#John Buck and His Blazers | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

seventven · 3 years

Text

friendly assistance (ii)

summary: y/n and bucky spend their free evening at a nightclub. john walker has similar plans for the night. y/n and bucky see this as an opportunity to show walker just how uninterested she is in his attempts to flirt with her. things don’t go as planned.

pairing: tfatws!bucky x reader

word count: 1.4k+

warnings: drinking; swearing; public displays of affection; a bit of bump and grind; slight jealousy; uninvited feelings of arousal

a/n: hello i know i was meant to post this like 2 weeks ago but life happened

PREVIOUS PART / NEXT PART / MASTERLIST

“The way he is looking at you is making my blood boil.”

The words were spoken in a low voice and when Y/N looked over her shoulder, the grimace was evident across Bucky’s face. He stood close, a snug, black velvet blazer accentuating his broad shoulders, long fingers wrapped around a glass of rum. His face was illuminated by the red and blue lights flickering across the night club’s dance floor, his eyes dark as he regarded John from across the room.

“Seriously, does he not have anything better to do than ogling you like that? It’s all he has done since we got here.”

Y/N couldn’t help but chuckle, stealing a brief glance in the blonde’s direction. He sat on a stool by the bar, completely ignoring whatever Hoskins was shouting at him over the thrum of the blaring music. The way in which John’s eyes were glued to her, unable to glance away and the bold, flirtatious look in her eyes made her skin crawl.

She turned towards Bucky, a hint of a smirk playing across her painted lips. He was suddenly closer than she remembered; the floor under Y/N’s feet vibrated with every thump, countless sweaty bodies pushing her further and further into him.

“I could say the same thing to you, Buck. You’ve been glaring at him for hours.”

He released a frustrated breath and took a gulp of his drink, sending one last glare in John’s direction. He almost hissed at the burn of alcohol in his throat. Bucky wished he could get drunk like everybody else and just fucking relax, but with the amount of super soldier serum running through his veins, the task was just about impossible to accomplish.

“It pisses me off,” he grumbled, voice barely audible over the loud music. He stepped closer, his expression softening when Y/N finally turned to face him fully. He was no longer grinding his teeth but the agitation was evident in his eyes. “I don’t trust him.”

Y/N reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body to his. He quirked an eyebrow inquisitively, one arm sliding around the small of her back and pulling her in closer. Y/N placed a small peck to his stubbly cheek; she wasn’t sure if it was a friendly kiss to comfort and calm him, an invitation to dance, or something done as part of their plan to get Walker to back off. Whatever the reasoning, the gesture was reassuring for them both and Bucky’s eyes fluttered closed for a short second, enjoying the feeling.

When it was over, their bodies flush against each other, swaying to the beat of the music, Bucky brought his lips to her ear. She almost shuddered at the feeling of his hot breath on her skin, goosebumps rising on her flesh.

“He’s staring,” Bucky whispered, his grip on her body tightening. Y/N could feel her heart hammering wildly in her chest; she knew this was all a meaningless plan to get John to leave her alone but the fact did nothing to cease the budding excitement she felt at being so close to Bucky. The alcohol in her system, the thrumming music and the heat radiating from his body made the whole thing way more exciting than it had any right to be. Was she feeling turned on?

Bucky released a tiny chuckle, the sound of which travelled all the way between her thighs. She always found Bucky attractive and enjoyed the innocent intimacy of their friendship, but this was something different. The way his hands held her close, the way his breath by her ear made her skin tingle... It was something else entirely.

“I don’t think he’s buying it.” Bucky cocked his head back to regard her expression. She hoped the flickering lights covered how red her face must have been, her mouth watering at the smell of Bucky’s cologne. He was just so fucking close...

The corner of his lips curved up into a teasing smirk, a hint of mischief in his eyes.

“Let’s give him a show,” he whispered, and Y/N felt her heart skip a beat. She regarded his expression carefully, unable to form a coherent sentence and when Bucky spun her around and pressed her back to his chest, a gasp fell from her lips.

“What are you doing?” She managed the words weakly. She looked across the dance floor to where John was sitting. He was watching with dark, angry eyes, jaw clenched, his fingers wrapped tightly around a bottle of beer. There was fury and jealousy in the way he watched the scene unfold before him, and Y/N’s lips parted at the feeling of Bucky pressing his mouth to the side of her neck.

“Just relax and play along,” he responded quietly, then took her earlobe between his teeth and tugged. Y/N’s eyes fluttered closed, enjoying the whole thing more than she should have, and found her hips instinctively backing farther into him. Bucky chuckled at the feeling.

“I said play along, Y/N. You don’t have to grind on me in order to get the message across. There’s no need.”

Y/N felt her cheeks heating up, a feeble apology tumbling past her lips.

He kissed her neck slowly, making sure they were positioned in a way which gave John the perfect view. Bucky pressed his tongue flat to her neck, just below her ear, and Y/N’s head fell back onto his shoulder at the feeling. It was only then that Y/N realised how long it had been since she had received a good fucking.

“Did you just moan?”

Her eyes fluttered open and she tilted her head to look at him. Bucky had an amused little grin playing across his lips and there was something that resembled satisfaction glistening in his eyes. Y/N bit her lip, embarrassed with the way her body was responding to him.

“No, I didn’t,” she protested, and looked away, back towards John. Her face was red and her heart was beating rapidly inside her ribcage. God, this was embarrassing.

“Sure,” he chuckled, evidently disbelieving her protest, but soon dropped the topic, and Y/N couldn’t have been any more thankful. He dipped his head lower and kissed her shoulder.

Y/N tried to keep her eyes open, to look in John’s direction and to ignore the feeling of Bucky’s lips on her skin, but she just couldn’t do it. There was electricity between them and the arousal in her core continued to grow, demanding to be felt. She closed her eyes again and just revelled in it, her bottom lip between her teeth, desperate not to make a sound. He pulled her in closer.

“If that wasn’t a moan, then why are you grinding your ass on me again?”

Her heart dropped, the subconscious movement of her hips ceasing.

“I’m not!”

“Don’t lie.”

Growing annoyed, she attempted to step away and put an end to this charade. Clearly, the whole thing just wasn’t going to work out; especially not with Bucky’s constant taunts and her body’s inability to behave itself. It was better to end it now than continue and make it any more awkward.

“I need to get a drink,” she told him, her exasperation evident in her tone. She felt beyond mortified, her cheeks reddening, palms sweating and that horrible feeling of unease making her mouth dry.

Bucky pulled her in closer, her back pressed flush to his chest. She almost gasped at the force of his grasp.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he whispered in her ear, softly, like he didn’t mind her body’s uninvited response to his touch. There was no longer humour or teasing in his tone, but a gentleness that made her feel like everything was okay. It was reassuring, but Y/N was in too deep in her embarrassment. She needed to get away.

“I need to go,” she stated, ignoring his reassurance and peeling his hands away from her body.

Bucky only watched as she weaved through the crowd, pushing past dancing, sweaty bodies until she was well away from his hands and the temptation he posed.

She avoided his gaze, ordering a drink when she finally reached the bar and praying that John wouldn’t try to hit on her again. With the arousal she was feeling, combined with the alcohol running through her veins, she feared she was capable of doing something stupid, something she would regret in the morning. Something like taking him up on his never ending offers.

#bucky barnes #bucky #Bucky Barnes imagine #Bucky Barnes x reader #Bucky Barnes smut #Bucky Barnes fic #Sebastian Stan imagine #tfatws smut #tfatws imagine

496 notes · View notes

lost-in-the-80s · 3 years

Text

The Wedding

Pairing: Izzy Stradlin x fem!reader

Words: 2.321k

Summary: Your brother's wedding has arrived, without having a boyfriend, you invite Izzy, your best friend, to be your date. (smut)

A/N: When I started listening to gnr, it didn’t take much time before Izzy got a place in my heart, so this is for his birthday

Song rec for the fic: Woman by John Lennon

Sitting on an airplane for over an hour now, Izzy observed your asleep figure beside him, your head laying on his shoulder, like you had done so many times before, unaware of the warmth it caused on the brunette’s heart.

He questioned himself for a thousandth time that week. Why in the hell did I agree with this?

The idea didn’t sound like a big deal at first, accompanying you to your brother’s wedding wouldn’t cause any harm. But as the days started to go by, his mind traced every aspect of a wedding, the music, the romantic atmosphere, the dancing, and he soon started to regret having said yes so easily.

The truth is that Izzy has always loved you, ever since the day the two of you met. It all happened so naturally that he didn’t notice he was in love until you went on a date with another guy.

At first, he loved your voice, he’d call you just to hear you talking for hours about the most random things. Then it was your eyes, he found himself entranced by their color, the way they rolled when you got annoyed, and how they seemed to invade his deepest thoughts and memories every time you looked at his eyes.

The last thing was your attitude, your bluntness and forward behavior shocking him sometimes, and being his main entertainment in others. He found a true interest in watching you, it didn’t matter what you were doing, you would always be in his sight.

And even though years passed, that feeling seemed to just grow more and more, and every time he saw you going out with another guy, his heart broke into smaller and smaller pieces.

Little did he know the reason behind your maneater habits.

The truth is that, just like him, you had fallen for him since day one, you loved his nonchalant attitude and his style, the shape of his hands and fingers, and how dry his voice was after his third cigarette.

Just like him, you would secretly observe him, the two of you being too good on your game to ever get caught by each other.

But you didn’t want to risk your friendship over admitting your feelings, especially when you didn’t know if Izzy felt the same way. So you went on multiple dates, meeting guys with the most different appearances and personalities, all in hopes that one day, you’d meet someone capable of making you stop thinking about the guy from Indiana. That, obviously, never happened.

A little turbulence on the plane woke you up, you immediately looked up, meeting his brownish eyes.

“It’s just turbulence. Go back to sleep.”

You nodded slowly, before laying your head on his shoulder again, inhaling his scent of cigarettes and cologne and immediately feeling your body calm down.

---

You looked at yourself in the mirror of the hotel room, rolling your eyes at Niki's choice of color and design for the bridesmaids' dresses.

A soft knock on the door caught your attention and there stood him, a black blazer matching his black jeans.

He looked you up and down.

"You're gonna steal the bride's attention like that."

"It's grey, the most boring color ever! I wouldn't steal her attention, even if I wanted to."

He chuckled softly.

Well, you stole my attention. He thought to himself.

Picking up your purse and gift you exited the room, locking your arm with his for support, as you got on the elevator and then walked towards the hotel's saloon.

---

During the entire ceremony, Izzy found his attention caught by you, the way you stood out amongst the other bridesmaids and how impatient you seemed to grow with how long the ceremony was taking.

Your grey dress looked like pure silver, reflecting the lights. You looked so beautiful that he wished he had brought a camera to take a picture of you.

Your eyes caught his for once, and you blinked in his direction, smiling when you saw his lips turn into a small smile.

After what felt like forever the ceremony ended and he found himself sitting at a table with “Y/N and boyfriend” written down on a card.

“I think someone gave them the wrong info.” He showed you the card when you plopped down on the chair beside him.

You rolled your eyes. “Classic coming from my family.”

You lifted the tablecloth, making him look down to see what was happening.

“These heels are killing me.” You complained, removing your silver sandals and quickly massaging your feet.

“I bet they are.” He took two champagne glasses from a waiter passing by.

He knew you weren’t used to heels. Being almost his height, you never felt the need to wear them that often.

“Thanks.” You took your glass towards your nude lips.

“How much did you pay for that gift?” He pointed towards the biggest package on a pile, knowing it was yours.

“300 bucks.”

His eyes widened for a second.

You didn’t wait for him to say anything, knowing exactly what was crossing his mind.

“He’s my only brother. I might not like Niki that much, but he’s happy with her, and I’m happy for that.”

“Fair enough.” He drank from his champagne again. "Those ice statutes are quite tempting for a man who wants to take a piss,"

He chuckled to himself, but soon realized that your attention was focused on the main door.

“See that girl over there?” You pointed at the door.

“What’s with her?”

“That’s Braeden,” the name made him realize she was your sister. “She’s the only woman taller than me here….”

He looked back at you, and so you lowered your voice, keeping eye contact with him.

“When the bouquet time comes, you’re gonna block her.” You gestured aggressively with your hands, making a smile start to form on his lips.

“Why?”

“There’s no way my younger sister is gonna get married before me.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t know you aspired to marriage Y/N.”

Your eyes softened with his sentence and a small pain formed in your heart. If only he knew what crossed your mind when you looked at him during the ceremony.

---

The night seemed to go by faster than he expected and soon he found himself at the drinks table, observing as you talked to some relatives of yours on the other side of the saloon.

You sensed his eyes and looked towards him, giving him a look that said “Help me.”

He chuckled softly, but before he could do anything a woman’s voice caught his attention.

“You must be Izzy.”

He looked to his side, seeing a woman that looked just like Joey, your brother.

“Yes, and you are….” He extended his hand for her to shake.

“I’m Martha, Y/N’s mother.”

“Pleasure to meet you.”

“I didn’t know the two of you were dating.”

He choked on his drink.

“We aren’t, we’re just friends.” He looked down for a second.

She nodded slowly, before locking her eyes on your side.

“I know my daughter very well,"

Her voice made him look back at her.

“She has had many boyfriends in her life, but I’ve never seen her look at them in the way she looks at you.”

He opened his mouth, but your presence made him stop.

“Hey, mom!” You smiled, kissing her cheek.

“Hello, darling.” She touched your hair, adjusting some locks. “I promised I'd dance this one with your father.”

You nodded in understanding as she smiled before walking away.

“So… wanna dance with me?” You nudged him from the side, before taking a sip from his drink.

“With this song?” He asked, taking notice that Woman by John Lennon was playing.

“Why not?” You shrugged.

“Okay.” He placed his now empty glass on the table before taking your hand and guiding you towards the other people there dancing.

One of his hands held you delicately by your waist as you slowly swung to the song. Your eyes locked on each other as the other people around you seemed to disappear.

Your mother’s words mixed with the lyrics hitting his head like bells as he finally noticed the glow that formed in your eyes as you looked at him, making his heart race faster than ever.

You just realized another song was playing when someone bumped into you, making a disco song hit your ears.

You both looked so distracted and for a second you thought you’d sit down for the rest of the night, not being able to feel his cold fingers brush on your skin through your dress.

But those thoughts washed away when he let go of your waist just to grab both of your hands and guide you throughout the song, just like he did for the rest of the night.

That was the happiest night you have had in your life, and when your hotel room number became noticeable at the end of the corridor, you wished you could turn back time and do it all again.

“Happy with your bouquet?”

“More than happy.” You giggled, smelling the flowers one more time.

It was comic the way Izzy put himself in front of your sister, pretending not to be aware of what was happening.

“Thanks for that.”

“If that makes you happy, I can do that at the next weddings too.”

Next weddings. The thought made butterflies erupt in your stomach.

“So…” he started, stopping in front of your room as you opened the door.

“So…”

“Tonight was fun.”

“Yes, it really was!” You said looking down. “Thanks for coming with me, Iz.” You leaned towards him, kissing his cheek gently.

“Anytime.” He replied so lowly that you weren’t sure if he had actually said that.

You entered your room and closed the door, resting your forehead against it as you sighed.

Rushed knocks against the wood made you regain your posture and quickly open the door.

Izzy looked deep inside your eyes, his brown orbs saying everything his mouth wanted to.

Not a second after that and you wrapped your arms around his neck, your lips colliding against his.

No kiss ever had felt like that. It was warm like fire and exciting, you felt your heart start racing faster and your mind went numb.

He wrapped his arms around your waist, bringing you as close as he could while entering your room and kicking the door shut behind him.

Soon you found yourself in your bed, your legs wrapped around his hips as your tongues fought for dominance, making small moans and grunts leave your mouths. One of his hands started traveling underneath your dress's fabric, exploring every inch of your legs, making you shiver with his cold fingers.

Your lips found his neck, kissing and biting at his flesh with desire, delighted by his irregular breathing and the small moans he tried to hold.

A certain hardness was pressed against your core among what seemed like a thousand layers of clothing. The sensation making you wet as you bit harsher on his neck, loving the smirk that formed on his lips.

He pushed himself off of you, standing up and ripping his shirt open, the sound of buttons hitting the floor filling the room.

“I need your help with the dress.”

You sat on the bed, your back facing him as he found the zipper, opening it quickly while he applied wet kisses on the extension of your back, biting your flesh just like you had done with him, making a small moan leave your lips.

“So beautiful.” He whispered against your ear, making another shiver possess your body.

You stripped off of the dress as you watched him undo his pants and remove his underwear with it.

He made his way back to the bed, his calloused fingers removed your blue lace panties slowly and delicately. One of his fingers traveled in between your folds, his eyes closing for a second when he noticed your wetness for him.

Izzy cupped your face with one of his hands, kissing you tenderly before asking.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

You felt the tip of his member entering you, making you close your eyes, focusing on the sensation it caused. You felt him slowly expanding your walls until it was all the way in, making a soft and small moan leave your lips.

Izzy looked at you for confirmation and after seeing you nod, he started moving.

In the beginning, it was slow and passionate, he made it the most intimate he could, touching every inch of your skin, whispering sweet nothings on your ear, as you traced his back and arms with the tip of your fingers, allowing your nails to softly touch his skin.

After some minutes, sweat started to form on both your bodies, your moans coming out in unison filled the room as you felt your walls start to clench around him.

That’s when he sped up his pace, the tip of his member now hitting your g-spot with no mercy, he massaged one of your breasts with his hand, while the other rested on the bed for support.

“Izzy,” His name left your lips in a loud moan and you saw a proud expression consume his features.

“I know, princess, I know.”

You closed your eyes and moaned again, feeling as you and he both came at the same time. A groan leaving his throat matching your whimpers as you felt a wave of pure pleasure wash over your body. Your legs started to shake and you scratched his back, while he bit harsh enough to leave a mark on your neck.

Both sweating and trying to gain your breath again, you laid in bed, your head resting on his chest as he softly caressed your body.

“Izzy?”

“Hum?”

“This is not a one-time thing, right?”

“No, Y/N, it is not.”

Thanks for reading <3

Tag list: @born-to-lose @slashscowboyboots @ginny-rose-sixx @dynamitebabe @tuffduff @almosthonest @gamsbeans @stars-kiss-the-sky @gnrfandom-music3 @ladieswttda @teasid @littlemisscare-all @rumoured-whispers @1800endmeplease @izzys-nose-ring @motley-cruer @angxlxc @oihanasstuff @apovanity87 @julessworldd @anaavibes @mudkicker @dazeduchess @izzysjujuhounds @claire-xox @makemeyourwife-loveofmylife @pinkpatiencecreepers @polka-dot-duff @stradlin-cold-heartbreaker @nathaniel-hornblower @alcoholandarson @stevenizzynslashsbabe @gabyisaclassicrocker

add yourself to my tag list :)

438 notes · View notes

angstsfordays · 3 years

Text

Beautiful Pain (5)

Chapter Five- Think About Us

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Enhanced! Reader

Summary: Post-Blip, you started to feel lost when most of the Avengers team are gone. Coping with your loss, you still find hope in the connection with your remaining friends. However, it is not easy as everyone is trying to figure their lives after the Blip.

Having a long history with Bucky ever since you both saved each other from Hydra, you were still glad you had Bucky after all this time. However, as you try to give Bucky space to find himself after being pardoned for his past, you start to wonder if you should ever cross the line of friendship before it’s too late.

That thought might have to be put on hold though, when you, Sam and Bucky find yourselves having to deal with threats that continue to rise in a post-Blip world.

Chapter synopsis: Feeling lucky to have met Sharon in Madripoor, she could be your lead to find out the origins of the new super serums. Meanwhile, your one-sided love for Bucky might turn out otherwise.

Warnings: Awkward run-ins. Sexual tension, perhaps? A slow slow burn. Violence. A few bad words.

Word count: 4.3k

Notes: Hi everyone! Ever since I started this series, I gained a great number of followers and I am so thankful for everyone who did so! I am really glad you have been enjoying this series so far! 😆

Please let me know what you think of the story, I really appreciate it! 😘

The tag list is still open! Let me know if you want to join with a message or comment in the chapters!

Previous: Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four

-------------------------//---------------------------

Sharon brought you back to her place and you were amazed at how high end it was. The residential place had armed security and as you entered the building, you realised that there was a gallery within it filled with stolen original artworks.

Sharon explained how she had to chose to make the most of her new life. Even she was a fugitive of the states, she made sure she put her skills to use so that she could enjoy a comfortable life.

You were in awe at her resilience. Sam in an innocent moment, couldn’t believe that all the artworks in Sharon’s gallery were the real deal and Bucky informed that the museums were all holding fakes.

Letting you know that she’s hosting clients in an hour, she ushered all of you to go get changed. Sharon told you to choose anything from her personal wardrobe and offered you to use the bathroom.

Giving your thanks, she left you to your own. You immediately took off your heels and pulled the strings that held your dress together. Taking advantage of her bathroom products, you wiped off your makeup and allowed yourself a refreshing quick shower.

Once the last bit of bubbles was washed off your body, you towelled yourself off and put on a fresh set of underwear. As you were about to reach for the hairdryer, you suddenly heard the jolt of the door and you turned to see Bucky entering the same bathroom.

It was a brief second of exchange before you turned your back on him while he exited and close the door behind him.

“Oh shoot, sorry- I didn’t know-” Bucky stuttered as he struggled to find the right words. You felt your cheeks turning hot but tried to stay cool.

“It’s okay, don’t need to worry.” As you were met with silence, you couldn’t help but wince at the awkward moment and hoped to make it go away.

“Are you urgent?” You added on to see if he would respond. His next words brought you relief as you thought he would have just walked off without notice.

“Oh no, it’s fine. I can wait.” You thought that you didn’t want to make him wait and quickly rushed to wear the oversized white blouse and light flared denim that Sharon passed to you.

You quickly proceeded to open the door to find Bucky standing awkwardly with his hands behind and his head looking down on the floor. You saw he had picked out a black ensemble- a black blazer, black shirt, black pants and black shoes.

He looked so good you wanted to melt into a puddle.

When he heard the doors opened, he immediately raised his head to meet your eyes. You tried to give a reassuring smile to ease the atmosphere and told him that he could use the bathroom first. You could dry your hair later.

“I swear I didn’t see anything, I mean I did for a second but that was it.” Bucky tried to explain himself. He hated how he was suddenly being weird around you.

Maybe he was acting because this was the first time he has even remotely seen a woman like that after years of HYDRA’s brainwashing and being on the run. But then again, he had seen all those bikini pictures of women on dating apps and while it was bizarre to him, it didn’t faze him in the way it just did with you.

In all his years that Bucky had known you, that was probably the first time he has actually seen you in such an intimate image. What was up with tonight and why was he suddenly feeling so much about you?

“It’s fine, Buck! It’s not like you are a pervert or something.” Trying to crack a joke so that Bucky could relax, you saw the side of his mouth quirk up in agreement before he stepped into the bathroom.

-------------------------//---------------------------

You entered the room last seeing everyone was already gathering and talking. Greeted by the sight of Zemo pouring himself a drink and Sam putting on a shirt, your eyes moved to where Sharon joined Bucky on the couch.

You managed to catch the last bit of conversation where Sharon was shading Bucky in regard to the topic of John Walker. Sharon warned of potentially crossing paths with the power broker as you all wanted to find more leads on Nagel.

Sam tried to convince her to help and promised to clear her name. As she poured herself a drink, you could tell from Sharon’s expression that she was not buying it. Her walls were up after the last incident and she wasn’t sure if she could trust you all anymore.

Sam pressed on but Sharon refused to be pitied. He then made it a deal and she relented. Sharon mentioned how her clients were well-connected and she would see if she could get anything useful from the party.

Looking at you stand uncomfortably at the corner, she came up to you and squeezed your shoulder to comfort you.

“I’m sorry I didn’t keep in touch all this while. There’s no excuse.”

“It’s fine, you were dragged into it pretty much like I was.” Sam gave a surprising look at how Sharon was fine with your apology.

Noticing it, Sharon then explained that she had a softer spot for you since you were friends and you had stuck your neck out for her on several occasions during your S.H.I.E.L.D days.

She was willing to overlook it compared to her almost non-existent history with Sam.

“I’m surprised you kept your secret from me, I thought we were friends after all.” You knew she was referring to your powers. Nervously licking your lips, you responded.

“I’m sorry. It was Director Fury’s order.” The guilt seeped in.

“And you actually revealed it for the first time publicly for him?” Without mentioning his name, Bucky knew Sharon was referring to him. He looked over to see you giving a nervous and awkward smile. While curious to know what you would say, Bucky just looked somewhere else pretending to be unbothered.

“There’s a lot more to it, Sharon. I wish I could tell you more.”

“He’s really something, huh?” Sharon said before sipping her drink. You actually knew what to say but held back especially since Sam and Zemo were in the room.

More importantly, Bucky was there. Sensing your hesitance and noticing your fleeting glance over at Bucky, Sharon had a hunch but she was more than aware to not harp on it.

Giving an awkward laugh, you tucked a strand of loose hair behind your ear. You looked into her eyes in a quiet exchange and she returned you a brief smile before telling everyone to lay low and enjoy the party.

-------------------------//---------------------------

The music was bouncing off the speakers wildly and the flashing lights in the club caused to squint your eyes a bit. Sharon was already working while the rest of you figured how you would exactly blend in.

Zemo was already working his way onto the dance floor and you were flabbergasted at the mere sight of him starting to bust out some moves to the music. You could see Sam being approached by some people and beginning to make small talk.

Turning your head to find Bucky, you realised you had lost sight of him in the crowd. You weren’t exactly in a party mood seeing you’re all alone and opted to head to the bar.

Before taking another step, you heard someone calling for you.

“Hey.” Spinning your head to the source of the voice, you were met with the vision of a tall and handsome man with a boyish smile. You were taken aback by his request to dance and you thought you probably looked like an idiot turning your head to look for your help.

When you face the guy once more, he had an earnest look that was waiting for your answer. Giving him another quick glance up and down, you didn’t think of him to be a sleazy dude. He kind of looked alright but you were wondering that if he were to be in Madripoor, could he even be up to any good?

“You’re really beautiful and I just wanted to dance.” He added on in hopes that you would agree.

Seeing how you were taking a long time to respond, the man reached out to grab your hand and pulled you closer to him. He respectfully kept you at a distance and did not immediately press himself against you.

Blinking like a deer in headlights, you took a sharp intake as he spun you to press your back against his front and placed his hands on your waist. Leading you to dance, you could feel him swaying side to side and guiding you to follow the same. You weren’t sure where to even put your hands and started cracking your knuckles in nervousness.

You bit your lip as you thought about how you should get yourself out of this. The man seemed nice enough but you weren’t into him. You are an agent and someone with superpowers, you should be able to get out of this mess.

Waiting for the right timing to tell him that you didn’t want to continue this, a cold hand reached out to grab yours and firmly pull you out of the man’s grip on you. Your eyes met with a familiar chest and in the next moment, a warm hand rested on your back.

Titling your head up, piercing cerulean orbs met yours and you heaved a sigh of relief at the recognition of the owner with the beautiful eyes.

“Sorry I’m late, doll.” His voice was reverberating all the way from his chest. Your eyes shied away to meet his once more before you peered over your shoulder at the embarrassed man.

“Hey man, I didn’t know. She didn’t say anything.” The man raised his hands in surrender but Bucky was not pleased with his explanation.

“If she didn’t say anything, it is not consent.” Bucky shot back with a death stare. You swore Bucky could add staring onto his list of super abilities as it always seemed to make people tremble in fear, save for Sam.

When the man was gone, Bucky apologised before letting you go. Instant disappointment washed over you as you had secretly hoped to be held by him longer. Bucky cleared his throat and tried to look somewhere far as he didn’t know what to say next in this situation.

You were overwhelmed with emotions and thought that it was now or never.

“Do you wanna dance?” You looked up to see Bucky looking back at you with wide eyes. You instantly regretted ever asking the question and quickly turned yourself away before he could even say anything.

Bucky’s hand shot out to grab yours to stop you from moving and the two of you exchanged in a silent moment before he spoke.

“I don’t really know how to dance to this. Music was different back in the day. The dance is also uh- different-” You knew Bucky was referring to the exceedingly intimate dancing of people that were surrounding you.

It was the norm but you would never see yourself doing that. The only time where you would actually let loose and dance that provocatively was in good fun with your girlfriends or gathered a stroke of courage with hard liquor.

“We don’t need to follow them. We can dance by our own rules.” Hands reaching out to hold his, you moved them to the rhythm to allow him to feel the music. You then lift your right and his left hand in the air before you twirled yourself.

Bucky’s lips moved up into a brief smile as you led the dance with confidence. The two of you were in your own bubble, uncaring of your surroundings. Seeing Bucky loosened up a little more, you picked up the confidence to groove your hips to the music. Recognising the song, you sang it enthusiastically and lost yourself in the lyrics.

This was probably the first time you had the chance to visibly relax from the aftermath of the last fight and the grief of your loss. Bucky couldn’t hold back his grin when he saw how you looked so carefree. He knew that even though you looked cheerful most of the time, he could always sense a tinge of sadness behind those eyes.

The next song was familiar to you as it was a favourite of yours. It was a popular Latin pop song and it easily invites one to dance their heart out.

Wrapping your hands behind his neck, you motioned him to follow you in slightly swaying to the music. The song sang of two people who were attracted to each other and you couldn’t help but wished it was fitting for this context.

Believing that your attraction to Bucky was only one-sided, you took this chance to be able to ever have such intimacy with him. As you sang the song, you playfully made up such actions to the lyrics that came off flirtatious. You believed Bucky was playing along with you in the moment but that was where you thought wrong.

Listening to the lyrics of the song, Bucky’s ear turned red at what the song was about. Seeing how you were acting, he thought that you were just feeling out the song but Bucky felt otherwise. When the beat dropped, Bucky made a sudden move to pull closer by the waist.

Lowering his head nearer to yours, your breath hitched at the sudden turn of events. You didn’t think one dance with Bucky would turn out like this. One of your hands slid from the back of his to hold his jaw. Your thumb stroked his light beard and you realised your noses were almost brushing.

What was going on? Could Bucky also feel the same way or was he too caught up in the moment. Both of your hands slid down to smooth the lapels of his jacket before resting on his broad chest. Your eyes averted away due to the intensity of his brooding stare but Bucky took this chance to bring his hand to tilt your head back to face him straight on.

“Bucky-” Whispering his name to get his attention, you didn’t know the effect it had on him as his attention went to your lips tinted with a balm. Were your lips always this alluring? He suddenly really wanted a taste to find out.

Bucky slanted his head to an angle before lowering his lips. You took a deep breath and closed your eyes as you anticipated what was about to happen.

“Hey guys, Sharon got a lead!” Sam’s voice broke you out of your trance and you snapped your eyes open. Without looking at Bucky, you quickly turned to see Sam making his way through the crowd to find the two of you.

“Here!” You piped up before making quick steps to the man, leaving a bewildered and disappointed super-soldier behind. Sam pointed to you where Sharon was and when he turned back to see Bucky, he was confused as to why Bucky was staring at him like he wanted him dead.

-------------------------//---------------------------

Nagel’s hideout was speculated to be amongst the shipping containers. Sharon warned you that the longer you stayed in Madripoor, the lesser chances you had of leaving with the bounty on all of you.

She passed you in-ear comms before giving you the container number. Before she walked away, you stopped her in her tracks.

“Would you be alright? I could come with you instead.” You added that the three men should be good on their own but Sharon insisted that she would be fine on her own. She wished you good luck before leaving you all.

As the four of you entered the container, you weren’t sure if you were in the right place. Zemo managed to find the handle of the door and looked back at all of you.

Sam and Bucky readied themselves with guns while you nervously fidgeted with your hands. As Bucky walked up to you, he gave you a longing stare but you quickly averted your eyes away.

Your mind was still reeling from what happened at the club last night and you couldn’t believe that things went that far. Was it real or was it just a dream? You shook your head to snap you out of your thought as you refocus on the mission at hand.

Sam and Bucky both took the lead while you were pacing side by side with Zemo. You looked to see him with a sudden solemn expression as you continued to make your way forward.

As the music started playing from a speaker somewhere, the sight that greeted you showed that the inside of this container was refurbished to be some sort of lab.

Venturing inwards, you saw a man who you presumed to be Dr Nagel. Zemo turned off the record player and Sam called for the doctor.

The doctor though frightened, was still relatively calm at the sight of all four of you in his supposed hidden lab. Despite the intrusion, Dr Nagel was indifferent and asked for everyone to leave. While he made his way, his feet stopped at the sight of Bucky.

Sam suggested he better speak of what he knew about the super-soldier serums but Nagel seemed defiant. He even asked for a counter-proposal to make him talk.

That’s when you heard Sharon speaking in the comms about approaching company. Time was pressing and you were frustrated at the doctor’s refusal to speak. Bucky took the rougher approach and immediately went to sit Nagel down while pointing a gun directly at his head.

You sighed in exasperation when Sharon spoke in your comms once more to inform you that every bounty hunter in Madripoor had known of your location and was coming to get all of you.

Nagel feared Bucky the most, knowing what he was actually capable of all. He began to share how he worked for HYDRA then the CIA. He managed to get his hands on an American test subject with semi-stable traces of the super-soldier serum.

You closed your eyes wearily as you knew who he was referring to. Nagel then went on to talk about how he managed to recreate the serum after much hard work and referred to himself as a god.

His project was paused when he was snapped. However, when he came back, he sought refuge here in Madripoor. The power broker was very eager to fund his work. He had made exactly twenty vials of the serum but they were all stolen by Karli Morgenthau.

He remarked that Karli had contacted him to seek help for someone, Donya Madani who was diagnosed with tuberculosis. This was definitely a clue to help you all step in the right direction.

“Y/N L/N.” The sudden call of your name had you meet eyes with Nagel. You didn’t expect him to look at you with a leering smile that managed to creep you out. All the men were curious why he had suddenly called for you.

“I read your leaked files. You are the only one of your kind. Perhaps, the only one who managed to surface from the shadows.” Nagel’s words only served to confused everyone before he continued.

“I am a believer of Science, but when there has been little research, you can’t help to turn to stories. You are human yet you are not. How on earth are you able to gain superpowers without any experimentation done on you?” You realised this was why Director Fury had you hidden all this while cause he knew that people like Nagel would love to get his hands on you.

“It would be an honour for me to able to find out what courses through your veins and make you so powerful. Perhaps, if I am able to provide such privileges to those who were willing to pay for it, I will be unstoppable.”

Talking like a mad man, you shook your head in disbelief at what he was implying. The fact he wanted to treat you like a test subject for his personal science project. Bucky clutched the gun in his hands harder while you went forward to grab Nagel’s collars.

Your hands glowed brightly, threatening to burn Nagel. He was a crossed between looking fearful and fascinated at the same time.

“You bastard-”

“Guys, we’re seriously out of time here!” Sharon busted through the doors right at this moment. Your hands on Nagel slackened as you turned towards Sharon. Before you knew it, a gunshot was fired and Sam had Zemo backed up to the wall.

Nagel fell flat on the floor with a bullet lodged right at where his heart would be.

The breaking of windows came before the flames burst through the room. Everyone went to hide from the blast while you stretched your hands to use your powers to subdue it. While the impact was reduced, everyone still fell back on the floor from the shock.

Bucky who managed to recover faster went to help everyone up and you pulled them to their feet. All of you managed to make your way to the exit.

Even in the smoke, you could make out the shadows of the bounty hunters who were preparing a shootout. Bucky tried to lead but Sam already went ahead. You rolled your eyes at the fact that they couldn’t work together for once.

All three of your friends started to fight back with the onslaught of people after your lives. As you faced your palms out on standby, Sam reminded you to not use your powers.

“Do we look like we have the privilege to do that now?” You retorted before sending blasts consecutively to know each hunter down like a domino.

As you knocked out each person, you could hear arguing at the back from Sam and Bucky. You had it and you shot a huge blast that reminiscing of a torch blower before you sharply turn back at the two bickering children.

“For the love of god, if you two don’t stop this, I will burn your tongues off.” You said it like you mean it before the two men zipped shut.

A sudden burst of flames took your attention next and you hold up your hands to build a barrier to protect your friends. All of your attention was directed to Zemo appearing out of nowhere and taking out people easily.

You all decided to escape from your hiding spot and find somewhere safe. Your group were met with a couple more bounty hunters which Bucky easily took care of. All of you retreated to a container before Bucky burst out of the other end.

Zemo came and pulled up with a car with a cheeky smile. Was this man the same one from before?

Sam gave him shit for pulling the stunt on Nagel and claimed that he would send him back to jail. However, Bucky intervened and reasoned that you all still needed Zemo to find Karli. Getting into the car before Sam, you were surprised to hear Sharon wouldn’t be joining you. She held Sam to the promise of a pardon and you stretched your hands to squeeze hers affectionately.

“Take care.” You bided her farewell before she did the same.

-------------------------//---------------------------

“You, okay?” Bucky checked in with Sam as he finally took a breather after making a call. You sat beside Bucky as he cleaned out the dirt and blood from his vibranium arm.

There was a lot to process from what happened in Madripoor. Learning about what Sharon had to go through and how Nagel was a mad scientist who did not have respect for human beings.

“Are you okay?” Bucky turned to you next. He was worried for you when he saw how you were with Nagel. Your rage was clear as day when you heard how the doctor spoke of you like you were some work of scientific wonder to be poked and prodded.

He could only imagine how upsetting it was for you like how it unsettled him to have you being talked about in that manner. You gave his vibranium hand a light squeeze before leaning your head on his shoulder for comfort.

“I will be okay.” You sighed before closing your eyes to rest. Bucky held your hands and laid them on his leg as he saw you trying to relax from all the events that had happened earlier. He decided to let you have your peace.

You could hear your boys started talking properly for once without arguing about Steve’s shield. It seemed like everything had been a mess. Sam went on to say that he should have it destroyed while Bucky countered that the shield was important to many people including himself.

He vowed to make sure he takes it back from Walker cause it sure plain as hell that he was not suited to be your new Captain. Sam managed to find out who Donya Madani was and informed that she had passed away.

Feeling the other end of the seat sinking, you figure Zemo had taken that spot. He remarked that he had a place that you all could go in regard to Donya’s last location and requested a change of course.

Bucky looked down to see you already laying still, probably getting a quick shut-eye. Catching Sam’s glance down at your tangled hands, Bucky looked away to seem apathetic where in reality, his heart was racing wildly as he hears the soft breathing that soon came out of your lips.

-------------------------//---------------------------

Tag list: @tanyaherondale @spookycereal-s @cataves @archaeoheart @conflicted-noxsirius

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes #bucky x you #bucky x y/n #tfatws #thefalconandthewintersoldier #bucky barnes fanfiction #angstsfordays #beautiful pain #marvel fanfiction

93 notes · View notes

clemanime · 4 years

Text

Cat and Mouse

A second installment of Burgundy Lipstick

can do part 2 with reader tommy older sister with luca, they finally have sex, but they realize they are falling in love with each other.

A/N: Hello. Sorry for taking forever to get this out. But I hope you enjoyed it and it’s to your liking. I appreciate the request.

WARNING: smut, yeah... smut, kinda sad?

“Are you finished throwing your fit Tommy?” She asked as she sat behind her desk, arms crossed.

“Am I finished.” Thomas sighed as he sighed, pushing his coat back to rest his hands on his hips. “You went to the Italian Y/n. And didn’t tell me.” He rubbed his face. “And you fucked him.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told John.” She stood up. “I am my own woman.”

“Betraying family because you want to be your own woman?” He pulled out a cigarette, lighting it up only for her to snatch it from his lips and break it in half.

“You know the deal Tommy.” She tossed the broken smoke into the bin and turned to face him. “No lighting up in my office.”

“Yeah.” He nodded slightly. “You may be older but I’m smarter Y/n. I own this entire thing a-”

“Because you own the business and run it doesn’t mean you’re the smartest man in the room Thomas.” She leaned against her desk with arms crossed. “My plan, if you’d hear it, is to get closer to Changretta. Convince him to leave so there’s no bloodshed on either sides.”

“Y/n...” Her brother sighed, pressing the tips of his index and middle finger against his temple. “Are you fucking crazy?”

“Just like you laying with Alfie?” She glared. “When you could kill the bastard and take everything from him. But you need him yeah.”

“This is not the same Y/n.” He stepped forward, piercing eyes trying to intimidate her as he spoke. “Go back to the Italian and I’ll kill ya myself.”

“You can’t kill me Thomas.” She stood up straight, grabbing her coat. “You may think the men here are running things... but the women are keeping shit together.” She turned to face him. “Men and their fragile egos.” She walked pass him, stopping at the door. “You have us working for you and supporting you Tommy. Me, Ada, Polly, Lizzie, Esme, that May woman... you even had Grace at your side.” She sighs when she see’s him stiffen. “Let me handle this. If it goes to shit then kill him.”

She walks out before he could respond, her eyes rolling when John and Arthur looked at her in confusion.

_________________________________

Luca stared at her, slowly sipping on the Bourbon that she had sent his way. She hadn’t looked at him, nor did she give him the time of day when the waiter informed her that he wanted her to join him. She wore her usual suit but her blazer was hanging on the back of her seat, hair at the base of her neck.

He took another sip before standing up and walking towards the exit. He started to put his coat and hat on, his eyes never leaving her. He noticed that she was drinking tea with a smug smirk on her lips. This was a dangerous game he was playing. A game of cat and mouse where he naturally assumed that he was the alley cat and she was the little mouse.

When Luca found himself in a dirty alleyway with the older Shelby sister’s body pressed against his own, he realized that the roles in his little game were reversed.

“For someone here to kill my family...” She started. “You let your guard down easy.”

“It’s not everyday a beautiful Dame pushes me into an alley.” Luca chuckled. “No Wine lips tonight? Was kinda lookin’ forward to it.”

“I bet.” She stepped back when he leaned in for a kiss. “Take me somewhere to talk.” She crossed her arms.

“Trying to get me to breeze off again?” Luca left the alley, walking down the side of the road with her following close behind.

The pair had reached Luca’s hotel room, him allowing her to go in before him so that he could speak with one of his men. She sat on his bed, legs crossed as she leaned back on her hands. She had the plan to snoop around but decided against it.

He entered the room, locking up as he looked over at her. “So are you going to... breeze off... was it?” She questioned.

“That depends Ms. Shelby.” He pulled off his coat. “What do you have to offer me?”

“Myself.” She shrugs her shoulders. “If that’s not enough you can fuck off and die.”

Luca chuckled and stopped in front of her, cupping her cheek as the pad of his thumb brushed against her bottom lip. She looked up at him, letting her mouth fall open and her tongue wet the tip of his thumb. She closed her mouth, watching his reaction as she started to slowly suck on his digit. “A woman willing to do anything for her family. Must have taken balls to stand up to Thomas Shelby.” She didn’t respond, swirling her tongue around his finger.

She stood up, grabbing Luca by his collar and pulling him in for a kiss. She pushes her hands in his hair, disturbing the strands. Luca pushed his tongue into her mouth, groaning against her lips. She moved one of her hands down his clothed body, stopping at the belt of his trousers and undoing it. She slowly pushed her hand in, massaging his hardened member. She pulled a groan from his parted lips, allowing her to control him. She turned them and pushed Luca down to sit on his bed. She got on her knees, eyes glancing up to see the anticipation and excitement on his face.

Without second thought, she ran her tongue along his base, containing a smirk when he shivered. “Fuck.” He cursed., encouraging her to continue. She press her thumb against his tip, slowly circling it as she released the rest of him from the restraint of his pants. Luca’s body jerked, eyes closing as his hand moved to her hair. She took him into her mouth, relaxing her throat and taking him in all the way.

His grip on her hair tightened as his hips bucked upward and into her mouth. She took in a deep breath, nodding once to signal that she was ready.

Luca held her head in place, adjusting himself before he started thrusting into her mouth. She moaned around him, eyes closing when he started to get a little rougher. She could feel him twitching the more he continued. “Like that baby.” He rasped, his thrusts already faltering. He stopped, allowing her to catch her breath. When he released her head, she looked up at him with lust filled eyes. An expression that told him she was ready for him.

She stood up, stripping for him as he worked on his own clothes. She pushed him down afterwards, climbing up his body and pressing her lips against his. Luca turned her over, kissing her as his hands roamed her body.

She gasped as he sank into her, biting her bottom lip. “Luca.” She moaned.

Without giving her a chance to adjust, he started thrusting his hips, forehead pressed against her shoulder as his hands gripped her hips or thighs. He groaned and panted in her eat as she took him in deeper.

He pulled out, turning her over and sinking into her sopping cunt. She trembled, back arched and eyes shut tight. “S-so..” She gasped. “Big.” He chuckled, pushing his hand deep into her hair and yanking it back as he roughly fucked her.

“You’re takin it well.” He huffed, giving her ass cheek a quick slap. “Sing for me Canary. Sing my name.” He put his hand on her lower back to deepen her arch. She tightened around him, moaning his name as if it were a prayer.

They both released at the same time, Luca pulling out. She laid on the bed, body still recovering. She could feel his large hands massaging her lower back after cleaning his release off of her. She felt comfortable, feeling as if she could fall asleep if he continued. “How do you feel?” Luca questioned, breaking the silence.

“Better.” She turned on her side to face him, covering herself up as she smiled. “Tommy would throw a fit.” She chuckled. Luca shaking his head as she laughed. His expression going from happy to serious.

“Do you want me to drift? Or is it Thomas?” Luca stopped touching her, his expression serious.

“Wh...” She sighs. “It’s not like you’re going to listen to me. Tommy will stop at nothing to keep his family safe. And I’d do the same.” She bites her bottom lip. “You’ll end up dead by the end of this and I won’t sit back to watch it.” Luca nodded, getting up and getting dressed. He started getting dressed, tossing her own clothes at her. “What are you doing?”

“We’re dusting out.” Luca didn’t look at her.

“Just like that?” She questions, feeling a growing pain in her chest.

“Get dressed.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes. As she put her clothes back on and fixed her hair the pain only grew. They both left the hotel room, Luca leading the way as she reluctantly trailed behind him.

Outside, she went to make her leave but Luca grabbed her wrist, stopping here. “Where you going?”

“Home.” She answered bitterly.

“You’re coming back with me.” He stated as the door to his automobile opened.

“L-”

“What’s all this then?” Thomas said as he walked up with John and Arthur next to him. “You’re leaving with him?” She looked between Luca and her brothers.

“Nah nah.” John said, stepping forward. “This Italian fuck can fuck right off.”

Luca let her go, pulling a toothpick out and placing it in his mouth. He stared Thomas down, looking at Y/n for a moment. “Anything to protect your family.”

“It’s not like that.” She blurted. “My brothers are idiots for following me.”

“You’d have been the idiot if we didn’t show up.” Arthur said, an unhinged expression on his face.

“I’m gone either way.” Luca said, looking from the brothers to Y/n. “You can come with me but if you stay you’ll never see me again.”

“Luca.” She turned to face him, grabbing his hand but he pulled it away.

“Don’t pretend it’s hard for you babe.” He cupped her cheek. “You got a strong family bond and I’m the enemy. So I’m making it easy for ya.” He took his hat off and placed it on her head. “If you love it let it go is what Ma always said.”

He got into his vehicle and it drove off before she could make a protest. “Look. It’s for the best yeah.” John started.

“For a moment.” She started, keeping her sadness in. “Just for a moment I wanted to feel like I wasn’t apart of the Peaky fucking Blinders.” She turned to face her brothers. “But I can’t escape the Shelby.” She walked pass them, Thomas grabbing her arm and pulling her in for a hug.

“Get in the car.” Tommy said to his brothers. With little resistance, they obeyed, getting into the car and waiting. “We pick the wrong people to fall in love with.” He rubbed her back as she started crying, gripping his coat. “Give it time yeah.”

“I’m not like you Thomas.” She sobbed into his chest. “I may be a Shelby but I’m still a woman! I’m still fragile!”

“You’re not fragile because you’re a woman.” He gave her a light squeeze. “Your fragile because you’re human. We’re both fucked in the head and we both fell in love. I don’t like the fucker. But he’d have been lucky to have you. Anyone would be lucky to have one of the Shelby woman beside them.”

#luca x reader #Luca Changretta #luca changretta x reader #luca changretta x reader smut #luca x reader smut #Smut #masterlist #main masterlist

126 notes · View notes

pumpkinmaster999 · 4 years

Text

Heroes Walk in Dirt

By Jess Awh

At last call at the bar I am eight shots in, swing dancing with a broom while Sasha wipes the wood down. His face says he’s wondering how a mess like me can be trusted to clean shit up.

I tell him when I’m home I like to vacuum drunk. Drunk vacuuming is kinda like being on a swing: you blithely toss your body around the room in a tango with the vacuum, singing to yourself, forgetting certain corners. I sing the live recorded version of a John Prine song, “That’s the Way that the World Goes Round.” Sasha asks why live. The song’s got this line: “it’s a half an inch of water and you think you’re gonna drown,” I say, but on the live tape John Prine tells the crowd how a woman came up to him in San Fransisco once and asked him to play his song about the happy enchilada. She thought it went, “it’s a happy enchilada and you think you’re gonna drown.”

In my bedroom I take eight shots of Jim Beam and grab the expensive vacuum I bought at Costco with the different detachable heads which I call “my vacuum ingredients,” and I swing and sing to myself about the happy enchilada.

Sasha shrugs and scrubs the gun line. He says that that John Prine song has a verse where John Prine pretty much says it’s ok to beat your wife. It isn’t okay to beat your wife, I don’t sing that verse. I know it isn’t okay to beat your wife. My wood floors shine. I hate when dirt from the floor sticks to my feet as though it were all the world’s injustice.

I smoke in the tub and I swim in the Hudson, so in a way no bath I take is ever clean as a true baptism. I dislike the laundromat, so I wash clothes at home and hang them on the fire escape. In a nutshell, all I can do is try, I say, in a nutshell. Trying is what we do when succeeding eludes our sight. Sasha once came over after work and laid on my bed eating pistachios, setting the empty shells down on his chest. He’s been upset because his ex is about to marry a man she loves less just to get him a green card and have some kids. I’d never ask anyone or anything to change. I would’ve vacuumed his shirt, though.

I walk to the train to work like always and Lee is waiting outside the liquor store. For whatever reason, the liquor store people hired him seemingly just to stand outside and ask people how they’re doing as they go by. He’s hardly ever inside, and when he is he doesn’t seem to be doing anything. He doesn’t have any flyers to hand out. “What’s new, Lee?” “Oh, you know, new gangsters, new crackheads.” “Oh yeah? You look spiffy. I like the blazer.” “Ah, thanks, it’s gettin’ cold.” “Yep, yep.” “My birthday’s coming up.” I like that one because he always tells me what’s new with the block when I’m really asking what’s new with him. “Shit, when is it?” “The 26th.” “No way, I’m having a party that night. I’ll bring you a piece of cake or something.” We laugh. Lee is always in a clean black button down and black pants that are never wrinkly. He’s like a blackboard that got wiped down with a wet towel. I’m gonna bring him cake because he doesn’t expect me to. We live in this charmed narrative where we move one plant into the sun, or put a sardine out for one stray cat, or organize one shelf, and then the sky opens up so sunbeams land on our shoulders like we somehow answered a prayer God didn’t even say out loud. I read this story in American Girl Magazine when I was nine where they’re walking on the beach and they find hundreds of washed up starfish dying in the sun. The one girl says “we can’t save them all, it’s pointless” and the other starts throwing them in the water one by one. She goes “but we can at least save a few, and that still matters.”

I get to the bar and this guy I know is there drinking, Grant Barber. I tell Sasha I’m going to go hide in the basement and he knows what I mean. A couple summers ago when I was bartending in Chinatown I became friends with Grant Barber because he was living in the radio station. He’d listen to my show on the mail room speakers on Sundays and say things like “I’m glad you played Patsy Cline” or “I can tell you like the music, that’s why you’re such a good host.” Grant Barber has blue eyes like Santa’s eyes, and that’s why I started buying him lunch and letting him shower at my apartment. I’m a good person but I get starfished sometimes. So I served court papers to the squatter who’d forced him out of his place in BedStuy, I went with him to the notary and everything, but when the legal shit started to drag along and he was sending me messages like “I’m gonna kill myself today” and “why won’t you answer me, I’m going to die” I stopped replying. I couldn’t fix it any more for him, and what was I gonna do, sit there listening to a dude I barely knew threaten suicide because I ignored his Facebook DMs? He said he never asked me to “fix it,” just to be there, and then he said he was in love with me. I said this is too many starfish. Actually, I said nothing.

Grant Barber talked to Blaze Foley in Austin back in 1985. I believe that story because he never lied to me about anything else besides the killing himself. “Fuck, I love Blaze Foley, seriously?” Yeah, at this concert at The Outhouse where he was double billed with Townes Van Zandt. Townes played for an hour straight, and I was there with my girlfriend, they were waiting for Blaze to come onstage but no one could find him I guess. He came on and played one song, then left again. That night is the only time I talked to him ever even though I saw him twice or three times. I’ll never forget what he said…I went to the men’s room and he was there barreling through a fifth of whiskey…slouched over a urinal. It was just us two and for some reason I started rambling about how much I looked up to him, how his music moved me, and then he stared at me and said one sentence. He said, and he was slurring—it took him a whole long minute to say this—he said “my problem is that I can’t stop being funny.”

I was funny once, at a nude figure drawing session held by a local art club. They had offered me thirty bucks to play the guitar and sing my songs while the models posed and the artists sketched them. The room echoed like the inside of a drum and the floors were shiny. I sang things I had written and they mingled with the dust lit up by the window and hovering in the air. Afterwards a girl came up to me and said “I loved your lyrics, they were so funny!” And maybe they were funny, but I recoiled because I felt stung, because I had been admitting that I was weak, which is braver than most things I do. Blaze Foley got shot in the chest by his friend Concho January’s son. That’s how he died. He confronted Carey, the son, about stealing Concho January’s veteran pension and welfare checks, and a few days later Carey shot him. Blaze’s friends covered his coffin in duct tape because he never got starfished, he knew his strength even though he looked to be made of flesh. Sasha was uninvited to his ex’s wedding because Gavin (the new fiancé) hates him, and when he found out he said fine, I’m happy for you guys, then cried on my shoulder in the bar basement later.

I love Blaze Foley but I doubt I would’ve ever dated him because I bet his hair was dirty all the time. He has this song called “Sittin’ by the Side of the Road” that’s about being homeless and being fine with it, because what do you even need besides a guitar and a meal to eat? I need a sanctuary that I can control and retreat to. The best gift I’ve ever given a friend is an invitation to stay with me, to hide in my house with the vacuumed floors, out of New York, and feel clean. This is why I wouldn’t date Sasha: his apartment is an unheeded hodgepodge of once-important or still-important things not set in order, not categorized, not scrubbed with Clorox wipes. I wonder what service he’s out there doing that makes him forget about cleaning. He texts me that Grant Barber left the bar and I come upstairs, eyeing the balled-up napkins and brown leaves sprinkled on the ground as I walk to the front door. I will clean this up before anyone else has a chance to disregard it.

#short fiction

26 notes · View notes

thelaclippings · 3 years

Text

A Season in Retrospect

So, turns out Kawhi’s knee injury was significantly worse than we thought. I mean, it’s not career ending (at least that we know of), but the reality is that he never was coming back to the 2021 Playoff Picture. Do I think the Clippers handled this information well? Maybe. Do I think the Clippers should do everything in their power to keep Kawhi around long-term? Probably. But do I think betting everything on Kawhi coming back to his prior form justifies selling the farm? Absolutely not.

Here’s the thing: as a Clippers fan I am absolutely happy to see Kawhi having chosen the Clippers as his team of the future two years ago. I was excited to see Paul George traded to LA and not end up in the purple & gold, a year removed from spurning the Lakers in free agency, even if it broke my heart to see SGA heading back to OKC in return. I was happy to watch them piece together a team that could legitimately combat LeBron and his then-new running mate Anthony Davis. But the season came, the Clippers looked great (especially against LA - trust me, I was there opening night in a sea of crying Laker fans) and it took a pandemic to derail everything.

Now, I am not a Bubble-whiner, but was it ideal to have the Bubble be the lasting impression of what it prototypically means to traverse the grueling 82 game season and battle the best of the best? No. The Bubble had it faults, but the Clippers had every shot to win it all just like anyone else that was there. Their collapse is historic and another black mark on the Clipper name, but for me that was greatly the fault of Doc Rivers and his relentless approach at sticking to his guns and NEVER making the unconventional adjustment. He’s absolutely known for it, and the Bubble proved it. Would this have been any different if there had not been the bubble? Maybe not, but the many factors of what happened between stopped play and restarting in the Bubble had more effect than is given credit for (i.e. Montreal Harrell and the loss of his best friend, his grandmother).

This last season showed that the Clippers can be scary when everything is clicking. Yes, other teams suffered injuries throughout the season but the Clippers always appeared to be playing at a 7 with intent to turn it up to 11 when the playoffs came. But their secret weapon was the adjustments Ty Lue was willing to make. If you rewatch each series, you will see the EXACT same formula in each one. Games 1 & 2 were close losses, and by Game 3 the adjustments would kick in. Each series had a young Superstar taking the reigns and showing they were unstoppable. Stephen A. Smith talked about it after every game and even went so far to declare Donovan Mitchell the “greatest Jazz player of all time” based on his performance against the Clippers. Then, the Clippers would put that fire out and the rest of the team would have to pick up the slack. And despite the positive depth of each team (and the universal agreement that the Clippers lacked depth), the Clippers rose to the occasion time and time again.

And when Kawhi went down, we didn’t blink. The momentum of confidence from the coaching staff gave guys like Terrance Mann & Luke Kennard the added support to produce some amazing performances. I firmly believe the Clippers could have won it all had Game 1 of the WCF had a couple calls go our way and PG hit a single Free Throw at the end of Game 2. Then some adequate rest between the WCF and the Finals might have recharged enough for a true run of the Bucks. BUT this isn’t a woulda-shoulda-coulda. Like the team, even I was exhausted by Game 6 following a marathon of games every other day for a solid 3 weeks.

So it’s on to the next season. A chance to let the excitement and accomplishments from this past season settle in and optimism of the future. Except we are now regularly inundated with news about Kawhi and his future with the team and what the extent of his injury might mean. And while it is probably the most unpopular opinion on the internet, I’ll be the first to say it: if Kawhi doesn’t want to be here, then he needs to go.

If Kawhi wants to be in Dallas or Miami, then let him. If his only avenue there is through a sign and trade, then get some quality in return for his loss and move on. Make more adjustments, get into the right groove, and move on.

I’ve watched nearly every game of the last two seasons and Kawhi on the floor is universally the best player. But there are moments - regularly - where I am not confident that he inspires his teammates. He is known to be low-key on his attitude and that can be jarring. I want passion, emotion, excitement. I personally thrive off the energy of others and maybe that’s where seeing Kawhi on TV or from a distance at the Staples Center doesn’t always translate. But PG’s energy does. Even when he’s saying some dumb stuff (Playoff P...) he still seems to have the support of his teammates. Without PG we wouldn’t have kept Reggie Jackson at next-to-nothing. PG might be the reason Reggie sticks around on a reasonable contract over the loads of money another team might throw at him.

Kawhi brought us Ibaka, sure, and barring the injury might have been a really great impact on the playoffs. But it’s the role players that carried us through the playoffs when Kawhi went down. And if Kawhi still had a big hand in keeping them motivated, then let’s not lose him. Let’s hope that matters enough for Kawhi to not only want to stick around but keep this team together.

The idea of trading away the bench in order to bring in another question-mark player is nauseating to me. If we have to lose guys like Patrick Beverly, Marcus Morris, or Terrance Mann, I don’t want to see the return be mid-level guys who need to jive in a new situation. If the return is anyone but Damian Lillard, I don’t want them. No John Wall. No Russell Westbrook. No Ben Simmons. No middle-of-the-road players that don’t truly elevate over what we have. Marcus Morris was once seen as one of these guys, and at his best still is. Why trade him unless you are absolutely certain the guy coming back is better? Pat Bev is the heart of our team, and proved that in crunch time he is still easily the most effective defensive stopper in the league. Don’t believe me, listen to comments from the Jazz series on guys not wanting to get stuck with him on them.

Yes, their contracts are high. And yes, nothing can be done without moving on from these guys. But why does anything need to be done? If there’s one for certain that needs to be addressed, it’s Kawhi. If he is not the leader of this team, which I would argue Paul George has more of the proven leader qualities than Kawhi has outwardly shown, and he might want to play somewhere else, then use his albatross contract and the unknown of his injury and how it affects his future as the last-ditch-effort trade chip to bring some talent back and give us the flexibility.

Would I be opposed to Kawhi-to-Dallas? Mostly, as I don’t like enough of the surrounding talent to come back as collateral. Short of getting every draft pick imaginable from Dallas, guys like Tim Hardaway, Jr. or Kristaps Porzingis don’t give me the confidence that I would want to be traceable assets or reliable otherwise. Hardaway had a great resurgence, sure, but he needs to find a way to Indiana to keep playing for Rick Carlisle. Porzingis on the other hand is still a good player, but has proven he’s not worth the contract and thus untraceable to a third team so you’re stuck with him. And he does not signlehandedly replace what Kawhi brings. I like guys like Maxi Kleber, but then we have so many bigs we wouldn’t know what to do with, and trading away Zubac’s to accommodate incoming bigs would be a huge mistake. I also would hate the combination of Luka & Kawhi from a competitor standpoint. If we ran into Dallas a third time in the playoffs next season, but they now have Kawhi instead, we are toast. Bottom line.

I’d send Kawhi to Miami. Mostly because he would only be our problem if they made it to the finals, and as a basketball fan I’d love to see that Miami team go head to head with the Nets for a couple seasons and see what shakes out. If Kawhi joined Jimmy Butler in Miami, the East would, in my opinion, have effectively balanced itself back out with the West. I also think the return would be better. Guys like Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn all have trade value. Get some picks in return as well and we have some quality building blocks. Or truly pull off the incredible by making this trade as a stepping stone to another one that nets the Clippers Damian Lillard.

I’ve tinkered with the NBA Trade Machine and made this work a variety of ways. Sending Ibaka to the Blazers and Kawhi to the Heat allows the Clippers to bring back not just Lillard, but potentially one of Miami’s sharpshooters or even a talent like Jones Jr. or Kanter. Sporting a lineup that includes George and Lillard without giving up guys like Morris, Zubac, Mann, or Beverly would be a huge win. Keeping Rondo for experience and leadership would be welcome though he likely wouldn’t play much, and spending the remaining resources on retaining guys like Nic Batum & Reggie Jackson would be crucial.

All in all, I would hate to see Kawhi leave a team that could have won it if the injury never happened. I would hate to see this team broken up at all. Bring back Batum, bring back Jackson. Bring back guys like Cousins or even Pat Pat (despite his effective 0 minutes played in the playoffs). Leadership and chemistry is the final piece in this already established puzzle.

But if Kawhi needs to follow his own path, then I think the Clippers need to suck it up and move on.

1 note · View note

tfc2211 · 4 years

Audio

Source: Blood Dripping Songs For The Season

01 - Forbidden City - John Buck And His Blazers 02 - Spider BabyTheme - Lon Chaney Jr. 03 - Wolfman Stomp - Dr. Vampire 04 - Wolfman Boogie - Wolfman Jack 05 - Howl - Johnny Eager 06 - Billy's Dead - Deadbolt 07 - The Dance Of Doom - Frankie Stein & His Ghouls 08 - The Hearse - The Astronauts 09 - The Night Of Open Coffins - Messer Chups 10 - Mad Witch - Dave Gardner 11 - The Cat - Rod Willis PRAISE BOB 12 - The Skeleton In The Closet - Putney Dandridge And His Orchestra 13 - A Hearse Is Not A Home - Frankie Stein & His Ghouls 14 - Voodoo Walk - Sonny Richard's Panics With Cindy & Misty 15 - Voodoo Plan - The Headliners 16 - Zombie - Los Sleepers 17 - The Spook - The Tomko’s 18 - Voodoo Doll - Art Van Dam 19 - Devil Train - The Ramblers 20 - The Chiller - Vic Plati Quintet 21 - Lullabye Of Ghost land - Frankie Stein & His Ghouls 22 - Intro Monstro Kreshendo - Messer Chups 23 - Midnight Monsters Hop - Jack & Jim 24 - The Mummy's Bracelet - Lee Ross 25 - The Chiller - Googie Rene 26 - Mummy Walk - The Contrails 27 - Music To Be Murdered By - Alfred Hitchcock

#Halloween Fun #Podcast #Halloween Music #Halloween Tunes

10 notes · View notes

shels-kpop-main · 5 years

Note

could you do either deacy or roger edging reader in public then like. overstimulating reader l o t s when they get home?? o wow.

I’m gonna do Deacy bc I’m deep in my John feels today. Dedicated to @rogerscupboard who is struggling just as much as me bc of this man 😂

A/N: Y’all, I have no self-control. I’m not even sorry. This “blurb” took on a life of its own, and this monster is the result. RIP to all Deacy stans

Word Count: 1350+

Warnings: Smut hehe

“John…” Your voice was a breathy moan, and his name was all you could manage to say. Your legs were trembling, and starting to close around John’s hand even as he continued to pump his fingers in and out of you. John was concentrated on his work, though, and didn’t even look up at you.

“Hmm?” His hum was low and almost resembled a growl. It sent a shiver through you, and you gripped his shoulder tightly. You were wrinkling the fabric of his blazer, but he didn’t care. His eyeliner was smudged, but so was yours as your faced scrunched up in pleasure.

“I’m–I’m close,” you whimpered, digging a heel into the small of his back. John smiled to himself, biting his lip. His grip on your hip tightened, nails scraping the skin there.

“Yeah, love? You’re close?” His voice was a smug whisper in your ear. You nodded, moaning into the empty dressing room.

Suddenly, John pulled his fingers from you. You looked at him with eyes wide, but he was already wiping his hand on a tissue.

“Good.”

“What? Where the hell are you going?” You asked, annoyance creeping into your voice. But John just wagged his eyebrows at you, and left you there, shorts around your ankles and sweat on your face.

…

“Care to explain yourself?” You folded your arms and glared at John. He was setting down his bass in the hallway, and looked up at you with a mischievous grin.

You’d just gotten home, and it was well after one in the morning. But you weren’t going to call it a night until John finished what he started. And he knew that.

“I just wanted to see how much you’d let me get away with,” was his cheeky response. You walked to him, standing in the doorway to your bedroom. You kept your chin high, and your arms folded, and made sure to leave no extra space between the two of you. Sure he could feel the heat coming off your body.

“You’re really going to torture me like that?” You said it more like a statement than a question. John giggled to himself–an action that might have been cute if you weren’t so wired.

“John Deacon.”

That was all he needed to break. He broke out in a full laugh, and grabbed your hand.

“Alright, come on, then.”

He pushed you onto the bed, much to your excitement. You didn’t ask him what he was doing; you only peeled off your shirt and waited for him to climb onto you. Which he did, without losing a single second.

John hovered over you, biting his lip one more time before ducking down to take you by the lips. You reacted enthusiastically enough to make him moan in surprise, hooking your legs around his waist and grabbing his shirt almost aggressively. After kissing the breath out of you for a few minutes, John pulled back.

“John, please,” you whined, tugging on his collar. John just smirked at you, and scooted back to put himself between your legs. But you pulled on him in response.

“I don’t need your mouth, John, I’m wet enough as it fucking is.”

John’s eyes widened for a second, but he continued that annoyingly sexy smirk, and crawled back up to you.

“Oh, you really didn’t like my teasing, did you?” You could have slapped the smug look off his perfect face, but opted to use your words instead.

“Can you shut up, and just fuck me already?”

John tilted his head to the side in mock thought. You dug your nails into his jeans, hoping to spur him on.

It worked.

John reached down and yanked the front of your shorts, popping the button and lowering the zipper. Once they were off, along with your panties, he reached down and undid his own jeans. You shoved them down, allowing his member to spring free. You took it in your palm right away, and pressed it down into your center. John shifted forward just slightly, rubbing himself on your folds.

Once he had sufficiently spread your own wetness all over himself and you, John braced himself on either side of you. He looked down as you guided his tip to your entrance.

“Go on, then,” you told him confidently. “Fuck me.”

John pushed into you with such delicious force, you couldn’t help but let out a loud cry. And then he was fucking you, at an agonizing pace. You looked down at him, pumping in and out of you, his shaft already slick from your wetness. And it wasn’t enough.

“Faster, please,” you gasped, clawing at his back. “Fuck.”

John obliged, and bucked into you a bit faster, holding your gaze as you started to unravel. He continued like this for a few minutes, lifting a hand to massage your breast for a moment. But it still wasn’t enough for you, even as your moans raised in pitch.

“John, fuck,” you panted. “Fuck me harder.”

“So greedy tonight,” John smirked, reaching down to press his thumb into your clit. He applied the pressure just as he sped up the timing of his thrusts, making you open your mouth in a silent scream.

For several minutes, John was fucking you hard and fast, knocking the headboard against the wall in a loud series of thumps. You could feel that wonderful pressure building at your core, making your skin flush. John could see that you were close, and pressed a quick kiss to your lips.

“How does that feel, love?”

“So good,” you cried, “so fucking good, John. Don’t stop.”

You rolled your hips to the tempo of his thrusts, pushing him deeper into you every time. John pulled his hand from your clit to clasp your fingers, giving them a light squeeze.

“Do you want to come now, love?”

You looked up at John with a slight glare.

“You’d better not be teasing me again, Deacon.”

John chuckled, but maintained his speed. To push you over the edge, he reached down and pressed his index and middle fingers down on either side of your clit. Then, he closed the fingers, putting increased pressure on the sensitive bud there. That, coupled with a final few thrusts, had you screaming underneath him.

“Fuck!” he hissed, as he felt your walls clench around him. He leaned down and bit into your neck as he continued to roll his hips into you. You could feel your own warm release dripping down your inner thigh. But he wasn’t done.

“We’re not done yet, love,” he growled, and you could only smile, gripping his arms.

John knew he was close, but he wouldn’t let himself come until you were falling apart under him again. You hadn’t even come down from your first orgasm when John reached down again. But this time, instead of rubbing your clit, he pressed his palm flat to your lower stomach.

“Fuck.” The swear fell from your lips this time, as the increased pressure nearly blinded you. The heat bubbled up between your legs again as John pounded into you with renewed fervor. With his hand pushing down below your navel, his cock dragged along your front wall with a new intensity. With every thrust, you could feel him hitting that perfect, sweet spot inside you.

You screamed John’s name so many times it stopped sounding like a word. And your nails dug into his back so hard, you were sure there would be scratch marks tomorrow. He gave several more thrusts before releasing himself inside you. You could feel the wetness spilling from you as John slowed his pace, bringing you back down to earth.

Once you had stopped moaning, John slowly pulled himself from you. When he collapsed next to you, you noticed he was dripping in sweat.

It was the sexiest thing you’d ever seen. You rolled over, pressing a kiss to his neck as his arm went around your shoulders.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” you murmured, grinning up at him.

John exhaled, looking surprised at himself.

“Me neither.”

#i've snapped every single day this weekend #freaky deaky LIVES #john deacon x reader #john deacon #queen #bo rhap #smut #snut #blurb #shut up shelby #anon #ask #sin sunday

505 notes · View notes

nbatrades · 50 years

Text

New Orlean Jazz & Chicago Bulls Swap John Block & Rick Adelman

On November 11th, 1974, the New Orleans Jazz traded forward-center John Block to the Chicago Bulls for guard Rick Adelman.

Rick Adelman became a member of the Chicago Bulls after he was traded to Chicago from the Portland Trail Blazers for a 1974 second round draft pick. A steady point guard, Adelman provided support as a backup to Bulls star Norm Van Lier.

Adelman had been a full-time starter with Portland for three seasons and played considerable minutes for the non-playoff squads in Portland. In Chicago, Adelman was on a better team and saw spot minutes, providing a spark with pressure defense and energy. For the 1973-74 season, the point guard appeared in 55 games and amassed 3.3 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 1.0 APG and 0.7 SPG in 11.2 MPG.

The Bulls were a quality team during the ‘73-‘74 campaign. The NBA’s number one defense, Chicago won 13 of their first 15 games. The team would keep up the good performances, finishing second in the Western Conference with a 54-28 record.

The Bulls entered the postseason, where they faced the Detroit Pistons in the Conference Semifinals. Chicago had won all four regular season matchups at home against Detroit. In the playoffs, everything changed. Detroit center Bob Lanier had 27 points and the Pistons held on to win Game One in Chicago 97-88.

The second game was tight in Detroit, but the Bulls used a decisive 11-2 run in six minutes and 27 seconds to power their way to a 108-103 win. In Game Three, the Bulls managed to build a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Pistons stormed back to take a five-point lead. Chicago responded, taking advantage of some late game miscues by Detroit to win 84-83.

Holding a 2-1 series advantage, Chicago dropped the fourth game 102-87 thanks to 26 and 18 from Lanier and a combined 45 points from the duo of Stu Lantz and George Trapp. In Game Five, the Bulls managed to lead by as much as 25 points, but Detroit came back, cutting the deficit to two points. The Bulls held on, winning 98-94 and taking a 3-2 series lead. Game Six was very close as well. Chicago jumped out to an 18-5 lead early on, but Detroit worked their way back into the game. Bob Lanier had 26 of his 28 points in the second half as Detroit won 92-88 and evened the series 3-3.

In the loss, the Bulls dealt with numerous injuries. Norm Van Lier and Clifford Ray dealt with nagging injuries. Guard Jerry Sloan would also be lost for the rest of the postseason to what would eventually be determined as torn muscle fiber in the arch of his left foot. With Sloan out at the two guard, backups Bob Weiss and Adelman would step into larger roles.

In Game Seven, the Pistons fell behind by 14 points in the first half and trailed by 19 points early in the second half. Detroit would make another comeback, tying the score at 92 in the fourth quarter. After a bucket by Chet Walker and free throws from Van Lier, the Bulls took a four point lead. Detroit would pull within two with 28 seconds left and got the ball back facing the same deficit.

Bing threw a lob pass to Lanier on the final possession, but Bulls center Dennis Awtrey deflected the pass, ending the game and giving Chicago a 96-94 win and a 4-3 series win. Adelman appeared in five of the seven games and produced 1.8 PPG on 44.4% shooting.

The Bulls went on to the Western Conference Finals where they matched up with the 59-23 Milwaukee Bucks. With Sloan out, the Bulls were outmatched against the Hall of Fame duo of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. In the series opener, Abdul-Jabbar and Bob Dandridge combined for 50 points in a 101-85 Bucks win in Milwaukee.

The second game saw the series scene shift to Chicago. Milwaukee dominated early on, taking a 77-57 lead in the third quarter. Thanks to some inspired play from Adelman and Chet Walker, the Bulls managed to get within three points in the fourth. However, Milwaukee would hold on and win 113-111. Adelman had his best game in a Bulls uniform, scoring 13 points and hounding Milwaukee’s perimeter players on defense. He had two consecutive steals that led to scores in the fourth quarter rally, causing the Bulls home crowd to give him a standing ovation for the effort.

The third game saw Abdul-Jabbar go for 32 points and 14 rebounds as Milwaukee cruised to a 113-90 rout. Milwaukee completed the sweep in the fourth game. Abdul-Jabbar had 38 points and 24 rebounds, and the Bucks outscored Chicago 67-47 in the second half of a 115-99 win. In the 4-0 series sweep, Adelman played in four games and compiled 7.5 PPG on 48% from the field in 19.0 MPG.

In the 1974 offseason, Chicago made three trades, acquiring Nate Thurmond, Matt Guokas and Mickey Johnson in separate deals. The Bulls were 5-7 when they decided to deal Adelman to the New Orleans Jazz. By the time the trade happened, Adelman had appeared in 12 games with the Bulls and produced 9.5 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.9 APG and 1.3 SPG in 28.3 MPG. He finished his Bulls tenure with 4.4 PPG, 1.4 RPG and 1.4 APG. In 67 games, the guard shot 39% from the field and 71% from the free-throw line.

John Block became a member of the New Orleans Jazz after he was taken in the expansion draft from the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. Block had played just four games (6.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.3 APG and 1.0 SPG in 14.3 MPG) with New Orleans before the trade.

After the trade, Adelman appeared in 28 games with New Orleans (6.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG and 2.5 APG), before being dealt for the second time in the same season to the Kansas City-Omaha Kings for Nate Williams.

Chicago went 34-15 after acquiring Block. They were 39-22 with the best record in the Western Conference after 61 games. In the final 21 contests, Chicago went 8-13 to finish second in the West with a 47-35 record. Block played in 50 games for the Bulls the rest of the season and put up 8.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.8 SPG and 0.6 BPG in 17.6 MPG.

In the postseason, Chicago went on to battle the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in the Western Conference Semifinals. Chicago and the Kings split the first four games, before the Bulls took Games Five and Six to win the series 4-2.

The Bulls advanced to the Conference Finals where they matched up with the Golden State Warriors. Chicago managed to take a 3-2 series lead after a Game Five win, but dropped the final two games to lose the series in seven games. Block had a limited impact in the postseason run, playing in four of 11 games and scoring a total of 13 points.

During the 1975-76 season, Block suffered a slipped disc in his back and was only able to play in two games. Chicago went 24-58 during the ‘75-‘76 season. Block tried to restart his career, but the lower back pain lingered. Eventually, he decided to retire and became an assistant coach at San Diego State University. Block ended his time in Chicago with a stat line of 7.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.8 SPG and 0.6 BPG in 52 career games. He shot 47% from the field and 77% from the free-throw line.

John Block on joining the Bulls and not having to face their tough defense (via Chicago Tribune):

“Very much so. It’s frustrating to come down with the ball and see the Bulls take it away all night, forcing you to play their game. I’m very happy with this trade. Playing with an expansion team is a lot tougher psychologically than with a team with a winning tradition like Chicago.”

Image Credit:

John Block via Amazon

Rick Adelman via Getty Images/Focus On Sport

#John Block #Rick Adelman #Jazz #Bulls #1974 #1974*75 Season

1 note · View note

laresearchette · 3 years

Text

Wednesday, December 07, 2021 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: WELCOME TO EARTH (Disney +) BAKING IT (Food Network Canada) 8:00pm/9:00pm DR. PIMPLE POPPER: A PIMPLE CAROL (TLC Canada) 10:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD (CW Feed) CHRISTMAS WITH A CROWN (TBD - Lifetime Canada) NICKELODEON’S TREASURE TRUCK (TBD - Nickelodeon Canada)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME/CRAVE/NETFLIX CANADA/CBC GEM:

AMAZON PRIME FC BAYERN – BEHIND THE LEGEND

CRAVE TV CARDINALS DIRTY TRICKS

DISNEY + STAR THE GREAT CHRISTMAS LIGHT FIGHT (Season 9) MODERN FAMILY (Seasons 1-11) TASTE THE NATION WITH PADMA LAKSHMI (Season 2) WELCOME TO EARTH (Season 1)

NETFLIX CANADA CAROLIN KEBEKUS: THE LAST CHRISTMAS SPECIAL TITANS (Season 3)

NBA BASKETBALL (SN1) 7:30pm: Thunder vs. Raptors (TSN/TSN4) 7:30pm: Bucks vs. Heat (TSN5) 8:00pm: Mavericks vs. Grizzlies (TSN/TSN4) 10:00pm: Trail Blazers vs. Warriors (SN1) 10:30pm: Celtics vs. Clippers

THE OTHER SIDE (APTN) 7:30pm: An old family house features several antique heirlooms, but strong emotions of anger, shame, and sorrow rest just behind its locked doors. MIRACLE ON 34th STREET (CBC) 8:00pm: An adwoman's (Maureen O'Hara) lawyer boyfriend (John Payne) tries to prove that Macy's Santa Claus (Edmund Gwenn) is the real thing.

THE PICTURE OF CHRISTMAS (City TV) 8:00pm: Ember Morely, a graphic designer and aspiring storybook illustrator in Manhattan, is surprised to learn that she has inherited her grandmother's Christmas tree farm, so she heads to her hometown of Willow Hill in order to sell it before Christmas.

SPIRIT TALKER (APTN) 8:00pm (SEASON FINALE): A visit to an Annapolis Valley community sees Shawn connecting with a young activist who is passionate about taking a stand against climate change; a reading with a mother and daughter who've lived through many traumas. HEARTLAND DOCS, DVM: HOME ON THE RANGE (Nat Geo Wild) 8:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): A look at the daily lives of Drs. Erin and Ben Schroeder and the relationships they have with each other, their families, communities and animal clientele.

SKINDIGENOUS (APTN) 8:30pm: With over 20 years of tattoo machine experience, Mi'kmaw mask carver Gordon Sparks is turning his skills to handpoke tattooing; through his art, Gordon is reconnecting to his roots and bringing traditional tattooing home to the Mi'kmaw territories.

NHL HOCKEY (SN) 9:00pm: Bruins vs. Canucks

IN THE DARK (CTV2) 9:00pm: With the walls closing in, Murphy and Trey make a desperate move.

A FURRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS (CTV Drama) 9:00pm: A big-city veterinarian falls for a small-town doctor when he sets out to re-create a New York City Christmas in her Vermont hometown.

YELLOWSTONE SUPERVOLCANO (Discovery Canada) 9:00pm: A supervolcano brewing beneath Yellowstone National Park could be the worst natural disaster in history.

SANTA INC. (Crave) 9:00pm/9:30pm/10:00pm/10:30pm (SERIES PREMIERE): As the workers of the North Pole celebrate a successful Christmas, Candy is shocked by the news that her boss at Santa Inc. has been poached by a big tech competitor, and she considers the possibility of becoming the first female St. Nick in history.

DIRTY TRICKS (Crave 3) 9:00pm: At the elite level, bridge has become a million-dollar cut-throat business. When a competitive player is accused of cheating, the ensuing scandal confounds experts, criminal science, celebrities and basic belief.

ILANA GLAZER PRESENTS COMEDY ON EARTH: NYC 2020-2021 (Much) 10:00pm: Comics open up about their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, doing virtual stand-up shows and more.

#cdntv #Cancon #canadian tv #canadian tv listings #the other side #spirit talker #skindigenous #in the dark #nba basketball #nhl hockey

0 notes

wp-yahoo-style-1042-yahoopa-blog · 6 years

Text

See the evolution of summer's sexiest shorts from the 1940s to the 2000s

Few clothing items usher in summer quite like a perfectly worn-in, frayed, and ripped pair of denim shorts. Some call them jorts (aka jean shorts), while others might prefer “cutoffs.” They’re a 21st century festival staple and a street-style favorite, with price tags that span the gamut from a couple bucks for some vintage Levi’s dug up in a thrift store, to roughly $1K for this Valentino pair, embroidered with butterflies.

But, before there were jorts, there were jeans. It’s nearly impossible to imagine a world or closet without denim, yet the durable, universally beloved garment only dates back to late 19th century, when Levi Strauss (along with a tailor, Jacob Davis) invented “waist overalls” in 1873, named for where the style starts on the body, compared to the full-body overalls of the past.

From left to right: Students at Los Angeles City College in 1958, Karen Erickson, 19; John Zinda, 20; Annette Schiff, 19; Biggio Pennino, 21; and Al Ponce, 19, look on as Jerry Brooks, 18 (second from left), reads a campus order instructing students not to wear shorts. (Photo by USC Libraries/Corbis via Getty Images)

Shorts have been around since the early 20th century, remaining taboo through the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, for both men and women. There were even dress codes against, and fines for, wearing shorts, in certain cities throughout midcentury America.

Though it’s unclear when in the 20th century, exactly, the denim cutoff was born, denim itself was invented in the 1700s in Nîmes, France, and was initially touted as being completely tear-resistant. (The word “denim” actually refers to the birthplace of the sturdy fabric: it’s derived from serge de Nîmes in French, which translates as serge (a sturdy fabric) from Nîmes.

Punk rock singer and poet Patti Smith poses for a studio portrait. (Photo by Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

Long before jorts was a word — a dictionary-official one, even, but more on that later — the shorts style picked up popularity in the 1970s. The edgy twist on a beloved American staple was particularly big during the decade famous for punk and rock musicians. There’s a subtle but powerful symbolism in literally ripping apart a material that, while invented across the pond in France, had become strongly associated with American workmanship.

In the latter part of the decade, Patti Smith, a denim devotee in general, often donned pairs of roughly chopped and cuffed jean shorts, topped with oversized tweed mens’ blazers, loose T-shirts, or baggy button-downs. Smith often sported her cutoffs with black tights underneath, and wore them in a slew of situations, often photographed with her partner Robert Mapplethorpe, as well as onstage while performing.

Debbie Harry of Blondie on the beach at Coney Island (Photo by Roberta Bayley/Redferns)

Another musical icon to memorably rock the rebellious style was Debbie Harry: The Blondie frontwoman donned a very short, very ripped pair of cutoffs while cavorting on the beach in Coney Island, Brooklyn, in a series of shots from 1977 by rock photographer Roberta Bayley.

Daisy Duke, played by Catherine Bach in “The Dukes of Hazzard.” (Photo: Everett Collection)

The garment was most powerfully immortalized by actress Catherine Bach in the TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, which aired from 1979 to 1985. Bach’s character, Daisy Duke, frequently flaunted her gams in extra-short cutoffs to help her get out of perilous situations that she and her two brothers found themselves in. The hot-weather answer to denim wearing become synonymous with a stereotypical, Southern flirtatious sex appeal, thanks to the show, and bequeathed them an enduring nickname: The shorts are (still!) often called “Daisy Dukes.”

However, despite their breezy, bare-legged appearance, the cutoffs featured on The Dukes of Hazzard weren’t exactly styled in the most beach-friendly manner. The show’s network, CBS, deemed the minuscule shorts inappropriate for TV, and Bach had to wear flesh-hued tights under her cutoffs in every scene.

Behind the scenes on “Stunt Women”: Cindy Crawford in 1992 (Photo: Shutterstock)

Cutoffs got the Vogue treatment in the early 1990s. Supermodel Cindy Crawford wore a pair as part of a photoshoot on a Malibu beach in 1992, Herb Ritts shot Cindy Crawford for the November issue of Vogue, cavorting on the beach in Malibu with her husband at the time, Richard Gere, her supermodel physique displayed nicely in a pair of frayed Levi shorts. Before cutoffs made a Vogue cameo, their full-length predecessors were notably featured on the fashion bible’s cover four years before, when the magazine’s then newly minted editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, featured a pair of blues on her very first cover, in 1988.

A big part of the charm of cutoffs is how democratizing and DIY-friendly they are; crafted for a couple bucks, or free, even, using any old pair of jeans and a sharp pair of scissors. The advent and popularity of the premium denim market in the late ‘90s and early aughts ushered in previously unheard-of triple-digit prices for the wardrobe workhouse, from brands like Frankie B, Seven for All Mankind, Paper Denim & Cloth, and True Religion. Shorts versions of pricy premium denim also took off, whether intentionally sold with abbreviated hemlines or in DIY form.

A model on the runway at the Spring/Summer 2000 Chloé ready-to-wear collection designed by Stella McCartney, wearing white tube top with smocking at top edge, fringed hot pants, high-heel sandals with white and gold ankle bands, and carrying a straw bag with cat-face design. (Photo: Getty Images)

But the humble cutoff has also gotten more upscale runway treatments: In 1999, for one of Stella McCartney’s final collections as creative director of Chloé, she showed ultrashort white shorts with a low rise (as was the preferred, hipbone-exposing silhouette of the era) and extra-distressed hems.

Then, the shorts reconnected with their musician-vetted roots in a new way, thanks to their growing ubiquity with festival fashion. Specifically, with one increasingly popular festival: Coachella. The annual three-day blowout in the desert of Indio, Calif., which began in 1999, is where many a trend has hit critical mass in the 21st century, particularly in the past five to 10 years, be it jorts, flower crowns, or chokers.

Jessica Simpson in the film version of “The Dukes of Hazzard.” (Photo: Everett Collection)

In 2005, Jessica Simpson introduced Daisy Duke (both the character and her signature shorts) to a younger generation with the film version of The Dukes of Hazzard. Unlike the O.G. Daisy Duke, Simpson didn’t wear tights under her cutoffs. Plus, the entire ensemble (both the shorts’ length and fit, and the snugness and cleavage-baring factor of her tops) were sexed up in the modernized, silver-screen take on the campy TV series.

Kendall Jenner in 2016, wearing a fringe jacket, jean shorts, and velvet boots. (Photo: Getty Images)

In 2015, the term “jorts” became a legitimate, official noun: the term, a portmanteau of “jeans” and “shorts,” was added to the Oxford dictionary that year, along with other modern vernacular, like selfie, twerk, and guac.

In the past decade, denim cutoffs have yet again cropped up on runways, in their fanciest, priciest form fathomable. During designer Hedi Slimane’s stint as creative director at Saint Laurent from 2012 to 2016, one of the (many) sweeping tweaks he made to the venerable French fashion house was peppering his collections with supershort hemlines and punky vibes, sometimes translating to cutoff shorts (and even cutoff denim overalls, like this spring 2016 Saint Laurent look).

Alexander Wang Spring-Summer Collection 2016 at New York Fashion Week (Photo: Getty Images)

Alexander Wang trotted out some artfully beat-up, ultrashort pairs in his fall 2016 collection, too. 2016 also marked the year supermodels Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid added jorts to their model-off-duty street style.

Gigi Hadid in 2016 wearing jean shorts, a T-shirt, and navy coat. (Photo: Getty Images)

Beyoncé wears the Saint Laurent sparkle boots alongside Jay-Z. (Photo: Instagram)

The most epic jorts moment in recent memory came courtesy of the one and only Beyoncé, at what’s become the most important modern natural habitat for the garment: Coachella. While headlining the festival in April 2018, Queen Bey slayed in her first of five outfit changes throughout her set: a heavily shredded, customized pair of Levi’s High-Rise shorts, paired with a bejeweled yellow satin hoodie, flesh-toned fishnets, and iridescent sequined boots. The superstar had another memorable cutoffs getup a couple months earlier, in December 2017, thanks to a pair of black cutoffs paired with glittery Saint Laurent knee-high boots.

Beyoncé at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April in Indio, Calif. (Photo: Getty Images)

These days, denim cutoffs are less associated with their late 20th century connotations of Daisy Duke and punky DGAF rock legend style, and more with celebrity street style (and, of course, festival garb).

A plethora of stars regularly don cutoffs, both off-duty and, occasionally, on the red carpet. To wit: famous fans of jorts include Kate Moss, Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian, Victoria Beckham, Gigi Hadid, Rihanna (in another epic Coachella getup, pairing jorts with a Gucci bejeweled bodysuit and matching balaclava), and longtime cutoffs connoisseur, Chloë Sevigny.

So, just like the enduring, universal appeal of jeans — despite changing silhouettes, rises, and inseam lengths that cycle in and out of trendiness over the years — denim cutoffs are the indispensable warm-weather counterpart.

Rihanna wears a Gucci sparkle bodysuit and balaclava with her jorts at Coachella. (Photo: Instagram)

The appeal varies widely: For some, there’s a sort of Southern sexpot vibe, thanks to the surprisingly sartorially memorable television character, Daisy Duke, while others might associate with it a punk-rock insouciance, à la Patti Smith. Or, perhaps, a carefully curated but “carefree” quintessential Coachella look.

Expect this wardrobe staple to stick around for many more decades, sure to be championed by a new generation of style icons, across music genres and various creative fields, personal style preferences, and price points. In other words, love them or loathe them, in all likelihood, jorts are here to stay.