#I wonder what guests they will have while trixie’s gone

[weshallc]

Thank you so much for putting up with me, I feel back in a Bernie state of mind now (I was far too chilled). Let’s see where we go from here.

BERNS NIGHT (revisited)

This has been a Poplar-on-Tweaven production brought to you by the Crown Inn and sponsored by Mount Busby Farm based on original characters from Call the Midwife.

CHAPTER FIVE: Ae Fond Kiss.

“Who Shall Say That Fortune Grieves Him. While The Star of Hope She Leaves Him?” Ae Fond Kiss, Robert Burns 1791

“I Pictured A Rainbow, You Held It In Your Hands.” The Whole of the Moon, The Waterboys 1985

Bernie grabbed Val’s arm to steady herself. Paddy stood in front of her fidgeting with the cobalt blue fabric with a wide green check overlayed with a thinner gold and black one. His fiddling pulled at the kilt pin weighing the piece of cloth down at the knee. The tiny silver dagger bearing his clan crest caught the light from the hall where Bernie remained stood stock still in the doorway.

Paddy then reached for the frilly white lace jabot fastened around his neck, pulling at the lace with one hand, as if it was choking him. The other hand straightened the black waistcoat with the three silver buttons, matching the three on the sleeves of the Montrose jacket. They in turn matched those perfectly polished down the front of both sides of the centre of that waist length black jacket.

Bernie’s dropped jaw started to quiver as a chuckle threatened to emerge. Paddy shot a look of accusation at Val who intern nipped Bernie’s arm. Her friend regained her composure.

“I told you she would think I look ridiculous,” Paddy spat at Val as if Bernie wasn’t in the room. It was however Bernie who responded as Val’s confidence appeared to waver.

“No, you don’t. It’s just a bit of a shock. I am not quite sure what’s going on.”

“We..well some people thought it might be nice to put on a Burns Supper. Like we used to...before-” Paddy started to falter as he noticed Bernie’s eyes mist over.

“For your birthday.” Piped in Val, trying to help Paddy out and regaining her confidence. “I will leave you to it, I’ve left Jack behind the bar and well he is still pretty green, if anyone asks for a cocktail we may be in danger of losing our licence.”

On Val’s departure, Bernie moved towards Paddy. The forgotten scarf Trixie had placed around her friend’s shoulders fell to the floor. Paddy bent down to pick it up.

“Oops, be careful, good job there is no-one stood behind you.”

Paddy straightened up swiftly and stroked down the back of his kilt. Bernie allowed a relief filled giggle as she saw Paddy’s frown soften. Taking the scarf from Paddy, she sighed. The pattern matched the tablecloths downstairs. “My mother’s tartan, they haven’t missed a trick, have they?”

“Trixie was most put out when her attempts to discover the Mannion tartan drew a blank.”

“Mannion is an Irish name, sorry.” Bernie wasn’t quite sure why she was apologising for her name, but it felt appropriate.

“We all know that now,” laughed Paddy.

“How did you find the Home clan tartan?”

“Violet and Evie poured over hundreds of samples and narrowed it down to a few which they matched to old photos of Wilf’s kilt. They figured that was how the wily old bugger had got round it, using your mam’s tartan.”

“Everyone has gone to so much trouble, I feel like such a fraud. I just wanted an evening alone with you in Appleby Thornton.” Bernie blushed, feeling even more guilty.

Sensing her confusion, Paddy cupped her cheeks in his hands. “We can go out any night.” 

Bernie raised an eyebrow at Paddy’s optimism. Even though Jack had turned eighteen and could now serve behind the bar, Paddy still found it difficult to let go. Most of their evenings were spent working or propping up the bar.

Any further discussion of their work-play balance would have to wait. The sound of familiar footsteps running up the stairs alerted them their presence was required in the bar. Paddy and Bernie followed Tim into a cacophony of noise, the sound of fiddle, banjo and accordion mixed with laughter and the pounding of feet on the wooden floor.

Tim grinned and nodded as Bernie asked, “Isn’t that the Bridges that come in on a Thursday night?”

“Apparently, before they were married, they used to go to Scottish dancing on Thursday nights.”

Kevin and the Tweaven Folk band sounded like a group of musicians who were enjoying a successful long awaited reunion, rather than strangers that had only met a few days ago. Apparently Kevin didn’t just play the Bagpipes but was going to town on the harmonica.  Mac had found refuge in Reggie and had settled on a bench seat with the dog's head resting on the lad’s lap.

Alan Bridges and his wife Yvonne broke from each other and flew off in different directions to persuade, grab and drag the people sitting at the tables onto the makeshift dance floor. Fred was up first, taking hold of Vi who had pushed her nose out of the kitchen to sneak a peek at the fun. She protested, explaining she couldn’t leave her post, but Evie chased her onto the dance floor with a tea towel.

Bernie smiled at Patsy and Delia. She had never seen anyone quick step to the Gay Gordons before. Phyllis’ face was flushed as she tried to stay in time, partnered by a very light on her feet Lucille. Bernie grinned as Paddy dug his son in the ribs and Tim scowled, shaking his head in protest. Her smugness was short-lived when Alan Bridges took hold of her hand and dragged her onto the floor. She groaned to herself, realising she should have seen it coming. But she knew she wasn’t the only one who had been distracted and let their guard down. As Alan swung her around, she glimpsed a determined Yvonne pulling a very reluctant Paddy to the centre of the room. A massive cheer went up, and it wasn’t for his dancing prowess, but the first view of the crowd of Paddy in his Highland Dress.

Bernie couldn’t deny she felt a tingle as the lights dimmed and Paddy stood behind the tressel table. She could see how nervous he was, his thumb working against the forefinger of his left hand, the right hand turning over his phone on the table. Voices were hushed, sensing a level of anticipation in the air. She hoped he could see her reassuring smile. When he returned her wink she knew he understood.

Everyone instinctively got to their feet as the sound of the pipes flooded the room. Kevin slowly marched into the bar from the kitchen playing, Mac following at his feet, ears pricked. A few steps behind walked Violet, beaming proudly, carrying a silver tray with her pride and joy in prime position. She placed the dish in front of a very pale but focused landlord. Bernie noticed Vi gently touch Paddy’s hand after she had laid down her burden.

Paddy cleared his throat, and everyone sat. Bernie held her breath, she was relieved when he started reading from his phone in his own soft Northern English twang and didn't attempt a Scottish accent. He did struggle a little with more than the odd word and she noticed it was in parts an English translation of Burns’s Address to a Haggis. She did think her dad would be shaking his head and laughing if he was watching these antics held in his memory. As a shiver left her, she wondered if Marianne was also looking down with pride and amusement.

Bernie bit her lip. This was the difficult bit, if trying to read a 18th century Scottish poem out loud wasn’t hard enough. She knew from years of experience Paddy had to keep reciting while removing the Sgian-dubh from his woolly knee-length socks. He then had to pull the small dagger out of its black leather holder and plunge the blade into the Haggis at just the right moment in the text. She went to hold on to her chair but was surprised when a long thin hand grabbed hers. Tim’s hand was cold, but sweaty at the same time, and she squeezed it back.

The verbal response of the audience to Paddy whipping the blade out of its sheath made Bernie giggle, and she heard a snort from her neighbour. The following stab and slash into the unsuspecting pudding received equal responses of gasps and murmurs. She felt the boy’s hand slacken in her own and his breath released from his chest at the same time she let her lungs relax. Bernie felt Paddy was doing the same, pausing as the crowd regained its collective composure. He dared to give her a quick glance, and she beamed in approval. She wished she could go over to him and push back the wayward kink of hair that had fallen over his face during the dramatics.

Paddy finished the poem with ease following the tricky bit. He didn’t seem to mind stumbling over some of the unfamiliar words. It wasn’t like anyone was going to correct him. There was much relief all around when he finally toasted the Haggis, and everyone could raise the complimentary whisky they had been nursing since the beginning of the festivities. Not everyone had been patient and some found they were toasting with an empty glass, supping air. A nervous Bernie would have been included in this number, but Trixie had passed on her dram so she could at least properly take part in the toast. Paddy received a standing ovation. He wasn’t deceived it was for his faultless performance, but more for effort or maybe they were just hungry and glad it was finally over.

The assembled guests ate their fill of Scottish Fayre. The whisky sauce may have proved more popular than the spicy offal and oatmeal pudding. Although Violet did remark that Poplar’s vegan population had seemed to increase dramatically overnight. Buckle’s Breweries Burns Bernie Beers proved very popular. Ale Fond Kiss, Red Red Rose Ruby Ale and Auld Lang Stout all sold out.

The dancing recommenced to the Tweaven Folk band and its newest member. The Bridges and the lead singer tried to engineer a ceilidh of sorts. This resulted in a room full of mostly English people flinging themselves and each other about in an attempt at the longest communal twizzy world record. The highlight being every time Paddy spun around in his kilt, a large cheer went up as it splayed out.

Eventually he refused to dance and Bernie gave up too. She found him outside smoking one of her roll-ups. She just grinned, knowing he deserved one. Bernie hugged Trixie’s scarf around her.

“Aren’t you cold in...erm that?”

Paddy smoothed the kilt under him, between his bare legs and the cool wood of Peggy and Frank’s memorial bench. Bernie grinned and went back indoors.

She returned with two Abhainn Dearg malt whiskies and one of the tartan tablecloths. She wrapped it around Paddy’s shoulders before perching herself on his chilly knees, flipping his sporran up out of the way. Paddy took over the blanket duties and wrapped the cover round her.

Cold fingers fumbled over sharing the dying cigarette and they sipped from the same whisky tumbler. From where she had placed them, Bernie could only reach one glass without leaving the warmth of the tablecloth and Paddy’s arms. Paddy had long since dispensed with the faffy lace ruff and wore a cream open neck Jacobite shirt, again courtesy of connections of Patsy. As Bernie playfully twisted the string ties around the fingers of one hand. She slowly ran the fingers of her other hand along the hem of the kilt.

“Is this Turner tartan, then?”

“No, the Turners are from Liverpool, probably some Irish in there somewhere too, but my mother’s family hailed from Fife.” Paddy softly answered.

Bernie wriggled on his knee, trying to gain a bunch of the fabric of the kilt in her hand, as the band broke into Deacon Blue’s, Dignity.

“So which clan...ayyyyyeah!” She quickly jumped up vigorously rubbing the flesh between her boot and the hem of her dress on her right thigh. Paddy stared at her in confusion and concern.

“Something bit me.”

“It’s January.”

“Am I bleeding, is there a bump?” Bernie turned her back to Paddy and lifted up her skirt. Paddy started to wonder whose birthday it was. He used his phone as a torch and took his time giving a thorough examination of her right thigh. The eventual diagnosis was no injury to her person, but there was a nasty snag in her new-on tights.

Paddy also identified the culprit pointing to the clan dagger attached to the front of his kilt. “I think you sat on this?”

“You stabbed me.”

“You stabbed you.”

She leant down and carefully unfastened the pin from the front apron of the kilt. She recovered her position now free from hazards. Scrutinising the tiny weapon in her hands under the light of Paddy’s phone,

“Aww, the crest is the world below a rainbow between two clouds. What does the motto say?”

“At Spes Infracta.”

“Oooh, you're getting the hang of these ancient tongues, aren’t you?” Bernie giggled, “what does it mean in boring old English?”

Paddy, who had been laughing with her, fell serious.

“It means Yet My Hope is Unbroken.” He gently tipped her chin forward with his thumb and forefinger and kissed her.

“That’s beautiful.” Bernie caught her breath. “What was your mam’s maiden name?”

“Hope.”

“Home and Hope,” smiled Bernie, partly to herself.

Paddy reached inside his sporran and handed Bernie a small tartan box with a gold bow on top.

“But this was my present.” She smiled, pulling on his shirt strings.

Paddy shone his phone torch on the box as Bernie opened it and carefully took out a silver brooch. She got hold of Paddy’s hand and shone it on a silver V bending inwards to make the shape of a heart with an emerald at the base just below the Home clan crest.

“That is a very fierce looking lion, why am I not surprised.” Bernie didn’t need the torch to see the glint in Paddy’s eye as he spoke. “I nearly got you the Hope rainbow one instead....but I wasn’t sure.”

Bernie smiled, “Maybe next year?”

“You are still very presumptuous after all these years. This was a one night only kinda thing,” Paddy choked, then swiftly changing the subject, “I liked the motto on the Hume crest, anyway.”

Bernie was impressed with his correct Scottish pronunciation of Home. She read aloud the words around the lion's head A Home, A Home, A Home, that is the slogan, but the motto is actually True To The End .”

“Well, I think the matriarchy has it tonight.”

“Do you know Robbie Burns was a great supporter of women's rights as well as being a romantic? He wrote a poem about it.”

“From what I’ve heard, he was very fond of women indeed. Counting the number of children he fathered.”

“Yes, that as well,” muttered Bernie, “but just for tonight I am going to be Shelagh Bernadette Mannion-Home and you can be Patrick Turner-Hope.

The traditional music of the Corries was now interspersed with more recent Scottish poetry, as the band played tunes by the likes of Travis and Franz Ferdinand. The Proclaimers, I’m Gonna Be 500 miles, filtered through the door leading to the beer garden. The accompanying laughter, the sound of leather and man-made sole stomping on polished oak convinced the two in the beer garden they weren’t being missed.

“One thing I can’t get my head around is how Val convinced you to do this?”

“She just reminded me of every time you have stepped out of your comfort zone for me. How many times you have had to embrace a part of yourself that you didn’t know existed or had thought you had left behind.”

Bernie rubbed her thumb over the slogan on her new brooch as Paddy continued.

“Basically how many times you have put me, us, our hope of a life, a home together before the person who you thought you were and believed yourself to be.”

“Val said that?”

“Sort of, maybe a bit more colourful and there was some violence involved, but I did agree with the sentiment.”

“I think our mams would have approved of Val.”

“Are you true to the end, Shelagh Bernadette?”

“Well, you just better hope this isn’t the end, Patrick.”

The sounds of Auld Lang Syne filled the night and Paddy leaned forward for another kiss, suddenly aware Bernie had very cold hands and had chosen not to replace the kilt pin.

[i-dream-of-twilight-sparkle]

Chapter 5: Starlight’s Secret

A few hours after Twilight suddenly popped up through a portal in her wagon, Trixie has finally woken up again after having gone back to sleep. She yawns and stretches her hooves. Once she gets out she looks at the face of the pony that makes her the happiest… her own face in the mirror.

Trixie: Today, Trixie starts the preparations for a grand show in Saddle Arabia! But first, to fulfill a mission the Princess gave me in getting Starlight there.

Trixie grins at herself in the mirror

Trixie: Granted, Starlight has been a wonderful assistant in many of my shows. I probably would of smuggled her in, even if Twilight explicitly told me NOT to bring her. But as is, inviting Starlight is now Trixie’s good deed of the day!

Trixie steps out of her wagon and proceeds to head to the School of Friendship, where Starlight has recently been promoted to be the new Principal when the previous one got a promotion of their own in Twilight becoming the sole princess ruling in Canterlot. Trixie herself with a job at the school as the new counselor. She approaches the Principal’s desk.

Trixie: Hello Principal Glimmer, is it fine for Counselor Lulamoon to have a few words?

Starlight turns around her swivel chair and smiles

Starlight: Hey there Trixie, good to see you! Though I don’t know why you’re being so formal. We’re currently on break between school years, I’m just here because I still have some paperwork to fulfill before the next school year starts.

Trixie: Maybe Trixie just wanted to start getting used to saying Principal Glimmer and Counselor Lulamoon for when it is time.

Starlight: Haha, I guess it does give you a sort of professional title to boast. Though please focus on using your job on helping out students and not flaunting the fact that you were hired to counsel students. Helping students shouldn’t be something you brag about doing. You just do it, you’ll get the praise you want when the students say you helped them. I may be your friend, but I’ll still be your boss. I will not hesitate to fire you, if I feel like you’re using your title over the concerns of the students

Trixie: Ok, ok, ok. I’m sorry, guess I was just a little excited that we’re going to be working together. Though speaking of together, I actually got something to invite you to. And believe it or not, Twilight herself told me to go invite you after inviting me herself!

Starlight: Huh, Twilight visited to invite you somewhere?

Trixie: She did, yes!

Starlight: Well, I guess you two have actually been friends longer then you’ve been friends with me.

Trixie: Just want to say that despite having been friends with Twilight for longer, you’re still my BEST friend. *winks*

Starlight: Aw, thank you Trixie. But anyway, what did Twilight invite you to and in turn, what are you inviting me to?

Trixie: Saddle Arabia is apparently having a Royal Ball in the palace. There’s also a wedding between 2 of Twilight’s friends that live there, though it’s your choice if you want to attend both. I don’t know if I’ll be at the wedding, but Twilight invited me to the Royal Ball both as a guest and an entertainer. I’ll be on stage, and of course I’d like to have you as my assistant for another show.

Starlight: Sure thing, Trixie. It’s good that we may finally get to see Saddle Arabia after we failed a little while ago.

Suddenly, a door knock is heard outside the office door.

Starlight: Trixie, could you go see who’s here?

Trixie: Sure!

Trixie opens up the door, and it’s Sunburst. Another friend of Starlight who will be in the staff as the Vice Principal.

Sunburst: Hi Trixie! Hi Starlight! Are you two already discussing the next school year?

Starlight: Maybe a little tiny bit, but Trixie actually had something else in mind that we’re talking about a little more.

Sunburst: What’s that?

Starlight: Twilight and her friends are going to Saddle Arabia for a Royal Ball and a wedding. Trixie was invited to go from her, and she’ll be among the entertainers to go on stage. She was also tasked by Twilight to invite me.

Trixie: Oh yeah, Twilight also mentioned you Sunburst so if you want to come too, we can make sure you’re invited as well.

Sunburst: Sure, why not?

Suddenly a portal appears in the room of the office

Starlight: What the?!

Twilight: Hi there, Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst!

Trixie: Twilight?! What are you popping in for, if you were going to talk to Starlight. Why did you even task me to go invite her?!

Twilight: I… didn’t pop in for that, but at least I know you went and did it. In fact, I tried seeing you in your wagon first in case you were still there, but you were gone, so I guessed that you went to the school to do what I told you. Thank you for that. Buuuut I just realized I forgot to give you something before I closed the portal into your wagon. Your own pack of portal gum for you and Starlight to use in case you have others outside Ponyville you want to invite. Me and my friends are gathering friends and family from all over the world. I need to give you the chance to do the same if you have any in mind.

Twilight tosses a pack of gum that lands on Starlight’s desk.

Starlight: Thanks Twilight, I guess. See you at the ball, then?

Twilight: Yup! Have a good day!

Twilight waves goodbye, and closes the portal

Trixie: Well, I guess this time we won’t have to worry about the long travel like we went on last time.

Starlight: Yeah, true. That was such a horrid trip, we didn’t even get to Saddle Arabia. So it’ll be great to have a shortcut to anywhere in the world. Though now the question is, who should we invite? I was going to say maybe Maud first, but I have a feeling Pinkie Pie’s likely already got her covered.

Trixie: I might go get my Mother in Canterlot

Starlight: Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever met your Mother. What’s her name?

Trixie: Dandy Lion, and she is somepony I love very much.

Starlight: I suppose while you’re mentioning a parent, what about your father?

Trixie just gives an annoyed expression

Trixie: No comment…

Starlight: Oh… sounds like you don’t want to talk about him… though I sympathize sometimes given what my own father is like… You’ve just never ever brought up your parents before, so you never really told us how you feel about them

Trixie: I’ll just say my past in Canterlot was… complicated.

Starlight: You’re not the only one with a complicated past, Trixie. Trust me

Starlight looks to the side solemnly

Sunburst: I suppose we have our own parents we can invite, my mother is obsessed with plans. But I wouldn’t mind letting her have some fun in a vacation. Maybe she’d loosen up a bit from her plan-oriented lifestyle.

Starlight: Ugh… going to see my father is like going face-to-face with one of the sources of my complicated past I just mentioned… But I guess I can.

Sunburst: Do you perhaps want to talk about said complicated past?

Starlight: Not really at the moment, but perhaps I should sometime... But I guess for now, we three should get going to invite the parents we can or at least willing to reach. Here’s your own piece Trixie, so you can go see your Mom. And this one is for me and Sunburst to go to Sire’s Hollow.

Trixie: Thank you, Starlight! I’m gonna go see my Mom right now, I’ll come back here after I’ve invited and finished talking to her.

Starlight: Alright Trixie, seeya in a moment.

Trixie blows her portal gum bubble and heads off to see her Mother. Meanwhile Starlight takes a deep breath.

Starlight: So back to Sire’s Hollow, huh?

Sunburst: At least for only a few minutes. We don’t have a a whole friendship quest to figure out this time around. We only have to say “Hey Mom, or in your case Dad. We’re going to Saddle Arabia soon, would you like to join us when we do?”. And then regardless whether they say yes or no, say we can’t stay for too much longer, and if they ask why, just bring up our school jobs.

Starlight: I guess you have a point there, Perhaps it won’t be too bad.

Starlight proceeds to blow her bubble and the portal that pops from it, is a view of Sire’s Hollow the town where many awkward memories for both Starlight and Sunburst persist. Starlight closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and enters the portal.

((Story continues after the break))

Upon entering Sunburst can already see his mother is out and about keeping an eye on any progress of the town being made. Sunburst sighs.

Sunburst: I might as well talk to her to get it over with…

Sunburst walks closer and starts to call out to his mother.

Sunburst: Um, uh… Hi! Er, Mom?

Stellar Flare’s ears perk up, and she turns around with a wide-eyed, big grin hearing the voice of her son.

Stellar Flare: SUNBURST!

She trots up and hugs him tight.

Stellar Flare: How’s my little vice principal of the next year of the Friendship School doing?

Starlight: Wait, you already know that Sunburst was hired as Vice Principal?

Stellar Flare: Oh yes, and of course that means I also know about you, Principal Starlight! *winks*

Starlight: But how? We definitely haven’t been here since that happened.

Sunburst: I told her recently, I’ve actually started to respond to her letters more often. Maybe if she knew more recent news about me more often, maybe she’d at least think I wasn’t doing nothing… honestly maybe I should of at least told her last time that I helped with babysitting Cadence’s daughter in the Crystal Empire. She would of thought that I was doing an important job then.

Stellar Flare: You did mention that in one of your recent letters, yeah I probably would of been a little more satisfied knowing that before the previous visit. Though certainly having a role in the School of Friendship is a much bigger deal, you’ll be shaping the future of the next few generations of not just Equestria but some students from outside of the country as well, non-ponies included! I just want to say I’m proud of you, Sunburst. This is all I wanted for you, a solid future for yourself!

Sunburst: Heh heh, thank you Mom. Though perhaps you should be thanking Starlight, she was the one who was promoted from counselor and then hired me on as Vice Principal.

Stellar Flare: I guess that’s fair too. *She turns toward Starlight* Thank you Starlight, for being such a dear friend and selecting my son as your Vice Principal!

Starlight: You’re welcome, I guess?

Sunburst: By the way, Mom. Looks like you’re overseeing something getting built. How did you get Firelight to sign up on it, weren’t you two still at odds about construction?

Stellar Flare: Well, we still fought over things a little bit after you left last time. But some time ago, we finally reached a bit of a compromise. Remember when I said I wouldn’t let Firelight turn this town into a museum?

Sunburst: Yes?

Stellar Flare: Well, I thought of something. If I let Firelight have a museum in the town, then I can have something I want, once that’s done! What’s being built is a Sire’s Hollow museum!

Starlight: I guess that would be one way to satisfy my Father.

Stellar Flare: We together will make a museum that both respects the history of our little town while the building itself will have plenty quirks about other thriving cities! It’ll have something for the both of us, and after that I’ll get to have one thing I want. Though I haven’t even decided yet, do I want a casino? A sports arena? Perhaps, a hotel? Oh, just thinking about the possibilities has me filled with excitement! *She has both hooves on her cheeks with star-filled eyes*

Sunburst: Well either way, it sounds very nice. Glad you two came to a good deal that benefits both of you.

Starlight: Ahem, Sunburst... I think we may have gotten a little sidetracked of what we came here to do

Sunburst: Oh shoot, yeah. Blame my Mom’s way of carrying a conversation. Um, Mom we actually came here to invite you to something.

Stellar Flare: Wait, are you actually saying you… hehe…

Sunburst: No…

Stellar Flare: Came here…

Sunburst: No no no no no no, please don’t say it….

Stellar Flare: WITH. A. PLAN?!

Sunburst: ARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Sunburst yells in mental agony as her mother implies he’s becoming like her. Starlight giggling a little bit. Stellar Flare looking at Sunburst with a smug grin.

Stellar Flare: Hehehehe, sorry I just had to. But where and what did you PLAN *winks* to invite me to?

Sunburst: Ugghhh, well Mom. There will be a royal ball in Saddle Arabia, Princess Twilight and her friends will also likely bringing many of their family and friends from across the world. That included us, and she gave us free reign to invite whoever we wanted to bring as well. We thought it’d be a good gesture to bring you and Starlight’s father along to it.

Stellar Flare: Sounds like fun! I’d love to be there, consider it my plan to be there.

Sunburst: Alright, we’ve got my Mom invited. Now I suppose it’s your dad’s turn.

Starlight: *sigh* Yeah… Stellar, have you seen my father?

Stellar Flare: I believe he’s currently in your old home, Starlight.

Starlight: Well then, I’m gonna head in and get this over wi-

Stellar Flare: Though there is one thing I admit is odd, he has not come out at all today. Like I know he’s still alive at the very least, I heard him mixing up his coffee in the morning. But he hasn’t come out all day. Which is weird because I would of thought he’d enjoy watching his museum’s construction being underway.

Starlight gives a somewhat concerned look to both Sunburst and her mom.

Starlight: Well I’ll go in alone and see what’s up, you’re right that it doesn’t sound like him to stay in the house like that…

Starlight walks on over to the house that she grew up on, she knocks. But even after a few minutes, there’s no answer. Now Starlight got really concerned, Sunburst’s mom said she thinks he’s not dead based on hearing the sounds of coffee being mixed, but who knew if that coffee had like poison or something else happened since then. Starlight barge opens the door and yells out.

Starlight: Dad? Are you feeling alright?

After quieting herself, she hears the faint sound of… a stallion crying. Her father’s alive which was a relief, but sounds like he’s really upset about something. Starlight goes in the direction in which he can hear the sobbing and eventually finds her father just sitting up on the side of his bed. Tears streaming down his face.

Starlight: Dad?

Firelight is surprised by the sudden appearance of his daughter, he was still in the house and didn’t hear any part of their conversation with Sunburst’s mother, so he didn’t know Starlight was in town.

Firelight: Starlight?! I didn’t even know you were here, um… nice to see you… dear…

Starlight: Now I know something really is wrong, you didn’t begin with calling me “pumpky-wumpkin” or “sugarplum”.

Firelight: *sigh* Am I that predictable?

Starlight: Come on, Dad. Fess up, what’s on your mind that’s got you in such an emotional mess?

Firelight just closes his eyes and turns away from his daughter.

Firelight: If you must know… today happens to be the date of when… she… left…

Starlight: She…?

Starlight ponders for a moment, but suddenly realizes what he meant

Starlight: You mean… my mother!…

Firelight just nods

Starlight suddenly gets a determined look on her face.

Starlight: Perhaps it’s time then you finally tell me who she was, you still haven’t told me at any point my entire life. I asked you so many times when I was a filly, you just kept either dodging the question or said you’d tell me later. I think we’re well past later at this point, will you finally at least tell me her name?

Her father just stays silent, Starlight gives him a few minutes to say something. But still nothing. Starlight’s anger starts rising.

Starlight: Father! Please! Tell me something for Equestria’s sake! Maybe you don’t even have to tell me her name! At least tell me if you know what happened to her after she left, maybe?!

Another minute of silence passes before Firelight speaks at least a little.

Firelight: That last question, I still don’t know for sure yet myself… but… I still don’t think it’s time yet to share who she was…

Starlight now fully in a rage, perhaps the most anger she’s felt since prior to her being reformed by Twilight.

Starlight: FINE! JUST STAY AND MOPE THERE WHILE LEAVING YOUR ONLY DAUGHTER IN THE COLD ABOUT THE VERY THING YOU’RE MOPING ABOUT, YOU APPARENTLY DON’T HAVE A BUCKING CLUE HOW MUCH KNOWING WHO MY MOTHER WAS MIGHT HAVE HELPED ME YEARS AGO! I SHOULD TEACH YOU A BUCKING LESSON BY BURNING DOWN YOUR BUCKING PRECIOUS MUSEUM BEING BUILT RIGHT NOW!

Getting such a tongue lashing from his daughter, all he can do is simply just hunker down further and remain silent. Tears streaming down his cheek again.

After a few heavy breaths after her angry rant. She takes one, large deep breath. And says a more calmer but not any less stern talking to her father.

Starlight: You’re lucky vengeance isn’t my style anymore, I won’t really destroy it. But what good is holding on to the past of the town if there’s something about the past you won’t even tell your own daughter? Just what is it that makes it so important for me to not know? Do you plan on keeping up this secret even past the day you’re buried six feet deep?

Firelight: Of course not…

Starlight: Then why not just tell me now? Please don’t tell me you intend to make me wait until you’re super old and/or on your deathbed to tell me…

Firelight: If it’s any comfort, I don’t plan to tell you on my deathbed. But… I’m still not ready to quite say it yet, Starlight. I’m sorry.

Starlight huffs in her failure to get anything out of her stubborn father. She finally gives up, and turns her back on her father.

Starlight: Well… before I go… I just want to tell you that me and Sunburst are going to a Royal Ball in Saddle Arabia where Twilight and her many friends and family will also be attending. We came here to invite you and Sunburst’s mom. I won’t rescind your invitation just because of our conversation, you can still go and Sunburst can come pick you and his mom up when it’s time. But... you’re not exactly doing yourself any favors in the near future to convince your little “pumpky-wumpkins” to even bother make another visit to this forsaken town.

Firelight is silent for a little bit before finally saying

Firelight: Yeah… I’ll go…

Starlight: Then my business is done here, goodbye father.

Starlight finally leaves the room, Firelight just sulking and now probably his tears aren’t going to be just about what the date was, but also the problems between him and his only daughter.

Starlight walks out of the room but with a very noticeable angry expression. Sunburst looks very concerned for her.

Sunburst: What happened in there Starlight? I couldn’t hear exactly what you were saying, but I’m pretty sure I could feel the familiar vibes of your voice whenever you were SUPER angry.

Starlight: We’re getting out of here Sunburst, our parents were invited. We got what we came here for...

Sunburst: Starligh-

She gives Sunburst such a mean stare that if looks could kill, would probably drop him dead instantly.

Starlight: Sunburst… Lets. Get Back. To. The. Bucking. Office.

Sunburst just remains silent, and follows Starlight back into the Principal’s office of the School of Friendship. Once they’re back in the office, Starlight slumps back into her desk chair still with that angry expression that she left her house in. Sunburst seats himself a distance from Starlight and stays silent. And for a little while, it stays that way. It was perhaps a good 15-20 minutes before something broke the silence. A portal re-opening back from Canterlot, Trixie was back. And she was overjoyed in happiness in huge contrast with a silent room of anger and awkwardness.

Trixie: Oh my Celestia, my mom is so amazing! She accepted my invitation, and also gave me humongous congratulations on getting the school counselor job. Then we had a mother-daughter snuggle hug, she gave me cookies, and even perhaps gave me the greatest idea for the finale of my act in Saddle Arabia! Oh, I love my mom so much!

Starlight utters a big strong growl at Trixie. Sunburst looking at Trixie, just moving his head to side-to-side to signal that Starlight’s really not in a good mood at the moment. Trixie never really knows what to say when Starlight gets this angry, so she just sits a distance away from Starlight along with Sunburst.

Trixie leans over to Sunburst’s side to whisper

Trixie: Sunburst, what in Equestria happened in Sire’s Hollow for Starlight to be this angry?! I swear this is scarier then when she was bottling up her feelings, when she was angry at me!

Sunburst: I’m not exactly sure either, Trixie. She just stormed out of her father’s home like this, obviously they had a tense moment.

The room is silent once again for another few minutes with Starlight still not changing her expression as Trixie and Sunburst just awkwardly sit there, occasionally side-eyeing each other waiting for an unclear sign of when to approach or say something that could help calm down Starlight. 

But a few minutes later, Starlight’s expression finally changes. She goes from unrelenting anger… to absolutely overflowing sadness. Sobbing, her face on her desk with her hooves on top of her head from what seems like utter despair to Trixie and Sunburst. Starlight’s tears even make a puddle on the desk that makes all the paper on the desk soaked.and even drags pencils off the edges of the desk from the sheer flow. That’s when Trixie and Sunburst finally approach to try to comfort their upset friend. Sunburst and Trixie both each with a hoof on Starlight’s shoulders.

Sunburst: Starlight, we don’t know what you talked about with your father. But obviously something was very distressing about it to you, you don’t have to tell us what exactly is wrong. But let us at least try to perhaps help you calm down, in any way we can.

Starlight still has tears streaming down her eyes. She raises her head off the desk and looks side to side to both her friends. And then finally speaks again.

Starlight: Actually, I probably should tell both of you what it was. So at the very least, I can be better then my bucking useless father in terms of telling important secrets that probably would be beneficial for friends to know now...

Trixie: You have some kind of secret that you’ve never told anypony else?

Sunburst: Yes, tell us Starlight. You’ll get things off your chest much easier if you just trust us to understand what’s upsetting you.

Starlight sits up a little more strongly, and takes a deep breath.

Starlight: Alright, Sunburst… Trixie… I’ll tell you now, I’ve held this up from almost every pony I’ve come to know for years. I probably haven’t even mentioned it to anypony other then my father since before I started that “Our Town” cult.

Sunburst and Trixie are metaphorically and almost literally on the edge of their seats. Whatever it is that Starlight has to tell them, must be huge.

Starlight nervously looks side-to-side through the entire office, and looks at each of the concerned but eager friends to know what she’s trying to say… until finally she just snaps and blurts out…

Starlight slams her hooves on her desk, before going back into another tearful sob fit covering her eyes with her hooves, tears streaming down her forelimbs. Sunburst and Trixie both wide-eyed, and huge gasps coming from their mouths.

NEXT UP: Chapter 6: Starlight’s Cutie Mark

[lux-i-fer]

Holiday Weekend at Penny's

Ao3 link

Synopsis: After four peaceful Christmases in a row, Christmas number five might just be Lucifer's match. Between Penelope Decker's new beau and a gift for Chloe burning a hole in his pocket, he's not entirely sure he'll make it back to LA alive.

Rating: G

Notes: Sequel to Moonlighting and Moonlighting. (STANDALONE FIC. FIRST PART IS NOT REQUIRED READING). I bet this was a sequel you never saw coming. Trust me, I didn't expect it either! Because this is in fact a sequel of a fic written during s1 this fic exists in an imaginary post-s4 timeline!

This fic is for the lovely @nightslux for the 2019 Secret Satan TDN Christmas Exchange. Merry Christmas and happy New Year darlings! Unbetaed.

When they arrived at Penelope Decker’s mountain cabin, Lucifer realized he’d never in all of his four years of visiting thanked the woman for what she’d done. In fact, he wasn’t even sure if she knew what she’d done in the first place. He was sure she had a general idea, but  Lucifer wondered if she knew that she was the catalyst that finally pushed him and Chloe together. Lucifer hummed and fiddled with the gift for Chloe he’d stashed in his pocket. The memories of their first night at the cabin clouded his thoughts. He could still taste the wine on her tongue and feel her hands cupping his face.

“What’s put you into such a good mood?” Chloe asked, shifting the car into park. “You’re usually grumpy on Christmas.”

“Yes, well you would be too if your Father so blatantly chose favorites,” Lucifer replied, all residual happiness of the memory fading away. “It’s not as if my half brother’s ego isn’t inflated enough already.” He looked away flustered and knowing that that wasn’t the answer she was fishing for. “Apologies, Detective,” he continued after clearing his throat. “I was simply thinking about our first Christmas with dear Penelope.” At that, Chloe offered him a gentle smile and leaned across the center console to give him a peck on the lips.

“Are you guys done being gross now? I want to get out and play in the snow.” Beatrice called from the back seat. Lucifer pulled away and caught a glimpse of her hands covering her eyes in the rear view mirror.

Chloe rolled her eyes and killed the engine. “Yeah, Monkey, we are. Help us unload the car and then you can go play.” Beatrice was out of the car and popping the trunk before she could say another word. 

Lucifer followed, anxious to get out of the cold despite the overcoat he’d bought specifically for this occasion. Even with his elevated body temperature, Lucifer avoided the cold as much as possible. But alas, Penelope insisted on having snow on Christmas, so here they all were, standing around in near-freezing temps for the sake of tradition. He buttoned up his coat begrudgingly and started helping unload the car. As he handed Chloe her garbage bag full of presents, he heard the sound of another car coming up the drive. Then a moment later, he heard said car’s door slam. He turned around just in time for Penelope Decker to wrap him up in a sideways embrace. The force of her crashing into him would have been enough to knock the breath out of any other human, but Lucifer managed to hold steady.

“Lucifer!” She kissed both of his cheeks. “Look at you; it’s so great to see you!” 

Lucifer returned the gesture. “Penelope! Always a pleasure to see you as well. You’re looking lovely as usual.” 

She preened at his complement and looked around. “Now where’s my daughter?”  

“She was right behind me...” Lucifer’s trailed off when he didn’t see Chloe beside him. Where had she gone? He finally spotted her, giving the bag of gifts to Beatrice by the front door. “Ah, there she is.” Penelope followed his gaze and ran off with her arms open wide for another bone-crushing embrace. Lucifer returned his attention to the car Penelope had arrived in and saw Dan crawling out of the driver’s seat (according to Chloe, Penelope was a horrid driver in the snow) and a man he didn’t recognize beginning to grab bags out of the back seat. 

Penelope reappeared by his side with Chloe in tow. “Lucifer, Chloe, come meet my boyfriend, Jeff.” She gestured to the man Lucifer didn’t recognize.

“Jeff?” he repeated under his breath. None of the Decker women had mentioned Penelope was bringing a guest. Much less a guest with a name as boring as “Jeff.”

Chloe looped her arm in his. “Just go with it.” 

Penelope was still talking when Lucifer tuned back in. “--and this is Chloe’s boyfriend, Lucifer.” 

Jeff stuck out his hand. Chloe shook it first. “Nice to meet you, Jeff.”

“Nice to meet you! Penny’s told me a lot about you,” Jeff replied enthusiastically. He turned to Lucifer. Lucifer shook his hand out of mere formality, and cringed when he seemed to refuse to let go. He didn’t remember humans’ hands being this slimy. “And nice to meet you too! Is your name really Lucifer? Like the guy who owns that nightclub? Do you mind if I call you Luce?”

Lucifer hid his immediate discomfort with his most charming smile. “Yes. Lucifer Morningstar,” he corrected subtly. “The one and only owner of Lux.”

“Damn that’s neat. I’ve been there a few times, it’s a swanky place.” Jeff finally let go of Lucifer’s hand. “Well we better get out of the cold. Penny said there’s a lot to do today.”

“There is,” Penelope agreed. “I already gave Dan the key to unlock the door so he and Trixie could get a head start while I introduced you guys to Jeff. Oh,” she turned to Jeff. “you have to meet my granddaughter!”

As if on command, Beatrice burst out of the front door, wrapped up in a giant ski jacket and pants. Lucifer flinched as she flopped into the nearest snow bank, undoubtedly jamming snow down the back of her coat. 

“Look Lucifer, I’m making a snow-you!” she shouted.

He hefted the remaining bags on his shoulders and glanced down at her flailing around in the snow. “Very nice, urchin. Except that wingspan would never support an actual angel.” Beatrice giggled and continued flapping her arms. Lucifer shook his head, bewildered.

“That’s a really good snow angel, Trix,” Penelope said as she came up behind them with Chloe and Jeff in tow. “Trix, hun, this is Nana’s friend Jeff.”

Beatrice paused her flailing to wave. “Hi!”

A blast of chilly air blew a dusting of loose snow over her, causing her to giggle even louder. Lucifer shivered as the wind crept down his collar and decided he was done with introductions and done with the cold. He moved into the cabin, leaving both behind. By the time Lucifer had returned from placing their luggage in a bedroom, Dan had taken down all of the boxes of decorations from the attic. 

“Dan, Jeff, and I are going to start dinner,” Penelope told him when he came down the stairs. “Would you and Chloe start on the tree please?”

Lucifer grinned, happy to be paired up with Chloe. “Anything you need, Penelope.” 

He found Chloe amongst the various cardboard boxes in the living room. She hadn’t noticed him yet, and Lucifer took a few moments to just watch her. She was rifling through one of the boxes, pulling out ornament tins and stockings and placing them on the coffee table in the same way she would spread out evidence at the precinct. His hand unconsciously went to his pants pocket and felt around for her gift. For a moment, Lucifer thought about just giving it to her now when it was just the two of them. He took in the barren Christmas tree and the dust dancing in the late afternoon sunlight and left the box in his pocket. There would be more than enough time later, he thought to himself.

“What can I help with, darling?” Chloe whipped around, Christmas lights in hand, at the sound of his voice.

“Lucifer,” she said breathily. “You scared me.”

He shrugged and wondered into the room. “Perhaps you should put a bell on me like you’ve threatened to in the past.”

Chloe snorted. “Nope, definitely not. You’d enjoy it way too much.”

“Detective you wound me.” He placed a hand to his chest to emphasize his point.

“Here.” She handed him a tangled mass of Christmas lights. “Why don’t you start on the lights?” Lucifer frowned and opened his mouth to protest such a menial task, only for her to silence him with a cheerful smile. “You did tell my mom ‘anything she needed.’” 

“Yes, well, I anticipated dear Penelope would need help with wine pairings or mistletoe hanging not…”

“‘Inflating your half brother’s ego?”’ 

“Exactly!”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “It won’t kill your image if you untangle one strand of Christmas lights, Lucifer. Come on, put your lightbringer skills to use.” 

He scoffed, but sat down and began to do as she’d asked. Just because Lucifer was the Devil did not mean he wasn’t a gentleman. And proper gentlemen did not make a scene in front of the in-laws. “You know his birthday isn’t even in December. It’s in May,” he grumbled.

Chloe didn’t tear her eyes from the ornaments she was unboxing. “You’ve mentioned that before, babe.”

Lucifer tried not to get upset when she didn’t rise to the bait. He heaved out one last long-suffering sigh before directing his full attention to the offending ball of lights. According to Penelope, the lights hadn’t been used for a couple of years, and looking at them now, it was obvious as to why. Whoever had used them last had been careless. It was impossible to tell how long the strand actually was because the wires were so tangled together. It looked more like a mechanical tumbleweed than Christmas lights. 

By the time he’d finally untangled the lights, Beatrice had finished playing in the snow. “Did you plug the lights in to see if they worked yet?” she asked, sipping her hot chocolate on the couch next to him.

Lucifer shot her a grin. “Darling, please.” Without breaking eye contact, he reached into himself, gathered a fraction of his divine power onto his fingertips, and snapped. The divine energy ignited the lightbulbs, causing them to pulse with a soft blue light. Beatrice squealed with delight.

“Whoa! Lucifer that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! Mom look at what Lucifer did to the lights!” Chloe looked up from where she was stringing garland around the Christmas tree. Lucifer urged the lights to glow brighter when he saw her start to smile.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” she said.

“I can’t reveal all of my tricks, now can I Detective?” Like he had with her daughter, Lucifer held Chloe’s gaze, watching the divine light dance softly on her face. He let the lights glimmer for a few seconds more and then let them fade away. 

Beatrice tapped his shoulder. “Can I plug them in for real?”

Lucifer handed her the plug, and she raced to the nearest outlet, the freshly untangled lights trailing behind her. Beatrice plugged them in, but unlike before, the lights didn’t turn on. She tried again. Nothing. Lucifer frowned.

“Oh I guess there’s a short,” Chloe said, turning back to the garland.

Almost immediately, Jeff appeared in the doorway as if the words had summoned him like some half-witted hellbeast. “Gotta short, I heard?” He began to make his way over to where Beatrice was kneeling by the outlet.

Lucifer clenched his teeth and mustered up his smoothest tone. “No need to pry yourself away from Penelope, we’re managing it just fine.” 

Jeff waved him off and moved on to fiddle with the lightbulbs. “It’s no trouble. These old strands are finicky sometimes. My uncle used to say I’ve got the magic touch when it comes to these things. I used to do this for him all the time.”

For once in his life, Lucifer was speechless. His influence really only extended to desire, but after ruling Hell for an eternity and a half, he had grown accustomed to a certain degree of respect. Hell, even his employees at Lux knew not to undermine him. It was common decency. He narrowed his eyes. Whatever game Jeff was playing, Lucifer was going to get to the bottom of it. He began sorting through the remaining strand of lights in his lap. If he was quick enough, he might be able to beat Jeff to it. However, before he could grab the next bulb, the strand flickered to life. 

Jeff let out a triumphant sound. “There we go. Told you I could get it sorted out. Some lightbringer you are amirite, Luce?” He gave him a friendly arm punch.

“It’s Lucifer,” he corrected stiffly. 

“Nah, I know. I’m just joking with you.” 

Jeff walked back in the kitchen with a spring in his step that irritated Lucifer more than he’d care to admit. There was something off about Jeff, and this time Lucifer was certain that it wasn’t just his pride talking. Only a creature with supernatural hearing could have heard their conversation over the racket of saccharine Christmas carols and Penelope cooking dinner. Whatever Jeff was, he wasn’t human. 

“Monkey, let’s put the lights on the tree,” Chloe called. Beatrice ripped the plug from the socket once more and dragged the strand over to where her mother was standing. Lucifer took a deep breath and then walked over and sidled up behind Chloe. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her in close. Chloe automatically rested her hand over his and leaned into his chest. “What’s up?” 

“Something’s not right about dear Penelope’s new chap,” he whispered close to her ear. 

She made a noise in her throat. “Are you sure you’re not just upset that he stole your thunder?” They watch Beatrice wrap the lights around the tree for a few tense moments. Lucifer stayed silent. He knew she meant it as a joke, but pride had always been one of his sins, and he couldn’t help but feel the sting of her words. Chloe squeezed his hand, as if she felt it too. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she muttered. 

He placed a light kiss behind her ear. “I know.”

“If you really believe it, promise me you won’t make a big deal out of it. Mom seems really happy with this guy.”

Lucifer nodded. “You have my word, Detective.” 

They fell silent for another beat. “Hey,” she twisted to look up at him. “Why don’t you go see if Dan needs help with anything? Trix and I can finish up in here.”

Lucifer nodded. He gave her one last peck on the cheek and then left in search of Dan. He checked the kitchen first. Dan usually helped Penelope cook or set the table, but this time he was nowhere in sight. Instead, all he found was Penelope pulling the rolls out of the oven and Jeff stirring the vegetables. Lucifer was about to check upstairs when a voice stopped him.

“Hey-o Luce! You looking for something?” 

Lucifer suppressed the urge to correct him a third time. “Just Daniel.”

Penelope waved her serving spoon in the direction of the stairs. “Check upstairs, Lucifer sweetie.” 

It took him three tries, but Lucifer finally found Dan in the last bedroom, unloading his suitcase. He knocked gently on the open door, causing Dan to glance up from his dismal wardrobe. “Hey man. Is dinner ready?”

“Not yet. The Detective ordered me to assist you; however,” he gestured to the knit red and green monstrosity in Dan’s hand, “I don’t think you need my help recognizing what a pitiful abomination that is.”

Dan grinned with half of his normal bitterness and held up the sweater. “What, you don’t like it?” The it in question boasted several tabby cats wrapped in shimmery green tinsel with “Meow-y Christmas!” stitched in big red letters at the bottom. Lucifer shuddered. 

“Take it from your neighborhood Devil, Daniel: that sweater is a sin. And not the good kind.”

Dan threw the sweater back onto the bed with a little more force than necessary. “Yeah I figured you’d say that.” 

Lucifer wrinkled his brow at that. If he didn’t know better, he’d say that Dan was upset about something. “Why aren’t you knocking around the kitchen like every other year?” he asked instead.

“Because fucking Jeff , that’s why,” he snapped. Lucifer cringed, not such a safe question then. Dan sighed. “Sorry man. I didn’t mean for it to come out that harsh.”

So he was upset. Lucifer wished he hadn’t asked, but he’d be damned a second time if he wasn’t going to take any opportunity to gather information on Jeff. Lucifer crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway before he continued. “What did Penelope’s boytoy do to get you this riled up?” 

“Just...I don’t know.” Dan shook his head. “I always help Penny make the vegetables and then all of a sudden Jeff comes in and tells me I’m seasoning them wrong! Then he starts doing my job! And then it looks like I’m the asshole because Jeff’s so nice and who wouldn’t just accept help like that, you know?”

Lucifer cocked his head. “I’ve held my tongue for four years for the Detective’s sake, but I suppose I’ll say it now. You do season the vegetables wrong, Daniel.”

“Hey--”

“No,” Lucifer cut him off. “Listen to me. It pains me to say this, but that is beside the point. It doesn’t matter that you season food like your taste buds were seared off in a chemical spill. What matters is that for once you and I are on the same page. Jeff did the same thing to me when I was helping the Detective with the fairy lights.”

“Really?”

Lucifer nodded and lowered his voice. “And if I’m being entirely honest, I’m fairly certain he’s not who he says he is.”

Dan gestured for Lucifer to shut the door. Only when it was shut completely did he respond. “What are you saying?”

“Whoever--or whatever--Jeff is, I believe it is a front. I’ve been observing him since we arrived. Something seems off. He reminds me far too much of some of the unsavory creatures in Hell to be coincidence.”

“Jeff’s mafia?” Dan whispered fiercely. 

Lucifer blinked. “What?” He shook his head. “Daniel I said Hell, not the mob.”

Dan winked. “Yeah, gotcha. ‘ The week is long. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west,’ ‘don’t talk about Fight Club’ or whatever other bullshit.”

For a brief moment, Lucifer was sure that he and Dan had been on the same page. Now he wasn’t very confident in that conclusion. He cleared his throat. “Yes sure, whatever you say Daniel. Now, will you help me figure out what he is or not?”

“Hell yeah, why wouldn’t I help? Chloe or Penny or Trixie could be in danger.” 

Lucifer shrugged. “I just wanted to make sure.” He clapped his hands together. “Now, there are some tests we can run to try and determine what kind of creature Jeff is. We can immediately rule out any of my celestial siblings; however, the infernal ones are sadly still on the table. As are the other run-of-the-mill supernatural creatures.”

Dan shook his head, looking a little dazed. “Dude, one day you’re going to have to explain your family to me.”

Lucifer ignored him, but not without giving him a withering glance. “Right. Anyway, we can try the normal tests: silver, holy water, the works. We’re lucky that dear Penelope still keeps real silverware.”

“Wait that stuff’s legit?” Dan asked, eyes going wide.

Lucifer wasn’t sure what “stuff” Dan was referring to. Before he could ask, there was a knock on the door.

“Hey Dan? Can I come in?” Chloe’s question was muffled by the door. Dan shouted an affirmative and the door swung open. “There you guys are,” she said when she saw Lucifer standing next to Dan. “Is everything alright?”

“Close the door,” Dan whispered. Chloe arched a brow, but did as she was asked. “Lucifer thinks he recognizes Jeff from The Life.” She shot Lucifer a look.

Lucifer held up a hand. Father help him, he wasn’t going to let Dan slander his name in front of Chloe. “ No, I said Jeff is not who he says he is. We’re doing tests to see if he’s human.”

“Lucifer,” she sighed. “I told you not to make this a big deal.”

“Daniel started it!” He jabbed a finger in his direction to make his point.

Dan batted his finger away. “Don’t throw me under the bus like that, Lucifer! You’re the one who wants to do tests!”

He scoffed. “You’re he--”

“Guys!” Chloe interjected. “Stop.” They fell silent. “Look I’m really glad you guys are getting along, but whatever this,” she gestured vaguely in their direction. “Is don’t let it ruin Christmas alright? Leave me, leave mom, and leave Trixie out of it, okay?”

Dan shook his head. “Don’t worry we’ll be careful.”

“Yes, Detective I did give you my word,” Lucifer added.

Chloe’s face softened. “Good.” She moved to wedge herself in between them, carefully wrapping an arm around each of their waists, and pulling them in close. “I love both of you so much and I’m so thankful to have both of you here,” she said quietly. 

As a testament of how far he’d come since he’d crawled out of Hell, Lucifer didn’t get upset at her statement. A few years ago, he might have been jealous of her marriage to Dan. As a matter of fact, he had been jealous of their relationship. The man he’d been then couldn’t comprehend how Chloe could break her love into so many pieces and yet still have enough left over to love him as deeply as he loved her. He was selfish then, Lucifer would admit it. He wanted to capture every ounce of her affections and keep it all for himself. But that wasn’t how it worked. Chloe loved best when she was free to give it to everyone. He always thought that revelation would drive a wedge between them, but it had only made him love her more. And it made him want to be better too.

They stood in silence for a minute, letting her words sink deep into their souls. Chloe rubbed a hand down their backs and let them go. She gave both of them a kiss on the cheek--Lucifer first, Dan second--before going to open the door. “Mom told me to tell you guys dinner is ready, so let’s get down there before they start wondering where we are.”

Lucifer sighed and straightened out his suit jacket. He took a beat to collect himself, gave a short nod to Dan, and then followed Chloe downstairs.

The start of dinner was an interesting affair, to say the least. Jeff dominated the conversation as soon as they descended the stairs, and judging by the looks Lucifer shared with Dan and Chloe, nobody was enjoying what he was saying. Niceties and plain, sterilized topics spilled from his mouth like a leaky faucet before they’d even begun to eat. Even worse yet, Jeff had insisted they say grace despite the fact that no one except maybe Daniel had set foot in a church for over a decade. As an act of defiance, Lucifer blessed Jeff’s wine while he warbled through his praises to his Father and half brother.

Lucifer caught Dan’s eye as soon as he saw Jeff go to pick up his knife. Together they watched him grab his silverware with ease, and when his skin didn’t immediately burn off Lucifer couldn’t help but deflate a little. He only deflated more when they found out that the blessed wine was a bust too. 

“This turkey is great, Mom,” Chloe said when Jeff’s mouth was full of mashed potatoes.

Penelope basked in the complement. “Thanks baby.”

“I actually suggested this great turkey recipe to Penny last week,” Jeff prattled on, mouth still half full. “I don’t think she used it tonight though.”

“Nope, sorry hun, I always use John’s recipe. He was such a great cook, and I just can’t imagine having anything else during Christmas.”

Jeff laughed. “I can assure you once you try my recipe, you’ll forget all about this one.”

Penelope’s fork screeched against her plate like a record scratch. The table went deathly silent. Lucifer could feel Chloe go still beside him, and he placed a comforting hand on her thigh. He knew Jeff’s words struck a nerve when she laced her fingers with his and squeezed hard enough for her nails to dig into his skin. Even Beatrice was looking at Jeff like he’d suddenly grown a second head.

Lucifer broke the silence. “Well I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a better turkey, dear Penelope. And that’s coming from someone who has an affinity for fine dining.”

Penelope visibly relaxed and it was as if the spell broke. The noises of silverware clicking against plates and fingernails tinging against wine glasses flooded back into the room. Chloe let go of Lucifer’s hand and flashed him a grateful smile.

“Nana do you want to hear about my project on outer space?” Beatrice asked.

“Psst. Hey Lucifer,” Dan whispered. Lucifer whipped his head towards the sound. 

He caught Dan staring at him with an odd glimmer in his eye. “Thanks for doing that, man.”

Lucifer ducked his head. “I couldn’t let him continue to smear Jonathan’s good name, now could I?”

“Still though, you didn’t have to do that.” He leaned further across the table and lowered his voice even more. “I don’t think this is working, though. Have you got anything from your tests?”

Lucifer shook his head, frustrated. “I’ve tested him for every supernatural inclination I can think of and I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that he’s just regular old wanker.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “Great. Those are the worst kinds of monsters.”

“Boys?” Lucifer looked up to see Penelope and everyone else staring at them from the other end of the table. “Is everything alright?”

“We’re fine, sorry Penny. I wanted to know what Lucifer had gotten everyone for Christmas,” Dan lied smoothly. Chloe rolled her eyes at the obvious lie and took a swig from her second glass of wine.

Beatrice gasped. “What did you get me Lucifer?” 

“You’ll see, urchin,” he said in between sips of wine.

She turned her attention to Dan and made sure to bat her eyelashes for good measure. “Daddy what did Lucifer get me?” 

Dan shook his head. “You’ll see soon enough, Trix.” 

“I don’t mean to be rude,” Jeff began, picking at his food. “But how does your relationship work?”

“What do you mean Jeff honey?” Penelope asked. Her eyes darted from her boyfriend to her daughter.

“Well you’re divorced right?” He drew a line with his knife from Dan to Chloe. Chloe made a go on gesture with her own knife. “How do you manage, you know, everything between exes and then stuff like new relationships and who gets what holidays and such?”

Chloe and Dan shared a look. Chloe coughed. “Well. We just manage, I guess? Dan and I are still friends. Dan and Lucifer are friends. It was tough at first, but Dan and I actually have a better relationship now that we’re separated.”

Dan nodded his affirmation. “And for holidays we just coordinate the best we can. Not a lot has changed schedule-wise except that Trixie rotates houses every week or so.”

“It’s great! I get to have two bedrooms,” Beatrice stage whispered to Jeff.

“Whoowee, you guys are crazy!” Penelope seemed taken aback by Jeff’s outburst, but he continued talking. “I could never be civil with my ex wife. No siree, we didn’t part on good terms at all.”

“Well I am happy that you three all get along,” Penelope said quickly. “Not everybody gets to have two handsome men around the table during the holidays.”

“What about me Penny hun?” Jeff asked a little too sweetly for Lucifer’s taste.

“What about you Jeffrey?” Penelope stood and began clearing the table.

Jeff chuckled uneasily. “Nothing, nothing. I was just joking.” He swallowed thickly. “Let’s get this cleaned up so we can open presents!”

Lucifer and Dan exchanged matching smirks. Perhaps Penelope was smarter than they’d initially given her credit for. When Chloe rose to take up her plate, she bumped Lucifer’s shoulder with her hip. To anyone else it would look like an accident, but he knew she did it on purpose. He looked up at her, his smirk turning into a full blown grin when he saw her barely holding back her laughter. She squeezed his shoulder with her free hand and headed to the sink, edging Penelope away from the counter. “I’ll load the dishwasher for you, Mom. You cooked, I’ll clean up.”

“I’ll go help her,” Dan said to nobody in particular. Lucifer waved him off.

“I’ve got it, Daniel. Go make sure Beatrice doesn’t open all of her gifts before everyone else sits down.”

He smiled appreciatively and pushed in his chair. “Thanks.”

“Why don’t you go with them, Jeff?” Penelope suggested. “You can start sorting out the gifts we brought. I want to talk to Lucifer and Chloe for a minute.” 

Jeff smiled tightly. “Of course, Penny.” 

When he was finally gone, Penelope turned back to Lucifer and Chloe. “I think bringing Jeff up here was a mistake.” 

Chloe handed Lucifer a dirty glass and sighed. “It’s okay, Mom. How were you supposed to know he’d say something like that?”

She shook her head. “I should have known better.” When Lucifer saw Penelope tear up, he focused on carefully arranging the dishes on the dishwasher rack. Chloe dropped the plate she was rinsing in the sink and passed Penelope a paper napkin. She blew her nose. “Thank you for handling it, Lucifer.”

Lucifer finally meant her puffy eyes. “It was my pleasure.”

They fell into a comfortable silence while they finished putting the last few dishes in the dishwasher. Instead of going to sit down in the living room, Penelope hovered close to the sink, tapping away on her phone throughout the whole thing. When they finally made their way to the living room, Beatrice had already divided up all the presents into little piles.

“Mom and Lucifer your stuff is over there.” She directed them towards the loveseat. “And Nana your presents are here.” She pointed at the side of the couch Dan wasn’t occupying. Nobody missed that Jeff was sitting in the lone rocking chair, away from the rest of the group. Once she was satisfied with where everyone was situated, Beatrice sat in between Penelope and Dan. “Can I start now?”

“Yeah baby, go ahead,” Chloe said.

Beatrice didn’t need to be told twice. She began tearing at the wrapping paper of the nearest present. Lucifer couldn’t help the rush of pride when he realized it was his. Beatrice’s eyes went wide when she managed to get the box open. “Oh my gosh Lucifer I love it!” She held up the locket, trying to see the picture of the three of them that Lucifer had put inside. 

“What is it, babe?” Dan asked, leaning over to get a better look.

“It’s a locket!” She thrust it in his face. “Look it’s engraved!”

“‘ For Beatrice. With love, from Lucifer.”’ he read.

Penelope swooned. “Lucifer, that’s adorable!”

Lucifer felt Chloe press a kiss into his shoulder and he smiled. “You’re welcome, Beatrice.” The weight of Chloe’s gift seemed to feel heavier in his pocket when Beatrice’s smile stayed fixed on her face as she looped the locket around her neck and ripped open the next gift (a bracelet from Dan). And then she opened the next (an art kit from Chloe) and the next until there was a sea of wrapping paper blanketing the carpet and a mountain of gifts surrounding her.

“I think it’s time to move on to the adults’ gifts now,” Jeff began loudly. 

Lucifer felt his stomach twist. The little box in his pocket felt like it was burning a hole in his Armani. His heart began to pound, and if he was human Lucifer was certain he’d have been sweating bullets. He’d wanted to wait until all of the gifts had been opened, but now that it was time to begin opening his gifts he wasn’t so sure he could wait. Before he could raise his voice to request to go first, Jeff interrupted him. “Penny do you want to go first?”

Penelope set her wine down on the table. “Oh, I suppose so,” she said with faux modesty. 

Lucifer could barely remember to ohh and ahh at the right moments as Penelope tore into her gifts. It was as if his world had narrowed down to one specific gift jammed deep in his pants pocket. He fought the urge to reach in and make sure it was still there as they moved onto Jeff’s few gifts. By the time it was Dan’s turn to open his presents, Chloe was beginning to notice his nervousness.

She leaned further into his side to whisper in his ear. “Hey, what’s wrong?” 

He shook his head. “Nothing darling. Just keeping an eye on Jeff to make sure he doesn’t have any more missteps tonight.” He was sure she could tell that that wasn’t the real reason for his shaking hands, but luckily for him, she just shifted to lay her head on his shoulder in lieu of an interrogation.

“M’kay. Love you.”

“And I you, darling.” The sentence carried so much emotion behind it that Lucifer felt it burn a track up his throat.

Ten minutes later, Lucifer opened up his own gifts with mechanical efficiency. He tried to give the proper polite amount of attention to each item, but the truth was that his heart wasn’t in it. He had to get Chloe’s gift out of his pocket; the thing was consuming him from the inside out. But if Lucifer thought opening his gifts was the most difficult ten minutes of his life, watching Chloe open hers was worse. She took a painstakingly long time with each of them, marveling over their beauty or usefulness, and thanking each gifter individually. Then, finally, finally it was time.

Lucifer shifted to the edge of the loveseat, easing away from Chloe’s wine-tipsy embrace. “I actually have one last gift for the Detective,” he said, raising his voice over the holiday chatter. The room quieted and Lucifer reached for the box in his pocket. Slowly, he sunk down on his knee. He opened the box he’d been carrying around all day to reveal a glittering black-jeweled ring. He distantly heard Penelope gasp. “Detective--Chloe. I had this grand speech prepared before we came up here, but no matter how often I rewrote it, it just never felt right for this moment. So here is the abridged version. I love you darling. I might not have realized it until much, much later, but I loved you from the very moment you stepped foot into my life. You’re my best friend and dearest love, and that’s more than the man I was a decade ago could have ever anticipated having. Chloe Jane Decker will you marry me?”

Chloe stared at him, open-mouthed and wide-eyed. When he saw tears gather in the corners of her eyes, Lucifer felt his stomach drop. Was this the wrong time? Had he done it wrong? He stood frozen as she brought a hand to cup his cheek. She brought his face closer to hers, pulling him off his knees, and Lucifer assumed the worst. But then her face split into the most vibrant smile she’d ever given him.

“ Yes,” she breathed before pulling him into a kiss. Lucifer lost himself in a wave of relief and joy. When Chloe broke the kiss, the intimate bubble around them popped. Someone started clapping. 

“Put the ring on, I want to see it!” someone else, probably Beatrice, shouted.

Lucifer felt drunk. It took him a few seconds to steady his hands enough to take the ring from the box and slide it onto Chloe’s ring finger. A dopey smile spread across his face when he turned to face the rest of the room. Dan clapped him on the back, and Lucifer swayed on his feet. Penelope wrapped her arms around him in a hug that was even tighter than the one she’d given him earlier in the day. 

“Congrats, Lucifer!” she squealed. She held onto him for a few more seconds and then released him to do the same to Chloe. “Your father would be so happy for you, baby!”

“What about me? I’m happy for you too, Chloe!” Jeff exclaimed, putting a hand on Penelope’s shoulder. The celebration hiccuped as it had during dinner. The smile on Chloe’s face slipped, but she moved to give him a polite side hug anyways. Lucifer began to stalk towards him, eyes on the brink of flashing red, but a hand across his chest stopped him. He glanced down to see Penelope arching a brow at him.

“I’ve got this one covered, Lucifer. It’s time I stand up for myself.” She drew herself up. “Jeffrey, listen.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re a very nice man, and we’ve had a fun few months, but I’m afraid I have to put a stop to this.”

Jeff gave her a vacant look. “What?”

“It’s time for you to go Jeffrey. You’ve been trying to erase John from my life ever since we started dating, and that’s just not going to fly. My family will always be more important than a country club reject. So get out of my house.”

“Huh?”

“Leave.” She shook him for emphasis. “Get your things. I called an Uber for you before we started opening presents and he’s waiting outside to take you home. I want to spend Christmas with my family.”

Jeff turned mauve. “I…”

Dan appeared at Penelope’s side. “You heard her.”

Lucifer loomed over her other shoulder, glaring down his nose at the sniveling man in front of him. Without saying another word, Jeff began collecting his things. He waded through the wrapping paper and grabbed the few gifts Penelope had given him. Then he started towards the stairs, presumably to grab his suitcase. Penelope and Dan followed him out.

“We’ll show you out the door,” Lucifer heard Penelope say. 

Lucifer was tempted to go with them, just to ensure that the job was done swiftly, but before he could go, Chloe put a hand on his arm to stop him. First he looked down at her hand proudly displaying the ring he’d picked out, and then he looked up at her beautiful face. 

“Let him go. It’s Christmas,” she said conspiringly.

“Yeah, it’s Christmas, Lucifer!” Beatrice plastered herself against his legs and gave him a hug reminiscent of Penelope’s. 

Lucifer smirked and pulled Chloe in close for another kiss. “Merry Christmas, Detective.”

“Merry Christmas, Lucifer.”

[artificialqueens]

Échappé / Chapter 6 (Branjie) - DenDenMonMon

Massive thank you to Mac for the beautiful mood board! 

A/N: Remember this is a slow burn? Yeah. Okay. Please, don’t hate me. -Monkey.

 AO3 Link

Chapter 6

“Miss Brooke Lynn!”

The loud clap made Brooke land back into reality. She fell off the relevé, her heels loudly hitting the floor of the stage. She felt her entire body vibrating with the dying notes of the violin, even when she had stopped listening to them several counts ago. Brooke turned to face the head choreographer, confusion filled her features as she literally woke up from her daydream.

“It’s time you come back to us, girlie,” Alyssa said as she motioned to herself, her long arms extending and closing slowly. “The last show is tonight and your mind is everywhere but here, baby.”

Brooke kicked her legs out, one at a time, trying to wake them up as she moved to her mark. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m here.”

The choreographer stood straight, her hands clasped together in front of her. “Good. I’m not your Stage Mom, girl. Don’t give me one more thing to worry about. I already have my hands full with Squiddly and Diddly over there.”

Her thumb pointed to the other end of the stage, where Katya sat on the floor, her legs wrapped around her own head. Kameron laughed as she held Katya’s crossed ankles with a hand and the other pushed down her hamstring.

“Come on, bitch,” Katya encouraged her. “We can go lower than that.”

Detox, who had her legs opened wide in front of her, threw a slipper in their direction. It was enough to let them know they were being observed. Both Kameron and Katya sat up, going back to their warm up and stretching, as if nothing had happened.

Alyssa’s attention returned to Brooke, who already stood in fourth position, her chin up high, waiting for the music to start.

“That’s how I like it,” Alyssa smiled widely. “Take charge of the whole scene, bitch.”

“From the top?” Brooke’s question sounded more like an order. It was hard to keep the voice of command in check but, when they were on stage, Alyssa was the ruler. Nobody forgot that.

Alyssa clicked her tongue against her teeth loudly and lifted a finger in the air. The prerecorded orchestra started sounding through the speakers to her cue, and Brooke’s back straightened in expectation.

Her limbs started moving by themselves. Brooke trusted her trained muscle memory to carry her through the solo. She had done the same part the whole season, she could allow her mind to go blank while her body followed the music. Dancing was her sanctuary, her salvation. Many years of struggle had been survived thanks to her opportunity to dance. If it hadn’t been for that hour a day she could lose herself to the music, she would have probably gone insane. It allowed her to travel through time and space and land on the farthest planet of the galaxy, all by herself, where no trouble could reach her, where no harm could touch her.

Brooke didn’t have many safe places in her life anymore, but there was no place safer than her mind when she was dancing.

The only problem was that, today, her mind didn’t precisely empty like it always did. Dance was usually able to push every thought out of her head, this time, however, one single thought was unshakable: her.

Vanessa.

Vanessa’s lips.

Vanessa’s lips on her.

Even if Brooke and Vanessa had been texting, a lot, it had been a week since the last time they saw each other. Seven full days since they kissed on Vanessa’s old couch. They hadn’t known it was going to happen, or at least Brooke hadn’t planned it. She definitely didn’t have any idea that she was going to like it so much. Kissing Vanessa had felt like floating on air but, at the same time, it had been the most grounding thing in the world. Brooke had never felt that kind of exhilaration before, which, ironically, invaded her whole being with utter peace and calmness. Vanessa’s soft lips had numbed every single one of her senses, yet every nerve ending had stood at attention.

The whole make out session had suspended time for the two of them. They forgot the ticking of the clock as they explored each other’s mouths, as tongues ran against teeth, and hands brushed over skin.

Then Vanessa’s phone had rang.

Yvie innocently asked what was the type of vegan milk that Trixie liked. She could call Trixie herself but she didn’t want to interrupt anything. So foolish of her.

That night, Brooke left the girls’ apartment wearing her fancy dress again. It didn’t matter how much she had insisted to take the clothes she had borrowed from Vanessa, it was pointless. She could wash it herself, Vanessa had repeated over and over again. Brooke knew she should’ve pushed it a little more. When she sat alone in her rented room, missing Vanessa, she wished she had a little piece of her to provide some comfort.

Since then, Brooke and Vanessa hadn’t seen each other, both engrossed in their own lives.

It was silly, childish, and so unlike her. Brooke had never felt like this before, like a twelve year-old gushing to her diary about her new crush; and she wanted to do exactly that. At thirty years old, she had a note on her phone to go get a notebook, for the sole purpose of writing about her feelings. She wanted to draw hearts and put their initials inside. She wanted to put stickers around their names and mix them together, so their friends could recognize them as one entity.

“Kameron, that elbow, girl!”

Alyssa’s voice, once again, worked as an alarm clock, letting Brooke know it was time to join the real world and exit her fantasy land.

Her solo had ended long ago and Brooke noticed it just then. Detox and Kameron flanked her as the three of them performed their piece in perfect sync.

She was panting, Brooke realized, and she could feel the sweat pooling around her brows as she danced. Her feet hurt inside the pointe, her toenails were digging deep into her skin. She decided to focus on that, to concentrate her complete attention on the pressure on her toes. The pain would work as an anchor, so she wouldn’t drift off to the memory of Vanessa’s hand running up and down her side.

Shit.

It wasn’t working.

By the time rehearsals were over, Brooke had a splitting headache, literally. Her mind couldn’t maintain a linear logical process, jumping from Vanessa to the sequence Brooke was practicing. It felt like her synapses would short-circuit any second, trying to balance the movement of her body and the racing of her thoughts.

There was only one way to fix things, she knew that, and took care of it in the shower right after the final run through, with hot water falling on top of her head. Everybody did it, they had recommended Brooke to do so many times before. She simply had never felt the need to go there.

Your eyes will look so much brighter on stage, they had said.

It’s a great way to loosen up your muscles, they had advised.

It helps your mind to slow down, they had reasoned.

All of those sounded like false arguments until she did it. It wasn’t until she saw white flashes before her eyes, Vanessa’s name falling from her lips, and two fingers of her own hand deep inside of herself, that she finally understood.

Brooke felt better right away. The process of getting ready was so much easier. As always, she was the first one to be done, with the exception that she was relaxed as she waited for her dancemates. She walked around the place, tightening up corsets and tying up hair buns, passing tissues and applying eyeliner. Everybody commented on her mood and she brushed it off by saying she was excited about the closing night. She was. Excitement was the only feeling she was allowing herself to have. If she didn’t think about leaving the following Monday, it made it feel less real.

A few minutes before the heavy red curtain was pulled up, Brooke peeked through the wings to see the attendees filing inside. She wondered if Vanessa was already in her seat. She was probably trying to find popcorn outside, grumpingly realizing actual theaters didn’t work the same way as the movies. A smile crept to her lips as Brooke went back to the dressing room area. All the while, she imagined the little powerhouse making a scene in the lobby, asking who was in charge of the food up in that joint.

Funny enough, none of that was taking place. Vanessa was already seated, her feet, fueled by anxiety, were tapping the carpeted floor rapidly. Her dress was too tight, the inside wiring was pressing against her ribcage already. She didn’t know how long plays lasted but she imagined several hours; there was no way she was going to be able to sit there in pain for so long. She started wondering why she allowed Trixie to convince her to wear such a stupid thing.

Vanessa looked around, the place was fancy. She couldn’t really remember why the Dolby Theater was so important, but she did know The Oscar’s had been held there. The plates with the winning movies at the entrance confirmed it. The guests looked extremely elegant, it made perfect sense for them to be there, they belonged. Vanessa didn’t feel like she did. It was a thought that usually appeared whenever she entered Brooke’s world, and it wasn’t a nice feeling to host.

The program in her hand had become a thin tube, as she nervously kept rolling it between her fingers. Vanessa straightened the paper against her knee, her palm hitting flat on Plastique’s figure printed on the cover. Intricate golden letters spelled The Sleeping Beauty at the top of the page. She figured she didn’t need to open the program to see what was inside, Vanessa had watched the movie many, many times growing up and she knew how it went. She also knew more than a few of the dancers of the company. If anything, she wanted to picture what role could be played by each of her new friends, placing bets against her imagination if she got the casting wrong.

That was when the second call sounded through the speakers.

Next to Vanessa, Trixie was calmly going through her phone, piece of gum between her teeth, and the pink binoculars she had found at the Dollar Tree resting on her lap. Vanessa wondered if she was even going to use them. They were right in the middle of the audience, taking the places reserved for friends and family. The stage was relatively close, there was no way Trixie was going to need them.

Just as Vanessa made those observations, shifting to fix her corset yet again, the lights went down slowly. People around them clapped rather dully and both friends followed suit, looking at each other in conspiracy. The little smiles played on their lips as the stage was revealed.

The production was… expensive, Vanessa decided. She had known the ballet company had money, but she didn’t know they actually had money.

A staircase, with a golden handrail, stood in the background. In pairs, dancers walked down the steps, with outfits that seemed straight from, like, three centuries ago. All of them were girls, but half of them wore men’s clothes as they represented couples attending a reunion. They looked pretty funny. Vanessa bit her lip trying not to laugh. She turned to Trixie who had the exact same look of amusement on her face. They chuckled and whispered about the horrible wigs, the baggy pants that looked like diapers, and the ugly mustaches.

By the time the queen and king showed up, dancing and jumping around with a fake baby in their hands, they absolutely lost it.

Trixie pressed her hand to Vanessa’s mouth, forcing her to be quiet, yet barely being able to contain her laughter herself. Then the music stopped and the fingers ran down Vanessa’s chin as Trixie dropped her arm in surprise.

Brooke appeared on the stage. The dancers stepped away to the sidelines and pointed in her direction. Her steps were sharp and her face was serious, making her look regal. A bright blue corset enhanced her round breasts and small waist; from her hips, a sparkling tutu stuck out in every direction, leaving her butt in full display under the soft pink tights. She stood still for a moment, her long leg went up in the air, and she landed on the pointe shoe after a little jump.

Everybody in the company loved Brooke, Vanessa had gathered as much. She had heard many comments about how good Brooke was as a director, her creative mind was complimented a lot but, above everything, the girls wouldn’t stop talking about how talented she was as a dancer. When they were preparing The Dream Girls for the dance competition, Vanessa had gotten a glimpse of that. Brooke would randomly start dancing at the back of the room, being silly and having fun. Her body clearly showed that she worked hard, but more than once Vanessa doubted if maybe her friends’ love for her made them exaggerate Brooke’s abilities.

It was time for Vanessa to witness the magic first hand.

Accompanied by soft music, Brooke seemed to glide across the stage. Her legs reached so high, it was out of this world. Every single one of her moves was gentle, delicate. She turned and turned and turned until Vanessa felt dizzy, but Brooke was completely unbothered. It was hypnotizing. She made it look so effortlessly graceful. Her smile was big and her facial expression was relaxed as she moved around the cradle with the fake baby.

Something warm invaded Vanessa’s chest, and it took her a minute to identify what it was. It was pride. She felt proud of Brooke. It filled her entire body, making her feel good and alive. Tears gathered in the corner of her lash line, and Vanessa blinked rapidly to get rid of them. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Brooke, of her flawless body moving around the stage as if she had been born to grace it.

Brooke stood front and center, her feet performing an intricate sequence as she held her head up high. Her eyes travelled across the audience, and looked straight to Vanessa. She knew that it couldn’t be true, Vanessa had been on enough theaters to know the illumination blinded the dancers, forcing them to see nothing but darkness behind the lights. A part of her wanted to believe that it was possible, she wanted to think that Brooke was holding her stare and dancing just for her; because that was what Vanessa had done. During her performance in the dance competition, she had found Brooke, locked eyes with her, and forced the rest of the people to disappear from her field of view. She wanted to believe Brooke was doing the same thing.

The audience gasped loudly as Brooke jumped high in the air, spun more than once, and landed in a perfect split. Her arms went up to frame her head, her torso fell back, then front, she extended one leg and, just like that, she was back up.

A pang of disappointment hit Vanessa when suddenly Brooke was not alone on the stage anymore. Detox, wearing a green version of Brooke’s dress, walked to her side with extended arms, then the beautiful quiet girl — that Vanessa couldn’t remember the name of — showed up on the other side, dressed in pink. The girls started moving in immaculate synchrony, as if they were three versions of the same person. The physical resemblance made it hard enough to pick them apart, if it hadn’t been for the different colors they were wearing, it could’ve been an impossible task. What made it even more difficult was the way they hit every mark at the same time, how their minds and bodies seemed to be connected.

“What, are they, like, triplets or somethin’?” Vanessa tilted her head towards Trixie, unable to turn away from the dancers on the stage.

“They are the fucking fairies, you idiot.”

Of course they were. Trying to remember the movie, Vanessa made the connections. The baby was Aurora, who would, in the next act, grow up to be Plastique. The fairies would take care of her.

The music changed dramatically, everybody around them clapped effusively as the stage lights dimmed down. Vanessa looked around, her heart rate raising to match the tempo of the powerful song.

From behind the staircase, appeared a figure in black. The audience members collectively held their breaths as the shadow, whose face was covered by a thick veil adorned with feathers, danced around the frightened fairies. This was nothing like the graceful dance that they had been witnessing. It was primal and filled with rage.

Even before the dancer with the horns was disclosed, Trixie started jumping up and down in her seat.

“That’s Katya!” Trixie stage whispered to Vanessa’s ear. “That’s my girl!” She turned to face the stranger to her other side. “My girl is the devil.”

Katya took off the cover and revealed an outfit pretty similar to the other dancers’, but it was black and had enhancements of purple across her torso. She looked beautiful, wickedly so.

A lady, so politely that it verged on condescendance, tapped Trixie’s arm. “That’s Carabosse, darling, the Wicked Fairy Godmother.”

“No, bitch, my girl is Maleficent.”

The woman pressed a hand to her chest in shock and, with a huff, returned her eyes to the stage. A battle was taking place, specifically between Katya and Brooke, whose dance style matched their roles to perfection. Katya, with her arms arched above her head, and her legs kicking high up in the air, seemed to be casting spells to the people around her. Brooke spun and turned, managing to stay clear of the imaginary rays of magic.

Katya moved towards the crib, a vicious smile adorning her face, as she made a whole scene of enchanting the baby. It was very clear that Katya was having the time of her life. Her happiness was contagious. She was visibly having fun killing the guests of the party and fighting her friends in a fantastic combat.

After several minutes of pure tension, of Vanessa literally sitting at the edge of her seat, Brooke managed to scare the evil fairy away. With a guttural grunt, loud enough to be heard above the orchestra, Katya left the stage in the same obscure way that she had entered. And the red curtain came down a second later.

The ballet company was good, really, really good, but there was only one person that stole the show. It didn’t matter if Brooke technically had a secondary role, she owned the floor as soon as her pointes made contact with the wooden stage.

Seeing Plastique dance with imaginary animals and falling in love with a girl dressed as a prince was probably the least appealing part of the whole thing.

Vanessa’s favorite part was when Plastique danced happily at a party, then Katya showed up to ruin everything again. With a white sheet covering her dark fairy dress, she pinched Plastique’s finger. Plastique made a dramatic fall to the floor before Katya revealed who she was. Laughing loudly, and extremely proud of herself, Katya exited the scene. The whole act was engraved in Vanessa’s mind only because, seconds later, in a vision of white, Brooke had looked like an angel as she came to save the day.

It seemed to be an ongoing theme for the girl, to show up out of literal nowhere and become the salvation needed. Brooke had pretty much saved Vanessa’s ass, in more ways that she even allowed herself to consider. There were many things that Vanessa had stopped her brain from thinking about, many feelings she had prevented her heart from having, but not anymore.

The play lasted about two hours; surprisingly enough, Vanessa didn’t feel like it had been that long. The whole three acts had been mesmerizing.

As Brooke took her final bow, with a big smile and holding the hands of her dancemates, things became very clear for Vanessa. She wanted to run, go up that stage, and tell Brooke, in front of all those people, how special she was and how the world was unworthy of her talent. Vanessa wanted to take Brooke in her arms, a river of praises falling from her lips as she worship her body with kisses. She couldn’t do any of that, not there. They all had plans to go out after the show, to celebrate the closing of the season, maybe then.

Meanwhile, Vanessa stood with everybody else, giving the dancers the standing ovation they deserved, but knowing the tears of joy were running for one ballerina, and one ballerina only. The one Vanessa was madly in love with.

A/N: 

So I took some creative license and tweaked the original play to mix it with the Disney movie. No disrespect to Tchaikovsky and his masterpiece. I just figured it would make more sense to read something we are all a bit more familiar with. That’s also the reason why I jumped to Vanessa’s POV during that part, so we wouldn’t get lost in the technicality of Russian ballet. Hope you had liked it :)

[mygiantesslove]

Christmas Eve at My Cousins Feet

Last Chance For Survival (14)

December 24th 5:37pm

Time passes by and your spirits have been broken almost beyond repair.  As your family laughs with happiness, Jake wonders how they can be so happy without even checking on him on Christmas Eve, when he’s supposed to be grounded and locked in his room. The sad minuscule, bug of a boy observes the cheerful room and says

 “It looks like they don’t even want me around anymore.”

Finally, after waiting forever, an opportunity arises.  After Jennifer receives a gift certificate to Victoria's Secret, Trixie opens up a new mp3 player and starts jumping around for joy.  She startles your cousin Melanie and she gets up and moves her seat.  This was your chance.  You run to your mom as fast as you can and start pounding on her shoe.  

 "Mom, look down here quick I’ve been shrunk hurry up, look, look."

It doesn’t work, so you climb up her loose shoelace and climb up to her ankle.  Jake sinks his teeth into the cherry moisturizer smelling skin of his mother and she instinctively extended her knee and kicked her foot in the air.

 "Ow, a bug bit me."

You were sent flying in the air straight towards Melanie's DDD breasts.  You landed in her cleavage and Mel didn’t feel a thing.  These breasts were amazing compared to the other pair you were crushed by and they jiggled just a little bit every time you poked them.

The bottom half of your body was stuck between Mel’s melons and you couldn’t move your legs.  Waving your arms in the air to get her attention did no good and even your dad and uncle were being polite and not staring at her rack.  10 minutes went by and you would have enjoyed your bouncy prison if not for the cutoff of circulation in your legs.  Melanie finally gets up and bends over to pick up her gift and you fall out and land in your sister's Black furry Ugg boot.

You fell all the way down to her white socked heel.   It was only the back of her foot, but you knew there was more than meets the eye to this sweaty, socked monster.  Samantha shifts her foot just a little bit, but that small amount of room that was moved in her boot caused her heel to move over right on top of you.

Samantha notices there’s something in her boot and moves it across her arch up to her toes and starts to like the little rock under her foot.  she plays with you for a while, squeezing you with her sweaty toes and rubbing you against her the ball of her foot. Eventually, you manage to grab hold of her pinky and pull yourself up across her sole and on top of her foot.    Samantha notices her little pebble is gone and misses playing with it.

 "There’s no way I’m going to be stuck smelling my sister's stinky feet all night, I’m getting the hell out of here!"

You ran across the top of her foot and jumped onto her leg and leaped onto the inside of her boot.  The inside was furry too and you used the fur as handholds and climbed up to the rim of the Ugg boot.  The smell of her feet was still stuck to you but Bianca's was much worse.  In fact, you preferred being under your sister’s feet much more than being trapped with Bianca's sole.

Jake fell over just as Samantha was fidgeting with her foot and he landed on a long brown object.  It’s lifted up into the air and when you open your eyes you see the wide-open mouth of your little sister about to eat her Favorite Christmas treat.  A peanut butter and chocolate Santa.

 "No Trixie don’t eat me I’m your brother”

But Trixie doesn’t hear her tiny brothers pleas and sends the piece of candy into her mouth.  You and Santa are lying on her tongue and she hasn’t chewed yet because she wants to savor the flavor. You look down her throat and see her esophagus go down forever into the pit of her stomach.  You know there’s no escaping the mouth of a giantess and sit on the candy Santa until she eats you and your fate is sealed to be eaten by a young girl and digested in her tummy.

But your Destiny doesn’t have to be this way!  The sharp teeth are pried open by none other than Jennifer herself and her giant hand reaches in and saves you from a humiliating death inside the belly of a little girl.    

 "Thank god she saw Trixie eat me.  Now I can be rescued and saved from being my cousin’s pet."

Jennifer says "Trixie, mom told you not to eat any more of these."

 "Aww, but I love the creamy filling."

 "I don’t care.  You can’t have any but I can’t let this go to waste, so ill eat it."

Out of one mouth and into another.  this time you’re about to be Jennifer’s snack and see her pearly whites open up and her tongue is salivating waiting to devour you.

But this time you’re ready and jump off the Santa Claus and into her well-endowed bosom.  Well, that’s where you would have gone if she didn’t turn around and bend over exposing her coin slot.   You screamed in horror as you knew you were about to enter another asscrack and fell perfectly into the center.  Jennifer felt your intrusion but was more concerned with her dad seeing her plumbers crack so she pulled up her jeans and sat down.

Jake had been pushed into the center of her plush cheeks and was squeezed on all sides.  She sat like this for a while before getting up and walking to the kitchen to get a drink.  This left you room to get out and you slid further down until you reached her anus.  Jennifer’s butthole was a lot bigger than the last rear exit you saw and you quickly squeezed yourself down before her asshole got too hungry for you.  but it was too late,  Jenny's dark pink hole expanded around you and sucked your torso in up to your waist.  you struggled to get out of the vice-like sphincter of your older sister but couldn't escape from her rectum until you heard a rumbling deep in her large intestine. A small fart escaped her bowels and you were shot like a rocket down her pants leg and fell on the thong of her flip-flop.

Jennifer drank the glass of water, turned around and when she took her first step you were kicked from her big toe to her right back to Melanie’s Breasts.  But this time you were sent all the way inside her cleavage and your whole body was being squished by two gelatinous squishy orbs.

After fighting a useless battle against two colliding planets your body fell limp and you slid down her bra and into her belly button.   You stayed perfectly still for quite some time until Melanie bent over and you fell from her navel into the front of her panties.  You couldn’t tell what color her underwear was but something much bigger caught your attention and you were staring straight at The Redheads, Redbush.

Scattered pubic hairs covered her vagina and before you knew it Mel fixed her panties and you were inserted inside her.  Her juices coated your body but you managed to grab hold of her pussy lips before Melanie continued to be aroused and leave the room to pleasure herself.  You slid through the lace of her panties and down her pants leg.

Mel walked away but when you looked up you saw the Giant barefoot of your aunt Michelle out of its sandal home and hovering over you.  Michelle thought she saw a bug on the floor and quickly Stomped on it before any of her party guests noticed it.  She didn’t want them to think her house had a bug problem.    

It was amazing.  The bare sole of your aunt's foot looked exactly like her daughter's foot except much larger and a few wrinkles in the middle and above the heel.  it also had the same similar smell to it except Michelle’s was a lot milder than Bianca’s since she changed her socks often and mainly wore open-toed sandals and pumps.  You wondered if this was what Bianca's foot would look and smell like in twenty years?  Jake hoped he would Never find out.  

Before he knew it, the familiar, beautiful foot came crashing down on him and squished him under her sole.  Michelle ground her foot against the carpet and this sent her nephew in-between her toes.  She slid her foot back in her shoe and that’s where you stayed for the rest of the night inside this attractive Milf's footwear.

Michelle had another glass of wine and watched as her daughter started to open up her first present.  It was a sweater and she looked a little disappointed, but Bianca didn’t say anything....yet.

After about an hour of being your aunt's foot toy, she slipped her foot out of her sandal again and even though your body hurt from the squeezing you managed to jump out onto the carpet floor and roll back underneath the couch.  You were defeated.  After all, that time trying to get their attention the only thing you accomplished was getting masticated by their various large body parts.

 "Kicked, Squished, Stepped on, crushed, eaten, licked, flipped, pressed, inserted, imprisoned, smashed, rubbed, squeezed and toyed with.  What hasn’t happened to me that any other normal human being can say that’s never happened to them?  After all that work, I’ve accomplished nothing.   Should I just give up on trying to be seen?  I’m too pathetic. I can't even get one giant girls attention when there's a room full of them.  I may as well just walk right back into Bianca's sock and go back to being her foot slave."  

A weird thought entered Jake Smith's mind?

[snoopctm]

CtM Thursday Thoughts--Relationships

Welcome to Thursday, everyone! This week, I’m going to provide an opinion that I think may be a little bit controversial. I will say that up front, but I also hope it can generate some interesting discussion. That opinion has to do with my current wishes concerning relationships on the show, and particularly romantic ones. More thoughts follow:

So, in this hiatus, looking back to previous series and with a small idea of what’s in store for series 8 (new casting, etc.), as well as reading a few fan opinons on various platforms outside outside of Tumblr, and also with great respect for Heidi and writers and acknowledging that I do not write this show and I have often been pleasantly surprised in the past when the story has gone in a direction that I hadn’t previously wanted it to (Shelagh’s pregnancy arc being a major example there), I have arrived at this wish for series 8:

At this point in my thinking, I would prefer there to be no new romances on the show in series 8.

Yes, I know this show has done romance well in the past and its portrayal of romantic relationships has been, for the most part, excellent and refreshing compared to the general trend in television. I also know that “no new romances” will mean now that there will only be two romantic couples on the show--the Turners and the Buckles--but you know? For now, at least, I’m fine with that! Yes, I fully own my status as a major Turnadette shipper, so the fact that one of the two canon couples currently on the show is my OTP is great for me, but I also think it’s great that *both* of the established couples on the show are happy, healthy, mutually respectful and caring marriages. That’s wonderful, as far as I’m concerned. Still, there are a lot of single characters on the show now, and I know that in general, fans like romances, but I think it would be great if the show took a break from introducing new ones for one series at least. A few reasons for this--

More Nuns--The recent casting news revealed that, of the three new characters and one “recurring guest” character joining the show, three out of the four are nuns. This suggests to me a new emphasis on the nuns on the show, which I welcome because I like the nuns and I would love to see more focus on them again. Also, even though I did mention seeing some kind of spark between Sister W and Tom in episode 7x08, I highly doubt the show will go the “nun falls in love” route again since they’ve already done that so prominently. Instead, it will be great to get to know the new nun characters and see how they interact with the existing characters (nuns,nurses, and otherwise), and to see the friendship dynamics that may develop, which leads me to...

Friendships--One of the highlights of the show over the years has been how wonderfully it has portrayed non-romantic friendships, particularly among the nurses, and I would like to see this continue and develop even more. Now with new characters joining, and also with Trixie returning and Shelagh apparently coming back to work full-time, I’d love to see more emphasis on friendships among the midwives. Also, in terms of the nurses who still single...

No Prospective Suitor Has Seemed Good Enough (Yet)--Poor Trixie. Her romance drama has seemed to dominate her character arc since the second half of series 3, and although I’ve liked elements of both of her major romances, neither seemed to fit ultimately. Tom turned out to be better suited with Barbara, and Christopher just... well, I liked him, but the story just seemed to drag out and he ended up seeming a little too pushy for my tastes. Now that Trixie is coming back and it looks like Christopher isn’t, I think it would be nice to just let Trixie be single for a while and focus on her life as a nurse and midwife and on her relationships with the other Nonnatuns.  Maybe someday an ideal suitor will be found for her, but I hope that can wait until series 9. 

There’s also the issue of Phyllis. She’s had one minor (one episode) romantic plot, but otherwise she’s been shown to be happily single, but now there’s Sgt Grumpy Walrus Woolf and, although the idea of pairing these two isn’t very popular on Tumblr, it *does” seem popular elsewhere online. A lot of people seem to be expecting these two to be paired up, and I still hope it doesn’t happen. I actually grew to like Sgt Woolf a lot more in s7 than I did when he first showed up in the last Christmas special, but still, he seems like an interesting enough character but I still don’t see him as an ideal romantic partner for Phyllis. I’m perfectly fine with these two being friends and occasionally sparring partners, but I’m still not sold on the idea of them as a couple mostly because I don’t see him as a good match for her. 

Also, in terms of Lucille and Valerie, I know lots of people ship them, but I don’t personally ship them romantically and don’t really see signs that the show is heading in the direction of pairing them up (although I do think a strong case could be made for Val’s having an unrequited crush). I love their friendship, though, and now that Trixie is back full-time it will be interesting to see how they interact with her.

So basically, for me, my current wish is that the show continue with the amazing portrayals of the two romantic couples it has (and yes, more mushy Turner scenes are always welcome), but as for the rest of the crew, it would be nice to see more focus on friendships at least for series 8. Of course, I’m always open and happy to be pleasantly surprised so if a new romance does happen and it’s great, then yay! But for the moment, I’m cool with two happy marriages and a lot of non-romantic friendships, at least for now.

That’s all for this week. Responses and discussion are always welcome and encouraged. Next week, more thoughts!

[industryhbo]

don’t be shy // craquaria

title: don’t be shy

pairing: miz cracker x aquaria

words: 7 096

tags: Youtuber AU, cis women au, Miz Cracker's name is Brianna, Brianna is 29, Aquaria is 24, Smut, brianna tops aquaria bottoms, brianna keeps her nails nice and short

ao3

Aquaria is shy. Brianna is apologetic.

"You should do a collab with AgeOfAquaria," Brianna Ackerman read, looking at the camera. The video cut to her laughing, and then to her saying, "What the fuck would I do with Aquaria?"

"Hello everybody! It's Brianna Cracker and it's time for this week's Revieeew with a Jew! Reviewing everything from film to foundation. As you know I never stop talking about the importance of mental health, so today I'm going to be reviewing a new musical on Broadway, Dear Evan Hansen!" She was over halfway through shooting episode #33 of Review with a Jew when the call came in.

"And that brings us to a very important factor in Evan's problems: Heidi. Heidi Hansen is a great mom. You can't deny that. But some of the things that make her great seem to make Evan's problems worse. Or at least, that's what Evan—"

Bzzzz! Bzzzz!

Leaving the camera rolling, Brianna looked down at her phone where it lay on the bookshelf behind her. She was surprised when she read the name on the caller ID. Trixie Mattel was the most popular YouTuber that Brianna had ever met, and the surprise she had felt when Trixie had asked for her phone number returned now, as Trixie actually contacted her for the first time.

Most of Brianna Cracker's YouTube channel happened because she had an idea and thought, "My fans would love this." So Brianna made a face and lifted her phone up in front of the camera.

"This is the life, girl," She said, making sure the camera had focused on the tiny screen before answering it. "Hello?"

"Hey girl, how are you doing? " Trixie said over the phone.

Brianna couldn't help but a laugh a little as she replied, "Oh my goodness, I'm doing good. How are you?"

"I'm good, thank you ," She said, graciously, with the sounds of the streets of New York City playing in the background. She was visiting from L.A., and apparently was having no trouble navigating the streets in her white patent leather pumps. "I just wanted to check in about the party tonight. I invited a few more people. "

When she paused, Brianna said, "Okay," unsure if she was looking for her approval. It was Trixie's party, basically, having started as a dumb idea she'd mentioned to Bob only a couple days ago. Until now, the guest list had been their small clique of New York Youtubers, and Trixie.

"New York people, you know ," Trixie went on to explain, "Sasha, Pearl, Aquaria. Anyways, I have a food emergency, and Monet say you were the girl to call. TIME FOR DINNERRRR! " Trixie yelled, making Brianna's heart seize for a moment as Trixie's shout dissolved into intense laughter.

Brianna heard herself laugh along, way too starstruck at this point—with Trixie Mattel quoting her jokes candidly—to really process what was happening.

"So, are there any good vegan grocery stores near Bedford and Avenue? "

Throwing a tense look at the camera, Brianna said, "Um, can I call you back in just a little bit? Because I am smack-dab in the middle of shooting Review with a Jew."

"Oh! " Trixie said, and laughed again. "Totally, girl. Hey, you should review those awful jelly shoes Katya loves. "

"Oh my god, I should," Brianna said automatically, idly wondering if Katya had been added to the guest list at this point, or if Trixie was just missing her best friend while she took some time off from YouTube.

"Okay. Call me back. See you ."

"Bye."

Brianna just looked at the camera as the line went dead, eventually tossing her phone back on the shelf. She gave a big sigh, knowing there was a million things to think about there, but unable to pull her mind away from finishing the video. "Heidi!" She announced. "Some of the things that make Heidi great seem to make Evan's problems worse."

+

Brianna Ackerman knew parties at Bob's apartment. She knew the front door opened to a huge open concept room, with 30th floor floor-to-ceiling windows wrapping around two sides of the kitchen-living-dining room. She knew the vegan food from a bakery Brianna had texted to Trixie would be spread haphazardly over the 10-person glass dining table, and a cheap bartender would be leaning over the breakfast bar, convincing everyone they wanted vodka-crans because he didn't want to go back into the fridge. Bob's four bedrooms would be securely locked, so as to protect the thousands of dollars of wigs, clothes, and camera equipment that had financed her success.

She knew what the elevator would sound like when she arrived at the right floor, though she didn't listen to it. Her thoughts were caught up in all the reasons why Bob and Brianna's clique of New York Youtubers didn't normally hang out with the likes of Sasha, Pearl, and Aquaria—people who’s content focused more on aesthetics than authenticity.

She did not know, however, just what tonight's party had in store for her.

Pushing into the apartment, the music was twice as loud as it normally was, and the dance floor—the entire room—was twice as full. People were screaming and jumping up and down. Bob was next to the mountain of food that was the dining table, halfway through chugging a bottle of clear liquid. When she saw Brianna come in, she didn't stop drinking, but her eyebrows shot up and she danced around a little to show her approval. Brianna made a beeline for her friend.

"That bad, huh?" Brianna said lowly, as Bob finished off the bottle and let out a loud ahhhh .

"I fucking hate all this, fucking, vegan food," She complained, picking up boxes and tossing them around the table. Then, Bob looked out into the crowd and screamed, "FUCK YOU TRIXIE MATTEL!"

When Brianna looked, she realized Bob had been talking directly to Trixie. Trixie didn't seem to care; when she locked eyes with Brianna she smiled brightly and started pushing through the crowd.

"I'm gonna draw stuff on Shae's face," Bob announced, shaking Brianna's shoulder. Brianna didn't know who Shea was. Bob just flipped Trixie off as she approached and disappeared into the fray.

"Cracker!" Trixie shrieked, pulling her into a hug.

"Hey!" Brianna returned, accepting the fruity, pink embrace of the most famous person she knew. When they broke apart Bri gushed, "Great party!"

Trixie tutted. "I didn't lift a finger.”

"You lifted your heels, though, and that's ten times harder," Brianna said, feigning pity.

Trixie threw her head back and scream-laughed.

Brianna chuckled along, feeling good. Maybe she could stand the beauty vloggers for a little while longer if Trixie kept laughing at her jokes.

Once Trixie fell out of her laugh she gasped, and reached ten long nails into Brianna's hair. "Oh my god, loooove," She said.

It was the same style she'd been wearing when she'd met Trixie, but that was months ago now and Brianna was sure Trixie was quite drunk. Straight, her golden blonde hair hung halfway down her back, but in the huge wavy curls Brianna could tease into it, the tips didn't reach the top of her tiny breasts. Trixie traced the big curl crowning Brianna's forehead, and she laughed.

Trixie had way less hair than Brianna, and today it was only in soft waves, with a flower crown circling her brow. "You have to come to L.A. soon so we can talk hair," She pleaded, but her attention was momentarily pulled away as someone called for her. "And bring some of those vegan donuts!"

And Trixie was gone.

Not sure how serious she was, Brianna tried not to dwell on the request too much and looked for Monet. She found Monet, Honey, and LeeLee in a quiet corner. They drank together, complained, and caught up. Lee Lee had just hit 1 million subs.

Eventually Brianna got bored of trying to ignore the crowd of beautiful people in shiny clothes dancing. She wanted a cigarette. She headed for the balcony.

Pearl was out there smoking a joint, and someone else was there too, but Brianna couldn't tell who. She stuck her head out into the cool night. "How long are you going to be?"

Pearl just flicked the joint onto the ground, putting it out with a heel. She stood, the long skirt of her dress swishing around her. Her eyes drooped, but Brianna thought she saw Pearl smirk a little as she pushed back inside. Brianna stepped out and pulled the balcony door shut behind her. The other person looked over.

Shit .

It was Aquaria. AgeOfAquaria Aquaria Needles. More subscribers than Miz Cracker Aquaria.

Brianna was frozen, but Aquaria's red lips turned into a small smile. "Hi," She said, waving as well.

I can't go back. And I have to get out of this weed smell , Brianna decided and took a couple tentative steps towards where Aquaria was leaning against the railing.

"I'm Aquaria. You read me in your video last week," She said.

Can't go back now , Brianna thought, not stopping until she was at Aquaria's side. She hadn't even known if Aquaria had seen Brianna publicly denouncing a collaboration between them, though after hundreds of angry comments on the video and a half-hearted tweet on Brianna's half, she guessed the drama had gotten back to the girl she may have been trying to insult just a little.

Aquaria just looked out at the city, black ponytail swishing around behind her. "Or tried to, at least."

Okay, rude . "I'm really sorry," Brianna said, jumping right in, "I just meant, like, our channels are so different, you know?"

"If you're implying that I wouldn't paint myself pink if my fans wanted me to...you're right," She admitted.

Brianna could tell it was still supposed to be a dig at her, but Aquaria was smiling so she did too. Aquaria raised her drink. Brianna fished a pack of cigarettes out of her clutch and offered one, but Aquaria refused. "Why are you out here anyways?" Brianna asked, as she lit a cigarette for herself. "Trixie Mattel is in there."

Aquaria just shook her head and said, "Parties..."

Brianna had no idea what she meant. But she nodded anyways, breathing smoke off to one side. Behind them, the music was leaking out the windows, and the sound of people laughing roared for a moment. Aquaria and Brianna ignored it expertly, drinking and smoking and listening to the streets below them. Brianna's feet were already starting to ache in her tiny pink pumps, but she didn't regret wearing them since they went so well with the silver elastic tube she was passing off as a dress. She couldn't help but check to see Aquaria wearing flat black platforms. Her short black dress went high up to her neck and flared at the waist in severe pleats, with silver rings drawing lines down her front and around her thighs. Brianna had hardly watched any of Aquaria's content, but she could tell Aquaria had made the dress.

"So, are you from New York?" Brianna asked, figuring she would be civil if they were going to be civil.

"No, I moved here for school," Aquaria said, readjusting her lean on the railing and turning slightly towards Brianna so she could see the makeup to go with the outfit. Red lips, black everything else. Then, she said, "Fashion school," as if Brianna could forget it.

But Aquaria was being cool. She wasn't mad about the Brianna Cracker video. She came to a party at Bob's house and was now willingly conversing with Brianna, who had been expecting a lot less. So Bri just nodded along. "You finished, right?"

Aquaria gave her a weird look. "I'm 24," She clarified, and Brianna guessed that meant she was too old for school.

"Sorry," Brianna said, "Yeah." She kept smoking, sort of wondering if she was standing too close to Aquaria but not really caring. Another chorus of laughs sounded behind them, and Brianna wondered if she should be inside networking. Then, she wondered why Aquaria wasn't saying anything and started to panic. "So, what's next for you?"

It was a question Brianna used to hate, and it looked like Aquaria was in the same boat. She sighed, saying, "I don't know," And took a big sip of her drink. "I'm not going to be a YouTuber forever," She promised Brianna, leaning over and getting as close as she had yet.

Brianna nodded along, finding herself wishing that Aquaria would lean just a little closer so her hair would fall over over Brianna's shoulder, for some reason. "Who are you going to be?"

Aquaria leaned away and stood up tall. The silver on her dress glinted with yellow lights. "I want to be a designer with my own label,” She explained in a clear voice, her determination and pride showing through. But when Aquaria looked down into her drink and grumbled, “Obviously."

Brianna didn't think, just pulled off her cigarette and echoed, "Obviously."

She instantly regretted it. Here she was, almost 30 with two dead end jobs, making fun of a 24-year-old for having a dream.

But Aquaria didn't get mad. She looked over, scandalized but almost laughing and spat, "Shut up!" She pushed Brianna's shoulder, but Brianna didn't go far.

Aquaria gave up after that, slumping back over the railing and looking down at the streets, sipping red liquid.

Brianna looked out as well. She tried to enjoy the sight, find places she knew, relish in the cool but not cold air. But all she could feel was some little happy satisfaction. She smoked and didn't listen or look to a single thing, just felt. Brianna thought about this person she was standing next to, who had dreams and lots of money and didn't mind hanging out with someone like Brianna, apparently.

The music bleeding through behind them changed, and Brianna's head snapped around automatically. As she said, "I love this song!" Brianna saw Aquaria also wore an excited face, and heard her express a similar sentiment.

Along with the happy in her head, Brianna felt a warmth stir in her belly that she ignored in favor of stomping out her cigarette as fast as she could. But once Brianna started back towards the balcony door, she heard Aquaria speak again.

"Brianna?" She said. It was the first time she had said that word. Her eyebrows had fallen to the waysides and she had one arm half stretched out, as if she had reached for Brianna's arm. "Will you dance with me?"

Brianna felt her stomach swoop as she pranced two steps back towards Aquaria to grab her hand. "Of course! Come on!"

It was clear as they re-entered the party that not everyone was as partial to Masseduction by St. Vincent as they were. But they didn't care, as Aquaria freely took Brianna's other hand as well and started dancing. Aquaria swung her ponytail and her hips, twisting around, and Brianna bounced her head and jumped in time. Aquaria wore a relatively serious face as they danced, singing along to the choice words she remembered. But Brianna knew from years of feedback that she was her best self when she was stupid, so stupid she was. She pulled faces and wiggled for Aquaria, eventually making her laugh.

At some point, Monet locked eyes with Brianna and gave her the most judge-y look Monet had ever managed, but Brianna just shrugged and turned back to Aquaria. They knew the words to the bridge. "Oh, what a bore, to be so adored ," Brianna, Aquaria, and anyone else dancing crooned. Aquaria's eyes were closed as she sang and she her now-free hands were drawing random shapes above her head. Brianna felt her mouth form the second line of the same words, but had given up entirely on focusing on dancing, as the tickles in her stomach and sneaking suspicion in her head finally confirmed that, Oh no. I like her.

But the night wasn't over yet.

They finished the song innocently enough, and then three more songs, before Aquaria finally excused herself to get another drink. Brianna took the cue and went to bother Monet.

"Bitch," Her loving New York sister greeted, "I know you're always networking, but that was 15 minutes of eye contact."

LeeLee piped up. "When you fuck her, actually look at her tits because I want to know whose are smaller."

Brianna just shook her head, taking someone's drink. "I was being nice! I said something..…unprofessional in a video," She covered, definitely not thinking about seeing Aquaria's tits.

"So when you hate-fuck her," LeeLee amended, to which Brianna flipped her off and left.

For the rest of the party, Brianna wandered aimlessly, not really feeling like dancing even when Honey and Bob got into it. She smoked, tried to talk to Trixie, tried to compliment the beauty vloggers, and drank.

Around 1:30, people started to filter out in favour of better things, and when Brianna saw Aquaria slip inside from the balcony and head for the door, she made quick goodbyes. She moved as fast as she could in her little shoes and made it out the door behind a long, black ponytail.

Aquaria realized she was there and gave a polite smile as she pressed the elevator button. In a 47-storey building, it was going to take a while for it to arrive. Brianna tried to hold out for a minute but she couldn't just stand there in silence. "So, did you have fun?"

"Yeah," Aquaria said, and then in a quieter voice, "It was nice to see everyone."

The elevator beeped as it arrived. They got on. Brianna waited to see if Aquaria would say anything. She didn't, just leaned against one wall and watched the numbers tick down, fiddling with a ring on her dress. "Hey," Brianna started as she stood against the opposite wall, and Aquaria looked up. "I'm hoping there's no more bad blood between us, going forward. It was really nice to meet you."

This time, Brianna swore she saw Aquaria blush as she looked down for a second and then promised, "Yeah, totally."

Brianna nodded. Aquaria sort of shifted, and crossed her legs. Bri went on, "'Cause we don't have to make a video, but we could still hang out, if you wanted to."

She watched the excitement build in Aquaria's face even though she was really good at hiding it. "Sure, can I have your number?" She asked nonchalantly, already clicking around on her giant iPhone.

Brianna shuffled across the elevator until she was well into Aquaria's personal space. The phone was barely balanced between three fingers, but Brianna still managed to tickle Aquaria's hand as she took it. She typed her name as, 'Bri [cheese emoji] [heart eyes emoji]", and texted herself "Hey it's Aquarius Noodles."

Aquaria smiled, almost laughed, when she took it back and saw what Brianna had done. Brianna didn't move to back away, but Aquaria put a hand on her arm to keep her in place anyways. "I did have fun tonight, thanks to you," Aquaria admitted or lied, probably a mix of both. "And this dress is incredible."

"You like it?" Brianna asked, unable to hide her smile and she glanced down at herself. Not everyone liked it when girls with big hips wore tight clothes, so Brianna was glad that Aquaria could deal with Brianna's ass.

Aquaria nodded and rubbed a thumb over the thin straps.

"Well you look amazing, as always," Brianna said, eyes flickering between Aquaria's eyes and lips, as if they were her only achievements that night.

There. Brianna definitely saw Aquaria blush beneath all the foundation and highlight. Between that and the way Aquaria's nails had settled to press semi-circles into Brianna's shoulder, Brianna felt her stomach warming significantly.

The air was still. The elevator beeped as they descended.

Brianna quelled whatever was rising in her chest to ask, "Can I kiss you?"

Aquaria said, "Okay," and Brianna let it flow up and spill over as she leaned up and pressed her lips against Aquaria's.

She was soft. She was warm. Brianna poured all the emotions that had been building inside of her all night into this kiss, breathing and telling Aquaria she was soft and warm and beautiful. Brianna was frozen in the moment, feeling the way their mouths fit together—and then Aquaria started to really kiss her.

Leaning down and tilting her head, Aquaria only got a second to try and intensify things before Brianna pulled away smiling. Aquaria breathed, and when she realized Brianna seemed happy she smiled a little too.

Ding!

Brianna breathed and stepped back as the elevator doors slid open. “Um,” She said as she skipped into the lobby, feeling Aquaria follow close behind. Brianna spun around, catching Aquaria by the arms. “Can I walk you home?”

-

Aquaria’s Brooklyn apartment was actually pretty close to Bob’s, especially compared to Brianna’s haunt in Manhattan, but the short trip was still agonizing with the way Aquaria would shoot half-lidded looks back over her shoulder, or brush up behind Brianna and ghost her hand along Brianna’s back. The wind had picked up in the warm September night, so they huddled close in their sleeveless cocktail dresses. Eventually they came to a posh building where Aquaria waved her keys and the door opened, a security guard exchanging nods with her as they passed.

Aquaria pushed the button for the 21st floor and Brianna pushed Aquaria against the mirrored wall. She could tell Aquaria liked it, by the way she sighed in her throat and accepted Brianna’s kiss when it came. Brianna’s fingers pushed against the tough fabric of her dress as her lips wrapped around Aquaria’s mouth. Aquaria got to work with her tongue, her nails finding Brianna’s scalp.

When Brianna slid one hand around to press over Aquaria’s ass, she heard another small sound come from her mouth, but then almost a gasp, like she was trying to silence it. Brianna broke the kiss and looked up under Aquaria’s false lashes. “Don’t be shy,” Brianna mumbled. She reached down even further to grab Aquaria’s ass properly as her lips attached to Aquaria’s neck.

She moaned .

Brianna swore inside her head. They both felt the elevator slow, and Bri reluctantly peeled herself off.

Aquaria happily led them down plush hallway after plush hallway, before waving into a door with its own security camera. It opened to an amazing apartment that Brianna could barely process with four drinks in her. All she saw was the pile of junk that had started as a couch where Aquaria threw their shoes, and then a dim hallway that led to—oh my god—a gigantic bedroom.

“This is as big as my whole apartment,” Brianna lied, mentally measuring the bed as Aquaria crawled onto it. Bri followed quickly. She re-attached her lips to Aquaria’s neck and went for the side zipper.

But before she even found her purchase, Aquaria reached up to stop her. They looked at each other, and Aquaria looked a little nervous.

“Sorry,” Bri said, taking her hand off the handmade dress and giving the other girl space. “I don’t want to break it.”

“No, I,” Aquaria said, looking away as she unzipped the dress a couple inches. She looked at the opening so Brianna did too, finding black lace underneath.

Brianna only had to realize it’s lingerie to guess what Aquaria was thinking. “Oh, um, do you want to…strip for me?” She asked, and the other girl’s nerves turned to embarassment—a good embarassment, judging by the light that twinkled in Aquaria’s eyes. “Just, oh my god, do it,” Brianna said, sounding not at all sexy but Aquaria scampered back off the bed anyways. Bri followed quickly, kneeling with her thighs apart so her dress rode up. She breathed, not sure what was about to happen but knowing she wanted it to.

Aquaria looked down over one shoulder and unzipped the rest of her dress—shirt, Brianna now realized, as the bodice fell open and the skirt remained intact. Aquaria turned and leaned down, closer and closer, until her lips almost brushed against Brianna’s. She grabbed Bri’s hand that had subconsciously navigated to her thigh. Aquaria brought the hand up inside her shirt, and as Brianna’s fingertips connected with the rough lace of her bralette, she pressed their lips together.

Brianna could feel everything. The saliva on Aquaria’s mouth, her soft breast beneath her hand, the heat pooling between their bodies. Bri was already started to have trouble breathing. She squeezed, and Aquaria backed up, licking her lips as Brianna leaned after her.

Aquaria stared Bri down as she pulled the shirt off. Fuck , Brianna thought, at the sight of the simple bra made of thick, black lace, and Aquaria’s dark nipples straining beneath it. Aquaria propped one foot on the bed and pulled the elastic out of her ponytail. She shook her hair, then started to draw it back up into a bun as she looked down.

Brianna was suffering. Aquaria was so close, so ready, but still so far and ignoring Brianna .

Once her hair was up, she turned to the side so Brianna was looking at the fateful second zipper keeping the black pleats securely around Aquaria’s waist. She unzipped it all the way down but held it in place. Aquaria spun the long way around to face the girl on the bed while keeping the skirt in front of everything Brianna wanted to see, before pausing and dropping it.

Brianna’s breath caught in her throat. The same severe lace drew a triangle pointing down from Aquaria’s hips, sitting low and hugging her tightly. She couldn’t help it, and Aquaria didn’t stop her: Brianna reached out and wrapped her hands around Aquaria’s ass, feeling the rough lace and imagining Aquaria squirming in it all night as she pulled her closer by it. Aquaria came and perched on her knees in front of Brianna.

Aquaria kissed her, and Brianna’s hands squeezed. Aquaria left no room for romance as she licked into and kissed Brianna. Pushing, breathing, sucking.

Then Aquaria’s nails reached Brianna’s thighs and started to push her dress up even farther. Soft tips ghosting under the fabric and then back along her skin, Brianna was so turned on it was starting to hurt. She kissed back hard, pressing her lips into Aquaria over and over, hungry for more.

But Aquaria didn’t give it to her. She gave Brianna a half-mischevious, half-unsure look before ducking to make-out with Brianna’s neck. Her hand slipped under the silver skirt again to play with the band of Brianna’s underwear.

“Mmm,” Brianna said, “Should I take them off?”

To which Aquaria responded. “Yes. I, yeah.”

Aquaria stood up while Brianna sat to wriggle her underwear off. Now she felt exposed, and a little wet, so Brianna kneeled again with her knees pressed tightly together as she waited for Aquaria to kiss her again. She reached out, but Aquaria just caught her hands in her own, throwing glances at Brianna’s stomach and keeping their lips a few solid feet apart.

“Oh. Do you, want to eat me out?” Brianna asked, voice even, body already reacting to the thought of it.

Aquaria’s eyes were darker even more than usual as she looked at Brianna. “I, um, want. Yes,” She managed, and touched Brianna’s knees so she would open them.

As Brianna adjusted to sit with her calves hanging off, Aquaria kneeled in front of the bed, pulling Bri closer to the edge. Brianna tried to breathe. Aquaria’s nails dug into her thighs, and then her mouth connected with the outside of Brianna’s lips. Bri grabbed at the sheets and felt herself throbbing. Keep it together .

Aquaria kissed, lower, all around the soft, slightly hairy skin between Brianna’s legs. Brianna focused on bringing air into and out of her lungs until Aquaria’s tongue dragged lightly up her clitoris, and she had to breathe out a whine. Aquaria attached her whole mouth around Brianna’s clit as she drew her tongue up and down, saliva going everywhere.

“Oh my god,” Bri said quietly, trying not to rock her hips. Her feet didn’t reach the ground sitting like this so she dug her heels into the bedframe.

Aquaria just moved slower, sucking and pressing her lips, moving them in circles on her clit. She kissed around, chastely, and then licked at Brianna’s sensitive spot again until she twitched. Aquaria took her mouth off for half a second. Brianna longed for it. Her fingers were already aching from clenching the sheets so tightly, and she tried to readjust only to grab right back on when Aquaria drew the flat of her tongue right over Brianna’s opening. Haze and pleasure filled Brianna’s brain. Knowing Aquaria was tasting her and all the stimulation from between her legs made Bri’s stomach tingle more and more.

Then Aquaria moved back to her clit, drawing her tongue in lines and circles around it, until every breath Brianna took was shallow and loud. One of Aquaria’s hands dug into Bri’s thigh while the other reached for Brianna’s hand. Aquaria guided it between her legs and to the opening of her vagina. Bri was quick to slide a finger in, pushing in softly as Aquaria drooled and pressed on her clitoris.

Soon enough, Brianna was uttering ‘oh’ every other press. Then Aquaria’s name. And then her face and neck and brain were full of incredible tingling, which built and built as Aquaria licked all around until it was physically impossible for Brianna to feel anymore pleasure than she was experiencing.

She drew her hand to Aquaria’s face, guiding her up to see Brianna half-lidded and biting at her bottom lip. Aquaria kissed her, leaned over her, and listened to Bri’s soft hums of content. Brianna accepted it and let Aquaria’s mouth push her to lean further and further backwards, until her mouth disappeared and Brianna actually had to look to see what was going on.

Aquaria just hovered an inch away and said, “You, um. Was it good?”

“Fuck, so good,” Brianna admitted, throwing an arm around Aquaria’s neck to kiss her and lay back on the bed. Aquaria was awkwardly hanging half off the bed but she held on for dear life as their mouths slotted together and moved like stillness would kill them.

When Aquaria pushed herself up on her forearms, Brianna wiggled backwards. It broke their kiss but they both moved up the bed until Brianna’s head was on the pillow and Aquaria was bearing down on top of her again. Licking over Bri’s teeth viciously, she pulled Brianna’s dress up and up until they separated again to pull it over her head. Before Aquaria could kiss her again, Brianna pushed at the bralette. Aquaria let her pull it off, and it temporarily snagged on her bun, but that just made Aquaria giggle as they pushed their lips back together.

Brianna was still coming down from her orgasm, but she could tell Aquaria was super turned-on by how she shuddered when Brianna ran her fingers down her bare sides. Brianna relaxed, let her muscles turn to jelly in the soft sheets, let Aquaria kiss her energetically. She felt where the lace panties were soaked through. She pushed them off and down to Aquaria’s knees. The only thing that slowed Aquaria’s lips was when Brianna let one finger tickle where Aquaria’s tailbone gave way to her ass. As she pushed her fingertip slowly between her cheeks, Aquaria froze, breathing hot air over Brianna’s smirk, eyes pressed shut.

Brianna took the opportunity to shimmy down an inch and take Aquaria’s nipple between her lips. She drew her finger up and down shallowly as she ran her tongue over the tough tip of her breast. Aquaria’s thighs were flexing. She pulled Brianna’s other hand off her back and threaded their fingers together. Brianna ran her fingers lightly over Aquaria’s ass and then squeezed, and Aquaria only pushed back into her hand. Brianna teased and licked until Aquaria’s breath was strained in her ear.

Brianna easily rolled them over, Aquaria landing surprised-looking on her back in the dark bedroom. Until Brianna kissed that look away. She put her tongue in Aquaria’s mouth and two fingers over her opening. She spread the wetness around and started working her clit, feeling Aquaria’s hands fist in Brianna’s hair. Brianna just focused on Aquaria, on how her legs slid around and her tongue responded emphatically to everything Brianna was doing. The panties—still around her knees—were getting in the way of her jerks and twitches so Brianna pushed them all the way off. She focused on moving her fingertips in the precise pattern that had little whines coming from Aquaria’s throat. When one hand suddenly yanked softly on Brianna’s hand, Bri broke their kiss and muttered, “You like that?” Immediately repeating what she had just done.

Aquaria’s face was flush with pleasure as she sounded, “Mmm hmm.”

Brianna smiled down at her. “Don’t be shy. Tell me,” She asked, pressing her fingers slowly down Aquaria’s vulva.

Aquaria shut her eyes and let out a quiet, ohhhhhh .

Brianna said, “Yeah,” in a really small voice to encourage her, and moved her fingers back up to Aquaria’s clit. Brianna moved them furiously, trying to get more sounds out of her. Everything between Aquaria’s legs was slippery at this point.

As the pleasure built, Aquaria gave a louder whine and a strangled, “Brianna.”

Lips pressing to her ear, Brianna asked, “Can I finger you?”

“Yes. Yes,” Aquaria repeated.

Brianna laid herself half on top of Aquaria with one leg draped over her thigh, so she didn’t have to concentrate on not falling down. One of Aquaria’s hands fell away to fist in the sheets. “Okay, relax,” Brianna advised, and breathed a soft sigh.

Aquaria copied the breath, and Brianna felt her muscles go lax beneath her. Brianna quickly rubbed her middle finger in the wetness between Aquaria’s legs, and then slipped the finger inside her.

Aquaria gave a nice, full moan.

Brianna wanted the sound on repeat. She moved the finger slowly, out, and then back in, feeling Aquaria’s walls and where they naturally stopped. Brianna gave a couple quicker thrusts before pushing a second finger inside.

“Ohhhh. Fuck,” Aquaria said, back arching against the bed. They were in it now, so Brianna wasted no time pushing in and out of Aquaria, getting faster and faster.

Brianna pressed kisses to her cheek, neck, and chest. She let Aquaria pull her hair and watched her head turn back and forth. The warm feelings had returned in her stomach, and with everything Aquaria did, they spiked and spread.

Aquaria started to whine more and more. “Oh. Ohhh, fuck. Brianna,” She crooned.

She felt Aquaria’s hips still a little as she settled into the motion, so Brianna adjusted the angle and thrusted, even and powerful and finally hitting that spot.

“Yes, fuck,” Aquaria said, holding onto Brianna’s hair for dear life. She didn’t have to say it; Brianna knew Aquaria was almost about to orgasm. Walls swelling around her fingers, Brianna pushed and pushed, feeling and hearing Aquaria’s every reaction.

Then Aquaria’s breath caught. She was clenching, and was Brianna fucking her through it. Up and over the edge. Brianna started to throb watching Aquaria’s face as she processed all the pleasure.

And then Aquaria was breathing, gasping. Relaxing into Brianna. Her heart beat loud over the relative silence as she stroked Bri’s hair softly. She was unable to keep the smudged-lipstick smile off her face, and she was absolutely beautiful to Brianna in that moment.

Brianna took her fingers out and hoped Aquaria wouldn’t mind as she wiped them randomly on the other side of the bed. They lay there like that for a moment, breathing and sprawled out, both staring up at the ceiling. Nice , Brianna thought.

She hiked her leg up a little more and moved to throw her arm over Aquaria’s stomach, but Aquaria caught her arm and rolled them over. It was Brianna’s turn to be surprised as she took in the excited look on Aquaria’s face, like her brain hadn’t just been flooded with oxytocin.

“I, can we, um,” Aquaria said, stuttering through the words before shutting her eyes and stopping in frustration.

Brianna could see it, so she reached one finger up to boop Aquaria’s nose and said, “Hey, what’s up?”

Aquaria breathed as she looked down and said, “One more time?” Plain and simple.

“Yeah, what do you—” Brianna started, but stopped when Aquaria sat up and put a finger between Brianna’s legs. She drew it out and then placed the whole thing in her mouth. She put on a show. She closed her eyes and slowly slid it out, grinding on Brianna’s stomach, and pulling the finger out with a pop . Brianna’s heart skipped a beat as she teased, “You’re a whore.”

But Aquaria just leaned close to Brianna’s ear and whispered: “Can we scissor?”

One orgasm was doing wonders for this girl’s confidence.

Brianna muttered, “Yes, please,” and Aquaria was moving. She kissed Brianna fully as she ran a hand down one leg, tickling and then raising the knee. Her other hand quickly found its place threaded with Brianna’s fingers. Aquaria sat up, sliding her own knee underneath, bracing herself against the headboard, and then throwing her other leg over Brianna’s other hip.

She grinded down in a circle, rubbing their clits together. It was hot and wet and amazing .

Brianna muttered a low, “Yeah,” to encourage her to keep going, and she did. The sensation built slowly, and Brianna was silently begging her to go faster. But Aquaria didn’t. Not, at least, until she grabbed Bri’s other hand and started sucking on two of her fingers.

Brianna shook her head in disbelief for a couple seconds as Aquaria started grinding faster and faster, and suddenly pleasure started possesing Brianna’s body. It came hot and quick, radiating out from where their bodies were pressed together. Little ‘ahh’s escaped Brianna over and over as it built and built inside her. “Fuck, Aquaria,” Brianna muttered, knowing she wouldn’t last long. Her whole body was on fire. Heat was curling up her neck and making her feet spasm. Aquaria just kept thrusting, slick but hard.

And then Brianna was orgasming, with a pained, “ Ohhh .” Aquaria’s hand was white where Brianna was squeezing it. She was frozen under Aquaria’s rocking hips, as pleasure filled her every nerve.

Brianna started to fall out of it, breathing deep and relaxing, but Aquaria kept going. Bri let her grind against her a few more times before stopping her. She fought through the haze that was settling over her brain to push Aquaria over. Brianna rubbed her clit with the flat of three fingers until the other girl came, moaning and shaking beneath her.

Brianna reveled in every second of it. All the wet spots they had left on the bed, every change in Aquaria’s breathing, every red semi-circle in Brianna’s skin.

But then the aches were settling into her muscle. The fatigue was overtaking her brain. She had one word in her head, and it was ‘home’.

She started to force herself to get up, but Aquaria’s hands were grabbing and pulling. Before Brianna knew it, she was wrapped in a duvet burrito with AgeOfAquaria Aquaria Needles, listening to soft, content breaths as they both fell asleep.

+ A few days later

Aquaria’s Q&A was read quickly off her phone. “Please collab with Brianna Cracker.” Her face lit up as she looked at the camera. “I think that would be awesome! I hope we can soon.”

+ The next week

“Thank you so much for watching,” Aquaria gushed quickly as she filmed the end of her third date makeup tutorial. “Like and subscribe down below. Remember, you don’t define beauty, beauty is defined by you!”

She started posing for the last few second of the video, but suddenly her ringtone sounded from where her phone was tossed on a pile of papers. She stood up and grabbed it, answering it as quick as she could, saying, “Hey hon.”

Sasha looked up from where she was lounging behind the camera. She had offered to help Aquaria edit a better outro and was hanging around while she filmed it.

“Hey sweetie ,” Brianna crooned through the phone. Aquaria was already blushing as she paced between her desk and her ring light. “ I watched your Q&A video .”

“Uhhh, did you like it?” Aquaria asked, voice light and teasing. Sasha was waving around and pretending to scream at her, but Aquaria ignored it expertly.

“It was very cute, darling ,” Brianna said, and then paused. Sasha was furiously typing and Aquaria just knew the groupchat would be blowing up on this call ended. Finally, Brianna spoke again: “Do you actually want to do a video? ” She asked.

Aquaria breathed. “I don’t think our channels are that different, not really.”

“Really? ”

Aquaria tried to walk as far from Sasha as she could when she muttered, “Why don’t you come over tonight and we can, um, talk about it.”

The line was quiet for a second. Aquaria turned around, and Sasha’s grin was shit-eating. Then, “Okay. Yes .”

“Yay!” Aquaria exclaimed, unable to stop herself from bouncing around and pumping a fist in the air. “I’ll see you at 8.”

“Okay. Bye baby. ”

“Bye cutie,” Aquaria signed off, and hit the red button as her face turned the same colour. She ditched the phone in her recording chair and ignored it as the buzzing began.

Sasha’s face was in her hands, perched on the arm of the couch. She looked up at Aquaria through thick, natural lashes and thick, black glasses. “‘Cutie’?” Sasha asked.

Aquaria just joined her on the couch and pulled the laptop onto her legs. “Alright,” She said, opening up her video editing software, silently hoping the lifeless light of her screen would balance out the heat in her cheeks. She looked at Sasha. “What do I do?”

Sasha just shook her head for a second, two, three. Eventually she shook herself out of the stupour and said, “Uh, this is gonna take a while, so you should go wash your face.”

“No,” Aquaria sing-songed, dragging the footage she had just filmed into the program, “I have a third date tonight. This is my third date look.”

Sasha just smiled and tilted her head. Aquaria stared back. Sasha announced, “You’re so gone, bitch.”

[exotahu]

It’s here, the giant Bronycon post!

As per usual I don’t usually make this many words ever so shit might be wonky. and also it was written over the course of a few days so things might not line up in the right order. Also, fair warning I get kinda weird and sentimental at the end there. Also I have no idea if tumblr will break the formatting real bad so heres hoping it doesn’t

Thursday We left early without much incident. Only a group of 4 this time. Me, Andy, his brother Justin, and Andy's girlfriend Sam who was coming in via plane.

It was a really easy journey. Even stopped at the one Speedway with the good hotdogs. I decided to tie a ribbon in my hair too, I always say I should do something more with it than just tie it back. So I figured I'd try it. We got to Baltimore in what felt like no time at all. We checked in and went to our rooms and waited for Sam. I fiddled with my little electric name badge thingy I bought last year. Got it to say my name and Bronycon 2018 with some hearts and sparkles. Once Sam got settled in, we all met back up to go to pre-reg. She and I were afraid we'd weird each other out but we ended up getting along great. We all went to pre-reg and picked up our badges. Then, after dropping our stuff off at the hotel we ventured back out into the inner harbor for food and hanging out. We opted not to go to Dick's this time, opting instead to go to Tir na Nog. Got my usual pub food. The Vodka cranberry (yes even though I planned on drinking later) and the plain cheese burger. I like to eat the same thing at all the places, because I think it's neat to see the same food through the different lenses of different restaurants. Tir na Nog in Baltimore is different than O'Toole's in Albany is different from Jack Astor's in Toronto. After that we went to the big Barnes and Noble and looked at books and stuff. Then we all went to that ice cream shop thats right next door. They sell tea apparently so I got a small one. Missed the regular size straws so I had a huge straw (Like a goddamn footlong) in a tiny cup (like 3 inches). We went to the bars in Fells point after that. We only got slightly lost, but we found it. We didn't register for the actual bar trot, cause you don't really have to to enjoy drinks. We went to the Dog's Watch Tavern first cause they usually have a good shot, which in this instance was a Pinkie Pie shot. Don't know what was in it but I had several. We went to the Admiral after that. It was the best as it usually is. I think I drank like, 4 of the Trixie, there was a Sunset Shimmer drink (But it was secretly the Applejack. I liked it anyway). And I had most of a Rainbow Dash drink. I must say, I absolutely adore the atmosphere at this bar. The bartender is great and clearly loves what he does. A couple people recognized me cause I sit in the same spot more or less every time, and the goggles that I wear. That was pretty neat. Got pretty drunk, decided to go back after that to prep for the next day. We got a little bit lost on the way back too, but it brought us by the CVS so I bought a couple boxes of PopTarts. We got back to the hotel and went to bed.

Friday

Tried to get up for opening but missed most of it. Caught the tail end of it though. Sleep deprivation got me, plus the buttload of alcohol didn't really help. Hung out in the harmony plaza til the apple family panel. There was a photoshoot that happened but there wasn't a ton of people there. Saw apple family VA panel. It was pretty funny. Went to the vendor hall and walked it to get the layout, I didn't want to just chaotically walk around and not know where anything was so I strictly just walked each isle in a pattern. Actually helped me remember where booths were. I spoke to an artist about getting a comission for a friend who couldn't make it. His slots were full for the day so I figured I'd come back Saturday. I bought an original piece from him, which was actually pretty cool. I then went to the comic booth. I am trying to get at very least the A and B covers for every comic, Plus I wanted first prints of the first issue mane 6 covers. I got the first prints of the two #1 issues I needed. Then I got invited to Jonny Rockets, and due to needing to finish something in the vendor hall it took me a little bit. My friends are cool and waited for me even though I went on one hell of a journey to get there. So I got out of the vendor hall which exited by the Hilton sky bridge. Figure, shit I'll just take the sky bridge on the opposite side so I go for it. Get out there, pass the other hotel (hyatt?) and what used to be a wide open plaza. (Now it's a parking lot). Realize the goddamn thing ends there and there is no way down (unless I went back through the convention center and all the way back around), and more of the bridge is missing. Figure I don't want to walk all the way back so I go through the hotel. No idea if I was supposed to go through that door cause it looks like there were unused decorations everywhere. Nobody stopped me so I made it out to the street. Realize I still have to walk to the corner to cross, but say fuck it and randomly cross in the middle to the street island thing. Then I almost died to a puddle walking on the sidewalk behind some food trucks. Caught myself though. Finally I get there and we hang out and get a burger. On our way back I managed to drop a Pokemon on the Bronycon gym. We went back to the vendor hall. Hung out and looked at stuff. Me an Sam went shopping for pillows. We each bought one, only the case though. Had no space to store the full whole thing.  We went to the whoves line pannel after that. It was really funny, especially the bit where they acted like the friendship map was a computer that got a ton of viruses and went to a "bad dragon" website. I am surprised I've never gone to it before. We went to Jimmy Johns for dinner and then dropped our stuff off at the hotel and headed to the palooza. The performances were great, although they somehow got super off schedule. I bought a Shake-Ups CD. I stayed until the end. I enjoy the palooza immensely, but those 2AM nights are rough. My legs end up being noodles and its a guarantee I won't get to bed until atleast 330. Which is about when I went to bed.

Saturday

Had a bit of a slow start but I wanted to speak to the artist about that comission for my friend who couldn't make it. Even though I was slow, I still got there early enough. The thing he wanted would have been too complex, so I came up with something I think he'll like. Then I went to the comic booth and figured out what I needed to complete the A and B covers for the main comic series. It was cool cause they just let me into the booth to look. I believe I've done it, I just have to add everything to my app to make sure. I ran out of space in my comic storage, so I only did the main series. Next year I will buy for the side series. (There is a lot less). As of typing this out, I found the shop's location. Only a 3 hour drive. Might make a trip of it so I don't have to worry about it at next year's con. Dunno. Met back up with Andy and Sam in vendor hall. We looked around before leaving to get food and make a hotel drop. We got lunch at the JJ before heading to the script reading panel with Tabitha. Usually they're pretty strict about recording at these. Usually one of the staff says something about my camera, but nobody said anything. Or mentioned not recording it at all. I wonder if anyone uploaded it. It was about the mane 6 and a convention called "boomycon" which was about an alt. universe Derpy as a comic character who rides a meteor or something. The comic characters crossed over into the regular universe and shenanigans ensued. It was pretty funny. After that we went back to vendor hall to check on something, and I bought another of those dang pillows, and these weird flow rings, plus some other small stuff, including some super fucking adorable chibi-ball plushie things of Fluttershy and Tempest (Pretty sure I posted pictures). We made a hotel drop and got food. We tried to get into the DIY pony plush making but ultimately the wait list was too long. At this point we went to the sky terrace thing. Apparently there was a wedding, which is really fucking cool! Then we just found some chairs to just kind of chill in. Justin had a mini-pizza that came in a mini-pizza box. We're just sitting there talking and some guy came up and leaned over. We all thougt maybe he had left something. Then we notice he's signing the empty pizza box? He then just says you're welcome and leaves. It took a second then we realized... It was MA Larson. Fucking hillarious. I went back to the hotel again, meeting up with a friend on the way back. Met back up with everyone else at the palooza after that.  Brought the rings I bought and was playing with them, while doing my awkward-ass flail dancing. A couple people thought they were cool which was neat. I really enjoyed all the performances. A cover of 500 miles happened, Eurobeat was fantastic. Great show. I caught a T-Shirt that was thrown. (Which never happens ever and even though it's a small size it still fits.) Again I stayed until 2 AM, got to bed about 330.

Sunday Sundays are usually always the chill day where not much happens. Woke up around the usual time and headed over to the vendor hall. I wandered and bought some last minute things (Pillow #3...). I met back with everyone else around noon. We spent most of day in vendor hall just hanging out. One thing I did, was get a comission of my pony OC. I've been wanting to for years, just to say I had so I finally did it. I'm looking forward to it. Also saw a little digital badges that you could store pictures in. After that we went to the fountains to hang out before lining up for closing ceremonies. They opened with a nifty performance by Step2Harmony. Some of the guests said their farewells before the con chairs started talking about the numbers, a little more than 5000 people. (I don't remmeber the exact number, might have been closer to 5600?). After that was a skit involving the mascots. Blank Canvas got accepted into an art school and Hoof Beatz was going on tour, and the date they were leaving was the end of August next year. They run off stage and Mane Event just stood there like "What about us... : (" Scene end. Sure enough, the con chairs came back out and annouced that next year is going to be a 4 day event instead of a 3 day event. They also anounced that next year is going to be the last Bronycon and that they are ending the event in 2019. You could feel the moment where everybody's hearts broke. There were a lot of people crying. I was pretty choked up too, and I'm honestly not sure how I kept myself together. We walked back to the hotel. While we were waiting for the elevators, you could tell the mood was pretty sombre. Dropped off my bag and went back down to the lobby to wait for Andy and Sam. We all headed down to the inner harbor to go to Bubba Gumps. We had a hour and a half wait, that we spent hanging out in the harbor and the pavillion. One of them seemed to be closed this year. They seem to get smaller and smaller each year. Bubba Gumps as always was fantastic. I got the usual Shrimper's Heaven. Even got to eat the shrimp that Sam didn't eat. Bonus shrimp! Spent 60$ on my check and regret nothing. We went back to the hotel with the intent of playing some Shipfic in the one banquet room the hotel usually has open, which we did! Another group played the pony movie which was neat. We also saw an Insomnia Cookies down in Fells Point so we decided to order some. It took a little more than an hour. But I got the call and they showed up to the hotel and handed me a very warm box. The cookies were fantastic. Every bit worth the wait. I think I have one somewhere relatively close to my home but I'm nowhere near the delivery radius. Probably a good thing because I would go broke buying cookies. They're pretty awesome. Some guy had also had a baby skunk! No idea how he pulled that off or how the hotel was cool with it but it was really cute. Once the movie ended most of the people left. After that we went back to our rooms. Me and Sam got a group picture of all the pillows we bought. I packed most of my stuff after that and went to bed.

Monday.

Woke up, got the car all packed and cleared the rooms pretty quick. We had thought to do some other stuff, but we really didn't have time. Instead we went to Tir na nog and just hung out until we had to leave. Any day you can be mildly drunk before noon and have it not be a problem is a good day. We dropped Sam off at the airport after saying our goodbyes. We hit the road after that and started our journey home. Which was honestly fairly uneventful. No one's windsheild broke. No one's catalytic converter got stolen. We made a couple of stops but nothing really interesting. Got home way earlier than I'm used to. Like 5:30-6PM. And then I realized, Bed, Bath and Beyond was still open. So I drove out there to get the actual pillows for the pillow cases. Found the exact ones the guy at the booth I bought them from. They were on sale, so they were only 20$. Then I had the fun time of fitting 3 hugeass pillows in my really tiny car. Got back home and finished unpacking.  

Conclude:

I had a really good time this year. It was very a relaxing trip and I enjoyed spending time with everybody. It never quite feels long enough. I didn't make any real attempt at cosplaying this year. Just didn't really feel into it. I did wear my Sylveon ears that were given to me by a friend though. And I had my goggles, which are just kind of a thing now I guess. I tied a blue ribbon in my hair too. I never do anything with it and I guess I decided now was the time. I think I'm going to do that more often from now on. Next, I am beyond incredibly sad that next year is the last one. Bronycon has been one of the big things I look forward to doing each year. It's easily been one of the best cons I've ever been to. The atmosphere was great, the staff was great. The con ending will also mark the end of a 12 year tradition for me of going down to Baltimore for a con. The only year I wasn't able to go to was 2010 because there was just no way I was going to be able to swing it. Aside from that, I went to Otakon from 2006 until 2012. I had honestly kinda burned out on that though and wasn't sure if I was gonna go back, but it would be shortly after returning from the 2012 Otakon, Bronycon announced that they were gonna move to the Baltimore Convention Center in 2013. Some other friends were interested in going, and since I knew the area so well, we decided to go for it. I went every year after that. Hell, it's how I ended up meeting Andy (which is a pretty funny story all on it's own), it's also how I ended up recconecting with another friend of mine from way back in the day as well as others. There were good times and adventures to be had outside the Con as well. Bubba Gumps, the bar trot in Fells Point(that goddamn Trixie drink, looked like something I'd never have been able to drink, but it is easily my favorite alcoholic drink that has ever existed. I really hope I can get the recipe next year), the bigass barnes and noble, the aquarium, the pavillion. It seems like every year it gets better and I've never felt bored of it or burned out. I am going to miss this immensely, I suppose I'll have to find another con to go to, or atleast other adventures to have but one thing is for sure, I'm never going to forget any of this. All the good times that we've had, or this big thing I've been a part of or this place that has brought me so much joy over the years.

(Once next year ends and I walk out of that convention center for the last time, I am going to be a complete goddamn mess. It's going to be a terrible day for rain...)

Also, though I don't know if you'll ever read it, as I don't think we've spoken in several years now, to the person who convinced me to go to that first Otakon back in '06, Thank you. For introducing me to this place, and setting off a real wacky series of adventures. I don't know if any of this would have happened if you hadn't convinced me to come down here all those years ago. Once again, thank you, and I hope you're doing well.

tl;dr Good fuckin' con, but Pete fuckin' sad.

[ships-sailing-in-the-night]

LUCIFER: Showrunner Joe Henderson on Season 3

There are some big changes afoot in LUCIFER’s third season when the show returns to Fox on Monday nights, beginning October 2. At the end of Season 2, Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) – who is actually the Devil, though a very honest individual – almost got together with his true love, LAPD detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German). Then someone bonked him over the head and he woke up naked in the desert, with his angel wings reattached, even though he’d previously cut them off and burned them.

Meanwhile, Lucifer’s mother (Tricia Helfer) has moved on to her own dimension to create new worlds, as befits a goddess. However, the body she inhabited, defense lawyer Charlotte Richards, is still with us. Tom Welling joins the cast this season as police lieutenant Marcus Pierce. Behind the scenes, LUCIFER has moved from shooting primarily in Vancouver to shooting entirely in Los Angeles, where the series is set.

Tom Kapinos adapted LUCIFER from the comic book series by Mike Dringenberg and Sam Kieth, which itself is a spinoff of Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN graphic novels. Executive producer Joe Henderson, who with fellow e.p. Ildy Modrovich is LUCIFER’s showrunner, previews what’s in store for the series’ angels, demons and ordinary mortals. (x)

When you did the Season 2 finale with that final sequence of Lucifer waking in the desert to find that he had wings again, did you know that you were getting picked up, or was that just going to be this amazing metaphor if it ended there?

At that point, we felt very comfortable that we were getting picked up. When Fox tells you, “Feel free to do a cliffhanger,” you feel very comfortable doing so. But also, what I personally believe in is, every season, you wrap up that season and then leave a tease of what’s to come. I always plan on success. A big part of it was, all right, we want to wrap up the Mom story, we want to give it an ending, and then we want a tease of what’s to come. And we knew we’d be getting to a whole exploration of identity, and we just wanted to make the big swing that would force everyone to come back.

Now that Lucifer has his wings back, what is he going to do about them?

 All I’m going to say is, if you give Lucifer wings and tell him he’s an angel, he’s going to run in the other direction. You tell the Devil he’s good, he’s going to show you how bad he is, and that’s what this season is about. The Devil is back.

Are the wings detachable?

That is a big question we will ask early on. And/or does Lucifer want to cut them off yet again? He’s got them off before – what’s going to stop him now? Or will he just slice them off again in spite?

Lucifer’s angel brother Amenadiel, played by D.B. Woodside, has lost his wings, but when he had them, they weren’t always in evidence. So how does this work?

So our angel rules are, there in your back, but they’ll come out when you expose them. They’re hidden until you want them to come forth.

You’ve had some scenes where you were clearly in recognizable Los Angeles locations, but until now, you were mainly shooting in Vancouver. What’s happening with Season 3?

We are now entirely relocated in Los Angeles. The first two years, we shot in Vancouver, with splinter units in L.A. And now we are shooting entirely in Los Angeles. Our Vancouver crew was amazing, they did amazing work making Vancouver look like L.A. But it’s so much fun being able to shoot Los Angeles for itself and making it a character on the show, it’s been incredible. To shoot on the Warner Brothers lot – I’ve never shot on a lot before – it’s an incredible experience to actually be home.

Tricia Helfer is still a season regular, even though Lucifer and Amenadiel’s Mom has gone off to create her own universe. Does Mom return?

[The character of] Charlotte Richards is still on the show. And Charlotte Richards is very confused because she died, and suddenly woke up again, and time had passed, and it appears someone has been walking around, pretending to be her. So what we get is a wonderful opportunity to explore a character who is suddenly wondering what happened to her life, and who was this person living it, and where was she while she was dead? And part of the mystery is, was she in Heaven, was she in Hell, was she somewhere else? And that’s a question she’ll be asking herself when we finally see her again.

Was it tricky to figure out how to keep her character interwoven with everybody else?

Honestly, we had written a one-season arc for Tricia Helfer. And then we got Tricia Helfer. And the problem is, when you have Tricia Helfer, you don’t want to let go of her because she is so good. And so as we got towards the end of the season, we started talking, we just started breaking stories, and started coming up with so many ideas of what to do with her character, and what to do with such a talented actress. And honestly, it was one of those situations where we loved the character, we loved the actress so much, that we kept building stories, and a lot of it came from that. The story of Mom ended, but the story of Charlotte Richards suddenly came to life.

There was an episode where Timothy Omundson played a man who might or might not have been channeling Dad, aka God. At least, Mom seemed to think he was. Are we ever going to find out if that really was Dad or not?

For one thing, Timothy Omundson was quite possibly the greatest guest star we ever had. We adore him. He’s recovering right now – he had a stroke recently and he’s been detailing it on Twitter in a very brave, open way, and it’s awesome. We’ve never had a guest actor come in for one episode and make such an impact on us. He’s part of the family, even though he’s only in one episode. So we would love to explore that again. Part of the question is when he becomes available again. He’s currently recovering. We are there for him, we are wishing him the best. He will recover. I am hoping when he does, he wants to come back, because we love him and he had a great experience, but honestly, what we’ll do is, we’ll work around him, and that’s a testament to his skill. He took such ownership of the role in a way that few actors can.

So if that was Dad, he’s only going to manifest as the character played by Timothy Omundson?

What I would say is, that’s a guy who thought he was Dad. And whether or not he had a piece of him or not is something to explore. But Dad is bigger than a single mortal being, so the full version of that is yet to be seen.

Chloe’s ex-husband Dan, played by Kevin Alejandro, was involved with “Charlotte” last season, who he never realized was a deity, and now thinks is Lucifer and Amenadiel’s stepmother, rather than their actual mother. Where is Dan going this season?

So a big part of Dan’s arc is, despite all of the machinations, he actually kind of fell for Charlotte Richards. But then when he found her on the beach [in the Season 2 finale], she didn’t remember him at all. So where we start is, he fell for Charlotte Richards, because she is a weird, confusing woman, but she actually seemed to care for him. And now she seems to pretend that she doesn’t even know him. So a big part of it is, who is this new Charlotte Richards, is she the woman I fell in love with, and/or is she someone I can care about? So what we’re really going to do is explore what happens when the woman that you didn’t expect to fall in love with but did seems to be a whole new person.

Does this mean that Dan is over Chloe in the romantic sense?

Yes. One of the things I love is, you see the two when we broke them apart. I think towards the end, in particular, when Chloe was like, “Oh, if you [marry] Charlotte, you’ll be Lucifer’s stepdad.” It felt like they were just like, “You know what? I love you, but I love you as a friend. And not only is that okay, that’s good.” I like showing that healthy version of divorce. As someone who is a child of divorce, there are very many ways to make it healthy, and to me, the two of them have healthily decided, “I love you, not in that way anymore, but I care about you.” So what we’re going to see more and more is, “Dan, be careful with your heart. Chloe, be careful with where you go. I love you in the ‘Don’t get hurt’ sort of way,” not the, “I love you, I’m jealous” way. I love being able to depict that healthy separation.

Is Chloe and Dan’s young daughter Trixie, played by Scarlett Estevez, going to get curious about what’s going on? When the show started, she was so little that she matter-of-factly accepted that her mother knows somebody named Lucifer. But as she’s getting a little older, is she going to start to notice some odd things about Lucifer?

For one thing, Scarlett is such an amazing actress. You get kid actors, you don’t know what you’re going to get. With Scarlett, you know exactly what you’re going to get, which is a kid who knows timing and comedy and also can do heart. But when it comes to Trixie’s character, the fun of it is, she’s the disarming character who sees through the b.s. And that’s something we’re going to lean on. But like a kid, she sees the truth but also misinterprets it. What I love about Trixie’s character is, she’s actually very similar to Lucifer. She’s a child who’s oddly adult in many different ways. So as much as she’ll understand the heart of something, she won’t necessarily be able to interpret what it means, and then I think one of the reasons Lucifer is so uncomfortable around her is, children are his equal, because they are innocent, but also have more insight than you can expect.

Maze, played by Lesley-Anne Brandt, is Lucifer’s demon associate from Hell who had an affair with Amenadiel and is currently roommates with Chloe and Trixie. Maze believes that she does not have a soul. Will she have any concerns about this?

One of the big things that was important to me was teeing up how demons are different from everything else. And in Episode Three [of Season 3], which I co-wrote, one of the big things I really wanted to hit was the fact that Maze doesn’t have a soul. Because to me, it’s a fascinating idea on a couple levels. One, what does a soul even mean? Two, what happens if you don’t think you have a soul? What I love about Maze, and what we’re going to explore in our Maze-focused episode coming up this season is, if you don’t have a soul, then when you die, you’re just dead. So why not live every moment like it’s your last? And what does that say about you, what does that say about the way you live? To me, Maze knows she might die tomorrow and that’s it, no loss. And you know what? Not only is that fine, isn’t that healthy? Isn’t that better than living with the sort of dread of what’s to come? That argument, that debate of morality, of soulfulness, but also the question of, yeah, you’re living that way, but does that mean you don’t have a soul, or does that mean you just don’t know it? That’s our show. So that’s a big thing we want to explore is, do you not have a soul, or is it just easier to say you don’t?

Chloe doesn’t seem very introspective on the soul issue. Despite the fact that she has Christian trappings, she doesn’t seem overly concerned with how things will affect her immortal soul. Dan seems maybe a little more religious …

We try to make every character a different aspect of [the spiritual question]. And Chloe very definitely represents our logic side. She’s a detective – “Give me proof and I’ll believe it.” She’s not an atheist, per se, but she wants proof of things, she wants to understand things. To me, that’s the beauty of her dynamic with Lucifer. Lucifer, ironically, he’s a character derived of faith. You have to believe in him. But the irony is in front of you saying, “I exist,” but you have to believe what he’s saying. So it’s just another version of the faith versus realism debate, and Chloe very much represents the Scully side of that, if you want to use THE X-FILES.

Well, you sort of want somebody to say to Lucifer, “Look, dude, you’re telling me you’re the Devil, but let’s say you are who you say you are, you look human, and you know that humans lie. So why should I believe you?”

It’s funny, because to me, one of the things Chloe understands is Lucifer’s soul. But what I love about Chloe’s character in particular is, I think she’s got Lucifer pegged. And one of the things she knows is that he does tell the truth. Now, he says he’s the Devil, and she can’t quite square that. But when it comes to moral truths, when it comes to truth of the heart, when he says something, she believes him. And so I guess to me what’s so interesting is, she has faith in him. Amongst all these questions, the one thing she believes in is Lucifer’s character.

This interview was conducted during Fox Network’s portion of the Summer 2017 Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour. (x)

Thanks @sanoiro for find this :D

[sanoiro]

Lucifer Fanfiction  Completed & To Do List...

Updated 21 Oct 2017

Why am I posting this? 

I just wanted all my Lucifer fanfics in one post. Yet beware... I’m not an English native speaker/writer. I mess up quite a lot and I tend to edit several of my chapters and one-shots for months afterwards. You see I have the bad tendency to post first and edit more thoroughly later.  Additionally, my plots are usually absurd and most often than not I write them because an idea was stuck for too long and it had to get out. Writing fanfiction is an outlet and a practice for me so I might not be the Lucifer fanfic author you would be interested in. A03 has almost 1400 Lucifer fics. In short, know your options. 

Only on Archive of Our Own (A03)

1) Matters of Light (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: A Mother always knows. A Mother can always hope that the ones who will be left behind, will be safe and happy. Thus, a chat occurs.

2) A Place That's Warm and Dark (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: “You really believe I take after Dad? We both know now where this is going. Don’t we?” Lucifer gave a bitter chuckle rubbing his tired aching eyes in hopelessness. He realised it too late. Oh, so late…

*CO-AUTHORED* with @ships-sailing-in-the-night  

3) A Grain of Truth (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed 

Chloe and Trixie go to the movies. Unfortunately, so does Lucifer...

4) Gravity  (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed Summary: Chloe figured out that Lt. Pierce was using her to get to Sinnerman and she went back to Lucifer's place heartbroken, letting him pick up the pieces.

*CO-AUTHORED* with @ships-sailing-in-the-night  

5) A Planeful Explanation (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Lucifer finds a drunk Chloe under his baby grand... Feels ensue...

6) Just a Door (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: It's just a door but then again it's not...

Standalone One-shots

1) Just a Job Description (Two Chapters/Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Exploring the first kiss between Chloe and Lucifer and the awkward question that followed. Submitted for the Lucifer Gift Exchange Round 1 (2017)

2) A Heart's Arduous Return (Oneshot-Drabble) for Yearning: Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Chloe Decker celebrates her 36th year on this Earth. She will probably never know but love is the small gestures even when coming from afar. Set between 2x13 and 2x14.

3) Who is Afraid of Charlotte Richards? (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Lucifer has been gone for two months, Uriel for four and a half. Mother finally wants to talk about these two different kinds of losses. Linda Martin reluctantly agrees to listen. Pain overtakes people, only for them to find an immeasurable kind of love somewhere in the depths of their existence. Set between 2x13 and 2x14.

4) Caterpillar-Duck Race, Hello! (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Lucifer is being childish, Chloe is finally unwinding and granting her inner child some freedom. It’s the heat, it’s the children, it’s a Caterpillar-Duck Race, Hello! Takes place between 2x10 and 2x11.

5) Aurio (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Lucifer goes back to the penthouse after his 72 hours are up in the psychiatric hospital. The Detective is there, being what he needs her to be. A short drabble about "Tomorrow"...

6) My Blue-Grey (H)orison (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Amenadiel realises how deep his brother's feelings run for Chloe. Set after the end of 2x15.

7) End Me With a Kiss (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Out of all the idiotic things Lucifer could have done, he had to go and kiss her.

8) The Sun Shines Through the Rain (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Chloe makes perfectly clear to Lucifer that she doesn't need him anymore. Lucifer disagrees in the best way he knows how. Melodiously. 

9) It Has Been a Year (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary:*In Honour of the 1st Lucifer Anniversary / 25th of January 2016 - 25th of January 2017*

“Did you love her?”

“Deeply. You seem… surprised by this answer Doctor. They say the Devil cannot love but he did once. He was created out of love. The stars you gaze every night were created by that deep, gut-wrenching emotion as well.”

10) Handle With Care (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Two weeks after his departure (2x13), Lucifer is standing right in the middle of her case's crime scene.

11) The Definition of a Hellbound Tenebrific Soul (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Lucifer is coming to terms with what it means to be unworthy before Chloe finds him on the beach. 2x11

12) The Sense of Completion (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: "Our most honest conversations are done at 4 AM and while you are sleeping." 

An additional scene I needed from Lucifer after the ending of 2x17.

13) On a Chemical Level (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Linda asks a question and a favour. Chloe replies on a chemical level.

14) You Cannot Hurry Love (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: This night is *the* night but as Linda and Maze realise you cannot hurry Deckerstar…

Series I: A Devil of a Time

1) 3 Seconds of Sorrow (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: When she would wake up Lucifer would smile to her, joke to her but never promise her she would see him again. It only took three seconds of sorrow to realise that soon he would be gone and thus how much she means to him. Prequel to 60 Seconds of Silence. *A spontaneous 20-minute challenge! Or when sleep deprivation motivates you abort, abort!*

2) 60 Seconds of Silence (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: In the era of camera surveillance, Chloe Decker finds how *team* effort worked to save her in 2x13. This was not what she had in mind when she was told that Lucifer had gotten a hold of the formula through unconventional means.

3) 60 Years of Pandemonium (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Lucifer knew how to wager deals with humans, unfortunately, no one ever explained to him that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. You see Chloe Decker is not exactly happy and she knows precisely how to track him down after 2x13. *An unexpected sequel to 60 Seconds of Silence.

Series II: Tis the Season to be Folly 

(including the Lucifer's A03 Christmas Countdown Challenge entries)

Given in their correct reading order

1) Guilty as Sin (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: “Care to explain?” he asked somewhat too distressfully for his taste. In the midst of a chaotic day at home, Trixie has a very interesting question for the Devil.

2) Carols of Rum and Raspberries (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: When Lucifer is caught in an awkward situation due to his earlier that day vandalised sensitivities, a counter favour will have him illuminating the ivory keys while talking over matters of rum and raspberries.

3) Walk 8766 Miles in my Elven Shoes (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Kidnapping Dan was a necessary evil for Lucifer. After all, in his book, a promise is a promise and the Devil will go to great lengths this holiday season to keep his.

4) My Mutineer Santa (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Maze had been entrusted with the Christmas grocery shopping. Amenadiel just wanted to get into her good graces. He should have known. Never let a demon make purchases at the spree of the moment. How will the rest react?

5) Lucifer in the Sky with Lions (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Having Lucifer as a forced house guest was never the plan. Neither was him tugging along for the most important errant of this holiday season. Thankfully, he claims to have plenty of experience but does he really?

6) A Tree for the Latchkey Kid (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: Amenadiel is house-sitting for Lucifer. For the past year, he knew that his dear brother was changing yet this holiday season a discovery will make him realise just how far this change goes. Thankfully the good doctor is there to help or at least she gets credit for trying.

7) On a Wing and a Prayer (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: CHAPTER 1 of Alis Grave Nil. Beatrice leads Lucifer to new, uncharted paths this holiday season. What makes a man and what makes a believer? Joyous, precious, burned to crisp and even bitter presents will be given. Even from Father himself. 

8) Father is Waiting in the Wings (Oneshot): Written - Edited - Completed

Summary: CHAPTER 2 of Alis Grave Nil. His playful eyes roamed her figure and a sense of familiarity enfolded him. “Are you sure that we haven’t met? I could swear I’ve seen you naked.” Christmas held the significance of their connection in time. But they were unaware of how deep it ran. Standalone Outtake of On a Wing and a Prayer. *(The somewhat mature version of AGN Ch2)*

9) Alis Grave Nil (Multichapter): 25 chapters - Ongoing - 16 Chapters Posted

Working Summary: There is a rule to never steal from the Devil. A masterfully blurred memory and a stolen token bring Lucifer to his breaking point. Nothing is heavy to the wings* but what happens when you have severed yours? Romance, Mystery, Angst and your occasional Fluf.

Second Summary: Nothing is heavy when you have wings, but what happens when you have severed yours? Divine plans, destiny and above all free will get Lucifer’s world spinning. Revelations and surprising twists all come down to Lucifer’s will, but freedom always has a price. Perhaps it’s finally time for him to reap the rewards as well. Romance, Mystery, Angst and your occasional Fluf.

Fanvideos

1) Black Sea  

Summary: You rise I fall, I stand you crawl, you twist I turn, who’s the first to burn?

2) It Had To Be You Summary: It had to be you… Wonderful you… It had to be you… 3) Everybody Lies Summary: We do what we have to when we fall in love.

4) Oh My Soul

Summary: Oh, my soul, Oh, how you're weary, from fearing you lost control This was the one thing, you didn't see coming.

5) So Tied Up 

Summary: Lover, best friend, my worst enemy. You know I won’t let you get away. They never said that love is a twisted game. And no one ever wins

To Do List:

Fanfictions:

0) Alis Grave Nil: Chapter 17 has reached 2K...  :) Soon...  1) The Penthouse Chronicles(Mid-length Multichapter) 

Summary: Hilarity, Fluff and Angst. Lucifer Morningstar’s Penthouse has seen it all.  2) Untitled (Short-length Multichapter) Summary: Trixie in 1x10 decides to take matters into her own hands so she flees her house and makes a deal with her favourite Devil. An AU take of what if Trixie had found Lucifer at home. 

3) Untitled (Short-length Multichapter or Oneshot) Summary: Based on my Maze and Wings theory.  Fandvideo: 1) The Other Night 2) Shadow Preachers

Disclaimer: I don’t own the Lucifer’s characters, the sed music or any other material produced by FOX or any other licenced creator. My aim is to promote what I love in my own way and also express my creativity. I take no royalties of any kind nor do I profit by the above forms of art. 

[theartificialdane]

Galactica, part 246

In this Galactica throws their annual christmas gala, Fame plays ball, Courtney has a fan, Raja enjoys a drink and Violet sees someone she would rather forget.

Thank you @toriibelledarling @samrull and @veronicasanders <3

“Violet! Come on!”

“I’m almost there, get ready yourself!”

“I’ve been ready for the past hour! Hurry up!”

“I am!”

Sutan laughed, Violet yelling from the bathroom. They weren’t late yet for the Galactica holiday party, but they were getting dangerously close. Raja had called 15 minutes ago, telling him that she was calling the car around, and Sutan wasn’t sure if they would actually make it. Sutan was tying his shoes when Violet walked into the hallway, holding up a necklace, an apologetic look on her face. “Hi...”

“Hi.”

Violet nodded, and stepped towards him, giving him the necklace so he could click it into place, Sutan happily doing so. Violet looked perfect, the dress she was wearing a black sleek number that looked like it had belonged to Violet’s blonde friend Pearl, the straps keeping her waist perfectly in place, the black making her skin glow.

“You look great.”

“Thank you…”

“Are you nervous?” Sutan knew that Violet often took even longer to get ready when she wasn’t feeling her best, their argument about her curls still fresh in his mind.

“A little... It feels weird to not be involved at all... I haven’t seen seen the guestlist.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Sutan kissed Violet’s cheek and grabbed her coat, helping her into it before he texted Raja, telling her they would be right down. He offered his arm to Violet, his girlfriend taking it. “Watch out world.” Sutan smiled. “Here comes the prettiest girl at the ball.”

***

Fame sighed happily, standing with Patrick near the entrance to greet people as their illustrious guests walked the red carpet, the press snapping pictures left and right. Fame had been worried that everything would fall apart, worried like she always was, but she knew she was glowing with happiness at how beautifully everything had come together.

Fame looked over at her husband, beaming at him, thrilled that they were finally in a good place after the hellish fall they’d endured. If Fame was honest, she was actually sore from all the sex they had had, her heels making her hips ache, but it was a discomfort she would happily suffer through, Patrick looking devilishly handsome in his black suit.

Patrick returned her gaze, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “What?”

She tilted her head coquettishly, shrugging. “I was just thinking about how lucky I am. How lucky we are…” She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. She could hear the cameras go off, but Fame didn’t care.

Patrick’s smile deepened, hands pulling her in closer by the waist. “The luckiest, my darling…”

***

“Stop fidgeting.” Betty walked down the carpet, people arriving left and right. She had asked Trixie if staff could go in the back, but her boss had insisted that they were the face of Galactica and that they had to walk the carpet along with everyone else.

“I’m not fidgeting.”

“You’re fidgeting.”

Shane pulled down his shirt. “You know how much I hate wearing monkey suits.”

“Why would a monkey even wear a suit in the first place?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.” Shane tried to stretch, but the black fabric of his shiny suit kept him hugged in tight, making him unable to move. Betty saw Chad Michaels arrive, the dress she was wearing practically radiating that it was made by Violet. Betty rolled her eyes, a little green monster yawing in her chest, but when she was being honest with herself, she didn’t want to do what Violet did. Betty had seen Violet hand make the detailed dress and paint flower details no one would see, and Betty found it dumb, boring and stupid, while Violet had absolutely loved it  

“Can we go home now?”

“No.” Betty took two glasses of champagne, giving one of them to Shane.

“You hate this more than me.” Shane took his glass and took a sip, and Betty couldn’t help but smile at how persistante Shane was.

“Oh I do, but we’re not leaving until Trixie have seen that I’m here.” Betty walked around amongst the guests, looking for her boss out the corner of her eye. “He has to see that I’m sociable, that I play well with others, and that I’m having a good time.”

“But you’re not having a good time.”

“He doesn’t know that, and I don’t see why you’re complaining. This will only benefit you.”

Shane raised an eyebrow, clearly not believe Betty.

“I’m going to be livid when we leave, and I plan on taking it all out on you.” Betty took Shane’s tie in hand, Shane staring at her, like she was a puzzle he was trying to solve.

“That doesn’t sound like a benefit-”

“In the bedroom.”

***

“Oh, look, it’s the belle of the ball, holding court…” Bianca teased, approaching Fame and Patrick, Courtney on her arm.

“Welcome to my ball,” Fame answered grandly, palms up, tossing some air kisses towards them.

Bianca threw back her head and laughed. “You dumb bitch,” she said, shaking her head affectionately.

Fame fluttered her lashes. “So, are you all ready for Puerto Rico next week?”

“Oh my god, it cannot come soon enough! We need to get away, and this one needs sunshine, don’t you baby?” Bianca kissed Courtney’s temple.

Courtney smiled, teeth grinding slightly. She wasn’t terribly enthused by the idea of spending her whole vacation with her former boss, Bianca’s best friend and former lover. She was especially irritated by the fact that Bianca had invited Fame and Patrick without discussing it with her, and so she had no way to really express this without sounding like a bitter, ungrateful brat. So she just bit back her discomfort and cheerfully added, “Can’t wait!”

“I’m with you there. It’s been ages since I’ve had a proper tan,” Fame said.

“Yeah, we can see that, Ice Queen.”

“Someone has to be one since Courtney has melted the ice around your heart,” she retorted, blue eyes sparkling as she stuck her tongue out, getting right in Bianca’s face.

“Bite me, blondie!”

“Happily!”

Patrick laughed. “Girls, girls, is it going to be like this the whole time?”

“Pretty much.”

Courtney rolled her eyes, looking around the room while the conversation turned into Fame’s fear of flying, especially since they’d be going on Jinkx’s family jet.

“Those little planes are so terrifying!”

Bianca shook her head. “Only you would complain about a private jet. What else? Is the caviar to salty? Diamonds too sparkly?”

“Oh, shut up! Those planes are scary and they crash more often and you /know/ it!”

“Don’t worry, darling. I’ll be with you the whole time.” Patrick squeezed her hand, kissing her cheek.

“Nice to see that you two are disgustingly happy again,” Bianca said.

“Courtney?” asked a small voice.

Courtney turned to see a petite, pretty redhead standing there awkwardly, adjusting her glasses. She tried to remember where she might know this girl - had they gone to college together? Was she a Galactica employee? She looked a little young for that. “Um, hi…?”

“Holly. My dad works in business affairs and he let me come tonight, and I was just, um, I really like your music and I was wondering if I could take a picture with you.” Holly bit her lip.

Courtney’s eyes widened. She’d been approached by fans before, but that was at her actual concerts, not at a party with other celebrity types. She grinned, delighted, and broke away from Bianca’s grasp, exclaiming, “Sure!”

Holly’s shoulders sagged with relief and she whipped out her phone, pulling up Snapchat and squealing happily. “Omigod, thank you so much!”

Courtney put her arm around the girl, asking, “So, are you in school?”

“Yeah, I just started at NYU this Fall.”

“That’s where I went!”

“I know!” Holly giggled. “Okay, what filter do you like? I’m kind of partial to the bunny.”

“I like the flower crown,” Courtney said, sticking her tongue out at the camera. “Because it’s also a really good beauty filter.”

“You don’t need that,” Holly replied, blushing a little.

Courtney hugged her closer, hamming it up for the camera. “Oh, stop it some more!” She fluttered her lashes.

Holly giggled. “My friends are gonna be so jealous. Do you think we can do one for my Instastory too?”

“Sure!” Courtney said. “Here, let me film it.”

Holly handed over her phone.

“Hi, everyone, it’s Courtney. I’m here at this fabulous Galactica party with my BFF, Holly. What are you doing tonight?” She leaned over and kissed Holly on the cheek, then winked at the camera.

“Holy shit, thank you SO much!” Holly threw her arms around Courtney.

“You’re welcome. DM it to me, I’ll post it on my story, too.”

“I will! You are the absolute best, I love you!” As she bounced away happily, Courtney looked up and caught Bianca giving her a death glare.

“/What/?”

“Really? You were totally flirting with that girl,” Bianca said, reaching for her hand.

Courtney crossed her arms, not having it. “Are you kidding me? I was being nice.”

“It’s a fine line,” Bianca lectured, taking on that /tone/ that Courtney was starting to really hate. “I’m not saying you meant to do it, you just, you know, people can get the wrong idea. You need to be careful.”

Courtney bit back the ‘Okay, mum’ about to leave her mouth, knowing this wasn’t the time or place to start a fight, instead smiling tightly and saying, “Thanks for the tip. I’m gonna go get a drink. Do you want anything?”

“Yeah, I’ll have a...” Bianca trailed off as Courtney flounced away.

“Trouble in paradise?” Fame asked, raising an eyebrow.

“What? No, just...she just needs more media training. Fuck off.”

Fame smirked slightly, taking a dainty sip of her champagne. “I dunno, B. It may be time to spring for the expensive jewelry…” She placed a light kiss on her friend’s cheek, giggling a little, as Bianca glowered back at her.

***

“Is my lipstick okay?” Raven turned around so she was facing Raja.

“It’s fine, stop worrying.”

“You’re the one who kissed me in the car!”

“Sutan insisted taking the front seat of the cab, and Violet doesn’t mind.”

“She does.”

“Well I don’t.”

“Because you’re drunk.”

“I’m mildly intoxicated, there’s a difference. My little Ravey took too long to get ready.” Raja smiled and put an arm around Raven’s waist, the two woman posing for pictures together.

"Mildly intoxicated," Raven snorted, feeling Raja pull her closer to her side, her jeweled hand on Raja's exposed back. "Say that to the bottle of wine you sang to in the shower." Raja smiled as she and Raven posed for a group shot with former Elite models Raven used to work with. "Don't judge me, and what I do in the shower." Raja replied, turning her head to whisper in Raven's ear, before nipping at the lobe softly, making Raven grin.

Raven giggled as Raja led them down the carpet and towards the door, waving at old associates and clients. "Look, Tom’s here, I love Tom," Raja said with a bright smile, watching the tall male walk in their direction with his husband Richard.

"Mr. Ford, it's always a pleasure to see you in your classic black and white," the retired model greeted warmly, kissing Tom on both cheeks.

"The Dragon Lady,” Tom laughed. "You look like a sin in red, and not a day over 30.”

Raja rolled her eyes, a playful look still on her face, the wine in her blood making her loose and easy to be around, “I love black and gold, but sometimes even I have to switch it up."

"Or you’re just the most thoughtful fiancée in all of New York.” Raven smiled. “Also I threatened her of she didn’t change since I wanted to wear black tonight.” Raven twirled, giving everyone a look at her skin tight dress.

"The beautiful dark goddess of New York," Tom greeted, gently taking Raven's hand in his, kissing her knuckles. "You look absolutely ravishing in black Raven."

"Is Thomas always this charming or is he being naughty?" Raven asked playfully to Richard, who gave Raven a warm hug and smile.

"Well you know how he is," Richard began, "get a few glasses of champagne in him and suddenly he turns into the most charming man in the world." The shorter man said with a laugh as Tom pouted, going on about always being charming.

"It's ok Tom," Raja said "I made sure that there is a bottle of champagne with your name on it at the wedding."

"See, this is why you're the wife I always needed but never wanted," Tom replied, embracing the tall woman, spinning around with her. "You know me so well!"

Raja laughed as she spun around with her longtime friend; they went from having a working model/designer relationship, to friendly yet competitive designers and now friends who drink and brunch. "Oh Tom, you know your 'on set wife' couldn't forget about your champagne, that's like… not having red wine with lunch."

"Absolutely unheard of," Tom replied with a conspiratorial smile with Raja, before the duo burst into peals laughter. "Especially at an infamous Amrull Twins event. Remember Halloween 2009?"

"That party was blackout amazing and definitely one for the books."

"But we all know the wedding of the year will top it all won't it, Rave?" Richard asked Raven who smiled brightly. "

"The only event that can top my wedding is Princess Kate and Prince William," Raven said with a wave of her hand. "And that is only by default of royal status."

"Raven insisted on having gold dipped roses on everything, and importing Italian and Swiss chocolates to give with her wedding favors." Raja supplied, wrapping her arm around Raven's shoulders, kissing her temple softly.

"Why not get a planner? You know so many would have killed to plan your wedding," Tom asked, picking up a glass of champagne from a passing server.

"See I was going to go that route," Raven began, "but I fired the first 3 because they didn't understand my vision and wanted to play too safe. I mean, if I want it all and you're only giving me half, I just don't need that type of negativity in my life."

"Cheers to that," Richard said easily, toasting to Raven.

***

“Want to get a drink?” Adore asked.

“Yeah, but like, I don’t want to be drunk when Jinkx gets here, ‘cause you know, these things are hard enough for her, being in recovery, you know?”

“True,” Adore said. “But she’s not gonna be done at the theatre until like 10:30, and then she still had to change and drive over here, so...what if...what if we get really drunk now, then hit the dance floor, guzzle a bunch of water, and that way we’ll basically have sobered up by the time she arrives?”

Alaska thought for a moment, then nodded. “Sounds totally responsible!”

Adore giggled, pulling her over to the bar.

“Oh, FUCK.”

“What?” Adore asked, concerned, before instructing the bartender, “Two triple tequila shots on the rocks, please.”

“Oh, nothing, it’s just, /Sharon/ is here.”

“Ohhhh…”

“Violet always used to warn me, and I guess she didn’t pass that little tidbit of kindness onto Roxy. Not that it would matter, I just. Ugh, is she coming over here? Fuck, fuck, fuck…” Alaska took a deep breath, steeling her nerves, as her ex girlfriend came strolling towards them, eyes like daggers, a dangerous smirk on her face.

“Alaska…” Sharon’s breathy voice dripped with honey. “What an absolute treat to see your gorgeous face…Don’t you look marvelous?”

“Hi Sharon,” Alaska said stiffly, returning her insincere air kisses.

“This must be your new paramour...well, one of them...such a scandal, Alaska!” Sharon laughed gaily, the sound grating, causing Adore to shrink behind Alaska’s shoulder in fear. “I never took you for such a naughty girl...I guess we’re all capable of surprises, eh?”

Alaska rolled her eyes, making the necessary intros with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. “Adore, this is Sharon Needles. Sharon, Adore.”

“Hi,” Adore said meekly, clutching her drink. Had her boo really been in a ten year relationship with this barracuda woman?

“Well aren’t you just the cutest little babydoll ever?” Sharon cooed. “I could just roll you in powdered sugar and lick you you from head to toe.”

Adore grimaced. “Uhhh...hi.”

Sighing tiredly, Alaska attempted to change the subject, giving Adore’s hand a squeeze. “So, any new shows on the horizon?”

“Actually, yes. I’m working on a fantastic new project. Too bad your other girlfriend is busy with Evita, because she’d kill it as the lead. A boozy socialite with a penchant for drama and an appetite for tender young things...type casting, ya know?” Sharon winked.

“Uh, yeah, I think Jinkx is pretty happy with Evita. Her dream role, you know.”

“Oh, I know. She used to talk all about it when we first met. Don’t you remember, she was Lulu when I produced that Cabaret revival...which I’m considering bringing back again, by the way...man, those were some wild times. I mean, I get why you’re with her.” Sharon leaned in, smiled, a wolfish grin, then finished with, “She’s an animal in bed.” She finished the last sip of her martini, not breaking eye contact with Alaska, thoroughly enjoying the stunned expression on the blonde’s face, and then fluttered her lashes and turned on her heel, sailing across the room to greet someone else.

“She...is obviously just fucking with you, Lasky,” Adore said quickly, watching as Alaska grabbed the tumbler off the bar and downed the tequila quickly, hoarsely asking for another. “Alaska, there’s no way that’s--”

Eyes blazing, Alaska whipped her head around. “Oh no?! And why not? I didn’t know Jinkx then, not really. I was just the producer’s girlfriend. And Sharon was certainly capable of cheating. And Jinkx...I mean...I just...maybe she just wasn’t ever going to tell me...maybe…Oh, god…”

Adore wrapped her arms around Alaska’s waist and rested a head on her shoulder, holding her tightly.

“I fucking hate her so much, she ruins everything…” Alaska sniffled, then let out a sob.

“Here…” Adore slid the refreshed drink over to her.

Alaska downed that one too, wincing. “Jesus, that burns.”

“Alaska, gurl, you look stuuuunning!”

Alaska turned her head to see Alyssa Edwards bouncing over to her gleefully, husband on her arm. She managed to pull herself together to exchange pleasantries with her coworker, even somehow remembering that she’d recently had her 5-year wedding anniversary and showing interest in where they were going over the holidays.

As Alyssa and Martin walked away, Alaska sagged against the bar.

“Are you okay?” Adore asked softly.

“No.” Alaska bit her lip, tears filling her eyes. “That was fucking exhausting. I don’t know how much longer I can--”

“Come on...” Adore put an arm around her shoulders and led her away from the bar, determined to find a private spot where they could talk, or if need be, make a quick escape.

***

“Hey, look at you gorgeous ladies!” Juju cooed, sidling up to Fame and giving her a tight squeeze.

“And you’re a vision, my love!” Fame replied.

“Hey,” Detox said. “What am I, chopped liver?”

“You’re a vision, too,” Patrick told him.

“Thank you,” he answered. “You too, bro.”

“You’re both assholes,” Bianca grumbled.

“That’s with her?” Juju asked.

“She’s in the doghouse. She pissed Courtney off,” Fame explained.

Juju laughed. “You’re really on a roll lately. Trying to censor her again?”

“No, she accused her of flirting with a fan,” Fame said.

“Ohhhh, so you’re a hypocrite,” Juju raised her glass in a toast. “Good work. Keep it up, see how that works for you.”

“You’re making this a way bigger deal than it is.”

“Oooookay, if you say so…” Juju and Fame both laughed again.

“Oh, go fuck yourself!”

“Love you too, B!” Juju said, making kissyfaces at her.

***

“Do you want a drink?”

Violet looked up at Sutan, a smile on his face. They had just finished walking the carpet, Violet keeping in the background as Sutan had talked to photographers and fans and done interviews about upcoming Elite season and his plans for the upcoming spring break week was.

“Some champagne?”

“Coming right up.” Sutan gave her cheek a kiss.

“Actually, can you take my phone?” Violet held out her phone, Sutan taking it with a questioning look on his face. “This dress doesn’t have pockets..” Violet and Sutan had both checked their jackets into the wardrobe, Raja and Raven arguing about which one of them that should carry the bag for the night the last time they had seen them.

“Ah. Of course.” Sutan put it in his inner pocket. “It’ll be safe and sound with me.” Sutan left, and Violet watched over the crowd, when she made eye contact with Roy and waved. One of the men Roy was with turned around, and Violet’s entire world came crashing down.

*

James burst out laughing, clutching Dan’s arm, at Roy’s over-the-top impression of the American Ballet Theatre’s artistic director. “Moooooore draaaaama! More depth! More! More! More!”

“Stop, oh my god, you sound just like her!” he gasped for breath.

“Oh! And, she also said to make sure the doublets didn’t look ‘too gay.’ Like, okay bitch, I think the ship may have sailed already on the embroidered, jewel-encrusted, shoulder-pad containing, peplum-having jackets for your male ballerinas, but we’ll do our best.”

James laughed again. “Seriously.”

Roy’s face lit up. “Oh, there’s the designer I’m trying to woo. You guys have to help me, I’m no use when it comes to sweet talking a woman. Dan, please butch it up for me, you’re our best hope here.” Roy waved to Violet across the room.

“I’ll do my best,” Dan giggled, squaring his shoulders and turning around. That’s when he saw her. Blair. It was her. Without a doubt. She was older, so much older than the last time he had seen her, but he recognised her eyes, the turn of her lip. It was his Blair Dardo, and he knew it. His face turned as white as a ghost, heart pounding in his ears.

“Babe? Are you alright?” James’ voice sounded far away.

It was as if they were frozen in time, eyes locked together, both of them staring, unmoving. And then Blair did what Blair always did best. She turned and ran.

But this time, Dan wasn’t going to let her get away with it that easily. He shoved his glass into James’ hands and took off after her.

“Dan, what are you--Milk!” James called, but Dan ignored him, knowing he’d explain later. Right now, he had one goal and one goal only: find Blair and get some goddamn answers.

[artificialqueens]

intents wicked or charitable (trixya) 1/10 - beanierose

AN: thank you so much to conny, shea and sophie for caring about this universe as much as i do, you are all so wonderful and i am so lucky. dolly the dog is borrowed from conny’s daisies universe, which is the loveliest and most gentle thing of all time. go check it out!

(read on ao3) | (fine me at katiehoughton)

a practical magic au for the spooky season. there’s a curse on any man who dares love you? love a woman, instead. | 5,479 words

be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn’d bring with thee airs from heaven, or blasts from hell be thy intents wicked or charitable hamlet, act one scene four

*   *   *

The wind catches the door to the mudroom and makes it fly open with such a loud crash that the whole house shivers and the dog starts barking. Trixie hustles over the threshold and whistles for Dolly, has to wrestle the door closed once both of them are inside. The sky is livid-dark and churning and the wind moans low in its throat. Dolly whines and hurries away to curl up in front of the hearth. Trixie huffs a little laugh under her breath, to soothe herself mostly. She likes living alone out here three miles from town, and she isn’t usually freaked out by solitude, but the earth feels angry this afternoon.

It’s cold out today, much warmer inside the house, and her cheeks are ruddy. Trixie toes out of her boots and untucks her fisherman’s sweater from her jeans to pull it up over her head. She pads through to the kitchen in her sock feet and her thermal layer. The whole house smells rich and good and a little tomatoey. Trixie lifts the lid of the crockpot and leans over it, lets the steam hit her face. She’s grateful to her this-morning self for fixing supper and she stirs the stew a couple of times, tastes some of the broth from the end of the spoon.

She knows just what they’d say, Kim and Bob and all the rest of them. She hears them laughing right in her ear like ghouls. Today she got up with the sun and made a stew for one with carrots and potatoes and zucchini she pulled out of the earth herself. Trixie is trying to be as self-sufficient as she can, now that she’s here. That’s the whole point.

The city became entirely too loud, the kitchen louder still. She doesn’t miss the money or the respect or the power, doesn’t miss the cries of yes chef in response to every word out of her mouth. She doesn’t miss the almost of her television career, the stardom everybody kept insisting was right at her fingertips if she just stretched a little further. Trixie misses her friends sometimes and absolutely nothing else about that life.

“Dolly!” she calls out, and the dog comes trotting into the kitchen. Trixie scratches her behind the ears, stoops over to kiss the slope of her snout. “Hey, beautiful girl. Are you hungry? Dinner time?”

She gets an enthusiastic wag of Dolly’s whole body in response and then the dog disappears through to the mudroom to wait. She’s a greyhound, not a farm dog at all, but Trixie has had Dolly a lot longer than she’s lived out here. One of the very first projects she did when she moved in was to create a little feeding station for Dolly, a kind of shelf to keep her bowls off of the ground and accommodate her height.

It felt dykey in a way she never really has before. Even as a chef, opening her own restaurant in a field so dominated by men, Trixie has always clung tightly to her femininity with both neatly manicured hands. Something about kneeling down on the hardwood and drilling a hole into her wall felt so butch that she caught a wicked case of church giggles and had to shut the drill off. She had stifled them against her palm for a minute and then remembered that there is no one for miles around. Instead, she had tipped her head back and let her laughter ricochet around the room.

Trixie eats dinner by herself, as she has done every night for the last four months. She sits at the dining table in the main living space because she hates eating on the couch. From here she can see outside in the mornings, all the way across the fields at the rear of her property, but now that the evenings are starting to draw in she just watches herself chew.

There’s no television at the house. She bought the place fully furnished and hasn’t really added anything, didn’t see the point when everything she needs is here already. She doesn’t miss it. There’s the radio in the kitchen and there’s Dolly for companionship and she finds that she likes it. Trixie didn’t bring any makeup with her, or her blow dryer or curling iron. She felt herself shedding layers of performative femininity with every mile she drove north, Dolly in the passenger seat beside her and four boxes tied down in the bed of the truck.

When Trixie turns on the shower she hears the water heater start groaning two floors below her. She is long since accustomed to all of the peculiar quirks of this house, all of the noises it makes. They have had to get used to each other, the house and her. She knows that the front door sticks in the frame when it’s cold out and the lock doesn’t work great so it’s best to avoid using it if possible. She knows that the third stair down creaks the loudest and that when it rains heavily the gutter outside the reading room overflows and water pours in torrents down the window. It feels like home here, more than her Los Angeles apartment ever did, or Wisconsin before that.

The water takes a while to get warm, so Trixie leaves it running while she peels out of the rest of her clothes. She unwinds her hair from its braids and inspects herself in the mirror over the sink. Most of her days are spent outside now, not being perceived by anybody, so a little jolt of unfamiliarity hits her each evening when she faces her reflection. Her cheeks are a bit fuller than she remembers, and so are her stomach and thighs. She feels good, strong. She holds her arm up across her breasts to get a sense of how tan she’s getting. The skin of her chest is still creamy smooth and pale, but her arms and face are littered with new freckles every day and the fine hairs on her forearms have been bleached white-blonde by the sun.

Trixie stands beneath the spray of the shower until the hot runs out. She washes her hair, combing the conditioner through the ends with her fingers. Her body aches in a way that is so different than how it used to, after hours on her feet in the sticky kitchen. It feels more like she’s earned it.

It’s Friday night, and Trixie has a date. She squeezes as much water as she can from the ends of her hair and gets into bed in underwear and a huge sweatshirt. When Trixie left the city she ditched her cell phone. She always felt silly having one, like she was playacting at being more successful than she really was, and she was glad to bid it farewell. Only two people in the whole world know the number for the landline here. Trixie answers on the second ring and eases down the headboard a bit. Her bare legs slide against each other beneath the sheet and the blanket and for just a moment it makes her ache with loneliness.

“Beatrice.”

“Kimberly, hello,” she says. “How are you?”

Kim launches right into a diatribe against the restaurant industry as a whole and Trixie sits with her eyes closed, only half listening. She feels it’s important to maintain some connection to the outside world, just in case the isolation makes her lose her mind and there’s nobody around to notice. Kim is so soft-spoken and gentle and kind that it’s bizarre to hear her get this heated. It reminds Trixie again why she’s doing this.

“You know I have a guest room.”

“Trixie,” Kim sighs. Trixie is holding the phone close enough to her ear that she feels the hot wash of Kim’s breath over her cheek. “I’m not quitting my job and packing up my life and disappearing into the wilderness.”

Like you, goes unspoken. Kim has been supportive this whole time. She doesn’t get it, doesn’t understand how Trixie could walk away from all of the opportunities unfolding before her like springtime. But she kept her sighs and eyerolls mostly to herself and she helped Trixie pack and that’s a lot more than most people did.

“I’m just saying. Offer’s open.”

Now that the sun has gone down it’s freezing in the bedroom. Gooseflesh erupts along the lengths of Trixie’s thighs. She lets Kim talk for a little while longer about Los Angeles and what all of their mutual friends are doing and how everybody, Trixie, misses you so much, and then she eases her gently off the call and hangs up the phone.

She has on her thickest, cosiest pair of wool socks and she skids a little bit on the hardwood in the hallway. It excites the dog and she leaps around, pawing at Trixie’s bare calves. Trixie opens the back door and sends Dolly outside to use the bathroom while she heats water on the stovetop. It’s so cold that she shifts her weight from foot to foot, hopping a little, and rubs her biceps to try and generate some heat.

It doesn’t matter how deep into the winter it gets, she hates sleeping with pants on. Trixie does a quick circuit of the lower level to check all of the doors are locked, an old habit from Los Angeles that she can’t seem to shake, and turns out all of the lamps as well. She’s done in time for the kettle to start its insistent whistling and she fills up her hot water bottle, brings it and the dog upstairs with her. Trixie sleeps with Dolly in the bed and two blankets and she is still chilly for a good half hour every evening.

On her back in the textured darkness, Trixie stares at the ceiling and allows herself to yearn for just a minute. She needs a warm, kind woman to let Trixie put her freezing hands inside of her sweater. Her whole body aches with it, how much she wants. It’s not even that she misses Bob, exactly. She just misses having someone to lay next to her and kiss her until the pink tip of her nose gets warm.

There are no curtains in any of the rooms upstairs. Trixie keeps meaning to get some, to try and keep the warmth in now that summer is rolling over into fall, but she likes being able to see out into the night. The moon’s wise, round face is peering in at her right up against the glass. Since she’s been here she’s been sleeping well, sacked out on her stomach unmoving until the rooster wakes her at six. Tonight, though, she is restless and grouchy with it.

Tomorrow, for the first time, Trixie is going to drive the three miles and visit the town.

She brought a lot of supplies with her, cans and dried things like rice and pasta. The teenage son of the family in the house closest to her, a half mile down the road, gratefully accepts the ten dollar bill Trixie presses into his palm each Wednesday afternoon when he brings her milk and cheese and fruits. She has learned to bake her own bread, likes the process of working at it and how it has made her arms firm and strong. Now that the crops she planted are starting to yield, her neat rows beginning to spill over in abundance, she feels much more self-sufficient.

There are things that she needs that she can’t put off for much longer. Things she is not comfortable asking a fifteen year old boy to buy for her. And she supposes she ought to show her face to the townsfolk, now that she’s been lurking on the outskirts for almost half a year like a cryptid.

Trixie comes awake into the crisp, clear morning and can immediately see frost on the windowpane. She pulls on jeans in the bedroom and her duck boots in the mudroom and heads outside to let the chickens out. The coop structure has a kind of sliding door with a long handle that Trixie can pull from the outside and the girls all come clattering down the little ramp.

She opens the door of the pen to let them roam around the yard for a while. Dolly darts back and forth, her graceful body low to the ground and her tail in the air. She’s a city dog, and a sighthound with a high prey drive, but Trixie doesn’t need to worry. She’s patient with the girls, and they are obsessed with her.

“Good morning, Patsy-girl,” Trixie says when her favourite Rhode Island Red pecks insistently at her boot clad foot. She scoops the chicken up and cradles her to her chest, supports both of her feet in the palm of one hand so she’ll stop flapping and settle down. “Hi, princess. Hi pretty lady.”

Her voice is so soft and melty when she talks to any of the animals. She hears it in herself and can’t seem to do anything about it. Trixie has to set the chicken down because the others are squawking and hopping about her ankles, distressed that their sister is getting all of the attention. She squats down instead and has to put four fingertips to the ground to steady herself when Loretta and Shania immediately hop up onto her thighs. Trixie is long past being precious about keeping her hands clean. She’s always kept her nails short anyway, and she’s gotten used to scrubbing the dirt out from beneath them before dinner each night.

The cow shed is her next stop. There are no actual cows in there, as much as she would like to have them, but the previous owner of the property had thrown into the sale of the house a pair of cantankerous, curmudgeonly goats. They spend their nights tucked up warm amongst the hay and, she’s pretty sure, plotting ever more convoluted ways to make Trixie’s life difficult.

“Good morning Cash, Guthrie,” Trixie says when she opens the door and gets a stony stare from one and a disgruntled bleat from the other. They are the only men in a half mile radius, so of course they are ornery and smell disgusting and fight constantly with anything nearby, including each other.

Trixie opens the gate to let them out into the paddock. She likes how her mornings look, the routine of going around feeding all of the animals and making sure they have water and wishing them all a happy start to their day. She’s always been a country girl; nine years in Los Angeles couldn’t beat that out of her. Sometimes when she wakes in the morning to Garth’s insistent crowing she feels as if she’s in her thirteen year old body again, too big for her skin and stretching taller and thicker every day.

Once everybody is fed, including herself, Trixie tries to become a little more presentable. First impressions matter: it’s why she always vetted her front-of-house staff so thoroughly and why she was so obsessively detail-oriented when designing the façade of her restaurants. She’s going to be meeting a whole lot of new people today. She’d rather they didn’t clock that she’s a loner and a lesbian before she even gets a chance to open her mouth.

The truck engine rolls over twice before she gets it to start and Trixie mutters something under her breath that might be an incantation. While she drives into town she has a very difficult time not looking at herself in the rearview mirror. For the first time she wishes she’d brought a little makeup with her, even just some mascara and lipstick. Her face is pink and weathered and her hair had refused to cooperate so she’s wound it into her usual two braids and jammed a beanie over the top to at least try to look intentional.

Trixie parallel parks on the street and hops down from the cab of the truck. The step is muddy, but her boots are caked with crud anyway so it hardly matters. There are kids playing further up the street and all five of them stop what they’re doing and turn as one to look at her. It’s creepy, a bit Children of the Corn, and a shiver rattles up Trixie’s spine. She wraps her men’s cord jacket tighter around herself and arranges her scarf at her neck. The cold is a copper taste in her throat and the skin of her face feels pulled taut, pink-raw.

The whole town is serene and lovely. Trixie walks slowly down the main street, hands stuffed low into the pockets of her coat because she forgot to bring gloves with her. It’s big enough that it makes her feel delicate and tiny and precious, all hunkered down inside of it.

Each building has a different coloured siding and all of the storefronts are neatly kept and welcoming. As Trixie walks she hears the susurration of the water against the shores of the cove and the crunch of her own footsteps. It’s not so quiet here in town as it is back at the house, but above the shouts of the children playing and the occasional car rumbling by it’s still peaceful.

There’s a pharmacy at the end of the street, close to the dock, and Trixie ducks inside. A bell over the door signals her arrival and the old man behind the register looks up from the newspaper and smiles at her. He’s missing one of his front teeth. Trixie gives him a tiny nod of her head and waves away his offer to help find what she needs. It’s a much faster experience than back in Los Angeles because there is only one choice of shampoo, one soap, one brand of analgesic.

She sets everything down on the counter. The man begins scanning everything, not watching what he’s doing because his eyes are raking up and down Trixie. She’s wearing a lot of layers today so it’s not like he’s getting an eyeful, but it still makes the skin at the back of her neck prickle.

“Well hey there, little lady. You must be new in town. I’m Tom.” He gets done ringing everything up but makes no move to bag it or ask her for her money.

Trixie pulls her wallet free from the back of her jeans, has to wrestle with it a bit because it gets caught on the corner of the pocket. She gives Tom her well-worn, please don’t try to have a conversation with me right now smile. Very carefully does not offer him her name back.

“I live a few miles outside of town. Out on Fort Casey Road.”

“Well, everybody here’s real friendly. Can’t get steered too wrong. Just-” He props an elbow on the counter and leans conspiratorially in. Trixie tries very hard not to physically recoil. “Just steer clear of Verbena.”

“What’s Verbena?”

Trixie hands over a couple of bills, hoping to hurry along this interaction. She’s trying not to let impatience crease the space between her eyebrows, trying not to ruin the first conversation she’s had outside of her phone calls with Kim in four months. It’s a little like her muscles have begun to atrophy; she’s working to stretch them out, but it’s uncomfortable.

Tom hands her change over to her, folds her fingers closed around the handful of coins in her palm. She finds that absolutely reprehensible. Trixie stuffs the coins hastily into the pocket of her coat and wipes her palm off against her thigh, not at all caring whether he sees. She hopes that he does.

“Verbena is the apothecary across the street.” Tom pauses, swept up in the drama of it all. He turns to look over his shoulder and Trixie follows his gaze, spots an unassuming little store almost directly opposite. When she looks back at Tom he drops his voice an octave. “The witch owns it.”

“The what?” Trixie snorts, and then realises that Tom is deadly serious and clamps her mouth shut. He nods fervently at her but doesn’t offer any more information. Trixie feels a sigh forming in the base of her throat and swallows it back down. She’s a lesbian. She feels an automatic, ferocious kinship with spurned women. “Right. Okay. Thanks.”

She takes her purchases in their brown paper bag and leaves the store. Outside it’s bright and crisp, and she doesn’t feel like getting back into the car just yet. She can feel Tom’s eyes on her still, through the glass frontage of the pharmacy. The violation of it is rapidly making her furious. Trixie has never liked being told what to do, especially by old men. She doesn’t allow herself to hesitate for even half a beat before she strides across the street and right on in to Verbena.

It’s a cute place. The exterior is painted all white and there are planters full of lavender either side of the door. It will be beautiful in the springtime. Inside there are bottles and jars and packages of all different sorts, so many that Trixie can’t even begin to decipher them all on her first sweep around. It smells wonderful, there’s an aromatherapy burner on one of the shelves and Trixie takes a step closer to it, bends at the waist to breathe it in a little deeper.

“Oh, hi. Hello. Welcome.”

The voice startles Trixie a bit and she straightens again, turns to look. All of the breath stutters in her chest. The most beautiful woman she’s ever seen — the most beautiful woman she will ever see in her life — is standing there. She’s grinning at her with a set of perfect teeth that Trixie stares at for probably a beat too long. Her white-blonde hair just skims the tops of her shoulders, heavy bangs a little long so she has to blink them out of her eyes. She’s lovely. Trixie’s palms are sweating.

“Um. Hi.”

“I’m Katya.” She offers her hand and Trixie takes it, has to maneuver the bag from the pharmacy into one arm. Katya squeezes instead of shaking and it’s so completely charming that Trixie feels her face getting hot. At least she can blame it on how much warmer it is in the store than outside.

“Trixie.”

“Trixie,” Katya repeats softly, like she’s trying it on for size. She’s still smiling so wide and Trixie finds herself grinning back, goofy Wisconsin teeth and all. “Hello, Trixie. Is there anything I can help you find today?”

The heat in her cheeks and neck is getting to be a bit much. Trixie sets her bag down on the countertop, takes off her jacket and folds it over her arm, pulls off her beanie hat as well. She definitely has hat hair and she smoothes her hands self-consciously over the top of her head.

“I…kind of came in here out of spite?” Trixie chews on her bottom lip, but Katya throws her head back and a pneumatic burst of laughter ricochets out of her.

“So you met Tom?”

Katya is still laughing and she reaches out to grab Trixie’s arm. Her fingers are thin and she clutches tight and everything in Trixie’s body knots up into Katya’s grip. She’s a few inches shorter than Trixie is and she smells good, like earth and springtime. When she straightens up again she slides her fingertips down the length of Trixie’s forearm as she lets go.

“I did. So no, I’m not looking for anything specific.”

“I can show you around?” Katya offers.

Trixie nods, certain that she’s completely failing at reining in her enthusiasm. Katya is the first new person she’s met in the last four months that hasn’t irritated her immediately. She lets her take her hat and coat and hang them up by the door, lets her hook her arm through Trixie’s elbow and lead her around like they’re old friends.

All of the products in the store are homemade and Katya explains the properties of each one, allows Trixie to smell things and try samples at her leisure. Katya is effusive and intelligent. Her whole face comes alight when she talks about the merits of mugwort or how close she is to perfecting her mint oatmeal shaving cream. Trixie works a lotion into her hands and lifts them both to her face to breathe deeply. Her skin feels immediately softer, and the places where her knuckles are chapped from working outside look less red and angry.

The two of them are standing with their heads bent together, studying Katya’s collection of beeswax candles. Katya’s got both hands in the back pockets of her hunter green cords and her elbows are pointy and jut out away from her. It means that every time Trixie shifts, the right one nudges into her. She likes it a lot. Katya holds up one of the candles and Trixie leans in to smell it, closes her eyes as she does.

A crash makes the windows of the storefront tremble in their frames and Trixie jerks upright, one hand flying up to land at her chest. Katya doesn’t even twitch. They turn together to see a pack of teenage boys sprinting away from the store, and a mess of egg white and yolk and shell sliding slowly down the window. Trixie is fairly sure she spots the neighbour boy, Peter, in amongst them.

Trixie makes as if to head for the door, but Katya grabs for her elbow to stop her where she stands. That’s probably best. What is she going to do, chase them? Outrage bubbles hot and insistent in her stomach and she turns to look at Katya.

“Aren’t you going to do something?”

“Sure I am.”

Katya reaches down behind the counter and comes back with a soft cloth and a spray bottle. Trixie follows her outside and stands and watches as she cleans her windows, one knee propped on the bench out front so she can lean in close. She’s shoved her sweater up past her elbows and Trixie likes the flex of the tendons in her forearms, her intricate tattoos, her delicate hands. It feels like she’s standing guard, and she finds herself glancing over her shoulders to watch for the mob coming back.

After a few minutes Katya’s arms get tired of scrubbing and she takes a break to shake them out. Trixie takes over, makes sure to meticulously spray every inch of the glass and get all of it off. The winter sun sits low in the sky and if the egg is allowed to bake onto the window it’s much harder to remove. Katya is watching her with both hands shoved into the pockets of her pants again. She has the bottoms of them rolled up so a strip of skin shows above her Dr. Martens, and Trixie is focusing very hard on not looking at her pale ankles.

When they’re done, Katya holds the door open for Trixie and flips the lock behind them both. She has a tiny little break room at the back of the store and she makes tea for the two of them, presses the cup into Trixie’s waiting hands. She doesn’t seem affected, and somehow that’s worse.

“This happen a lot?”

“A beautiful woman coming into my store? Never.” Katya grins at her over the rim of her mug, but when Trixie keeps her face carefully slack she falters. “Yeah. I’m what the kids call an outcast.”

“Oh honey, an outcast honey? I’ve been out since ninety two, honey.”

It’s a dumb joke, but it makes Katya scream and slosh a little of her tea onto her hand. It’s hot still and she sucks on the webbing between her thumb and pointer finger. Trixie looks at the red stain the lipstick leaves on her skin, looks at the pink tip of Katya’s tongue.

“That’s awful,” Katya points at her. “You’re awful, Trixie. I think the homophobes might have a point.”

They’re both laughing then, and clutching at each other. It seems like Katya’s whole body is full up with joy, and she’s looking at Trixie like she’s so pleased to find her here. Trixie hopes that Tom is squinting at them from across the street and turning slowly to stone.

She sips her tea and lets her eyes flutter closed. She doesn’t know what’s in here but it’s good, kindles a small fire in her gut that spreads outwards into all of her extremities. It could just be Katya, smiling at her and calling her beautiful.

Once they’ve both emptied their mugs, Katya takes a gift bag from a stack beside the register and wanders around the store for a little while, choosing things to fill it up with. She is careful, each choice considered. Trixie watches her, lets herself look at Katya’s tight ass in her pants when she bends over. It’s been six months since things ended with Bob, and Trixie isn’t one to have a casual fling, so the heat between her thighs is more insistent than usual.

“Here.” Katya presses the bag into Trixie’s hands. “To say thanks.”

Trixie doesn’t open the bag, doesn’t want to seem too eager. She has a sense memory of her grandmother slapping her hands and tutting at her, telling her it lacks decorum to open gifts in front of the giver. Instead, she holds it against her chest and meets Katya’s eyes. They are blue-grey, clear and abundant as a winter morning.

“Thank you. This is…this is really nice. Suspiciously nice.”

“If you start feeling feverish and vomiting it’s absolutely nothing to worry about, Tracy.” Katya studies her cuticles, feigning disinterest. Trixie notices her short nails and feels it between her thighs, takes a stuttering breath. “Just do me a favour and leave your door unlocked so I don’t have to commit breaking and entering when I come to harvest your bones. That’s a felony, you know.”

Trixie snorts and snatches her hand back from where Katya has grabbed it. “Oh sure, anything else I can do to make it easier for you?”

“Come back soon?” Katya says, and all of the teasing drops right out of her voice. She can’t seem to look Trixie in the face, studies the floor instead, and tenderness for her swells in Trixie’s chest.

“If I live through the night, I’ll come back.”

Trixie leaves then, has to. The way Katya is looking at her, like she can’t seem to choose just one thing to stare at, is making Trixie want to shove her hands inside of those tight pants and haul Katya against her.

In the car she rolls the windows down and cranks up both the heat and the volume on the CD player. She sings at the top of her lungs, elbow propped on the door and her other hand holding the wheel in two fingers. It’s freezing cold in the car and she’s shivering in her seat, barely able to grip the wheel in her numb hands, but her face is still warm.

When she moved here she was fully prepared to be the only gay person for miles and miles. It doesn’t bother her; growing up in Wisconsin desensitised her to that. But now here is Katya, beautiful and enigmatic and funny and asking to see Trixie again.

Dolly can tell that Trixie is excited and it’s infectious; she hops around while Trixie unpacks the few groceries she picked up. Trixie feeds her treats, crouched down on the kitchen floor to let the dog eat out of her palm and give her scritches behind the ears.

Trixie has always enjoyed anticipation. Bob used to complain at her, irritated by the way she would spend an hour or more gussying up before coming to bed. It makes her feel attractive and irresistible, to make herself wait. She leaves the gift bag on the dining table for the whole afternoon and refuses to even look at it while she makes dinner. After she’s cleaned up and all of the animals are down for the night, she settles cross-legged in the middle of her bed to open it.

There’s a tube of the lotion she tried, which makes her smile. She’s been smelling her hands all afternoon. There’s an aloe face cream that professes to be good for redness, and a candle that has the same scent as whatever essential oil Katya had been burning. Underneath everything else in the bag is a little notecard with the store’s name and logo on one side, and on the other Katya’s name and the store address. And at the bottom, hand written in red ink, is a phone number.

[artificialqueens]

So Emotional (Sashea) Chapter 6 -MissChimKi

A/N: Here’s a Thanksgiving chapter 2 months after Thanksgiving. I’m really going to try to get better with updating but I keep getting distracted by side projects.

Summary: Shea looked over at Sasha, who was completely frozen, she looked terrified and completely unsure of what to do. The tension in the room was almost unbearable, everyone not sure how to go about the awkwardness. It was like that for a moment before Trixie burst out laughing. Shea’s eyes stayed trained on Sasha who looked like she might burst into tears.

In which Sasha and Shea are roommates for their freshman year of college and Sasha is a useless lesbian who doesn’t want Shea to know that and Shea is just trying to live her best Chicago life while being in NYC.

Shea wasn’t sure how she’d done it but she’d managed to get through midterms and now she was in the home stretch of the semester. There was about a month left and Shea was ready for a break. College had chewed her up and spit her out but she was still alive somehow, and it was only the first semester so she knew it would only get harder.

She was laying on her stomach on her bed, sketching and writing in her journal. Sasha was across the room at her desk sketching something as well. Something was definitely different about her now. Ever since Halloween she had been sneaking off even more now. Sometimes being gone overnight, which had never happened before, so Shea was sure she was seeing someone, she just didn’t know why it was a secret.

She also didn’t know why she didn’t just ask. In these few months rooming with Sasha she felt closer to her than some people she’s known her whole life. And more than anything she wanted to continue building on this friendship. So she bit her tongue and never pried into Sasha’s social life.

Her phone buzzed and she groaned when she looked at it. It was her mom, texting her about Thanksgiving once again. Her family was set on her coming home but it was a long and expensive journey that she didn’t necessarily want to make. She just didn’t know how exactly to let them know that.

“You sound stressed,” Sasha commented from across the room.

Shea turned to her and nodded, “A little. My parents want me to come home for Thanksgiving next week and they keep sending me flight deals and whatnot but I don’t really want to go all the way to Chicago just for a weekend. Especially when I’m already going to be going home like two weeks later for winter break,” she explained.

Sasha nodded, “Yeah that makes sense.”

“Plus none of the other Chicago girls are planning on going home so I wouldn’t even be able to have a travel buddy,” Shea sighed, “I love my family and I miss them a lot but I really don’t want to go. They’ll be mad if I don’t though especially since I don’t have any other plans.”

Sasha looked thoughtful for a moment, “Well if you want you can spend it with my dad and I. We always do a full spread even though it’s just the two of us. It was my mom’s favorite holiday so we like to honor her. Actually maybe the other girls would want to come to, it could be a full thing.”

Shea smiled widely, “That would be amazing actually. And my parents wouldn’t be able to be mad about it either.”

“Awesome. I’ll tell my dad and extend an invitation to the other girls,” Sasha smiled back, pulling out her phone and texting her dad and then the group chat. Shea watched as Sasha smiled at a new text that appeared on her phone, that one wasn’t from anyone in the group message and Shea would be willing to bet it wasn’t her dad, but again, she didn’t want to push it so she just kept her mouth shut, put her earbuds in and went back to sketching.

*

Later day Shea called her mom to let her know her plans for Thanksgiving. Her mom was disappointed but she thought it was nice that Sasha offered to host her. She made Shea promise to make a pie to bring over and to be extra respectful. That made her roll her eyes of course because when was she not? Shea agreed with everything her parents said most of the time just because it was easier. The only times she’d really ever called them out was when they were making jokes about how many queer friends she had. She made sure they knew that their sexuality wasn’t a problem at all and it definitely wasn’t theirs. Other than that she usually just kept quiet when she disagreed.

One of the things Shea had prided herself in was being a ride or die type of friend. Once someone had her loyalty she would do anything for them. She constantly had defended Vixen back in high school, even when she was fighting a losing battle. She always made sure to defend her queer friends and wanted to be the best possible ally she could be to them. Her parents were more traditional though and while they were getting a little bit better when Shea would scold them, they still had some choice things to say.

Every time they brought up the subject of her friends they typically asked her if she was gay. She would always say that she wasn’t but that it wasn’t the point. She wondered if the tolerance that they had gained would be different if she herself was queer. She didn’t like to think about that because she loved her family with her whole heart and she didn’t want to think any of it was conditional. It didn’t matter though, because she was straight, but a part of her still wondered.

Her mom went through the motions of asking about school and her friends and telling her she needed to find some kind of part time job. They chatted about new friends and whatever else they needed to catch up on. Shea had been talking about Sasha a lot apparently. Probably because they spent so much time together and because she was a new addition into Shea’s life. Her mom seemed suspicious of something but Shea didn’t feel the need to defend anything. It didn’t matter what her mom thought anymore, not as much, and Shea didn’t mind this new mindset. She told her mother she loved her and hung up.

She buried her face into her pillow and groaned. Sasha was out again, no surprise now and Shea couldn’t help but feel lonely. She didn’t want to bug anyone though so she ignored it. She pulled out her computer and started watching a movie and eventually called it a night, at least she was getting more sleep now instead of talking to Sasha until 3am every night, but that was the only silver lining to the situation.

*

Thanksgiving had come sooner than Shea thought and the night before she made a pumpkin pie for dessert. Sasha poked fun at her and insisted that she didn’t need to bring anything but Shea had been raised to never enter someone’s home empty handed. A full stomach meant a full heart, plus no one could resist her mom’s pumpkin pie recipe. She and Sasha took the train to her dad’s house early in the morning to help him get all the food ready. The others would get there later in the afternoon for dinner. Again Sasha told Shea she didn’t need to do anything, but Shea wanted to. It was a good way to spend more time with Sasha and get to know more about her life history.

Sasha’s dad, Mark, greeted both of them with hugs which Shea was surprised by. “It’s wonderful to meet you Shea was hoping to meet you on move in day but I’m glad you and Sasha have become such good friends,” he smiled warmly at her.

“Yeah, I’ve heard a lot of roommate horror stories I’m thrilled that I got a great roomie and a best friend out of it,” Shea smiled back at both him and Sasha who had stopped glaring at her dad to blush at Shea’s statement.

“Well the turkey won’t stuff itself, come on,” Sasha changed the subject and led them into the kitchen.

“Is there anything specific you want me to do?” Shea asked, setting the pie down on the counter.

“Oh no, Shea you’re a guest and you were already kind enough to make a pie, you don’t have to do anything,” Mark told her.

Shea waved her hand, “I don’t mind at all, I’d feel bad if I didn’t help.”

“Well if you really insist on helping, I’ll probably have you help with food in a little bit but right now if you want to set table so we don’t have to worry about it, that would be great,” he said.

“Sounds good,” Shea agreed. Sasha showed her where all the plates and silverware were and Shea went to the dining room to get to it. She wasn’t necessarily eavesdropping but she couldn’t help but here Sasha telling her dad not to embarrass her and that these were her new friends and she didn’t want them thinking anything bad about her.

Shea smiled at that. It was sweet that Sasha genuinely wanted to impress them. Though she didn’t need to be worried. Shea and the others loved her and accepted her fully as a part of the group, getting to know her and her father more would only strengthen that bond.

Shea joined them in the kitchen again and was assigned to cutting up veggies or the salad. Sasha joined her once she finished making the whipped cream for the cranberry salad. Apparently Sasha’s dad had done a lot of prep work the day before so mostly he just had them doing busy work, but Shea was happy to help regardless.

“I am so ready for this food, can we just eat it all before everyone else gets here?” Shea joked, eating a carrot to help her rumbling stomach a little.

Sasha laughed, “I think Kim would single handedly fight you but Trixie would probably help anyways.”

Shea laughed along with her as they finished chopping all the veggies, it was nice to be spending this time with Sasha, considering she hadn’t seen her much in the past few weeks. Sasha’s dad waved them off when they asked what else needed to be done so they headed to the living room to watch the dog show. Neither was really very into it but both picked their favorite to win. It was no surprise that Sasha picked the greyhound. Shea chose the Bichon.

Both of their dogs ended up winning their categories but in the end they lost to the German Shepard. Shea’s dog ended up taking second though so she of course had to gloat.

“It’s just a dog show, it’s not even your actual dog,” Sasha pointed out, “Besides if Vanya was the one competing he would have no doubt won,” Sasha patted Vanya on the head.

Shea rolled her eyes, “I won’t argue with that,” she patted the spot beside her so Vanya would come next to her instead. Sasha pretended to be offended when the dog went over to Shea and accepted her head scratches.

“He seems to like you, he’s usually very finicky when it comes to people,” Sasha told her.

Shea smiled, “Well they do say dogs are the best judges of character.”

“They do,” Sasha agreed, “I might just have to keep you around then.”

“Like you have a choice,” Shea nudged her with her foot and they both giggled.

Sasha heard the doorbell ring and sprung up. “Oh I bet the others are here.”

Shea stood up as well and they went to answer the door. Sure enough the others were waiting outside. They all greeted each other with hugs and cheek kisses, even though they’d just seen each other the day before.

“Thank you so much for inviting us, I haven’t had a good home cooked meal in ages,” Kim gushed.

“It’s nice to have you all, seriously Thanksgiving is about being with family and friends so I’m happy to host you all,” Sasha told them.

“As am I,” Sasha’s dad came up behind them and put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder, “I’m Mark, it’s great to have you all here,” he smiled and greeted them all.

“Thank you again for having us, my mom wasn’t going to bother doing anything this year so it’s nice to be able to spend it somewhere,” Pearl thanked him.

Mark shrugged, “Of course, Sasha’s friends are always welcome here. Sasha would you get drinks for everyone everything is ready so we can get started soon.”

“I’ll help move everything to the table,” Shea offered while Sasha took everyone’s drink orders. She followed Mark into the kitchen and began moving all the food to the table. Within a few minutes everyone was settled in and ready to dig in. Shea was happy the Velour’s weren’t the religious type or the type to go around and share what they were thankful for. Instead they just got right into eating.

The dinner was mostly quiet, besides people asking for food to be passed they were all too busy stuffing their faces with all the delicious food. Once they were all full they decided to move out to the living room. Mark assured them that they could get the dishes later and that they could just relax for a little while. Shea definitely was in a food coma so sitting down was much needed for her.

“That was so good honestly, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to eat for like a week,” Shea joked, there were murmurs of agreement.

“Speak for yourself I’m still ready for that pie,” Kim looked wistful, probably thinking about all the dessert.

Shea smiled, “I mean my family’s pie recipe is kind of a big deal.”

“We’ll be the judges of that,” Pearl winked at her. She and Max were seated on the loveseat and there was definitely some love going on there. Ever since Pearl and Violet’s breakup the two had been closer than ever. Shea wasn’t sure exactly what was going on between them but she was happy for her friends nonetheless. Especially considering Max had been crushing on Pearl since the dawn of time pretty much. She hoped it worked out for them.

“You two seem like a lovely couple. How long have you been together?” Mark gestured to Pearl and Max who were cuddled up even more than before.

Max blushed, “Oh no we’re not.”

Pearl interjected, “It’s pretty new still. We’ve been friends for a long time and there’s always been the hint of something more lingering there, were just trying to take it slow and go with whatever happens,” she squeezed Max’s hand and the two shared a sweet smile. It made Shea smile as well, seeing her friends happy always brought her happiness.

“Well you two make a lovely couple,” he complimented before turning to Sasha, “What ever happened to Aquaria? You two were inseparable, I thought you had something special.”

Shea looked over at Sasha, who was completely frozen, she looked terrified and completely unsure of what to do.

The tension in the room was almost unbearable, everyone not sure how to go about the awkwardness. It was like that for a moment before Trixie burst out laughing. Shea’s eyes stayed trained on Sasha who looked like she might burst into tears.

When Trixie’s laughter died down she turned to Sasha, “I’m not laughing at you it’s just that a few months ago we were worried you might be homophobic so hearing that it’s the opposite is ironic,” she explained. Sasha seemed to ease up a little bit but the tension was still clearly there.

Her dad looked embarrassed, “I’m sorry Sash I didn’t realize,” he apologized.

Sasha seemed to find her voice, “No it’s fine,” she took a deep breath, “I wasn’t keeping anything hidden really I just didn’t think I needed to disclose anything.”

Pearl smiled at her warmly, a knowing look in her eyes, “No of course you didn’t. It’s fully up to you but everyone here is more than fine with it.” The others nodded in agreement.

Sasha gave a small smile, “I don’t want any kind of big deal to be made about it so if we could just move past it that would be great. Pie anyone?” she got up quickly to go set up dessert. The others followed her to the kitchen to eat pie in an awkward silence.

“I think I’m going to have dreams about that pie for the rest of my life,” Kim told Shea once they were done eating.

Shea laughed, “I can give you the recipe girl, it’s not some sort of secret recipe or anything.”

“I’m holding you to that,” Kim informed her.

Shea saw that Pearl had volunteered to do the dishes so she ventured over to help her.

“Need a hand?” she asked even though she had already begun drying dishes.

“I would say no but it wouldn’t make a difference,” Pearl smiled and continued to wash.

Shea glanced around to make sure everyone was in the other room, “So, you didn’t seem particularly shocked by that reveal,” she commented.

Pearl gave her a pointed look, “I mean it wasn’t that big of a surprise.”

“I thought it was,” Shea defended herself.

“Sasha’s like a textbook lesbian it really isn’t,” Pearl told her.

Shea sighed, “I just don’t get why she felt like she couldn’t tell me. We’ve gotten so close and I’ve told her basically everything important about me. I can’t help but wonder what else she’s been hiding from me.”

Pearl turned to look at her, pausing from the dishes, “I know that you’re feeling hurt but coming out is a scary thing in any extreme. When I came out to you all it was intimidating but I knew it would be okay and that everyone would accept me. She’s entitled to handle it however she wants, she probably just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Shea took a moment to think over what Pearl had said, “I’m not though. Nothing has changed and nothing is going to change.”

“I think you need to talk to Sasha then,” Pearl urged her.

Shea nodded then headed out to the other room where everyone else was. She scanned around for Sasha but didn’t see her. Mark saw her looking, “She went up to her room I think,” he pointed up the stairs, “Third door on the left.”

She thanked him and headed up the stairs. Sasha’s door was open but Shea still knocked to alert her of her presence.

“Hey, can I come in?” she asked.

Sasha nodded and Shea stepped into the room, “I think we should talk,” she announced.

“Okay,” Sasha agreed, going over to sit on her bed.

Shea made her way over and sat beside her. She took a second to organize her thoughts before speaking, “I’m not mad, I’m just a little hurt. I want you to know that this doesn’t change anything. You’re still my best friend and I love you no matter what.”

Sasha let out the breath that she was holding in, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was out in high school but I didn’t want to creep you out at first by telling you and then we got so close it just seemed weird to tell you. I didn’t know how to navigate the whole straight roommate thing,” she explained.

“I get it. I don’t want to feel like our friendship was artificial but that’s also a huge part of your life that you kept hidden and I’m worried that that was just the tip of the iceberg,” Shea admitted.

“That’s understandable, but at the same time how I chose to discuss my sexuality is my own business. You got to know me for me and everything about that was genuine,” Sasha offered.

Shea sighed, “I know and I believe that. I’ve had a past with putting too much into my friendships and relationships and getting way too invested in them. I’ll put in 100 percent and barely get 20 in return. I just always worry when people aren’t open with me especially when I’m as open as it gets.”

Sasha considered what she said for a moment before responding, “Well from now on you’re going to get way to much information on my gayness,” she joked.

Shea smiled, “Please I want all the dirty details. Starting with your secret girlfriend.”

Sasha looked shocked, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Shea rolled her eyes, “Please, you’re out all the time, sometimes overnight. I knew you were seeing someone but now I know it’s a girl.”

“Okay fine,” Sasha relented, “There is someone but she’s not my girlfriend, I don’t really know how to categorize what we are.”

“But you like her?” Shea inquired.

Sasha smiled at the ground, “Yeah I do.”

“When do I get to meet her?” Shea asked, “I gotta make sure she’s up to standard for you.”

“You just found out I’m gay how do you even know what my standards are for girls?” Sasha laughed.

Shea shrugged, “Well you obviously have higher standards since you like girls.”

Sasha giggled, “True. You can meet her sometime this week, we can go out for lunch or something.”

“I’ll look forward to it. We should probably go back downstairs we kinda just left everyone with your dad,” Shea pointed out.

“True.” They both stood up and Shea pulled her into a hug.

“I’m really glad you’re in my life I just want to reiterate how little it matters to me that you’re gay. You’re still my favorite person and now you even get to be my favorite gay person,” Shea told her once they pulled away from their drawn out hug.

Sasha shoved her, “Wow what an honor.” They linked arms and headed back downstairs to join the others once more.

*

After Thanksgiving Sasha and Shea’s friendship had grown even more. Sasha had told her all about Aja and Shea wouldn’t lie, she sounded like a pretty cool person and definitely someone Shea could be friends with.

Now that the cat was out of the bag it was pretty much all Sasha talked about. Aja and all of her friends from the bar. Shea couldn’t believe how much of Sasha’s life she’d been missing. It wasn’t like Sasha was a new person or anything but there was a new openness to her and it seemed like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Shea was happy she didn’t have to hide anymore and she made sure to listen to Sasha more dutifully than ever.

Shea had spent most of the week pestering Sasha about meeting Aja. Sasha promised it would happen soon but soon wasn’t soon enough so she kept nagging.

Finally Sasha had had enough of it and agreed to let Shea crash their lunch date that Wednesday. Shea was excited to meet Sasha’s not girlfriend. Shea was the type of friend to size up all of her friends potential love interests. She would give them the whole “if you hurt them I will kill you speech.” She liked to think it was intimidating and that her loyalty as a friend would be appreciated.

When they met for lunch Sasha was already done with classes for the day. Shea still had more to go but she had a gap in her schedule. Apparently Aja was a part time student who worked and made music on the side. It was a compromise with her parents and it seemed to be working out so far. She lived off campus with four other girls. She had her own room so it made sense that Sasha was over there most of the time.

Shea was early so she texted Sasha asking what to order for Aja and ordered for herself and Sasha while she waited. Sasha sent her order and arrived a few minutes after.

“Hey,” she greeted, “Aja should be here in a few, she’s coming from her house.”

Shea nodded. They chitchatted about their classes while they waited. Finally the girl in question showed up. Shea noted that her hair was curled and laid perfectly. She had a pretty face and a good fashion sense. Sasha could definitely do worse. What a horrible thought honestly, she really needed to tone down her whole over protective friend thing, but she couldn’t help that she cared so much.

“Hey sis,” Aja greeted Sasha with a hug, before turning to Shea, “You must be Shea, nice to finally meet you,” she surprised Shea by pulling her into a hug which Shea returned.

“You too, I’ve been hearing a lot about you lately,” Shea told her.

Aja grinned, “You as well, Sasha doesn’t shut up about you. I’ve been bugging her to meet you and the rest of your friends. Sash don’t take this the wrong way because being outed sucks but I don’t think it would have ever happened otherwise, and I’m happy that you don’t have to live two lives anymore,” she squeezed Sasha’s hand gently as she sat down beside her.

Sasha sighed, “You’re not wrong,” she admitted, “And I really am sorry for not telling you Shea. You’ve been nothing but supportive of me and your other friends I should’ve known I could trust you.”

Shea gave her a genuine smile, “It’s water under the bridge honestly,” she narrowed her eyes playfully, “But the dorm rules still stand, no fucking girls while I’m there, I’ll need at least an hour’s notice.”

Sasha reached across the table to shove her but she was laughing while she did it. Aja was laughing too but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Shea could sense some jealousy. She wasn’t entirely sure what the extent of Sasha and Aja’s relationship was. She knew they weren’t official but it seemed like something more than just hooking up. Shea hoped they figured it out soon because the tension was stressing her out already.

Their food came out and the conversation thinned out while they ate. Shea asked Aja all the typical questions about her life, her major and her roommates. Aja studied business to make her parents happy but her real passion was in song writing and rapping. She also worked as a barista on the side. She lived with her four best friends and the way her face lit up when she talked about them reminded Shea of herself when she talked about her friends.

She wasn’t entirely sure why but she wanted to dislike Aja upon meeting her. She knew it was wrong and bitter of her but she had a certain protectiveness over her friends. The problem was that Aja was actually really cool. She was totally the type of person that Shea would want to be friends with, and it was clear she liked Sasha a lot. While Sasha was hard to read at times Shea could tell that she liked Aja as well. If it was Shea’s approval that Sasha was seeing, which she doubted, she had it.

After finishing their food and chatting for a while more Sasha got up to use the restroom leaving Aja and Shea to deal with the inevitable awkward silence. “So,” Aja started, “You and Sasha are pretty close it seems.”

Shea nodded, her face lighting up, “Yeah I got really lucky with her as my roomie, it seems like it was meant to be.”

Aja had a tight smile on her lips, “Yeah I can see that, you guys are really something.”

Shea nodded, sensing some animosity she figured it would be best to tread carefully, “Yeah, well she is one of my best friends and I always look after my friends.”

“Yeah of course,” Aja replied.

Shea tried to keep a composed smile on her lips and a light tone, “I know you two aren’t official or anything, but I feel like it’s my duty to let you know if you ever hurt her, I will cut you, but also if she hurts you I’ll give her a stern talking to.”

Aja sighed, “And I totally respect that I really do, it’s just, can I ask you a question?”

Shea smiled hoping to loosen her up, “Sure anything.”

“You and Sasha are just friends right, there’s nothing more to it right?” Aja bit her lip nervously.

Shea paused for a moment before looking at Aja, “Yeah I guess I can see why you’d think that. Sasha has a special place in my heart for sure. But I’m very straight and even if I wasn’t we don’t see each other that way. Our connection is totally platonic. Don’t get me wrong though I’m gonna make sure she stays in my life because she is a great person to have in my corner. So even when you two are dating just know I won’t completely step to the side.”

Aja looked taken aback. She stayed silent for a moment before speaking, “Okay that’s fair the last thing I want to do is come between her and her friends.”

“Good I’m glad we’re in agreement now,” Shea took a sip of her now cold tea.

“Right,” Aja nodded firmly.

Shea was serious for a moment before she broke out into a grin, Aja did the same. “For what it’s worth I think you’re pretty chill, I’ll be sure to put in a good word for you.”

Aja grinned, “Wow thanks.”

Sasha finally returned with three shortbread cookies, “You two getting along?” she asked, taking her seat once again.

“Definitely,” Shea said through a bite of her cookie. She wasn’t completely lying either, she’d still keep an eye out, but Aja had passed the first test so Shea could stand down a little bit.

They finished their cookies and drinks before Aja had to head to work. Shea still had some time before her class and Sasha was done for the day so they hung around and talked still.

Once Sasha had finally had enough of the small talk she brought up the elephant in the room. Shea was surprised it took her so long honestly. “So tell me honestly. What did you think of Aja?” She looked hesitantly at Shea.

“She’s really cool, I’d like to get to know her more,” Shea told her earnestly, giving her hand a comforting squeeze.

Sasha gave her a relieved smile, “Oh great now do I have to be jealous about you two hitting it off?” she teased.

Shea rolled her eyes, “Oh yeah we’re gonna run away together and start a brewery/chicken farm.”

“Doesn’t sound very sanitary,” she raised a brow.

Shea waved her off, “We’re still working out the details.”

Sasha laughed, “Whatever you say.”

“Seriously though, you and Aja seem to really like each other, why aren’t you going for that?” she asked.

Sasha shrugged meekly, “It’s kinda stupid, but I was waiting to have someone to talk about it with I guess. You’ve been my go to person for advice lately and I just needed someone to talk it out with.”

Shea’s heart soared hearing that. She was happy to have Sasha’s full trust now and she wanted to keep it, “So let’s talk about it then,” she smiled.

Sasha let out a breath that she appeared to be holding in, before explaining everything that had been going on with Aja to Shea. Shea listened patiently, she had heard most of it but hearing it now after talking with Aja made her realize how serious it was.

“I really think you should go for it. Aja really likes you and it’s clear you feel the same so now that there’s nothing holding you back you should go get your girl,” Shea told her firmly.

“Yeah you’re right I think I will,” Sasha smiled.

“But you better not forget about your best friend while you do that,” Shea pressed.

“I could never,” Sasha said seriously, “And you should not forget about your class,” she pointed to the clock.”

Shea saw the time and jumped up immediately, “Shit I gotta go,” she gave Sasha a peck on the cheek, “You better keep me updated, I expect you to be in a relationship by tonight,” she called to Sasha as she ran out and straight to class.

*

When Shea got back to her room that night Sasha wasn’t there. She wasn’t surprised by it, she had figured that if she and Aja got together they’d probably want to spend some together. After the conversation she had had with Sasha today she was feeling confident that their friendship would remain solid so there was nothing to be jealous of. The pit in her stomach didn’t seem to be getting that memo though.

She tried to distract herself by texting her friends but they all seemed to be busy. She sighed and threw her phone on the bed and pulled up her English paper and began to work. She wished Sasha was there to help her proof it but maybe she could ask her to do it the next day.

Her phone buzzed and she got up to look at it. It was a text from Sasha telling her not to wait up and that she’d be at Aja’s that night and promised to tell Shea all the deets later.

Shea sent back ‘get it girl!’ with a winky face and decided to give up on writing her paper. Instead she decided to binge watch 90210 until it was time to get to sleep.

*

It was three days later when Shea started to understand the pit in her stomach. In those three days she hadn’t seen Sasha at all. She had been spending the night at Aja’s as well as meeting with her for lunches too apparently. Shea had tried to meet up with her multiple times but Aja seemed to always beat her to the punch. She didn’t expect to be so frustrated. She hadn’t realized how big of a space Sasha had taken up in her life until it was empty. She was getting sick of eating alone and not having someone to stay up late and talk with. She had even stayed the night with Kim and Trixie the night before just so she didn’t have to be alone.

All her classes were gearing up towards finals the next week so she had a lot of work and studying to do. Milk, Naomi and her had started a little study group for their shared classes so at least she had that.

Recently she had been doing some thinking about Milk and his flirting. He was an attractive guy and clearly had an interest in her. She had to think about why it was that she kept turning him down. She wasn’t bothered that he was bi or that he wore makeup and had a more feminine style. In fact she found it refreshing, but maybe there was a small part of her that felt a little uncomfortable with it and maybe she should start challenging that discomfort.

She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Milk asking if he was free for dinner that night and decided that whatever happened she would just go with it. There was no point in holding back anymore.

[snoopctm]

CtM Thursday Thoughts

2017 Christmas Special

A Few Random Thoughts

Happy Thursday! This week, there’s a new episode to write about! The 2017 Christmas special was great to watch. This week, I thought I would share just a few thoughts about the episode. It’s not really an essay--just a few random ideas. More thoughts follow:

Valerie--She was *great* this episode! She got a great story with Linda, Selwyn, and their Christmas miracle, but also she just generally got to be awesome! Kudos to Jennifer Kirby for a great performance. 

Valerie vs. Trixie--I love Trixie, but I noticed that this episode highlighted some of the more vain aspects of her personality, with choosing style over practicality and comfort in the blizzard. And every step of the way, Val was there to counter her vanity with some friendly snark. It’s almost as if no-nonsense Val is being set up as something of the “anti-Trixie”. I wonder if that trend will continue in series 7.

Disappearing Cast Members--While I knew Patsy and Delia weren’t coming back, it did surprise me that they seem to have gone the way of Jane--disappearing without a mention of where they’ve gone. Maybe they all went to Chichester together... Seriously, though, there should at least be a mention. I hope there will be one at some point. I don’t, however, think it's necessary to mention Cynthia, because at least in my eyes, she was already given a proper exit, in episode 6x06. 

Barbara and Tom--I liked them a lot this episode. I do wonder, though, if they will return from their sojourn in Birmingham in a similar condition as when Chummy and Peter returned from Africa. There seemed to be some foreshadowing in that direction from Sister Julienne when they met with her. We will see.

Guest Plots--It’s interesting that we only got to see the “nice” side of Percy Tillerson, before he died and his family told us what he was really like. That added some weight to the drama, I thought. Good performances here from Anita Dobson as Mabel and Rebecca Callard as Anthea. I wish this story could have been given a little more time, but the performances were excellent. The Linda and Selwyn story worked, as well, even though I did guess that the baby would wake up. 

Turners--I’m going to talk about them in more detail in my Tuesday posts (and already have in my most recent one), but I really love their house, and baby Teddy is adorable! I liked seeing Sister J with Teddy for a moment as well, and the scene with Shelagh and the girdle was hilarious. 

Sgt Grumpy (Woolf)--Please, show, do *not* set this guy up with Phyllis. I don’t mind a recurring “sparring” type dynamic between them, but overall I found this guy to be obnoxious and definitely not in Phyllis’s league. Please don’t go there, show.

Reggie--I’m glad he was in this episode. I love how he helped with the cubs. 

Iris Knight Institute--I’m wondering if this will be the permanent new location for the clinics. Otherwise it raises the question of why they would build a new set (which looks something like a renovation of the existing Community Centre set) if they’re only going to use it this once.

Christopher--He’s a keeper, Trixie! Love him even more after this episode!

Those are just a few thoughts for now. Next week I’m thinking of taking an issue or two from this episode and covering them more in detail. This week, I’m just so happy to have a new episode to write about! 

[artificialqueens]

little light (3/8) (Trixya) - Elissa

A/N: Part three of the one where Katya is Trixie’s brother’s best friend!

(if you’re impatient, full fic is up on ao3 at yekaterinunhhhh, come visit me on tumblr at tempfixeliza)

The next morning, Trixie wakes up in a bed she doesn’t remember falling asleep in. Through the pounding in her head she tries to make sense of her surroundings, and she can feel where her arm is pressed against someone else’s body.

Oh, and she’s naked.

“Shit,” she mutters, grabbing the sheet from where it fell to the floor and wrapping it around herself. She’s trying to tiptoe out the door without waking the other occupant of the bed, heart hammering against her ribcage, when the ringer of a phone begins blaring.

“Mmph,” a voice muffled by a pillow signals the distress of whoever else is in the room with Trixie.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” Trixie, also unpleasantly surprised, fumbles with her phone, trying desperately to end the call.

A body emerges from the mound of blankets and pillows, squinting sleepily up at Trixie.

The room goes silent as she sends the call to voicemail, and her breath gets caught in her throat at the sight before her. Even with the smudged mascara, the curls frizzed out where there used to be carefully sculpted definition, the marks from where her cheek had been pressed against the sheets – Trixie is sure no one has ever looked better than Katya in this moment.

“Hi,” she croaks, her morning voice igniting a warmth in Trixie’s core, sunlight burning through her veins at the sleepy grin Katya gives her. She untangles her limbs from a blanket and smooths out the long shirt she had slept in; Trixie’s not sure whether she’s relieved or upset at the fact that Katya was clothed. But it’s probably for the best, since she can’t remember anything after Daniel forced her to have the fourth shot anyway.

And being with Katya is definitely something Trixie would want to remember, even if it ends up being painfully awkward. Which, if Trixie is being honest with herself, it probably would be due to her complete inexperience.

“Um, I don’t - did we-” Trixie doesn’t even know how to ask the question. She might not have had to, if she was clothed or Katya was naked. It would’ve been easier for her to draw conclusions. Though now that she’s put the thought of Katya naked into her mind, it’s even harder for her to sort things out.

“No! Oh my God, no,” Katya sits bolt upright in bed. Trixie tries to ignore the sting she feels at the tone in Katya’s voice, the enthusiasm with which she denies having had sex with her.

Katya notices her face fall anyway, and realizes what she’s just said.

“Not that sleeping with you wouldn’t be, like, an honor or whatever. Because it would be, you’re really fucking hot and all, I just -” She takes a breath shakes her head, reaching up to push a tuft of honey blonde hair behind her ear. “Sorry, I’m usually a lot better at the morning-after talk,” she admits, a joking smile tugging at her lips (though Trixie is fairly certain the statement is true).

“It’s alright,” Trixie looks around the room, desperately searching for clothes and refusing to make eye contact. “Do you know where my clothes are?”

Katya doesn’t respond, just gets up and heads to the furthest corner of the room where a laundry basket is tucked. “I washed them for you last night. You had - well, what do you remember? That’s probably a better place to start.”

Trixie gratefully takes the clothes from Katya’s outstretched arms and sits down on the edge of the bed, thinking hard. What does she remember? She remembers drinking - just a beer at first, because she had every intention of driving home and Trixie Mattel absolutely does not drive drunk. She remembers a game of truth or dare starting, being coerced into playing when she knew what might happen if she did. And she remembers taking the obligatory “wimp-out” shots when she refused to answer questions about her crush. And there were a lot of questions about her crush.

“The last thing I remember is D asking me if the person I like is a girl or a guy, Adore screaming ‘or a non-binary person’ from next to him, and then the shot I had to take when I refused to answer.”

“So you don’t remember shortly after that when Farrah was dared to skinny dip in the pond and you jumped in after her, fully clothed I might add, because you thought she was drowning?”

Trixie groans and tries her hardest to cover her face with the hand that isn’t gripping onto the bed sheet.

“And then I noticed your clothes started weighing you down and I pulled you out. But there was pond water in your hair and your clothes so I told you to shower while I washed your clothes. When I came back up you were tucked into bed with the towel discarded on the floor, fast asleep, and I didn’t have the heart to wake you so I left you alone.” Katya recounts the whole thing slowly for Trixie, so that she has plenty of time to make sure each word sinks into her hangover-riddled brain.

“Okay, that makes sense,” Trixie nods, still a little uncertain about the logistics but deciding to trust Katya. She has nothing to gain by lying, Trixie knows that. “That still doesn’t explain why I woke up in bed next to you, though?”

Katya shrugs and pulls a pair of shorts up under the hem of the long shirt. Trixie’s eyes are trailing over her strong, toned legs before she catches herself and returns her eyes to Katya’s face.

“There’s only one guest bedroom here and everyone else is asleep on the living room floor. I didn’t want to sleep on hardwood. Plus,” she smiles up at Trixie. “After so valiantly hopping into the lake after you and pulling you to safety like a true knight in shining armor would, I felt sleeping in a real bed would be a fitting reward.”

Trixie laughs, and Katya joins in with her for a moment before the two settle into a brief silence.

“Well… I’ll, uh, leave so you can get dressed and stuff. I think Adore said something about her mom making pancakes?”

“She usually does,” a fond look settles over Trixie’s face at the thought of all the pancakes Adore’s mom had made over the years. “And they’re amazing, too. Make sure they save some for me.”

Katya nods, turning to walk toward the door. Trixie briefly admires how neatly her clothes are folded and stacked before picking up her shirt with one hand.

“Which is it, by the way?” Katya’s eyes sparkle with intrigue as she glances back at Trixie. Her dark-red-manicured hand is perched delicately on the door handle.

“Which is what?” Trixie tilts her head, her fingers grasping the sheet tighter around herself.

“The person you like. Guy or girl?”

Trixie takes a shaky breath, forcing a smile onto her face. “Or a non-binary person.”

Katya nods, a knowing look telling Trixie that she’s aware she’s stalling. “Yeah, or that.”

“It’s, um,” Trixie’s palms are sweating. Should she tell the truth? Should she refuse to answer? Should she straight up lie to Katya?

Could she even do that?

“I won’t tell, you know,” Katya murmurs. Her fingers twitch around the doorknob. “I’m good at keeping secrets.”

“It’s a girl,” Trixie finally admits.

Katya seems satisfied with the answer, a tiny smirk pulling the edges of her lips up as she exits the room.

Trixie gets dressed, pulling her now clean clothes over her body (she picks up on the scent of fabric softener and makes a mental note to ask Adore’s mom what brand she uses). As she gets dressed, her mind begins to wander.

Trixie wonders what kind of secrets Katya’s been keeping - and how many of them she’d be able to learn. She hopes she can learn them all.

The smell of pancakes and bacon wafts in through the crack in the door and Trixie’s stomach gives a loud rumble. She ties her hair up in a messy bun and jets downstairs, a grin spreading across her face at the sight of Adore’s mom hovering over the stove, flipping a blueberry pancake.

“Trixie,” she looks up at her as she makes her way into the kitchen. “I hope you still like blueberries, when Adore said you had stayed the night I knew blueberry pancakes were in order.”

“I do, thank you so much. You don’t have to make pancakes every time I stay over, though,” Trixie hops up into the barstool at the counter, settling next to Adore. “I don’t want to impose.”

“Nonsense,” she slides a plate across the counter.

By the time Trixie and Katya have finished breakfast, nearly an hour later, Adore’s mom has washed the dishes and gone in for her shift at the truck stop diner. Daniel and Farrah are nowhere to be found. Trixie assumes Farrah’s dad picked her up (he’ll take any excuse see Adore’s mom), and Daniel probably went home with Chuck. From where she’s sitting, she can see that her keys are still sitting on the table in the entryway.

Trixie takes a deep breath, steadying herself. Katya and Trixie had been making easy conversation, the flow between them steady and natural. No awkward silences, which would be easy to fall into with someone you just woke up next to naked. Her heart swells with the realization that talking to Katya is just as easy as talking to Adore or Farrah - or even Kim, the person Trixie has known and loved the longest out of any of her friends.

“Do you want a ride home?” Trixie makes full eye contact with Katya, and her breath catches in her throat at the intensity in her blue-grey eyes. The gaze is so intense that for a second Trixie almost feels like she’s intruding on a private moment, but she remembers that it’s her Katya is looking at and a warmth floods through her body.

“That would be great,” Katya nods. “I hate asking my parents to take me places, means I have to spend more time with them.”

Trixie laughs and heads over to pluck her keys from the table. “I feel that. I mean, D is terrible sometimes, too, but it’s so much better being stuck in the car with him than with our mom.”

A look flashes across Katya’s face, a brief hint of emotion that Trixie can’t quite put a name to, before Katya laughs as well. “Yeah, he’s said the same about you.”

“Rude,” Trixie pouts as she pulls open the front door. “I’m a goddamn delight.”

“You certainly are,” Katya smiles brightly at Trixie before walking out of the house in front of her.

The two settle into the car, Trixie switching the CD in the player from one of Daniel’s to her own favorite, a mix CD she had carefully cultivated one night last winter.

“Did you really just turn on Melissa Etheridge? Are you a middle aged lesbian?”

Trixie’s cheeks flush at the teasing tone of Katya’s voice. “I - well, I did. Kind of. It’s a mix CD, but I can change it if you want.”

“No!” Katya’s surprised exclamation makes Trixie turn to face her. “No, I’m - I’m an idiot? Sometimes I say things and they just come out so horrible and I sound like such a bitch; I just wanted to tease you a little I didn’t mean to upset you - if I even upset you, maybe you’re not upset, maybe you’re just-”

“Katya?” Trixie lets a hand fall to rest on Katya’s knee. “Deep breath. I’m not upset.”

She exhales a shaky breath and sags back against the seat. “Thank God. I do really want to listen to the music you like. I think it’s a good way to get to know someone.”

Trixie nods, still a little confused at Katya’s babbling. It had sounded like she was genuinely…nervous? That can’t be true, though. Katya is cool, it’s the most revered part of her reputation. She’s funny and detached, she’s irreverent - and she certainly doesn’t get nervous. What was different now?

“Anyway, I’m going to need directions if I’m going to get you home,” Trixie murmurs as she backs out of the driveway.

“You know where Greenwood Drive is?”

“Near the beach? I’m familiar, yeah.” Trixie flicks on her blinker and heads down a side road. It’s a shorter trip to use the main road, and she knows it, but she wants to spend more time with Katya.

“Is it near the beach?” Katya sounds surprised, and Trixie turns to her, shocked.

“Hold on, are you telling me you haven’t been to the beach yet?”

Katya shrugs, “If we’re being honest, I didn’t think there was a beach here. This town is smaller than the town in the Hannah Montana movie. You guys don’t even have a McDonald’s. Everyone has a McDonald’s.”

Trixie can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of her as she takes in the look of actual distress on Katya’s face. “Don’t disrespect Crowley Corners by comparing it to Two Rivers. And we don’t need a McDonald’s, we have Sully’s.”

“Sully’s?”

Trixie resists the urge to roll her eyes, knowing that the reason Katya doesn’t know about the gems in her hometown is because she was ostracized so quickly after arriving.

“It’s a little shack near the river that sells burgers and sundaes - one of the only good things about this town, really. Well, that and the beach.”

Katya nods and tugs at the hem of her shirt. “Cool, I’ll have to remember that.”

From the corner of her eye, Trixie watches Katya for a moment. She seems a little forlorn - Trixie knows the feeling well. Before Adore had taken her under her wing, Kim was the only friend that Trixie had. She knows what it’s like to feel unwanted in a place where everyone else seems to fit so seamlessly.

An idea pops into her mind and she pulls over to the side of the road, turning to Katya once the car is stopped. “Hey, do you have anywhere to be right now?”

“What? No,” Katya looks around outside the car before looking back to Trixie. “Why did you stop? Is something wrong?”

“Can I take you somewhere?”

She’s a bit taken aback, but Katya agrees, and Trixie hangs a left down a dirt trail that looks more like a long-abandoned footpath than an actual road. Tall grass and clusters of saplings whizz past their windows, and Trixie can’t help but wonder where it is that Katya grew up, and whether they had hidden dirt roads so long forgotten that they’d been lined with new life. From the look of fascination on her face, Trixie has to assume that the answer is no.

The music swells as the car rolls to a stop at the edge of the woods, and the two girls sit in the parked car looking out at the view before them. A lighthouse, empty and derelict with paint chipping off along the old metal railing, stands in front of a long pier. The pier is missing boards, teetering amongst the waves that beat against it. In the distance, if Katya squints just enough, she can see the other side of the river, townspeople wandering around like worker ants.

“This is so…”

Trixie holds her breath, waits for Katya to say it - everyone she’s ever brought here has. They think it’s creepy that Trixie likes to spend time so far away from everyone, think it’s strange that as her refuge she chooses an old, isolated place that hasn’t been touched by technology, that doesn’t have cell service or wifi. They don’t understand.

“It’s so beautiful.”

Trixie turns to her, but she’s still staring out at the lighthouse. “Really? Most people think it’s weird.”

One side of Katya’s mouth lifts into a small smile. “Most people think I’m weird.”

But you don’t is the silent, understood whisper that follows.

The radio times out, plunging the car into a silence perforated only by each girl’s breathing. Katya is watching the waves, the birds, taking everything in - but Trixie is only watching Katya.

“Can we go up there?”

“If you want to,” Trixie says meekly.

Katya finally turns back to her, a peaceful smile spread over her face. “I want to with you.”

Trixie nods and the two set out over the grass toward the lighthouse, coming to a stop at steps leading up to the doors. There’s a thick chain wrapped around the handles, with an impressive looking lock holding the chain together.

Katya sighs at the sight, and Trixie can tell she’s about to say something but she stops when Trixie walks up the steps.

“What are you doing?” She calls from the ground when Trixie’s hands reach for the chain.

Trixie pulls down on the lock and it pops open easily, the chain falling to the ground with it when she lets go. “It’s never actually locked, they just like to put on a show I think. Maybe deter some people from going in and sitting up top.”

Katya’s face is shocked and vaguely impressed, looking down at the pile of metal sitting on the ground in front of the doors. Trixie pushes one open and beckons her forward with a small wave of her hand.

She’s led into a circular room with high ceilings, a dusty table missing one leg standing alone in the center. A staircase wraps around the walls, spiraling all the way up. Trixie explains that the railing on the inner edge of the stairs isn’t very sturdy when Katya wanders toward them, and Katya frowns. The height of the stairs begins to worry her without the railing to rely on if she trips in the dim, decrepit space.

They ascend the staircase in silence, Katya moving along as close to the wall as possible in front of Trixie. The muscles in her legs are shifting beautifully beneath her skin and Trixie can see them, is watching her strong legs carry her up the tall spiral staircase and silently thanking the inventor of denim short-shorts.

When they reach the top, there’s a platform to step onto to reach the glass chamber that holds the light. Katya lifts her foot to enter the chamber at the same time that Trixie sidles up beside her, and when Katya loses her balance for a moment she’s glad that Trixie is there to steady her. One of Trixie’s arms is holding onto her elbow, the opposite hand ghosting over the small of her back.

“Careful,” she urges, guiding Katya with the hand on her back. “It’s a long way down.”

Katya lets out a short, breathy laugh, very pointedly trying not to look down over the edge of the railing. It’s only then, when Trixie notices that Katya’s normal wheezing laugh is gone, that she realizes what must be going on.

“Are you afraid of heights?”

Trixie’s careful to keep her tone free of judgment, but the Katya ducks her head as her cheeks flush anyway. “Maybe.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Trixie frowns, leading her further away from the stairs. “We didn’t have to come up here, we could’ve stayed down there.”

“You looked so excited and I couldn’t say no to you,” Katya rubs the back of her neck and gives Trixie a sheepish smile. “And I’ll be fine. I just need to sit down, I think. Is there somewhere here you like to do that?”

Trixie slides open a door and sits on the ledge around the lighthouse, legs tucked under the railing. She can see Katya’s hands shaking while she shuffles around, sitting next to her. She wraps her fingers around the metal rod in front of her and takes a deep breath before looking back to Trixie.

“Growing up, I was really quiet. I didn’t really have many friends,” Trixie begins. “I had Kim - she’s the president of the theatre club now, but back in second grade when we met, neither one of us really had anyone. We were inseparable for a while, but eventually we drifted a little. Kim got her theatre friends, and I was left alone a lot again. That was probably seventh grade? Anyway, one day after school I was supposed to meet Kim and her friends at the beach, but when I got there they were all there laughing and having a good time, and I just… walked away. And somehow I ended up here.”

Katya isn’t responding, but Trixie can tell from her expression that she’s still paying attention. Trixie’s never spilled her entire life out for someone like this, and she thinks maybe she should feel guilty for dropping years worth of problems into someone else’s lap. But Katya’s gaze is soft, compassionate, and when she reaches out and puts one hand over Trixie’s, she knows she can keep going.

“I came here a lot after that. Most of the time because it was easier than the look of pity on my mom’s face when I spent another Friday night at home instead of at sleepovers like the other girls in school. Eventually I made friends with Adore, and then through Adore I met Farrah and they became my best friends. And we both hang out with other people more, but Kim and I are still close.”

“So how often do you come here now?” Katya tilts her head and leans it gently against the rail.

“Not anywhere near as often as I used to. But it’s still one of my favorite places,” Trixie admits. “Adore and Daniel think it’s weird - they’re the only other people who really know I like to come. But it’s just easier out here.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Trixie shrugs, “It just… is easier to look at the town from further away, y’know? It’s easier to distance myself and… and not hear the judgments. The judgments of the way I dress, or the judgments of how quiet I am, or how I wear my makeup or my hair… It’s easier to be myself here.”

“I understand,” Katya says, and Trixie knows she really does. She looks down to where her hand is still over Trixie’s and pulls it back. Trixie nearly shivers at the rush of cold air on her skin.

“Enough of my life story,” Trixie laughs lightly, eager to change the subject. “I want to know about you.”

Katya’s eyes drop immediately, gaze locked on her lap. “I’m not a very good story.”

Trixie can see the way her jaw is moving as she bites on her lower lip.

“I’d like to listen to it anyway,” she says quietly. She moves her hand until it’s just about to make contact with Katya’s again, then stops herself. If Katya has pulled away, she doesn’t want to push her.

“My parents lived in Russia. I went to school in Russia for a while - until fourth grade, but then they shipped me off to boarding school.”

Trixie frowns. “In fourth grade? Why would they do that?”

“Russia is… it’s not a very friendly place. If you’re different, you’re in danger. I wasn’t born a gay man, so I was slightly more safe. But when I came home from the first day of fourth grade and announced that I had a crush on a classmate and my parents found out it was a girl, they were worried. And I can make sense of it now, but then? I didn’t know what I had done to deserve being sent away like that.” There’s a crease between Katya’s brows that Trixie desperately wants to smooth out with her thumb; she wants to soothe away the painful memories.

“So I didn’t really see my parents growing up, because going home meant going somewhere that I wasn’t safe. And they wanted to keep me from that, but in doing that they kept me from them. I made friends easily in boarding school, had my own…sort of a family. Ginger, Alaska, and Willam. And we were all pretty good kids, we didn’t get in much trouble except the one time Willam convinced us to smoke pot on school grounds. But then my parents finally had enough of Russia, and scraped together money to move here, since it’s safer. They thought I should come back and live with them,” Katya sighs, shaking her head minutely. “And now I’m stuck living in a small house with two people I don’t even really know.”

Trixie’s fingers inch closer to Katya’s. “I’m so sorry, Katya. I can’t imagine how difficult that must be.”

“I guess that’s a big part of why I was so shy and insecure when I came here,” Katya confesses. “I didn’t know where I stood in my own home, much less in a new school. And then the rumors started…” she trails off, scraping away at the chipped paint on the railing with a fingernail.

“I never believed the things they said about you,” Trixie says truthfully. There had been a lot of things said about Katya - that she frequented college parties and slept with older men, that she smoked pot every night, that she had contracted an STD, even that she had been initiated into a motorcycle gang based out of the nearest city. And Trixie hadn’t thought any of them were true.

Katya gives an apathetic shrug, not looking up at Trixie. “Maybe you should’ve.”

“But,” Trixie furrows her brow, “You just said-”

“I didn’t have anyone to talk to when the rumors started. I had no one. Not a friend, not a sibling, not even my parents. I was so scared and lonely, I didn’t know who could’ve said such nasty things about me. They started and I didn’t know what to do, because everyone believed them. So I decided that I might as well be the person the rest of the town thought I was - at least that person was having fun.” Katya’s eyes are closed now, but Trixie thinks she can see saltwater gathering beneath her eyelashes. “All I wanted coming here was to fit in, you know?”

“You don’t have to fit in,” Trixie’s fingers finally close the distance and grasp Katya’s. “This town is - God, it’s fucking terrible, Katya. You shouldn’t want to fit in with these people anyway. You’re so much better than them.”

Katya huffs a cold laugh, opening her watery eyes. “I’m not better than anybody.”

“Yes you are,” Trixie says earnestly, squeezing her hand. “We’ve only talked for such a short period of time, but I already know you’re so much better than Two Rivers.”

Trixie does know. She knows her and Katya have only actually been speaking for a little over 24 hours, but she already knows that Katya is the sun. She’s known since the moment she first heard Katya laugh. Trixie knows that inside Katya is something that makes the flowers grow, that her glow makes Trixie light up in ways she didn’t know she could. That Katya makes Trixie better . She knows that Katya is too good for Two Rivers, but maybe - just maybe - she ended up there anyway to help Trixie bloom.

Katya turns to Trixie with a hint of a smile and Trixie feels something unfurl in her stomach.

“If I’m too good for Two Rivers, then so are you.”

Trixie blushes, glancing down at where their fingers are now intertwined. “Debatable. But anyway, that’s enough sadness for right now.”

“You’re right. You haven’t unlocked my full tragic backstory just yet,” Katya laughs lightly, wiping under her eyes.

“Oh really? What do I have to do to to unlock the full story?” Trixie leans over and bumps into Katya’s shoulder gently.

“There’s a couple side quests and then the final boss. Might be more work than it’s worth,” Katya’s eyes are sparkling when they meet Trixie’s.

“I’m willing to put in the work.” She tries to keep her tone light and playful, but the earnestness of the statement seeps into the space between them.

“Well,” Katya says as she stands, tugging Trixie’s hand. “Come on, then. You can begin your first quest by taking me for an ice cream sundae.”

[theartificialdane]

Galactica, part 224

In this Pearl looks at her girlfriend, the V-list strikes again, Tatianna comes home, Courtney practices, Sutan visits, Fame tries not to worry, and Trixie removes the demon.

Thank you @toriibelledarling @veronicasanders and @samrull <3

TW: Mentions of self harm.

“Come on, babe! The water’s warm!” Pearl was already neck deep in the bath, enjoying the raspberry scent of bubbles around her.

Laila walked into the bathroom with a sour expression, holding up two t–shirts. “Which one should I wear tonight? It’s my first time doing a livestream and I want to look, you know, good? I guess.” She shrugged, showing Pearl the shirts, both of them generic Forever 21, black with writing on them. Laila deserved better.

“How about that crop top I got last week? From Victoria’s Secret? You’d look, like, fucking hot in it.”

Laila frowned, dropping the shirts to the floor and stepping out of her clothes to join Pearl in the bath. “I don’t know. Hot isn’t really my brand, you know?” she said while taking off her bra and Pearl was ready to argue a completely different statement.

“Bullshit. Hot was always your brand.” Pearl said, wrapping her arms around Laila when the other girl finally climbed into the bathtub and situated herself between Pearl’s legs, leaning backwards against her. “You look hot in your pyjamas, with your hair unwashed for three days, in your underwear, without your underwear, in ripped tights, in a fancy dress, in a–”

“Okay, shut up, shut up or I’ll feed you some foam.” Laila threatened, taking a handful of bubbles and smashing them on top of Pearl’s head instead. “I’ll check the crop top later, fine? Do you wanna guest star in my livestream?”

“I’d be, like, honored, BonBon. What do you need me to do? Do you want to paint me? Are we doing unboxing? Are we–”

“Nah, I just need a glamorous assistant to hand me my brushes,” Laila grinned. She was so beautiful when she smiled like that, Pearl couldn’t resist…

… smacking her in the face with a handful of foam.

***

Alright, muffins. We promised a full review of Li’l Courtney Act’s first album, Kaleidoscope, once it dropped, so here you go…

CONTENT: These songs are not bad at all. We know that sounds like damning with faint praise but that’s the truth. You know how most pop music is total garbage? Well, frankly, we expected garbage. Especially when we saw her listed as co-writer. (HARD EYE ROLL.) But yeah, a lot of the songs are catchy and danceable and her biggest flaw is her tendency to use nonsensically pretentious turns of phrase. That said, we’ll take pretentious lyrics over “yeah, baby, yeah yeah” any day, so take that criticism with a grain of salt. (We just think it’s silly when pop music pretends to be smart. Like, calm down, please. We don’t go to the VMAs to find an SAT tutor.)

EXECUTION: Okay, so as we said after her first single dropped, the girl can sing. She doesn’t have the voice of the Next Mariah, but neither is she the Next Britney, being shoved down our throats because she’s cute and mediocre. She has a good, solid voice and it’s also clear that she’s working for it, which it important. Solid B.

BEST TRACKS: We are totally in love with “Kaleidoscope,” which we hear is the next video/single (although it’s one of the worst offenders of the above mentioned pretentious nonsense lyrics, it’s a very exuberant, fun dance song), as well as her angsty unrequited-love ballad, “Across the Ocean,” which we assume is about BDR especially with lyrics like “her smoldering eyes taunt me, turn me to dust in her hands” - sure sounds like B. And then of course there’s the totally cheesy but ultimately fulfilling, sexy bass-pumped follow-up, “Found.” I mean, you gotta hand it to this kid for putting her heart out there. And of course we love what we think is the best dance track, “Ecstasy.”

VIDEO: The single that dropped today with the album was “Body Heat,” accompanied by a music video. Our review? HOLY SHIT. BASICALLY PORN. 10/10. GO WATCH IMMEDIATELY. The story is very simple. Courtney is trapped on a crowded subway car in the middle of the summer. Lights are flickering, everyone is sweaty and beautiful, and she’s being banged around (pun intended) between Ruby Rose and Naya Rivera. YES YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT. WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE????

TL;DR - Who cares about anything else, Courtney should be fucking SAINTED for that video.

Kisses, V

***

“Allison? Are you home?” Tatianna opened the door to her apartment. “I got ingredients for hot pot since we’re staying in tonight!” Tatianna threw her keys in the bowl by the door. Tatianna loved hot pot, even though it was technically way too fattening to eat on a model diet, but she didn’t care, not tonight. She hadn’t expected to like living with Allison as much as she had, but somehow it had turned out for the better, the quiet, big eyed, blonde girl a calm and quiet presence Tatianna had no idea she needed.

“Allison? Where are you, come on, I’m hungry!”

Tatianna toed off her shoes and walked into the apartment, all the lights were turned off, except the warm glow that came from the bathroom door that was cracked open.

“Allison?”

“Please don’t… It hurts…”

“I know sweetheart, I know…”

Tatianna didn’t recognise the voices. She knew one of them had to be Allison, but the girl sounded so broken, so small, the other voice a deep baritone that sounded familiar but she couldn't place it.

“Please...”

Tatianna pushed the door open, and saw Sutan of all people in the world, sitting on the floor with Allison, her cheeks dark with mascara, her hair a mess, Sutan sitting between her legs neither of them noticing that Tatianna could see them.

“I’m sorry... I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay.” Sutan was gently dabbing a cotton pad on Allisons inner thigh, her pearly white skin covered with tiny red cuts, drops of blood still clinging to her, the woman only dressed in a sweater and her underwear. “You did good.”

Allison shook her head, a sob coming from the deepest part of her chest.

“Hey, hey.” Sutan gently grabbed the side of Allison’s face, the man forcing the girl her to look at him, his thumb gently caressing her cheek. “You did good. You called me, and you did good.”

Allison nodded, the girl clinging to Sutan’s hand while she cried, small sounds of pain leaving her as Sutan finished cleaning the wounds on her thighs.

Tatianna gently closed the door, neither of them noticing her as she tiptoed into the kitchen, her stomach one giant knot. She knew Allison was going through a rough time, but to see her friend, her roommate and someone she cared so deeply about hurt her to her core. Allison had gone out that morning for a modeling job, the two of them eating breakfast on the couch while watching Good Morning America as Tatianna nursed her hangover from the day before. It felt like lightyears away, but she was pulled out of her trance when she heard noises from the bathroom, Allison on her feet, and Tatianna instantly went to the front door, opening it and slamming it shut before she turned around, a fake smile on her face.

“Allison, I’m home!”

Tatianna was a lot of things, and had been called her fair share of names by jealous girls and rude ex lovers, but if there was one thing she’d never be, it was a bad friend.

***

“5, 6, 7, 8…” Derrick counted Courtney in and she began the routine, flanked by two of the backup dancers with whom she’d be performing on Friday. She tried to concentrate, to not worry about how her album was doing on the iTunes charts, what people were saying, what reviews had come out...

Ben sat in front of the mirror, watching her closely, scrutinizing her every move. When she finished, he jumped up to give her some tips. “I think you need stronger arms, and to hit harder with your hips. You’re missing some of the accent beats.”

Derrick raised her eyebrows. “See?”

Courtney nodded, out of breath, watching Ben demonstrate, taking care to milk the part with the sexy backup dancer. “Hello, sir,” he simpered, body rolling against him. Courtney giggled.

“Yaaaaaas!” Derrick exclaimed. “See Court, how his hands are flexed and his legs are straight on the extensions? Sometimes when you do it, it’s like you’re marking.”

“Okay, let’s try it again,” Courtney said. “Sometimes I worry that I’m gonna forget the steps, or I get distracted, so I hesitate. I think I just need more rehearsal.”

“What you need, is to be a fucking confident, sexy bitch, who knows you are in total charge of the stage,” Ben replied.

Courtney grinned. “So I need to be Vanity?”

Ben tossed imaginary hair over his shoulder. “Couldn’t hurt, love.”

“I’ll do my best!” she promised, getting into her opening pose and winking at him.

***

“Thanks Katya, but I’m good!” Sutan smiled as he made his way through Violet’s apartment, Katya and Trixie in the kitchen with Ivan, baking pumpkin pies with the woman Sutan briefly recognised as Max’s girlfriend Ruby.

Sutan opened the door to Violet’s room, the light in the room dim, a single scented candle burning, a low male voice talking and Sutan realised Violet was meditating. Sutan gently took off his jacket, trying his best not to give Violet a shock, he sat down on her bed, waiting for the girl to open her eyes as he took out his phone. Sutan was dressed in a green sweater and black jeans, the man meeting Jaslene, her new husband and a lot of his friends for a pre halloween bash, Sutan hoping he could potentially find someone Tatianna could date for a while. Sport stars always needed models on their arms, and the press had started to wonder a little too much if he and Tatianna were too close, Sutan nearly rolling his eyes when Raven had sent him a link to an article from her hospital bed, Raven somehow always on top of the gossip.

“Sutan?”

Sutan looked up from his phone, a smile on his face when he saw Violet reach out and grab the hoodie next to her, quickly pulling it on before she got up from the floor and walked over to him.

“What are you doing here? You didn’t text...”

“I came to see you.” Sutan reached out and placed his hands on her hips, leaning forward to gently kiss her stomach that was bare, Violet only wearing leggings and a sports bra, the girl wrapping her arms around his neck, not saying anything as Sutan mouthed her skin.

“You did?”

“Mmmh...” Sutan pulled Violet down, the girl falling forward, her legs folding so she was sitting in his lap. “Kiss me?”

Violet bit the inside of her cheek, and Sutan was almost sure she was hesitating before she leaned down, their lips meeting in a kiss, Sutan gently prying Violet’s mouth open with his tongue, but Violet gently pulled back.

“So you came here, just to see me? Not for any other reason?

“What’s with all the questions?”

“No reasons…” Violet kissed Sutan again, her stomach in knots, but as Sutan pulled her down on the bed, the two lying together, Sutan holding her close, their bodies together, chest to chest, their legs intertwined, Sutan’s hand in her hair, and the knot was slowly replaced with warm desire. She was mad at the man who was holding her, mad and even a little hurt that he had apparently just come over to have sex, but the worry was slowly disappearing as Sutan whispered in her ear, his voice low, his breath hot, and Violet allowed herself to drown in her lover’s embrace, forgetting her annoyance.

***

“Hi, sweetie. What’s the matter?” Jinkx asked, opening her door to reveal Adore, holding a duffel bag. She’d been a little puzzled when her doorman had called up to say that Adore was there, and now her confusion was replaced with concern.

“The pipes are leaking again. My kitchen flooded. I have no hot water,” Adore told her, a look of shame flashing across her face. “I’m sorry, I hate doing this. I can call Bianca but Courtney’s brother stole my bedroom.”

“Don’t be silly,” Jinkx said, pulling Adore inside. “Come in. I was just about to order some lunch. It’s so dreary out, I was thinking some kind of hot soup. Maybe pho or ramen? Chili? What do you think?”

Adore sighed happily, following Jinkx and flopping down beside her on the sofa. “Whatever you want sounds amazing. And thank you, I’m really sorry to keep bugging you like this.”

Jinkx kissed Adore on the forehead, picking up her phone. “Please don’t apologize. I love having you here.” She wrapped an arm around Adore from behind, nuzzling the back of her hair. “Stay as long as you want.”

Adore pulled a blanket around them and leaned back, closing her eyes. “I love you, Jinkxy,” she murmured blissfully.

“Me too, honey.” Jinkx said.

***

Holy shit, you guys! So apparently Li’l Courtney Act has at least one ex who did not delete the nudes from their phone after they broke up. In what appears to be incredibly suspicious timing (her album dropped like, YESTERDAY), some very racy photos hit the tabloids this morning. Uncensored versions are all over the web and damn, girl. (After the jump.)

*

So these pictures are clearly from a few years ago, back when she had the roots of a poor person and some obvious dorm room decor going on. (Unframed movie posters and loft bed? Classy, Court.) If it makes any difference, we think she’s hotter now, but that doesn’t mean we’re not saving these. For...science.

***

The cafeteria in the late morning was Pearl’s favorite place at work. The suits had all left, the Johns and Larrys and Michaels all gone to their respective offices. Pearl liked the peace, liked hiding from her employees and taking the time to sit and eat without anything bothering her. Pearl was checking her Instagram, slowly making her way through a banana when a shadow blocked her screen and someone sat down next to her.

“Hey, this table is taken asshol-” Pearl looked up, expecting one of the suits that she had somehow missed to have forced their way into her space, but as she looked up, she came face to face with... Violet?

“Hi...” Violet smiled slightly, the girl looking incredibly insecure. “I... Umh... Is someone sitting here?”

Pearl shook her head, slightly shocked that Violet was even talking to her. Violet was the queen of the cold shoulder, and her friend had barely acknowledged her existence for weeks.

“I got you this...” Violet held out a cup of coffee, Pearl realizing that she hadn’t said anything at all since Violet had started talking.

“You’re not mad anymore?”

“No...” Violet smiled slightly and shook her head. “I woke up this morning, and I couldn’t remember why I was mad at you, and when I remembered, I realised that all I wanted was to talk to my friend…” Violet sat down, Pearl quickly moving so there was space for Violet, the two sitting together. “I’m sorry I was so mad, and that I was mad for so long...”

“You kinda had the right to, I was being a dick.”

“You didn’t mean to.”

“Doesn’t mean I wasn’t one.”

Violet held out the cup of coffee once again, a sigh of relief leaving her when Pearl accepted it, the two girls smiling at each other before Pearl started laughing.

***

Fame hugged Bianca tightly. “Thanks for meeting me.”

“Of course, blondie. How are you?”

Fame avoided eye contact, dodging the question with an exuberant, “I bet Courtney is excited about tonight!”

“Yeah, well...I don’t know if ‘excited’ is the right word. She’s turned our bedroom into a zen monastery.”

Fame leaned her chin on her hand, eyes glittering dreamily. “Oh yeah?”

“What? Why are you giving me that look?”

“You said OUR bedroom,” Fame simpered.

Bianca cleared her throat uncomfortably. “I hate it when you get all touchy-feely. Why are we even talking about me? Aren’t we here to discuss your failing marriage?”

Fame straightened up. “Nice, Bianca.”

“Sorry.”

“Whatever,” Fame replied, as the waiter walked up. They gave their orders and then when she left, Fame was still avoiding eye contact.

“Fame...I really am sorry. How are you doing? Have you talked to him at all?”

Fame shook her head. “Nope.”

“And…?”

“And I’m miserable. I miss him so much. I hate the way we left things. The more I think about that last fight, the more regret I have about everything. He’s not perfect, not remotely, but he didn’t deserve to be treated the way I...he didn’t deserve that.” Fame’s voice was soft.

Bianca nodded. “Yeah, well, listen, it sounds like you might have to do our least favorite thing now.”

“What’s that?”

“Admit you fucked up. To him.”

Heaving a huge sigh, Fame shook her head. “I don’t even know if he’ll want to hear from me now.”

“How will you know if you don’t try?”

“I just...I think this may be bigger than the two of us. I may need reinforcements.”

“Like the fire department?”

“Like a couples therapist.”

Bianca scoffed. “Pfft, therapy is for whiny assholes who don’t know how to deal with their problems.”

Fame rolled her eyes. “Bianca, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I have never known someone more desperately in need of therapy than you in my entire life.”

“Don’t take that the wrong way? What way am I supposed to take that?”

“Well,” Fame began, “I mean, it’s an expression. Take it however you want. It’s true, though. You’ve got major issues.”

“What ‘issues’? My life is fucking awesome.”

“Right. Nevermind.” Fame rolled her eyes. “Aaanyway, where do you think I should suggest Patrick and I meet? I need somewhere neutral.”

***

“Trixie, what are we doing up here?” Ivy asked, trying not to let her extreme fear of heights take hold, as brisk autumn wind whipped her skirt around.

“/What/ are we doing up here, or what are /we/ doing up here?” Trixie responded coyly.

“Both!” Roxie exclaimed. Roxie wasn’t afraid of heights, and peered boldly off the edge of the roof. Holy shit, were they high up.

Gia yawned and examined her nails, and Betty crossed her arms, irritated. As relieved and happy as the design department was to have Trixie back, they were all still worn down and burned out from their months working under Bendela the Bitch, and had less patience than usual for his charming antics. The assistants were simply confused.

“Listen,” Trixie began, as he felt himself losing the crowd, “I know you guys have all had a very, very difficult few months. I’m really sorry for what you’ve all been through. I’m sorry I wasn’t here, and I’m sorry that you felt like you were, to put it simply, abandoned to live with an evil stepmother. She did a LOT of things wrong - basically she did everything wrong. The first thing was, she didn’t listen to any of you, or let you feel free to express yourselves creatively. As you all know, that is DEATH for a company like ours. The second thing was, she had you attempt to mass-produce what were supposed to be one of a kind couture garments. This put tremendous pressure and strain on all of you, and it also devalued the garments.”

“No shit,” Betty chimed in.

“Well, so, I thought...maybe today we could take care of both problems. Obviously, we need to get rid of the knock-offs. They are hastily made imitations of the originals and they shouldn’t be in the marketplace.” Trixie held up one of the jackets. “We’ll say there was a warehouse fire…” he grinned wickedly and poured a little lighter fluid into a large metal trash can. “And while we do this, we can vent, or yell, and get out all this negative energy, and start fresh on Monday.”

“Are you serious?!” Gia exclaimed.

“Yup! Let’s think of it as a cleansing ritual. Nothing more cleansing than fire, eh? So what do you say? It’s voluntary. No one has to participate.”

“Oh, I’m fucking IN!” Betty yelled, pumping her fist in the air.

April squealed and jumped up and down, clapping.

“And I think my friend Shane should do the first one. If he wants.” Trixie looked at Shane hopefully.

Shane had been standing beside Betty quietly. His eyes a little misty. He stepped forward and slowly took the jacket out of Trixie’s hand. Trixie helped him light a sleeve, then he tossed it into the bin and watched as the entire garment was engulfed in flames. “Burn, baby, burn!” he chanted, then turned to the group, eyes dancing with glee. “Who’s next?!”

***

Courtney paced around Bianca’s bedroom, muttering lyrics to herself, having totally given up on meditating. Ben appeared in the doorway, watching her for a few moments before startling her with, “Hello there, Sybil.”

Courtney nearly jumped out of her skin, whirling around. “Ben, you scared the FUCK out of me!”

“Just what are you doing?”

“I’m...I dunno.”

“I thought you were supposed to be having a relaxing day. What happened to your meditation stay-cation nonsense?” he asked.

“I can’t clear my mind, so I decided to drive myself nuts instead.”

“Sounds like a great idea. I don’t get it, didn’t your run through go great yesterday?”

“It was fine.” Courtney chewed on the inside of her cheek.

Ben rolled his eyes. “Okay, well, you need to stop stressing yourself out.”

“How?” Courtney fretted.

“Come play dress-up with me. I’m almost done with your Halloween costume…” he teased.

“Really?! I thought you said you’d be sewing it onto my body!”

“Yeah, well, I severely underestimated how bored I’d be living with you two. Now, come on, let’s see how much tailoring I need to do since you’ve lost inches in your waist and gained an actual female’s ass for the first time in your life.” Ben grabbed her hand and tugged her down the hall, and she followed him, laughing.