#accurate places in san Francisco

[leeloooonfire]

When Eddie tells Dustin he's staying in a penthouse in San Francisco for the next 5 months to work on his next studio album, Dustin asks, "Have you ever been to the EndUp, Uranus, Junk or Osmosis?"

At first, Eddie doesn't really know what to say. He KNOWS the queer party scene in almost every major city in the western hemisphere, but Dustin?!

When he answers truthfully, "Not in the last eight months", Dustin only clicks his tongue and says, "Good."

And with that he starts talking about the DnD club, about that new girl in town and about how his mother has the hots for good ol' uncle Wayne.

If Eddie was a different person, he'd forget about it and also wonder how Mrs Henderson and Wayne actually happened.

But he's not.

Dustin mentioning the clubs is so random and so out of topic that Eddie's brain can't help but latch onto it.

At first, he only wonders why Dustin knows about the queer party scene of San Francisco and how he got to know about it. Was ist Robin?

Probably, with her living in San for the last few years, but that still doesn't explain why she told Dustin about the clubs.

Then, Eddie can't help but wonder why Dustin simply said 'Good' before changing the topic as if he never asked the question in the first place.

Why Good?

Sure, there's still the fear of Aids when going out, but its not as bad as in the early 80s.

His community - they got it now.

So, Eddie is almost sure that's not it.

At first, he tells himself he'll leave it alone - maybe only ask Dustin about it the next time they see each other. However, when he meets up with a friend at the Eagle for some drinks and a chat about music and his friends new love, he can wonders what he might find at any of the bars and clubs Dustin mentioned.

So, obviously, Eddie goes. Between sleepless nights off from writing and talking to his friends or manager on the phone, Eddie visits the scene in San Fran.

He goes dancing, grabs some drinks and even once hops into one of the dark rooms and gets a blowie from some random guy called Tex.

It's good, it's fun - but Eddie still doesn't understand why Dustin asked - until he sees him in club Uranus.

Or her.

Or, well... Stevie Devine.

Stevie Devine wears golden heels and lipsstick so dark it's almost black.

She has brown eyes like a baby deer, long brown hair and a black dress that twinkles with every move.

She laughs and sings while playing the piano and Eddie knows her.

Eddie and Steve talk on the phone about 5 times a year: for both theirs and Dustin's birthday, Christmas and the Upside Down anniversary, but the last time Eddie really saw Steve was in 1987.

It was for Robin's birthday when they all meet up before Eddie vanished on a tour through Europe with his band.

It was when they all thought they'd stay in contact more and life wasn't too demanding then.

Last time Eddie saw Steve, he had a purple eye and busted lips that closed around their shared joint they smoked right behind Buckley's garden shed.

But the Steve behind that shed in 1987 and Stevie Devine on that dimly lite stage in a queer club in San Francisco have absolutely nothing in common. The more Eddie stares at the tall, beautiful drag queen, the more he is sure that they simply cannot be the same person, right?!

But Stevie sees him, and after her show, she comes up to him and asks in a smokey voice, "Why are you here?!"

Eddie tells her - tells her about him staying in town to produce another album, to write and compose music, and that obviously, he -as a gay man- is allowed to visit all the bars.

"No. I mean, why are you here?!" Stevie asks, fingernails clicking against the table, and Eddie shrugs, blinks a few times, and then says, "Dustin mentioned something."

With that Stevie huffs, rolls her eyes and tells him to wait outside.

Eddie nods, but can't help but watch Stevie go, hips swinging, long legs striding through the room to vanish through a door to the back of the club.

Of course, Eddie waits outside, always eager to do what a beautiful person wants him to do.

He stands there, hands in his pocket, then in his hair, then rolling a cigarette before lightening it only to have something to do with his hands.

When the door opens about 20 minutes later its not Stevie Devine, but Steve Harrington with smudges of make-up on his face and a bag filled with golden heels, a black sequin dress and very long, but very fake brown hair.

"Knew I shouldn't have told Dustin," Steve says once he joins Eddie beside the club, reaching for Eddie's cigarette. His hand is broad and looks like it can hold a nail bat and smash interdimensional monsters to pulp, but he also has long nails and a simple silver ring around his wrist that makes it look almost dainty.

"He didn't really say anything, just asked me if I had been to any of the major queer clubs in the city. It got me interested," Eddie tells him honestly and lights another cigarette, unsure if Steve really would like to share. "Didn't expect to find you here."

There's a blush on Steve's face and his hand flits to his neck to brush some of his natural (also quite long) hair behind his ear before saying, "It's... a somewhat new thing."

"Somewhat?" Eddie asks, trying not to stare onto Steve's lips where he can still find traces of glitter and dark red paint.

Steve shrugs, laughs awkwardly and says, "You know how it is."

Eddie nods, yeah, he knows. Or at least, he can imagine what Steve means. So, he says, "You looked good on that stage."

Steve laughs and it almost sounds like his Drag Queen persona had sounded in the club: dark and sensual and somewhat forbidden.

"Thank you, you do look good on stage as well," Steve replies, flicks the burned down cigarette away and sends Eddie a blinding smile.

"You've been to one of my concerts?"

"Once or twice," Steve says, moves from one foot to the other. His feet must hurt after wearing the heels for the last few hours.

Eddie holds out his arm like a gentleman from the 18th, "Wanna grab a drink?"

"I would love to, but Robin and I always meet up after shows for milkshakes and fries, you're in?" Steve leans on him, long fingers gently curled around Eddie's arm.

"I would love to." Eddie repeats the words and follows Steve into the night..

[putting-eddie-munson-in-places]

This is hilarious 😂😭😂😭😂😭😂

What about... Eddie at a Pride parade? 🤔🤔🤔🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

hope he’s having fun

original picture © Alan Light - San Francisco Pride, June 1986 [X]

[searchingforserendipity25]

felix knightly, julian's much-mentioned friend felix, comes to the station, and he's this dashing and effete and supremely successful older human man. he wears excellent fabrics and dedicates his life to constructing beautiful fictions.

he calls julian darling and sweetheart all the time. he speaks often of how they met - something about old hardcover books and competitive bidding in a san francisco auction house for history and literature lovers.

so it went: a long chat that turned to a long night haunting bars, showing this bright young thing the best old spots in the city, where real bands play real songs, history clings to the walls and a holoprogrammer could see nearly into the past, the future, the heart of things.

we walked the bridge with dawn on our shoulders, spent the night without losing reasons to keep talking together, and i knew this was a very special young man i had just befriended, he says.

and julian bashir, chief medical officer, war-tried and brave, looks at him through his lashes, a little bit twenty and awe-struck at being liked still.

felix speaks often about how so much of the reliable realism in his holonovels depends on having his own clever doctor to give him accurate medical information. how his gifts of custom-made programs are nothing, barely anything in comparison to the pleasure of making sweet julian enjoy himself in his intervals between wonderful adventures and admirable medical work.

he is flighty and shameless and self-satisfied and he never fails to make julian flush and brighten - something flickering open around his eyes.

he kisses the back of his hands, and plays with his hair. as if it easy and natural; as if he should be allowed always to lay a hand on julian's shoulder, and smile down at him with a conspiratorial look.

it would be easier, perhaps, if it were more sordid. but they tease each other endlessly, argue like old friends, there is history between them and not only old infatuation.

to watch him is to see an image repeated. there is the twist of the wrist doctor bashir does, the way he raises his chin and picks a glass with elegance and flirts relentlessly, as he himself had been flirted with until he relented.

it is clear enough that knightly has been a guiding figure to him, a teacher in some fashion in the arts of playing the gentleman.

a mildly chiding word from him in a specific tone, and julian straightens his back and pays attentions, rethinks his position, eases back the strain in his shoulders, lets himself be challenged, seduced into a proper debate. so perhaps he was the one who taught him that, too; to argue without spite, with wit, brash but not bull-headed.

it is clear enough julian bashir trusts him fully with his fantasies, and does not fear any mockery.

it is clear he is a weak man, a man of vice, an hedonist with no sense of responsibility, who cannot stand to live outside his programs. he drinks prodigiously and gambles recklessly, enjoys the sort of mind-whirling substances the federation permits only in careful dosages -

he is not the one to mention how it was that a medical student came to be well-versed in treating withdrawals, in dealing with hateful words said in dire states. doctor bashir himself, of course, would never breach patient confidentiality. but one may guess; one may assume.

his presence is temporary, he will go away to do research on another singular and distant place, he'll leave his friend behind for the hundredth time and send back a consolation game whenever he remembers he exists at all.

anyone can see it, in the doctor's eyes. he is has been wounded many times, he has been trained well to be expect to be liked but not wanted long.

in unrelated news, garak of garak's clothiers has had to cite complications to explain the delay of his present and forthcoming commissions. several of his needles and sewing machines have taken unexpected tumbles against the floor, and a remarkable amount of his fabric has appeared shredded to rags, almost as if a vole or beast of some sort had laid furious claws on them.

well, so it goes: life is not an holonovel. in real life, sometimes accidents can't be avoided, and mistakes have consequences.

someone ought to remind felix knightly of that, perhaps.

[scmg11]

KATE BISHOP x READER

SEX EDUCATION (PART 3)

A/N: HELLO PEOPLE! I MISSED YOU SO SO MUCH! I am so sorry for disappearing again, but college is so freaking hard!

Since I took a bit of time off studying to relax a bit, I took advantage of it with proofreading a few stories I already finished writing, so here's a new chapter for you!

I want to be honest, I wrote this chapter probably around 5 or 6 months ago and I seriously forgot how long I made it 😂 so I may got carried away a bit, I think?!

Without further ado, ENJOY! ❤️

Sending so much love to all of you patiently waiting for my update, I love you ❤️

[1/3]

-

Summary: Y/N and Kate are in San Francisco on a school trip, but this won't stop for some shenanigans, will it?

Warnings: smut. The fluffiest smut I ever wrote.

Word count: 25293 words.

-

"Okay guys, I know the bus trip here was tiring, so you have around 5 hours to rest a bit before we are meeting back here for dinner."

Y/N waited for all her students to take the elevator and go to their respective rooms before smiling at Kate when they were the only ones left. She pressed the elevator button and waited for it to arrive, the loud ‘ding’ echoing in the oddly quiet lobby a bit later and both walked in, before pressing the button to their floor and waited for the elevator’s doors to close to assess the elephant in the room, "did that really happen or did I lost my mind and imagined Yelena and Cassie here?"

"I wish it was the latter, except you loosing your mind babe of course. Anyway, no, you didn’t imagine them. They are actually here."

"I guess we underestimated their ‘we wish to be there with you guys’ too much." Kate chuckled as she wrapped her head around the absurdity of it while staring at the numbers on the elevator’s display as it ascended to their floor.

"Yeah." Y/N sighed out loud, thinking about everything over into her head and massaging her temples gently to relieve a bit the incoming headache, "I also can’t believe Maria gave them the go-ahead to be here!"

"Well, they could’ve easily just ignored anything she told them and came here on their own."

"I don’t know why but it seems something they would do." Y/N and Kate chuckled at the accurate possibility while shaking their heads fondly at their best friends’ antics.

They both exited the elevator as soon as they heard the loud ‘ding’ and the doors opened and walked towards their designated room, Y/N opening it and moving to the side to let Kate enter it first, smiling fondly at the archer’s ‘thank you’ as she passed by her, before doing the same and closing the door behind her. "Hello lovebirds."

"Holy shit-YELENA!" Kate exclaimed as Y/N and her jumped up in fright at the Russian making her presence known by sliding out of her hiding place in the en-suite with a smug grin on her face, before clenching their fists and got ready to fight their intruder. "Babe, you can relax, it’s just Yelena and Cassie."

"I know, that’s why I didn’t move." Y/N let out through gritted teeth and relaxed only when Yelena laughed heartily at the joke and walked towards her to hug her tightly with her still in her combat position.

"C’mon Y/N Y/L/N I know you want to hug me back. Don’t deny it." Y/N sighed loudly before caving in and relaxing her hands she had been keeping in closed fists between their bodies and slung them around Yelena’s torso to hug her back.

"What about me?" Kate asked with a pout at Yelena after embracing Cassie when she saw Yelena walk past her and sit on their bed with a smug grin on her lips and a totally not innocent glint in her eyes.

"No hugs for you. You tend to cling onto people when you hug them."

"You are making it seem like it’s a bad thing!" Kate countered back with a toothy smile before rushing towards Yelena when she sighed loudly with a fond roll of her eyes as she opened her arms to silently give Kate her permission to hug her.

"Ugh." Yelena groaned loudly when Kate crashed over her body forcefully and made them both tumble back on the mattress, "Kate Bishop, always so gracious." Yelena teased Kate as she caressed her back softly before feeling other two bodies slump onto Kate’s back and consequently crashing down on her body, making her groan a bit at the added weight on herself.

"She loves us." Y/N told Cassie and smirked widely when Yelena groaned at them to get off of her, staying for just a few more seconds still before moving away and sitting on the bed comfortably with her friends and girlfriend. "So, we have to assume you guys are here without Maria knowing, right?"

"It will come out as shocking, but she actually knows we’re here." Cassie answered with a bright smile, lifting her hand up to high-five Yelena and making Y/N and Kate chuckle at their childish behavior, but also smiling fondly at them for finally bonding.

"Yeah, she allowed us to stay here with you guys while you are on this field trip." Yelena explained further as she shrugged nonchalantly, both Y/N and Kate eyeing the two blondes suspiciously.

"That’s it?" Y/N lifted her right eyebrow up in question, meeting Kate’s eyes for a brief second to find the same amount of wariness and doubt in her beautiful ocean eyes before staring Yelena down with an hard gaze and an unamused expression glued on her features. She watched as Yelena met her gaze head on, making Y/N smile warmly and shake her head at her knowing she would never make Yelena cave in and confess her secrets that easily since she was a Black Widow and had to endure a really tough training. But she knew Yelena would never lie, that was one of the many beautiful qualities she had, among being a loyal friend, a literal puppy that needs to be protected despite her ‘I’m a badass that never smiled’ façade and so pure of heart both Y/N and Kate, alongside the other Avengers, found really shocking to witness after all the atrocities both Yelena and Natasha had to endure, but neither of them lost their heart and somehow made it grow ten sizes as they protected it at all costs. "So you are telling me neither of you bugged her that much to the point of her caving in and sending you here?"

"No." Cassie answered right away as she avoided both Y/N’s and Kate’s hard gazes and sighed out loud when Yelena answered Y/N’s question at the same time as her.

"Yes. And it worked perfectly! Can you believe she actually lasted only a full day? I usually need a few days to convince Kate and she is the one that caves easily the most to any kind of request!"

"That’s not true! I only do that with Y/N whenever she ask me something." Kate countered back with a frown before smiling at Y/N lovingly, who awed at her and leaned over Yelena to reach to Kate sat on her left and pecked her lips softly.

"Ohw that was so cute!" Cassie exclaimed with literally heart eyes while Yelena rolled her eyes and pushed the two apart forcefully with her hands on their foreheads.

"Ugh, get a room." Yelena groaned before dodging both Y/N’s and Kate’s punch with a small laugh.

"Well if I remember correctly, we are in our room." Y/N answered with a smug smirk and watched as Yelena rolled her eyes and grunted out as she waved her off before crossing her arms petulantly.

"Wait hold on, speaking of which, how did you manage to book a room together?"

-

"And we’re finally alone!" Y/N groaned and leaned her back on the door after closing it, before humming in appreciation when Kate leaned into her body and cuddled her.

"An entire day without doing this." Kate trailed off to pull her face away from its hiding spot in the crook of Y/N’s neck and laid a small peck on her lips, both girl humming in appreciation when both their bodies warmed instantly as a comforting, loving blanket wrapped over them.

"I missed your beautiful lips." Y/N murmured on Kate’s mouth after pulling away from another loving peck, before leaning right back to kiss Kate slowly and languidly. "You are so beautiful baby."

"Look who’s talking." Kate giggled cutely when Y/N bracketed her face and squished her cheeks, taking a few seconds to admire the adorable view before laying another gentle peck on her lips standing out from Y/N squishing her face. "I love you."

"I love you." Kate parroted with a toothy grin that Y/N was sure was outshining the sun and that was so contagious that she couldn’t help but mirror right away. They had never been so happy.

"Where are Yelena and Cassie?" Kate asked curiously after sharing another cute and loving peck with Y/N, pulling away just a bit to give them the opportunity to talk freely. They stared intently and lovingly into their eyes for a few moments, nuzzling their noses from time to time and smiling sweetly at one another as soft giggles left their lips at how happy they both felt with one another before Kate kept going, "we lost them before dinner with the class. And as much as I love them and I love them staying here, I don’t want them to pop up out of nowhere while I’m spending quality time with my girlfriend. They tend to have a really bad timing and I don’t want to be rude or something like that if they pop out of nowhere. I just want to stay with you alone without any interruption or annoying kids wanting to play stupid games with their favorite teacher."

"Damn, someone is a bit annoyed. Upset. Irritated even." Y/N chuckled as she pushed a strand of black hair behind Kate’s ear when it fell on her face after she jutted her chin out petulantly. Kate then sighed loudly while leaning her cheek on Y/N’s palm, that stood still waiting near her face after pushing her strand of hair back to see if the archer would lean into her touch and smiling brightly as her stomach erupted in wild butterflies when Kate actually did that, before turning her head around and laying a soft kiss on Y/N’s palm’s skin, making both their stomaches flip over themselves at the cute, adorable and loving gesture of her kiss.

"I’m not, I swear."

"Well you just called your classmates annoying when they all love you so so much. Maybe just as much as I love you." Y/N smiled sweetly and tenderly down at Kate and pecked her lips quickly when she saw a bright grin took over the archer’s frown she had been having on since she stated Yelena and Cassie have a really bad timing and that her classmates are annoying, especially for wanting to play with Y/N. Even if it was something not every student would do since they were talking about playing with a teacher, Y/N was their favorite teacher, the whole school’s favorite teacher and despite everyone wanting to spend time with Y/N annoyed her because it takes her away from her alone time with Y/N, it actually warmed her heart, knowing Y/N being so loved by others.

"Ohw babe! Stop I’m blushing!" Kate giggled cutely when Y/N grinned back at her and peppered her face with tender kisses. "And y’know, they’re not annoying. It’s just that we spend very little time together together. Most of the time we have to act like we don’t know each other."

"I know how you feel babe. But we have a job. We just need to put up this act for a bit more. But just like you, I want to cherish every single moment we spend alone because I want to savor every aspect of being your girlfriend, babe."

"Me too, baby." Kate leaned over and kissed Y/N sweetly, her hands bracketing her face gently as she leaned her body more into Y/N’s one, completely pining her onto the door’s wooden surface. "As soon as we complete this mission, I will treat you to a real date. As much as I love our cozy dates in our house, I want to spoil you by taking you to fancy places and laugh at snotty people flaunting their money during my mother’s boring parties. Or stealing- or borrowing, like I like to call it, my mom’s private jet to take you to Paris or Rome and have the most romantic date ever there as we stroll down their streets, hands in hands." Kate explained as her eyes shined brightly with all the love she had for the Y/H/C girl and stared tenderly at her.

"Really?" Y/N felt tears prickle behind her Y/E/C pools, watching as Kate nodded gingerly with a sweet smile before leaning over to kiss her hard on her lips, "fuck- I love you so much."

"Just as much as I love you, baby."

"How about we change into our pajamas and cuddle on the bed?" Y/N suggested with a big smile after sharing another peck with Kate and watched as she mirrored her grin and nodded before laying another sweet and tender kiss on her lips, making both their stomaches erupt in wild butterflies as their heartbeats raced wildly into their ribcages. They enjoyed a bit more of the cozy bubble wrapped around them in their embrace for a bit more, hugging each other closer to just exist together and nuzzling their noses together gently as soft giggles left their kiss swollen lips and their chests filled with a giddy and happy feeling swirling around there. They had never been so happy with someone else and never felt so full and understood by someone else in their lives, "we can catch up on Only Murders In The Building as we just get cozy in that giant bed!"

"Oh yes! I need to know who is the killer! We are just a few episodes in the first season and I’m already completely absorbed in it!"

"Me too! Ugh and can we talk about those three idiots? I want them in my life to entertain me!" Y/N added as she pushed herself off the door when Kate disentangled her body from Y/N’s one and grabbed her hand to lead them towards their suitcases to grab their pajamas and changed in front one another.

"We already have them babe, their names are Yelena, America and Cassie." Kate pulled a joke as she slipped her jeans off and folded them neatly before placing them on the armchair on her left, "well we also have Kamala, Shuri and Peter." Kate snorted at her own joke and lifted her shirt up her body, leaving her in her underwear as she folded her clothes.

"You’re right babe, we are basically surrounded by idiots! Wait- does that makes us idiots too?" Y/N asked as she thought over her question and turned around after taking off her own pants and blouse, before gulping loudly and forgetting everything at once when she was met with the heavenly sight of Kate’s round, full, firm but soft ass in a pair of blue, lacy panties, now sticking out a bit more due to her bending over her suitcase to place her t-shirt on top of it.

"I don’t know, I guess? I mean I like to call us idiots whose care about each other. So yeah, we are idiots too. To some extent, at least." Kate turned around with a giggle as she was finished and gasped gently under her breath when she is met with Y/N’s hungry eyes staring at her ass before taking advantage of her turning around to sweep her them up and down her body and drinking her in slowly.

"You are a piece of art baby. The most beautiful masterpiece existing." Y/N spoke out after a few more seconds of ogling Kate’s body, before meeting her eyes and smiling lovingly at her, "sorry for interrupting you, go on."

"You didn’t interrupt me babe. You just gave me a boost of confidence. Damn!" Kate exclaimed with a wide grin as she walked over Y/N, placed her hands gently on her hips as Y/N circled her own hips and then pecked her lips tenderly. "And y’know, since we are talking about masterpieces, we need to talk about you then. My gorgeous baby." They shared another cute peck before putting their pajamas on and settling comfortably on the bed, Y/N immediately opening her arms and welcoming Kate that immediately slotted into them and cuddled her, both letting out hums of approval at the warmth surrounding them instantly.

"How was spending some time with your classmates?"

"Pretty good. Like I said they are not annoying. They are cool. I wish I had friends like them in high school, we have a lot of fun."

"Why? How were your friends like in high school?"

"Annoying and spoiled rotten." Kate stated plainly as she rolled her eyes, making Y/N laugh softly under her breath at her girlfriend’s gesture, before groaning and grunting loudly as she recalled her time spent with who she used to call ‘friends’ and shivered with a grimace before continuing, "they are like all rich people. They are always thinking about themselves and that’s what they always did and always will do. If you had a problem, they would have faked being interested in your problem for just a few seconds before disregarding you and your problems and start talking about their new highest score in polo or showing off their new ring or t-shirt that costed more than a giant apartment in Manhattan!"

"Uh ew, that’s disgusting!" Y/N grimaced alongside Kate as she shook her head disapprovingly.

"The same went with when talking about important charities where it was imperative donating to help people out. They just laughed me off saying they would have donated 100.000 dollars or so before telling me to shut up about the importance on donating and helping people out."

"Kate that’s awful!" Y/N admitted as she caressed her left cheek tenderly, "how did you put up with them?"

"I didn’t, most of the time. I usually spent my days doing archery or martial arts training. I only hung out with them when my mom forced me to go out and be a teenager." Kate admitted, looking into Y/N’s eyes as she played with a strand of hair and rolled it between her fingers. A few seconds of silence passed by them just exiting quietly before Kate’s gentle laugh stopped it.

"What?" Y/N smiled lovingly at Kate’s giggles and felt her eyes literally shine with love as she stared at the archer’s beautiful features adoringly.

"I was just thinking about them also being homophobic as fuck."

"Really?" Y/N asked with a bit of worry in her tone, not really wanting to know if Kate was bullied for being who she was by her shitty old friends, but listened nonetheless.

"Yeah. A lot of them, along with a lot of old rich people, always thought about being gay was just a phase or something that would not look good in the public eye-."

"Are we still in the 1800s?" Y/N interjected with a scoff as she rolled her eyes annoyingly, making Kate laugh gently before laying a soft peck on her lips and switching her frown back into a small grin, then pulling away and continuing her with train of thoughts.

"That’s what I always thought! Anyway, I was just lucky my mom always accepted me for who I was. I remember the day I came out to her. I was super stressed and I was ready to pass out. She obviously started to worry and when I just blurted out I was gay instead of my prepared speech, she simply smiled tenderly at me and told me ‘oh honey, I already knew that. I’m glad you finally found the courage to tell me.’"

"Oh my god! I love her!"

"I was shocked! I stared at her for like- a solid two minutes as she just smiled at me. Anyway, she always supported me and alway put everyone in their spot when they tried to denigrate gay people. But that’s not the point." Kate shook her head to get back on track on what she was trying to tell Y/N, "like I said, being gay wasn’t well seen by snotty, rich people and although my friends oddly accepted me, I had to endure more times than I could count them making really tacky jokes about gay people."

"Can I know their names so I can hunt them down and punch them in the faces one by one?" Y/N interjected once again with her blood boiling over at those assholes Kate called friends as she hugged Kate closer, making Kate chuckle under her breath at her request.

"Next time my mom will invite me to one of her charity events, we are going to attend it so you can punch them in the face while I will enjoy the show." Kate promised with a sweet tone and a bright smile, making Y/N mirror her grin, then pecking her lips lovingly before pulling away to keep going with her story and train of thoughts. "Anyway, those things never hurt me since the girls that made those bad jokes were the same girls I was fucking in their cars or beds when no one was home."

"Oh my god! Are you kidding?" Y/N widened her eyes in shock and slacked her jaw while opening her mouth in an ‘O’ shape as she wrapped her head around Kate’s statement, before laughing loudly in shocked amusement.

"Nope." Kate stated as she dragged the ‘p’ out with a wide, smug smile and a mischievous wiggle of her eyebrows before continuing, "all the time the boys joked about gays, stating that, and I quote, ‘lesbians didn’t know how to make a girl come’. And while all the girls I fucked laughed nervously with nods, I was just staying in the corner in silence, smirking smugly at them. They would always meet my eyes a brief second before avoiding my gaze distressed as they fidgeted in their spots uncomfortably."

"Babe that’s just hilarious! I would have payed to see their reactions."

"They were priceless, let me tell you. There was one time where one of they guys was bragging about licking a pussy and even if it was his first time, he vaunted he did an amazing job. I was just smiling brightly as I stared at the girl he ‘did an amazing job’ on avoiding my gaze. The same girl that called me as soon as he left and begged me to make her come since he couldn’t do it and just faked cumming." Kate puffed her chest out and tilted her chin up proudly as a wide grin settled on her features, watching Y/N gasp in shock as she slapped her shoulder repeatedly in disbelief.

"Oh my god!"

"Just to clarify those two weren’t together. They just had occasional sex. I do not stand cheating." Kate stated as she nuzzled their noses together, "anyway, the word spread faster than those girl’s legs when they were with me between the girls of the group and I soon found myself fucking them in their cars, in their beds, once even in one of the girl’s dad’s office."

"I didn’t know you were a womanizer Kate Bishop." Y/N teased Kate as she caressed her shoulder gently with her pointer finger and smirked widely when Kate scoffed and rolled her eyes in fake annoyance.

"I’m was not. I was just having fun. I had the opportunity to boost my confidence in my sex skills when they were screaming how good I was making them feel while also relieving some stress from college and competitions with sex. Killing two birds with one stone."

"Hm, now I’m jealous Miss Bishop." Y/N teased as she leaned over and nibbled on Kate’s soft, plump bottom lip before biting down on it gently and taking advantage of Kate’s lips parting to release a small moan at her gesture to slip her tongue past them and lick her mouth’s every nook and cranny.

"It happened like 5 years ago babe. And it was just meaningless sex. You don’t need to worry."

"Well I’m still jealous. I want you all to myself."

"And you have me all to yourself. My heart, my body and my mind are yours baby. All yours." Kate reassured Y/N on her lips before pecking them repeatedly and making Y/N giggle lovingly into her mouth.

"Just like my mind, my body and my heart are yours baby."

-

"Good morning class!"

"Good morning Miss. Williams!" The whole class greeted Y/N in an happy choir and chuckled when Kate just grunted at her in response.

"It seems like Laura isn’t a morning person." Y/N noted out loud, making the whole class laugh heartily at her joke.

"Nope, I hate getting up early. I just want to sleep until noon, is that too much to ask?" The entire class nodded with a few sounds of agreement and Y/N rolled her eyes fondly at them with a small shake of her head.

"You would loose the aquarium if you sleep until noon."

"And we don’t want that, do we Miss Williams?" Y/N closed her eyes when an hand landed forcefully on her shoulder and what she clearly knew was a fake American accent reached her ears.

"No of course not."

"Are you joining us Miss Chloe and Miss Emma?" Amy asked gently as she eyed the two under cover Avengers enthusiastically.

"Oh please we’re not some old, boring teachers like Miss Williams here. You can call us just Chloe and Emma." Yelena told the teens as she stared at them with wide and eager eyes.

"Oh please, you’re more boring than every boring teacher." Y/N scoffed with a roll of her eyes, making everyone else laugh at her gesture as Yelena just smirked at her, "besides not all teachers are boring. I’m not, right guys?"

"Don’t try to corrupt them with that annoying happy face." Yelena place her hand on Y/N’s face and pushed forcefully like she liked to do all the time to mess with her, making her stumble a bit before regarding the teenagers staring at them in amusement with a grin, "it’s okay guys you can tell the truth."

"Stop harassing them and especially me!" Y/N huffed out as she pushed Yelena’s hand away from her face, staring at her down with an hard gaze before a big, bright grin appeared on her features when Yelena quickly placed her hand back on Y/N’s face and pushed her once more to stress Y/N’s words some more and chuckled alongside her, Cassie, Kate and the whole class, minus Mr. Wright that was nowhere to be found, maybe already inside making his own tour without waiting for everyone else, at the two best friends’ banter. Everyone noticed how the two of them seemed so close and that they loved each other truly, something that was really difficult to find nowadays. They shared a really deep, strong bond that everyone, especially the teens looking intently at their banter were really eager to also have in their lives. Kate stared at her girlfriend and her best friend joke around like they were two siblings warmed her heart to no end and smiled at her tenderly when the girl met her gaze after getting rid of Yelena’s hand again and mirrored her grin before dodging Yelena’s hand and pushing her away when she tried to attack her again. The archer really wanted to join their banter and when she noticed Cassie wanted that too, she nodded at her to give a silent permission and to give her a free pass to join the two best friends joking around childishly to make their banter ten times funnier than it already was. So Cassie nodded at Kate back and walked towards them two girls still fooling around before joining Yelena’s side and pushing Y/N on her left shoulder as Yelena pushed Y/N on her right shoulder, making Y/N widen her eyes in shock as she opened her mouth in an ‘O’ shape in bewilderment, making Kate wish ever more to join the banter in that moment. "You. Didn’t."

"Oh I did. And we can all confirm your face was priceless, right guys?" Cassie asked in amusement as she swept her gaze all over the teen’s eyes and watched as mirth dusted over their features as they tried to prevent laughs to leave their mouths.

"Oh no, don’t you guys dare to answer or as soon as we are back home I’ll make you guys write a 100.000 words essay about stimulating a vagina to make a woman reach her orgasm!" Y/N lifted a finger up in warning when she noticed a few guys and girls, Kate among them, opened their mouths to respond to Cassie’s question and although her threat made her students gulp in fear, it also only made Yelena and Cassie cackle loudly.

"I’ve never heard a threat being so funny!" Yelena laughed loudly as she patted Y/N’s back a few times before wiping away a tear that left her left eye.

"Yeah Lizzie, next time try to not include the world vagina in your threats. It makes them completely hilarious."

"Alright, thanks for the advice. Now let’s go or I’m filling out the form to leave you two here as new species in this aquarium." The class laughed loudly at her joke and Y/N smiled triumphantly as she moved to the front of the group of teens, followed by Yelena and Cassie, whose laid a sweet peck on Y/N’s cheeks, Cassie on the left one while Yelena on the right one, before hugging her tightly.

-

"Oh I have a really interesting fact about whales!" Yelena’s features lighted up like a Christmas tree when they were visiting whales’ section, making Y/N groan in frustration out loud.

"Please don’t." Y/N tried unsuccessfully to stop Yelena from speaking but the Russian pointedly ignored her and kept on, talking to the class waiting for her to speak eagerly.

"Did you know male whales have the largest penis in the whole animal kingdom?" Yelena smiled brightly in mischief as she wiggled her eyebrows lewdly, making the entire class laugh while Y/N groaned out again at her declaration.

"Great, now let them hear what the guide is saying."

"Oh please, I would be ten times better than her!" Yelena waved the blonde guide off as she explained facts about whales to the rest of the group they were in and Y/N rolled her eyes fondly at her.

"Oh really?" Y/N lifted her left eyebrow up inquisitively and watched Yelena expectantly and incredulously, "since when did you become an animal expert?"

"I didn’t, I just like to know sexual facts about anything really and to just annoy you with that." Yelena answered Y/N’s question with a nonchalant shrug and smirked widely at Y/N, who sighed out in fond exasperation.

"Great." Y/N smiled widely with a totally too sweet tone as she exclaimed her short, dry statement through her gritted teeth while clapping her hands not too loudly to not disturb the other aquarium’s visitors that were admiring the animals’ exhibition. She stared intently into Yelena’s eyes a bit longer, watching as her smile only grew bigger by the second and decided to let her share her ‘sexual facts’ about animals for hers and the whole class’ entertainment. Mr Wright wasn’t there so why not let Yelena entertain everyone with her witty comments and funny statements? She just wished she could use her real voice and Russian accent to make everything ten times better and funnier, "okay, go on. Enlighten us then."

"Okay, maybe we just want to move a bit further away from everyone else. I don’t want to gather an audience." Yelena just stretched her arms towards the far end on the left side of the room to stand there and turned towards everyone when they reached their designed spot, puffing her chest out a bit to make her look serious and gazing out at the kids staring back at her expectantly with a wide smirk, meeting Kate’s eyes for a brief second and seeing amusement and mirth in her ocean blue eyes, before focusing on someone else to not raise suspicion.

"Chlo she didn’t change at all. She is still so sure of herself." Y/N commented as she bumped her left shoulder on Cassie’s right one and heard the girl laugh loudly as she nodded in agreement.

"Let her be. We love her just as she is."

"I’m perfect just like this, idiots. Now shut up, I’m trying to have a lesson to share my knowledge with these amazing kids." Yelena punched both Y/N’s and Cassie’s shoulders before focusing her attention back on the class and stating right away, "male ducks have corkscrew-shaped penises."

"Fascinating." Y/N commented as she tried to lower her tone as she laughed while listening to Yelena deliver sexual facts about animals.

"Elephants have a prehensile penis that they can essentially use as a fifth leg. Their erected penis can weight as much as 30 kg and if you happen to touch it accidentally, it can twitch and knock you over."

"Okay, our needed break is over. Let’s continue with our visit." Y/N stopped Yelena as she opened her mouth to deliver yet another sexual fact about animals and ushered everyone else to move before smiling widely at Kate when she purposefully walked towards the back of the group to be as close to Y/N as they could be in public.

-

After sneaking into Mr Wright’s room to gain some informations about him and to tap his phone while Yelena and Cassie distracted him down the hall, Y/N and Kate slipped back into their room and collapsed on the bed exhausted with loud sighs. "Ugh, I’m so tired!"

"Me too baby." Y/N agreed as she cuddled into Kate’s arms and hummed in appreciation at the girl’s warmth and perfume wrapping around her like a comfortable blanket, making her feel fuzzy and cozy in an instant, "we’ve been walking around for three entire days for this school trip. I’m so sad tomorrow we’re going back home."

"Same babe. I liked it here and I really enjoyed Yelena and Cassie here too." Kate pouted adorably as she stared into Y/N’s eyes, making her let out an ‘aw’ at the cute sight in front of her before leaning over and pecking her lips tenderly, switching that pout into a big, bright smile that she instantly mirrored as her stomach flipped over itself at the sight of her adorable and cute, but also extremely hot, girlfriend.

"Yeah, me too. They are a pain in the ass most of the time, but we love them nonetheless." Y/N sighed out loud, agreeing with Kate’s words as she nuzzled their noses tenderly before pecking her lips repeatedly, then deepening the kiss with a deep hum when the archer slipped her tongue out to lick the Y/E/C girl’s seam’s lips to ask for entrance, Y/N granting it right after and both whined breathlessly into the kiss when their tongues met halfway and slid over each other greedily. They slowed their kisses down and pecked their lips repeatedly for a few more seconds before pulling reluctantly away from each other and went back to staring into each other’s eyes lovingly while their noses brushed together from time to time. "I really enjoy their company. They’re like family and them leaving to go on their own mission breaks my heart, but I’m positive this won’t be the last time they will join us here, trust me. As much as Maria makes it look like she is a tough badass, she has a big, soft heart and I know no one, not even her, hell I think not even Fury, can resist to Yelena’s pout! Add Cassie’s pout too into the mix and you will do everything they will ask you to do. So even if we will miss them a lot and we have to say goodbye to them tomorrow, I’m positive they will come back here to spend a few more days with us in the near future. I’ll give them less than two weeks and we will have them both here again. I’m betting my favorite leather jacket that America and Kamala will join them next time. And Peter too! Trust me."

"Oh that would be so cool!" Kate smiled brightly as she tapped on Y/N’s forearm excitedly as her eyes shined brightly with enthusiasm under the room’s lights, "I don’t know about you but watching Yelena and America bicker is almost as funny as watching Yelena and Cassie bicker."

"Oh please! Have you seen Yelena sparring with Peter? He gets on her nerves every time he uses his powers to dodge her punches and kicks." Y/N chuckled as she recalled all the times she witnessed that amazing and funny sight and shook her head gently.

"No! Why didn’t you invite me to watch such a wonderful show?!" Kate asked in fake indignation with a deep pout and smiled when Y/N chuckled under her breath and pecked her pouty lips tenderly.

"I’m sorry! As soon as we get back, I’ll prepare a fresh bowl of popcorn and we will enjoy the show together. You have to see the frustrated face and grunts Yelena emits every time Peter uses his powers."

"You are so beautiful my love." Kate spoke up out of nowhere when silence settled around them after Y/N and Kate chuckled some more, her eyes glued on the Y/E/C girl’s features as they took in Y/N’s beauty.

A dark, deep blush appeared on Y/N’s cheeks and neck and instantly detached her eyes from Kate’s mesmerizing ocean blue ones to look down at her hand playing with the archer’s shirt’s collar. "Thank you babe. But I’m not as much beautiful as you are."

"Hm, I don’t think so." Kate let out in a hum on Y/N’s lips before wrapping them on Y/N’s ones in a deep, sensual kiss, full of tongue and teeth, stirring a warmth in both girl’s stomaches as they enjoyed their closeness.

"I’m serious babe. You are beautiful, smart, cute, adorable, witty when necessary but most importantly kind hearted. I just- love you so much baby."

"I love you my beautiful, gorgeous love." Kate smiled tenderly and lovingly at Y/N as she nuzzled their noses cutely together and giggling alongside her at how happy and giddy they both felt in that moment. "Oh and by the way, do you know flattery won’t take you anywhere right?"

Y/N laughed at the knowing smirk Kate sent her way before dusting a lewd one on her own lips as she wiggled her eyebrows seductively and mischievously at the archer while her pointer finger moved down from Kate’s collarbone to her stomach, drawing teasing circles there over the black haired girl’s shirt. "Oh really? Ohw damn, I was hoping it would at least take me between your legs!"

Kate widened her eyes comically and gulped loudly at Y/N’s statement but it seems her brain lost her ability to function in that moment after those words reached her ears and she was able to only murmur out lowly, "oh."

"Too bad." Y/N shrugged as she kept on faking being sad about Kate’s question and sighed out loud dramatically for good measure, moving her hand up again to play around with Kate’s hair gently, "well, moving on-."

"No, wait!" Kate stopped Y/N mid-sentence before clearing her throat in embarrassment at her eagerness. "What were you going to say?"

"Oh no, you said flattery won’t take me anywhere and as much as I love listing your qualities, now I just want to cuddle."

"Y/N/N!" Kate whined in protest at Y/N’s stubbornness and clear teasing and slapped her stomach gently, making the Y/H/C girl laugh heartily at her.

"What?"

"You know what!" Kate stressed her words out and whined in frustration when Y/N’s laugh increased in volume, comically rolling her eyes after she stared pointedly into Y/N’s Y/E/C hues down but it only deepened the Y/H/C girl’s smile tenfold. She grunted out her disappointment and slapped her stomach once again softly, then laying her hand there on her abs and feeling it going up and down with each giggle Y/N emitted. "Keep going please. I want to know what you were going to say. I promise I won’t interrupt you and I will let you say what you wanted to say. I promise I will shut up. Now please continue."

"Are you sure?" Y/N asked in fake uncertainty, furrowing her eyebrows together and making Kate roll her eyes again, making Y/N’s grin spread back on her lips. "I mean, I can always tell you how beautiful you are. Or how hot you look during your early morning workout. But I don’t want to- y’know shift this loving bubble to a more sexual one since we are just cuddling and my words won’t take us anywhere."

"Ugh Y/N/N!" Kate leaned her forehead on the girl’s collarbone and slapped her stomach again, repeatedly this time, eliciting another fit of giggles from Y/N’s lips.

"I will just keep my words PG rating, I promise."

"No please." Kate asked in a rush to Y/N as she played with the collar of her shirt, her short, cut nails scraping the girl’s skin from time to time to tease Y/N a bit, eliciting a few goosebumps in the process and making Kate smile as she noticed she pulled the desired and yearned effect from Y/N, "okay, fine. I know you will keep this on forever if I don’t say it. I was kidding, okay? I was just teasing you a bit. Now please keep going. Especially the part about my early morning workout."

"Good." Y/N smiled and pressed an hard kiss on Kate’s lips before pulling away with a loud ‘pop’ and sneaking a hand behind Kate’s back to adjust themselves on their sides as she flushed their bodies together and entwined their legs, making them both sigh contentedly at their intoxicating proximity. "Okay well, like I was saying- you are always so fucking hot, but you don’t even know how heavenly it feels when you workout early in the morning and I watch you comfortably on the bed. Those wonderful thighs contracting with each squat and consequently giving me a great view of your amazing ass sticking out in those illegal tight yoga pants you wear, your mouthwatering tits wobbling after each small movement in that skimpy sport bra you wear and watching your abs- those fucking, marvelous abs that looks like they had been sculpted from the most precious and finest marble ever existed, contracting deliciously after each of the three thousands crunches you do."

"Fuck." Kate whispered under her breath as she panted heavily onto Y/N’s lips, both gravitating towards each other each passing second as the air thickened between them.

"Or how delicious you look when you change in front of me, especially when you get out of the shower."

"I actually change in front of you on purpose." Kate admitted shyly as she bit on her bottom lip to prevent her smirk to broaden while watching Y/N’s eyes darkening in an instant.

"Oh trust me, I do know that." Y/N admitted with a sultry tone before leaning over and biting on Kate’s bottom lip softly, eliciting a small whine from the archer in the process and setting both their bodies on fire, her own from that heavenly sound coming from her girlfriend while Kate’s body burned from the seductive gesture, "I just stare at you and your wonderful body as I hold myself back from jumping on you and fuck you senseless on every available surface. When you turn around I just pretend I wasn’t daydreaming about me fucking you, you fucking me, us fucking."

"Shit babe. Why do you hold yourself back every time?" Kate fisted Y/N’s shirt greedily and pulled her more into her body as she imperceptibly bucked her hips up to gain some friction on her now pulsating core.

"Because I don’t want to look like an horny teenager that can’t control herself every time. I don’t want to look desperate or just turned on all the time. But that’s just the effect you have on me babe."

"Oh Y/N/N." Kate sighed as she leaned their foreheads together, gripping Y/N’s shirt harder to keep her grounded while her arousal increased quickly between her legs, "you will never look desperate or horny to me. Ever. I pretty much feel just like you. I would spend every second fucking you if I could, but unfortunately we have to be ‘responsible’ and ‘have a job’-." Y/N giggled when Kate let go of her shirt to do quote marks with her hands and rolled her eyes to pretend to be annoyed by their job before settling her hand behind Y/N’s neck and caressed the skin there gently. "-but still, I would spend every single day worshiping you all day long."

"Hm, I wouldn’t be opposed to that." Y/N hummed lowly as her hands started caressing up and down Kate’s strong back steadily, feeling every bump of Kate’s defined muscles and shivering as she felt the muscles there stand up under her touch, "anyway, like I was saying- you look even hotter when you are sparring with someone else that isn’t me and I get to watch your wonderful body move gracefully around as you try to win the sparring session."

"I’m not gonna lie, I always put a lot more effort when I know you are watching me. I like to show off."

"I knew it!" Y/N exclaimed loudly before laughing alongside Kate at the archer’s admission before nuzzling their noses together. "I always had a feeling you were purposefully teasing me because every time I stopped by to watch your sparring session, you always seem ‘sweaty’ and have to pull your top off, leaving you in sports bra that always make my mouth water as I stare at your boobs."

"Oh yeah." Kate smiled mischievously as she recalled all the times she watched Y/N approach her during sparring sessions and tried to seduce her with pulling her shirt off or putting really tight yoga pants just to see her reaction and always reveling in her struggling to focus on the sparring session itself instead of her, "most of the times I wasn’t that sweaty to pull shirt off, but I did just to tease you."

"Hm, I wasn’t opposed to that." Y/N teasingly moved her hands up and under Kate’s shirt and bra to grasp her boobs teasingly, a mischievous grin on her lips.

"Oh." Kate moaned out loud when Y/N started massaging and kneading her boobs greedily without breaking their eye contact and instantly arched her back into Y/N’s wonderful touch.

"I was always daydreaming about touching your boobs while staring at them as you sparred with one of our friends." Y/N admitted as she never stopped her unrelenting movements on Kate’s boobs, pinching both her nipples just a moment when she felt them both stand up under her palms from her touch and basked in the wonderful screech of pleasure leaving Kate’s mouth, "I felt so dirty thinking about touching, licking, biting, sucking these wonderful boobs, thinking how they would feel under my mouth and my hands, if they were firm, if they were soft, if they were a combination of both. You don’t even know how many times I got mocked and teased for literally eye-fucking you in the middle of the Avengers Compound’s gym. Even Maria made fun of me!"

"Oh my god! That’s amazing!" Kate forgot about the incredible pleasure she was experiencing to start laughing heartily at Y/N’s statement, making Y/N stop her movements just a bit to admire how beautiful Kate looked as she laughed care-freely and her face contracted in pure happiness. "So did everyone know about you having feelings for me, except myself?"

"Well- pretty much, yes." Y/N giggled after pulling her hands out from Kate’s shirt and bracketed her face softly. "Like Yelena stated ‘I was too obvious to be subtle with my feelings’."

Kate laughed heartily at Y/N’s attempt to imitate Yelena as best as she could with a fake Russian accent while Y/N stared lovingly up at her as her heartbeat increased, warmth filled her chest and her stomach bursted with wild butterflies flying around. "That’s exactly what she told me many many times." Kate rolled her eyes as she thought over Yelena making fun of her, "she always told me I was stupid for keeping away my crush for you from you. Once, after she told me for the umpteenth time I needed to confess my feelings for you, I told her I didn’t have a crush on you. I enjoyed watching her face contort in confusion and shock for a few seconds before telling her I was in love with you. It was my first time admitting that out loud."

"I would have given anything to see her reacting to that."

"She stared at me like I was crazy for like- two seconds I think, before starting to make fun of me again."

"Oh yeah, that’s totally what Yelena would do."

"Do you want to know the worst part?" Y/N nodded as soon as Kate trailed off to ask her, trying with all herself to hold her smile in to stay serious.

"Yes."

"Hm, c’mere first."

"No, I want to know first."

"Nope, c’mere." Kate leaned over and tried to kiss Y/N once more but the Y/H/C girl teasingly pulled away with a big smirk and wiggled mischievously her eyebrows at her, mirth swirling through her Y/E/C eyes, making Kate sigh out loud desperately, "please, just one kiss. That’s all I ask. Then I will tell you everything you want to know. I just want to kiss you again. Please, please, please. Just one kiss. Please."

"Hm-hm nope." Y/N shook her head amusedly at the pout adorning Kate’s lips and at her adoringly pleading face and leaned a finger on her lips to stop her when she leaned over once again to try to kiss her again with a laugh. "I know how this will go. You just piqued my curiosity but you wanting a kiss will lead us to share more than a kiss and we will forget about this conversation. So tell me first, then you’ll have all the kisses you want."

"Hm, and what if I want more than just kisses?" Kate asked seductively as she hovered her lips teasingly over Y/N’s ones and waited patiently for her answer, that arrived a few moments later after Y/N looked down at her lips hungrily, licked her own lips and panted on Kate's mouth a few seconds without answering Kate’s question.

"Well, it will all depend on what you will tell me and how much more turned on it will make me." Y/N countered back just as seductively with a low, hoarse tone before biting down on Kate’s bottom lip and dragged it back before releasing it, eliciting a wonderful, raspy groan from the black haired girl that looked like she was ready to jump on Y/N and fuck her senselessly - she truly hoped it will happen, she just wanted to hear what Kate had to say first -.

"The worst part was that, that same day, after admitting out loud I was in love with you, she walked in on me masturbating and moaning your name out." Kate admitted after a few seconds of silence and blushed furiously as she remembered that moment.

"Oh my god, are you serious?" Y/N laughed heartily at that and clapped her hands in amusement, while her head leaned back to continue to giggle loudly in entertainment.

"Yeah. She teased me about that to no end, she still do it sometimes."

"Well to make you feel better, she once found a love letter I stupidly wrote for you and teased me about that from that moment on to no end. Every occasion was good enough to tease me about that. Me staring at you, you jokingly flirting with me while I melted on the floor, us sparring, us falling asleep cuddled on the couch after our weekly movie marathon. Every. Single. Occasion."

"Oh my god! It’s not stupid! Can I read that?"

"Yes, of course. It was obviously meant for you but I couldn’t find the courage to slip it under your bedroom door."

"Oh babe, you could’ve done it and we would have been together since then. Fuck, you don’t even know how emotional it makes me feel just knowing you wrote me a love letter. I can’t immagine how I’ll feel when I’ll read it."

"It’s just full of me gushing about you and how much I love you. Nothing you’ve never heard about."

"And fuck, it also made me so turned on." Kate admitted in a low tone after both stayed in silence for a few seconds, feeling her core clench in need for Y/N’s touch.

"Not as much as knowing, again, you touched yourself thinking about me."

"Ugh, which leads us to the fact that we both got teased by Yelena." Kate whined in distress as she thought over Yelena’s teasing, "you got teased for a loving gesture at the least. I had to endure Yelena imitating my moans all the time just because I couldn’t wait for everyone to go to sleep and I had to touch myself because I was too turned on to function."

"Why? What happened that day?"

"It was a Friday night and we were having a small celebrating party after Peter’s and America’s last successful mission. No one else was at the Avengers Compound except for us, Peter, America, Kamala, Shuri, Yelena, Wanda and Natasha. We were all pretty tipsy and at some point Peter suggested to play truth or dare with this new, great app."

"Oh yeah I remember that night."

"Do you also remember the last dare of the night before deciding to call it quits because everyone was just too drunk to keep going?"

"Not really, I was too much intoxicated myself, but I don’t know, I might remember it if you tell me."

"You got dared to give Wanda a one-minute lap dance." Kate simply stated, her eyes darkening as she remembered that moment like it was yesterday.

"Oh shit, now I remember it. We were laughing all the time while Natasha kept repeating ‘watch it Y/L/N’." Y/N tried to imitate Natasha’s voice through her giggles as she remembered that night too.

"Yeah, but you gave her a lap dance anyway. I couldn’t move my eyes away from you and your hips moving rhythmically to the music. As soon as we called it quits I flew to my room, discarded my pants and laid on the bed to touch myself while thinking about you giving me a lap dance. Just when I was about to come, Yelena barges in to ask me about something I clearly can’t exactly remember and watched me come with your name falling out of my mouth."

"Fuck- I would’ve given anything to be in Yelena’s place." Y/N stated dreamily as she felt her center beg for Kate’s attention.

"Just like I would’ve given anything to be in Wanda’s place." Kate admitted shyly as she bit on her bottom lip gently, staring at Y/N lustfully just as Y/N did.

"It can be arranged. As soon as we get back from this school trip, I will give you the best lap dance ever executed. But, on one condition." Y/N trailed off and smiled mischievously at Kate, waiting for her to urge her on continuing and smiling widely when Kate nodded impatiently as she gripped her hips once in pleading, "I get to be in Yelena’s position and watch you come with your fingers."

"Deal." Kate literally moaned out loud instead of answering normally, nodding eagerly at Y/N’s request. "Should we seal or deal with a kiss?" Kate asked mischievously with her eyebrow wiggling seductively after she regained all her cognitive functions, making Y/N laugh heartily at her girlfriend’s behavior.

"Alright, a promise is a promise. I promised you kisses after your story. And we also have to seal a deal. What better way to do that with a kiss? Or more, right?"

"I couldn’t agree more." Kate smiled brightly and moved a bit closer to Y/N, hovering her lips over Y/N’s inviting ones and licked her own instinctively when she felt them dry up from their proximity and for the electricity instantly charging up the air of the silent room and putting their bodies on fire.

"Well, what are we waiting for? C’mere."

"Wait." Kate stopped Y/N before she could close the gap between them by pulling slightly away and suppressed the urge to kiss Y/N’s pout away from her alluring lips by just bracketing her face softly and squeezing her cheeks gently, making Y/N switch her pout to a wonderful, bright smile and mirrored it with a just as happy grin, before moving closer again and nuzzled their noses together cutely, making both their stomaches erupt in wild butterflies flying around like crazy, "do you think we can, y’know, have sex here or do you think it’s too dangerous that someone could walk in on us or maybe hear us? I really want you right now, with our confessions and all of that, but I don’t want to risk our covers to blow up just because I was too much horny for you to think properly about our actions and about our actual jobs here. We are professionals but we are also together and, y’know, we have both needs and- and I really want to touch you right now, I really want to make you come over and over again on my fingers while you moan out my name. Of course we will try to keep it as quiet as we can but y’know what I mean. I want to lick you clean, drink your amazing juices up until you don’t have any other drop of cum into your body. I want to taste those amazing boobs of yours, kiss all over your soft skin while leaving love marks all over you just to tell the world, to anyone who ever wanted you or ever will want you that you are mine. I want to feel you squirm under my hands while I tease you to no end just to hear you whine, pleading me to make you come on my tongue or on my fingers, or both. I want to watch your face contort in pure pleasure as I deliver to you the best orgasm you have ever had, I want to feel your walls squeeze my fingers and your legs wrap around my head. I want to feel your clit pulsate under my lips as I suck on it thoroughly to give it the attentions it needs. I just want you in every possible way. Fuck, I love you Y/N. I love you so much I don’t even know if words can express how much I love you. But I promise you, I will try everyday to express my love for you and make you feel loved as you should. I will try everything in my power to make you feel like the queen that you are. I- hold on- where was I?"

"Babe, that was so touching." Y/N giggled gently at Kate’s question as she felt her eyes sting with tears as they glazed over full of emotions she felt for the archer. "I always thought your ramblings were cute but fuck, hearing you ramble about how you want me, how you want to fuck me, holy shit it made me feel so many things and I am so wet for you. But then you kept rambling about how much you love me and shit, I feel so overwhelmed right now. I just- fuck I love you so much babe. You have no idea."

"C’mere." Kate pecked lovingly Y/N’s lips softly before pulling away to bump their noses together cutely, "can I fuck you now?"

Y/N laughed loudly to cover her hard blush and slapped Kate’s shoulder gently in the process, "such a gentlewoman."

"Sorry, let me rephrase that correctly. Can I fuck you now, please?"

[2/3]

[lostloveletters]

This Must Be The Place (John Brady x OC)

Summary: Home is a place, and a person, and a strange thing to navigate when Brady’s been away from his for so long, and Woody’s never quite had one.

Note: I really missed writing for Brady and Woody, I'm sorry it's been so long! I was thinking I'd have this done like a week ago, but then I got stuck on a scene and had to rewrite some things. Do not interact if you're under 18, terf or radfem, or post thinspo/ED content.

Word count: 2.3k

Warnings: Some angst.

‘I’m coming home. Woody will be with me. We’re getting married.’ 

John’s letter home, sent just before their departure from England, hadn’t been that short, but the message was clear enough that by the time they were Stateside, his mother had called—paid the long distance charges and all—just to speak to him after years of anxious writing. He choked up when he heard his mother’s voice again after so long, handing the phone to Woody so he could compose himself when he felt the conversation getting away from him.

Woody’s semi-frequent correspondence with his mother, particularly after his father died, put her in her good graces, as she found the letters odd yet charming. She especially appreciated the photo of the two of them that Woody included in one of her letters—which must have been from the party for Dye’s crew when they completed their 25th mission, since she was actually wearing her WAC uniform instead of her typical coveralls in it. ‘I thought it was from a movie magazine!’ his mother gushed to him in the letter that followed.

Looking at that photo, framed and displayed on the slightly yellowing floral-patterned wall along with decades’ worth of memories, from his parents’ wedding to his childhood with his brother, made him more certain of his future with Woody than ever. 

He pulled his pipe from his mouth and sighed. Being home without his father around made him feel a bit unsettled, even though he had been greeted with hugs and kisses from just about every one of his relatives at the door. His father had been their rock, the one who kept it all together, the kind of husband and father he aspired to be someday. Turning around to look at his fiance, he tried to see her through his father’s eyes, and quickly determined he would have liked her, there was no way he couldn’t have.

Woody cleaned up damn well when she wanted to, her blonde hair had been in hot rollers and then painstakingly styled early in the morning, before they took the train into town, his brother Gene waiting at the station to drive them to Victor. She scrounged up the money to buy a new dress from a department store for the occasion—midnight blue, loose-fitting, ‘Something I can move in,’ she had told him. John wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to seeing her legs like that. Throughout the evening, his eyes drifted to the soft, flowing hem around her knees as each of his relatives fawned over her.

It wasn’t necessarily eavesdropping, not when aunts and uncles and cousins clamored over each other to speak to his future bride, who bashfully accepted their compliments and patiently entertained their questions.

“You’re from San Diego, aren’t you?”

“San Francisco, actually, but I’ve been all over.”

“San Francisco! It must be so sleepy up here to you!”

“Oh, I’m just glad to be wherever John is,” she said, glancing over at him almost shyly. “We could end up in Alaska for all I care.”

Her story of how they met won them over. The twinkle in her eye when his relatives gasped and crossed themselves when she told them of his crash landing upon arrival at Thorpe Abbotts—a detail he omitted in his letters home, it only would have been a source of unnecessary anxiety back then, but humorous and exciting in hindsight.

She’d ridden up to the wreckage of a well-executed emergency belly-landing in the truck with Ken Lemmons and the rest of the available ground crew, ready to get to work once he examined the damage. In the middle of Ken’s quick and astoundingly accurate assessment—’It really wasn’t that bad,’ she assured his enraptured family—she introduced herself to the fort’s pilot, mentioning to them how handsome she found then-Lieutenant John Brady when she first saw him.

“Love at first sight,” one of his younger cousins gasped.

“Something like that.” Woody said, light laughter in her voice. “After a while, I realized the progress on the plane wasn’t all he was interested in when he came around the hangar to watch me work.”

Their eyes met from across the modest living room’s threshold, sharing private smiles as if the dozens of people crammed inside all disappeared. 

“Can you blame me?” he finally said.

Everyone had something to say after that, all clamoring to get their two-cents in. One of his uncles patted his shoulder, "You picked a good one."

He grinned—he sure did.

The sentiment was reiterated as the larger group dispersed throughout the house. He managed to slip into the dining room to make a plate of what was left of the hors d'oeuvres his mother had set out. Cheese and crackers, some cold cuts, too. Didn't realize how much he missed things like that, savoring each bite as he stood near the kitchen, watching Woody with one of his aunts.

She slouched a bit, withered compared to how she had been entertaining everyone in the living room. 

“A lady mechanic,” his aunt marveled, “you know I can hardly believe it, but I’m sure you showed those boys a thing or two.”

“I was just glad I could do my part,” Woody said, the canned answer acceptably modest.

“Your family must be so proud of you.”

Her strained smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “My parents are, um—“

“Aunt Del, I think I heard my mother asking for you,” John interrupted, setting his plate down.

“Oh, I better go see, then. Lovely talking to you, dear,” she said, patting Woody’s arm before departing the kitchen.

Woody leaned against the counter, audibly sighing in relief. She fought to blink away her exhaustion, traveling into town in the morning to keep up a facade through the evening, wanting so desperately to make a good first impression on his family, the agreeable, lovely future in-law they all wanted.

He moved in front of her, shielding her from any nosy relatives who might poke their heads in, looking for her. 

“You saved me,” she said.

“She shouldn’t be bringing it up anyway," he said. "I know my mother told them—"

"It’s a practice run for the wedding.”

“We could elope. Go to the courthouse first thing in the morning…”

She chewed on her bottom lip, eyes darting all over the room before bringing her attention back to him. "No, we couldn't," she said with finality. "It wouldn't be fair to them."

But it'd be nice. Shorten the list of things they had to worry about, though it'd just as quickly put her on his family's shit list as she managed to get in their good graces over the course of an afternoon. It almost felt too easy. Maybe that was what everyone wanted after everything that happened over the past few years, glad to finally have John home and willing to overlook any reservations about the woman he brought home with him.

“Have I mentioned how beautiful you look?” he asked, gently tugging on the hem of her dress and pulling her from her thoughts.

“I feel naked without trousers on.”

“I wish you were.”

She tapped his chest with the back of her hand. “Watch it, Johnny.”

“I’m sorry we have to stay here.”

“Why?”

He nodded toward the crowded living room. “Lack of privacy, for starters.”

She shook her head, echoing her earlier sentiment. “I’m just glad to be with you.”

“As soon as we’re both working, we’ll start looking for a place. Maybe an apartment to start.”

“Your family would be okay with that?” she asked. “Us living together?”

“Probably not, but we’re engaged at least, and after the past two years, I don’t want to be without you again.”

“Me either.”

They spent the following half hour or so hiding in the kitchen before his relatives began filtering out, leaving them with hugs and well-wishes and promises to invite them over for lunch or dinner sometime. 

"Woody, it was great meeting you," Gene said, giving her a hug. "Keep an eye on this one, he might not look it, but he can be trouble."

"I'm enough trouble for the both of us, believe me," she said, retreating back to John's side.

The house was soon empty, save for the three of them, sitting in the living room with the radio playing softly in the background of the conversation between John and his mother.

Even though she brewed some coffee for them, Woody could hardly keep her eyes open. She nodded off for a moment, her mug nearly slipping from her hands.

"John, the poor thing is exhausted. Why don't you show her upstairs while I clean up? I made up your brother's old room for her."

"Thank you," Woody said. "Really, for letting me stay here. I can pay you rent, or—"

"Please, you're almost family now. And I trust you both to…" his mother struggled to find the words, almost flustered, and Woody tried her best to contain a snicker, "mind yourselves."

"Woody keeps me honest," he lied.

"Alright," she conceded with a smile. "Good night you two."

As soon as they were upstairs, they wasted no time in shoving into the bathroom together—a tight squeeze, but more than fine by them. Their respective nighttime routines peppered with kisses and soft touches while teeth were brushed and faces were washed, practically pressed against one another while sharing the limited sink space. 

They paused to look at themselves in the mirror on the wall, a domestic portrait staring back at them. He pressed his lips just below her ear, settling his chin on her shoulder as his arms wrapped around her waist from behind. 

Whenever she blinked, she expected it to be a dream she would wake up from, back in the barracks at Thorpe Abbotts, waiting for him to come back, worrying incessantly. But she put her hands over his and squeezed gently. Real, warm, loving. Always loving.

"I wish we didn't have to sleep in separate rooms," she mumbled.

"We'll be fine," he said. "It won't be for too long, anyway."

She wanted to say something—that it was ridiculous, they were adults for crying out loud. And after everything he especially had been through, couldn't there have been some grace, some wiggle room, all things considered? But it'd been clear through the way his family interacted with him throughout the day that they didn't know nearly as much about it as she did. Even then, there were things he kept to himself, things she'd probably never know.

Feeling almost useless, she turned around, pressing her lips to his, hoping he knew everything she couldn't say was in that kiss, in the way her blunt nails tenderly scratched his jaw. "I'll see you in the morning."

The hallway was short, the room easy enough to find with Woody's two suitcases sitting neatly next to the door, Gene having brought them up for her once they got to the house, encouraging her to unpack after the party, 'Make yourself at home.' She hesitated, more than used to living out of the two suitcases and not having much to her name anyway. She was careful when she set one of them on the bed, digging through for pajamas, a satin set consisting of an olive green camisole, matching robe, and loose, flowy pants with lace detailing around the cuffs. John bought it for her when they were in Manhattan, insisting his family would think he wasn't taking good care of her if she puttered around in her old PT shirt and men's pajama bottoms. Felt like they spent half the money they had on hand to buy new clothes, so they'd be real people and blend in with all the rest. 

His mother made up the room beautifully for Woody—the soft, worn linens smelled faintly of detergent, but mostly of home, something she heard plenty of people refer to when the scent of a certain blend of tobacco or freshly cut grass was in the air, but never quite understood until she got under the covers and immediately thought of John.

Settling on her side, she stared at the wall between them, like if she looked at it long enough, she'd be able to see through it, see him. One measly wall, nothing compared to two years and thousands of miles, but she still missed him terribly.

She wrapped her arms around her middle in a weak attempt to comfort herself and closed her eyes. She couldn't find sleep behind them despite her earlier exhaustion, her racing thoughts keeping her awake.

The door creaked open, and she sat up on her elbows, brows furrowed in confusion until John closed the door behind him.

“Are you out of your mind? Your mother could come up here any minute and—“

“It’s not that…I can’t sleep without you,” he mumbled, almost embarrassed. They’d spent the past few weeks practically attached at the hip, from the time he arrived back at Thorpe Abbotts, on the ship from England to New York, to the guilty weekend in a Manhattan hotel room. Even in the familiar walls of his childhood bedroom, he tossed and turned when left to face the night alone.

“Oh, Johnny,” she cooed, extending her arms to him. “Come here.”

He curled up into her, burying his face in the crook of her neck. She silently cradled him until she felt hot tears on her skin.

“Are you alright?” she asked softly.

“‘m sorry."

“Don’t ever apologize. I love you.”

“I love you.” He held her tighter, the way he would cling to a teddy bear when he was a boy, too young to face his fears on his own but too old to seek the comfort of his parents for it. “I love you so much.”

In an attempt to calm him down, she stroked his hair. It wouldn’t look great, his mother finding them entangled in bed together or catching him sneaking out of her room. She didn’t seem like an unreasonable woman, though. Surely she would understand that seeking comfort wasn’t a sin—nothing they did was, not when there was love at the root of it all.

“Go to sleep,” Woody whispered, though she could tell by his steady breathing he already was. “I’ll be here in the morning.”

[crazy-pages]

First step to being a rationalist.

Acknowledge it might not work.

Let me take a step back for a moment. The single most important principle of science, in my opinion, is acknowledging the possibility of failure, that something might be beyond you. People often think of science as how you discover the truth, but I think it is more accurately and importantly described by how it lets us determine what we do not know.

For most of human history, we not only did not know what the sun was made out of, the question was fundamentally beyond our grasp. There was nothing any amount of scientific principle could do that would let you know what the sun was for most of human history. To be a scientist about it, to apply the scientific method to understanding the sun, is not just being able to know nuclear physics. You have to teach yourself to know when to say 'I don't know'.

For most of human history the sun has been fundamentally beyond our capacity to understand. And yet it is one of the most enduring and common subjects of false explanations. To internalize the scientific method, truly in a way that changes your thinking relative to what it was before you learned it, you have to become someone who, if you were living in those times, would be able to say "I don't know" even when everyone around you has an answer.

So let's talk about rationalism.

Rationalism is not just the idea that we can understand human biases. It's not just the idea that we can be more thoughtful or knowledgeable people by understanding these biases. No, rationalism is specifically the idea that by learning enough about human biases and by leaning on hard enough on data, we can reliably make correct and optimal moral choices. It is the belief that by performing enough rationalist study and training, and applying enough information science to a problem, one can proceed on the assumption they have come to the correct conclusion.

And those are very different things. It is the difference between saying "by understanding wood better, we can construct better foot bridges" and "by understanding wood better, we can span the San Francisco Bay with it".

Because here's the thing, better is not the same thing as reliable. Even if we grant the assumption that learning about biases makes one less likely to fall prey to them, and that is an assumption, an 80% chance of making mistake is also less than a 90% chance of making a mistake. It's valuable, that's a good thing, but it is not sufficient to say "hey so I used this method to come to my conclusions, therefore I'm sure I didn't make a mistake".

If you want to be a rationalist, the first rational principle you need to apply is that of the scientific principle looking at the sun. You need to be able to say "There may be nothing I can do, with the resources I have access to, to be sure I am actually free of bias and mistakes in logic. This may be fully beyond me, for the entire span of my life." And not just in the sense that nobody is perfect, but in the very real sense that you cannot depend on the train of logic in your own head to lead you to a correct place.

And the reason this is important is for the same reason it's important in science. The moment that you presume something is in fact knowable in science, it just becomes a tool of accrediting whatever conclusion you come to. It stops being an actual tool of discovery and becomes a rubber stamp of validation. It becomes something which makes you feel better about the conclusion you came to, not something which actually helps you in any way.

The moment you say to yourself, "because I am a rationalist, I am confident enough in A, B, and C to take actions X, Y, and Z" you've failed to be a rationalist. (Unless you provide a double blind study of a large well-controlled population, one of which was given rationalist training and the other which wasn't, upon the end of which it was determined that the rationalist trained population did indeed perform to an improved standard meeting a high minimum on certain metrics (upon which you must limit your assumption of rationalist improvement to those specific metrics). And then this study has been in the corpus of literature long enough to be peer-reviewed and criticized and had duplicate research and further investigation and a good long while for the scientific community to dissect it. A thing which has definitely not happened yet.)

The most important thing you can learn from rationalism is not an understanding of a specific set of biases. It's not the particular ways human cognition is messed up and it's not any type of information science. It is the fact that humans are flawed.

The most important thing you can learn from rationalism is humility, not hubris.

To do otherwise is for rationalism to just become another tool of confirmation bias, something making you think you are more correct than you actually are.

The humility you have to learn from rationalism is that you must plan and behave on the assumption that no matter how rationalist you think you are, you might still be behaving in biased ways. That there might be no way to fix this. And so all you can do try to behave in ways where even if you're wrong, you're going to minimize the harm you do to others.

This is where futurist philosophies derived from rationalism, the idea that the unimaginable number of humans in the future are so much more than the ones now that it justifies worker exploitation and present harms to make the far future better, falls apart. This is where AI doomerism/utopianism, the idea that general AI is definitely the biggest threat and potential boon facing humanity so we have to put all of our resources into safe AI research at the expense of everything else, falls apart. This is where effective altruism, the idea that we can quantify the outcomes of charity thoroughly enough that it makes sense to hand over direction of all charity to a small group of experts, falls apart.

Because the answer to "what if you're wrong about these philosophies?" is that a lot of people get very hurt. We are flawed. Fundamentally so, and I don't know that anyone has ever proved a way we can get around this. The only thing I know that we can do about this, is to try to behave in ways that minimize harms while trying to make the world better, rather than trying to maximize a hail mary to find the holy grail.

To which I can already hear the rationalists saying that this might not be enough to save the world, that anything but convulsive directed effort focused on is already doomed, so we have to pick one of them.

To which I say. First off, how are you sure of that? How is this a thing that you know for certain?

But more importantly. Yeah. You're right. There's no way of knowing for sure what course of action will make the world a better place. There's no way of knowing that anything short of futurists sacrificing the workers of the present to build a brighter future will be enough.

But if you are actually a rationalist, well. That is what you have to live with. You've got to be the scientist looking up at the sun and saying, "I don't know."

And then you should go and do things to make the world better without being sure of your prognostication of the future.

[eds6ngel]

hiiiii omg can u do one where robin and afab reader are happily seeing each other. one day, reader overhears some people talking badly about same-sex relationships and saying what they'd do to a same-sex couple if they saw one in public. scared, reader tries to break up with robin without explaining why. it's an emotional and tense moment, but robin won't let reader leave until she explains. finally, reader tells robin her fears, leading to a gentle, comforting conversation and moment that brings them closer

one day, we’ll be free ᰔᩚ

robin buckley x fem!reader

summary: you and robin had been seeing each other for two months in private, praying for the day that you could move to a more liberal area, but how would you react when jason carver makes his violent opinions known about lesbians?

pre warning !! this is a very heavy chapter, so make sure to read the tags carefully. if you find anything that triggers you, please go ahead and skip this fic. please do let me know if i have missed anything!!

warnings: ANGST!! fem!reader. lesbian!reader. closeted/hidden relationship. heavy 80s accurate homophobia. use of d slur in a derogatory way. rape & pedophilia accusation against a lesbian. gun mention. threat of hurting/killing lesbians. robin’s parents are homophobic. r tries to run away. allusion to self harm. break-up attempt. lots of crying. death mention. pet names (my love, baby, honey.) food mentions. slight fluff. [2.7k].

a/n: thank you for requesting, lovely! i did make this chapter very heavy and accurate to the time period (at least i hope close enough!) so i hope that this is suitable to what you can read and enjoy the fic ♡

You had met Robin in your French class in your junior year. You had found her to be the most stunning girl in the entirety of Hawkins High, and in an ideal world, you would’ve been asking her out in the middle of the damn hallway.

But… it was 1985, and you could’ve been ostracised, hurt, or even killed by another student or teacher if you even attempted to do so.

However, luckily for you, privacy was something that could be maintained. You successfully asked Robin out in a secluded area of Lover’s Lake extremely late at night, and to your delight, she said yes.

And for the past two months, you and Robin had been happily seeing each other in your own time. Whereas you would’ve loved to have publicly showed off your girlfriend like any of the other couples around Hawkins did, some a little too much, you still found comfort in the dates you organised in your bedroom or a nice, private spot during early hours of the morning.

However, your ultimate dream was to escape to the city. New York, LA, San Francisco, anywhere where you could go to a gay bar and just find like-minded people. Maybe there were more gay people in Hawkins, but how would you ever come to find out?

You loved this town, you grew up in this town and made so many memories here, but it just wasn’t safe for your future. Nowhere was really, but at least the cities had a community. Here? It was just you and Robin against everyone else. Against every other likely homophobic asshole that graced these streets.

You were sat at one of the lunch tables, patiently waiting for your girlfriend to join you from her Biology class. Unfortunately for you, it seems as if Robin’s class had been let out later than usual, so you had to grab a table before they were all taken, and that table just so happened to be to the right of Jason Carver’s designated spot. It wasn’t even designated, but everyone in the school was too goddamn scared, or simply agreed that that space was now his.

And just like always, he was being an absolute nightmare.

The daily Eddie Munson vs. Jason Carver shenanigans had already taken place, and since Jason’s table was obnoxiously loud about their talking points, you were subject to every word they would utter throughout the rest of the lunch period.

You spotted your girlfriend entering the cafeteria, giving her a huge grin and a wave, to which she returned, grabbing a tray and lining up in the lunch queue.

Your worries had settled for a few moments, glad that Robin was safe and healthy, but, that’s when Jason’s conversation definitely caught your ear.

“Dude, apparently one of the local dykes around here raped a teenage girl a few weeks ago.”

The whole table erupted into a roar of laughter at one of the other jock’s words, you purposefully holding back your tears. Not only were they being extremely homophobic, but they were laughing about a girl in her age category getting hurt. Gay or not, how could you even joke about that kind of thing? It’s so vile.

“Not even shocking, man. You know, if I saw one of them lesbians around here, I would be the first person to take them out. My dad owns a few guns, I could easily shoot them down from a mile away.”

That level of violence from Jason made you instantly terrified for your life. You were lucky you presented feminine, so everybody assumed you were into men, but what if he caught you and Robin in your safe space at Lover’s Lake? You could be shot dead and he could justify it with some horrible accusation of pedophilia.

And you couldn’t out Robin like that, no way. Her parents already spouted the same-old religious, homophobic talking points. She was already considered a ‘band geek,’ you couldn’t outcast her more than that and put her life in danger.

You had to go. You couldn’t do this to her. No way in hell.

Retrieving your bag from under the table, you step out, leaving your half-eaten lunch tray on the table as you quickly walked out of the cafeteria and to the parking lot.

Tears were blurring your vision as you drove through the misty rain, unsure of which was blocking your line of sight at what point, the two fading into one. The melancholy of the atmosphere continued as you parked in your driveway, throwing off your seatbelt, and bolting into your bedroom.

Your parents were fortunately at work, the loud clamoring of clothes being tossed around your bedroom echoing through the four corners of your house, your body frantically searching for everything you may need.

You need to get out. You couldn’t stay here any longer.

You were about to throw your journal in with your unorganised, messy clothes, when a sudden thought struck your mind. No matter how much you wanted to escape the world you lived in, you couldn’t leave your love like this. Robin deserved some form of closure.

So, ripping a page scruffily from your notebook, the edges uneven and jagged, you collected the closest pen from your bedside table and ripped the cap off with your teeth.

Your handwriting was scruffy, almost unintelligible as you poured your heart and soul onto the page. Small droplets were staining the page, smudging the ink and creating little tears in the thin material. It was chaotic and tangled, but it needed to be done.

Once finished, the journal itself, along with a few of your stationery items, were shoved into the suitcase, the letter folded in half as it was placed at the top of your rucksack, just above the cassettes and books.

Towing your suitcase behind you, rucksack hanging off one shoulder, you made your way back out into the torturous heavy rain. Luckily for you, Robin only lived a ten-minute walk away from your house, and since it was only 1:30pm, assuming she hadn’t rushed home out of worry for your wellbeing, you could open her bedroom window and slip the note onto her bed.

You felt bad for leaving her like this, but it was the best thing for both of you. You would never live a peaceful life if you willingly put your girlfriend in danger. Even worse if she got physically hurt.

This wasn’t just exclusive to Jason’s group of hooligans. They were terrifying enough, but what about the rednecks and rich, snobby business owners who would shoot you on sight? Who you definitely couldn’t put up a fight with?

If you wanted to live a sapphic life, you needed to do that in a somewhat safer place. And that place was definitely not Hawkins.

Robin’s worries had been flying high ever since she saw that lonely half-eaten lunch tray reminiscing in the absence of you. She had to eat lunch alone for the first time in forever, and it was honestly torture without your presence around her.

As soon as that last bell rung signalling the end of the school day, she was out in a flash, shoving all of her books in her bag, not even bothering to switch anything out in her locker. She could organise that tomorrow. She needed to find you. And she needed to do it quickly.

The moment she noticed your car had disappeared, she was hopping right onto the school bus, praying that the journey would be fast, at least fast in her mind. She couldn’t let her concerns invade her brain much longer.

She practically sprinted into her bedroom, only saying a quick “Hi!” to her mom as she burst into the room.

Her plan was to head to the phone, immediately dialing your home phone number and impatiently waiting for you to answer on the other end.

But, the note was impossible not to spot. She knew it wasn’t hers. She keeps everything in her journal nice and neat.

She was nervous as hell, carefully picking up the piece of paper between her dampened fingertips and lifting up the top, revealing your disordered handwriting.

“Hi, my love.

These last few months have truly been amazing with you, but I really can’t be with you any longer.

This has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with me. I just need some time to myself to clear my thoughts, and I don’t think having this many burdens on my shoulder is helping our relationship in any way.

I’m sorry for putting all of this on you like this, and I’m sorry for being so much of a fucking coward not to say this to your face. I hate to have to end things like this.

I’m sorry, and I hope you find someone who is good for you one day.

Your Y/N.”

Robin couldn’t believe what she had just read. Did you really think that your problems were causing harm to her? She would listen to you talk and ramble for hours on end about anything from a life-changing major event, to a minor thing that ticked you off at school. In no way were you causing her life harm. If anything, she would happily sacrifice her own problems for yours. You were the most important thing in the world to her.

She couldn’t end the relationship like this. She didn’t want to end the relationship at all.

She needed to find you. She would search to the ends of the Earth to find you.

Shoving the note in her back pocket, she left the room she only entered a few minutes ago. It was her mission to find you. With a quick, panicked yell of “I’m heading to Y/N’s!” to her mom, Robin was dashing back out the front door with her bike helmet and riding off down the street.

She was not letting you go. She was gonna talk about this with you. She was going to find out what was truly wrong.

Robin felt as if she checked everywhere. She tried your house, Lover’s Lake, even the goddamn mall, yet you weren’t there.

Her worries were increasing, and she needed to find you fast, making sure you weren’t hurting yourself in any way.

The main roads in Hawkins seemed to be getting busier and busier as the end of the work day came ahead, so she decided to use one of the quieter routes to get back to her house. It was a dumb thought process, but she was just going to keep calling and calling when she got back home in hopes that even by the 100th ring, you would pick up and speak to her with that gorgeous voice of yours.

She was carefully riding down the road, trying not to let any of her emotions visibly show. She wasn’t that great of a rider, she couldn’t risk falling off her bike and scraping up her knees again.

But, that is when she saw you. You were cuddled up in a ball on the bus stop bench, the lack of shelter meaning your rain jacket was soaked through, your body practically shivering in the cold February rain. Beside you was your purple suitcase, seemingly packed to the brim, and your rucksack sat perched on your lap, desperately attempting to protect you from the harsh weather.

Robin basically fell off her bike, letting it crash to the ground, the wheels still spinning as she yelled, “Baby! Oh my God, are you okay?”

She tried to reach out for you, but your body immediately flinched away from her, your wrinkled fingers hugging your knees closer to your chest. It was now that Robin could see the stains of your teardrops creating violent patterns through your foundation, making themselves known to anyone who had access.

“Why are you crying, honey? What’s the matter?”

You remained silent, a few echoes of cries escaping your lungs, many sniffles seeking to recover from the intense emotion.

Robin felt as if she had no choice, reaching for the piece of paper that was in her back jean pocket, now a soaked mess from where the downpour had attacked her clothing.

“What is this?” she questioned, holding it in your line of sight, knowing that you could see it in your peripheral, “Why are you trying to escape me, baby?”

A few moments of silence pass, before a low whisper states: “I just can’t be with you anymore.”

Robin feels her mouth become instantly dry. What does that mean? Were you telling the truth in the letter? You couldn’t be… No way…

“Why not?” she delves deeper, “Because what you said in the letter doesn’t bother me at all, baby. I would listen to every worry on your mind. Don’t think you’re ever a burden to me, my love—”

“I just can’t be with you, okay?!”

The sudden outburst makes Robin’s heart break, but not more than the sound of the bus approaching, and you seemingly gathering up your things to flag it down.

Not even thinking, Robin grabs your jacket sleeve, almost touching her fingers to your palm, “Honey, wait a second.”

“Let go!” you yell in total fear. There were likely people on that bus, and obviously the driver. Why was she being so risky? You were gonna get her killed.

Robin’s eyes begin to well up, your sudden emotion really striking her off guard, “Talk to me, baby. Please! I can’t lose you!”

“I’m gonna get you killed!”

Robin’s stunned, lost for words. As if subconsciously, she waves her hand for the bus driver to continue on, not stopping for you. She doesn’t care if that was your plan, you obviously weren’t thinking logically and you were both emotionally and physically overwhelmed.

“What do you mean?” she says softly, almost at a whisper.

You sigh, using your sleeve to wipe away the tears before Robin could reach her own hands out to catch them herself, “A-At lunch today… Jason’s table were talking about a lesbian around here raping a minor. A-And of course that’s wrong if it’s true, but it’s what he said he would do to people like us which scared me…”

Robin shows a slight nod, encouraging you lovingly to continue, “H-He said he would hurt us. Attack us with his dad’s gun. K-Kill us. And I just thought about him or another person around here finding us at Lover’s Lake at night and me having no way to protect you, a-and I just couldn’t handle that, so I wanted to run away…”

Robin was about to reply, but you interrupted her once more, “Sorry, I just— I don’t think I can do that to you. I can’t put you in danger any more. I can’t change the fact that I am a lesbian and neither can you, but I can actively decide our fates. And I want you to live a happy and fulfilling life in the future.”

“But honey… I’m living that happy and fulfilling life right now,” Robin admits, taking a deep breath, “I love you.”

You shake your head, “You can’t! I’m gonna end up getting you hurt! You deserve to be safe!”

“I feel safe when I’m with you! Before I met you, I was scared more than ever!” Robin begins to raise her voice in pain and anguish, “And now, you make me feel so much safer, because you give me hope that everything is going to be okay someday. Yes, we may need to hide now, but in two years, I promise you we will be in a safer place, baby.”

“But what about Jason and the other homophobes around here? What if they hurt us?” you question in distress.

“Baby, I’d rather die tomorrow with you in my arms than die alone at ninety knowing that I let you go as a goddamn teenager.”

You slowly start coming to your senses, nodding as the tears continue to fall. You close your eyes as Robin checks her surroundings, before she cups your face and leans her forehead against yours.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, my love.”

“It’s okay, baby,” Robin whispers softly, “I love you. Two more years, okay? Just two more years of completely hiding.”

You nod, smiling weakly, “I love you too. Two years…”

taglist: @agxxb @robinsno1lesbian @agenderrat (no pressure for you to engage if this fic is too triggering for you <3)

[desertdollranch]

As 'Barbie' becomes the only billion-dollar blockbuster solely directed by a woman, one doll maker in the Bay Area is hoping to break barriers of her own.

When 3-year-old Jillian Mak asked for her first doll last year, her mom, Elenor Mak, couldn't wait to get her one.

But her excitement turned to disappointment the moment she set foot in the store. 

"There were rows and rows of Caucasian dolls [with] blond hair and blue eyes," she said. "And then, on the very side, there were these ethnic characters that looked ambiguously Asian, Latina. You just weren't sure."

She ended up buying the closest thing she could find, a doll with big green eyes and dark brown hair. But the idea that in 2022 she couldn't find a single accurate Asian American doll, in San Francisco of all places, was hard to wrap her mind around. 

"Dolls are not just a toy that's in passing," she explained. It's the child's first imaginary friend. It's the child trying to make sense of the world."

That's when Elenor Mak decided to do something about it. She started by doing an online search for "How to make a doll?"  

Then, she searched for an Asian toy maker. For the next few months, they researched everything from eye shape to skin tones to hair color.  

"We would go out in the sun and look at our black hair and compare it to these samples," she said. 

While there were a few Asian American dolls by big-name companies like American Girl, she thought they were "too stereotypical."

"We talk about how she loves sports," she said. "It's not a traditional association."

She named her doll Jilly Bing — Jilly for her daughter's nickname, and Bing is the Chinese word for cookie. One of Jilly's accessories is a hat that flips into an egg tart.

"We wanted kids to have fun and delight in learning about different Asian foods," she said.

Maria Teresa Hart, the author of the book 'Doll,' said being able to see yourself in them is critical. 

"We have all of our feelings and assumptions about society are all contained in these toys and children are smart they do pick up on that" she said. "They may not be able to articulate it as well as we can, but they do understand what is being shown to them."

Elenor Mak is now planning a whole cast of "lovable characters" she said will reflect the entire Asian American experience, including bi-racial dolls. 

Jilly Bing, which sells for $68 online, seems to have struck a chord, the dolls began shipping on Aug. 1, with hundreds of pre-orders. 

But the only customer that really matters is the one living in her house. 

When asked what she loved most about Jilly Bing, 3-year-old Jillian exclaimed: "Everything!"

[damnhotmsimmons]

The BAU Characters and their birthplace/hometown

Not sure why I made this but it could be used for reference at some point

David Rossi: Born in Commack, Long Island, NY

Elle Greenaway: Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY (mentioned in 2x02)

Derek Morgan: Born in Chicago, Illinois

Spencer Reid: Born in Las Vegas, Nevada

Jennifer Jareau: Born and raised in East Allegheny, Pennsylvania

Penelope Garcia: Born in San Francisco, California

Luke Alvez: Born and raised in the Bronx, NY (mentioned in 12x01)

Matt Simmons: Born in Carson City, Michigan (mentioned in 13x03)

Alex Blake: Born in Kansas City, Missouri (mentioned in 9x11)

Ashley Seaver: unspecified but implied to be somewhere in North Dakota, as her father was The Redmond Ripper

There's no specific birth place revealed for Emily and Tara though we know that they spent both most of their childhoods traveling a lot, the former due to her mother being a Diplomat and the latter due to her father serving in the U.S. Army.

I couldn't find anything specific on Hotch, other than his mother being born in Manassas, Virginia. Ditto for Gideon

Fun fact, Reid and Matt share the same birthplace as their actors. Elle, Garcia and Luke share the same state as their actors but different cities

I don't know how accurate this is. Feel free to add anything to this post incase I missed anything

[writingquestionsanswered]

I have a story set in the future, an unspecific time, but the location is San Francisco area. The issue is, i dont live on a coast, or in california. I really like the location because it fits my characters but i just have no idea what that area is really like.

I was wondering how to write a location that exist that you havent been to before? One of the reasons i set it in an unspecified time in the future was to avoid specifics but i still just dont know how to somewhat accurately describe the setting.

Thank you! ❤️

Story Set in a Place You've Never Been to Before

I've got a whole prior post about that! ♥

Setting Your Story in an Unfamiliar Place

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[withclawandvine]

GOT LOVESTRUCK, WENT STRAIGHT TO MY HEAD — the wrong place at the right time

summary: Elain was supposed to be in paradise with her fiancè, not alone at an airport bar, held hostage by a storm. Lucien was only supposed to be in Las Vegas for a few days on business, before flying back home on the Vanserra jet. They weren’t supposed to meet, but fate is funny like that.

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59610724/chapters/152036788

author’s note: happy @elucienweekofficial !!! i had SO MUCH FUN writing this one. it’s all a modern au, obviously, but the other prompts are woven in! i had every intention of posting a chapter per day(ish) this week, but i went to the george r.r. martin school of writing, so…. that didn’t happen lmao but here’s the first of the planned five parts to get the ball rolling !!

The moment the wheels of the 757 traveling south from San Francisco to Las Vegas touched down, the sky split open, unleashing a seasonal monsoon with wind speeds and torrential rainfall surpassing any other that year.

Most people would consider it a stroke of good luck — a small miracle, even — that plane hadn’t been struck from the sky by a bolt of lightning.

Elain Archeron knew better.

She knew this storm was just one more incident in the chain of mishaps shackled to this vacation.

First, there was Graysen unceremoniously breaking their engagement two months ago, leaving Elain with a voluminous white gown taking up all the room in her closet, a box of unaddressed invitations collecting dust, and a nonrefundable booking for an all-inclusive luxe resort in St. Barts — the Christmas gift Gray had insisted she take for herself and a friend, all with that heavy dose of that new money condescension he was so versed in.

If she’d been smart, Elain would have given the tickets to the retired couple next door, but instead, she’d called Feyre.

Her little sister had suffered her own heartbreak earlier in the year, and although she pretended to be over it, Elain knew she was still reeling. Tamlin would have never let Feyre leave the country without him. Or, more accurately, Tamlin wouldn’t have let Feyre leave the backyard without him.

So it felt exceptionally cruel when Ferye called, voice weak and miserable, to tell Elain she had food poisoning and wouldn’t be able to make the trip. Hell, she’d lamented. I’ll be lucky if I make it out of the bathroom anytime soon.

With her plane departing in a few hours, Elain knew her only choice was to either call the whole thing off, or go it alone.

She enjoyed solitude; she liked gardening alone, and was a lunchtime regular at the little cafe down the street. But in the weeks since moving out of Graysen’s townhouse, she’d been spending most of her time confined to her new apartment, and if it went on for much longer, she’d evolve into a Gothic heroine.

She knew she needed a change of scenery, lest she start clawing at the wallpaper.

A man taking a sharp corner without looking up from his phone narrowly avoided a head-on collision with Elain; instead, he clipped her suitcase, wrenching it from her hand. It clung to the stranger’s carryon for a few paces, then dropped to the floor.

Before it could get swept up by the chaotic and restless crowd, Elain snatched the handle of her suitcase and righted it. The bag wobbled, then settled crookedly to the right. Within seconds of realizing he small, black wheel on the ground near it did in fact belong to her luggage, someone’s foot sent it skittering over the tile.

Elain watched it pinball out of sight, unable to contain her sharp, deranged laugh.

Just like that, the trip had gone from unfortunate to downright cursed — that little wheel was no mere inconvenience. It was an omen, just as powerful as any broken mirror or bolt of lightning. Clearly, the universe was trying to tell her that a hurricane was foredoomed to materialize on the first day of her stay, and wash her away by the third. Or that the long-inactive volcano would spontaneously erupt. Perhaps the plane would evanesce into the Bermuda Triangle.

She should have stayed home. She wanted to go home. Spend the next ten days of her hard-won PTO rewatching Bridgerton. Make a batch of her famous death-by-chocolate brownies and an espresso martini. Get petty satisfaction out of knowing how much of Graysen’s money was being wasted.

But as it was, Elain wasn’t on her way to an island or her Bay Area apartment; there was only one place she could go right now.

She all but stomped, her suitcase limping awkwardly behind her, in the direction of the nearest bar.

Elain collapsed onto a barstool and ordered something sweet, tropical, and strong. The bartender looked annoyed by her lack of specificity, but had the good grace not to say anything about it as he shook up then presented her with a mango mojito with an extra shot of rum.

Elain closed her eyes and took a sip, imagining she was basking in the sun as the tide lapped at her brightly-pedicured toes.

Her conjured serenity dissipated when she felt someone settle into the stool beside her.

A man in a perfectly tailored suit flagged the bartender. It was the kind of suit that spoke of money and importance — the kind of suit that ordered top-shelf whiskey, neat.

So Elain couldn’t help but look to him in surprise when he said, “I’ll have whatever she’s having.”

Sensing her attention, he turned his head to flash her an easy smile, shrugging as if to say What about it?

He was captivating; his sharp suit so at odds with his long hair, tied back in a way that was almost thoughtless. Artfully messy, with a few loose strands framing a face made up of pointed features that screamed mischief. A scar, now faint with age, was carved into the left side of his face from brow to jaw, pulling slightly at the corner of his mouth. That mouth — the only soft part of his face.

Elain watched him take a hearty drink of his cocktail.

“That’s fucking delightful.” He said this to Elain as if she’d been the one to make it for him, not just put the idea in his head by sipping on her own. To the bartender, he said, “We’ll need two more of these, please.”

She blinked at him. “We?”

“What?” His smile was a little lopsided and a lot teasing. “Do you have somewhere else to be?”

When Elain gave the waiting bartender a thumbs-up, the man’s smile grew.

God, he needed to keep that thing in check.

He extended a hand. “I’m Lucien.”

She took it, letting his fingers engulf hers. “Elain.”

He repeated her name to himself softly and fondly, like they do in the movies.

“Well, Elain, where are you supposed to be right now? Assuming a bar in the Las Vegas airport wasn’t your final destination.”

Maybe it was that second mojito, but telling Lucien the story about Graysen dumping her within weeks of their big, romantic getaway, and months of their wedding was surprisingly easy.

“So yeah,” she shrugged, stirring the melting ice and crushed mint around the glass with her straw. “Here we are.”

“Here we are,” Lucien agreed, pushing a water she didn’t even notice him ordering at her.

“What about you? Were you in town for business or pleasure?”

“First it was business.” He flashed her a secretive smile, “Now it’s a pleasure.”

“Well, it must have been one nightmare of a business trip if this is your —��

Elain’s phone buzzed on the counter.

ATTN: Flight MAF608 LAS to MIA has been POSTPONED until 6:00 AM PST. For more information, reply HELP

Elain set her phone back down, then, without uttering a word, slid the water away, giving herself enough room to let her forehead fall to the countertop with a dull, defeated thud.

“Everything alright?”

She turned her head enough to look at Lucien with one eye. “I am going to die in this airport.”

He picked her phone up. “You’re going to die in the next…” he squinted at the screen, “ten hours?”

“If I’m lucky,” she grumbled, “it’ll be in the next two.”

Lucien’s laugh was rich and bright. Elain wanted to be annoyed at him for laughing at her misery, but the sound was so perfectly joyous, she could only manage a half-hearted pout.

“You’re laughing,” she said. “I’m going to spend the night on this barstool and you’re laughing.”

A prospect that still somehow seemed more dignified than calling Graysen to ask for money to cover a night in a hotel. The only reason she could go on this trip in the first place was because of his fancy tech job and guilty conscience.

“The business I was in town for,” Lucien said, making a show of snuffing out his laughter and becoming serious. “It was with a hotel on the Strip that my family does business with. I can make arrangements for you to stay there.”

Elain smiled, even as she shook her head. “I appreciate the offer, but —”

“Please,” he insisted, sweeping up her tab with his own, and placing a black Amex on top. “It would be no trouble at all.”

[omgthatdress]

I have a lot of feelings about Julie’s collection. After the election of Richard Nixon, the deaths of Janis Joplin, Jimmi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison, and then the Manson murders, the peace and love happy hippie 60s had given way to the dirty, strung-out scumbag 70s. Even though Julie is living in San Francisco, the hippie era had long since passed by 1974. As Hunter S. Thompson beautifully put it in Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas:

“There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda. . . . You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. . . . And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting—on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. . . . So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.””

I love the hippie aesthetic. I get that AG would want to have a doll that reflects that. A lot of Julie’s story revolves around her fighting for environmentalism, which is one of the aspects of hippie culture that managed to stick around, largely because of backlash to the consumerism of the 50s. But in Julie’s collection there’s plenty of times when her looks lean too far into the 60s and miss the mark of the 70s. As much as I appreciate AG doing the hippie thing, an accurate collection for the 70s would drag us to polyester hell and never let go. The 70s are one of those special eras in fashion where everything is ugly as fuck. The fashion of the 60s was much more aesthetically pleasing, but the fashion of the 70s is ironically appealing. It’s so ugly you love it. It’s ridiculous. It’s camp.

Granted, the fridge that was 1974 fashion still had plenty of hippie leftovers in it, and her original meet look with its crochet cap, embroidered tunic, and fringe belt feel true to the era.

Hand crafts like knitting and crochet had a resurgence in popularity, so I’m glad that both collections have a knitted accessory.

Part of the history lesson Julie gives is that Title IX meant schools could no longer forbid girls from wearing pants, so that’s why Julie is in jeans.

Julie’s BeForever look is straight 60s hippie. The inspiration seems to be Janis Joplin, who had been dead for four years:

AG seems to be wanting to have it both ways with Julie, and I honestly wish they’d just commit to the 70s:

On another note, the 70s would have been a great chance to have another doll of color (American Indian Movement, much?), but they went with a White girl with blonde hair. Which honestly I kiiind of get. Like if I were going to select ONE decade of the 20th century to have a blonde doll, it would be the 70s. I cannot emphasize enough how ubiquitous long blonde hair was to 70s pop culture.

For an era that still claimed to be progressive, the 70s were whitebread as hell. Outwardly there was women’s lib, civil rights, and the sexual revolution, but inwardly, the 70s were an extremely conservative decade when Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority were just starting to lay their slimy hooks into the American political system. It’s a decade of contradictions and extremes that I wish AG would fully commit to.

[orthodoxadventure]

do you know of prayers to decrease suicide ideation? And can you please pray my stomach churns i am in so much distress. (I love your blog, god bless you) <33333

May God bless you and comfort you, and thank you for the kind words! I will definitely keep you in my prayers.

One thing I would recommend is reading the Psalms, and finding one that really resonates with you and including that into your prayer routine. Or if you don't have a prayer routine already, then praying this Psalm morning and night (and whenever else you need it through the day). It doesn't explicitly have to be about depression, a lot of the Psalms talk about placing their hope in the Lord even through the distress and suffering they're experiencing - and something like this might really resonate with you and comfort you.

You can find a collection of four prayers that are related to depression, anxiety, and suffering here, which should be of some help to you: https://www.sthermansoca.org/resources/prayers-against-fear/

Then there is also:

Prayer against Depression: Prayer to the Mother of God

Prayer to the Theotokos for Healing

Prayer to the Mother of God in a Time of Distress

Akathist to St. Xenia of St. Petersburg

Prayer of Someone in Trouble

Prayer of Saint John Chrysostom

Prayer to St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco

Healing Prayer of Saint Ambrose of Milan

Guardian Angel Prayers for Protection

Prayer of St. Dimitri of Rostov

Prayer for the Self

Prayers don't have to explicitly be about depression or liberation from despair in order to be helpful. Find prayers that really resonate with you, and ones that you are willing and able to pray. Try to read even one Psalm a day as well as a prayer that you find helpful.

Speak often to God about your difficulties and struggles also. Sometimes the best prayers are the ones that we come up with, because they most accurately reflect our situation, our wants, our needs, and so on. We don't need to know the perfect things to say. But the act of praying about our issues, of articulating them and putting them into words and placing them before God can be of immense help and comfort to us. And the act of articulating problems out loud can go a long way to untangling them in our head which can help us feel even a little less overwhelmed.

God bless you!

[chicalepidopterareblogs]

What if JKirk's scene in the trailer is part of one of Daniel's grandpa nap dreams?

The scene could go like this. Daniel falls asleep again (with a bit of Fareed's help probably). This dream takes place in a location, the Sushi Restaurant, that both echoes The First Meeting in San Francisco while still being attached to Dubai and Daniel's current circumstances. Daniel is scared and he's able to express his fears and his own true hidden/forgotten feelings for Armand to this oddly familiar guy in his subconscious. This man tells him his name 'Marius' and that he shouldn't fear Armand. Daniel wakes up confused of course and even discusses it with Loumand. They could brush it all off and/or let Daniel (and the audiences) draw his/our own conclusions.

We would inmediately know that, if he remembers Marius, it means something between them must've already happened while Daniel would tell himself that the reason why he dreamt of that man and that name is because of the Venetian artist from the painting on the wall he stares at on a daily basis. Or better yet, he's already been shown the theatre posters with Armand Marius written on them and he *thinks* he's just rationalising this new data.

Reprising the grandpa nap gag would be far more elegant and endearing than just plain repeating the Armand shocking reveal, contact lens and gloves included, and it would explain JK's character's baffling appearence in that scene. After all it makes sense for Daniel not to remember Marius' vampire features quite accurately or even remember them distorsed with the nerd glasses and everything, just like he dreamt of Armand still wearing the brown contacts. This particular detail has been bugging me ever since S1 aired but now I'm seeing how they could make sense out of it: dreams are as monstrous as memory and yet they can still reveal hidden truths.

Oh and later on they could introduce real life Marius and change his appearence as much or as little as they please in comparation to the way Daniel "imagines" him (throw a blond wig even who knows). Still it would be so beautiful and poetic the fact that the first time we see him is in one of Daniel's dreams. A little bit like Armand but not quite so.

What do you think?

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Contemporary decades in Disney animated features made at Walt Disney Animation Studios...

During the Golden Age, there was at least one Disney animated feature that took place in a contemporary setting. That was DUMBO, which is set right around the year of its release, 1941. However, it's a modern setting portrayed and told in a timeless, colorful, storybook-esque way.

Post-war package features often depicted contemporary settings, like THE THREE CABALLEROS and FUN & FANCY FREE. They're very '40s movies. Throughout the 1950s, the feature-length pictures were all period pieces: CINDERELLA and SLEEPING BEAUTY being fairy tales, ALICE IN WONDERLAND starts off in Victorian England while PETER PAN begins in Edwardian England. LADY AND THE TRAMP is the Midwest United States at the turn of the century, set around Walt's childhood years. (1909 had been cited somewhere as a possible year setting.) 101 DALMATIANS, released in 1961, was a thoroughly modern animated Disney picture, and a rare one for a long while.

Past Walt Disney's death in 1966, the studio still stuck to period pieces. THE ARISTOCATS is set in 1910 Paris, ROBIN HOOD in Merry Olde England, and THE FOX AND THE HOUND in rural America around the turn of the century (note the cars and lack of modern tech). The cobbled-together MANY ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH could be set around the time A. A. Milne wrote the original books, 1920s England, maybe not. It could be more up in the air. THE RESCUERS stood as an exception, and it does in many ways feel like a 1970s movie. It didn't seem to stand the test of time when re-released and put on video, not holding up the way - say - CINDERELLA and THE JUNGLE BOOK regularly did.

The 1980s had one modern-day Disney animated feature, and that was the very '80s OLIVER & COMPANY... that was deemed to have aged like milk within a few years of release...

THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER is set around the time of its making and release (late 1980s, released in 1990), that didn't do great upon release.

The rest of the '90s Disney Renaissance crop was... Period pieces and fairy tales. THE LION KING is ambiguous as to when it's set, but I've come to interpret THE LION KING as a mythical story that lions in the African wildernesses tell to each other. Like an animal kingdom folk tale, of sorts. That could explain the absence of humans or any form of civilization in that film, Simba does seem to travel a very long distance in it. From roughly Kenya (going by the old filmmakers' commentary) to what appears to be the Sahara... Maybe it's not a geographically-accurate African continent, but a fantasized one... though how the heck does Zazu know the lyrics to "It's a Small World" and how do Timon and Pumbaa know what "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is? Let alone the Hawaiian war chant? So looking past LION KING, the latest-set '90s WDAS film is TARZAN, set around the 1800s. Victorian England again.

1995's A GOOFY MOVIE, which was a Disney MovieToons (later Disneytoon Studios) production, was a contemporary-set picture. That really set it apart from the Renaissance movies, among other aspects of it.

The 2000s... LILO & STITCH was modern day, and jumping to CGI... MEET THE ROBINSONS (albeit with the bulk of it being set in the future) and BOLT, in 2007 and 2008 respectively. 2010s Disney Animation gave us some modern-day films like WRECK-IT RALPH and its internet adventure sequel, and ZOOTOPIA's made-up all-animals world is very contemporary, as they all have smartphones and the city has stores that are parodies of real-world stores. BIG HERO 6 looks to be the near-future, given the technology and San Francisco being San Fransokyo. Maybe it's an alternate universe America where history and geographical aspects played out much differently.

This decade... None so far. RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, ENCANTO, STRANGE WORLD, and WISH are either period pieces or fantasy world-set stories that look like they're set a long time ago.

Fascinatingly, if you ever wanted to see a modern-day setting depicted in Disney Animation more often, you had to look to the short films. The majority of the Mickey Mouse cartoons made from the beginning up until Disney slowed down production of them in the 1950s are largely contemporary-set. Few exceptions include shorts like THE BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR and KNIGHT FOR A DAY.

And every once in a while, Disney would put out a standalone short like SOCIAL LION (1952) that would also be set in the modern day. A lot of educational films in the '60s, such as the Goofy highway safety ones and the Upjohn "Triangle of Health" films, do that as well.

The shorts continued to do that in some way or another, into this millennium even. INNER WORKINGS and some of the Short Circuit stuff immediately come to mind.

I wonder if they'll try again in a future feature.

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

From a FAKE rented cottage at the San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, CA, Harry told his good global therapist:

"Meg gives me my space."

Why wasn't the good doctor allowed to meet at their massive Montecito Olive Garden SPACE?

Byrony was allowed to conduct their interview in the so called, "guest house" (as Sparry hung family photos on the wall). Afterwards she was rewarded to step foot across the threshold of the REAL "mansion" to observe and testify to the UK of the "normal" family living behind their very own security wall.

How much "space" does a spouse need? Anderson, Bradbury, Variety and even NOoprah were denied entrance to Casa de Montecito.

With so many "lemon trees," The Meghans still PAID a HOTEL to stage:

pandemic zoom calls & interviews

BLM & pro Biden Bench speeches

40th bday juggling act

chatting with teenagers

AGT (except the meghans who have zero talent)

Spotify Spots

magazine photoshoot & interviews

The very fake mockumentary megflop soap opera filmed inside various rented hotel cottages, on rented benches

All 1 hour away from Montecito at Santa Barbara's San Ysidro Ranch for megflix.

The Meghans still expect Americans to think it's normal to request discounts at a NYC hotel while suing his grandmother's government for (FREE) tax payer funded security.🧐

How convenient for megs that everytime she moved to a new country or city, her self titled "gay husband," Mr. Markus Anderson (former Soho House Bus Boy) chose to relocate to live w/her or near her

La->NYC

NYC->Toronto

Toronto->London

London->California

In LA, Meg was known as a serial celesbian to the stars. So how did Sparry & Eugenie become bffs with Omit's former gutter guyfriend, the infamous Markus Anderson?

Does MA's influence on the young BRF begin with Misha NooNoo and her friendship with Yorkie Eugenie? It would make sense that Eugenie, was the easy workaround to Sparry. What about all the photos of the York family posing, Sarah included, with sleazy Ron Burkle🤮😖😳

Of course Sparry preferred to party at Soho House instead of working on his character flaws. No coincidence that on more than 1 occasion, Sparry was videotaped pinching or sucking the nipples of male friends & male strangers.

Over the past 12-24 months we've seen Sparry become more effeminate in his motions, walk, speech, and who can forget seeing Sparry rub the back of his male partner as they enter his alleged personal man cave.

According to Caitlyn Jenner:

"supposedly they have a place in LA"

and Harry spends his free time in San Francisco. Is it any wonder Thirsty Tyler Perry who has his own skeletons declared he doesn't want love if it isn't The Meghans kind of love.🙄

Meghan, Markus & Dorito have made all of Sparry's dreams come true.

Dear Sparry, I hope finding your freedom & freebies in CA with your new "friends" was worth the price of your soul. By the way, it's not.

Meghan must feel like she can finally see a light at the end of her failed attempt to destroy the BRF via Sparry. In the end, it was the Queen of England who accurately SUSSed out the heart of Rachel Meghan Markle: an interloper who repaid good with evil.