t die in there” he laughed

there was absolutely no way to hide this

“okay but… please don’t freak out” you said as you quickly started to look for a t shirt to put on

all you had on were loose boxers but they felt weird. you didn’t have any bras, obviously, and so you had no choice but to wear a tight fitting white wife beater

“i wont” alexis said softly

“close your eyes”

he obliged and you carefully unlocked the door, leading him into the bedroom

“before you open your eyes, i think i need to—“

he opened his eyes and his mouth dropped

“um… what…?”

“please let me explain!”

“okay, who are you… i get it if you wanted an autograph or a picture but what the hell?? why are you in my house right now?”

“what?… alexis! i’m not some crazed fan that broke in! it’s me.. it’s y/n..” you exclaimed

“no you’re not, what the fuck are you talking about! look, i don’t believe in hitting women but if you don’t leave my goddamn house in three seconds, you’re toast buddy!” he yelped and picked up the nearest weapon like thing which just so happened to be a lamp

you blinked at his attempt at being tough and burst out laughing uncontrollably

“lady! i am so serious! what the hell is wrong with you? oh my god… you escaped a mental hospital and you’re using my house as a hideout aren’t you?!”

you couldn’t stop laughing at him, this was just way too hilarious!

“okay i am dialing 911–“

“wait! please… just listen to me okay? i didn’t expect for this to happen… but it’s me. it’s y/n”

“you really are a nut, aren’t you?”

“i can prove it! look… it’s the matching tattoo we got when we were 18” you pulled your t shirt down to show the tattoo littered on your collarbone

he put down the lamp and sat on your bed. he didn’t know what to think. he nervously ran his hand through his hair

“oh god… how did this—?”

“i—i” you stuttered, trying to figure out if you should tell him the truth

“i swear you didn’t have tits the last time i saw you… and your face looks so… different” he softly held your chin in his hand, studying your newly feminine features

“brujeria” you blurted out, cheeks flushed with his touch on your face igniting a fire inside your chest

“w-what?”

“i… my family does brujeria and i tried this new thing and i swear i didn’t expect it to work! ive heard of it working but ive never seen it for myself and well…”

“so… you did this to yourself?”

you nodded, almost feeling shame

“but why?”

“i had a talk with my cousin in mexico and well… you told me you wished that i were a girl…. and i thought maybe things could be easier this way, better, even. i really didn’t think it would happen…”

“so…” alexis cleared his throat, “you’re um, fully a female now?” his face turned red in an instant and you couldn’t help but laugh

“yeah, i mean, i went to use the bathroom and that’s when i noticed…”

“no way…”

“yeah..”

“and so… why are you practically naked?” he laughed nervously, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants

“dude! look at these fucking tits! i don’t own any bras and god they’re already giving me back pain.. i need to get dressed so i can go back and see my cousin or see a doctor! i can’t stay like this—”

he stayed quiet for a while before saying breathlessly,

“i don’t want you to go”

“i… i have to go… i have to fix this” you said quietly as you began to rummage through your drawers to find suitable underwear since you obviously didn’t own any panties. you changed into boxer briefs and shrugged. it would have to do

alex quietly stood from where he was sitting and he stood behind you, looking down at you with a look on his face that you’ve never seen before

“god.. you’re so tall” you whispered as you stopped what you were doing and looked up at him

“you’re so fucking short, it’s really cute” he smiled before grabbing you and throwing you over his shoulder

“hey! what the hell! put me down!” you squirmed in his arms and that earned a harsh smack to your boxer clad ass

he took you to his bedroom and practically threw you onto his bed. he stared at you with the same look as before, his eyes filled with lust, as he threw his beanie to the ground and took off his t shirt. he threw his shirt somewhere behind him before slowly making his way to you.

you were sat up with your knees to your chest against the wall

“u-uhm.. why um.. why are we here? i told you i have to go!! i have to fix this shit” you rambled nervously, earning a deep chuckle from alexis

“shh, just let me admire you..” he was now next to you on the bed as he carefully tucked your hair behind your ear

“what are we doing alex?” your whisper dissipated into the thick tense air surrounding the two of you

alexis didn’t respond, instead he gently grabbed the hem of your t shirt and pulled it off of your body. your new set of tits were now on display, your nipples perking up instantly as your best friend trailed his fingertips along your chest. you hiss at the sensation of his cold hands and you feel something beginning to build up inside, just beneath your bellybutton

“o-okay…i get it, it get it. this is about that stupid thing we talked about! look, it was funny back then but right now it’s not okay, i need to see my cousin or a fucking doctor!”

“you mean that thing about how if one of us woke up as a chick then we’d fuck?” he laughed, now trailing his fingers underneath your chin

“y-yeah but it was hypothetical! i didn’t think we’d ever actually be in this situation i mean, it’s just not normal!”

“so, do you want me to stop?” he murmured against your neck, leaving tiny butterfly kisses there

“i-i don’t know okay? but it doesn’t help when you’re touching me and you have your lips on me and god damn i forgot how sexy you looked without a shirt on…”

“you think this is easy for me? feel what you do to me, baby girl” he guided your hand to his clothed dick and your eyes went wide with how hard he was

“oh my god… stop it! fucking shit dude! you can’t just have me touching your dick! a-and now im fucking leaking or something, i don’t know! it’s all warm and wet down here! i don’t know what to do!” you complained, almost whining, not realizing that what you needed was him inside of you

“yeah? i bet your tight little cunt is soaked, isn’t it?” he asked, almost hovering above you

you couldn’t respond, you were too overwhelmed with so many emotions at once

alexis began to lean into you more and more and god it was getting harder to resist him as his strong cologne infiltrated your little brain

finally, his lips were on yours. he kissed you so gently, as if at any moment you could break. you pulled him closer to you and wrapped your arms around his toned back, melting into him

one of his hands balanced him above you while his other hand began to play with your perky tits. you were grinding into him as he rolled your sensitive nipple in between his thumb and forefinger

“o-oh my god! that feels amazing..” you bucked into him more, rubbing your cunt against his leg. you were so frustrated and begging silently for any kind of friction

“slow down princesa, there’s no rush. i promise ill take care of you, okay?” he said in a sweet voice that only turned you on even more

you nodded and your eyebrows furrowed together as his mouth was now attached to one of your boobs, the other was pinching at your already sensitive nipple. you let out soft whimpers as he pawed at your chest delightfully

“g-god… this feels so wrong but so fucking good” you said breathlessly, earning a little laugh from the boy above you

his lips kissed and sucked a trail lower and lower until he reached your boxers. he licked his lips and hooked his fingers under the waistband, sliding them down your legs. you were trembling as he kissed down the front of your pussy. finally, he ran his tongue flat against what you now knew was your clit. your hands instantly buried themselves in his soft hair, pulling it in the process

“you okay?” he asked, pausing for a second. you nodded furiously and he got back to work instantly

his tongue ran circles around the bundle of nerves that were now throbbing. you bucked your hips further into his face without even noticing

suddenly, you felt a finger at your entrance. it stung ever so slightly and immediately turned into pleasure as he curved it upwards. he pumped his finger into you and continued lapping at your swollen bud. the second he added another finger, tears were rolling down your face

“just like that! oh fuck..” you cursed, back arching as you reached up and clung onto his bedsheets

alex was basically making out with your clit now. his two long fingers were curved perfectly inside of you. you were bouncing on his fingers at this point. it all felt so so good

“you taste so good y/n” alex said as he came up for air momentarily

your hands came down and were now shoving his face in between your trembling thighs. his tongue moved even faster now, syncing with his fingers that were plunging into you.

you were restless, squirming and writhing as the sound of your moans and your wetness filled the room. you felt yourself chasing your climax. your thighs clamped shut, forcing alex to stay right there and not move an inch.

as your walls clenched around your best friend’s fingers, alex was being completely engulfed in your sweet pussy. his fingers curved up one more time inside of you and your body paused completely.

you saw stars and felt yourself leaking cum out onto his fingers. you caught your breath and closed your eyes. after a few moments, alex broke the silence

“so… was i any good?” alex asked, wiping your juices from his chin, a shit eating grin on his lips

“shut your mouth and take off your pants” you rolled your eyes

alexis laughed loudly and obliged, gaking off the remaining clothes he had on. you instantly sat up on your knees, your attention completely on him

you took over, pushing his pants and underwear down in one swift motion. his erection sprang free, and you stared at it with a mix of fascination and hunger. He watched your gaze, feeling a surge of pride and desire that made him ache even more

“holy shit! dude, your dick is huge!” you said in awe, almost drooling

“open up princess” he smiled and pumped himself gently

you opened your mouth gingerly. as he lay his tip on your tongue, your hand wrapped around the base of his cock. your other hand cupped his balls, grabbing at them

“you… you sure you haven’t sucked a dick before? you’re doing this so well” he grunted

“believe it or not, your dick is the first to ever touch these lips” you laughed and took him into your mouth almost entirely

alexis whimpered, one of his hands pushing the back of your head onto him further

of course you choked but alex was still enjoying this and you were definitely taking in every little whiny sound he made

you sucked his tip gently, and looked up at him through your doe eyes with your pupils blown completely, your lips wet and swollen, hair a mess, and alex almost came at the sight

“lay down” he said gently but firmly

you did as he told you and alex propped your legs up as if he were going to eat your pussy a second time. instead, he slipped himself in between your legs and hovered over you

carefully, he entered you, savoring the tightness that surrounded him. you gasped, your eyes fluttering shut as you adjusted to the sensation of his thickness stretching you. he waited, giving you a moment to breathe, before he began to move.

alex was in pure bliss, loving how warm and tight your cunt was. he completely forgot that this was your first time doing this, involuntarily speeding up before immediately stopping as you made a sound of pain

“okay look i respect you, you have game dude but jesus christ you need to fucking chill ! i’ve never done this shit before… at least not with a pussy” you tried to laugh off the sting

“i am so sorry y/n, you just feel so fucking good around me. i didn’t mean to hurt you, princesa” he spoke with a worried expression on his face

“sit back, okay?” you said suddenly and alex laid down, watching you crawl into his lap. a smirk made its way onto his face as he realized what you were doing

you straddled him, slowly taking him into you as you sat all the way down on his lap. you still felt some pain but it wasn’t as bad. you slowly lifted yourself up and slid back down again, your hand on his belly as he watched you intently

you gasped as his fingers pressed against your clit, sending waves of pleasure crashing through you. your hips picked up the pace, seeking more, and he eagerly gave it, his movements growing more deliberate with every moan that escaped your lips.

“take it like a good girl… “ alexis groaned as his head fell back in pleasure

you continued to move, his cock hitting you at the perfect angle inside and the pressure of his digits on your clit motivating you to go faster

“that’s it, princess” alexis praised as he watched you bounce up and down

his free hand found your breasts, kneading them as you rode him, your breaths growing more ragged with every thrust

“oh god, you’re so fucking deep! a-alex!” you moaned as you rode his cock

your pace was slowing down as you were growing tired. alex sat up and held you close. your arms rested around his neck and you kissed him passionately as he thrusted into you while you sat on his lap

“say my name again baby, say it” he kissed you on the mouth roughly as his hands held your hips in place and he fucked into you faster now

“alex! fuck… i’ve wanted your cock inside of me for so fucking long, i need more, please!” you pleaded

your eyes locked onto his, teeth biting down on your lower lip as you felt another orgasm building. your walls tightened around him, and you could see the effect it was having on him, his jaw clenching and his eyes darkening with lust. you leaned forward, your breasts brushing against his chest, and whispered into his ear, "I'm going to cum on your big fucking cock”

your movements grew erratic as alex pushed you back slightly, giving you a new angle for him to fuck you senselessly in. the two of you made a sort of ‘v’ shape in this new position as you leaned away from one another and your sex met his in perfect rhythm

your nails dug into his hands that were on your hips, leaving half-moons that would surely bruise. he didn't care, the pain only added to his pleasure, heightening every sensation

the sight was too much for him. your fucked out expression begging for more, your supple tits bouncing as your hips crashed together. he lost control, his orgasm ripping through him like a storm. he filled you with his warmth, his hips jerking as he emptied himself into you.

you came immediately after he did, loving the way you felt his thick cock twitch inside of you

you stopped moving and collapsed onto his chest, your breathing ragged and your heart pounding like a drum in her ears. alexis wrapped his arms around you, holding you close as your breathing gradually returned to normal

“you okay?” he asked, he felt your body trembling again

“yeah, just hold me okay?” you nuzzled into his chest

“okay” he said, pressing a sweet kiss to your temple

[mysumeow]

ꗃ LYNEY NSFW ALPHABET 2/2

warnings: afab genitalia, gn pronouns.

a/n: i sat myself down in front of my puter and told myself: im not getting up until i finish this. thats the only way i can convince myself to stop postponing everything, including stuff i want to finish (like this one lkjhasdflkjhs)

PART ONE › MASTERLIST ‹

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

I can see this guy wanting kids. He wants to give them the childhood and lifestyle he wishes he had when he was one.

So, breeding is a given.

Aside from that, he shows affinity for harnesses, restraints of any kind, sensory deprivation in the form of blindfolding, and lingerie. He prefers you to be the one getting blindfolded and teased, but he’s not against the idea of being on the receiving end.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Given that he doesn’t want to cause any type of scandal, he prefers to play it safe and do it behind closed doors. The biggest risk he’s willing to handle is having you press against a window. Your front against the glass, while he pounds you from behind. Seeing your face reflected on the window until it fogs up from heavy breathing.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

The moment you show a sliver of thigh, the cogs in his mind are already turning. Otherwise, if you’re wearing fishnets, tights, high-knee socks, or just any type of leg accessory (yes, harnesses are included too), that also makes him ogle you when no one else is looking.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He’s willing to try anything if it has nothing to do with certain bodily wastes.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He’d be embarrassed to be on the receiving end and probably cumming within the first few minutes, so he prefers to go down on you. Skill-wise, he has limited knowledge, but he takes his time with you to make sure you enjoy it.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

If the pace is all up to him, he prefers a more sensual way. It’s not difficult to ask him to go faster or rougher if you want, but he likes taking his time with you. Doing it slowly, caressing your body instead of grabbing it and jackhammering into you—he’s a romantic at heart, after all. His fingers touching and playing with your most sensitive parts. He can be quite unfair in this regard because he’s not above edging you in that way, just for the sake of making you as needy as possible.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Quickies are good if he’s in immediate need of having you and his schedule is tight. He understands there are days in which he won’t be able to spend as much time with you as he wishes he could, and therefore, quickies are an easy solution to that.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

He’d rather play it safe. A scandal of public obscenity is something he’d prefer to avoid. If anything, he would trace his fingers against your thigh, or grip it, when you’re sitting down next to him having dinner at a restaurant. But that’s about it.  

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

He’s a performer; he must have a nice amount of endurance for physical activity. He might do one long, consistent round or a multiple, reasonable number of rounds. It depends on his partner’s preference. He’s fine with either.

T = toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

I do think he has at least one, but he sees little need to keep it after he’s with someone. He shows interest in stimulating your body with some handy toy, like a bullet vibrator or something of the like. Open to suggestions from your part if you want to try a toy on him, too.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

If he’s feeling playful and teasing, he’s pretty unfair. He’ll keep tethering you to the edge of your orgasm, pulling away at the right time before working you up to that edge again. He doesn’t care if you’re obedient or not; if he wants to edge you for the next couple of minutes, he’ll do it.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Man tries so hard to keep his voice down. He can manage in the beginning, but the closer he is to his orgasm, the louder he gets. He whines and moans, even crying your name if he has been edged for a while. You may try covering his mouth with yours; he’s going to moan into the kiss, and his sounds of pleasure slip through. Can’t shut up for the life of him (affectionately).

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Every time you visit him backstage, he has fantasized about having a quickie with you there, just before a show. This fantasy is not viable, because that would mean Lynette could catch you both in the act, and that wouldn’t be a fun experience. The same applies to when he imagines you visiting him in the dressing room before a show.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Fairly high. Aside from the reason being his age, it’s also due to him being an energetic individual, and he has to release said energy in some way or another.  

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He’ll be awake if you talk to him, but the moment there’s some silence, he’s asleep.

[tohwitchesduels]

SECOND ROUND OF WITCHES DUELS - Battle 10: Amity Blight vs Willow Park

Disclaimer: This is not a popularity contest or which character you prefer, in this tournament, you decide who is stronger/better/smarter/etc. opponent.

information for both opponents under the cut to those who don't know what they can do in their battle:

Oh boy, here we arrive at the battle of the century and probably the most anticipated battle of this tournament that could even be worthy of being the final battle. Kinda sucks it has to be the second round but I already postponed it from the first round so it's already overdue. Without further updo, let's get into this battle and see for ourselves what happens here.

Now, unlike battles of the first round, here I will just post links instead of expositions as they would be too long and wouldn't fit all pictures here, but I will write here at least some details regarding both opponents.

During this battle, both of them are allowed to use their Palismen.

Amity Blight

Amity doesn't necessarily know if she can truly do it. After everything they've been through, it does pain her to face her childhood friend after just rekindling their relationship and having to be terrible to her her entire life. Her heart isn't entirely in it because of that. But at the same time, she's come to realise how much Willow flourished and grew and how she's not helpless, a broken soul she once knew and she wants to do her justice, she wants to give her the duel she deserves, without patronizing her skill anymore. She also promised Luz she would meet her in the finals and she wants to keep that promise, even if it means she has to defeat Willow, but can she bring herself to do that?

Amity may not possess as much raw power and brutal strength as Willow, but she compensates for it with her skill and creativity when it comes to the usage of her abominations. Both of them are capable, talented warriors, and Amity possesses an ambitious streak and pragmatic poise that helps her dominate the battlefield. Her abominations proved in LR to be able to block Willow's vines and slow down their rampage, and her fire spell could burn through Willow's plants. Granted during this battle Willow is on offense and Amity's foundation is shaken meaning she fights mostly defensively in this battle unlike offensively as she did in the first round.

However, if Amity recognizes how both she and Willow are approaching this battle with the wrong mindset, she could reach out to her and assure her that she believes in Willow, that there are no hard feelings, and that the past is in the past. This could allow her to get the second wind and give Willow the battle she deserves while also letting Willow control her powers better.

Willow Park

Willow knew this would happen sooner or later and she was looking forward to it. She's not necessarily happy, she knows she has to do it if she really wants to win this tournament. Unlike Amity, however, she's not this pained to fight Amity as she waited a long time to actually get her comeuppance after everything Amity. Not that she holds a grudge against her best friend anymore, after all, Willow's strength enhanced because she rekindled her friendship with Amity, but Willow really wants to prove to her one more time that yes, they're equal, and yes Willow is capable of winning this tournament and she's not going down easily and she would never be pushed around by Amity again for being "too weak". Willow has the drive, determination, and ambition to win this tournament and be declared the most powerful teenage witch of the Isles now that she has a chance to prove it.

Amity as far as Willow remembers always looked down on her and hardly knew how capable she was until LR. So she's willing to go all out and reveal now all her tricks so Amity sees it for herself, even if at a disadvantage. She's putting everything she has on the table whether or not Amity already knows about her tricks, and she may not for all we know. In the same vein because Willow is putting everything into this fight to defeat Willow she may at times overcommit and she could most likely make strategic errors, even though she knows what to expect from Amity and does try to play her cards smartly, but her desire to win could potentially blind her to be outsmarted if she acts too reckless and is not careful enough in the name of proving her own strength Willow is on offense during this battle but has a very strong defense as well.

While Willow has great control over her powers, there is a possibility she could lose control if the emotions during this battle (especially knowing what is at stake for her) are too intense and the plant magic could act against Willow as well.

Return to the Masterpost.

[ohtobealady]

If you’re still looking for one word prompts: Lace for Cobert please. 😊

Oh boy howdy. A tiny side of comfort. Thank you for the lovely word, dearie.

—————‘,—————

Lace

She stared at the dress O’Brien had laid out for the garden party. She stared at it with her warm teacup resting at her lip, the minty scent sweetly burning her nose.

She liked it: ivory linen, a circle of crocheted lace around the waist, more lace at the collar and sleeves, large spherical buttons that served no other purpose but to provide decoration in straight lines down the front. Her maid had gone to collect her hat, she’d explained, but Cora knew which. It would be the kettle-brim. And it would look nice.

She sighed. Her mouth was dry from far too much of this tea. It made a small clink as she replaced it in its saucer just as the click of the door drew her attention to it.

“Oh.” Her body relaxed when she saw him, his round chin lifting in greeting. She hadn’t even realized she’d been sitting so stiffly. “I was expecting O’Brien.”

“Do you need her?”

“No,” Cora shook her head, and she smiled at her husband who softly smiled at her in return. “I’m glad it’s you.”

He chuckled as he came into her room. Bates had already dressed him in his white garden linens, and Cora let herself admire the tug of the fabric at his shoulders and the breadth and height of him as he walked toward her window and peered out.

“It seems the lawn’s dried enough from the rain,” he nodded toward the view. “Though it would’ve made a fine excuse to postpone.”

“Then I’m glad it’s dried.” She let her hands settle beneath her breakfast tray. “You know we couldn’t have postponed. I didn’t want to.”

“I know,” he admitted. “But I did. For your sake.”

“Yes.”

He came to sit upon her bed, and she felt the way her legs dipped toward his weight at the edge of her mattress. “Of course you know that it isn’t strictly necessary for you to come down. None would blame you.”

Cora’s chest tightened at his repeated speech, the same speech he’d given her four days ago after it had all happened, when he tried to convince her to cancel the party entirely. But they both knew she could not. The invitations had gone out too long before.

“I’m well enough,” she assured him, and she forced a tight smile. “And I’m well enough for you to rejoin me in here,” she pressed. “I don’t like sleeping alone.”

She was relieved at his chuckle, and even more relieved when he took her hand. “My dear, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“I’m more uncomfortable without you.”

She watched the change in his expression, the lightness of his features darkening with a hint of pain at her confession. She hadn’t meant it to sound as plaintive as it was—-as she was.

And Robert nodded, and she felt him tighten his fingers around hers. “So am I.”

“I’ve brought you a powder, milady—-oh, milord. I apologize.”

They looked at O’Brien who entered, but Cora let her eyes return to her husband. He hadn’t let go of her hand.

“It’s alright, O’Brien,” he said. “I was just trying to convince her ladyship that she should remain in bed, especially since her breakfast tray looks as if she’s barely touched it.”

Cora felt herself smile, and she shook her head. “I don’t like peppermint tea,” she complained in a lilting tone, but knew at Robert’s glance he had been partly serious.

“I’ve tried to convince her as well, milord. I did say that between yourself and the young ladies, the guests would understand—-“

“But I don’t want to,” she interjected, and again, she felt Robert tighten his grasp.

“O’Brien, it’s useless, I’m afraid,” he looked at her, and Cora loved how the morning sun kissed the curve of his jaw. “I can deny her nothing.”

For the first time in four days, Cora nearly laughed; the tightness in her chest turning the hollowness into warmth.

“I’ve asked Carson to have the garden chaise longue brought to the tent. You’ll be sure to rest, at least, won’t you?”

She nodded before Robert turned back to her maid. “Thank you, O’Brien. I’ll only be a moment more.”

And the warmth felt cooler as her maid departed, leaving the powder for her pain and her kettle-brim hat upon her dressing table.

“I came to tell you—“

“—She’s been such a help to me, Robert,” Cora said over him, and as soon as the door closed behind her maid. “Really.” Images of her maid weeping along with her, patting her hand, helping her change her bloodied nightgowns unwittingly came to her mind. “I feel guilty I’ve made so much extra work for her—-“

“No.” Robert silenced her. “She cares for you; as do I. You aren’t to feel guilty for anything.”

“All the same….” She ignored the other images, the terrible ones that persisted in floating to the top of her thoughts, clouding the others she desperately sought. And she ignored what he’d meant by anything, for how could she not? “I’m grateful to her,” she added softly, and looked down into her lap, hoping he’d hear what else she meant, that she was grateful for him.

But he sat silently instead, her hand in his, before she felt his other hand move to her cheek, and as his thumb stroked at the cheekbone.

She closed her eyes, forbidding the tears that threatened, and shook her head, shaking his fingers away from their too-soft touch.

“I’ve commissioned it.” His voice was a whisper now, but of course she knew what he meant. “The stone.”

“Oh, Robert,” she sighed. “I wish you hadn’t.” It was a lie in a way. She wished that none of it had happened; a stone reminding her of her failure again and again was the furthest thing she could ever want.

“It will be quite small,” he went on just as quietly. “Only the year.”

“I’m sure your mother will agree with me.” She let go of his hand and moved her fingers to her tea.

“I didn’t intend on telling her.”

The peppermint was overbearing now that it was cold, and she pretended it was that that made her eyes burn. “You seldom need to tell your mother anything for her to still know everything.”

“Cora.”

When she met her husband’s gaze, he shook his head.

“The stone isn’t for her.”

And she broke his gaze. “I know.”

“Only the year, darling. And our cipher. Nothing more.”

And to stop herself from weeping, she cleared her throat. “I am glad it seems to be dry.”

The teacup clattered in its saucer. She smoothed the coverlet over her middle. She looked at her lacy dress lying in the morning sun. “Mud would’ve spoiled it. Everyone in their whites.”

Her husband sighed, his shoulders falling gently as he tenderly reclaimed her hand in his own. “Oh, my dearest one.” And she watched as he lifted her fingers to his lips, and felt as he pressed a kiss there.

She watched him, smiling, her vision blurred by tears she blinked away.

“Robert,” she whispered between them, her heart breaking, loving him more than she ever had before. “Better ring for O’Brien,” she barely managed around the knot in her throat. She laced her cold fingers through Robert’s, holding as tightly as she could.

[fairyboygenius]

everywhere, everything

simon “ghost” riley/original female character

prev | next

maisie speaks: so. hello. the brainworms for these two are back. gonna start trying new things formatting wise also!! things ramp up here and we learn allie’s backstory

cw: alcohol, one (1) mention of weed, mentions of emotional abuse, allusions to mommy & daddy issues, one mention of abortion, allusion to religion/religious trauma

@dwarvenagenda ur just gonna permanently get tagged so i hope ur cool with that

fic under the cut love u all mwah mwah

“So he faked his death because you dumped him?”

Allie shrugged. “I mean, I don’t think that’s the only reason. Also, he dumped me.”

Kyle looked at her, a little smirk on his face. “It’s funnier that way, though. Commander Philip Graves got dumped, couldn’t handle it, and he faked his fucking death so he wouldn’t have to deal with the humiliation.”

Allie rolled her eyes, crossing and uncrossing her legs for what felt like the fifth time that night. The worn down leather of the pub booth was sticking to the backs of her thighs, and she feared for her ability to get up otherwise. Besides, she wasn’t a small woman. And she was sandwiched between two objectively large men. She felt strapped in, Velcroed to the booth. All she could really do was sip her drink. “He had also majorly fucked y’all over. Philip’s never been one to face the consequences of his actions.”

“So he fucked you over, fucked us over, and then faked his own death?” Kyle shook his head. “What an absolute prick.”

Allie let out a short laugh. “Tell me how you really feel, Garrick.” She took another swig of her drink- a Pimms, some sort of sweet British cocktail. This was her second. “It’s alright, though. I’m almost over the shock of him still being alive. At least I get more time to prepare myself for that inevitable, awkward encounter when we go.”

Chicago had been postponed indefinitely. Faulty intel combined with the most insane weather even for mid-January would do that. Despite everyone’s bloodlust for Makarov- and to a lesser extent, Graves- Laswell had refused to send them.

“Well, whatever.” Gaz raised his glass to Allie, and she raised hers in return. “To Philip Graves’ slow and painful death, hopefully at our hands.”

“Hear, hear,” Allie responded dryly.

“But don’ ye think that it’ll just draw out the inevitable?” Soap was studying her, that predatory gleam still in his eye. Allie had noticed this about him; he was like a dog with a bone. She had the urge to point out the gaggle of pretty college students at the table by the window.

Allie took a deep breath, sipping her cocktail again. “How long was your longest relationship, Soap? Because I was with him for almost ten years.”

He winced, sensing where this was going. “Fair point, lassie. Y’want another round?” Without waiting for an answer, he scooted out of the booth and headed over to the bartender. Allie excused herself soon after, heading outside to smoke a cigarette, Lola trotting happily beside her.

She settled on a bench, taking a few deep breaths and stroking Lola’s head. Allie had known this was coming. Ever since the reveal, her teammates had regarded her like she had a secret weapon. Some wealth of experience they wanted to learn about, a trauma they wanted to pull from her with alcohol and the occasional gummy (Price, surprisingly, was fond of them after a long day- or so she’d heard). Meanwhile, she’d kept herself locked up tight, wondering where the boundaries were. Was this appropriate? Would they overreact? Would they underreact, or dismiss what she had gone through? Would their camaraderie with Graves- soured as it was- override the friendship she wanted from them?

“Room for one more?”

She looked up at the wall of a man standing in front of her. Ghost (Simon- it was in his file) looked right back down at her, not even faltering when she broke eye contact. Allie shifted over, giving him a little nod. She lit her cigarette, remembering the purpose for her break outside. He crutched over to the bench and eased himself down, clearly getting better at the transferring.

A comfortable silence settled over the two of them. Ghost smoothed a gloved hand over Lola’s head, and Allie gave him a small smile. Lola, always happy to get the attention, leaned her head on Allie’s thigh. They took twin drags, the smell of cigarette smoke filling the air surrounding them.

“You can tell them to back off,” he finally said, letting the words settle in the air between them. Simon’s voice was deep and rough, the unique accent- Manchester, she had learned- thickened by a glass or two of bourbon.

“I get why they’re curious.” Allie took another drag. “It’s… After getting space from him, I’ve realized that the whole relationship is soiled. He’s a manipulative little shit-weasel.” This earned her a chuckle. It was over quick, but it was there. She tucked it away, holding it in the Ghost-shaped space he’d taken in her brain. “And this is going to sound horrible, but I was glad he was dead. I felt the same way when my mom died. I don’t hate either of them, but the thought of never having to see or hear from him again was… nice.” Here, she let out a bitter laugh. “Like when my mom died, and part of me was just glad I’d never hear her voice anywhere but my head again. Or when I left for basic and knew I wasn’t bound to Sunday service at my dad’s church. There’s a freedom there.”

“Felt the same way when my dad passed.”

The silence settled over them once again. Allie took another drag of her cigarette at the same time Simon did, the synchronicity calming. They felt linked- connected, moving at the same time. She tried not to think about “mirroring”- a sign of attraction, or so she’d heard.

“Didn’t think anyone in healthcare smoked,” Simon nodded at the cigarette, dangling from her fingertips.

“‘S more self destructive than anything.” Allie laughed, bitterly. “Phil got me into it during basic. Now I’m hooked. I wouldn’t encourage it for anyone else, but I was 18 and wanted to impress him.”

The look she got from him- neutral, just barely interested- caused her to explain. “He’s eight years older. He came to do mentoring for stealth training, saw me, and saw something that he wanted to exploit.”

He gave a nod, almost saying, Continue. How much do you want to know? Allie tried to say back, but her expressions never seemed to communicate the minutiae of her thought.

“I don’t want to get into it, but just for the record, I believed him when he said we were doing good.” Allie laughed bitterly. “I just knew that my job was to help people who were hurting, and he presented himself with an open wound to be filled.” And her heart had ached in return. Love me, it had said as it pulsed, oozing blood as she held it out to Graves. Love me. And he had been good at pretending to do just that.

“He’s a good actor,” Simon finally said. He squinted at her. “Did you come with him to Los Almas?”

Okay, Allie. Let it out. It had been a year, but this part was still hard to talk about. The only person who knew was her therapist. “He dumped me right before. Left me at the base because-“ She took a deep breath, realizing the abortion was not a story to tell this early in a relationship-platonic or romantic. “Anyway. He took another medic with him, and come to find out she was hooking up with him the whole time I was involved in Shadow Company. Then he… well. Pretended to die.”

“Prick.”

“For sure.”

“You deserve better.” The words seemed to tumble out of Simon’s mouth, and he looked almost taken aback. Allie felt her cheeks heat. She’s almost certain her bare shoulders are cherry-red. The decision to put on a sundress under her oversized denim jacket was clearly foolish- made by someone still used to mild Texan winters.

“Thank you,” she managed to say, pulling the jacket tighter around her, hoping to burrow inside.

“Are you still in love with him?” This also caught her off guard- something Simon seemed to be good at. He also caught himself off guard- Allie could tell by the way he cleared his throat. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. Someone was going to ask.” She took a deep breath, before a long drag of her cigarette. “I’m not, no. Was actually just starting to put myself back out there before Kate called me. And I’m not sure you know this, but it’s hard to get a date when your entire life revolves around spending time with four large men.”

“We’re very lucky,” Simon said dryly, eyes crinkling at the corners as she laughed. He touched his nose, drawing both their attentions to the brace there. “Thanks for this, by the way.”

“Was just doin’ my job.”

His phone buzzed with a text, breaking the bubble of peace they had cultivated. Allie shivered as he looked down, the cold suddenly hitting her bare legs. Goosebumps popped up all over her skin. Without even pausing, Simon slipped the thick leather jacket he was wearing off, holding his hands out for the denim one.

“You don’t have to.” Inside, Allie was giddy. She wasn’t sure, but she could imagine that there was a stupid smile on her face- it had been a while since she was flirted with like this. She shrugged off her jacket anyway, wondering if Simon had any idea how obvious he was being. “Won’t you be cold?”

“‘M used to it. Run cold.” He took the denim jacket as she shrugged it off, passing her the leather one. Allie let out a sigh of relief as she pulled it on. It’s still oversized on her- well worn leather, smelling of smoke and either whiskey or bourbon. Phil had always bought new jackets a couple sizes too small. He wasn’t nearly as broad or tall, his hands not even big enough to cup one of her breasts fully. She had a feeling Simon could do that with no problem. She also distinctly felt those amber eyes lingering on the expanse of her collarbone, the slightest hint of cleavage. He definitely saw the tattoos littering her arms and shoulders.

She willed the blush on her cheeks to go down and stuffed her hands into the jacket’s deep pockets. “What was the text?”

He started, pulling his phone out again to reread it. Weird. “Johnny’s apparently tryin’ to hit on some college girls. Wanted to know if I wanted to join.”

The butterflies in her stomach turned to dust. “Do you?”

He looked at her, eyes meeting her own. “No.”

It was only one word, but even so, the butterflies reassembled.

“Besides,” he said, his voice quiet. “Unlike some people, I don’t like sleeping with women a decade younger.” They both knew he meant Graves, but Allie’s mind flashed to their own age difference. She was about to turn 30, him 35. Was that too much for him? Where was his limit? Was she too young?

“You wanna head back in?” she asked. Lola nudged her nose against Allie’s leg, tail thumping against Simon’s thigh.

He shook his head, which made her laugh. “If you insist.” He got up and went inside before she could say, No, I’m not insisting, I’m perfectly happy doing this with you every day for the rest of my life. So she got up anyway, brushed the dirt off her skirt, and headed back inside.

Allie tucked herself back into the booth, sitting right between Kyle and Simon. They watched as Johnny tried and failed to pick up one of the college girls, trying to hold back laughter at his expense. They had two more drinks each. She split a plate of “chips”(fries) with Kyle and gave him shit for not liking mayo. Price bought her a whiskey as a welcome gift. She swished the amber liquid- same color as Simon’s eyes-around in her mouth and tried not to think about losing them.

This was what she would do now, after all. The 141 had her for six months. Then they could decide if they wanted her to stick around, and if not she’d go somewhere else. A week in and she already felt herself getting attached, unable to imagine her days without them. Without her next-door neighbor in particular.

They got back to base around two in the morning. Allie split off from the group, leaving them to play pool and yell drunkenly in the rec room as she headed to bed. She had just finished doing her skincare routine and was putting on pajamas when a piece of paper slid under her door. She unfolded it to see a message, chicken scratch handwriting in black ink.

gonna raid the kitchen

you want anything?

The note was signed “S.R.” and Allie rolled her eyes despite herself. Always so formal. She pulled out a pen and wrote back, handwriting slightly sloppy as it flowed from her liquor-soaked brain.

no thanks! i’ve got snacks in here. but feel free to come by the medbay and pick up some aspirin for the hangover tomorrow:)

She didn’t bother signing it, just slid it under her door before locking it and sliding into bed. Lola lay at the foot, already dozing even as Allie tossed and turned trying to get comfortable. Simon’s jacket lay across her desk, and she could still smell cigarettes and whiskey (bourbon?) if she concentrated.

She drifted off to sleep thinking about amber eyes, big hands, and a rough accented voice in her ear.

[missingexaltation]

(this is a bit long and...a bit angsty I guess!)

Eddie knows he's trailer trash. It's like, an undisputed fact. He's dirt poor, with zero prospects, a criminal record and half criminal family, and definitely (one thousand percent) punching above his weight with Steve.

Steve's awesome. Rich, hilarious, friendly and brave and so so fucking loyal it hurts. Eddie's seen Steve's every personification of those traits expressed in a million ways, and he's well aware of how little he has to offer in return. He's always been aware of his faults, having had them pointed out on a daily fucking basis since before he could remember.

And the selfish, greedy, unlovable gremlin that Eddie is, won't can't let this relationship with Steve go until he has to, until Steve is the one to end it. Which won't happen, not if Eddie can help it. Not if Eddie can twist, reshape and alter himself into something that Steve can tolerate.

He knows it's woefully one sided, he's not stupid after all. He knows what it's like to be the clingy, weird kid that's impossible to get rid of, the boundary tester, the motor mouth, the freak. He knows that there's a not small part of Steve that's embarrassed of him, that appreciates it when Eddie tones himself down to something reasonably fucking normal.

Shit, one of his only solid memories of his mom is her shoving him at Wayne and begging him to 'take that fucking kid away' from her. And if his own mama couldn't love him then who the fuck could? So he doesn't blame Steve at all. It's just another fact. Up is up, the earth is round and Eddie is a broken shell masquerading as a semi-functioning adult.

It hurts though, the night he gets it confirmed. It hurts like he's been literally stabbed in the chest when he hears them whispering during movie night, almost six months into their relationship.

Robin's scared that she's losing her best friend, and Steve, assuming that he was asleep, whisper-replying that 'I mean...Eddie's fine, Bobbin, but you're my best friend, my soulmate, I'll never put anyone above us.'

So of course Eddie knows they're not going to have a fairytale ending. There's something intrinsically damaged in Eddie's biology, in his DNA that just renders him as a fond memory waiting to happen. The aberration in Steve's dating history that he'll look back on in a few decades and wonder what the hell he was thinking, (but at least it had been fun at the time?).

But. Eddie'd had the choice, there and then, on what to do.

To get up, walk and lose Steve immediately, or take the coward's way out and pretend he actually was sleeping, that he knows no better, that there's a minute fucking chance that one day Steve could love him, even if everyone around them is tapping their watches and waiting for the inevitable fallout.

And that was the funny thing, if it bought Eddie more time in this bubble, then it was the coward's way every chance he got. So that night he'd stayed still and tried not to curl into a ball and sob when Steve's arm slipped from behind his shoulder and around Robin's instead. He knows his place now, and there was a sick kind of confirmation in that, at least. The timer was set, but there was no telling when the alarm would go off.

And from that night it only escalated further. He set aside his disappointment when their alone time became simply 'alone with Robin' time (unless Steve was horny, at least that was just the two of them). He held it together each time Steve inevitably cancelled or postponed their plans because Robin needed him. He told himself it was fine when they platonically shared a bed during sleepovers with the kids, and Eddie was relegated to babysitter duty downstairs. He sat in the back seat of the car without question, lacing his own fingers together and trying to convince himself that they were joined with Steve's.

He ignored every unknowingly barbed comment that Robin made about 'boys being gross, Steve, how could you do it?', all the while internally begging Steve not to think about it too hard. He pretended he didn't see the triumphant smiles she flashed every time Steve chose her instead, the aching, empty void inside trying to justify itself and coming up short.

He acceded every time without a fight, waiting until he was inevitably alone in his bed at night and could let the agony of loneliness rip him apart, wishing that for once he could be the one chosen first and (despite daydreaming otherwise) knowing that it would never happen. It didn't happen, not for people like him.

He spent nights sleeping in his van to give Wayne and Claudia privacy (because Dustin was a nosy little fucker and they weren't ready to tell him just yet), and wished that he could be at Steve's instead, but knowing that he'd be interrupting their time together. He told Steve that he loved him, relishing in the soft, bashful little smile that he got in return, and squashed any painful, pointless hope of him saying it back.

It was fine, because if it wasn't fine, he would never recover.

Then it was three years into their relationship and holy hell Eddie would never think of not saying it. It bubbled under his skin and was branded in every atom of his existence, and if it made Steve feel good to hear it, so much the better. It was ok that Steve never said it back, it was. Steve must like Eddie enough, he wouldn't have stayed for so long if he didn't, and that was enough for Eddie.

It was fine that Steve and Robin lived together while Eddie stayed in his own apartment. If Steve wanted to live with him, he'd have asked, or at least hinted. As it was, Eddie spent most of his time juggling shitty part-time jobs and a tattoo apprenticeship, saving every cent he could after rent, in case one day he was lucky enough to get the chance to share their home.

He skipped food on their dates, opting for just a water (or a side if he had enough), as paying for both Steve and Robin's food was enough to clear him out if he wasn't careful. Three failed senior years were almost enough to financially screw him over, but not quite.

He worked long hours, but kept his head above water. It kept him busy anyway, kept his brain from obsessing over not seeing Steve for however many days it had been this time.

And he never complained. Not once. If he did, he knew that it was the end for him and Steve, and it would fucking break him when it happened. Cowardice was Eddie's middle name, if you cut him he oozed it before he bled blood.

He'd perfected it.

So when Steve and Robin came back from another impromptu vacation, and loudly proclaimed in front of their friends, the kids and their parents that they had gotten drunk married in Vegas, Eddie was surprised that he felt anything at all.

But he did.

It didn't quite register at first, until he heard the words 'my husband' out of Robin's mouth and then oh. Oh.

That was something Eddie would never have. He'd never be able to walk down the aisle and proclaim his undying love with Steve in front of their friends and family. They'd never get a first dance, or cut a cake they'd chosen, he'd never hear Wayne's proud speech or know the feeling of Steve slipping a wedding band onto his finger.

That wasn't the world they lived in.

He was an idiot. A delusional, dumb fucking idiot for thinking, hoping that one day the world would be more tolerant. Because it didn't matter.

Steve was Robin's husband, he lived with her, vacationed with her, worked with her and took her to dinners with his parents. Platonic or not, she had another part of him that Eddie could never have.

Even if the world was a kinder place for queer people in general, Eddie would never have been an option for someone like Steve. Of course not. Of fucking course not. Holy shit, he was so fucking dumb. Three failed senior years and he's still shocked at the depths of how fucking stupid he is.

He has to be grateful for what he's got.

So when the newlyweds finally remember he exists, and turn to him with glee and mirth in their eyes, he does his best not to let his shattered, grieving, shadow of a broken fucking heart show.

It wouldn't make a difference, anyway.

[spyderlondon]

We Can Be Whole

Chapter 1

Chess!Queenie x Circus!Kinger - A request by @digital-chess

Ko-fi

------

It was supposed to be another day, another chess round, same as the last to see which team might come out further ahead than the last round. But, something happened, a misfire of a spell from the bishop from black- it was supposed to hit one of Gangle’s pawns, teleport it just a little bit away but still on the board. At least that was the idea, that’s what was supposed to happen but that didn’t happen.

Everything went in slow motion, there was a slip up with one of Jax’s bowling bombs where it went the way he didn’t aim and the moment Crusty was about to finish casting his spell- the bomb blew up behind him which actually made him flinch and say the wrong words at the last minute, his hand jerking upwards. Upwards towards the queen, hitting her squarely, making her vanish as suddenly as the misfire happened and she never reappeared on the board like was the original idea if it didn’t get messed up.

There was silence. Not even a single breath could be heard from either side of the board. No one dared speak. No one dared to even move. The only movement that happened was from Crusty who slowly lowered his book while turning his wide eyed gaze from the tile that Queenie had once been on to look at Kinger, not saying a single word. He could see red and blue eyes fixated on the spot that Queenie once was, his eyes were like pinpricks… each and every eye including those on his robe and staff- he was in disbelief.

“...Crusty.” Kinger’s voice was low and barely controlled as his eyes went down towards the black bishop who was stiffer than normal, “...where is my wife? Where did you send your queen?” He questioned, he was barely able to keep his tone in check and his staff was sparking a bit but not in warning but more in a way that seemed like the king was losing control of himself. The others on the board could see the change as well and they all could tell that this was a really… really bad change.

The black bishop had to take a breath to steady his nerves- Kinger had always been one of the very few that could make the yellow rabbit’s stoic personality break a bit. He averted his gaze as he attempted to figure out where he had accidentally sent the queen chess piece but he came up blank, “...I don’t know, my king.” He admitted slowly, gripping his spellbook with a sigh, “It’s a possibility that I may have mistakenly sent her to another dimension or something.” He shook his head, his long ears waving next to him, “It’s hard to say when I don’t even know what incantation I ended with.” He explained gravelly.

Kinger stared down at the old, yellow rabbit in complete silence as his eyes seemed to have a conflicting icy glare and fiery anger inside of them before he took a steadying breath, “...find a way to get my queen back.” His voice was low and almost broken as gave his request, although there was an underlying danger and rage in his tone as well that he seemed to be barely keeping under wraps. He closed his eyes, trembling a bit and he seemed to be taking a few breaths before opening his eyes once more as he looked down at all the humans on the chessboard with a shake of his head, “Return to your zones. The chess game is postponed indefinitely until Queenie has been returned.” He stated tersely, gripping his staff tight as a lightning bolt struck the tile he was on and he vanished from the board, leaving the players to stand there in silence.

Next thing Queenie knew, she had crashed into a pile of pillows with a grunt and her staff clattering onto the ground with only the pillows softening her landing, “Ugh… what the-?” She furrowed her brows as she tried to get bearings, “Where did that black bishop send me…?” The queen piece scanned the area she was in- it almost looked like the Kidpix Circus but there were obvious differences…

But before she could figure out what was different she felt a poke and heard a voice from underneath her and a floating gloved hand next to her that had a finger pointed out towards her, “Umm… could you please get off of me?” A shaky but somewhat familiar male voice asked politely, pushing up against her but was obviously trying not to force her to roll off of him and hit the ground.

She blinked and quickly picked herself off the ground, moving to the side without a word. She had a confused yet startled look on her face as she tried to place the voice= she had a feeling she recognized it but she had to be wrong… right? She looked down at the man that was now pushing off the pillows that were on top of him and she froze as she saw a very familiar white king chess piece laying on the ground, “...Kinger?”

The male chess piece paused as he stared at her with his two blue eyes and tilted his head as he stood up, “Hm, how do you know-...” He stiffened as he looked her up and down for a moment and it almost looked as if he was getting choked up as he looked at her. He quietly averted his gaze from her.

Queenie stared at him incredulously- why was he acting like this? He never acted like this before- it was like he saw her as someone he had long lost. But he hadn’t lost her, she was right here, she would never leave his side. She furrowed her brows as she moved closer to him slowly and put a hand on his purple robe gently, “My love?” But before she could say more, she was suddenly pulling her hand away in surprise as he spun to look at her with wide-eyed shock and jumped back in slight fear as if his previous familiarity of her was seemingly vanishing.

“AH! WHO ARE YOU?!”

----

A/N: The Digital Chess creator has been helping me a lot with this story, making sure everyone in Digital Chess is in character. This is a non-canon project story that focuses on analyzing Chess!Queenie I have a ton of ideas for this :) One of which includes TERMITES!

[enchantedfanfictions]

Chapter Three - Before the Plan

A/N - Again I am so so sorry for how late this chapter is. Hope you enjoy <3

Masterlist

-

“Soon” ended up being two weeks later. With Anthony and Simon being swamped at work and Benedict being clingier than usual, they had found it hard to co-ordinate schedules. But thankfully, they managed to find a Saturday that worked for all three of them.

Which was why Kate found herself outside Anthony’s apartment, waiting on Simon to join her so that they could go in together. It wasn’t that she was worried about being alone with Anthony. They’d been friends for so long that she didn’t need to worry about awkward silences or a weird tension hanging over them. 

Well, that was normally the case anyway. But over the last few months, Kate had noticed Anthony pulling away more. 

First, he had stopped turning up to the monthly get togethers that Benedict insisted on having, claiming scheduling issues or meetings he couldn’t get out of. The offer to move the get together fell on deaf ears, the group having to get used to the idea that there would be one less person every month.

And then, he’d stopped texting as much. Kate knew that he was a busy man, that he’d normally stay at the law firm until late at night and arrive early in the morning. But it had always been that way. It hurt at first to have to hear about any of Anthony’s successes from Simon or Benedict, but she had slowly gotten used to it.

However, she knew that if she walked in there alone, there was a very good chance she might do something she’d regret.

Sighing impatiently, she pulled out her phone and opened her messages with Simon.

-

Kate Sharma - Are you here yet?

Kate Sharma - I’m waiting outside Anthony’s door.

Kate Sharma - His neighbour keeps coming out and giving me weird looks.

Simon Bassett - Why don’t you just go in?

Kate Sharma - Haha very funny

Kate Sharma - Seriously are you here yet?

Simon Bassett - Yeah about that…

Kate Sharma - Simon

Kate Sharma - Please tell me you’re at least on your way

Simon Bassett - I’m afraid not

Simon Bassett - Lady Danbury decided to let Harold manage today’s shift and well

Simon Bassett - I have to go and sort it out

Kate Sharma - Why can’t Lady Danbury?

Simon Bassett - Because it’s a Saturday and she has book club on Saturdays

Simon Bassett - Also because she scares me and I don’t want to ask her

Kate Sharma - Fair enough

Kate Sharma - I guess we can just postpone today then

Simon Bassett - Or you and Anthony could sort out a plan

Simon Bassett - It’s not like the plan relies on me or anything

Kate Sharma - Simon the last time Anthony and I came up with a plan we ended up engaged

Kate Sharma - Do you seriously trust us to not screw this one up?

Simon Bassett - Last time you guys had the help of something called tequila

Simon Bassett - Kate, you’re a teacher and Anthony is a lawyer

Simon Bassett - I’m sure you can come up with a semblance of a plan that doesn’t include anyone dying or getting married

Simon Bassett - Shit

Simon Bassett - I have to go

Simon Bassett - I left Harold unattended for five minutes and I just heard a crash

Simon Bassett - Good luck

Kate Sharma - Good luck to you too

-

Kate sighed and pocketed her phone, mentally cursing Harold from the bar as she knocked on Anthony’s door. The door opened quickly, taking her by surprise as she was greeted by Anthony’s face.

“I wasn’t standing by the door or anything,” he hurried to explain. “I was tidying when you knocked and happened to be putting my coat up.”

His panicked expression and hurried explanation caused Kate to chuckle slightly. 

“And here I thought you were eager to see me,” she teased as he moved to let her in. She immediately looked around Anthony’s flat, surprised by how- little there was to it. It held all the basic necessities: a sofa, bed, desk, kitchen equipment and she assumed a bathroom; but there was nothing about it that screamed Anthony. 

Turning round, she was met with Anthony’s sheepish expression and instantly knew where his head was it.

“I know it’s not much,” he began, “but I’m only really here to sleep and eat. Most of the time I’m either at the office or at Mum’s. I didn’t really feel the need to decorate to be honest.”

“I like it,” she commented, trying to appease him slightly. “It’s nice.”

“Thanks.”

So much for no awkward silences.

“So…” Kate drew out, shoving her hands in her coat pockets. “Should we get started?”

“Don’t you think we should wait for Simon?” Anthony asked, already grabbing his laptop and heading over to the sofa.

“Simon has had a ‘Harold’ issue and can not make it,” Kate explained, taking a seat next to Anthony on the sofa. “I tried to tell him that we should postpone as the last time you and I made a plan together we ended up engaged but he refused. So, here we are I guess.”

“Yeah, here we are…”

[rmbmedia]

the protomen: european tour part 2

hope rides alone

It is the year 2023. Robots still control the airwaves, keeping the cogs in the slowly corroded propaganda machine forever turning. People live in fear and poverty as the obvious tory-dictatorship further beats the lower class down.

from out of the mists of industry, they appear.

This isn’t just commentary on the current state of the UK…

But once again, they are your hope. They are your salvation.. THEY ARE:

THE MOTHERFRACKIN PROTOMEN!

after having the concert postponed for a year due to covid. the protomen returned to these shores with one goal in mind: to bring the thunder!. Sadly, K.I.L.RO.Y. was nowhere to be seen this time round. however, his presences was felt, just the same. instructing us to once again fight with them! opening strong with three tracks off the yet-to-be-released ACT3, the band knew what they were doing. whilst it was the same old show musically, they felt more cohesive this time round, despite sir dr robert bakker's absence. we have J Rock Harding Jr. to thank for stepping in.. i think? I could be wrong. starting with "hold back the night" the band reminded us we wouldnt fight alone. carrying a strong message that heightened the feelings of the french at the gig in paris 8 days before. in a sense, the band could have been the spark to to set paris ablaze. following on, with my personal favourite, they performed no way back. a fantastic track that i personally think should've been saved for at least halfway through the set. the set soon took a turn with a new cover: Shadows of the night by pat benatar... brilliantly performed despite the crowd not knowing it fully. I think this is due to pat not being a big thing in the uk during the 80s.

finally, upon hearing the usual suspects of breaking out, keep quiet, and light up the night, we all prepared ourselves for the fall. the crowd roared. then, came that fierce, powerful reminder that hope rides alone. the big reveal: the encore- they played a new track: THE FIGHT!. There has been alot of speculation about the events that happen in act 3, no-one really knows for sure if its the final album or if there is more to come. i hope so. the fight is some of the best song writing the band has done since no way back and keep quiet. so im going to wait until further info has been dropped to say anymore. for now, they are going to end it, the way they've always ended it- Due vendetta. i dont know when the band will grace theses shores again... but when they do. I will be there.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHAT KATE SAW IN YOUR MIND THE FRONT

You just know someone knows something, and that's pretty easy with digital content. The danger here is that new founders, looking at existing founders, will think that they're supermen that one couldn't possibly equal oneself. I use to check mail or browse the web, I become much more engaging, and even then you don't make much from it, because a toll has to be for multiple millions of dollars. It's like Google's Don't be evil has been good for Google. And lately hackers have sensed a change in the atmosphere. But so would any VC. If I was any good, why didn't I have the easy confidence winners are supposed to be covered in the termsheet.

We're not depending just on technical tricks. As well as being smarter, they tend to operate in secret. Almost every form of publishing has been organized as if the medium was what they were selling, and the latter because the whole culture cares about design will be sailing upwind. A position on the ladder. Some founders say Who needs investors? You can't just sit there. You can still see evidence of that if you look for it.1 If you fire or avoid toxic customers, you can figure out some hack that will at least conceal the problem. The reason VCs want a strong brand is not to draw in more business plans over the transom, but so that they can advise you, but we may change our minds if it looks like you're taking off. Otherwise you're probably just postponing the problem, and that is exactly the kind VCs won't touch.2 A while ago an eminent VC firm offered a series A round. There's nothing like living abroad to teach you that.

It was like watching a car you're chasing turn down a street that you know has no outlet.3 This trend is compounded by the obsession that the press has with founders.4 Now there's something any individual can do about this problem, without waiting for the government: ask companies where they stand. But it isn't working. So a wise person knows what to do in situations where few others could.5 But the major parties know so well which issues matter how much to how many voters, and adjust their message so precisely in response, that they tend to split the difference on the issues, leaving the election to be decided by the one factor they can't control: charisma. Clearly at some point. The way to do it, you'll miss out on most of the US.6 It has to set off alarms. You can probably take it as a cost of doing business. In those businesses, the designers though they're not generally called that have more power. This is understandable with angels; they invest on a smaller scale without moving.7

But you don't need them. It's particularly important to raise money from them. The company is now starting to read as a failure. It seems the clear winner for generating wealth and technical innovations which are practically the same thing. Someone like a judge or a military officer can in much of his work be guided by duty, but duty is no guide in making things. The reason Florence is famous is that in 1450, it was neither a success nor a failure; it was too early to ask. Note: The strategy described at the end of the spectrum are crack and meth.

The idea that a successful person should be happy has thousands of years of momentum behind it.8 In the movie Wall Street, Gordon Gekko ridicules a company overloaded with vice presidents. So you start working. That's a known danger sign, like drinking alone. Most people I know have problems with Internet addiction.9 If they did, it would be stupid to try the experiment and find out. And indeed, most startups that turn down acquisition offers ultimately do better. Most of the stuff I accumulated was worthless, because I didn't need it. We no longer admire the sage—not the way people did two thousand years ago. Whereas if a VC invested in a startup founded by three former banking executives in their 40s who planned to use the money to pay programmers to build their product for them. The reason I've been writing about existing forms is that I don't know what new forms will appear.10

Already most technology companies wouldn't sink to using patents on startups. Whereas hackers will move to the Bay Area to find investors. I'm talking about something more mundane. In US presidential elections, the more stuff they seem to have been a rejection. What bites them the second time is a confluence of three forces: The company is now starting to read as a failure. I don't know what new forms will appear. If you take VC money, you have to be a matter of days, and literally nothing has changed. But it is less of a change, financially, than one might think. Human problems are the most common type, so being good at solving those is key in achieving a high average outcome.11 At the very least, we can mitigate its effects. This trend is compounded by the obsession that the press has with founders. He was just more charismatic than George Bush or God help us Bob Dole.

Notes

If not, greater accessibility. And you can charge for. Eighteen months later Google paid 1. When you're starting a company changes people.

The former is obviously a better user experience. I was writing this, I would be to advertise, and more pervasive though. Yes, I was a refinement that made steam engines dramatically more efficient, it could hose the whole venture business would work to have done and try selling it.

As Paul Buchheit for the future.

I had no idea whether this would be enough to invest at any valuation the founders of Hewlett Packard said it first, but definitely monotonically. If he's bad at it, because a unless your last funding round usually reflects some other contribution by the financial controls of World War II had become so common that their explicit goal at Y Combinator was a strong local component and b not allow them to tell how serious potential investors are also exempt. The tipping point for me to put it this way. Prose lets you be more precise, and earns the right thing, while they tried to shift back.

Monroeville Mall was at Harvard is significantly better than the valuation of the rest have mostly raised money at first, but they seem to have to disclose the threat to potential speakers. The hardest kind of gestures you use the wrong target. But the question is only half a religious one; there is something in the last step is to get all the investors talking to you; you're too early for a monitor. Whereas the value of a problem this will help you along by promising to invest more.

You're investing your own time, because there are those that made them register. I would take another startup to be memorized. Com/spam.

They want so much better that it had no idea how much they liked the outdoors?

Sometimes a competitor will deliberately affect more interest than they expected and they would implement it and creates a rationalization for doing so because otherwise you'd be undercapitalized. Someone proofreading a manuscript could probably starve the trolls of the river among the bear gardens and whorehouses. I was insane—they could to help SCO sue them.

When investors can't make up startup ideas is to raise their kids won't listen to God. Viaweb, and suddenly they need them to ignore these clauses, because the ordering system, the jet engine, but we are only about 2% of the potential magnitude of the Daddy Model and reality is the odds are slightly worse. It's possible that companies like Google and Facebook are driven by people trying to upgrade an existing university, or b to get something for a couple years. So if you make, which either desperately tries to munge what I've said into something that conforms with their companies took off?

Software companies can afford that.

This is one of their upbringing in their graphic design.

[paa-official]

Recording No. 15

The hall had a round shape and was quite large. Almost excessively large. Red banners hung from the walls, with a black and gold emblem sewn into them. A black sword in front of a golden shield. Pretty minimalist, but it served its purpose. At least it gave me an idea of what it meant.

On closer inspection, however, I could see that this room must have once been a control center, as there were connections for consoles behind the banners. In addition, the center of the hall was raised, presumably for the captain of the ship, but there were two 2.30 m tall phalanxes there.

One of them had poisonous green scales and yellow on its belly. His eyes were blue and he looked a little skinnier than his partner, who was muscular. He wore gold-plated armor, but no weapons on his belt. His partner's armor, however, was the same dark grey as the soldiers' and there were not too long bars on his belt. His scales were a grey color with black diamonds on the sides and he had a comb with red compartments. The head shapes of the two were more reminiscent of a Komodo dragon and they had no fangs protruding from their jaws.

The gray one had his muscular arms crossed in front of his chest and the green one had his folded in front of him. This one had also had a welcoming face than the other >> Welcome to our city, strangers. Forgive us for hitting you with our guns. We did not expect them to ever be used, after all these many years. << he said in a deep yet warm voice >> My name is Xaeros, I represent our people. Next to me is our warlord, Torx. <<

Torx nodded to us, albeit very slightly and barely noticeably. Xaeros leaned forward slightly and looked at me and Becka >> That's really interesting. You look like blue humans. <<

>> We were also very surprised that we have a lot in common with them. << I replied.

Torx uncrossed his arms and propped them on his hips >> Then tell us how you plan to stop the invasion of your people. <<

I started to stammer because of his direct manner >> We... The plan was to postpone the invasion by coming back to Earth and scouting your hideout, so we have more time to come up with a proper plan. <<

>> And you were hoping we'd help you with that? Sounds like you don't have many options left. <<

>> But that's a good thing. << Xaeros interrupted his partner's negative attitude >> Our people have been protecting human kind from such dangers for centuries. <<

>> But this is the first time that aliens have tried to take over the planet. Before that, we stopped them from wiping themselves out. <<

>> Then think of this as a change of pace. A way to do something bigger. But too bad there's little I can do to help you with that. The only thing I can do is explain the gravity of the situation to our people and ask to be of assistance to you both. <<

>> Yes, too bad. << Torx muttered to himself and turned to Xornud >> Since this is a state of emergency, I give you every authority to do whatever is necessary. You will help the two of them with the whole thing. Meanwhile, I will get our army ready should the worst outcome possible occur. <<

Xornud bowed and left the hall with us. At the door, he told his men to join the rest of the army and follow Torx's orders. Two of them, however, he ordered to go with us and serve as a kind of guard should anything happen. With them, we left the ship and entered a large building a hundred meters in front of it. It was a kind of headquarters for the high-ranking officers and generals, where they worked out plans and strategies.

The building had been full of cabinets and human computers and old ceiling lights that the Phalanx must have taken with them, but there wasn't much else in the way of furnishings. The walls, floor and ceilings were all made of the same sandstone. The rooms were also only separated by old wooden doors, but the windows had no glass panes. This wasn't necessary, as the city had been located in a cave.

We entered a larger room on the second floor of the building and the two guards remained standing in the hallway. It appeared to be Xornud's office, which was much more fully furnished than Luke's office. There were even a few rare and beautiful plants in pots, on shelves and windowsills.

Xornud went to his wooden desk and took out a piece of paper with a pen >> Well, I have some ideas on how we could stop the invasion, but I would first like to hear your thoughts and a little more about your military's procedures. << he said and sat down on an old office chair. He indicated the two chairs in front of us and we both sat down.

>> Everyone on the ship thinks it was the humans' fault that our previous planet was destroyed. << Becka began.

Xornud looked at her with the utmost disbelief >> The humans? <<

I stepped in between >> It's propaganda. No one but the scouts and the high-ranking military officers know anything about the humans. No one except some insiders know that Aurora went to the dogs because of too much pollution. <<

He noted it all down >> And you two have been initiated? <<

Becka looked at me, to which I replied to Xornud >> It's a bit more complicated than that. <<

He nodded >> I see. Good, and what did you guys have in mind to stop it? <<

>> We are officially on a scouting mission to find your whereabouts and gather information about you. My thought process then was for you to take us hostage and deter our military from continuing the invasion. <<

He stopped writing and looked at me thoughtfully. Then he put the pen down and folded his hands together >> That probably wouldn't be a good idea. I'm afraid it would pass as an act of violence and they'd attack the Earth either way. Besides, Xothar told me about the watches that will send you back if something goes wrong. <<

I looked at him in surprise >> How does she know what the watches are good for? <<

>> She can connect the dots. That's why she's my right-hand woman. <<

>> And who is Rundor then? << Becka asked.

>> The thug she trusts. Well, I have another suggestion. We unite our force with the human force or we tell the humans about you first and try to make a deal with the Grievers. <<

>> What kind of deal is that? << I asked him.

>> One where your people could get some kind of asylum on Earth. How big is the population on your ship? <<

>> Over a million Grievers. <<

>> That's very manageable. And in time, these Grievers could even be assimilated into human society. <<

>> But what if it all goes wrong? << Becka asked.

>> If everything goes wrong and your military attacks Earth anyway, we will be forced to join the fight. Warlord Torx is preparing our army for this. <<

I exchanged a look with Becka and I could see in her eyes that she would much rather take a more peaceful path. I was no different, but I wasn't convinced that the military would enter into such a negotiation. However, I couldn't think of any excuse why they would turn down such an offer if they decided to expose this whole lie.

>> What would be the first step? << I asked Xornud.

Xornud smiled a little >> We need to go to Area 51 and talk to one of my contacts so we can get to the Pentagon. There we will present you and we can implement the plan with the negotiation. << >> Can't we just go straight to the Pentagon with your cover? << Becka asked.

But Xornud shook his head >> My watch can only disguise me into a Man in Black. And not everyone knows about us. There are also specially made watches, but they are more complex to create and only work on certain phalanxes. It would take days to recalibrate them. My contact can give us free access. The rest shouldn't be a problem. At least I hope so. People can be unpredictable. <<

>> Then we'll go to your contact. << I said.

Xornud nodded >> Yes, but first we'll take care of your injuries and then you can rest for the night. Tomorrow morning we'll leave for Nevada. <<

>> But isn't Nevada a bit far from New Mexico? <<

>> Don't worry about that. We have our ways. <<

[smalife1234]

What made me smile this week?

Monday, 10/14/24 - Hey everyone, today I had a doctor's appointment regarding my eyes; we had postponed it for two months, so today is finally the day! I woke up pretty early in the morning and got dressed and ready ( and I forgot to tell y'all I got my period on Sunday, October 13th). I track this for my endocrinologist. After I got dressed, we waited for a while until they had to go to school; I mainly watched YouTube videos the whole time, lol, and then we headed out the door around 1:05 p.m. We got to the doctor's office around 1:30 and then we filled out some information sheets and got that completely done and checked off we waited for a while and then the doctor called us in and we went back, the first test was a glaucoma test that was common for me but they had a different handheld device! Which was pretty cool and I might actually think that it was a bit better than the old machine I got! Then I did the hot air balloon test (which I don't know what that test was), but I got through that. Then we headed back to the eye testing room where I had my eyes tested to see how much I could see! Well, I have some unfortunate news: my eyes have gotten way worse, and I have astigmatism! But thankfully, that did not deter me from having a good day, so I enjoyed the rest of my afternoon, and my friends brought my snacks! Today was a very busy day but it sure did make me smile!

Tuesday, 10/15/24 - today, I came back to school after having my eye doctor appointment. I went to first, and I have a few handouts and a few assignments! Nothing big so don't worry! I got one done that I had worked pretty hard on, so hopefully, that's good enough for today! Then, in the second period, I had gotten a handout packet from Monday and got both done! I worked really hard on them! (Trying to really sum up this week so I can fit it into one YouTube post lol) Then in the third period, we didn't even have to go because we had a very big event that the school had never held before! It was kindergartens who came to our college and came in the field and we got to hang out with them! We had an awesome time! But sadly, the event didn't end well, and Emmie overheated and had a bad headache for a while! And then the kindergarten students started crying because they missed us, poor kids! But they are graduating from our college in 2037! Wow, we're graduating 2025! Then, in fourth, we worked on some new packets and just got an instruction paper on how to do a section of what we're writing. We chilled in her class for a bit, and then it was time to leave. We were glad we finally got to leave school! But we found out about a new dish schedule today! We have to do the dishes every Tuesday and Friday! This is way better than any other bull crap schedule we're on (which I'll give you a hint none of) lol, but we enjoyed the rest of our night, and it made me smile!

Wednesday, 10/16/24 - today is a half day woo hoo! Today, I had my 52 rounds of chemotherapy! Which went well! Before then, I had edited a lot on Tuesday, at least 4 or 3 hours worth, so please watch the vlog! I put a lot of hard work into it! Then, in the first period, we had to do more assignments, and I got a larger assignment done! I'm planning just to do all the online assignments, then the hand-outs, and then the modeling on the mannequin! Then, in the second period, we had to do a worksheet that involved drawing Lewis models of different elements on the periodic table! I got that finished, and thankfully, it was something we just needed to put in our notebook. For the third, we did a worksheet and some notes! And then we chilled for the rest of class hearing about a new unit we were heading into! Then, in the fourth period, we got some notes, and then we got to work on our paper for 30 minutes! Yay! So we got that done. And then we headed home. We enjoyed a nice night at home, and it made me smile! And to add, Donny and Willam adopted a son who is named Ethan, and he is 5 years old! I had a feeling that they were telling me it was a “friend,” but that made me smile!

Thursday, 10/17/24 - today, we woke up pretty early and just did a workout. After the workout, we headed out the door, and then we went on the bus, and Emmie and I realized we had forgotten our computer bag! Thankfully, our computer was in our backpack, so we had our computer, but we did not have all our papers! But thankfully, we were ok during the whole day. During the first period, I worked on an online assignment and finished it! Then, In the second period, I worked on a drawing of Lewis Bond model paper, got it done, and uploaded a picture! Then, in the third period, I worked on an assignment for a crime case, and it was a very long packet, but I got it fully done! Then in the fourth period, we worked on some assignments but Mrs church was being extra mean by saying why we had to make a simple thing so complicated with a face and then towards our friend Stacy when she had 3 finger straps but Mrs church didn't believe her and she said “I don't wanna hear it” making a face. So that wasn't good, but we survived the class and enjoyed the day! And today made me smile!

Friday, 10/18/24 - today is Friday! Yay, it's close to the weekend. Today, I worked on more online assignments on my computer and worked on a description for a YouTube video we uploaded a little while back! Then, in the second period, I worked on a paper assignment and got that done! And then I chilled until the third, where I worked on a web quest, and just in the nick of time, I got it done! Then, in the fourth period, I worked on some notes before we had to go to a big ol’ pep rally that we were having. The whole Pepe rally was fun, and we did enjoy the event until we got on the bus and found out it was our bus driver's last day! We hugged her when we got off, and I certainly Really enjoyed her being our bus driver! Then we chilled at home and today made me smile!

Saturday, 10/19/24 - today, was a very eventful day! The morning was pretty chill, and we enjoyed sitting down and watching. Then, shortly in the afternoon, our friend Nicole came over! Out of nowhere so, we got to hang out with her for a bit, and it made me smile! Fast forwarding to the night of craziness! We went to homecoming, which was our first homecoming we went it was going on from 8:00 P.m. to 11:00 P.m.! So many hours, we had a blast, There was loud music playing, and many people came up to us and complimented our outfits! And we danced with us we had a really fun time, and our friends got engaged!! I'm so happy for them, and we basically had a really busy and fun night. Sadly, we did overheat, and our friends Luz and Donny kept gagging and were lying on the floor, so that was fun! (Kidding) But we did enjoy the majority of the night and it made me smile!

Sunday, 10/20/24 - thankfully today was a bit more chill! Well, the morning wasn't I woke up around 10:00 Am which is very late for me because of the Homecoming event that wasn't the stressful bit though, our friends had randomly texted us that they were going to a fair and that they wanted us to come along, and we barely got plans so we had to ask our parents, of course, they were uncomfortable with the idea we respect that and we were fine that didn't let us go this time because we we're already very tired from the Homecoming Event so we enjoyed the day and we got to watch many subway surfers ads! Edited the video that's coming out at 7:00 P.m. today! I edited that for about 3 hours, which is fun lol, but I got it done, and although some bits of today were stressful, most of the day made me smile!! Now the most important Question ⁉️

What made you smile this week?

Img desc #1: Emmie Is seen in an accessible bathroom. She is seen in a tuxedo and looking very red. She is wearing a pair of black sunglasses on her face.

Img desc #2: doc is seen in a restaurant smiling with a plate of food near her knees. She is smiling while wearing a grey/green short-sleeved shirt and brown shorts while her atrophied arms and hands rest on the the joystick of her electric wheelchair.

Img desc #3: Emmie's hand is seen at homecoming the picture is blurry with red and green lights.

Img desc #4: doc is seen smiling near a kitchen counter while wearing a white and black striped long-sleeved shirt and dark brown baggy pants along with white shoes. She is seen smiling while wearing a pair of thin metal glasses on her face, her Atrophied hands resting on her lap near her phone.

Img desc #5: doc is seen smiling while in a pink long-sleeved buttoned-up shirt and black skinny jeans. Her arms are crossed over one another, and she is smiling while sitting in her electric wheelchair.

Img desc #6: doc is seen smiling while wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and beige-colored pants; she has a pair of thin metal glasses on her face she is sitting in her electric wheelchair.

Img desc #7: the mascot at the Pepe rally is seen dancing along with the band playing on October 18th.

Img desc #8: doc is seen smiling with her hand under her chin as she is eating. She is wearing a grey long-sleeved shirt.

Img desc #9: doc is seen smiling while in a darkish room, she is smiling while in a Hawaiian-themed orange short-sleeved shirt with her hands under her chin (this is a method she uses to eat as she has a weak jaw). She has a pair of thin metal glasses on her face.

[leicamoments]

Like a mouldy cheese mate, you keep getting better!

The weather has been awful. Terrible. Dreadful. So bad in fact, that many of the local leagues have had their season’s start delayed for at least one and in many cases two weeks…with the prospect of a good few more fixtures postponed at the start of May.

I wanted to get out to a game on what was now the defacto first week of the cricket season, but my options were limited – certainly if I was staying within 15 miles of where I live. I also didn’t want to travel to a ground, only to find that the game was delayed and eventually abandoned – which happened to me last year.

Harrogate CC 2XI were scheduled to play at home against York CC 2XI in the Yorkshire Premier League North – Championship West, and to be honest, I didn’t really believe that it would go ahead given the fact that I had walked around the front and back pitches a week earlier and could have brought my swimming trunks - given the amount of water on the surface of both.

I arrived with half an hour to spare, parking on the small grass hill next to the scoreboard and gazed around the ground. It looked a mixture of okay to not-so-sure that a game could be played.

With umpires and players satisfied after a thoughtful wander around the outfield, the game started on time and York, who had won the toss, elected to take to the field with Harrogate batting first. It would be interesting to see how the players coped in some of the more wet parts of the outfield and how the ball rolled.

The first big hit went quite a distance, landing about two thirds of the way to the boundary rope and…dug in with half the ball disappearing into the soft surface. No bounce at all. But it must be said, it had landed on probably the worst part of the ground.

Harrogate batted with a first game of the season kind of pace, scoring slowly but steadily. The innings was looking solid, and the batsmen were playing with a real confidence.

Sanjay Mani caught the eye as he looked at ease standing at the crease and playing the ball around the ground, but it was Hector Hamill who really impressed with the selection of shots he was playing.

I’d seen Hector play a good few times last season and know that he has a very bright future in the game if he keeps on the trajectory he seems to be taking. I’ve seen other similar young talented players and they’ve gone on to play at higher levels.

Hector built the backbone of the innings for Harrogate, reaching 86 off 117 balls, including eight fours and one six.

That’s not to suggest that the home team were relying on the one player, good knocks by George Owran (10), Peter Greenfield (21), and a brilliant 44 by Ashley Griffin helped Harrogate to a total of 206 in just over 46 overs.

York’s Josh Wood was the pick of the bowlers with five wickets for just 32 runs.

As the players went in, my thoughts turned to lunch, and I headed to the gazebo set up outside The Balcony to see what was on offer. Food was being put on by The Round Table Dining company (www.theroundtabledining.co.uk), and the aromas were captivating.

I ordered spring rolls and salt & pepper chips, before heading inside to get a drink from The Balcony Bar.

The food was fantastic and the drinks service by Andy and Molly-Rose was excellent as ever…both highly recommended.

Anyway, energy suitably replenished I got back to the boundary rope to get some images of the York innings. A score just over 200 is probably 20 to 40 runs short of the sort of score that is expected on this ground, but the unknown element on this opening day of the season was the playing surface.

The first few overs seemed okay, but then the wickets started to fall, and York appeared to struggle to make runs. Guy Darwin impressed early on and ended up scoring 38 runs off 43 balls, but his teammates seemed to be struggling to stay at the crease, with most only managing to score a few runs.

As the drinks break was taken around the 25 over mark, it was clear that York wasn’t going to reach the target set and it was more a question of when they would run out of wickets.

I was surprised how well they played after the break, and it took the home team until the 39th over to bowl the visitors out for just 103. Harrogate had won by 103 runs, with Harrogate's William Harwood impressing with three wickets for just six runs!

So, a good day for Harrogate, earning ten points and sitting second in the table – although who really looks at a table in the first few weeks of the season!

I’d managed to find a game to cover on the [cough] ‘opening’ day of the season and play hadn’t been interrupted by rain at all (although there were a few drops near the end of the Harrogate innings).

Despite it not being a close game overall, there had been a few interesting battles between the batsmen and bowlers, and genuinely an entertaining match to start the 2024 season. Now we can only hope that a spell of good weather will dry more grounds out in the next couple of weeks and the league campaigns for all teams can get underway.

Oh! The title? The words of encouragement from one Harrogate player to his bowler!

[unknownjpegs]

grilled cheese

Xavier wakes up because of a nightmare—the same one he’s been having for the last couple of months on a never ending repeat. Tess blames it on the sleepover, where pre-teen boys with too much sugar in their system had stayed up past bed time and watched John Carptenter’s THE THING. She’d picked her little brother up at his friends house (even though it was past curfew and she’d had to steal the minivans keys), shaking and crying and post at least two throw ups.

And ever since, when some random Saturday crept up to haunt Xavier, he would wander from his room, right to hers. Equipped with giant, wet eyes the same color as hers and ask if he could sleep in her bed.

“You’re like way too old for this sort of behavior,” she chastises, even though he really isn’t. At eleven, Xavier is thin as a ruler. He has their mother’s long, gangly limbs but their fathers broadness. He looks like someone put a stack of books on top of him and left them there for far too long, like a flower pressed between pages, like a strong gust of wind could simply pick him up and take him away.

Xavier makes Theresa’s heart squeeze.

He sniffs, red nosed and pathetic, hands interlocked in nervousness in front of his chest.

“Oh my God,” she groans and throws back her covers. Xavier darts toward her bed swiftly and wastes no time crawling underneath them. Tess sighs and folds an arm down around him, his bird like rib cage fluttering in the still remembered fear of his nightmare.

Her seventeenth birthday looms a month from this exact Saturday, so she feels awkward and embarrassed, like she’d fucking die if any of her friends knew about this (particularly, Rebecca Holstead, who was so close to sleeping over this very night, the idea of which made Tess dizzy and warm and scared, herself)—privately, she also feels comforted.

Tess thinks the day Xavier stops coming to her first (not their mother or father) will be the worst day of her life, probably.

***

She expects it to rain, because it’s the UK, but she does not expect it to rain on the day of her brothers wedding. No one thinks its unlucky. In fact, Benji’s tiny mother (who quickly becomes such fast friends with her own mother, she starts to wonder if they secretly knew each other before this) laughs about it. She shakes her hands at the windows, elbows her husband and Benji’s quiet, but kind eyed father.

“It was raining the day Benji was born,” she tells Tess with a finger against her nose, one eye closed. She slips into her native language between words here and there, her voice melodic and fun. “Rain’s good.”

Rain is good, Tess thinks. But it postpones the ceremony, which is being held outside, in the sprawling backyard to Benji (and Xavier’s?) home. She doesn’t mind, because it gives her more time with her brother—who sometimes looks so different from the brother inside her head that looking at him gives her whiplash. Not always the good kind.

“You’re sure the suit is fine? I look out of place with the grooms family, get what I mean?” Tess adjusts the suit collar again, shifts on her feet. It’s tapered to her waist, stylishly slim fit but still masculine, flattening her natural curves and making her look…boyish. The way she usually likes. She tucks shoulder length red strands behind her ears—she’d grown it out, in prep for the wedding photos that were still to come.

Tess never wanted to make Xavier’s life difficult—and it was a miracle their father had flown across the ocean to make it to the event. One of the most important fucking events he could make it too, she thinks hotly, prepared to get angry about it all over again. She’d deal with her hair long (or longer than it has been in years), just so he wouldn’t make comments about the usual buzz cut she liked. Anything to stop a fight from happening between Xavier and the senior Wolffe.

“Stop fussin’,” Xavier laughs, patting her shoulders. He says it like fussen. Like with an accent and it makes Tess soften. Her shoulders round, her fist resting on Xavier’s chest. He has that sometimes—a little bit of an accent. A curl of Liverpool around his words, because he’s been with Benji…how long now? She sniffs back tears that threaten again as Xavier groans.

“Don’t cry either,” he warns. In contrast to Tess’ suit, their mothers gown and their fathers humble button up, Xavier is in a traditional fit. His gold toned sherwani should wash him out, considering he’s so pale, but it doesn’t. Instead, it makes the dark auburn color of his hair contrast even prettier. It brings out the color of his eyes—it is handsomely complimented by Benji’s dark, sage colored matching garb. Not that she’s gotten a glimpse of the two of them together, side by side yet.

They weren’t really supposed to see each other until the ceremony. Tess had a hard time believing they went ten minutes without seeing each other.

“I need you to like, absolutely fuck off,” Tess says, swiping thumbs under her eyes. “If you’re around me for any longer than ten minutes, I’ll start bawling like a fucking little kid. Do you think Benji’s mom hates how much I curse, by the way?”

“Benji’s mom is cursing, just not in English.”

“God, I fucking love her, you know? She’s like—she’s so good. And mom likes her so much. I think they’ve talked about every single childhood moment you or Benji have ever had, in the span of an hour.” Tess continues wiping, because she wasn’t necessarily lying when she said she was going to cry, just looking at him.

He’s found her in the kitchen, which she tries not to think is ironic, but it probably is. Tess wasn’t necessarily looking to crack into Benji’s (because they are most certainly Benji’s and not Xavier’s) cooking supplies, just because she was antsy. But the temptation was there nevertheless. Even if the catering was on it’s way, surely. Instead, she and Xavier lean against the counter, where the windows overlook the duck pond. They swim in happy circles, enjoying the rain that will bring worms up to the grass for them to peck at.

Tess steals secret glances at her brother. He has a noticeable scar across his jawline that she wonders about. Sometimes, she thinks of taking his hands and telling him she knows. She knows—that something was not adding up and that something was the military service he kept promising was real. Tess could spot a Xavier lie a mile away, but it was more than that. More than a lie. The scar on his jawline is so terrifying. So thin and white, that the blade must have been razor like. Would have split the skin cleanly, like a butcher.

She swallows hard, looks down at her high heels. They suck and they hurt.

“I’m so nervous,” Xavier admits. She looks back up in surprise and he’s smiling at her. “Like, I’m absolutely going to throw up.”

“You haven’t out grown that?”

“Was I supposed to?”

“Guess not,” she laughs. It makes him laugh too as he sags against the kitchen counter more. He looks so dressed up, and yet the kitchen is so…ordinary. There are sticky notes on the fridge. Something that looks like a work schedule is pinned with a magnet for a terrible punk band she also loves. There’s a stain on the counter and also a chip in the cutting board (a crime, but her wedding present will remedy that). Tess can imagine Xavier living in this kitchen and it overwhelms her. His entire life that she has been absent from for so long, overwhelms her.

“Dude, I’m getting married,” Xavier says, as if conjuring her thoughts from thin air. “Like, married.”

“And he’s like, really out of your league.”

“Trust me, I know,” he jokes as he starts toward the exit of the kitchen, where raucous laughter is coming from a room over. Tess recognizes Jes’ high, wheedling laugh. For a moment, she is staring at her own reflection, because Jes was to Xavier, what he’d been to Tess. Her’s to care about, while their parents were too busy earning money to simply keep them alive.

When he passes out of the room, she decides to stay there, alone, for just a bit longer.

—

The alone part only lasts a few more minutes before someone crashes into the kitchen.

“Oh, absolutely—of course, trip over yourself, why don’t you? Rip somethin’ while you’re at it—not like this isn’t hand made.” There is nothing to do but stare at the woman as she plucks at the ankle length skirt she wears. Judging from the way she picks at the fabric (which is so red it makes the entire kitchen look instantly pale in comparison), it might be longer than the ankle, which seems to be the problem.

Tess, for what its worth, tries very hard not to look at the slight reveal of dark brown skin across her middle, eyes swinging toward the duck pond. The rain’s gone down to a drizzle, sun opening up around clouds to wash everything golden like her brothers wedding outfit.

“Need help?” she finally musters.

The woman looks up, in absolute shock that another person is in the kitchen. She flattens a hand to her chest. That level of surprise is so cute it makes Tess’ hands twitch. She folds them behind her back, which pushes out her broad shoulders.

“In more ways than one.” Everyone has an accent here, but Tess feels a familiarity there. A tone, or note. Something…

“Oh wow,” she finally laughs, scratching at her longer-than-usual hair. “Yours is much cuter than Benji’s. No offense to him or anything.”

“My what is much cuter than Benji’s?” Saha, the older sister that she’s heard about on many phone calls to Xavier, has an animated face. Her expressions are all big and blown out yet uniquely genuine. Like she isn’t putting on a show, but the world is a bit of a stage anyway. Tess bites her lip, tries to hide the all encompassing smile that completely threatens her. She steps forward instead, extending her hand.

“Your accent,” she says. “You’re Benji’s older sister, right? You look alike.”

“Oh,” Benji’s older sister deadpans with her mouth in the perfect shape of the letter itself. Then, “Oh!” louder as she darts forward to slip a soft hand into Tess’. “You must be Theresa then, yeah?” A bit of the Liverpool comes out there, in a way that is still similar to Benji’s somewhat off-putting brogue (sorry, Xavier). Saha has the dwindling accent of someone who likely spends a lot of time away from her hometown.

“Oh my God, no.”

“What?”

“No, I mean—” Tess laughs, giving Saha’s hand a good firm shake. She watches the other woman’s arm flap a bit at the strength she’d put behind it accidentally. Tess is all too used to shaking hands with other professionals in her line of business—and most of those professionals were men who were ready to underestimate her. Not just because of youth (thirty-three is not old, unless she’s browsing twitter) but because of her gender. Tess could shave her head and dress in a mens cut chef’s frock; they still saw her as feminine.

“Call me Tess. People only call me Theresa when they’re mad at me.”

“Promise I’m not yet,” she says, quick and clever. Their hands are still together. Saha looks down at them and then quickly pulls hers away. It makes an anxious, probably not entirely conscious pluck at the skirt again. The red makes her skin tone even prettier, even richer. Tess probably looks like a penguin.

Whatever conversation they might have had next, and it’s branches of possibilities (hating each other instantly, or getting along straight off, or everything being awkward and uncomfortable and one of them immediately retreating to find a brother)—it’s entirely stifled by the loud growling that comes from Saha’s stomach. She puts hands there, her eyes so wide the pupils look like little coins. Tess tries not to smile, but it fights onto her face anyway, tugging up at the corners. It puts dimples in her cheeks. Her eyebrows raise.

“Fuckin’ hell,” Saha exhales in an embarrassed laugh. “That—I swear—it only ever happens to me, y’know? Get caught dancing in the grocery aisle, or someone takes a candid of me tripping on the street. It’s just my luck. Really, I mean it. You’re laughing at me!”

“No!” Tess does laugh. Keeps an arm around her stomach, a hand flattened over her mouth, shoulders shaking. Her hair spills out from behind her ears, tickling her jawline. “No—I swear. Ask Xavier. I got this weird laughing disease when I was a kid. Stuck permanently grinning.” She puts index fingers to the tips of her smile, wiggling her brows.

“You Wolffe’s,” Saha sighs, but Tess can tell her God awful sense of humor is…working. Should it be working? It’s only in that moment that she realizes she’s flirting. Tess drops her hands, tucking them behind her back again. She shouldn’t be flirting. “Okay, I came in here to find some leftovers ‘til the catering gets here. I know Benji has some—cooks Xavier a feast practically every Sunday.”

“Explains where my skinny little brother went.”

“But he looks good with it, right?” Saha is crossing to the fridge then. A hand on her hip. She taps a finger on her chin as she contemplates. For a moment, Tess doesn’t know what to say because, yeah. He does. Xavier looks…so much better. He looks healthy now, with a padded layer to him. His hair’s longer than she’s ever seen it. His cheeks are full of color all the time.

“I’ll make you something,” Tess offers, completely on a whim—or completely out of love. She doesn’t know Saha, they’ve never met before. It happens, she guesses, when one family lives on an entirely different continent. That Benji’s family and Xavier’s family are being introduced on their wedding day. She chalks that up to privacy too; she liked the kindred spirit Xavier had found in Benji with that.

But she wholeheartedly loves Saha for that comment alone. But he looks good with it, right? Such a simple statement that said so much.

“Oh no, you don’t have to. I know Benji has roti around here. Xavier inhales the stuff by the handful—”

“What do you do for a living?” Tess asks as she crosses the kitchen. She opens a few cabinets on whim, tries to figure out where bread might be kept. When it’s located, she then moves on to the fridge.

“I’m…an entrepreneur.”

“You sell make up?” Tess asks, as she crouches to pick through condiments and find cheese.

“That’s actually insanely offensive, you know that? You assume because I’m a self employed woman that I sell make up?”

“Well,” Tess rises slowly, grinning all the while, and Saha’s eyes follow her up. They’re dark dark. That sort of brown that looks to be all pupil, until sunlight hits it. Tess knows those kind of eyes get beautiful then. She can picture them in early morning, blinking open as she lays her pretty face on a white pristine pillow. In her imagination, Saha is just perfect enough to have an imperfection, like a few crazy strands of hair or something.

“Actually, I assumed it, because yours looked so good.”

“No compliments get you out of that one!” Saha has retreated to the kitchen island, sliding onto a stool. Her pursuit of food given up. Tess is still trying to contain her smiling.

“I guess I’ll have to make it up to you, then.”

—

It doesn’t take long to find the other items she needs. Frying pan and butter. A plate to slide the sandwiches onto when they’re done. She doesn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, but Tess is surprised no one came running to the smell of grilled cheese sandwiches; or even came looking for two very important guests. Older sisters to the grooms didn’t often get stolen time like this.

Instead, they have their private moment together. It feels surreal. A little carved out scene from a movie that she would have replayed on repeat as a child, wondering how two women get to be together like that. If that’s a real thing that happens. At thirty-three she is more than aware that two women, do, in fact get to sit in a kitchen and eat sandwiches and talk together.

It’s just very Halmark and a bit of her gay teen heart sort of throbs at that.

“You weren’t lying,” Saha says in a gasp after a mouthful of sandwich.

“Why would I lie about that?” Tess replies, chin in her hand, elbow on the kitchen island. She watches Saha take another bite, a delicious little pull of cheese between sandwich and her lips. She groans as she chews, turning fully on the stool so they can face one another.

“This is better than any grilled cheese I’ve ever made. This is ludicrous.”

“That’s a wild word for a grilled cheese sandwich.”

“Is this what Gordon Ramsay was teaching you?” Tess bursts into a laugh, picking her own sandwich up. She eats like a bird, unfortunately, tugging pieces off and popping them into her mouth. She had learned it in culinary school, where things had to be eaten this way. Small portions, flavor testing. She remembered eating a whole meal in just small bites through out the day, because she was testing every single plate she was cooking.

“He taught me how to make the best omelet you’ll ever have, if you want a rain check on that.” She puts another torn off piece of sandwich into her mouth, eyes to the side to catch Saha. She’s blushing; the color is dark, dark red on her high cheekbones. God, she’s fucking beautiful. The sort of pretty that made someone stop and blink. Not single, Tess thinks instantly. No fucking chance.

“You said you live in Seattle? I’ve been. I’m—well, I’m an influencer, alright? So I travel. I’ve been.” Saha chews, has to tuck cheese into her mouth when she pulls the sandwich away from her again. There’s a second on the plate, because Tess was a firm believer in two sandwiches make a meal.

“What are you influencing?” She asks.

“People.”

“So you do sell make up?”

“You’re awful!” Saha bumps their shoulders together. Warmth blooms in the middle of Tess’ chest and she tried to ignore it. “I’d boost sales at your restaurant if I posted a review.”

“Are you saying my sales are bad?” Tess accuses in a wounded voice. Saha shrugs, pinches her face into an apologetic expression, slowly takes the final bite of her second sandwich. She scoots herself closer then. Tess had abandoned the high heels (they fucking hurt) when she’d started cooking. And so she hooks a long leg around the stool, the bare metal cold as she continues that scoot closer. “How about, if you come to Seattle, I will make you that omelet and you’ll write me a review?”

Saha taps a finger on her chin again. It seems out of habit. It’s frankly, so fucking cute it makes the closeness of them feel tense and warm.

“Bribery,” Saha intones softly. “So American.”

Tess holds out her hand. Saha takes it and gives it what must be her most firm shake (it is puny in comparison, which is somehow, just as adorable).

***

The wedding photos come in about a month later. That feels stupidly long, but what did she know about wedding photography? Her wealth of knowledge laid in herbs, spices and hockey. She was in her Bruins jersey at that exact moment, no less, sliding a letter opener underneath the flat photo packaging.

Tess will never admit to crying as she looks at them. She spreads them across her kitchen table, picking through them slowly. Reliving the day and every single other one before it; the anxiety and fear that Xavier was never coming home, the dual emotions of happiness and worry whenever she did see him in brief snatches of time. That thin, white scar on his jaw is present in many of the photos, but he also smiles in every single one of them. He looks unbelievably handsome and even mature.

She selects one of just Xavier and Benji for her fridge. Tess doesn’t do wall art or photos. It would be depressingly bare if not for the amount of things she’s otherwise shoved into her apartment. Cluttered with hobbies picked up and tossed aside, gifts from her friends, nick nacks on bookshelves stuffed so tight that a robber might be confused on what was actually valuable.

The fridge got the pictures. Emily’s college graduation, an old polaroid of Jes’ and their first baby tooth, blood in their hand. James and Lorelai Wolffe and Tess in between them, a toddler with a giant smile that dimpled her cheeks, before all the other Wolffe children came to be.

And now Xavier and Benji, in gold and green. They were looking at each other in it, but the photographer had caught them in a moment when others were stealing their attention. It was one of those candids where the edges were blurry, where the lighting at the ceremony was all little pops of amber and orange hues in the background. It was Xavier, arm slung around one of his guests (a man named Lark, pretty guy, with an even prettier girlfriend) and Benji, shoulder to shoulder with his father, who was bent in to tell him something.

But Benji and Xavier still, despite all that, looked at each other.

One that’s done and makes her heart bleed and her eyes hurt from the pressure of crying, Tess selects one more photo that she will instead keep on her desk at home, next to her laptop. She puts it there, just then—a photo of her and Saha, standing together, laughing. Her hand rests on Saha’s shoulder, her (now, thankfully buzzed off) hair wild from all the humidity. And Saha is looking at her, with those brown eyes she knows are gorgeous under the sunlight.

Next to the laptop it goes, where an email stays open. An email of a plane ticket receipt, and a cheeky ‘does your restaurant need a review?’ in the caption.