#and it's got gold ombre at the ends! Very pretty

[arcxnumvitae]

I read way too much today so my eyes are screaming at me, but I'm here again to push the wavy-hair Zhaohui agenda.

[sheepiemc]

MC Outfit Headcanons

outfits i think the boys would like on any MC so inclined to wear these kinds of fashions

Lucifer

Much like himself, i would imagine that he would like MC covered from head to toe lmao

Ok maybe not HEAD to toe but pretty dang close lol modesty is the best policy

Like ideal outfit i think would be simple black turtle neck, pencil skirt, tights and either pumps or booties depending on the weather. Hair UP. subtle “natural” makeup - maybe a red lip if they’re feeling feisty. a coat if its cold. Tell me lucifer wouldn't be a SUCKER for a pencil skirt

Since we’re dealing with pride incarnate, MC always has to look their best so casual clothes is a no-no. Business casual MAYBE but absolutely NO JEANS. Signature colors of blue and red. I think he would like simple but EXPENSIVE jewelry and obvi wearing the matching necklace u got for his birthday

For like a formal wear/evening gown type thing im thinking of ONE SPECIFIC DRESS from the sims but I imagine his taste would lean to long sleeve, square/high neck gown - no embellishments but a nice textured material, maybe ombre? - with a very low back, so its like a surprise and when he touches the small of ur back he feels ur skin ☺ I just think its cute and if u subscribe to the "pactmarks make tattoos" camp then bonus if his pactmark is on ur back lmao

I think it would be like- he likes u looking all dressed up in public bc then him and only him will get to see the real u in private and vice versa… thats what im going for anyway :^p

Mammon

Now on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, mams would SHOWER mc in expensive/designer clothing that SCREAMS money!! Flexing on the haters smthg smthg drip right?? Idk im old now idk but VERY FLASHY

And he's a model yea? So like they get free shit so that they can be seen wearing it right? So I dont really think it's so much that *he* spends money on them (bc avatar of greed? Spending money on other people? Unheard of ;^P) but he gets free shit and is like "I can't wear this its too old" or "it doesn't fit me" or w/e excuse he can come up with

Idk who started this but i agree with the HC that mammon is a leg man so mini skirts/shorts are the demon’s UNDOING

I see mammon’s style as veering more toward casual/street fashion.. if I had to call it *smthg* ig i would say hypebeast??

So like ideal outfit would be like some fancy expensive sneaker (sneakerhead!mammon just makes so much sense, doesn't it??) like jordans or nike sneaks or those balenciagas the ones that look like socks or like those chunky sneakers u kno the ones, embellished/distressed cutoff Jean shorts, a simple white crop top with like some designer logo right and like an oversized fancy embellished jacket - leather or jean or bomber - and cute but ineffective sunglasses right 😆 to match ofc

We out here drippin in finesse

Fave color on u is gold bc DUH and I can see him liking a dramatic/smoky eye like a brown/gold smoky bidness… and jewelry would be gold too of course and like BIG gold jewelry like a chain and earrings and sunglasses are like his signature accessory

I think an evening gown/dress for him would also have to be gold and VERY SPARKLY… much like his character song, he’d want all eyes to be on you so that everyone knows how good *his* human looks, when at the same time he’ll be very protective and p much hanging off u the whole time, making sure that ur only paying attention to him ;^)

Leviathan

So like the obvious answer here would be cosplay right? And like that’s canon im p sure if MC indulges him by cosplaying his faves like ruri-chan OFC he’s gonna love it but like i think he would find it adorable if they did closet/casual cosplays inspired by his faves and otaku!MC’s faves too… its subtle enough that in the beginning he’s not sure if ur doing it on purpose or not but after like the third time he’ll catch on and ask

Another clothing style i think levi would like on MC (bc u can only closet cosplay so many times) would be the kawaii harajuku type clothes

Like specific outfit im picturing is like oversized anime-type t shirt or sweatshirt/pullover hoodie and a pleated mini skirt, probably plaid, knee high socks (or THIGH HIGH if u want to kill the demon), a cute plushie purse too if ur feeling it and wanna complete the look (YES i went on pinterest BEFORE writing this one up this time) shoes??? Idk what would go with that… sneakers? Mary janes? Oh like platform sneakers? Egirl shoes lmao

I cant see him being picky about makeup and hair and jewelry and stuff bc he mostly wants to hangout with u in his room so comfy/casual clothes are all but guaranteed in his presence *shrug emoji* and when he does go out, it's not usually to anything fancy so comfy/casual still wins … a couple days later and im considering him being partial to egirl makeup… bc that like kinda anime inspired already..? LIKE i still stand by him not really caring BUT egirl makeup is fucking cute

Fancy events still do happen, however, and he gets dragged to ones that have to do with diavolo SO I was thinking about his preference for that sorta thing and I cant see him picking a typical evening gown/fancy dress where its like slinky or sparkly or whatever (though if u did pick one i think he would like one that compliments his scales…. Not that he would tell u that and i also cant find one on pinterest like that lmao) again i think he would like this specific style of dress that i found on pinterest thats apparently japanese but its like mostly made of tule? Sometimes embroidered, high collar -either with tule or another blouse type thing underneath, long/three-quarters sleeves, mid/knee-length skirt… they're like ALMOST Lolita but not quite… idk they just looked really pretty and matched his style

I also looked at sailor dresses bc admiral of hell’s navy but the american sailor dresses werent doing it for me and the japanese sailor dresses looked too casual for like a formal event but i think levi would also like the sailor look bc its freakin adorable how can u not love it

I had trouble figuring out what his “favorite color” on u would be bc this man’s colorscheme is all over the god damn place -his sin color is orange but his hair color is purple but his eyes are yellow but his NAIL color is blue and the dominant color scheme of his casual clothes is like yellow and blue?? And the dominant colorscheme of his demon for is purple and a little yellow AND THEN HIS HUMAN WORLD LOOK IS ORANGE AND FUCKING TEAL so like he’s all over the god damn place and i decided that his fave color on MC is pastel purple bc then they always match his hair color *WHEEW* that was a lot…. Oh my god i just realized his human world shoes have different shoelace colors on both feet…. Hoo boy……

Satan

Ok now here’s an easy one… at first when i was coming up with a style for him i was thinking “kinda preppy with a little bit of edge?” and it took me till today to realize “oh that’s dark academia” LMAO

So obvious answer is obvious but hey if it aint broke right? Its like librarian meets dark wizard which is TOTALLY his aesthetic duh its just enough rebellion to not be like lucifer too goody-two-shoes, ykwim?

So like a lot of browns and plaids and dark greens (ofc), cozy sweaters and cardigans, slacks OR skirts either works, coats sometimes if its real chilly, like boots or oxfords if ur feelin fancy

OBVIOUSLY if u throw in a cat themed accessory here and there he would find that absolutely endearing but it would have to be something subtle and not too tacky.. After all, im p sure aesthetic beauty is like a big thing for satan… if im not mistaken..

For a dress i struggled bc he’s one i also can't see really being into like a typical fancy flowy gown - though if he had to pick one i think it would be a velvet emerald number that looks very very pretty - his dress choice would be a more toned down, like vintage 40s inspired look? Like not too long but not too short, its got like three quarters sleeve and asymmetrical embellishments bc again rebellion

Ok ik i just said that satan appreciates beauty but like i can see him being picky about a makeup look either? Obviously like green to match the fancy outfit but like other than that all bets are off THO…. i do feel like he would be the opposite of partial to red lipstick… for no reason in particular… I looked up dark academia makeup and it's mostly brown... Yeah that'll work, it's pretty.

Asmodeus

So asmo's aesthetic pinterest board is the biggest one out of all of them and that wssnt on purpose at first but doesn't that make so much sense?? I just kept adding stuff like "oh that's cute" "oh THATS cute" "oh that's CUUUTE" and i just went off from there

So unsurprisingly asmo LOVES to dress up MC, unlike the others who passively like their MC's style, asmo is ACTIVELY involved in shopping with/dressing up MC however he likes

And boy does he LIKE… so like I got it in my head that asmo is the opposite of lucifer: where luci wants MC to cover up, asmo wants to see as much skin in as many creative ways as possible (without making MC uncomfortable ofc - I had to draw a line somewhere)

Heavily influenced by the popular fashions of today, more so than the other bros. If I had to give it a name I'd call it "mean girl aesthetic" bc its like mostly pink, got fuzzy elements, sparkly elements, lots of short things, lots of tight things, for some reason i can only picture like strappy shoes? With high heels obviously… i think of like stripper shoes but like a little less dramatic… asmo would wear them tho (the stripper shoes i mean) or maybe also like thigh high boots n go go boots idk FOR THE AESTHETIC

For like dresses, I got a lot of like club dresses with interesting cut outs and lots of glittery elements… for the stray formal event, I got slinky pink numbers with like high slits, they didn't have it on pinterest but probably fur or feather boas type things ya know old hollywood glamour but also make it modern

Another OBVIOUS type of clothing asmo would prefer to see MC in is LINGERIE DUH i only added like 3 to the pinterest board but like theres a lot of cute underwear out there… ALSO those big ol sheer robes with the fuzzy trim is very asmo aesthetic, right?

As far as makeup goes, I think he would be more experimental with like glitter and rhinestone elements… just picture asmo doing MCs makeup like that image of those two girls with the strong gay energy … idk kids call it the euphoria aesthetic right?

Beelzebub

Finally… my boy… funny enough i dont think beel (or his twin for that matter) cares that much about clothes in the first place so this part won’t be super long (probablyy)

So i got another obvious answer for ya: workout clothes! Duh! Because i and some other beel enjoyers ive seen share the sentiment that beel and MC workout together for bonding purposes and ya kno to spend more time together whether MC is a gym rat or not, i know even *I* would workout if my gym buddy was beelze-fuckin-bub but i digress

So yeah workout clothes! Or athleisure wear if ur really not keen on working out lol i imagine he likes it bc a. Its representative of ur spending time together and b. A lot of workout clothes is lowkey sexy by design and like ik some people think beel is a dummy or oblivious - even when it comes to things of *that* nature but u and i both know better than that… [*wiggles eyebrows*] and for shoes i think it would be obvious that theyre like running shoes and sneakers but the sneakers u can actually use and scuff without having to wipe with a damp cloth every time that u wear them out lmao

SPECIFICALLY, i think his fave would be leggings with the mesh cutouts bc WOW some of those leggings show A LOT of skin - u just dont notice at first glance. 👀 And like sports bras and crop tops and crop sweaters OH i also think he would like those really short like faux gym shorts? Like those are you nasty shorts but without the words [is this perhaps subconsciously influenced by my memories of the ghost and the goth? Maybe so…]

But one can’t wear workout clothes ALL THE TIME [i mean they can but where’s the fun in that] so like brighter/warmer colors like yellows and oranges and reds, flower prints like sunflowers and daisies, shorts and joggers and sweatshirts and the like… aw rompers! Thats cute

As far as picking a fancy type dress? I couldnt find EXACTLY what i wanted on pinterest but i was going for a celestial sun inspired number with like tule and glitter stars and gold and yellow and orange and if u r feeling extra, one of them like sunray halo headpieces

Also i said he prob wouldnt care and its dumb to put on make up when working out anyway but im also biased so i think he would like peachy/orangey looks, specifically orange blush+freckles bc thats cute i think!!

Belphegor

As previously mentioned, i cant see belphie being picky about clothes, even more so bc dressing up takes effort and its so much easier to not put in effort into anything so why would u bother for the avatar of sloth

That being said, obvious answer is obvious but, his fave clothes on MC are pajamas!! If one likes to sleep in their birthday suit or no pants thats fine too 😆 but i was definitely thinking in the realm of very cute pajamas that i found on pinterest... for shoes: do i even need to say it? Slippers obviously lmao bc i love to hoard slippers and they kinda get beat up when u wear them a lot, i think MC would have a small collection of mostly novelty slippers lmao

Mostly consists of graphic tshirts/tank tops with like sleepy slogans and imagery and shorts or pj pants, lots of cow themed stuff lots of star themed stuff ya know, all very cute i think

But one cant wear pjs all the time (again) and tshirts/sweatshirts/sweatpants are all very comfy and very lazy so like its not so much that i think *he* thinks MC looks good in those kinds of clothes (bc who can say that they look *GOOD* in sweatpants…. Ill wait aND NO BEING SKINNY IN SWEATPANTS =/= LOOKING GOOD IN SWEATPANTS), moreso i think that he likes the influence of his sin on those choices bc i for one subscribe to the notion that all of them have like a sin radar that detects their sin in people and it feels good to have that influence over someone!! Bc demons!!

SINCE I WAS BULLIED INTO PUTTING REAL CLOTHES ON THIS LIST, we’re sticking to lazy theme with like long dresses/skirts bc no pants is the ultimate lazy fashion choice, flannels, loose overalls, sweaters, those spaghetti strap dresses with tshirts underneath and since im being FORCED to pick a fashion “aesthetic”, were gonna go with a weird mix of lazy 70s style, twilight-core/elena-gilbert-core and goblincore, all with a purple/blue, cool color palette bc ofc

Anyway when dressing up cannot be avoided, i also think its very obvious to chose a dark blue/black dress with glittery stars and moons on it!! That also parallels beel’s dress of choice bc twins of light and darkness!! Parallelism!! Parallelogram!!

And once more (with feeling) makeup = effort and we aint about that here BYUT, ik theres a lot of motherfuckers out there that call belphie an eboy so why not do egirl makeup again, but we’ll go for the slightly more depressed egirl that makes her darkcircles even darker on purpose lmao

Diavolo

So of the formerly-undateables, only dia came easy to me ig bc ive read enough ff to come to a conjecture about his personality type? Whereas the other ones are way more of a mystery to me and like i could come up with fashion choices that i think they would like but it didnt feel genuine?? or correct?? Like i was just saying anything to say something…. BUT DIA……

So it came to me very quickly and all at once - i think i even completed his pin board b4 asmos - and its all bc i saw something that i thought i should add to luci’s pin board when it hit me… NO… THIS IS FOR DIA’S MC… and that first outfit was: a tweed 2pc skirt/jacket combo and suddenly i was like oh ok… so dia’s style for MC would be a perfect combo of lucifer’s and mammon’s MC styles… where its kinda professional-ish?? With like the jackets and stockings and stuff (luci) but its also fun and very “show off ur wealth”-y in a more subtle/tasteful way (mam).

Probably more of the blair waldorf-y aesthetic, with a LOT of tweed, suits, jackets, dresses, all of it, 2pc suit/skirt combos but more fashion than business, a lot of that damn gucci belt 😆 i imagine that its all designer shit but shit u likely wouldnt recognize as designer unless u were a fashion person and idrk how to look for this kinda stuff on pinterest so i only found like 2 but prob vintage designer stuff that only celebrities can get like on loan?? Because he is extra as hell!! Shoes?? Also designer ofc probably more heels than anything but there are many types of designer shoes i guess

It would also absolutely be a power move on Dia’s part to dress up his MC this way, to show off his power and influence and he also wants MC to look good and if ur the type of person that feels good in UBER expensive designer clothes than more power to ya… so like this “style preference” is unique in that its a preference that only he would be able to give you, like its super unlikely that any MC just has this stuff lying around in their closet, unless ur MC is also super rich.. So take from that what u will 😏 this was not initially a deliberate choice but I am making it one now

Now for a fancy ball/evening gown, i have zero doubt in my mind that he would love to see MC in a “princess diavolo” type dress bc he is - what? - extra 👏 as 👏 hell 👏!! So like i was trying to find something VERY specific on pinterest that nothing could actually match but its red and black and gold (surprise thats his favorite color scheme) with like a lot of intricate embellishments with like embroidery and beading and lace and tule but like really beautiful and not tacky or kitschy or gaudy (hopefully) maybe some ombre dyeing ya know? Things to make the dresses more expensive lmao the only part directly replicated from the "princess diavolo" sticker [bc *that* dress *is* tacky as hell] is the choker necklace type thing bc I think that would look really pretty I also think he would like MC to wear like crown-adjacent headwear like circlets and maybe a tiara if they will let him but pretty luxurious jewelry because I understand what the appeal to lord diavolo, demon prince and acting ruler of the devildom, is EXACTLY

Now we've established that dia is extra af but I think daytime makeup looks would be pretty reserved… this time I think a dark red lip would be his shade… party looks however we would go ALL OUT, RED EYE, RED AND GOLD EYE, RED SMOKEY EYES JUST VERY DRAMATIC he'd prob be into like a black lip or even a gold lip im sure magic can make that happen lmao im sure he'd like to use magic to have fun with ur appearance in other ways too like changing eye color or making it look like u have horns (thinking of a very specific situation in a fic I read lmao) I think it'd be fun, if MC was comfortable with that ofc

Now side note, I wrote all this (and all the rest of the boys too) with the intention of nailing down a human world style that each of them would like and I stand by what I've picked for dia… BUT, I think that the clothes that he most like to see MC in is the RAD uniform, not be its hot or sexy or whatever but it's representative of this project that he's worked so hard for and u being there, alive, willingly attending classes and participating in stuff that many just dismiss as "the whims of a silly prince" just makes dia swell with pride and joy… maybe the human world suit combos remind him enough of the uniforms too actually lol 😆

I have a lot of dia feelings that I haven't been able to get a full grasp on yet ok

ALSO forgot to mention but dia canonically likes cute things!! So like if u can incorporate those kinds of things into outfits then all the better!! Good luck finding a way to match idk a stuffed animal purse? With vintage gucci lmao

[wiypt-writes]

Too Loose And You’ll Lose It

Ch7: Old Habits Die Hard

Part 2

Co-written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Summary: It’s the day of Pooch’s wedding, emotions are running high and it all comes to a dramatic conclusion.

Pairing: Jake Jensen x OFC Stella Stevenson

Warnings: Bad language and a whole heap of angst. Smut (NSFW, 18+)

A/N: So here is part 2 of Chapter 7…and it’s explosive! Translation: Chinga tu madre, Cabrón = Go fuck your mother, asshole.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. We do not own any characters in this series bar Stella Stevenson and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

TLAYLI Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 7 Part 1

Lay your demons at the door, this is what we're fighting for, trying to clear the air but nobody's talking. We've been breathing this disease, trying to find a way to see, but the end is in your eyes, let's finish this tonight.

“What I don’t get,” Jensen looked at the bridesmaid who watched him with rapt attention, twisting a strand of hair round her finger, “is why come to Mexico and not get married on the beach?”

“Well they thought about it, but then Jolene decided she didn’t want to get covered in sand.” The red-head shot back. “So they chose this terrace, it’s kinda on the beach, I mean, you can see the ocean.”

“But if you don’t want to get sandy, why come here in the first place?”

“Because it’s cheaper.” She shrugged.

“So you’re saying Pooch is a cheapskate.” Jensen raised his eyebrow and she hesitated before she shook her head.

“No, that’s…” she began to talk, protesting that wasn’t what she was saying when he heard Roque shout out Stella’s nickname.

“Hey, Arty!”

Jake instantly glanced over his shoulder to look for her, and when he saw her, the air was completely knocked from his lungs.

Her dress was a gorgeous watercolor-like ombre blue. The deepest of sky blue shade covering her shoulders with wide straps and a deep v-neck line that wrapped at her breasts and it lightened just at the lower ribs to a cotton blue, before trailing down at the hemline in a pale blue almost white shade. The cut exposed her leg to mid-thigh, giving just a peek of the petunia inked into her skin. Her hair was pulled back off her face in an elegant, sleek pony tail and her lips popped a deep, burnt red. Her blue eyes stood out under thick lashes and perfectly lined eyebrows, the rest of her make up remaining neutral. She'd only been in the sun a day, but just as it always did, it had kissed her body in a way that made each little freckle pop and her entire frame glow.

The salty sea air and sunshine always looked good on Stella Stevenson and today, the overall effect made Jensen's mouth water.

“Holy shit.” He muttered, turning away from the girl and conversation without so much as a goodbye, leaving her stood there shooting daggers at his back.

Stella smiled as Roque kissed her cheek, then Cougs and finally Clay before she stepped back and smiled as their Colonel’s arm curled around the slim, petite brunette to his right.

“Stel, this is Emma, Emma this is Stella.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Emma smiled, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Why doesn’t that fill me full of confidence?” Stella laughed and Emma shook her head, smiling.

“Oh, no, I assure you, it’s all been good!”

As the two women continued to chat and laugh, Jake stood there, waiting for his turn, hands jammed into the pockets of his dress slacks. Eventually, Stella nodded and turned to him and he flashed her a smile.

“You know, that’s the second day in a row I’ve seen you looking like a grown up!” She quickly scanned him up and down, taking in his well-fitted, steel grey suit. The top button of his jacket fastened, nipping in at his slim waist and spanning over his broad chest and shoulders. The crisp white dress shirt underneath stood out against the suit, and matched his white pocket swatch, the entire ensemble pulled together by the steel grey tie which matched his jacket and slacks.

As she was looking, Jake leaned forward, her perfume sending him lightheaded as always. He placed a gentle peck to her cheek, his chin brushing her ear slightly. “You look stunning.” He whispered, and he didn’t miss the goose-bumps that appeared on her skin as she swallowed and pulled away.

“Thanks.” She stood still, simply looking at him, and the two of them were locked in a gaze before Stella cleared her throat, breaking the spell. “You guys know where we’re supposed to be seated?”

“Yeah, we’re on the right,” Clay gestured, “Grooms side or whatever.”

The gang moved to find their seats, Jensen stepping forward ready to offer Stel his arm but Roque beat him to it.

“Always the gentleman, huh?” She smiled at him and he chuckled, a deep, low timbre rumbling from his chest.

“You know me, Arty.”

Jake watched them go, before he gave a yelp and clutched at his side, glaring at Cougar.

“Stop drooling, Jensen.” Cougar peered at him from underneath his hat, smirking as Jake rubbed at the place on his ribs where he had dug him with his elbow.

“I’m not drooling, shut up Cougs.”

Thankfully, Cougar left it there and they moved to take their seats along the row that Clay, Emma, Roque and Stella had already occupied. Cougar, whether on purpose or not, reached the end of the row first and slid in next to Stella, separating her from Jensen. Jensen rolled his eyes, but before he could get too pissed about it, Pooch arrived, in a simple black pinstripe three piece with an ivory and red striped tie, and made his way down the aisle, greeting everyone. He stopped at the row that contained the Losers and smiled, Jensen pulling him into a hug, clapping his shoulder as he pulled away.

The thing with weddings, is that no one can actually tell you were the day goes. They seem to pass in a whirl and Pooch’s was no exception. What felt like mere seconds after The Groom had arrived, but was in fact more near to twenty minutes, the music started and Jolene appeared at the large arch at the back of the terrace, walking slowly with her dad down the aisle, in a gorgeous knee-length fitted lace dress, which set off her curves and legs perfectly, her curly ebony hair pinned up elegantly at the back of her head. As she reached Pooch, she reached up and straightened his tie and Stella heard a “Pay up, Captain” to her right. She turned to see Roque reaching over Emma, handing Clay a twenty, not even looking at him, and she let out a soft snort, shaking her head.

The Bride and Groom exchanged simple vows and Pooch head tears in his eyes as he made his declaration. At that point, Jake couldn’t help but take a glance at Stel to find her looking down at her hands, the fingers of her left twisting the white gold and ruby solitaire ring that sat on her right ring finger, a gift from him for her twenty-first. He swallowed a little, as he hadn’t seen her wear it in a while before she glanced up, and he took the opportunity to study her pretty profile for a second before he turned his attention back to the front for the ring exchange.  Before long the new Mr and Mrs Pooch headed down the red carpet in the middle of the aisle to cheers and the guests filed their way back inside for drinks whilst the staff set up the outside terraced area for the reception.

To Jake’s delight, there was no huge stuffy sit down meal, it was just a large buffet which meant he could eat what he wanted and how much he wanted, which suited him perfectly. What didn’t suit him, however, was that he didn’t see that much of Stella, at all. Post eating and listening to the speeches, whether intentionally or not, she avoided him, spending most of the time sipping champagne and cocktails chatting to Emma and few of Jolene’s friends. Jake was left to mooch around, mainly with Cougar who was absolutely trying to get into the blonde bridesmaid’s panties. Unfortunately, she was stuck like glue to the red headed one that Jake wasn’t interested in.

“You make a shit wingman.” Cougar gave a jab to Jensen’s rib with his elbow as the two girls wandered off.

“Good job I’m not a pilot then.” Jensen shrugged, taking a pull from his beer as his eyes scanned the room for Stella.

At that point they both got strong slaps on their shoulders as Pooch drew up behind them both, leaning between them a little.

“Your momma was a pilot.”

Cougar and Jensen both looked at one another before they slowly turned to glance at Pooch.

“Did you just drop a momma joke on your wedding day?” Jensen snorted

“A shit one at that.” Cougar added, tipping his hat slightly with the neck of his bottle.

“Come on guys! As you have just said it’s my wedding day so let’s have a drink together before Jolene’s, sorry my wife’s,” at that he grinned, “bridesmaids hunt you down again.”

“What if I want to be hunted?” Cougar shrugged

“Hence why I said before. Pay attention Cougs.”

“Chinga tu madre, Cabrón.” Cougar smirked, causing both Pooch and Jensen to snort as they knew that insult very well having heard it a few times.

“I dare you to say it to her face.” Pooch looked at him as Cougar merely smirked, giving him a wink.

Pooch rolled his eyes, “what about you, Jensen?”

“I don’t wanna fuck Momma Pooch!”

“Why? What’s wrong with her?”  Pooch looked at him.

“What? Nothing, that’s just gross!” Jensen pulled a face.

“He’s considering a trip down memory lane instead.” Cougar teased and Pooch groaned.

“Dude! Seriously, you need to get over it!”

At that Jake turned to look at Cougar. “No I’m not, stop making shit up!” Cougar shrugged, smirking slightly and simply held his gaze as Jensen groaned. “Whatever, man.”

Cougar merely shrugged, as chilled as ever whilst Pooch laughed and handed them a drink from a passing tray. “Well, I think that deserves a toast. To the first married Loser…oh, wait, that would be me! And to Jensen who seriously needs to stop flogging a dead horse!”

Jensen took a deep breath, once upon a time he’d fully expected to be married by now, full disclosure, to Stella. Maybe a kid on the way if there wasn’t one around already. And that thought gave him a perfect way out of this current train of conversation.

“How long till Baby Pooch comes along?”

“Dude, if it was up to me he’d be on the way already!” Pooch grinned.

“He?” Jensen shook his head. “Nah man, you want a girl.”

“What? No! I want a little Pooch. Why would I want a girl?”

“A girl always loves her daddy.” Jensen shrugged. “Like Gracie, man, she’s awesome. There’s just something about seeing her with Robert. It’s cute.” He paused and grinned. “I want a girl. Imma call her Daisy.”

At that Cougar let out a snort as Pooch began to howl with laughter.

“Who’s Daisy?” Clay asked as he appeared with Roque, the pair of them smirking at something.

“Jensen’s first born. Apparently.” Pooch wiped his eyes.

“Wait, what?” Roque frowned and turned to Jensen. “You have a kid?”

“No, it’s a hypothetical one.” Jensen shook his head.

“Good.” Roque blew out a breath. “Do me a favour and never reproduce, Jensen.”

“Fuck you Roque,” Jake snapped back. “I’d make a great dad.”

“Yeah, well, you might wanna start ‘daddying’ that chick in the red dress over there, because she’s eye-fucking you shamelessly.” Roque nodded over his shoulder and Jake turned around. He gave the girl a once over, she was pretty but…his trail of thought died as he spotted Stella was stood alone at the bar. He necked his drink and holding up his glass he stated, “need a refill.” before he turned and headed over the room.

“Yeah, sure.” Pooch rolled his eyes as Cougar gave a low chuckle.

“Told ya.”

“Man he just can’t help himself, can he?” Roque shook his head as the three of them watched Jensen who approached Stella, his hand dropping to the small of her back as he leaned over to talk to her.

“Nope” Clay let out a sigh as Stell laughed at something Jake said. “Ahh, leave him to it, we can always do damage control, as usual where he is concerned.”

“How do you damage control a suicide bomb?” Pooch looked at Clay and Roque snorted.

“Pooch is right, dude is basically a hand grenade right now.”

“Don’t get involved guys.” Clay shook his head and Cougar nodded.

“I agree with boss. If Jensen’s gonna pull the pin, he can dive on it.”

“The problem will come when he tries to ‘pull her pin’ and she kicks his ass. But, fortunately I will be enjoying my wedding night.” Pooch shrugged. “See ya, Losers. Don’t have too much fun!”

The three of them watched him wander off over the room, shouting to someone, and Clay’s eyes fell on his date, Emma, who was smiling at him and waving from her spot at a table.

“I will also be enjoying Pooch’s wedding evening.” Clay winked and walked off.

Roque turned to look at Cougar. “Don’t even think of it…”

Cougar merely chuckled, tipped his hat and also wandered off, hands in his pockets as he sauntered over to a group of girls.

“That’s okay, just leave me here, I’m good!” Roque called after them before he let out a sigh. “Assholes.”

****

As the hours passed they drank, a lot. And naturally, where alcohol is involved inhibitions start to lower. There was a lot of fun being had, a lot of jokes being shared and other stupid activities being partaken in, such as a raucous drinking game Stella and Jake played against  Pooch’s uncle and his brother.

Which they lost, spectacularly.

Stella was feeling fairly light headed thanks to the mix of champagne, beer and cocktails running through her system, along with a few shots of tequila and somehow, she had no idea how, the two of them ended up on the dance floor, dancing to some really random shit when ‘La Bamba’ started playing. Jake grabbed Stella’s hand with a whoop of joy and started twirling her round, her face creasing in laughter as they let loose, Jake showing off his pretty neat footwork

“I thought you said he wasn’t taken?” The red headed bridesmaid gestured to Jake as she stood next to Pooch and he snorted.

“He’s not”

“Could have fooled me.”

“It’s complicated.” Pooch shrugged. “Long story short, she’s taken, he’s not. He wishes she wasn’t as it’s his fault she is.” He turned to the woman besides him. “If that makes any sense.”

From the look on her face, it made no sense at all, which wasn’t surprising to Pooch as he struggled to make sense of Jensen and Stella’s fucked up dynamic, but before she could reply there was a slap on his shoulder.

“Ten bucks says they end up in bed together,” Roque slurred.

“No way man.” Pooch shook his head, “she won’t cheat on Evan.”

“Fuck that guy,” Roque snorted. “Look, she’s hammered, here alone, I’m calling it.”

Pooch was about to tell Roque that Evan present or not, Stella would cut Jensen’s balls off if he tried anything when the familiar opening bars of ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ cut across the dance floor.

Both Stella and Jake paused a little, Jake running his hand through his hair as he gestured to the tables, clearly asking Stella if she wanted to quit dancing when she shook her head, giving him a smile, which Jensen returned as she took his hand, the pair of them beginning to sing and dance along.

“Twenty bucks,” Roque hiccupped, upping his stake.

“You’re on.” Pooch shook his hand as the bridesmaid snorted.

“And you’re losing.”

Pooch watched her go and then turned back to the dancefloor to see Jake and Stella now dancing pretty close...

This had always been their song. That was why Jensen had asked if she wanted to sit it out when it had come on, but she’d refused, and as such he’d been twirling her round to the music just like he always had. After one spin, they end up facing one another, singing very loudly as Jake threw his arms up and around, Stella snorting and laughing at his antics.

“Do you remember dancing to this at prom?” Jensen grinned as he continued to throw his arms around wildly, Stella shaking her head. He smiled, his mind straying back to that night, how amazing the entire evening had been, not least for the fact it had been the first time they’d fully given themselves to one another. He remembered laying there, after, as they both giggled and kissed and cuddled, thinking there and then that was it for him, there’d never be another girl who came close.

And then he’d pulled a Jensen, and ruined it.

“Of course I do.” Stella smiled. “Life was simpler back then, huh?”

“Isn’t it always?” Jensen asked as he spun her back round, pulling her in so her back was to his chest, hands dropping to her hips as the electric guitar solo struck up signalling the song was almost at and end. He felt Stella take a deep breath.

“Well we were kids.”

“But it was easy.” Jensen dropped his chin to her shoulder, his cheek brushing hers. “It was just you and me and the rest of our lives ahead.”

Stella tilted her head to look at him as the song faded into ‘I’ve Had The Time Of My Life’ and she pulled away, turning to face him with a shrug.

“Didn’t quite work out the way we thought though did it.” She asked, her hands sliding round his neck.

Jensen sighed, his fingers flexing against her hips. “I know. I fucked up.” He swallowed, the lump thick in his throat and Stella shook her head.

“Don’t.” She warned. “Not now.”

But Jensen wasn’t listening. He had to get it off his chest, he couldn’t stand the sick, hot feeling he got every time he thought about her and Evan. He needed to tell her, even if she told him there was no chance for them ever again, at least he’d know.

“No, just listen to me, Stelly, please.” His eyes locked onto hers. “There’s not a day goes by I don’t regret it. You know that, right? And no matter what happens I’ll always-“

He was cut off as Stella landed a harsh, stinging slap to his left cheek, his head whipping to the right. He took a deep breath, stunned, before he turned his head to face her, shocked splashed across his handsome features.

A few people around them stopped dancing, and Stella could hear a few hushed whispers, along with a louder shout of ouch, from who she had no idea. She opened her mouth to say something, the tears spilling from her eyes before she realised she needed to get out of there, and fast. So she did.

She hurried out of the room towards the hotel lobby and elevator, wiping the tears that were falling down her face. She knew she shouldn’t have done that, and maybe it was a little harsh, but the anger she felt towards Jake at that moment in time was insurmountable. He had left her, twice basically, and continued to fuck with her head, and then had the audacity to try and ...well, she didn't even know what he was trying to do. Her head was a mess, a fuckery of conflicting feelings, and she was as drunk as she could remember being in a long time, which wasn't helping.

She was also well aware that she'd just made a complete scene at Pooch's wedding, potentially seen by his entire family and friends, and that not only embarrassed her, it also made her feel like crap for being that asshole guest that everyone would be talking about for months to come.

*****

Jensen ignored both Roque and Clay who had crowded round to ask him what the hell he'd done to deserve a slap, but he simply pushed them out of the way, only one thing on his mind, getting to Stella and making her listen. He hurried out of the room, skidding to a slightly unsteady halt in the corridor before he jogged down the hallway and into the lobby where he spotted her at the elevator.

“Stel!" He yelled her name in an attempt to stop her, drawing intrigued and surprised looks from the guests and staff alike in the atrium. "Stella, wait!"

She didn't turn around, but he could tell she'd heard him, well, everyone in the lobby had heard him, but if that wasn't evidence enough to show that his calls across the foyer had reached her, the fact that she began angrily slamming her hand against the elevator call button certainly was. Jensen hurried across the shiny tiled surface, the heels of his dress shoes clicking as he went, expertly side stepping a couple who were walking through with cases, cursing as he saw Stella stepping into the elevator. He continued running, but just as he skidded to a halt he caught a glimpse of her angry tear stained face as the doors shut.

"Fuck!" He shouted, banging his hand on the wall just above the call panel. Spinning, he almost collided with a young couple who were looking at him, and the man shot him a filthy glare as he pushed between them, running to the stairs. He took them two, sometimes three at a time as he raced to the fourth floor in an attempt to catch her, and he burst into the corridor in time to see her stalking to her room.

He paused to take a breath, relief flooding his system at the fact he'd manage to catch her before she got to her room, before he realised he still had to stop her.

“Stel!” His shout was a desperate plea, and she spun to face him, her face surprised clearly at how he'd managed to get there so quick, and whilst she was still he took his chance. “Look, I’m sorry I made you upset but-“

With that she gave an angry growl almost as she turned around and carried on, the heel of her shoe catching a little as she did, causing her to stumble and Jensen felt his anger boiling over, this was fucking ridiculous, and here he was shouting down a hotel corridor, to her fucking back.

"For fucks sake, Estella, will you a stop being a bitch and just listen to me?"

At that she stopped dead and wheeled round, sheer venomous disdain etched across her face. "I am SICK of listening to you Jacob." She spat his full name back at him, in response to him using hers. "It’s always the fucking same. You know if anything I should have listened to you years ago when you dumped me and stayed the fuck away from you and your stupid-"

"You just slapped me, Stella!" Jensen exclaimed "In front of everyone in the fucking room! The least you can do is hear me out, I deserve that surely?"

"You don’t deserve shit." She snorted. "Now take a hint and leave me the fuck alone!"

"What, like your boyfriend?"

The words flew out of Jensen's mouth before he had even registered them, and from the look on Stella’s face she was as shocked as he was that he'd gone there. She took a deep breath, looked at the floor before she raised her head and stared at him, fresh tears in her eyes and Jensen sighed in frustration at himself.

"You know, just when I think you can’t go any lower." Her voice was soft and sad now, and Jensen stayed silent as he knew that had been a low blow. She took another shaky breath, shaking her head. "I’ve never come so close to hating you as I have right now. You are an asshole."

"Stell, look, I’m sorry. I shouldn't have said that..."

"Go to hell." She stated, her voice flat as she turned and carried on walking towards her room.

"Cougar told me what Evan said." Jensen blurted out, more words he hadn't planned on saying, and once more she stopped dead.

"Fucking-"

"Did you say it back?"

There was no answer.

"You didn't, did you?" Jensen continued to press as she started walking towards her again. "That's why he isn't here, aint it? Because you couldn't say it, and you fell out, and-"

"You tell me," she stopped at the door to her room, foraging in her purse for her key, "I mean, clearly you have all the answers and know everything about how I feel and-"

"Damnit Stella, just-"

"You know what?" She spun to face him as he stopped besides her. "Evan might not be perfect but he’s never dumped me for no fucking reason, then used me as and when he wanted. But, I suppose that’s on me because I was never strong enough to tell you to fuck off and now that I am, you don’t like it." She raised her hand and jabbed him in the chest. "You don’t like the fact I’m not there when you want to fuck something because I’ve got someone else in my life-" another jab "-someone who… who loves me and I-."

"And you what Stel?" Jensen interrupted her rant with a snort and she fell silent, her eyes flashing. "See you can’t even say it, can you?"

Stella glared at him, a look that would make anyone else quiver in their shoes but not him, not now. He was too far gone trying to make his point, trying to make her see his point, to care how angry he was making her.

“Just admit it Stella," he arched his eyebrow, stepping forward. He planted one hand by her head, palm flat on the surface of the door as he leaned closer to her, his voice level and even as he stated, “you don’t love him, you never will.”

“Fuck you.” Stella stumbled over her words a little, before her hands planted on his chest and she shoved him. Jake stepped back, slightly off balance more to the alcohol in his system than the force of her push, but he steadied himself, moving forwards again. She made to shove him once more but this time he was ready, and his hands caught her wrists, fingers curling round them as her room key fell to the floor.

“Fuck me yourself.” He shot. At that she shook her head and scoffed. “What’s the matter, Stel?” Jake’s voice dropped a little as his grip around her wrists tightened, and he pressed her further into the door, his head dropping, face inches from hers. “Scared you might like it, still?”

“Asshole.” Her voice was nothing more than a whisper and she pulled her arms violently to the side, Jake letting go. Once more she pushed him, this time he stepped away so she could bend and retrieve her room key from the floor, which took her a few attempts, her hand and eye coordination impaired from the drink. Eventually, she grabbed it and stood, a little unsteadily, turning her back to him.

As she slid the card into the slot, Jake was once more in her space behind her, his hands softly on her waist and he leaned towards her, his breath hot on her ear.

“Don’t be a chicken, Stel.” His voice was gravelly and he braced, waiting for another blow, but it never came. She swallowed a little, her chest heaving, and she made no attempt to stop his advances. She'd let go of what she had to say, and now she was physically proving him right in his assumptions and her denials

Emboldened by this, Jensen placed a soft kiss to her neck as she pushed the door to her room open, causing her breath to catch in her throat. She turned to him, her eyes locking into his and Jensen could see the conflict behind them. There was a war going on between her head and her heart and, had he been sober, Jensen probably would have walked away, knowing what he was doing was pretty shitty and unfair. But he wasn’t sober. He was drunk, and not just on alcohol but sheer desire for the woman stood in front of him. His Stelly. The girl he still loved.

As her large, clear blue eyes bounced across each of his whilst she grappled with her internal turmoil, Jake stood stock still waiting for her to make her move. He took a deep breath, expecting her to shove him away for that final time, and he would have taken it then, having already proven his point to both her and him, but then he saw it, that familiar darkening of her eyes.

The spark Stell still carried for him, that small flicker of a flame that for so long had been starved of oxygen, suddenly exploded and she reached out, grabbing his loose tie, bringing his lips crashing down to hers. Jake surged forward, pushing her backwards as he continued to kiss her, kicking the door to her room shut with his foot before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close,  pouring every single bit of emotion and frustration he’d felt over the past few months into the kiss.

It was urgent, it was desperate, and the pair of them stumbled around the hotel room, Stella pushing his jacket off and tossing it to the floor somewhere before she yanked off his tie, her fingers moving to undo his shirt. Jake's hands fumbled with the floaty tulle skirt of her dress as he pulled it up around her waist, trailing hot kisses down the side of her neck whilst Stella pushed his shirt down his arms where he shrugged it off. Her hands planted on his chest as she smoothed her delicate palms over the solid planes of muscle, sliding them down over his defined abs and he gave a soft hiss as he felt her nimble fingers undoing the buckle of his belt. In a quick move that made her squeak slightly, he reached down and grabbed her ass, hauling her off the floor, her legs wrapping around his waist as he backed her up against the large sliding doors which led out to the balcony. His lips pressed back to hers whilst her back hit the thick glass a little harder than he had intended, drawing a soft grunt from her mouth as it rattled in the frame.

“Ow.” she mumbled against his mouth, grabbing a fist full of his hair and tugging harshly so he looked at her. He gave an apologetic grin she looked at him for a moment before her hands moved and plucked off his glasses, in a movement that really shouldn’t be hot but for some reason it always was. He took them from her, depositing them in his pocket as his lips gently latched onto her neck, sucking at the pulse point. A barely there whimper sounded in his ear as he nipped at her skin and his attention moved downwards, hot, open mouthed kisses traced down her sternum which was exposed between the deep V neckline of her dress. A low moan left her mouth and her hips pushed down against the bulge in his trousers and he pressed into her, giving her the friction she was asking for. Her hands skimmed down his spine, her fingers making his skin burn and prickle as they danced over his back, coming to rest on his broad shoulders , digging into his muscles as Jake pushed his hips up again, grinding against her.

Neither of them were thinking straight, it was way past that point. This was a pure, carnal desire between two, once-upon-a-time long term lovers, both desperate to scratch that deep itch that they still had for one another. But still Jake paused, pulling back so he could take a moment to look at her. She was slightly dishevelled, strands of her hair had fallen loose from her up-do, framing her heart shaped face. Her cheeks were flushed, lips swollen from his kisses, but it was her eyes which caught him. He'd always loved her eyes and now they were staring at him with a wild, lust filled look that he knew so well. He swallowed a little, before she moved her hands to his cheeks, pulling his face back to hers. Jake moaned into this kiss and his hands moved round her back, her feet landed on the floor as her back slipped slightly against the smooth surface she had been pressed against. Their mouths remained open, pressed together, sharing air as Jensen slid the zipper of her dress down, causing it to gape a little at the front and he reached up, thumbs gently running on the underside of the straps before he slid them down her arms, placing a soft kiss to each of her shoulders in turn. As he pushed the soft, blue chiffon of her dress down to her waist he couldn’t help the carnal growl that rumbled in his throat as he saw she wasn't wearing a bra.

"Fuck, Stel. You're beautiful. You’ve always been beautiful." He muttered, his lips back on hers as his hands cradled her face. She stepped out of her dress, his hands moving down to grip her hips, fingers curling over the softness of her flesh as he pushed her back against the cold surface of the window. His lips claimed hers again before he moved his mouth, nibbling his way down the column of her throat, tongue dipping into the hollow at the base of her neck, teeth grazing her collar bone as he mapped his way down her body in a way he had done so many times before.

Stella felt Jensen's hands sliding down her bare thighs as he sunk to the floor and her brain had barely registered the fact he was on his knees, when he hooked one leg over his shoulder, shifting her soaked panties to one side. At the first touch his mouth made to her inner thigh she sighed in pleasure, the raw scratch of his short beard a contrast to the warm, softness of his mouth as he moved upwards before he finally gave one long lick over her sex, dipping his tongue into her a little, causing her to cry out in pleasure, one hand falling to his head, the other palm slapping against the glass surface behind her. He repeated his action, his tongue flicking up through her sensitive outer lips and this time he sucked on her clit, causing her back to arch, her had dropping back in sheer pleasure as her shoulders pressed further onto the glass in an attempt to keep herself up-right, all the time writhing at his actions.

His tongue and lips worked in tandem, un-doing her lap by lap, all the time she was vaguely aware of the fact she was begging him not to stop, her words punctuated by gasps and pants, manicured nails digging into his scalp as her hand curled over his head, fingers tangling into his short hair. It wasn’t long before Stella felt that familiar tightening across her stomach and her leg trembled slightly as she fought to keep herself upright.

“Fuck, JJ,” she stuttered, as he let out a groan, the vibration so pleasurable it was almost painful as his tongue dipped in and out of her entrance, continuing to fuck her the way he had always been able to do. The burning in her stomach suddenly took over her entire body and she gave a loud cry as she came, her head falling forward before it rolled back again against the window with a hard thud as the world around her went silent. She grasped Jensen’s shoulder as her leg gave way and he quickly stood up, catching her easily, a grin on his face as she opened her eyes and looked at him, her pupils blown with lust, her thighs once more locked round his waist. He kissed her again, the kiss absolutely filthy as he stepped back and turned them, crossing the room where he dropped her gently onto the bed.

She knelt up on the soft mattress, her now almost completely loose hair falling over her face as she hooked her fingers into the belt loops of his dress slacks and pulled him to her. In one smooth, fluid movement of her hands she’d undone his flies before she slid his pants and boxers down in one swoop. She dropped her head and took him in her mouth without so much as a warning, her eyes locked onto his.

“Shit, Stel” he mumbled, his hands tangling into her hair, guiding her softly as she moved, her head bobbing back and forth before she pulled away to lick along the base of his shaft, tracing the vein in the underneath, and Jensen knew then if she carried on he was going to blow his load before he’d even gotten to the main event.

“Get up here.” His voice was low as he cupped her face and guided her back up, kissing her again. With a gentle shove, Jensen pushed her back on the bed, stepping out of his remaining clothes before he crawled over her, sliding her lace underwear down her long, smooth legs. He didn’t give her a chance to say anything before he gave her ankles a soft tug, pulling her down further on the bed, crawling between her thighs, his mouth tracing its way up from her belly to her breasts which were heaving, nipples pebbled in excitement. Knowing exactly what would leave her nothing short of a wreck underneath him, he turned his attention to her right breast, lapping and sucking, grazing with his teeth whilst his hand palmed at her left. She let out a soft, breathy moan, which was music to Jensen's ears as his mouth and hand traded places. He worked her over, till she was begging to feel him where she needed him, her knees clenching around his slim waist, desperate for something to help the burning that was between her legs. He shifted his position a little, propping himself up so he could kiss her deeply again, hands on either side of her face as he buried himself inside of her, with a loud groan.

“God you feel so good, Stel.” His mouth moved over her jaw to her ear as he praised her, nipping at the lobe. At his words Stella gave a loud groan as he thrust up into her again, deeply, burying himself to the hilt before he rotated his hips in a dirty grind, a move he knew drove her wild. She cried out, clawing at his back and he groaned as she tipped her hips up to meet his.

"You know,” another thrust, "he’ll never be able,” another thrust, “to fuck you the way I can," he rotated his hips for another grind which caused her once more to cry out, nails biting at his back as he drove a little deeper, "because he doesn’t know you like I do."

To prove his point, one hand moved and gently wrapped round the front of her throat, giving the gentlest of squeezes but he knew that would send her feral. It was something he had discovered a long time ago, being so in control the rest of the time, Stella loved when he would take over like this, dominate her a touch and whisper cheeky, dirty little things into ear. It had always driven her crazy and tonight was no exception. He’d succeeded in throwing fuel onto the fire that was already raging, and a sharp, strangled wail of his name stuttered from her lips as he felt her fluttering around him.

"You were made for me, Baby Girl." Jensen’s own voice was a low growl as his hips picked up their pace, Stella's head falling back onto the pillows as Jake's mouth claimed hers again, the kiss sloppy and desperate matching the rhythm of his thrusts.

Because he was. He was desperate for this woman. Desperate like he’d never been desperate before.

“Jakey.” She keened underneath him, hands still clawing the muscles of his back which were flexing under her touch, equally as needy for him as he was her. He reached down to hook a leg over his shoulder causing her to mewl loudly at the change of angle and depth as he continued to drive into her like his life depended on it. He bent over, mouth swallowing another loud moan as he did, feeling her sweat soaked skin slick against his.

“Fuck, baby I’m close,” he stuttered, his hips snapping back and forth, “see what you do to me?”

Her beautiful eyes were wide, her mouth pressed to his as she let out a broken lament as her walls fluttered around him again, causing him to almost purr in delight as she did. She was close, so fucking close. And it felt good. As his cock dragged in and out of her, the feel of him sliding up against her spot had her worked into a complete frenzy, and she was teetering right on that edge.

“Don’t stop,” she panted, her head falling back further onto the pillow as she grasped his arms whilst he continued to fuck her into the mattress. And then, her stomach tightened and she felt the rush of pleasure that she knew was the end, beginning to wash over her. "Oh, God, Jake...I'm..."

"Come on, Stel." Jake growled, his hips still pumping in and out of her "Cum for me, Baby, just like you always do."

At his words, she gave a low, sultry whimper and her eyes fluttered shut, nails digging into his biceps as she shuddered underneath him, her back arching as her walls clamped down on him, milking his cock and that was it. He was done for, just like he always was when it came to this woman.

“Shit, Stel," he groaned as he felt his abs tighten as he came with a force he hadn't felt in a long time. His hips faltered as he cried out, shooting his load straight into her, before after one final, deep thrust he collapsed on top of her, his face buried into her neck.

The room was silent bar the sounds of their deep, heavy breathing as they both came down, fighting for control. Jake felt her hands gently move round to tangle in his hair, nails scratching his scalp and he raised his head, eyes still closed, enjoying her touch.

“Jake,” she finally whispered, still slightly out of breath but he didn't miss the tremble in her voice and he raised his head, opening his eyes to see her looking back at him. Her cheeks were flushed, hair all over the place and fuck, he’d never see anything so damned beautiful in his life as her undone underneath him. But her eyes, they were misting over with tears and he swallowed, shaking his head.

"Stel… " he began, and she turned her head away from his, screwing her eyes shut as her face crumpled.

"Fuck, what did we just do?" She whispered, opening her eyes and she looked at the wall to her right for a moment before Jensen tipped her face back round to him.

"Don't." He shook his head, pressing a kiss to the bridge of her nose. "Don't do this, not now." He pressed their foreheads together, his nose bumping hers and she gave a quiet sniff as he pressed his lips to hers softly.

“Do you want me to go?” He didn’t really want to ask the question, for fear of her answer but she shook her head, her eyes a little lost as she looked at him.

“No, I don’t. And that’s the problem.” She whispered.

He wanted to try and assure her that it was all okay and that they hadn’t done anything wrong but his words died in his throat, because he knew technically they had. Whatever was going on with her and Agent Shitname, she was still with him, meaning she’d cheated and he knew that would be cutting her up inside.

And now Jensen felt like shit for putting her in that position.

He gently pecked her lips again and with a soft movement he pulled out from her and lay on his back, his hand rubbing his chest. After a little pause he felt Stella turn into him and her head lay on his chest, his arm curling round her shoulder as she sniffed a little, turning her face into his sternum.

“It’s gonna be okay, Stelly.” He pressed a kiss to her head.

It was lame, but it was all he could thing to say. He wasn’t surprised when she didn’t reply, and there wasn’t another word spoken between the two of them before they both fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

****

Stella woke the next morning, her bare back pressed into a hard, muscled chest and didn't even need to turn round to know whose arm was thrown round her waist. As the memories of what had happened the night before flooded her brain she squeezed her eyes closed, taking a deep, shuddering breath, fighting the urge to snuggle further back into the arms of the man she knew so well. Instead, she gently untangled herself from Jensen and without a glance back headed quietly into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She glanced in the mirror and grimaced as she saw the previous day’s make up was streaked all over her face. Grabbing her cleanser from her toiletries bag she wiped it away, tossing the cotton pads into the trash before she turned on the shower and stepped into the stream. She stood there for a while, her face titled to meet the water as it beat down on her, washing away the silent tears that were pouring down her cheeks.

Ten minutes or so later she stepped out, almost working on auto pilot and dried herself off, before grabbing one of the hotel provided towel robes. Once wrapped in it, she squeezed the water out of her hair, dragged a brush through it and then opened the door.

Just as expected, Jensen was still flat out in the bed, although he'd now turned onto his back. It had always been a joke between the two of them that he could sleep through a damned earthquake after a heavy drinking session, yet never failed to hear his alarm. Stella took a moment to study his face, a face she knew by heart, every freckle and line, the curve of his nose and angle of his jaw. Biting her lip, she moved towards the back of the room, made herself a coffee as quietly as she could before she retrieved her phone from her purse that had been tossed down carelessly the night before and headed out onto the balcony, closing the doors behind her.

She sank into one of the chairs, tucking her legs under her and glanced at the screen. There wasn't much battery left but she had a couple of missed calls. One from Clay and another form Cougar, both probably wondering where she had bailed to, and one from Evan. She swallowed as she also spotted she had a message from him too.

Ev- Hey, Pumpkin. Look, I'm so sorry about how things went down the other night. I overreacted, and that's on me. I really hope you're having a good time. Please call me when you can, and we can talk when you're home xx

Stella felt the guilt twist in her gut even more and she gave a sigh, tossing her phone onto the table.

"He’ll never be able to fuck you the way I can, because he doesn’t know you like I do."

Jakes voice rattled around her head and she took a dep breath, looking over the balcony down at the pool area below. Try as she might, she couldn't even deny he was right. The sex with Evan wasn't bad, in fact she would go as far as saying it was pretty damned good, likely to be earth shattering to most women. But, to her, there had always been something that held her back.

And now she was forced to admit head on what she'd been trying to deny for months. It was because he wasn't Jake.

Jake Jensen had worked her way into his heart from the day they had met when they were merely eleven years old, and try as she might she couldn't shake him. That year they had been apart, she'd tried so hard, and had been sure she'd managed, and then she'd seen him and they'd fucked, and fallen back into that awful cycle of being together but not being together.

She couldn't stay with Evan. She'd known that even before last night had happened but the fact she'd basically opened her legs so easily for Jensen went to prove that she didn't love Evan, and she wasn't sure she ever would.

She took a shuddering breath and then her attention jerked upwards as Jake opened the balcony door, his hair mussed, top half bare as he rubbed his eyes, his glasses in his hand.

"Hey." he offered, almost shyly and Stella gave him a nod.

"Hi."

There was an awkward silence as he sat down on the chair opposite her, slipping his glasses onto his nose. He watched as she avoided his gaze, glancing over the balcony, occasionally looking at her hands which were worrying one another. Eventually, he could stand it no more and he reached over to take her hands in his.

"Stel, look, last night..."

"Last night was a mistake." She spoke, her eyes locking onto his. Jensen felt his gut churn, her words an icy blade digging into his heart.

"So, you’re just gonna pretend like it didn't happen and go back to that prick?" Jensen looked at her, his voice measured and Stella shook her head.

"No, I can't do that. Not now. Me and Evan are over, I'm gonna tell him when we get back. I don't love him, you're right. Because if I did I would never have given in and slept with you." She licked her lips.

Jake swallowed and looked down at his hands which were clasped around hers before he raised his head to stare her straight in the eye. "I'm sorry." he said eventually. "I'm sorry if you felt like, well, like I pushed you..."

"No, that's not what I'm saying." She squeezed his fingers. "I just, me and you, we can't keep doing this. We go round and round in circles and…" She took a shuddering breath as she trailed off, unable to articulate what she was trying to say.

"No, I get it." Jake gave her a small smile. He let go of her hands and stood up. "I should probably erm, go,” he gestured to the door, “I need to shower before breakfast and the taxi to the airport arrives."

"Okay." She nodded.

She watched him open the door to head inside, before he paused and turned to face her.

"I know you said what happened last night was a mistake, but I just want you to know that I wouldn’t change it for the world."

With that he gave her a final smile and headed back into the hotel room. Stella could see him through the glass doors as he hastily dressed, before without so much as another word he left, and as she heard the door to her room close, the tears once more began to fall.

**** Chapter 7 Part 3

[purple-goo-writes]

Young and Beautiful Part 2

Taglist: @clumsy-owl-4178 @myazael @woe-is-me0 @midnightmode @t1dwarrior-of-earth @stainedglassm

@catthhay @dorkus-minimus @maskedpainter @waffleyunsure @marinettepotterandplagg @demonicbusiness @mystery-5-5

@justafanwarrior

I've seen the world, lit it up As my stage now Channeling angels in a new age now Hot summer days, rock and roll The way you play for me at your show And all the ways, I got to know Your pretty face and electric soul

Will you still love me When I'm no longer young and beautiful? Will you still love me When I've got nothing but my aching soul? I know you will, I know you will I know that you will Will you still love me when I'm no longer beautiful?

He didn’t see her again until three years later after he took in his first ward, Richard Grayson. 

He didn’t know how she knew that he needed her support or how she was aware of his new ward, soon to be adopted son. All Bruce was aware of was of the fact that his shoulders finally released the tension he had not been aware that he was carrying when he came up from the Batcave after Dick’s first patrol and felt her familiar and welcoming calm aura. Even Richard noticed the distinct change in his guardian’s demeanor once they exited the Cave and entered the manor. And though the young Robin didn’t necessarily feel the new aura of calm permeating the Manor, he certainly does relax the moment he steps out of the Cave and feels the tension he had carried since his parent’s murder leave his own body.

It felt as if he was finally coming home and not just coming back to the house he inhabited with his guardian and the butler. 

Bruce could only watch in awe as Marinette breaks through all of Dick’s walls and within a week he walks in on Marinette holding a crying 12 year old boy as he finally griefs for his parents. Not long after that Marinette joins them on patrol as PopinJay using the fixed Peacock Miraculous.

Her suit looked like an odd mix of leather and spandex, a deep dark blue with black accents with some dark green detailing here and there; black gloves with blue fingers, black boots with blue heels and a dark blue domino mask with green detailing that mimicked feathers. Attached to her waist was a partial skirt that mimicked peafowl tail feathers with an ombre effect- starting black before fading to dark blue then green at the tips. Her hair was put up in an elegant bun pinned in place by two golden peafowl quils and held in a holster around her waist were two steel fans tipped in gold that when spread resembled two beautiful yet deadly fans of peacock feathers.

“Why the Peacock?” Batman enquired with a raised eyebrow while Robin squealed happily as the preteen danced around PopinJay taking in her suit.

The masked woman snickered softly, her lips tugging into a small smirk, “I figured it would match well with your theme.”

Bruce should not have been surprised about how flawlessly she joins into their routine and patrols. Marinette had always been able to adapt to any situation easily after all. It was something that the Guardian was still trying to teach him how to do.

She would pop in randomly over the years that followed, always seeming to know when Bruce and Dick needed her the most. She was a part of their small family after all and Bruce’s oldest friend. It was why he did not protest when Marinette whisked Dick away to the Temple to train after he and Bruce have a fight again when Robin talks about heading out on his own and becoming his own hero, outside of the Young Justice. After all he was turning 18 soon and was outgrowing the Robin mantle.

“Just because he is growing up, doesn’t mean he no longer needs his father, Bruce.” Were Marinette’s parting words before she left with Dick for Tibet.

When they returned a year later, it was to a relieved, if sheepish, Bruce who had just returned from patrol with a very angry preteen in tow dressed in a new Robin suit. Instead of feeling threatened, Dick grinned, causing Bruce to sigh in relief, “So does this mean I have a little brother now?”

“How did you end up adopting this one, ma nuit noire?”

“He stole the wheels off the BatMobile.”

“Only you, Bruce, only you.”

A month later, Dick became Nightwing after a conversation with Superman when the young man asked the super if his culture ever had vigilantes after Dick moved to Bludhaven. With the alien’s permission, he took up the mantle of Nightwing and officially passed on the Robin mantle down to his younger brother, Jason. Bludhaven gained a vigilante and Jason gained a new confidence with his older brother’s approval, not that the angry teen would admit it.

PopinJay made return to Gotham to help train the new Robin. Bruce was surprised, though he shouldn’t have been, at how fast Jason took to Marinette. The former street kid would even slip and call her Ma now and then, especially when the peacock heroine was being extra motherly. That Bruce wasn’t surprised about as Dick would, and still did, call Marinette Mama Bird. He tried not to dwell on how much his heart warmed at the thought of Marinette as the boys’ mother figure. Especially not when he was currently dancing around Catwoman and their odd relationship or his thing with Talia Al Ghul, who he knew disliked PopinJay greatly. Though his relationship with Talia ended when she drug him.

It was after a routine patrol when PopinJay came sauntering back into the Batcave carrying a confused, if exited, little nine-year-old boy with dark hair and bright blue eyes dressed only in his pajamas and holding a camera. The dark blue haired woman was smiling motherly down at the little scamp in her arms as Tim babbled excitedly about meeting one of his favorite heroes and how he couldn’t believe that MDC was PopinJay.

“PopinJay, what is the meaning of this?” Bruce growled in confusion as he turned from the BatComputer to address his partner, who simply giggled at his attempt to intimidate her. 

“Bruce, come meet your biggest fan.”

 “PopinJay!” 

“Oh, don’t be a stick in the mud. He already figured out our identities from Dick’s quadruple somersault.”

“He what? But, how?” This had Bruce intrigued as he stalked close to the woman, who was practically the mother of his sons, taking in the sight of little Tim, “He is the Drake heir...what is he doing out so late?” The fact that he was still in his pajamas without shoes on brought the father in Bruce to the forefront went without saying. 

Jason watched all this with a sigh and grumbled, “I’ll go tell Alfred to get a room ready for him.” Looks like he would be sharing his Ma with another brother...He best tell Dick about Tim, Jason just knew their parents (Marinette was their Mom no matter how oblivious Bruce was to his feelings) would be adopting the boy.

And wouldn’t you know he was right, somehow not even three months later Tim was now Tim Drake-Wayne due to his parents being found neglectful in a hush-hush trail. Dick was ecstatic about having another little brother to dote on and even Jason was happy to have a little brother, having grown fond of Tim during all the times the youngest Drake stayed at the Manor or BatCave when his parents went out of town on one of their frequent business trips. 

If Bruce wasn’t already thankful for Marinette’s presence in his life, he would have been after Jason ran off to track down his birth mother after finding out that Catherine was not his mom. He understood that Jason simply had questions he thought only his birth mom could answer, but it still broke Bruce’s heart that his middle son thought he would not help him find the woman. If it wasn’t for the multiple trackers he had placed on Jason, he would not have known that the young Robin was in Ethiopia of all places. Batman wouldn’t make it in time to save Robin, but he knew one person who could. 

It was the only time his composure had came so close to breaking as he called Marinette and begged her to save their son. Batman arrived just as the building went up in flames and would have broken down if not for PopinJay informing over the comm that she had Jason and that they were at the Cave. Unfortunately, Jason was in critical condition and had slipped into a coma by the time Bruce made it back to the Manor. After a long talk, it was decided that Marinette would take him to the Temple to heal and recover. Tim would be taking over as Robin in his absence, though the 12 year old wished it was under different circumstances.

Marinette kept Bruce updated on his status using the communicator he had given her. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he cried when she called him and informed him that Jason had woken up. Jason and Bruce had a long discussion when he was fully coherent, thankfully Jason understood why Bruce gave Tim the mantle and even asked him to inform Tim that he had his blessing to be Robin. This talk was also the first time one of his sons’ called him Dad.

“Dad, I don’t think I can be Robin anymore, anyway...I think it’s time I branched out.”

“Will you be using a Miraculous?”

“No, Ma asked, even said I would be a good fit for the Eagle, but I turned her down. I want to make my own way without fancy powers.”

“You know we will support any decision you make.”

It was two years after that that Jason fully recovered and returned to Gotham as the vigilante, Red Hood. Thankfully, Marinette talked him out of that outrageous helmet and helped him design his new costume, his suit he wore had a red hood attached to it and he wore a red metal face mask with a black domino mask. He still managed to keep the leather jacket though. Even if Bruce frowned at his use of guns, at least the rounds were mainly tranquilizers, the Bat was proud of his son.

Tim made an amazing Robin and detective. Though Bruce was suspicious when Marinette would disappear with Tim to train him in secret or take him to the Temple. But, it was Tim’s choice and if he choose to join the Order, Bruce would support him. Marinette loved their sons equally, but Bruce knew she was closer to Tim.

He was thankful for Marinette being there for him when Barbara joined the team as Batgirl. Even more thankful for when Stephanie joined and then Cassandra was adopted. He was not sure how to handle daughters and the girls having a positive female role model relieved him greatly. Even if he did get a few grey hairs now and then from some of their more interesting purchases.

Talia dropped Damian on Bruce when Tim was 16 and had just become co-CEO of Wayne Enterprises, after both his older brothers refused the position. (Dick was now a Cop in Bludhaven and Jason had taken over Security for the WE.) Bruce was still reeling from the shock of finding out he had a blood son and Talia just dumping the ten year old on him without so much of a by-your-leave. Bruce had finally put his past with Talia and Selina behind him and finally moved on when this happened. He was unsure how to process this new situation. Though after stopping Damian from killing/attacking Tim once again, he knew what he had to do.

He called Marinette.

Bruce isn’t sure what she did or said to his youngest son. But after whisking Damian away for a few months at the Temple, the child that came back was changed. Still the same arrogant cold ex-assassin, but he had started to open up to his family and follow his father’s code of honor. Though, things were still shaky between him and Tim, the older boys were all amused when Damian bluntly asked them why Father hadn’t proposed to Marinette, or Mère as he called her in French, yet.

“Because Dad is really, really oblivious to his own feelings.”

“He’s a fucking idiot.” 

“Jaybird!” 

“What? You know it’s true!” 

“Little ears, Jay!”

Damian turned to his only intelligent sibling, and most dangerous outside of Cain, "Drake, I presume you have plans ready to set in motion?"

There was a reason he considered Drake his highest threat to his position as blood son. Ra's had stated time and time again that he wished to induct Tim into the fold, one way or another. Many times his grandfather had stated this when he found Damian's own performance lacking, making comments on how the young Detective would have done things. Drake had plans within plans, a mind like a steel trap mixed with a twisted maze and a tenacity most assassin's would envy. It was why Damian grudgingly respected the teen, even if he would rather bit his tongue off then admit it.

Tim gave his youngest sibling a rather maniacal grin, some of his Red Robin persona (A mantle he took up recently) shining through, "Oh do I."

Unfortunately, their plans to trick their parental figures into realizing their feelings would have to wait.

Because Darkseid came and Bruce was gone...

[judediangelo75]

Starting Now - Chapter 1

Hi 😁💛

So my creative mind has been going haywire lately ever since I got some level back (hopefully a bit more long-lasting). I recently heard a new song by Brandy that features Disney princesses called “Starting Now”.

Here’s a the link, give it a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ms-Y99bAi0

And the story started forming in my mind. A mix of modern day Hogwarts mixed with a regular high school setting, a bit of Cinderella, mixed with Kendrick Lives AU. This is purely fictional, I can only try to make this make sense so bare with me.

And of course it’s gonna be a Talbott Winger x MC story.

No clue how long it’s gonna be. There will be some MC friends thrown in here mainly from @that-scouse-wizard , @kc-needs-coffee, @lifeofkaze, and @catohphm . This could change and I’ll add more but that what I can say.  

Alright enough rambling, on with the story!

Warning: Mentions of child abuse and self harm

----------------------------------

“Papa, what are we doing here,” a 7-year-old girl asked, pale gold eyes looking up at her father’s sharp features. Her and her towering father were approaching a house. They’ve just moved from Barbados to London and the girl already didn’t like it there.

The winters were cold and so were the people there. She already been picked on for her hair and her heavy accent. Because of her thin and small frame, she was an easy target for the boys in her neighborhood. 

Even her mother looked down at her with disapproval.

The only person who she could trust was her father and big brother, Jamal.

The same colored eyes looked down at the little girl. The man, who goes by Kendrick, squeezed his little girl’s small hand.

“We’re gonna meet some people I knew from when I was young boy, Judith. You’ll love them, baby girl. I promise,” he said, whispering the last part with another hand squeeze.

Judith gave a small nod as they stood in front of the door. Kendrick gave a solid knock onto the wood and waited. The tell tale sound of the door unlocking filled the silence before the door opened, revealing a woman around Kendrick’s age poked her head out.

Amber eyes brighten at the sight of the older man.

“Kendrick! Oh my stars, it’s been so long, old friend,” the woman exclaimed, fully opening the door and hugging the tall man. A chuckle rumbled from the man’s broad chest, hugging the short woman. Judith silently observed the scene, curious and bit wary.

The woman was beautiful. She has Ombre colored hair, starting off with a dark brown and ending in a chestnut brown color. Her amber colored eyes were bright and expressive. Her skin was a flawless caramel brown. Her features were delicate and sharp. A simple white sun dress hugged her body.

The thing that caught Judith’s interest the most was the pretty white feather that was attached to a braid in her hair.

“Is this who I think this is?” A melodious voice teased. Judith snapped out of her musing to find the woman looking at her with a smile. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she rushed to hug her dad’s pant leg. The woman giggled at her shy behavior.

“Yes, Ava. This is Judith. Baby girl, I would you to meet Ava Winger. She and her husband are my best friends. Say hi,” Kendrick gently encouraged with a smile. Judith bit her lip, looking a up at her dad and then at Ava.

‘She seems nice... much nicer than mother...’

“H-Hi, Mrs. W-Winger. It’s a-a pleasure to m-met y-you,” Judith spoke softly. Her blush grew worse at the sound of her stuttering.

Her mother chided her about that habit of stuttering in front of adults, she just embarrassed herself. She just knows it-

“The pleasure is all mine, Judith. Please, call me Ava.” Gold eyes blinked at out mute surprise before the girl bit her lip. Judith glanced at her dad, looking up to him for direction.

She never had an adult insist on calling them by their first name. Her mother said it was rude to ever consider doing so. But she didn’t want to ignore Ava’s request.

Kendrick withheld a sigh, already knowing that his wife’s “teachings” was brewing in Judith’s head. He raised their daughter in his homeland with her mother, Mercy, for majority of her life. 

She was much more carefree.

Yes, she was still shy but nothing like this. It was like she was scared of being the radiant ray of sunshine he knows she is.

“It’s okay, baby girl,” he whispered softly. With that confirmation, Judith turned to Ava with a small smile.

“Okay, Ava...” Ava beamed at the two and ushered them inside.

“Is Trent around,” Kendrick asked as the entered deeper into the house. 

“No, sadly. Some writer botched an article and they called him in to fix it. But Talbott is around,” Ava answered. Judith cocked her head to the side, curious to know who Talbott was.

This didn’t escape Ava’s attention.

“Would you like to meet Talbott, Judith,” Ava asked. Judith blushed out of embarrassment, musing silently over the question.

“S-Sure...” Kendrick and Ava shared a small smirk before Ava called for her son.

“Talbott! Come here, please. There are some people I would like for you to meet!” Out of what seemed to be the kitchen was a boy around Judith’s age. He had the same hair and skin tone as Ava but that’s where the resemblance stopped. The thing at stood out to the Judith was his piercing red eyes.  

The girl stiffened, shuffling closer to Kendrick.

Ava placed the young boy in front of her, squeezing on his shoulders gently.

“Talbott, I would like you to meet my oldest friend, Kendrick Harris and his daughter, Judith.” Red eyes silently studied the towering man. If it wasn’t for the kind smirk on the man’s face and the glimmer of amusement in his sharp pale gold eyes, Talbott would’ve felt a little scared of the man.

“Hello, Mr. Harris. It’s very nice to meet you,” Talbott greeted. Judith blushed and silently bristled at the cool confidence Talbott had in greeting her father.

‘Why can’t I have that?’ she thought as her father chuckled.

“Please, call me Kendrick. I’m not that old, son. And it’s great to see you again, Talbott. I remember when you were just a toddler,” the man teased good naturedly. Talbott blushed a bit before clearing his throat.

“Alright Kendrick,” Talbott replied. A soft giggle caught the 8-year-old boy’s attention. He noticed a girl standing behind the man.

Judith was her name, if he heard his mother correctly.

Judith stopped laughing once she noticed Talbott’s attention was focused on her. While everything in her was telling her to duck behind her dad, something felt familiar about the red eyed boy.

Unknown to her, Talbott was having similar thoughts about her too.

The two were jostled out of their trains of thought when their respective parent pushed the two in front of each other. Red and gold eyes studied the other.

The girl looked like her father but with feminine features. Her brown black locs were down, the sides were pulled back to reveal her face. A simple black sleeveless dress clothed the shorter girl, hugging her torso but flowing out around her hips. The skirt brushed just above her knees. Black gladiator sandals were on her feet. A necklace that consisted of a thick black chain and black and silver ring hung around her neck.

The boy was dressed in simple white tank top and khaki shorts. Brown sandals can be found on his feet. His hair was tied back in a short ponytail with a few strands falling in his face.

The two had yet to say a word to the other. The two adults looked on waiting for something to happen.

“You’re really pretty...” Pale gold eyes widen at the admission.

“R-Really,” Judith asked softly. Despite the softness of her voice, Talbott was still able to pick up the Caribbean accent in the girl’s voice. It was foreign but it suited the girl well...

“Y-Yeah,” Talbott said, slightly breathless. Something about the girl was very... adorable? He couldn’t figure out why.

Judith blushed, hiding her cheeks in her hands.

Only her grandmother, father, and older brother have told her that...

“T-Thank you...” Talbott nodded, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

‘Think of something to say to her! Wait, I know!’

“Would you like to come outside and play with me,” the boy asked. Talbott felt an odd sense of pride when he saw those pale gold eyes light up like two suns. Judith looked to her smiling father, silently asking for his permission.

“Go on, baby girl. Have fun,” Kendrick said with a nod. Talbott took the girl’s hand and lead her outside.

“Well that answers th- Ava, what are you doing,” Kendrick asked as he turned to his friend.

“Planning their wedding, what does it look like,” the woman said, not even looking up from her notepad. Kendrick stared at her with an unimpressed glare.

“Talbott is only 8 and Judith just a few months younger than him,” he said.

“Your point, Kendrick?”

“My point is, Judith is still my baby girl damn it! No wedding planning!”

---------------

“You have a nice home, Talbott,” Judith said as the pair walked out into the back yard. If it wasn’t for Talbott’s Animagus abilities, he probably would’ve missed what she said.

“Thank you... are you always this soft spoken,” Talbott asked as he turned to face her. A blush colored the girl’s cheeks as she ducked her head.

“U-Um... I-I guess? I haven’t been super sure of myself ever since I moved here. Other kids don’t like me...” Talbott used his thumb and index finger to lift the girl’s chin so her gaze to meet his own.

“Well, I like you. You can be yourself around me. Okay,” he said gently. Judith swallowed a lump in her throat before whispering a soft ‘yes’.

“S-so, what do you wanna do,” she said, her voice coming out a bit louder. Talbott dropped his hand, looking thoughtful for a few moments.

“How about a game of tag,” he asked. Judith smiled, nodding. 

“But, I wanna make it more... interesting. Can you keep a secret, Judith,” the boy questioned. Judith cocked her head at the boy before slowly nodding.

“Yes, I can,” she replied.

“I’m serious. You can’t tell anyone.” Gold eyes widen a fraction before turning serious. Judith held out a hand, pinky extended. Talbott rose a brow.

“What are you doing,” he asked.

“It’s called a pinky promise. It’s like the Muggle version of the Unbreakable Oath. This is my way of showing that I’m serious,” Judith replied. The boy remained silent for a few moments before smiling, hooking his pinky with hers.

“I promise to keep your secret,” she whispered softly. Talbott released their intertwined fingers, feeling his face heat up a bit.

“Thanks... ready for my secret,” he asked. He got a smile and an eager nod as answer. Stepping back, he transformed into his Animagus form. Judith stared up starry eyed as the Golden Eagle flew over her head.

“Wow, Talbott! That’s amazing,” she said. The bird lowered to tap her shoulder before flying off.

“Hey! You never said we started! Get back here!”

----------------

Hours flew by and the two children didn’t realize it. They’ve played, read books, shared stories, ate, napped, and even danced together.

Kendrick and Ava would occasionally check up on the kids before walking away with a smile. Kendrick knew seeing the Wingers was a good decision. His little girl hasn’t smiled this much ever since his mother passed away.

The two were currently sitting in a tree, watching the sunset together.

“This view is beautiful,” Judith said, playing with the braid Talbott did for her.

“It is... too bad it means the day is almost over,” Talbott sighed. He spared a glance at the girl next to him. 

‘She’s so pretty...’ Judith glanced at Talbott, blushing under his intense gaze.

“W-What,” she asked. Talbott blinked, as if he was waking up from a daze.

“Ah... sorry, little bird. You just look really pretty,” Talbott confessed. Judith’s blush grew worse.

“T-thank you, Talbott... and little bird,” Judith said softly. Talbott rubbed the back of neck sheepishly.

“Y-Yeah... like a nickname. You have a free spirit like a bird and you are smaller than me. Maybe one day I could help you become an Animagus...” 

“R-Really? You promise,” Judith asked, hope shining in her irises. Talbott smiled and held out his pinky finger. The young girl giggled and hooked her pinky with his.

“I promise, little bird...” The two gazed into each other’s eyes, a matching soft smile can be found on both their faces.

Overcome with something she couldn’t explain, Judith leaned in and pressed her lips against Talbott’s cheek. She lingered there for a few seconds before pulling away.

Talbott raised a hand to his now flushed cheek.

“W-what was that f-for?” Judith let out another giggle. This was the first time she heard the boy stutter all day.

“Because I like you, bird boy. Thank you for today, I’ll never forget it.” Talbott grinned at her confession, wrapping his arms around the girl tightly. Judith nuzzled his neck, feeling at peace in his embrace.

Soon Kendrick called out the two, letting his daughter know it was time to head back. The pair were reluctant to leave the warm bubble they created but scaled down the tree.

Before the father and daughter could leave, Talbott handed Judith a white clover.

“Think of me, little bird...”

--------------------------------

And Judith did. 

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Soon it’s been more than two years since they met.

Her papa had told her it would be difficult to plan another day for the both of them because of her mother’s controlling behavior. 

But they did exchange letters. The parents created a plan to make it seem like they were corresponding to each other but in reality, it was their kids. This way Sade didn’t going poking her nose where it didn’t belong. It disheartened the girl that she couldn’t see her friend, but she kept the flower that Talbott given her. It was hidden away in a Muggle fairytale book. With each day and letter, she would hope that maybe there was a chance where she and Talbott see each other again.

Until the fateful day that forced her to hide her ray of sunshine from the world.

It was the year that she turned 9 years old. Not too long after her 9th birthday, her older brother was expelled and sent to another wizarding school in America to live with their mother’s family. It broke the little girl’s heart to have her brother leave.

“It wouldn’t be for forever, Pip. I’ll be back before you know it. I love you, little sister...”

The two wrote frequently, Jamal telling about his classes and what he’s been learning.

It was one of his lessons that lead to Judith’s fatal mistake.

It was a bitterly cold winter day in London and Judith woke up to an empty, freezing house. She knew her Papa was working at St. Mungos but her mother never told her where she went.

She got backhanded across the face the one time she asked...

Staring at the barren fireplace with a frown, Judith came up with an idea. Quickly running to her parents’ room, she found her mother’s wand on the dresser.

Returning to the fireplace, Judith focused on her memory on one of her brother’s letters about a fire spell.

After a few tries, she able to cast the spell correctly. Judith smiled, taking in the warmth that came from the flames.

It was at that moment Sade walked in. 

It didn’t take the woman long to piece the puzzle together and for her anger to rained down on the unsuspecting girl.

With quick strides, she slapped the fear stricken little girl.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing little girl,” she growled, snatching her wand from off the ground where Judith dropped it.

“I-I’m s-sorry, Mother! I-I-I was just c-cold,” Judith whimpered, tears prickling her eyes. She could already feel the bruise forming on her cheek.

“Cold, huh? Let’s fix that, shall we,” Sade laughed hollowly. She aimed the tip of her wand right at her daughter’s face. 

“Mother, p-please, no-!”

“Incendio!”

The pain scream of the girl echoed throughout the house...

---------------------------

Pale eyes opened up blearily at sound her owl’s insistent hoots, telling her it was the dreaded morning.

“Okay, okay, you little menace. I’m up,” the girl groaned. She felt a feather face nuzzle her left cheek. 

Where her burn scar resided.

The girl sighed and petted her loyal avian friend before rolling out of bed to get ready for the school day.

Judith was now 18, in her final year at Hogwarts. It’s been 9 years since her mother scarred her for life, both physically and mentally.

While she had to live this scar, with slightly blurry vision in her left eye, it was a needed change.

Turns out her mother had an ongoing affair three years after she was born. Which explained where she would go at random times and why she was so defensive about her whereabouts.

Her father was quick to divorce her mother and gain custody of her. Not like Sade put up a fight for her in the first place.

“Why would I? I don’t love her, hell I never wanted her. You can keep her, Kendrick!”

Judith was never meant to hear their part of their argument but she did.

Her burn scar was like a cruel reminder for the female Harris.

That she wasn’t as loved as she thought she was.

After the incident, Judith would lock herself in her room for hours, most times just laying in bed. She would either cry herself to sleep or stare numbly up at the ceiling. She stopped sending letters to Jamal and Talbott. Her mental health got so bad to the point her father had to take sick days to make sure she took care of herself.

She knew she would send her dear father to an early grave after he found out about her cutting situation two years ago. She’s been doing so ever since she got to Hogwarts. Without the comfort her Papa constantly being there and no promise of friends, the slide of a blade against her skin helped ease the tension she constantly felt.

She just wasn’t quick enough to put on a long sleeve shirt when he noticed the horizontal scars on her left arm.

Judith saw the heartbreak and fear in her father’s pale gold eyes. As much she didn’t love herself, she knew her father would always love her.

So she tried. Tried to be better. 

Her first order of business was concealing her scars. Permanently.

With her father’s permission, Judith got her left arm tatted. She sketched all of her tattoos and got them done by an old friend from the past. Her best friend from when she lived in Barbados, Malik Coleman. He was older than her by two years and had a passion for body art. Judith was willing to be his first customer. And she loved the work he did for her.

Of course this didn’t increase her social standing at school.

While she was seen as delinquent and a reject, she did receive love and warmth in some people since arriving to Hogwarts.

The first person to ever show her kindness and her birthday twin, Professor Flitwick.

Her first friend she made at school, David Willows.

Her older “siblings”: Bill Weasley, Orion Amari, Erika Rath, and Phoenix Lang.

Few Quidditch mates like Andre Egwu, Katriona Cassiopeia, Lizzie Jameson, and Cato Reese.

Her irritating but loveable dance partner and dueling partner (at least magic based), Diego Caplan.

Sweetheart and fellow Healer assistant, Chiara Lobosca.

Loveable giant and creature buddy, Barnaby Lee.

Bully turned friend and singing buddy, Merula Synde.

Artist buddy, Badeea Ali.

Her sweet half-brother, Nuri Lockheart.

Her adoptive sister from a different family, Amelia Booth.

Judith has felt bouts of happiness when she’s around her friends. Doing things she remembering she loved doing from when she little.

But there was one person who could truly revive that side of her. And he did when she first saw him.

Talbott Winger.

Her first friend since she moved to Europe. And her biggest crush.

But it looks like he forgot all about her.

Even after spending time with him when she and David wanted to become Animagi.

Even finding his beloved white feather necklace, gifted to him by his mother.

He doesn’t seem to recognize her. Judith partially blamed herself since she basically hides out in corners of the school or keep her face as covered as possibly. Even though everyone knew about her scar after a bullying incident from first year, Judith still felt incredibly self-conscious.

But she would’ve thought maybe Talbott would’ve instantly felt their connection like she did. Stuff that she read about in fairytales.

But she was wrong.

And Judith never feel confident enough to openly approach him and tell him who she was, so she’s been pining after the Ravenclaw wizard for years...

She thought it was probably for the best. She was never meant for a happy ending...

“Good morning, baby girl! How’s my little princess doing,” Kendrick greeted as the girl stepped into the kitchen. Judith gave a faint smirk.

“Papa, I’m 18,” Judith reminded as she walked up to her dad. Kendrick rose a brow.

“What’s your point,” he asked, leaning down to kiss her forehead. The girl giggled and shook her head.

She would always be her father’s little princess and nobody can tell him otherwise. Not even her.

“Nevermind, Papa. What’s for breakfast,” she asked, peeking around her giant father.

“Fruit salad, pancakes, bacon, and fresh glass passion juice,” Kendrick answered, handing his daughter a plate and cup. Judith thanked her father and proceed to eat her breakfast.

“So... you spoke to Talbott recently,” Kendrick asked as he washed the dishes. Judith choked on her juice.

“Papa!” Kendrick rolled his eyes at her scandalized tone.

“Oh c’mon now, baby girl. I saw you kiss the boy with you were 7. He’s the only one I really approved of anyways,” he said, mumbling the last part to himself. But thanks to Judith’s Animagus abilities, she heard him.

“You are nowhere near subtle about it. You terrified Andre half to death after I told you he had a small crush on me,” Judith said with an eye roll of her own.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me, young lady. And I was only kidding...”

“You threaten to break his bones in way where it would never heal properly so he wouldn’t be able to play Quidditch if he broke my heart.”

“What’s your point?” Judith tried to fight a fond smile that threatened to break out on her face. A lot of girls would find this type of behavior to be overbearing but she knew that her father just deeply cared for her.

He wanted her happy.

Happy with someone who would he knew he could trust to cherish her.

“You’re impossible, Papa,” the girl laughed, picking up her empty plate and glass to give to her dad to wash. She got on her toes to give the man a brief kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you for breakfast, Papa. I’m off to school and will be at Quidditch practice afterwards, so I’ll be out for awhile. Bye Papa, I love you,” Judith said, giving the Ravenclaw alumni a quick hug before running out the kitchen.

“Have a good day, baby girl! And I love you too,” Kendrick called after her.

Judith ran into her room to grab her broomstick and went outside. Settling on her broom, Judith took off into sky, which was slowly brightening as the sun began to peak over the horizon. She quickly switched to broom surfing, laughing as she flew.

Judith was an early riser, always up before the sun. She liked the tranquility of the morning, especially at the castle.

She liked to hang around a professor or hang out with her creatures before class started. Or possibly enjoy doing her hobbies before anyone could really bother her.

She looked to smash some practice dummies with Bludgers so she could get out any pent up aggression from her system. 

Little did she know that it lead to her first run-in with her Prince Charming...

-------------------------

“Andre, when I asked for you teach me about Quidditch so Madam Hooch doesn’t catch me off guard with her questions, I expected you just to tell me different facts. Not drag me all the way out here to the Quidditch Pitch,” Talbott deadpanned as his best mate pulled him along.

“Visuals can be just as good as me just telling you, Tal. If you visited a Quidditch match a day in your life, this wouldn’t be an issue for you,” the style wizard retorted. The pair were just about to going into the changing rooms when they heard the sound of metal smashing against metal. 

Intrigued, the two Ravenclaw wizards went to investigate.

They spotted the figure of a short girl effortlessly swinging her bat to beat the giant flying metal spheres heading towards her into the dummies in front of her.

Andre smiled.

“Ah, perfect! Prime example. One of the Quidditch positions there are is a Beater. There are two Beaters per team and they’re the only ones who hold a bat. Beaters are both offensive and defense players, beating Bludgers, formerly known as Blooders...” Talbott slowly toned Andre out as he stared the girl, who apparently plays Beater.

Her long hair was pulled back into a high ponytail to keep her hair out her face. Her short, curvy stature was covered with a form fitting black and yellow jersey with some short gym shorts to match. When she swung a certain way, Talbott can spy some ink on her left arm.

“Who is she,” Talbott asked, interrupting Andre’s lesson. The Ravenclaw Seeker looked a bit peeved when he realized that Talbott wasn’t even paying him any real attention but turned to study the girl to figure out her identity.

“Oh, that’s Tigress. One of Hufflepuff’s Beaters,” Andre said with a fond smile. Talbott glanced at him, slightly annoyed.

“Tigress? I meant her real name, Egwu,” he said.

“Why are you so pressed on knowing her real name, mate? What? You like what you see,” Andre asked, wagging his eyebrows at the now flustered wizard.

“W-Wha- Andre! Be serious, will you,” Talbott hissed, not willing to admit that he did like what he sees. A lot. 

Andre chuckled.

“Hey, if you do, I don’t blame you. I even crushed on her for a short while. Judith is very beautiful, despite what people say about her,” Andre said.

“Why did you stop liking her,” Talbott asked, curious to hear this. Andre shuddered.

“Her father is definitely not one to be trifled with. As much as I admired her and respected her dad, he terrifies me a little,” Andre supplied. Talbott made a curious noise.

“But aren’t all fathers like that? Especially when it comes to their daughters,” Talbott asked. Andre gave him a funny look.

“Talbott, mate. Do you not who Judith is,” Andre asked instead. 

“I felt like I heard her name somewhere before, but it’s not ringing any bells,” Talbott shrugged. Andre shook his head.

“The Cursed Child? Scarface? The Hufflepuff Reject? Any of those ringing any bells at all,” Andre pressed. Red eyes widen slightly.

“Yeah... now it does,” Talbott mumbled, narrowing his eyes at the girl.

Supposedly a group of older Slytherins and Gryffindors were bullying her back in their first year. A Slytherin boy pulled her hair loose which was hiding a burn scar the covered the left side of her face. The skinny Hufflepuff witch proved to be quite viscous as she attacked her bullies after humiliatingly her.

She was the same girl who sought him out to help her and her friend, David, to become Animagi. The same one found and returned his mum’s feather necklace with a simply note as the only evidence that it was her who done the act. 

“And her father,” Talbott asked.

“He visits on occasion, mainly during Quidditch season. It would be impossible to miss him. They’re basically twins. And he’s fiercely protective of her. While no one really knows the true origin of her scar, it affected him just as much it did her. He’s not afraid to come to his daughter’s defense if anyone were to make her uncomfortable about it. Even though he is a Healer, he can quite dangerous himself. From what I understand, whatever Judith knows about fighting, whether magic or Muggle-based, came from him,” Andre supplied.

“She’s... an enigma for lack of a better word,” Talbott finally said. 

“A beautiful one, at that,” Andre added. He got a raised brow for his comment.

“It’s rare to see her face. I’m surprised she doesn’t have her hoodie right now. But when I tell you she has the most unique pair of eyes I’ve ever seen, believe me. Such a bright color but muddled with sadness,” Andre sighed, wistfully.

The red eye boy cocked his head before walking forward. 

“Talbott, where are you-”

“What does it look like? I’m going to talk to her,” Talbott called over his shoulder. 

“Talbott, wait, you-”

Judith knew it was about time for her to change and head to first class. Freezing her Bludgers, her ears picked up the sound of someone approaching from behind. Her heart seized in her chest at the thought someone seeing her scar.

“Hey, Judith right,” Talbott called out to her as he got closer. 

‘Oh crap, why does it have to be him?! I gotta leave before he sees my face!’ With that in mind, Judith grabbed her bag and took off for the nearest exit. She can hear Talbott calling out to her but she didn’t dare stop until she was out of the Quidditch Pitch.

“Damn,” Talbott cursed under his breath. He was only a few feet away from her when she took off as if a bunch of devils were behind her.

“I tried to warn you, you blokehead. Judith is incredibly skittish when it comes to people she doesn’t interact with regularly. I can only imagine how she could be when her entire face is exposed,” Andre chided. Talbott rolled his eyes and sighed.

“It’s not like I haven’t spoken to her before. She returned something of mine a few years ago and I never got the chance to properly thank her,” Talbott grumbled, kicking the grass. Andre’s gaze soften at his admission.

“If you didn’t get the chance, then she probably wasn’t looking for you to thank her. She may be an outcast in this school but she’s definitely the school’s hidden sweetheart,” Andre said, squeezing his fellow house mate’s shoulder. A frown worked it’s way on Talbott’s face.

‘Just who are you? And why do you feel so familiar to me...’

“Time to go, class starts in a few minutes,” Andre coaxed. The wizard gave his friend a nod, turning to follow him until something on the ground caught his eye.

“What is it, mate,” Andre asked as he watch Talbott bend down to pick something up.

It was twin set of thick gold cuff bracelets. The outside had twin arrows engraved on it and each had a unique message on the inside.

To my baby girl: If I could give you one thing in life, it would be to give you the ability to yourself in my eyes. Then would you realize how special you are to me.

Whenever you feel overwhelmed... Remember whose daughter you are and straighten your crown.

“Talbott?” Red eyes meant brown ones with a small smile.

“I think I found a way to talk to her...”

[ahgaseda]

the hot tea || chapter 06

⇥ synopsis : your best friend, Jackson, never fails to argue against your apathy toward love and romance, but his plan to confess his true feelings toward you is rudely interrupted when you start a blog chronicling your past relationships...

⇥ warnings : this story in its entirety includes but is not limited to strong language and dialogue, recurring alcohol or drug use, and explicit sexual content, and is intended for an adult audience only!

“I’m the only guy I know going with his girlfriend to pick out prom dresses.”

The international school you both attended liked to do things completely out of order. Your friends in America had already enjoyed their prom, meanwhile you were only a day past final exams and graduation was looming next week. The timing could not have been more chaotic.

Glancing over your shoulder, you rolled your eyes at your boyfriend as he trudged behind you and said, “That’s because I wasn’t planning on going and this is last minute. All the girls have already gotten theirs and I am not doing this alone.”

Like a petulant child, Mark huffed, “Fine.”

You threw up your hands. “Not my fault you asked me to be your girlfriend a week before prom.”

Mark muttered under his breath, “I was gonna ask you to be my date anyway.”

You stopped, meeting his eyes. “You were?”

“Duh.”

Smiling, you cooed a high-pitched. “Awe.”

Mark shook his head with a laugh and teased, “Focus.”

“Yes, dear,” you retorted.

The next time you met eyes with your boyfriend of one week, you were stepping out of the dressing room in a sapphire colored gown that was much too long.

Mark glanced up from his phone and bobbed his head in approval. “Very nice,” he said in a low tone of voice.

You mulled over yourself in the adjacent mirror, hands on your hips. “A little boring, huh?”

He droned, “It’s only the first one, am I right?”

“You sound thrilled.”

Mark pointed at the door. “Next!”

“Ugh,” you grumbled, returning to the dressing room.

The next gown was fiery red, the colors falling in an ombre down the length of your body. It was a bit ornate for your tastes, but maybe Mark would be into you making a bold fashion statement.

When you stepped out, Mark took one look and lifted a piece of paper he had managed to find in the five minutes it took you to get dressed.

On it was written, nope.

“Seriously?” you snapped, feigning annoyance.

Mark shrugged and replied playfully, “That’s how I feel.”

“Alright,” you exhaled, sashaying back into the dressing room.

Five dresses later, you had only seen the other side of his sign (which read “yep”) on one dress; dark green with a rhinestone encrusted bodice. It was pretty, but you were hoping for something better.

Next came hot pink taffeta, billowing in heavy layers. It was downright hideous. But you knew Mark was losing the will to live and you wanted to get a laugh out of him.

Which you did rather triumphantly.

Mark tossed his head back and laughed until his eyes scrunched. You put your hands on your waist and strutted toward him in your best model runway walk, turning dramatically before him in the ugly dress.

“Yeah, that’s the winner,” said Mark with a slow clap of his hands.

You snorted, amazed how loud the material was with every step you took. “Last one, babe,” you told him as you swished your hips from side to side on your way back to the dressing room.

Mark cast his gaze upward toward the ceiling and groaned, “There is a God.”

Donning the final prom gown option, you glanced at yourself in the mirror and knew this one was the kicker. Gold with cream-colored patterns winding around your middle, it hugged your curves with delight and draped silkily down your legs with a sheer gossamer layer trailing behind you.

You stepped out, eyes on your toes before glancing up to hear the verdict. Mark simply stared, his eyes raking over every inch of you on display before him. A goddess had just stepped out from the dressing room. You were practically glowing.

“Well?” you asked sheepishly.

Mark held up the “yep” sign high above his head with both hands.

You smiled, tucking hair behind your ear. “You alright with wearing a gold tie?”

“I would wear a clown bow if it meant I got to look at you in that for a night.”

You were impressed. “Wow.”

“Damn,” Mark added.

“Looks like we have our dress then,” you spoke softly, a little taken aback by the fire in his eyes. “I’ll take it off, swipe my Dad’s credit card, and we can finally go.”

Mark gave you a thumbs up. “Sounds like a plan.”

The joking and teasing was long gone from before. Your heart had picked up speed in your chest. Never had Mark looked at you like that - like you were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. You would never forget the sight of his jaw scraping across the ground.

Smiling to yourself like a giddy little girl, you tugged at the zipper and didn’t bat an eye when it refused to budge. Moving your arms around, you tried again and still no movement. You made a few more attempts to no avail and that was when you panicked.

“Mark?”

He called back, “Yeah?”

“I, um, well…,” you trailed.

“I’ve got all day,” he deadpanned.

Your face was hot with embarrassment. “The zipper is stuck.”

Mark’s heart skipped a beat. The hour of misery was officially worth it. “I’m coming in,” he announced, moving rather briskly to the dressing room door.

You cracked it open, only revealing one of your eyes and a glimpse of your stern frown. “Do not get me in trouble,” you hissed.

He placed his palms together in front of his chest. “Cross my heart.”

You opened the door, pulled him inside, and locked it swiftly.

“What does this remind me of?” your boyfriend teased, reflecting on that night at the party. The first time you two kissed.

The memory came blazing back into your mind, too. Of that little closet where Mark finally revealed his feelings to you. But you were in too big of a crisis at the moment to linger in it. “Oh, hush, Tuan. I need assistance.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” he teased. In all your time together, he had never looked so mischievous.

Holding up a finger, you told him, “Under no circumstances are you to make any comments about my bra or underwear.”

Mark wiggled his brows. “Are they matching?”

“For fuck’s sake, you’re such a boy.”

“Language,” Mark quipped, never passing up the opportunity to get under your skin. You had been best friends much, much longer than lovers. “Turn around and let me help you.”

You grumbled, but did as told, putting your back to him and drawing your hair out of the way.

Mark stepped closer, close enough you could feel the warmth of his presence on your bare shoulders. His fingers clasped the zipper and tugged, finding some resistance. With a few more pulls, the thing gave way and Mark drew it down your spine.

Had the zipper been that far down when you put the dress on? Your cheeks were flushing with heat when he finally brought it to the end. At the lowest curve of your back where the hem of your pink panties were peeking.

“Okay,” Mark whispered.

“Thank you,” was all you could muster, swallowing the lump in your throat at the tension that had managed to fill the tiny dressing room in the past few seconds.

Mark called your name.

“Yes?”

His voice was a low, hungry growl, “How does your skin look so soft?”

You blushed even more. “It’s probably the lighting in here.”

His eyes were roaming up and down your naked back. Clenching his hands into fists, they were borderline shaking as he staved off the urge to touch you.

“You know, it would take no time at all for me to flick this bra off,” Mark commented offhandedly, but almost in a challenge.

You chuckled. “As someone who has been wearing bras for years, it’s definitely not that easy.”

Mark slipped a finger under your bra strap and let it go before you could realize what he had done. The strap smacked against your skin with a loud, echoing crack and you exclaimed his name in surprise, whipping around to scold your boyfriend for being such an obnoxious brat.

“You little…”

Mark backed you into the wall, enclosing you in his arms and pressing his lips to yours. You smiled against his mouth, wanting so badly to giggle. Carding your fingers into his hair, you kissed him back with abandon.

You liked kissing Mark. Over the past few days, it had clearly become one of your favorite pastimes. The two of you kissed like it was second nature and you just couldn’t stop. You finally understood what puppy love was like. You wanted to be around each other constantly. Your heart hurt when he wasn’t within arm’s reach.

His hurried kisses began to slow and you felt your body thrumming with excitement, but also a longing for something more. He slipped his tongue into your mouth and you battled him for dominance, tugging your grip on his hair and humming softly with contentment.

Mark made a noise, like he was trying to say something but didn’t want to be parted from your lips for even a second. However, the sound you had just made registered squarely in his pants. Finally, he broke the kiss and dropped his head to rest on your shoulder, whining quietly, “We have to stop.”

“Why?” you pouted, wrapping your arms around his waist snugly.

Your boyfriend retorted, “Or I’m going to be walking around the mall with a raging boner.”

You snorted a laugh and quickly covered your face with both hands, hiding in embarrassment.

Mark was snickering, grabbing your wrists and trying to pry them away so he could see your flustered expression. One look at the grin he was sporting made you want to melt.

“I’m sorry,” you teased. “This is the first time I’ve ever… caused one of those.”

“No, it’s not,” Mark replied without missing a beat.

“Oh, god,” you mumbled, wanting to vanish into the wall out of sight.

Mark grabbed your hands again before you could hide behind them and leaned forward to peck the most delicate of kisses on your nose. “I really, really like kissing you,” he whispered, sweet as could be.

“So do I,” you said softly, your attention falling back to his lips. Damn it, you wanted to steal another kiss.

Mark lowered his head shyly, then reached forward to grab the strap of your dress and return it to its position on your shoulder like a gentleman. In all the commotion, you had forgotten the dress was only hanging on by those two straps.

“My vote is for this one,” he said, shuffling toward the door but never turning away from you.

You held the gown securely with your hands, feeling the sharp cold of the wall on your bare back. “Then we have a winner.”

“Okay, I’m going back out here now.”

“I’m right behind you.”

He stepped out, closing the door behind him, and you were left to smile like a blissful idiot.

Closing the laptop, you let go a heavy sigh, resting your head on your hand. Your phone chimed again. Jackson would be on his way to your place after meeting with his friend, but the trip down memory lane spoiled your mood.

Well, your mood for sex at least. After writing and posting the latest entry to your blog, you found you weren’t in the mood to have your brains fucked out.

Downstairs, unbeknownst to you, Jackson finished sending his text to you and slipped the phone into his back pocket. Mark stepped through the door, making the little bell jingle and greeted his friend warmly.

“What’s up, brother?” Jackson replied, grasping his hand.

“All good,” said Mark. “And you?”

Jackson gleamed. “Work hard. Play hard.”

“Still stealing my shit, huh?” Mark joked.

Jackson gulped. The thought of you moaning his name beneath him flashed through his mind.

The two proceeded to chat, catching up. Though they were best friends, life had kept them apart. Busy schedules came before best friends. But deep down, Jackson knew he didn’t make as much effort as he could to see him.

Jackson was an awful liar and the less situations he had to lie in, the better off he was. Mark would never approve of you, his first love, being in Jackson’s bed and Jackson damn well knew that.

“How is she?” Mark asked after some time had passed.

Jackson sucked in a breath. Mark introduced you to him, as a landlord not as a potential partner. He would never speak to him again if he knew you were sleeping together.

“She’s doing good, man,” Jackson finally answered. “Works like a dog. Just like the rest of us.”

Mark nodded. “She called me the other night.”

Jackson strained to hide his surprise, suddenly very nervous. “Oh?”

“Yeah, she sounded kinda off.”

“She’s my friend. I see her all the time.” Jackson paused, choosing his words carefully. “I tell her that she works too hard.”

Mark ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I know I screwed up in a lot of ways, but she’s a good person and she means something to me. I still... just want the best for her.”

“I understand.”

There was a brief, awkward silence. Mark predictably expected Jackson to fill the void with his usual chatty disposition, but Jackson didn’t dare risk giving any hint to the nature of his relationship with you.

Having somewhere to be, Mark stood to leave not long after, embracing his friend and saying, “Next time you’re on my side of town, drop in. I can show you the new setup.”

Jackson agreed he would and added with amusement, “You go through gaming computers faster than you do girls.”

Mark chortled, but his voice was melancholy. “Hey, when you’ve already had Mrs. Right, all you’re left with is Mrs. Right Now.”

Blinking in surprise, Jackson thought of you again and another piece of the puzzle seemed to fall into place.

chapter 05 ⇤ chapter 06 ⇥ chapter 07

Hey there, beautiful! If you enjoyed this, please leave a like or reblog or follow me! Or maybe buy me a coffee so I can keep writing? Or check out my masterlist here for more stories! Thanks for reading :) - Katya

This work is fictional and for entertainment purposes only, but is licensed and protected under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial-noderivatives 4.0 international license. Any instances of plagiarism will be dealt with accordingly. Do not re-post or translate without my permission.

{ copyright 2018-2020 © ahgaseda // all rights reserved }

[dragonlily88]

Your Love Gives Me Strength - Pacifica Northwest/Mabel Pines (Commission)

(This was my very first writing commission. It took me way longer then I would have liked... thank you so much @wombatking for commissioning me and being so patient. Story down below)

“Mabel… are you sure you want to do this?”

 “Yes, Dipper.” Mabel narrowed her brown eyes at her brother, a serious look in them that was rare to see in them. “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my entire life.”

 Rolling his eyes, Dipper picked up the bottle of bright green nail polish. “Man, what shade of green is this? Radioactive snot?”

 Laughing, she watched the slow and careful strokes of the brush on her nails. “I think it’s actually called electric lime or something like that. I see you painted your own nails for this.”

 Taking a quick glance at his own nails before returning to the task at hand, Dipper’s cheeks took on a light pink tint. “Y-Yeah… black and gold are his favorite colors so…”

 “Oh, I see. Your super smart and totally hot boyfriend convinced you to let him paint them, didn’t he?”

 “N-No!”

 “...You feel for the puppy dog eyes.”

 “I feel for the puppy dog eyes.”  Sighing, his lips curled into a small smile at the memory. “He said that my nails were a blank canvas for him to express himself on.”

 “I bet that’s not the only thing about you that he compared to a canvas.” Wiggling her eyebrows, She laughed as her brother’s face turned a shade of red that would put a tomato to shame.

 “Mabel!”

 “Speaking of your rather attractive college artist boyfriend, where is he now? Still studying in Tokyo?”

 “Rome, actually. He’s thinking about staying there until he finishes school.”

 “I’m still surprised mom and dad let you date him.” Mabel didn’t hear anything he said after that as she focused on the date on the calendar. Today she was going to be going to a Pride Parade with her brother and girlfriend. She was so excited but also…  scared. So many bad things could happen. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe… maybe she should just stay home.

 “Mabel? Hello! Earth to Mabel!” Waving his hand in front of her face, Dipper made a face at the far off look in his sister’s eyes. “Are you in there? Mabel!”

 “Wha! Dipper, don’t scare me like that!” If she were still able to move her legs, Mabel was almost certain that Dipper would be wearing that bottle of nail polish.

 “You’re the one staring off into space… are you okay? You haven’t done that in a while.”

 “What are you talking about? I did that just last week when we were video chatting.”

 “Yeah, but when you finally snapped out of it you yelled, and I quote, “Not the kittens! Take me instead!” then proceeded to yell for Pacifica to bring you your teddy bear.”

 “His name is Captain Rehpic and he’s my second in command.”

 “Mabel, I’m serious. Are you okay?”

  Was  she okay? If she were being honest, no. She was a complete anxiety-filled, scared mess. Not that she would admit that so easily. That’d be like admitting defeat and that was something Mabel only did begrudgingly. So, she did the only thing she could think of at times like this. Put on a brave face and pretend that everything was fine. 

 “Dipper, I’m okay.”

 He knew that smile. Knew it all too well. Mabel was fighting a battle he’d never understand. This meant that no matter how much he wanted to help, he just couldn’t be what she needed to win at this moment. He’d let it go, for now. However, this will not stop him from worrying or passing on the information. If he knew Mabel - and oh lord, did he know his sister like the back of his eyelids - she’d seek out help when she really needed it. All he could do was silently offer his help and be there, waiting.

 “Alright. I trust you. Just know that if you ever need my help or to talk you can always count on me.”

 “I know… thank you.”

 “Mabel!”

 “Oh joy. Your rich, pretty, and sassy girlfriend is here.”

 “I bet she would get along with your boyfriend. They seem to have a lot in common.”

 “Whatever. I’m gonna grab a soda while we wait for your nails to dry. You should start thinking about where you want to get lunch on the way to the parade.”

 “Righty-o boss man!” As soon as the door was closed behind him, Mabel lost her smile. She could do this. Though, what she heard on the other side of the door was not helping her feel confident. 

 “You’ll never guess what I got for your…” Pacifica trailed off when she saw Dipper standing outside of the bedroom, leaning on the closed door. He had his arms crossed and a serious face. The last time he had looked at her like that was when she and Mabel had started dating. “What did I do this time?”

 “Nothing. But, we still need to talk.”

 ~*~

 “There. All set.” Taking a step back from her girlfriend, Pacifica smiled at her work. “Purple is definitely your color. Also, you were right about the skirt. Shorts just wouldn’t go with the outfit.”

 “Does that mean I’m the new fashion queen?”

 “I thought your fans answered that question for you long ago.” As they laughed together, Pacifica pulled out her own outfit for the parade. “Do you like it? I made it myself.”

 “Uh, I love it! What a dumb question. You work that ombre, girl.” Watching her start to strip out of her current outfit, Mabel let out a low whistle. “It must be my lucky day.”

 Placing her hands on her hips, Pacifica gave her an amused smile. “This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. Not to mention, I just stripped you not even five minutes ago.”

 “Does this mean you like me?”

 “Something like that.” Giggling, Pacifica finished getting ready. “Do you know where you want to eat yet?”

 “That cute little cafe near the park that takes in stray cats?”

 “You want to go to  Catfeine? Why am I not surprised? Though… it is a rather adorable place with really good food.”

 “Yay! Caffeine, kitties, and pastries!” 

 A loud groan and dull thud that the girls could only guess was Dipper smacking his head on something came from the hall. “She doesn’t need any more caffeine and sugar, you crazy woman!”

 “Let’s get going before your brother overrules you.”

 ~*~

 “Mabel, do reasonable. You do not need all of those-”

 “Silence! I have spoken! Give me more!”

 Sighing, Dipper pinched the bridge of his nose. The last thing he wanted was to be stared at by strangers in a cat-themed cafe while his sister yelled at him about stickers. “You have a problem.”

 “YOU HAVE A PROBLEM!”

 “You’re gonna get us kicked out if you keep yelling.” Taking another look at his sister’s wheelchair that could now pass as a float, Dipper fixed Pacifica with an annoyed look. “I blame you.”

 “What? All I’m doing is making my girlfriend feel beautiful and happy.”

 “You’re feeding her sticker and glitter addiction.”

 “Which makes her happy. Honestly, it’s not the worst thing she could be addicted to.” Tying the last sparkling ribbon to the chair, Pacifica took her seat at their table. “What do you think?”

 “I think that I have the best girlfriend ever. Dipper would never cover me in glitter.”

 “It gets everywhere! Last time I helped you with doing glitter eyeshadow it somehow ended up on me and I kept finding it the weirdest places.” 

 “Where was the weirdest place?”

 “...You don’t wanna know.”

 The three laughed as their food - or in Mabel’s case, dessert - was set down in front of them. The conversation kept going between the two as Mabel just silently stared at her food, almost as if trying to will the spoon into her mouth.

 “Uh… Mabel-”

 “No. I got this.”

 Sharing a look with Dipper, Pacifica reached over towards Mabel’s spoon. “Sweetie, let me-”

 “No! I can… I can… I can’t do this anymore! I’m tired of being completely useless! I mean… I’m not able to do anything on my own. I need help doing everything! Do you have any idea what this feels like? To not be able to do even the simplest of things?”

 “Mabel… why didn’t you talk to us about this sooner instead of just locking how you felt away?”

 Looking down at her lap, Mabel couldn’t find it in her to look either of them in the eye. “Because I thought I could handle it. I figured that maybe if I can’t take care of myself anymore, I could at the very least handle my own thoughts and feelings for once.”

  “I learned very quickly after that, that I didn’t have to do it alone. No matter how stubborn I can get. Going through something is hard for everyone physically, mentally, and emotionally… I don’t know how I got so lucky to have the people that I do in my life. After a much-needed cry and group cuddle session, along with dessert, we were off to have a great time at pride.”

 “Miss. Mabel?” A kid rolled up to the group in a wheelchair with their mother. They looked nervous, holding a picture that Mabel quickly recognized.

 “That’s the limited print we did for the blog!” The picture was of her, Pacafic, and Dipper in some wacky design she had dared them to wear with her for April Fools.

  “Turns out that they were a huge fan of my blog and that I had inspired them to chase their own dream of being a professional athlete.”  Pacafic held up a picture of two taken at the parade, the kid beaming.  “Their name is Alex and they were in a horrible car accident that left them paralyzed from the waist down. Seems they were going through the same problems as I was, not talking about how they felt or asking for help. But they’re seeing a therapist to help… actually, I am now too, thanks to Alex.”

  “We still see the little slugger from time to time either for collaborative videos or when we get invited to their games.”

  “Yeah! Man, can that kid play some mean baseball!” A loud thud came from upstairs, causing the girls to sigh in annoyance. 

  “Dipper! Tell your boyfriend to calm down and keep it in his pants for just a couple of seconds so we can finish the video!”

Laughing as she left the room, Mabel continued.  “Long story short... I learned a lot these past few weeks. I never knew that I would miss being able to do small things like change my own clothes or feed myself until I wasn’t able to anymore. But, on the bright side, I get to take baths with my beautiful girlfriend whenever I need one. I have such wonderful, caring people who love and support me in any way they can… and you guys do too! If you’re facing a battle make sure you don’t fight by yourself. I’m sure there’s an army, no matter how small, waiting in the wings to fight alongside you. You can get through things together. Stay beautiful and true to yourself. Mabel, signing out.”

[welcome-my-sunflower-blog]

heliotropism (prologue 1)

☼ Pairing: Stray Kids x fem!Reader (possible 9 routes??)

☼ Genre: angel au!, romance, mystery

☼ Warning: some violence, possible trigger warnings (?)

☼ Word Count: 4.2k

☼ PART TWO | PART THREE

☼ Summary: 

You finally got into the angel academy to keep a promise you had to uphold no matter what - however with your dyed and uneven wings, tough demeanor, and broken soul, you find yourself in the lowest of color ranks and surrounded by angels that can’t seem to leave you alone. One day out of the blue, you find a letter with your name on it and discover that someone knows the reasons why the real color of your wings aren’t like everyone else’s. And in order to uncover the truths about yourself, you have to find the person writing the letters; even if it means discovering things that could risk your life.

☼ Reader’s note: hello there! any pictures, gifs and vectors used in this story do not belong to me and all credits go towards their rightful owners! i hope you guys will like reading it and if you have any questions or comments, please let me know! this series might be a tad bit long and nine routes are a lot so hopefully we’ll get through it together! thank you for taking your time to read this!

 [ prologue; part one ]

“Whoa, do you see that girl’s wings?” Jisung nudged Hyunjin who was fidgeting nervously as they were commanded by their captains to stand in line formation for orientation. The two of them glanced at you standing with the other new female angels and the thing that caught their attention was the fact that your left wing was missing a good bottom chunk of it. Other angels were staring at you as well; some with the same curiosity and intrigment as the two boys while others were disgusted. Out of all the other females, you had these weirdly dyed feathers that stood out from the usual pure white or silver gray; the top ombred down from raven black, chestnut brown, smoky gray to icy blue. Of course, your left wing stopped at the end of brown and beginning of gray.

 “Yeah, but we shouldn’t stare. It’s none of our business.” Hyunjin whispered under his breath when your eyes briefly met his and looked away. They were as soulless as your appearance deemed to be and he wasn’t even sure if this was an angel he was looking at; angels were supposed to be full of life and luster. All he could see from you was just darkness.

 The captains that were starting their orientation speeches in turns also took notice of the rebellious state of your wings; but they mainly focused their attention on the other new freshmen that seemed to have trouble paying attention. One of the captains, Chan, sighed to himself when Woojin started scolding them for their lack of attentiveness and glanced at you once to know that this year was going to be filled with turn of events. 

  As dreary as it seemed, Chan was kind of glad inside to be seeing some change once in a while in that place; the number of freshmen he’d seen since he became captain carried themselves almost in the same way as one another. They were angels, yes, and they were suppose to radiate and shine like the pure souls they were, however it meant that they also carried the most darkness in their hearts unlike demons. Demons didn't have to hide their darkness, they were an open book that bled rage, torture and evil.

 The darkness inside of you seemed to have seeped through the cracks of the walls around your heart and crumbled it down; it was now overflowing and consuming you from the inside out. You wore the wings, but your heart wasn’t an angel’s and it was obvious from your appearance; the huge downside of it was that it was basically an exposed weakness that others could peck and pick at. It made you an outcast and of course outcasts weren’t tolerated within the orderly norm.

 “Each of you have been assigned a dorm room. If you look in the orientation folder we’re handing out to you, you’ll find it inside.” Woojin explained with a firm tone as he had the present Lieutenants pass out white folders to the freshmen. “They’re color coordinated and each of them tells you which dorm you’ll be living in. Based on the entrance test that each of you were given before coming here, it’ll determine which class you guys will be in as well. Gold means you excelled our expectations, silver means you’re close but not close enough, bronze means you’re decent and average but need improvement, and red means you sucked a lot and you will struggle if you don't put effort. Once you get your folder, you can pull out your cards.”

 “Aw man… I did that badly?” Jisung muttered disappointedly when he pulled out a crimson card despite anticipating it to be at least a silver. “Damn... what about you Hyun-oh hey! You did just as bad!”

 Hyunjin rolled his eyes and gave his friend a stink eye when he also pulled out a crimson card with the same room number as him. They ended up as roommates only because they were literally the only angels to get crimson cards; there was maybe one or two gold cards, a handful of silver and a bunch of bronze, which made up the majority of the female angels.

 Someone in the room gasped and most of the freshman started whispering to one another when you pulled out your card. You eyed the pitch black color and saw no room number or anything on it; it was just a solid black card. The female angels who were near you stepped away and you just held it in your hands.

 “Captain! Black isn’t one of the colors you mentions.” One of the male angels raised their hands and Woojin sent him a glare that said ‘shut up’ before approaching you.

 “Come with me.” He said gruffly before seriously walking away, leaving Chan to wrap up the orientation so that the Lieutenants and RAs could lead them to the dorms. You hesitantly put away the card and followed him past a double door that lead into a very tall hallway. The height of the walls made you anxious as you dragged your feet after Woojin who entered another room, holding the door open for you. “Have a seat.”

 You just nodded slightly before slowly sitting down on one of the leather chairs in front of his desk. There was a thick glass name plate on top of the surface that spelled out “Kim Woojin; Gold-Silver Captain and Division 2 leader”; it seemed pretty heavy and could be used as a blunt weapon in case needed to, which you weren’t definitely thinking you had to, but it was an option in case it came to defending yourself. Woojin didn't seem like he would hurt you but it was obvious that he was looking at you as if you were a threat.

 “You’re lucky,” he muttered as he pulled up your file on his glass monitor; you could clearly see what was written about you and the information the academy had, however it was all backwards so you didn't even bother reading it. You knew how you did on the entrance test - it wasn’t a surprise that there weren’t any good things about you in their system. “-only one person in angel history has ever gotten a black card and that angel is no longer in commission. If you can’t tell, I’m being sarcastic by the way so don't expect any good news out of this.”

 “I’m not.” You bluntly replied and Woojin was slightly impressed with your stoic attitude before scanning your results to see only one sentence that summed it up.

 “So you were pulled out of the entrance test because of the condition of your wings. An angel that can’t fly. Not something we see every day.” The timber-gray winged captain observed your appearance and crossed his arms in amusement. “You’re not like the other freshmen in that room. You’ve been an angel quite longer than they have from what I can tell. Is that correct?”

 “A year.”

 “Why did you decide to join the academy now?”

 “I made a promise to someone.” You were in a predicament, something that was out of your hands and something that was threatening to your existence; you had the choice to tell someone, to get help, but you decided to not say anything. The less others knew about the horrors you had to endure for that whole year on the other side of those walls, the high chances of you getting through the next four years without the detection of the nightmares that were chasing you.

 “Angels like you who join too late don't ever make it. You realize that, right?” Woojin arched a brow in confusion since this was the first time he ever heard of an angel joining because of a mere promise. 

  He could immediately tell there was much more to you than meets the eye and for you to join the academy instead of continuing to be a civilian angel said a lot; civilian angels had the benefits of seeing their deceased family members again and to live with them to gradually build credit in order to reincarnate, and it was honestly the better option than being a soldier. Training to be a soldier was the fast-track way of getting out of there and being reborn again, however it wasn’t exactly ideal and was gruesome because of how easy angels could become corrupt and turn on one another within these walls.

 “I’m well aware of that, Captain.” You responded with a firm nod and he sighed; there was no use trying to persuade you to turn your back while you had the chance even if he kept it up. You weren’t leaving and Woojin could see that determination reflect in your eyes despite the lack of emotions in them earlier.

 “You’re a tough cookie. I can see you’ll be able to make it to red, but from the condition of your wings, it’ll be tough. Very tough. We can take care of it for you here with our advance medicine if you would like. The healing process will be long though and it will be a while before you can fly normally depending on how resilient you are. But it’ll be painful. Would you like to do that? I want to give you all the options I can give you before I let you loose.”

 “No. I don't want it.” You quickly shook your head to Woojin surprise; most angels who had uneven wings (injured or borned like that) would hesitate before deciding. Healing meant going through painful, agonizing hours of slow regeneration and leaving it meant almost no hope of being able to fly properly without assistance. He had seen a handful of angels who refused and suffered greatly before finally agreeing to the process.

 “Alright. If you ever think about it though, the option is still open. Now, we have to talk about the appearance of your wings. Dyed feathers are prohibited here.”

 “They’re permanent.”

 “The board doesn’t care.” Woojin sighed at your stubbornness and eyed the colors on your feathers; the colors were vibrant and whoever dyed it was very skilled. The ombre effect was beautifully presented and he could even see the beauty and significance in the colors and technique you chose - however it didn't change the fact that it wasn’t appropriate for soldiers. He couldn’t even tell what the real color of your wings were, but if he had to imagine, he could see you in a stunning silver; it would’ve definitely brighten up your dulled complexions and made you seem...more lively in angel terms.

 “I can’t take them off… If you force me too, then I’d rather you chop my wings off.” You bit the bottom of your lips and tightened your fists until they were pale white. The more the two of you talked about your wings, the more nervous and anxious you became; you knew it was going to be an issue, but there was no way you could reveal the real colors of your wings; it didn't made sense compared to the other colors you’d seen.

 “Okay, we are not resorting to that,” Woojin immediately frowned, uneasy about the thought of having to confiscate any angel’s wings; that was basically death for them. “-can’t you dye it to another color? Maybe silver?”

 “I chose these colors because they’re symbolic… but if it’s the determining factor whether or not I get to stay then fine. I’ll dye it. Is that all that we need to cover?” You really didn't like the fact that you had to dye your feathers again since you were actually pretty attached to it, but you staying in the academy was more important.

 “One more. I promise I won’t keep you long. Since you are the only angel in this academy with a black card, you’ll be staying in the red dorm. You’ll have your own dorm to yourself, which is actually a nice benefit, and you’ll be attending the same classes as the red cards. However, because you are still a black card, you have to meet with me or Chan, our other Captain, every month for an update session and at the end of the four cycles, you’ll have to go through a trial to determine your eligibility to rank up to red. You’ll be assigned to a Lieutenant that will do one-on-one sessions with you in flying simulations every week until you get out of black. Once you’re a red, you’ll have more room to breathe and a little more freedom to work with.” Woojin explained and gave you a small pager. “This will remind you of your sessions and give you warnings when each cycle ends. Any questions? If not, you are free to leave. My Lieutenant is waiting outside to escort you to the red dorm.”

 “Not that I can find answers to myself.” You responded and took the pager, stuffing it into your bomber jacket pocket before standing up. Woojin just gave you a nod before starting on the paperworks he needed to finish. You walked to the door and opened it to find a handsome, brown-haired angel leaning his back against the wall in front of the door.  He looked up from his phone and immediately gave you a smile, which confused you.

 “And here I thought I met all the beautiful angels already,” Woojin’s Lieutenant chuckled as he held out his hand for you to shake. “-I’m Minho. But everyone calls me Lee Know. You are…?”

 “Out of your league,” Woojin raised his voice from inside his office, making Minho pout. “-stop flirting with her and get her to her dorm!”

 “Miss. Out-of-my-league. That’s perfect.” Minho grinned at you as you started to worry about whether or not you were going to be in good hands with this dude or not; he seemed… kind of too carefree.

 “It’s Y/N…” You muttered as Minho started leading you out of the offices of the Captains and Lieutenants into another building.

 “I think I like Miss. Out-of-my-league a little better. But you do have a beautiful name. I won’t forget it, don't worry.” Minho chuckled and a couple resident angels started giving you weird looks as the two of you were walking to the red dorm; their gazes burned into your skin as you dodged their eyes. The gray spotted winged Lieutenant slowed his pace down and walked beside you, sending threatening glares to anyone who looked your way and smiled at the successful outcome. He noticed your shoulders kind of relax just a tad bit when angels started to look away from you and it made him feel a bit sad.

 Aside from the condition of your wings and all, you were honestly a good-looking angel; maybe a bit on the ordinary side but where they were, ordinary was actually really good. The female angels Minho knew and noticed on campus loved to stick out somehow as long as they didn't change the appearance of their wings and he was tired of the different views but the same personalities; either they were too gruff and rough for him or they were too easy to manipulate and were too demanding. He saw few quiet, shy and reserved female angels like you and even if he did try to approach them, they stayed far away from him and made their presence very little. You, on the other hand, had an impressing presence and you were a closed book that Minho couldn’t read because he had no idea what genre you were.

 “Well, we’re here, sadly… I didn't want our walk to end and I enjoyed our conversations,” Minho joked even though you seemed unamused by it and grinned happily. “-I hope I get assigned to do flying lessons one-on-one with you.”

 “Uh… Is that a good idea?” You kind of frowned, not really sure if you wanted Minho to be your flying trainer; as optimistic and flirty as the dude was, you were slightly uncomfortable with how bold he was.

 “Of course! I’m way better than Changbin and those other Lieutenants. If you ask me, they all suck and Changbin is the worse. He won’t even talk to you. He’ll just grunt and make hand motions like a crazy person like this.” He moved his hands around weirdly and you found yourself suddenly unappealed at the thought of having any of these two be your flying trainer; he didn't specify why the other unnamed Lieutenants sucked, probably because he was just boosting his own ego, but they seemed like a better choice.

 “Right… Anyways, um.. thanks for showing me the way.” You glanced at the interior of the red dorm’s lobby and gave Minho a brief wave before walking up to the front desk. Suddenly, he grabbed your hand, making you stop in your tracks. “Watch it!” Feeling confusion and shock, you yanked your hand away from him and he gave you a guilty expression.

 “S-Sorry… I didn't mean to grab you like that.”

 “It’s fine. I don't like people touching me… What do you need?” You held your wrist in your other hand and Minho shifted sheepishly in his feet before giving you an apologetic look.

 “Don't listen to what other angels say. Don't worry about what they think. They’re just a bunch of egotistical, petty narcissists that think they are better than everyone. If anything happens, you can talk to me. I may not look like it, but I know a thing or two about standing out.”

 “Uh, I’m pretty sure your definition of ‘standing out’ is different from my definition of ‘standing out’,” You muttered in a slight sense of disbelief at the sudden reassurance. “-but thanks, I guess? I’ll keep that in mind if I need it.”

 “You’d be surprised.” Minho chuckled softly and was about to ruffle the top of your head, when he froze and pulled his hand back. “Sorry… force of habit.”

 “It’s okay. I um… appreciate the thought. Thanks again, Minho.” You tried your best to force a smile, as awkward and uncomfortable as it was; he knew it wasn’t your normal smile and that it was pretty darn awkward as well, but it was a start. You tried and he appreciated that. You weren’t as bad as he thought you were from what he heard; gossips were just gossips and the you who was standing in front of him was definitely far from what they said.

.

.

 “Black card girl.” A white-gray winged angel at the front desk greeted you with an amused chuckle as he slightly leaned forward to get a good look at you. You tensed up as he stared at your eyes and then at your wings before smirking. He pulled away and spread out his wings as if to let you know this was how you could identify him. This boy’s wings were mostly white, but there were tints of gray here and here; what surprised you was the length of them. His left one was slightly shorter than the other one, but it didn't seem like it was because of an injury. “I didn't get hurt or anything, if that’s what you’re wondering. My name is Seungmin, by the way. I’m the RA for this dorm.”

 “Y/N…” You nodded slightly and frowned in confusion; what did he mean by he didn't get hurt? Unless-

 “I was born like this,” Seungmin chuckled and stepped away from the desk to stand in front of you; okay, he was slightly taller than Minho, however this boy did have a nice decent set of calves. He probably ran more than he flew, which made sense since his wings were uneven. “-that’s why I’m a Red. Been training for months and you could say I’ve been improving, but it’s better than being in pain all day from regeneration.”

 “You...didn't have to tell me all that. I’m not naturally a nosy person.”

 Seungmin just shrugged, not minding that he told you more than he needed to about himself. He suddenly felt an unnecessary amount of eyes watching the two of you, more specifically just you, and looked up to see several Reds observing you from the second and third floor balconies. You followed his gaze, finally noticing the handful of angels watching you from above. Two of them you recognized to be the two freshmen boys that received Red cards themselves and when you made eye contact with the one with multiple piercings, he quickly turned away with his friend following him.

 “What’re you guys looking at, huh? If you guys don't mind your own businesses, I might have all of you do cleaning duty. I’ll make sure this place is nice and sparkly.” Seungmin just grinned almost threateningly as most of the angels scattered in fear of the danger behind his smile. However, there were some that continued to glare at you, even as they slowly grouped together before walking away from the balcony. “Don't mind them. They’re just not used to sharing the space.”

 “Because I’m different from them.” You muttered, glancing at your intimidating wings before Seungmin just laughed. He shook his head and motioned for you to follow him up the stairs.

 “You’re not different. It doesn’t seem like it, but they’re threatened by you. They’re scared because you’re tough and you have bad ass wings. You’re safe here as long as I’m around, so don't feel as if you need to look behind your shoulders all the time.” The RA led you down a hallway on the third floor and there were some angels conversing and chilling there until they saw you. They immediately went quiet and you could feel your stomach twisting in an odd way as you started to get anxious; however, they didn't do anything. They went back to talking as if nothing happened and it felt like a weight was somewhat lifted off your shoulders.

 “And here’s your room. It’s all yours and you’re welcome to decorate it however you like.” Seungmin grinned as the two of you stopped at room 3-T. He motioned for you to open your hands and you hesitated before doing so and feeling a pair of keys dropped into your palms. “Be wise on how you use your spare. Most RAs, for example the Gold RAs, only give newbies one key and charge for the second. I’m pretty nice so I give two freebies and I charge for any replacements. If you need anything fixed or if anything breaks, I’m in room 2-G. We don't have a curfew on what time everyone needs to be in bed by, however nobody is allowed to leave the dorm from midnight to five in the morning without a proper excuse.”

 “Why?” You frowned and examined the keys, feeling as if they were kind of missing something; you weren’t too good about remembering where things are so if these keys didn't stand out, you would easily misplace them. It was nice of Seungmin to provide a spare with the original key, however you wouldn’t be surprised if they were both gone by the end of the month - and taking into account of where you were and the impression you left of the other angels, it was probably not safe to just misplace or leave your things around. There had to be a way for you to make it easier to remember where things were.

 “I’ll leave that up for you to find out. I gotta go to a meeting for the RAs and it’s mandatory, so our mini tour ends here. If you want a full one to get a feel of the place, you should probably ask one of the residents or just look around yourself. As long as you know where the lobby and the nearest stairs are, you’ll be fine.” Seungmin glanced at his phone when he realized what time it was and gave you a thumbs up. “You’ll fit in just fine here, new girl. I’ll catch you around.”

 Once your RA hurriedly left, you looked down at the pair of keys one more time before inserting one of them into the keyhole. The door opened and you were about to walk in when you heard a struggle behind you from your neighbors in the room across yours. When you turned around, the door opened and someone came stumbling out, saying something incoherent before crashing into you.

 “Whoops…?” Jisung’s eyes widened when he watched the entire scene unfold as you were crushed under a groaning Hyunjin who was wondering what the heck he landed on. His air headed blonde roommate covered his mouth in shock as the two of you finally got the gears in your heads working.

 Your eyes widened when you felt feathers in your face and a heavy weight pinning you down onto the floor. Your own wings, almost seeming as if they sensed some sort of danger, started nervously flapping and tried to get free until the heavy weight on top of you gasped before cursing at Jisung.

 “My bad, dude...”

 Hyunjin growled in annoyance as he had trouble getting himself off you since his wings were kind of too big for your doorway. You yelped when his wing hit you in the face and you landed backwards when trying to sit up. He froze and slowly turned around as much as he could to see you holding your bleeding nose.

 “Oh my god.”

 “A bit of help please?” You winced as you pinched your nose to prevent the blood from just streaming out while Jisung and Hyunjin stared at you with wide eyes as if you had grown two heads.

.

[to be continued in prologue; part two]

|Angel Index;| just some extra information/fun facts~

Ranking color orders: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Red, (Black)

Superiority ranking: Captain, Lieutenant, RAs, Residents, Freshmen

|Your to-do list;| for funsies~

check out your pager

look through the freshmen packet (pft, maybe if you get bored that is)

find something to decorate your dorm keys

get a calendar to mark important dates (such as the end-cycle trial, flying lessons, assignments, etc)

explore? (depending on your mood)

|Both will be updated throughout the story (if i remember ^^;)|

[rgr-pop]

Here is probably everything else I wore out and about this year less often or less memorably, I guess? It doesn’t seem like it, but I guess! 

eyes:

Recently I’ve been trying to get use out of Subculture’s stone shade, Mercury. I really, really want to do grey and taupe and stone eye looks but I do not have what I need. This particular shade darkens a lot. I want to keep Subculture out to try to do new things with it–make that shade work more with the yellows, use the rosy shades, wear that metallic ONCE (I never have!!). I don’t really even remember wearing the Kristen Leanne palette this year, it was probably either the purple or the gold. This thing really is very pretty but it’s full of the kinds of potential looks I’ve already mastered and am unchallenged by. The UD Nocturnal palette is getting quite old and I’m trying to breathe new life into it–tried some looks with that purple and silver but it’s not the Cool Toned™ look I’m craving… I only use the mattes WnW’s revamped Comfort Zone palette (for how many years will we refer to it like that?) but I like them, as far as neutrals go. That Dior palette came from one of you guys and I’m still trying to figure out what it’s good for–I think I’m going to wear it on my face? That center shade in particular is just lovely for me. These just feel delicious.

Colourpop Sprinkle Me (this is kind of my go-to shimmery neutral “topper” shade, to the extent that I think it makes me lazy and I’m trying to use it left) and Don’t Leave, L’Oreal Infallible in Golden Emerald (these are still so good!), a Stila Magnificent Metals, the old kind you mix with a medium, in Metallic Gilded Gold. I did wear one of the Glitter and Glows this year but I guess it didn’t end up in here! MAC’s Bird of Prey pressed pigment from that LE Star Trek line–this remains just okay for me but I respect my choice to purchase it based on having the best of all the shade names! Bunch of fucking pencils, idk, I’m very lost when it comes to pencils: a NYX jumbo in Cashmere, a NYX retractable in Gold, Milani glitter retractable in Emerald Stone: they are all fine. A lot of this green and gold stuff was my NYE look. 

I seem to recall doing an all-over-the-face look with that fluorescent pink Sweetpea & Fay pigment. I still have this! Pigments last forever! I am gonna keep this out for a blush. 

There are three Grinch liquid liners from Pur that Westlin got me for Christmas (!) and I’ve been playing around with them. Reader, I’m out of practice. I’m not good at liquid liner. That is why I had coveted this set in the first place, because I didn’t have any and they’re the brush kind, which I always liked back in the days when we all wore liquid liner. But the learning curve is killing me a little bit here. 

Two things I got from @madmoths that I’m still playing around with. That CYO mascara is GREEN! A dark green, pretty subtle on bare lashes. I wore it a few times then I wanted to keep it closed for a while until I got a white primer to try it with, so it didn’t dry out (esp given I have 100 mascaras open currently). I will report how it looks over the primer! What color eyeshadow with an evergreen lash? This would be a great time for a milky matte pink or mauve, which I DO NOT have! Strawberry milk + pine is a good colour combination. Then, black cherry or plum (for spring) and maybe mustard yellow. Seems like that is the agenda! Then there is a MAC dazzleshadow in Can’t Stop Won’t Stop. This has a plummy base with a looovely perfect light blue glitter in it, I’m trying to figure out the best way to layer it to bring out the blue. It is part of my cherry for spring plan! Sometimes I feel like I have a hard time wearing dark shades on my lid without feeling too…formal? And this is something I’m trying to get over. I think wearing them in particularly informal settings will help. (Maybe this is reservations about “sexy”?) This would look so good with a powder blue liner.

face:

I realize now that I should have put Anastasia’s Moonchild palette in my more used pile, I had totally forgotten about how all of January I wanted to be tin man. That silver-grey looks very flattering on me, but I want it to look grey. I want a fucking grey face highlighter. Pale princess problems :(

UD’s Bittersweet Afterglow blush, NYX’s Codebreaker ombre blush and Pinky powder blush: these are fine. Becca’s Opal is fine. That WnW Zodiac highlighting bar (Earth) is nice, it’s fine. It kinda made me like Mary Loumanizer, of all things, more, in comparison. That peachy Vera Mona thing is an eyeshadow that I wear as a blush. I am always thinking that I wish I had a peachy shimmery blush and forgetting I have that. I do not recommend those WnW stick blushes. I somewhat strongly recommend the Revolution liquid highlighters and the WnW Hello Halo liquid highlighters, the above are in the shades Liquid Champagne and Guilded (?) Glow. I like the Revolution one marginally better on me, easier to blend out.

I really wanted to like that Hourglass Vanish stick highlighter when it came out and I was amped to get a mini, it was so hyped and well-regarded. The shade is Champagne something or other. Maybe it’s just that I don’t wear foundation? But I don’t find this to be any nicer than any other stick highlighter I’ve tried, and I do like that kind of thing. It’s okay. 

That WnW Illuminating Palette is still pretty nice, I feel like whenever I get bored of it I find a new way to use it. I have an idea about that and that little Vintage pink blush-highlight, they are both relatively subtle and very smooth: I think I might try to use them as finishing powders all over my whole face. Will report back. 

That Colourpop blush is in the shade Bardot and I’m making a point to use it henceforth, these things don’t have forever shelf lives. It’s nice! I don’t love the super shock formula for blush specifically, I think it’s finnicky on a brush.

Oh! and my City Color Be Matte blush in Fresh Melon. Still my favorite. I’m a little concerned that it’s getting drier, and I cannot replace it!!

lips:

MAC Watch Me Simmer, still maybe my favorite lipstick of all time when I wear it, still haven’t found a dupe, lately I’m into wearing it very blotted out, because their cremes do emphasize lip weirdness and my lips have been VERY WEIRD. 

The only thing here whose color isn’t represented well is that Maybelline lipstick. It’s called Fiery Fuchsia and I got it on super clearance. It is fairly similar to the fuchsia from the new Maybelline line, the one Nyma Tang had me wanting to buy, but this one was on clearance for like $3 likely for that reason, AND its # is 810 (flint area code). So far I quite like it, one of my favorite lipstick color families on me is what I call “dark pinks,” which are hot lipstick pinks at a darker value that haven’t been desaturated. This one is the most vibrant one in my collection so far and I imagine it’ll be an everyday shade for me. I’d like to get myself a liner in this family, because I’ve been relying more on liners since my lips have been Extremely Weird.

Here is Fenty’s Vay Cray gloss–this gets less winter time wear from me, because it can emphasize Weirdness, but it is ideal in the summer. Revlon’s HD matte metallic something or other in HD Dazzle is fine, Lucas got it for me hoping it would replace this (the only lip item I have EVER LOST! and mourn daily). It doesn’t, but I like it. More of those Benefit glosses in Hoola and Bella Bamba. Tom Ford Indian Rose: this is really nice especially if you have Weird Lip problems, but I like that Bare Minerals one better, maybe! The Bite Sephora birthday gifts– the stick in Glace and the bullet in Chai–are good, they’re fine, I haven’t learned to love them. I’m mad at Bite because a very very old lipstick I had from them finally got like, lowkey rancid, and it was expensive, and I’m like: what if you didn’t use food grade ingredients, hm? I haven’t found a good reason to wear that green, UD’s Junkie, much since the Christmas season, but I’ll figure it out. That Rimmel is one of my favorite shades,109, but the last time I wore it it was Weird (due to weird lips), so I’ve been afraid of it.

That Colourpop shade is Scorpio Moon (lol of course I bought it) and the quality and experience of it is unbelievable and it makes me want to buy more of them all the time. I’m hoping to get Flower Szn. Their Lux Lipsticks could be the best thing on the market–not just for the price, but for any price–if they kept them consistent and were willing to fill out a permanent range, but they won’t, because they are Colourpop! So they become the best for the price, maybe, but I still think something like Maybelline is a safer bet across the range. Anyway this color is so strange–which is good, it is unique. It turned out to be way more cool-toned on me than I expected, but at the same time it is not cool-toned enough, so I keep wearing it hoping it will be a delicious creamy greige, but it is not. That has been a trend for me this year, I am craving a delicious creamy greige and I have none. Hence these NYX shades, Haze (the straight grey) and Castle (the lavender, what a cute name), both of which I reach for when I want greige, and I end up disappointed, even though they are both good, especially that purple, which is a dear shade to me! 

[latricecawthorne-blog]

Just how to Dress-up Like Gamora from Guardians of the Galexy

Zoe Saldana is a starlet who constantly appears in testing duties. She has turned Gamora's character into among the most effective as well as unforgettable Wonder Comic characters. She looked like Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy 1 as well as 2. She has actually obtained a spectacular look due to her ombre hair and also environment-friendly skin. If you are preparing to appear like Gamora in the cosplay, you must obtain the Gamora cosplay costumes first. It is her costume that makes her look quite charming as well as hazardous. She is Thanos's adopted little girl as well as part of a team that protects deep space against all kinds of dark pressures. That's why she has got a rather distinct costume.

Naturally, it would be tough for anybody to apply the eco-friendly makeup throughout the body in order to appear like Gamora. As a matter of fact, she did not paint her entire body since she was wearing a green body fit. You can also obtain that match online. To get your figure in a perfect shape, either you can workout or attempt a body shapewear to look hot and gorgeous like Gamora. Boots For the boots, you can purchase a pair of burgundy, over-the-knee boots. To make it better, you can put gold air duct tape at the knee. The modern Wonder Woman does not use boots however. She puts on shoes with safety armor, called greaves. A pretty tiara You can develop a paper template or attract a layout, after that craft some foam and also paint it gold to make it look like a headpiece. Ensure it resembles Wonder Woman's a pretty tiara. Without a doubt, the variety of cosplayers rose to appeal over the years as a result of comic conventions. Cosplaying is even more than a hobby to you if you like dressing up as your favored personality. It comes to be an expression of your passion-- the complex costumes speak everything. If in this case, you're questioning what will be your following character, you can start with Wonder Woman. Stylish red as well as black boots make Deadpool cosplay costume look stylish as well as truly unique. So, do not go with any black boot due to the fact that you need these knee-high boots to get a complete Deadpool appearance. This suit really very first debuted in the game called Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions but now it has made its method right into the motion picture also, and from the looks of it, it's a really trendy seek to have. If you such as this Spider Man Far From Home Cosplay Costume as opposed to the red one after that right here's exactly how you can get it: Sword as well as shield If you do not wish to make a sword and also shield, you can go straight to the children's toy section. Boost the sword and also shield by stitching two belts with each other if you want to make it look better. Fingerless Gloves: The gloves below are various from the red and also blue traditional costume and not just because of the color. The gloves are much heavier and also have layers. Utilize an average black glove as the base and then paste or tie a heavy leather glove removed on it. This will certainly provide the large look which this suit has. Everybody has a favored superhero as well as captain marvel suit Universe has used people with a wide range of superheroes. All the Marvel movies are doing fantastic company around the world. It proves exactly how amusing, interesting, as well as remarkable Wonder characters are. Though people's opinion might vary on who is one of the most enjoyable Marvel superhero, Deadpool has definitely obtained a significant follower complying with in the recent few years. This character has acquired everyone's focus, whether it is an adult or a child. He made use of to known as "the Merc with a Mouth" and currently he is preferred as one of the deadliest anti-hero personality who is amusing, skillful, as well as destructive. Lasso A lasso is a rope with a noose at one end. It's created for catching equines or cattle. In Wonder Woman, it's called the Lasso of Fact. It's a tool known to extract reality from people. You can purchase a light-up variation or attach a battery-operated fairy-light as well as rope it to your lasso. Turtle Neck Suit: Obtain the body by getting a full sleeve, black, hefty t shirt. If you desire, gamora cosplay you can make the spidey layout on it. You can simply get any type of such shirt off the countless web shopping sites, no demand to buy this set. Purchase a comfortable costume-- Whether you are going to pick Crawler Man cosplay costume, wonder lady cosplay costume, X-Men cosplay costume or Naruto cosplay costume, to start with you need to need to choose the one which is very comfortable for you. Everybody mosting likely to participate in the cosplay occasions ought to need to ensure that the costume is not also loosened or too tight as well as it needs to remain in your convenience level. This anti-hero personality is really stylish since he uses an energy belt, outfitted with bags for holding tools. Since it looks like the logo design we all have seen in the Deadpool comics, this belt's fastening is one-of-a-kind.

[jlynnhiddles-blog]

Chapter One: The Custom Client

Set in the present, this is a fairytale about a girl making her own way in the world whose work leads her to the man she’d cast as her Prince Charming. Will she try on those glass slippers or will she find out she’s met The Beast? Can two people from different realms risk everything and make it across The Bifrost? Can endings ever be happy? Join me on this adventure, send me a message or a poisoned apple and enjoy!

Jamie glanced up at her workscreen when she heard the incoming message alert from her lab manager, Charlie, requesting her in his office before the end of the day. It was a busy Thursday afternoon in the dental lab where she added color to synthetic crowns to match natural teeth. Most were from pictures, but she was also in charge of seeing patients who came to her for personalized work. Much of the company’s business was from local dentists and they specialized in high end fabrication. Jamie liked the people she worked with and felt lucky to be able to help people get their smiles back. She took a break from the case she was working on and strolled to Charlie’s office, tapping on the edge of the open door.

“Hey Jamie, have a seat,” Charlie smiled. “I need to send you out to do a custom job tomorrow afternoon.”

“Send me out?” she asked, with some surprise. She sat on the leather office chair across from him. “The patient can’t come here?”

“It’s one of Dr. Kline’s patients and apparently it’s a VIP situation. You’ll be meeting the client at their hotel instead of the doctor’s office. But someone from Dr. Kline’s staff will be there, too. They need help selecting the shade and material. It’s just one tooth but they really want to keep the patient happy.” Charlie leaned forward. “This case is really important. The office was happy to pay for your specialized services.”

"Any idea who the patient is?” she asked, intrigued.

“Important enough that they sent over a non-disclosure agreement. They only want you to deal with him. The file name is under Bobby. We have a few pictures but just of the patient’s mouth. I don’t think it’ll be a challenging case. Which makes me even more interested.“

Charlie handed her a copy of the prescription. "Here’s the file information I have so far. They’re sending a driver for you at three tomorrow.”

“A driver? Like an Uber?”

“Pretty sure it’s a private car service. You’re going to a hotel in downtown Tampa. They didn’t want to tell me which one.”

“Sounds like the setup to a slasher flick,” she laughed. “So, count me in.”

Jamie signed and dated the non disclosure. She’d done some work in the entertainment and hospitality industries and the form was standard. Who would she tell, anyway? She walked back to her desk resumed her work. After setting several cases to finish in the specialized ovens, she glanced at the clock and started cleaning up her desk. She took her tablet home to review the pictures of the mysterious Bobby.

Jamie lived alone, save for her two cats, in a second story walk-up apartment. It was a typical evening. She fed her eager cats a can of wet food, played word games with Alexa and made a quick dinner. After the dishes were done and put away, she sat heavily on her loveseat. Her little apartment displayed what she loved. It was quiet, with lots of books and movies, especially her favorite Marvel films from the past ten years. She enjoyed the bright colors, the sweeping overtones, the battle for good, evil, and redemption. She’d always been partial to bad guys. Her childhood heros were Shere-Kahn, Ursula, and Captain Hook. As an adult, Marvel villains kept her interest. Her wall art favored them, as well as other inspirational prints and pictures.

“Alexa, play some Hank Williams.”

She put her feet up on the battered coffee table and found the file on the tablet. The patient had really great teeth, but one incisor was recently and slightly broken. She typed up a quick treatment plan and preliminary shade selections. It would probably be a straightforward fix and a happy patient. She was honestly excited to get out of the lab and find out what the fuss was about.

The next day, Jamie got to work early to make up for the time she’d be gone. A few cases needed to go out that evening, so she settled in but her mind was never far from the impending afternoon excursion. Around 2:30, she had a granola bar and made sure her custom shading kit was packed. A few minutes to three, she poked her head in Charley’s office to tell him she was leaving.

“If I wake up in a bathtub full of ice, missing vital organs, you know I’m blaming you.”

Charlie chuckled and wished her luck.

Pulling out her sunglasses, Jamie walked out the front door of her office and saw the black Lincoln Navigator waiting for her. An imposing gentleman in a black suit was standing in front of it.

“Miss Birch,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

Jamie extended her hand in greeting. She didn’t intimidate easily and she wasn’t sure there was anything to be intimidated by. Yet.

"I’m Bruce,” he said, returning her handshake. “I’ll be driving you today. Are you ready to go?” He towered over her but returned her smile once he shook her hand.

“Absolutely!”

He opened the rear passenger side door and offered her a hand to hold to get in. She had her purse and kit, which was really a dark green diaper bag. Most of the lab employees wear scrubs as part of their uniform, but Fridays are casual. Jamie had decided to wear her scrubs anyway since she was going to be out on official business. The royal blue complimented her light skin. She usually didn’t wear makeup to work, but she’d taken the time today, carefully enhancing her golden brown eyes with metallic shadow and blushing the roundness of her cheeks. A coworker had softly braided her ombre-dipped blonde and brown hair down her back. Working in the smile business, appearances matter.

Bruce closed her door and walked around to the driver’s seat.

“We’re going to downtown Tampa. You can adjust the air conditioning from the center console. Is there anything you need right now?”  

“I’m good, thank you,” she replied.

She pulled out her phone, beaming as always at the green and gold displayed on her lock screen. She still had no idea who the mysterious Bobby was! As they drove, she made polite conversation with Bruce. He looked to be nearing fifty, with fair skin, broad shoulders and close cropped salt and pepper hair. At first, he was all business until he mentioned his daughters and then she saw the crinkles soften his eyes behind his sunglasses. The drive across Tampa Bay was beautiful. She stared out the window and saw a few dolphin fins crest in the waves. She’d worked and lived in other parts of the country, but she always came back home. Before she knew it, they were pulling up to the portico of the hotel. Bruce hopped out to open her door before she had a chance.

"You’ll be met in the lobby by a staff member. Don’t forget your bags.”

“Thanks for the ride, Bruce. Will you be taking me back to my office later?”

He smiled at her. “Probably.”

“Well, wish me luck!”

Jamie took a slow, deep breath and nodded to the doorman as he opened the hotel door. As her eyes adjusted to the light in the lobby, a man about her age strode towards her. She stopped dead.

“Luke.” Her mouth formed the word but she honestly wasn’t sure if it had come out.

The dark haired man smiled inquisitively through his tortoiseshell glasses at her.

“Miss Birch? I’m sorry, do we know each other?”

“I. Uh. No. Of course not. I’m Jamie Birch. I’m here to assist with some dental work on–”

The man cut her off.

“Yes, of course. If you’ll come with me.”

He firmly led her by the elbow to the banks of elevators. Discreetly, he passed a keycard over the digital display and the door opened immediately. As they closed, he turned to her.

“I’m sorry for interrupting you out there. No one can know that we’re here. You recognized me. Which, honestly is kind of weird because I’m not famous. It’s my job not to be famous. But, I think you know who you’re here to see. I’m going to need you to stop looking like you might die though, okay? This will be fine.” His classically British accent conveyed authority and kindness.

Jamie hadn’t said a word. Her brain was desperately trying to catch up. She stared at Luke. Gently, he pushed upward on her chin, closing her mouth she didn’t know was open.

“Don’t want flies to get in!”

Her mind replayed the known facts. She pictured the smile. The bright perfection of it. The urgency and secrecy of the visit. Bobby. And now, Luke Windsor, press agent to some of the biggest British stars in the world. Of course, she didn’t actually know him. But, here he was. Which could only mean one thing.

“Is it okay if I call you Jamie?” Luke asked. The elevator had stopped and he pushed a button on the display. He stood directly in front of her and smiled again. An easy, reassuring, and practiced smile.

“Jamie. I need you to take a deep breath.” He took her hand. “You’re here to do a job. You look great. We’re going to get off the elevator and get to work. I promise, this will be fine. Just relax. He’s as brilliant as you think he is.”

Jamie continued to stare at Luke. With a slightly resigned sigh, he pressed a button and the elevator doors opened directly into the suite.

“Hey! We’re back,” he called, stepping out. “I’ve got the miss from the dental lab.”

From around the corner came the very familiar voiced reply.

“Excellent. Bring her in here, will you?”

Jamie didn’t move. She was still in the elevator. Luke stepped back in and put his hand on the small of her back, gently pushing her forward. She took one, stilting step and slowly walked towards the direction from which the voice came as Luke guided her.

Together, they turned the corner and she stopped again. Luke kept his hand in firmly in place on her back as if he was propping up a puppet.

Tom Hiddleston glanced up from the book he was reading. He was casually seated on a plush chair, his impossibly long legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankle. His eyes flicked up to her and then back down to the book as he analyzed the lovely woman in front of him. He was used to the look on her face, but usually it was in a cafe or an airport, not his hotel room. He slid a bookmark in place and stood, covering the distance to her in two long steps.

“Tom, this is Jamie Birch, from the dental lab. She recognized me in the lobby. Apparently, she’s quite the fan of my work.” Luke pushed gently on her lower back again and reflexively, she took Tom’s proffered hand. As she did, she felt a nudge on her knee. She looked down at the chocolate cocker spaniel, whose ears flopped back as he looked up at her.

“Bobby,” she said. She was pretty sure she said it out loud.

Tom laughed. It was like music.

“Ehehehe yes, that’s Bobby I’m afraid. Luckily for you, he’s not the one in need of a dentist. So sorry about the cloak and dagger stuff. We have established that you know my publicist and my dog. I’m Tom.” He still had her hand lightly in his.

Jamie didn’t say anything. She couldn’t even be sure she was breathing. Here she was, clearly exposing herself as some sort of crazed super fanatic, giving away that she’d poured over publicity photos of him. How else would she know Luke and Bobby? That’s what crazy stalkers do. They probably thought she wasn’t even from the dental lab. Any second, Bruce and another security guard would come in here and pick her up and carry her down in a service elevator. Tom had probably already pressed some hidden panic button when she walked in the room.

“I–” she stammered.

“Where are my manners?” Tom said, releasing her hand. “Let me get you some water. Or, tea?”

“I–” was all that came out.

“Both, then. We’ll sit down and have a chat and you can get to work.”

Work?, she thought. Work! Her case was still in her hand and her bag on her shoulder. Luke felt the tension ease in her body a bit as Tom walked to the open kitchen. He gently took her bags and placed them on an ottoman and offered her a seat, then walked out of the room, Bobby trailing after him.

“I’ll just put the kettle on. Why do American kitchens never have electric kettles?” Tom asked her.

“I–” she stammered. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Well, we won the Revolutionary War.”

Tom’s smile and laugh were instantaneous. “That, you did. Yet, here we are, all friends again. I’m glad to hear your voice and your wit, Jamie. Do you mind if I call you that?”

He sat down opposite her. His face was clean shaven and his reddish hair was slightly unruly. He wore black jeans, a dark t shirt with a thin navy sweater over it, and dark sneakers. The sunlight lit up his bright blue eyes as he looked at her. Jamie opened her mouth to speak, but didn’t seem to know any words so she closed it, her lips forming what she hoped was a smile. He continued to gaze at her, seemingly enjoying her unease. They sat in heavy silence and Jamie tried desperately to think of something, anything to say. He was her favorite person in the world and she was speechless. Absentmindedly, he rubbed his long fingertips across his lips as he watched her.

Soft, he thought. The way strands of her hair peeked out from behind her ears. The faint wrinkles on her forehead where her eyebrows had raised in surprise. The curve of her hips as she sat, properly, one ankle tucked behind the other. The hint of a Southern accent in her voice. Everything about her was comfortable, comforting, warm and soft.

The kettle whistled, breaking the spell.

“Cream and sugar?” he asked, popping up and walking back to the kitchenette across the room.

“Yes, please, if you have them,” she replied. Politeness forced her speech to return.

He brought over a small tea set on a tray and set it on a table between them. It was pink and curved, with scalloped edges. Not the kind of set a five star hotel would furnish its kitchen with. Jamie eyed it with suspicious familiarity as Tom poured her tea.

“Don’t tell me you recognize this, as well?” he asked with some surprise.

“It is the official tea set of the Untitled Avengers Film Character Revival Waiting Area,” she replied, with what she hoped was a casual shrug. The picture of Tom and castmate Sebastian Stan was one of the best from the previous weekend’s comic book convention. A fan had set up the picture with Tom and Seb sipping tea while she held up a sign noting it was a waiting area. Both of their characters had died in the most recent film and fans were eager for their resurrection. The picture had become popular and apparently, Tom had kept the tea set.

“Were you in Seattle?” Tom asked with some excitement at the edge of his voice.

“No, I couldn’t take the time off work. I just saw some pictures and video. You–I mean, it, looked great.”

“They’re fun. Getting to meet people who are passionate about my work is fantastic and humbling and usually overwhelming.”

"Then security isn’t going to shoot me with a blow dart and roll me out of here in an industrial laundry cart?” Jamie asked, the tea returning some of her nerve.

“Eheh. No. Luke has a pretty good sense about people. He keeps the trains running. He wouldn’t have let you up if he thought you were going to boil my bunny or something.” His voice was so soft and smooth. One of her favorite things was listening to him narrate books. She closed her eyes as she sipped her tea, listening to him. “I really appreciate your coming down here. It’s probably a good thing that you know who I am and already what I look like so you can help. So, you are a fan, right?”

Jamie smiled at him, her first honestly relaxed smile since she’d met him. He loved how it lit up her face.

“Uh yeah, of the whole Marvel Universe. It’s fun. I’m excited for Ant Man and The Wasp next month. And Captain Marvel next year. I’m thrilled to get more female superheroes.” She purposefully kept her voice level and didn’t mention the films he starred in.

“Did you like Infinity War?” he asked.

“No.” she replied, more softly than intended. “I saw it twice, but no, I didn’t like it.”

He’d started to ask her why, when her phone began to ring in her scrubs pocket.

“I’m so sorry, I thought it was off,” she said, pulling it out. As she fumbled with it, the locked screen faced him briefly. He reached out and took her wrist firmly, turning the screen to him. He didn’t mean to, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d seen his own green and gold armor. Loki. He released her as soon as he realized what he’d done. She didn’t meet his gaze as she put the phone to her ear.

“Just making sure you got there okay and that you still have all of your body parts!” Charlie said, cheerily.

“Yes, we’re fine here. I was just discussing long term treatment goals with the patient. I’ll shoot you a text if we have any questions.” She hung up. Fuck, she thought. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I am so fucking screwed.

Slowly, she raised her eyes back to his face. He was grinning.

“May I see that, please?” He held out his hand.

Really having no choice, she locked the screen again and gave it to him. It was a close up shot of Loki’s chest, wearing his unmistakable armor. The text read I am Loki and I am alone. She smiled sadly at Tom.

“I can just relate to some of his pain, I guess. Neither of us really fit in. And I like bad guys.” Maybe this wasn’t so terrible. It’s just Loki. He’s a wildly popular character! He has an army! Being a fan of Loki was hardly unusual and sort of explained why she knew Luke and Bobby. Maybe she’d get out of this with some dignity.

Tom nodded understandingly, reaching out to give her phone back.

“He’s a guy with a lot of pain. It’s always good to hear some sympathy for him.” His thumb slid across the screen as he passed it to her. Loki disappeared and the home screen appeared. Dressed in a white button up, dark sunglasses and a very tight blue suit, appeared Tom Hiddleston. The real Tom turned the screen back towards him. With a slow smile, he placed it back in her hands.

“Not just bad guys, then.” He made the statement as fact, his voice unmistakably pleased.

[evannalily]

Gold Frame Earrings from Newlook

Good Afternoon everyone and a very Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all had a wonderful night full of fun, joy and surrounded by family and friends to ring in the new year! I myself was laid up in bed with the flu for most of it so mine could have been that little bit better but otherwise I was just thankful to actually be out of bed and able to eat on actual new years night so it could have also have been worse but Im on the mend now! Todays post is the first post of 2019 and one I haven’t done in a while which is on one of my own looks that I had for a night out in December and if I’m being really honest that night was the first in a long time that I actually 100% happy with how I looked on a night out and felt really confident in myself which I think is a feeling I will be bringing with me in 2019!

My 2018 ended with a good few memories as I had a pretty sociable December . Including myself and Éimear going to the INEC in Killarney to go see Hozier and Gavin James who were unreal! For anyone who doesn’t know who Hozier is he’s an Irish singer/songwriter from Wicklow and I would definitely recommend going to see him because he is just amazing live! I always love going to see singers live and have them sound the exact same as they do in audio instead of them sounding a bit different because the voices are enhanced on the audio to sound better. Definitely check out his music because he is genuinely just so good! Gavin James is also an Irish singer from Galway who is also really good to go and see!

Myself and Éimear also went on our glam girls night out where we also met up with Himself and a couple of his work buddies and it was this night that I am honestly so happy with my look.

Look of The Night

  https://www.newlook.com/row/womens/clothing/tops/black-one-hundred-percent-slogan-t-shirt-/p/616789201

https://www.newlook.com/row/womens/clothing/skirts/black-cotton-mix-mini-tube-skirt-/p/506885901?comp=Search

https://www.newlook.com/row/womens/accessories/jewellery/gold-textured-rectangle-earrings-/p/614185393?comp=Browse

https://www.prettylittlething.com/black-pu-pointed-ankle-sock-boots.html

https://www.newlook.com/row/womens/accessories/belts/black-leather-look-circle-buckle-hip-belt/p/591190501?comp=Browse

The look its self was pretty simple and was my classic all black colour scheme (another thing I’m going to start changing in 2019) and was just perfect. I love when you just throw something on last minute and it ends up being you’re favourite look of all time. The t-shirt is pretty basic and you can find slogan t-shirts in virtually any high street store at the moment as they are really trendy still and it was also long enough on me that I kind of created another layer under the skirt which is always handy just incase like me you have a little fear of things being a bit transparent. The skirt is actually another one that I had at home but I have included a link to a similar one here for you but its just a basic black tube skirt as I like my skirts to be a bit higher around the waist as I just feel they suit me better. You can’t see the boots in this photo but I do have a picture of them up on my Instagram and they are literally the exact type I was searching for for ages! I have another suede high stiletto pair that I have had for years and they are starting to get on a bit now and have seen a fair share of nights out so it was time to start getting their replacement ready and these are amazing. They literally tick every box height (which is scary high to look at but I love the height without a platform sole) , style, colour, comfort and of course are pointed toe. The earrings are again really trendy at the minute and are relatively easy to find but it does depend on the size you like. Usually these square frames are on the larger side but these ones are actually a mini version available from Newlook as well as the bigger size too. They are lightweight as well which is always a bonus as heavy earrings are a curse on your ears after a while. I just finished this look with a plain black leather jacket (more black I know) and thats it. A simple look for nights out without the fuss.

  2018 : A Year In Pictures

As we are now in the new year 2019 I have decided to share some of my photos month by month from last year 2018 on some of my highlights from the year gone by. I definitely had a year filled with ups and downs, changes and trips but these photos are a reflection of all the good times from last year and if you can I would make an album on your phone or in a scrap book that you can look back on in years to come so that you can remind yourself when you’re feeling a bit low or in a sticky situation that life hasn’t been all bad and that you have had some great times in your life even if it is something as simple as just watching movies with friends. Heres a breakdown of my 2018!

February – Éimear and I travelled up to Dublin to go see Dermot Kennedy in the Olympia Theatre and I will honestly never forget it. It was the best concert I have ever been to because his music is so emotional, touching, beautiful and mesmerising. We are going to see him this year as well which I cannot wait to do again!

April – Himself and I went on our kind of annual holiday to Portugal to Albufiera where we have been before but this time we did do a few new things one of which I have definitely never done before and that was a Fish Pedicure. If you don’t know what that is its basically these tiny little fish that eat away at dead skin cells so you soak your feet in the water with them and they basically just clean your dead skin cells away. Don’t worry they are tiny fish so you don’t actually feel anything except maybe a slight tickle which is more of a funny sensation than scary (unless your Kim Kardashian West in that clip where she completely freaks out at the tickle feeling of a fish pedicure).

June – Himself and I went over to England for just under two weeks to mind my aunties house for her and as he had never been to London before I was excited to show him all the touristy things like Buckingham Palace, The London Eye and the Natural History Museum. We did one thing I had never done before (that I can recall anyway as I may have gone as a very small child) and that was go to the London Aquarium. It was really cool in there and they do have really interesting things to see so I would recommend going there if you are in London! On our way to the Natural History Museum we did see a few lamborghinis being driven around for demonstrations too which he was only delighted to see.

September – In September Himself and I attended a wedding in Tralee which was a civil ceremony as they didn’t want a church wedding and it was honestly one of the nicest wedding I have been to. As much as I respect peoples religious choices of a church wedding it was just really nice to not have the same prayers and routines and to see them have their children involved, have their own readings and quotes spoken and it was just a really nice romantic wedding. I did however end up spending two days getting broken glass out of my hands from an unfortunate table breakage but we won’t talk too much about that!

December – The whole month of December was one of my highlights to be honest. I started with our annual staff party which was really fun as we went for dinner and then just made a night out of it. Next up was my birthday which I didn’t actually do anything for it but Himself did have roses delivered to me at work for it which was a nice surprise even though I had a feeling he was going to do that as he was being a bit sneaky in town the day before and he did the same for my 21st birthday a couple years ago but it was still a lovely surprise! After that came came the Hozier show which was amazing as he just has such a great voice and is amazing to see live. Then literally two days after that myself and Éimear went out for our glam girls night and met up with himself and couple of his friends as they were on a staff night out too. Then obviously there was Christmas which was our usual family tradition of dinner with my grandparents, lots of food and a movie. Then a few days after Christmas myself and Éimear headed out to the INEC again to go see Gavin James perform and literally about two days after this I ended up in bed ill for nearly two days and was only just up an about on new years eve and able to eat so I literally have not one photo from the night but I did discover my 88 year old granddad is a fan of George Ezra’s Shotgun and my nan is in love with Michael Bublé

February – Dermot Kennedy Olympia Theatre Dublin

March – Myself and Eimear on St. Patricks Night

March – Snowy house bound days with Cookie

April – Albufeira, Portugal with himself

April – Albufeira, Portugal with himself

May – Finally bought a new car

June – England with Himself

June – England with Himself

August – Got my first set of the prettiest Ombre gels at NailsbyErika

August – Was reunited with an old school friend at a wedding

September – At wedding with himself

October – Halloween Costume Party in The Grand with Gillian

December – Christmas Staff Party

December – Himself had flowers delivered to me at work for my birthday

December – Hozier with Eimear

December – Hozier with Eimear

December – Out on the town with Eimear

December – Holly waiting for her gifts from Santa on Christmas morning

Decemeber – Gavin James with Eimear

Well thats my 2018 summed up so lets see what 2019 brings! Speak to you soon!

Ever yours

Lily

xx

December Roundup : Last Look At 2018 Good Afternoon everyone and a very Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all had a wonderful night full of fun, joy and surrounded by family and friends to ring in the new year!

[randomthoughtsofachaosjunkie]

Guess I’m going for some sort of cross between beachy bohemian and dark academia in my living room. My curtains arrived, they’re gorgeous, and they go so much better with my vibe than those ugly orange with grey, white, and gold diamonds. Though they did give more of a dark academia vibe to the living room, the beachy orange to blue ombre ones are much more aesthetically pleasing. I already know my grandma is going to have something to say about them being sheer as though I don’t keep the curtains and blinds open the majority of the time anyway.

Thinking about staining the living room table red oak to match the entertainment center, and maybe even the plastic wood storage cube shelf. Definitely would like to stain the two small bookshelves on either side of the couch. Thinking I’ll leave the one lighter side table the way it is and probably move it to one of the kid’s rooms eventually. Of course none of this goes with the light grey wood color of the floor, but that isn’t really a huge deal and I’m debating between two rugs on Amazon for that. One is described as bohemian abstract sunburst, and is very vibrant and colorful. The other one is a blue and green pond with orange and white and gold koi fish. The koi fish one only comes in 7′ x 5′ which I guess doesn’t really mean anything considering it’s still bigger than the blue, grey, and white one I have under the coffee table now. Definitely leaning more towards the bohemian abstract sunburst for the living room though. I don’t mind the darker furniture, but I definitely need the room itself to have a lighter appearance. You would think the light blue walls and light grey floors would do well enough, but paint and floors are only a small portion when you start to add a bunch of darker colored furniture. I’m sure lightening the table and cube shelf should help though. The two bookshelves really should have been darker to begin with, and will look much better next to the dark blue couch with a red oak finish to match the entertainment center.

Trying to get a full length mirror with a gold frame for the space in my bedroom between my closet and dresser, and there’s a very pretty pink floral rug on Etsy I’m trying to get for my closet. I’m trying to go for a more girly vibe in the closet area, and make my room more dreamy meets light academia vibes. My grandma already got me to paint the walls in my room the same pink as in my adjoining bathroom. I would have been fine if we had just put a fresh coat of white on them, but I guess it looks better with her antique bedroom furniture set since it’s all an antique white and I wouldn’t want that on my walls.

It’ll all come together eventually, but I also don’t want to end up spending too much since I know I’ll have to get my own place not owned by my grandparents at some point. I should be able to have a good amount in my savings by this time next year as long as I don’t spend too much or get into anymore legal trouble. Still need to pay my lawyer, so I guess that’s where most of my next paycheck needs to go since I already put any excess money to build up interest in my savings account. I say this as I already have a six pack of black thigh highs in my cart. It’s getting hot out, so they’re really convenient when wearing shorts or dresses around the house, and I can only find one and a half of the two pairs I already had. Plus some in other colors and striped.

[jenroses]

Updating for 2022. Some additions on technique:

There is a marked difference in the staying power of 3 layers (base, polish, top coat) and 8-10 layers for me. Keep in mind I use thin layers, but also I have thin nails, and my end result is still thinner than acrylics or gel polish. What might this look like? 1-2 layers base coat. 1-3 layers base color or design. Top coat every 3-4 layers, and I've tried a LOT of quick dry top coats. I do not use toluene top coats like Seche Vite/Vive because they are toxic. I use Holo Taco Glossy Taco, always. I have gone through bottles of it. I think it was OOS last year this time. But seriously, all the Glossy Taco. At least two layers of top coat at the end, and those two are going to be at least an hour or two apart. I got watercolor pens for cheap from an art store and filled one with jojoba from Trader Joes and it allows very precise placement of the jojoba oil. A+. Pretty much the only base coats I'm using right now are Holo Taco smoothing base and That Florida Lady Nails Beefcake, which is ideal when things feel rough. If I use them both, Beefcake goes first. Like, if you go bare, you should probably put Beefcake on your nails just to protect them, it's so good, and looks like, just, your nail. I talk about Holo Taco a lot, but it's not because of pure brand loyalty or anything, and I'm certainly not getting paid, but I just find that something about their formulas short-circuits the places I tend to mess up my nails. 1. They are incredibly quick-drying, which leaves less room for disasters, as I only have to remember to sit still for 10 minutes after, not an hour. The quick dry top coats are VERY quick and cure multiple layers of polish at once, like, I put them on when the underlying polish is still very tacky, and it cures them right up. 2. The collections are designed to work together extremely well. I bought the original rainbow collection and it's super pride-friendly and then they came out with a pastel rainbow collection.... and it coordinates perfect with the OG so you can use them together and do ombre, which is fantastic. That's in the 8th square up in the OP. The Tea Cremes gradient incredibly, despite covering what might seem like an odd gamut of color choices. Those will be below, the muted gradient from gold, through burgundy, to teal, with gold flecks, matte.

3. The collections are not gendery, and I believe more than one of the hand models are guys. There are plenty of nail vendors where I feel like a tourist visiting a foreign land, gender-wise, HT is very welcoming and feels like they leave gender out of it, holo is for everyone. They have hand models with different nail lengths, including quite short.

I'll add another post with more recent stuff.

So as you may have noticed I've been doing my nails for a while. It's not a gendery thing for me, it's more of an art thing, a "my body generates 20 tiny canvases and I can make them colors without pain" thing.

I don't grow them very long, maybe a millimeter past the tips of my fingers is as far as is comfortable, if that. Otherwise typing and shit get uncomfy. Things I've learned over the past bit, for me: 1. Getting manicures at a shop is overwhelming and unpleasant for me from a sensory perspective. Lots of people enjoy this, I didn't. 2. Doing my own nails is 100% a learned skill that I've gotten better at in the 3-4 years I've been consistent about this. 3. The right polish combination and cuticle oil can keep my med-fragile EDS weird nails from splintering and breaking. 4. There is no polish that I can do at home that will stay for longer than a few days. Not falsies, not gel, not lacquer. Nevertheless, my nails do better with lacquer on them. 5. Watching tutorials on Youtube has improved my technique. Simply Nailogical and Kelli Marissa both do a lot of amazing tutorials and funny stuff and have a wealth of information that doesn't feel as gendery as a lot of nail stuff does. 6. Little things: E.L.F. concealer brushes allow fast and easy touchup dipped in a bit of 100% acetone. Everyone gets nail polish on their cuticules at least part of the time. Cleaning it off the cuticle makes the polish stay longer. Target has these for $2, and the 100% acetone. "nail polish remover" that isn't 100% acetone usually smells worse and gives me a headache. YMMV. 7. Sally Beauty has wedge foundation sponges (ultra, bag of 80) that can be cut up and used to make gradients. If you have a touch up brush, or use a very narrow sponge, you don't even have to clean it up much. Gradients make for pretty rainbows. Sally Beauty also carries nail polish thinner, which you add when the polish thickens up or stops b···::eing smooth. 8. Gel builder, gel polish and glue-on nails really damaged my nail base. 9. On the other hand, since I've started using HoloTaco, my nails stay pretty strong. 10. Base coats have different purposes but the hardeners make nails break. I use a ridge filler. Other people like peely or bonding base coats. 11. Good quality polish makes the manicure easier to do, especially on the dominant hand. 12. Everyone has a harder time painting nails with their off hand. But it's a learned skill. If you can type with your non-dominant hand or drive a car, you can probably learn to apply nail polish. Remember the clean up brush. It's okay to have shorter nails on one hand than the other, many people do. There are, ahem, many reasons to have a finger or two with shorter nails. 13. A good quality rapid dry top coat is a life-changer. I'll use one in the middle of a manicure sometimes to set things faster. 14. Better to leave a little gap between the cuticle and the polish than run up against it, as when it grows out there will be a sharp ridge that wants to lift. 15. Use a glass file--my nails break less with the glass file as it leaves a smoother edge.

Tiny canvasses, and the pale rainbow gradients were from today, on a manicure that's been on since last Sunday, because at least on my non-dominant hand, enough good technqiue does seem to help longevity. Nothing's going to save my right hand thumb and pointer polish from early death, but this week I made it to Thursday before significant wear showed up.

I think all of these are holo taco, a lot of both rainbow collections (regular and pastel), as well as some unicorn skin toppers and holographic toppers. The black is One-coat black.

Sometimes the cleanup goes better than others.

[frankiek2902fanfictions]

Nick Jakoby X Reader!!

Source is my own mind! 

Contains: Language, Moderate Violence.Sexy Orc. ;D

Imagine..

You go out to the club with your friends and spot your best friends boyfriend with another woman, what would you do?...

You had gone to the club to have a good time, your closest and only friends with you except for Cinna, who was away for work when you had noticed Cinna's boyfriend David across the bar. You'd almost lifted a hand and waved when you realized he was talking to some other girl than your best friend. Denial and anger flows through you, no way he could be that stupid, you'd had a drink or two so you turned to Lawrence.

"Hey, isn't that David?" You ask calmly, nudging the tall male orc with your elbow, he's spindly and dressed in a plaid button up with its own pocket protector. If Orc's didn't have exceptional eyesight and if he had glasses he'd be a picture perfect nerd. A far cry from other Orc's you saw on the street, your entire group was a far cry from society, outcasts from each race they collectively belonged too. He turns to look down at you and then to where you pointed, squinting for an instant before his eyes go wide.

"Yeah but whose the woman that’s with him?" He ponders, tilting his head in question ears twitching with his confusion along with the start of a new song. Avery and Lilliana both turn towards you then, Lilliana an Elf with beautiful double dozen braids ombred from creamy brown to electric blue at the ends. She pushes her circle rim glasses up her nose as she too squints in his direction, her blue eyes widening in confirmation. Avery shakes her head at all of us, curls escaping her tightly done bun to frame her round face, pulling herself up onto a stool to see over the bar, the dwarf scoffing as her eyes land on the woman he's with.

"Oh shit, this bitch is cheating on Cinna! Girls pretty hot though" She laughs humorlessly as she rests her chin on her hand as she admires the scarlet wrapped Orc woman hanging on his arm. You feel your face fall in a glare and Lilliana immediately sees where this is going as You step down from your seat, her chocolate brown hand gently latches onto your arm. You look up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Now wait, that could be a relative or a friend of his for all we know" Lilly, ever the voice of patience in your group, suggests carefully as Lawrence laughs.

"Friends and Family usually don't shove their tongues down each other's throats" He points out and You see red as You turn to them again and find her draped on him. Quite literally shoving her tongue down his throat he doesn't look to much like he's going to stop her though and he smiles as they pull away.

"Oh hell fucking no, I'm figuring this out right the fuck now" You rip your arm out of Lilly's hand and start toward them, Lawrence muttering that this is gonna be great. You feel other eyes on you then as you stride over, glancing to the side and catching a pair of concerned looking yellow orbs staring at you from a table by the door. You give the brawny looking Orc a small smile as You approach David and his Orc date, crossing your arms over your chest and tapping your foot till You get his attention. As he turns to you his eyes go wide, blushing as his date looks between us in confusion.

"David baby, do you know her?" She asks you carefully, she seems nice enough and I know for a fact now she probably doesn't know he has a girlfriend. This makes your irritation with him grow, you'd helped him plan Cinna's proposal for next week and this is how he spends time without her. He looks like he might say he doesn’t but You cut him off, You can see my group watching on in equal parts curiosity and anger.

"Yes sweetheart he does know me, I'm sorry to cut your date short, you seem so nice. If you want while I talk to him you can hang out with my group over there by the bar so you're not alone" You suggest calmly, David's looking like he might implode from stress and You grip the woman's hand gently and send her on her way over to your group. To make sure she's taken care of while You rip this asshole a new eye socket.

The group watching on as they no doubt introduce themselves, Avery kissing her hands suavely, never one to go home alone at night. They happily accept her into the group at a nod from you, that wordless language shared between the eyes of women tells Lilliana the whole situation.

David goes to walk away when your hand comes up and grips him by the shell of his ear. You lift another hand and point to the door, again Lilliana nods. With this You know you're clear to go and they'll check on you in five as your distinguished per club code dictates.

You drag the writhing David out the door by the ear, hearing a whoop of laughter as You pass the table the Orc from before was sitting at. An exclamation of 'someone about to get there ass kicked' coming from an African American man at his table. 

That same Orc watches on carefully, as though concerned, You find it sweet and nod to him reassuringly. His ear twitches as David tries to convince you to let him go. You think the Orc might stand as he grips his beer but you quickly dismiss it as you continue toward the door, you don't even know him you can't expect him to be concerned enough to step in.

You thrust him out the door in front of you, keeping a tight hold on him as you glare into his face for what seems like five minutes.

"What!" He declares finally and you're dumbstruck by his stupidity.

"What do you mean what? Are you gonna explain what that was? Cause it looked like you were cheating on Cinna while she was out of town!" You demand, voice high with incredulity as he smacks your hand off his ear and sighs. He rubs the back of his neck and grits his teeth.

"Look, I'm having second thoughts okay? Have been for a while" You blink in shock as he admits this and glare at him, shoving a finger into his chest. As you do you realize just how much shorter than him you are but you're so angry that you don't care.

"What the hell? Second thoughts? You had me plan your proposal to her for the day she got back from this trip and now you're cheating on her?" You can hear the angry hiss of your breath, the indignance for Cinna's sake as You step away from David and lean against the wall, arms crossed as you shake your head, speaking your next thoughts out loud. "How am I going to tell her?"

At this you feel something in the air change and when you look up David has stepped uncomfortably close to you.

"You don't have to say anything" The words leave his lips as more of an order than a suggestion and you balk at him.

"You're crazy if you think I'm just not going to say anythi-" You gasp as his fist crashes into the brick wall next to your head, David leaning in closer to you.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you" He tells you firmly, clearly telling you he'll hurt you if you don't comply. You feel your nose wrinkle in disgust and anger at him. Your arms up in front of your face as you forget how to breathe, David's always been a nice guy, way too nice in your opinion but who knew he had such a temper. If he's ever, ever, done anything like this to Cinna You'll fucking kill him. "Well? Are you going to tell me what you said?"

"If you don't back off right now I'l-" You start your statement when David's suddenly grips your still raised wrists, pulling them roughly away from your face.

"You'll what? Baby, you're all bark" He sneers at you, mocking you when suddenly you hear clothe drop to the ground and a thickly muscled arm swiftly enters the space between you and shoves him off. David's feet leave the ground for a second and he stumbles back in surprise as the very Orc who'd been watching before steps in front of you like a barricade.

"Alright I think that’s quite enough" His voice is deep, a rumble in his chest as he stares the taller human male down. David's eyes are wide but not with shock, more with anger and they narrow in disgust as he steps forward and looks around him at you.

"What is this your boyfriend? Somehow I always knew you'd date an Orc" He grimaces and you scoff.

"Only you would find something wrong with that you piece of shit" You hug yourself, you can feel the anger pulsing through you at this point, You can't control yourself as you feel like bashing his skull in despite a night in jail but then the Orcs hand comes back and digs into his back pocket. You almost laugh as he pulls out a gold police badge, Karma is a bitch and here it comes.

"Well no sir Unfortunately I'm not this lovely ladies boyfriend but I am an off duty officer with the L.A.P.D so I'll be asking for your ID now" He tells him briefly, his tone almost jovial as David flounders for a second you blink at the use of lovely not exactly expecting it but feeling pleased with the unintentional compliment.

"That’s probably fake, everyone knows Orc's aren't cops" David laughs as he articulates this, David's eyes narrow and he strides forward slurring as he goes to snatch the badge away from him. "Tell your boyfriend to stop fucking around or I'll kick his ass"

You laugh at this and cross your arms over your chest, impressed as the Orc stops him with a flat palm to the scrawny man's chest.

"My name is Nickolas Jakoby, I'm sure you've heard my name on the news as the world's first Orc police officer. You look like you watch the news, You're quite clearly intoxicated sir, sit here and I'll call for a colleague of mine to pick you up so you can sleep it off in booking" Officer Jakoby grips David's v neck as he speaks, keeping him from backing away or going forward as, without budging even an inch, he twists and deposits David on the sidewalk against the brick wall he'd just punched. David knows better than to try and run after that show of strength and just sits there as the officer pulls out his phone and makes his call, sitting pretty as he's cuffed. Then the kind officer turns to you, approaching with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you alright Miss? You're not hurt are you?" He asks you worriedly, looking you up and down as though checking for injuries, you feel your cheeks heat up a little as he does though.

"Oh I'm alright, I've had worse trust me, thank you so much for intervening. I don't know how that would have went if you hadn't" You tell him honestly, you may be a strong woman but you didn't know much about fighting even when its self-defense. His smile turns to a crooked sheepish one, his ears twitching just a little at the praise as he averts his eyes.

"No need to thank me Miss, I wouldn't be a very good officer if I didn't serve and protect" he responds, his ear tips turning a pretty shade of purple. He must not get kind words very often. "Would you like to press charges against him? This would equal up to assault and battery"

At this you glance down at David where he glares at you and smile cheekily.

"Yes I would thank you very much" You say, nodding with the decision, You hear the door open and a gasp issue from it.

"Oh my- What happened!" Lilly's voice demands You look around the officer just as she flies over and throws her arms around your neck, pulling your face firmly against her chest. the rest of your group plus the Orc woman join her. The Orc woman clucks at you and cups your face in her hands.

"Oh sweetie I'm sorry you had to deal with that, Avie-bell told me everything" She frowns in concern as she pulls you into a hug and you give 'Avie-Bell' a raised eyebrow. The brunette shrugs as if to say 'what did you expect', You swear the woman was a dwarven Casanova. You glance back to where Officer Jakoby had been and frown as you find him speaking to a human next to David who nudges David with his foot in distaste. You pull away and look to Lawrence.

"Give me your notepad for a sec and your pen" You tell him quickly, not wanting him to get away. The orc raises an eye ridge at you and smiles as he pulls both items out of the shirt pocket on his chest. You quickly scribble down your name and number onto the paper, giving him back those items as You stride back toward Jakoby. You can't help but note his muscles through his long sleeved black shirt and somewhat lose your nerve.

What are the odds such a hunk is single? But you shake your head. you have to try, Carpe Diem.

You reach out and the other man, whom you think must be his partner looks down at you and smirks as you tap Jakoby's shoulder. The orc turns to you and frowns, another officer who'd just arrived pulling David into his car.

"Is everything okay M-"

"Everything's just fine, I just wanted to give you my number and ask if maybe you wanted to go out for a drink sometime" You smile up at him, biting your lip nervously as you push the paper into his hands. "M-my names in there too, just give me a call if, you know, if you want too"

You feel your heart race against your rib cage as you back away, Jakoby's eyes looking like they might pop out as he nods slowly and his friend thumps him on the back. You giggle, covering your mouth with your hand.

"I, Of course.. um I'm sorry.. I'm just, you're so.. Why.." He stumbles on his words and you find it completely hilarious but you don't dare laugh more. You don't want him to think you're laughing at him. His partner rolls his eyes and thumps him once again on the back as you glance away and find a brown leather jacket on the ground. That must have been the sound from before, You stoop and pick it up, folding it in your hands as he continues to try and get the words out. Finally his friend saves you both.

"I think what he's tryna say is that he'd love to go for a drink with you and that you're a very attractive woman" He tells you calmly almost annoyed as you giggle again, handing Jakoby his jacket.

"Well then I look forward to your call" You tell him calmly, even though you feel like exploding, you never do this you never go out on a limb and put yourself out there. He just seemed so kind and different, not to mention unbearably hot, you couldn't not ask him. Lawrence immediately leans down to you as you rejoin your friends and they ask you a million questions but all you can think about is when you might get that call and how disappointed you'll be if you don't.

(Here’s everyone I promised a tag too! All requests are in the works! I’ll update everyone when they’re done I just wanted to give you something quick cause I haven’t posted!! @pleasantdreamqueen @queencobblefreezestuff @multi-villain-imagines @have-fun-storming-the-kastle @walterkov  @thelostandforgottenangel @vladamsandler @ever-hungry-aria @homra-the-red-clan @littlemessyjessi @byzantium-glytch @xxdarkdarlingxx @uknwwhttheysayboutthecrzy1s @fireflyloki28 @sullybot )

Love you guys!! Requests are open still, if you want to be tagged please just let me know and I’ll add you to my list and if I’ve missed you remind me and I’ll write something special for you in an I’M SO SORRY  I LOVE YOU!!!  

[theantibridezilla]

Test Drives: Tarte, e.l.f., NYX, NudeStix & Profusion

So, over the weekend I attended a family wedding and I had an awesome makeup look for it. Unfortunately, we were running behind so I didn’t have a chance to take a pic of my makeup or my new hair color (not the ombre wig from my last beauty post). And since today was a fairly low key day for me, I decided to recreate the look and show off a new hair color. Well, I didn’t do a complete recreation of my wedding guest makeup but I decided to rock a look inspired by something I saw on IG from Jordan Liberty. I’m a pretty big fan of him because I feel like his philosophy is “skin is in”. He barely uses foundation on his models and he doesn’t do any of the over the top IG type makeup tricks, which is really refreshing.

I say “inspired” rather than “recreate” because what I did is definitely a reverse of his and halfway through I decided to do some things differently so this is a loose translation. More importantly, today I finally had some time to test out a few things that have been piling up in my makeup arsenal. We’ll be discussing Tarte’s Shape Tape Contour Concealer, e.l.f. Cosmetics’ Correct & Set Eye Powder, NudeStix’s Nudies, NYX Cosmetics’ Strobe of Genius Illuminating Palette, and Profusion Cosmetics’ Highlight & Contour Palette. As usual, I’ll let you know what I bought and what was gifted to me by the brand, and full makeup details will be at the end.

Tarte Cosmetics Shape Tape Concealer in Tan-Deep (purchased)

So, pretty much everyone loves this concealer and I can see why. It has serious staying power and is perfect for contouring because it doesn’t crease and will last all day. It blends/buffs away very easily and a little can go a long way. It’s a liquid cream so it goes where you need it to and the applicator allows for precision placement as well. I genuinely do like how this does a pretty good job of hiding my under eye bags and dark circles (even when I forgot to use my orange color corrector).

My one gripe with Shape Tape is why in the love of all that’s holy did the product development team at Tarte think that this thing needed to be loaded with cheap fragrance. I really have to wonder what this product smelled like before the fragrance is added that caused everyone who smelled it to think it was too offensive for the product to hit the shelves without it. Although it doesn’t stop me from wanting to use it, I just find adding fragrance to color cosmetics to be strange and very unnecessary.

e.l.f. Cosmetics Correct & Set Eye Powder in Banana/Deep Tone (purchased)

This is e.l.f.’s answer to a flashback-free setting powder that can also double for baking. It’s meant to be a budget friendly accessible option for those who can’t get Ben Nye’s Banana Powder, Sacha Cosmetics’ Buttercup Powder or even Laura Mercier’s setting powder. It’s actually available in three shades to try to meet the needs of multiple skin tones. While I think this is an honorable endeavor, I’m not crazy about this powder.

First, it’s not really yellow but more of a peach-ish shade. And for me, yellow really is preferred if I’m going to prevent the dreaded flashback. This is important because when I bought this in the store last week, the floor assistant made a point of telling me that I could use this for baking. But it’s been my experience as a clearly brown girl, that if I use a setting powder that’s too pale, I get flashback. Second, this is an incredibly small container. At $4, I understand not getting something massive. But it’s so small that if you’re going to bake and use a sponge to apply that powder, good luck getting a sponge with enough surface area to fit into that jar. Third, it left a slight ashen cast to my skin where I applied it (under eyes, bridge of nose, chin & forehead) which was visible under my ring light. So, halfway through taking pics with my ring light, I went back and completely touched up my face with my Laura Mercier setting powder to correct that problem.

Profusion Highlight & Contour Palette (gifted)

About a month ago I finally swatched this palette for review. I liked it, but I remember at the time complaining about how I felt these weren’t richly pigmented. Well I stand corrected! Today I used the Profusion palette in place of my Kevyn Aucoin Flame or Sahara highlight. Profusion is very pigmented, and a little can go a long way. I used the color Baked on my cheekbones, bridge of my nose, chin, cupid’s bow and brow bone. It’s a great, warm gold tone which is in my opinion ideal for warmer skin tones or brown skin girls.

NYX Cosmetics Strobe of Genius Palette (gifted)

Earlier this year, I swatched these colors from NYX and was on the fence about whether I liked them or not. My concern was that the purple shade was a tad pale, and it turns out I was right. It’s not really ideal for warmer skin tones like mine. I ended up looking a bit ashen when I initially applied and I had to buff quite a bit to blend it out so it wasn’t so stark. Although I went on NYX’s site and saw that they also have Strobe of Genius in a warm palette, so that might create better results for people with warmer tones.

NudeStix Nudies in Naughty ‘n Spice (gifted)

I got this from The Makeup Show earlier this year and decided to give it a try. Originally, I was thinking of using this as a lip color because it’s meant to be an all over stick that can double as blush, eye shadow or a lip color. But the dusty rose hue was a bit too stark against the bold blue eye I created. So, for this particular look, it was a no go. I ended up using NYX’s Lip Lingerie in Teddy because it offered a better neutral for me. But I like that this stick is very creamy and even though it offers a matte payoff, it’s also pretty hydrating.

Winners & Losers:

This time e.l.f. and NYX came up short because of too-pale formulations. While I hate the fact that Tarte thinks chemical fragrances are a good idea, I do love the Shape Tape and will be keeping it in my core beauty arsenal. Profusion made me take back my original impression so I’m a believer in them now. And on a day where I’m doing a less colorful eye, I’ll definitely test the NudeStix Nudies again in the hopes that it’ll work with a more neutral eye.

Makeup Details:

Primer: e.l.f. Cosmetics Poreless Finish Face Primer Foundation: NYX Total Control Drop Foundation in Deep Sable Brows: NYX Love Contours All Deep Brown Brow Shade Brow Concealer: ELF Cosmetics Complete Coverage Concealer in Dark Eyeshadow: Lid Base—Makeup Forever (M-600), Lower Lid—Sephora (Blue Lagoon), Lid Crease—Kat Von D Strobe & Light Eye Palette (Sytry), Center Lid—Kevyn Aucoin Electropop Palette (Hardwire), Outer Corner—Pixi Beauty Fairy Dust, Inner Corner—Naked Cosmetics (Sierra Nevada), Lower Liner: Kat Von D Shade & Light Eye Contour Quad in Sage (Define) Eye Liner: Wet ‘n Wild Megalast Liquid Liner in Black Lashes: Kawaii Girl Cosmetics in Odaiba + Ebisu Under Eye & Contour Concealer: Tarte Cosmetics Shape Tape in Tan-Deep Setting Powder: e.l.f. Cosmetics Correct & Set Eye Powder in Banana, Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder in Deep Blush: NYX Cosmetics Ombre Blush in Feel the Heat Contour: e.l.f. Cosmetics Aqua Beauty Blush & Bronzer in Bronzed Violet Highlight/Bronzer: Profusion Cosmetics Highlight & Contour Palette, NYX Cosmetics Strobe of Genius Palette. Lips: NYX Cosmetics Lip Lingerie in Teddy

Full disclosure: I’m an influencer for Kevyn Aucoin, Pixi Beauty, and e.l.f. Cosmetics. I am also the owner/founder of Kawaii Girl Cosmetics. Occasionally I post affiliate links so I may receive compensation on some of my posts.