#her fun mesh sleeve top

[aggressionbread]

ok she is soooo pretty??

[l0vergirlv0mit]

Bags

Song to go with: Bag by Clairo ❤️

Pairing: College!Hazel Callahan x Reader

Summary: you’ve been in love with your best friend for years. Watching her date people sucks especially when one of the absolutely despises you.

Contents/warning: Switch!Hazel x Switch!Reader, fingering, oral, pet names, nipple play, cursing, threats, light? violence (nothing gory), sm yearning.

A/n: for the dorm imagine Buffy and willows dorm from btvs<3. Also reader isn’t fem but also isn’t masc but is definitely masc leaning. for my in between girlies 😘.

You alarm clock rudely wakes you up with an incessant buzz. Hitting it a bit to hard it falls off your night stand making you groan into the sunlit room. You sit up with squinted eyes not noticing that Hazel was still in the dorm. “Well good morning sleepy head.” She smiles at your groggy state.

You wake up just enough to snatch the alarm clock of the ground and punch it off. “Ughhh good morning.” Your eyes finally adjust to the light fully taking Hazel in. She was still in her pjs wearing a white wife pleaser and low waisted grey sweats. “Shouldn’t you be in class right now?” You ask her confused as to why she was skipping her morning class.

“I should but Anya had me up till 2.” She clasps her hands around the back of her neck. She still had her tired raspy voice probably having woken up a couple minutes before you. “Oh god spare me.” Suppressing an eye roll you got up from the bed and grabbed your towel, getting ready to go to the showers. Anya pissed you off to no end.

And it wasn’t because she was dating the person you wanted more than anything (maybe a little bit). It was her glares and her back handed compliments that she gave you any chance she could. How she would snap at people over anything and everything she was extremely abrasive.

Your friends tried to explain that that was just her personality but you didn’t function like that you were quiet and sweet. Both didn’t mix well so she tended to single you out. Always trying to push you out of your comfort zone by teasing and getting a rise out of you. You can barley ask a waiter for ketchup let alone defend yourself. But you refuse to tell Hazel about her behavior because she was happy. She was so sweet to Hazel and that made you most livid.

“Not like that y/n we went out for our 4 months.” She grinned at your scrunched face. “How fun nothing says I love you like sleep deprivation.” She raises her eyebrows at your grouchy mood with a soft smile still on her lips.

“Oh wow someone’s moody, anyway Josie was texting the group chat about a going to the bar tonight are you gonna come?” Hazel asks you hoping you’d say yes because you never go out. “Mmm I’ll think about it Haze Ill probably have a lot of work to do.” Hazel sighs. “Pleaseeee you never come out with us anymore.” She give you a pleading look. “I have a lot of today I’ll let you know if I’m up for it.” You giggle at her childish tone and pat her shoulder then leave the dorm.

—

You let Hazel know you were coming and put your phone down and change out of your work clothes. Your style has always been a bit more grungy and masculine only really dressing a bit feminine for special events or outings.

You put on your favorite baggy black jeans that hung off your hips so beautifully. Then put on a spaghetti strap tank top and a long sleeve over it made of black mesh and lace that was completely see through. You left your hair messy and smudged black shadow and liner on your eyes. Finishing off your outfit by putting on your black docs.

Hazel was already with the group so you drove yourself to Josie, PJ, and Isabel’s shared apartment. You found your way to the apartment door knocking timidly. You rock back and forth on your feet waiting for someone to open the door.

When someone finally does it’s her. She doesn’t talk to you directly. “Y/n is here now guys can we finally leave?” She says not letting you in yet talking to YOUR friends behind the door.

Hazel quickly comes to the door and smiles brightly at you pulling you in by your hand . “Oh wow someone’s trying to get lucky tonight.” Hazel softly says nudging you. This earns you a glare from Anya.

The group sits in the living room area to catch up before heading out. Everyone’s talking but your mind is elsewhere. You’ve always been the quieter one of the group so your lack of conversation goes unnoticed.

You can’t help but stare at Hazel and Anya. A deep grief blooms in your chest. Hazels arm around Anya protectively. Anya tucks a piece of hair behind Hazels ear and kissed her on the cheek. Hazels face becomes so soft and loving it tears you apart wishing so bad that you were Anya. Hazels hand travels to her waist to pull her closer just to top it off.

You look at Anya for a bit taking in how perfect and pretty she is. She’s so feminine and put together. She was everything you would never be. She had on a full face of makeup that was perfectly done and a dress that hugged in all the right spots. She was an absolutely gorgeous girl.

You were only pulled out of this haze by Josie putting her hand on your knee. Knowing exactly what was going through your mind. You had drunkenly told her about your 2 year long crush on Hazel in a club bathroom. You look back at her with glazed over eyes and squeeze her hand as a silent thank you.

“Are you guys ready to get wasted cause I am.” Josie announced and pulled you up with her off the couch. She looks to you and smiles trying to change the mood that’s setting in. You smile back but felt suffocated anyway and had to leave. Everyone excitedly agrees and heads over the bar.

—

This bar was THE bar all the college kids go there to find hookups and get drunk. The group gets drinks to loosen up but you decide to hold off for tonight. You let your friends make you dance their tipsy state amusing you. You move timidly at first but the encouragement from your friends has you swaying to the music.

You danced with Britney trying to absorb her confidence in some way. When Hazel comes over to playfully dance with you twirling you around and giggling. She saw your shyness and was trying to remedy it.

She made you sway with her hands on your waist. It was all friendly and playful and you were best friends so it wasn’t unusual behavior.

Nonetheless you felt your face get warmer at her proximity. Anya was staring from the bar after telling Hazel she didn’t feel like dancing. Anya really thought Hazel was just going to sit there and watch all of her friends dance instead.

Anya quickly changed her mind though. Seeing you too make her jealous. Hopping out of her seat and waltzing over to shove you away from Hazel with feigned innocence. Hazel mouths sorry towards you and it was your turn to go to the bar and watch from a far. You get yourself a coke to sip on since you would be driving later, not much of a drinker anyway.

You sit there mindlessly scrolling your phone trying to keep yourself occupied. Watching them still it hurts your chest. Hazel holds Anya close she has her face in the crook of her neck holding her from behind. It was a real sight. Especially when Hazel looked so good. Her cropped white tee and baggy jeans left just enough midriff exposed to mesmerize you.

Josie comes to sit besides you breaking your trance. “I hate her.” Is all she says and she looks from Anya to you. “Me too.” You both laugh together. “Yeah she’s kind of a bitch isn’t she.” Josie remarks pressing her lips together and furrowing her brows.

“Yeah she’s something.” You huffed and smiled brighter grateful for your friendship .That’s when Josie gets a certain look that you know to well. “You wanna smoke?” She flashes you a wide grin and wiggles her eyebrows. “Oh god yes.” You take one last sip of your coke and follow her outside.

—

You and Josie walk back into the bar in a hazy giggle. After a shit talking session that had you loosing your shit and gasping at gossip. You go to dance again and you notice Anya arguing with Hazel.

Anya rolled her eyes and says something that made Hazels face contort into hurt. Hazel says something in a pout then storms off in the other direction. “Jesus they do this shit every fucking night bro.” Josie rolls her eyes following Hazel to the bathroom. Every night? You though to yourself. You were under the impression everything was great?

The anger taking over your body doesn’t let you ponder over it more. Body moving without you telling it too, you yank her shoulder to face you. She was taller than you and definitely stronger then you but you didn’t care. The face Hazel made at Anya was enough motivation. You could’ve fought 10 frat boys and won.

“Hey! What did you say to her.” You could stand her being mean to you but being mean Hazel was absolutely not allowed. “I don’t think that’s any of your business y/n.”

She looks you up and down. “I suggest you fuck off before I tell her your little secret.” She gets closer to you only inches from your face. “What do you mean secret?” You started getting nervous. She grabs your face in her hand and looks in your scared eyes. “Your in love with her. It’s pathetic really the way you gawk at her.” Her acrylics are digging into your cheeks. Frantically staring at her in disbelief.

“Start keeping your distance y/n, Im not worried about you im just annoyed that you THINK that could happen. Like she’d ever be into someone like you.”

She let’s go of your face lightly tapping it. You feel tears fill your eyes about to break the barrier of your water line. “I-i… f-fuck you Anya.” Tears cascade down your face. Anya just vocalized your internal thoughts for the past 2 years now your sure she’s some demon from hell that crawled out to make your life miserable.

Just as Hazel and Josie come out of the bathroom they see you walk quickly out of the bar. Hazel feels completely exhausted, this was supposed to be a fun night you FINALLY agreed to have fun and hang out again.

Hazel follows you out just catching up to you when you get to the door of your car. “Y/n! Wait! Please, where are you going it’s barley been an hour?” She looks at you confused eye brows pushed together and hands on her hips. “I’m tired Hazel.” You can’t face her you can’t stop the tears rolling down.

You open the door but Hazel puts a firm hand down closing it again getting frustrated at your short response. You finally look her in the eyes and she takes you in. “Holy shit y/n are you ok?” She goes to put a hand on your shoulder but you flinch. Her face becomes even more worried than before. Staring at the streaks running down your cheeks.

“Please Hazel I just wanna go home. I’ll talk to you tomorrow ok.” Hazel moves her hand from the door and lets you open it. “We will talk about this tomorrow?” She ask you to get more confirmation. “We will.” You reassured her knowing talking was the last thing you were gonna do.

You drove back to your dorm still feeling shocks of fear pulse through you at the thought of Hazel knowing you were completely in love with her. Losing her would do more than wreck you. She’s been your best friend for what felt like forever.

Finally inside your dorm you rip your clothes off and put you pjs on as fast as you could. You didn’t bother to take your make up off and fell asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow. Thank god for the weed.

—

Your woken up by the jiggling of keys. You turn to look at the time and you way overslept. “Oh your up.” She closes the door lightly walking over to your bed. She puts a brown paper on your nightstand and smiled softly at you. “I got you a bagel from the place we like, I made sure they put extra cheese and hash browns. And I got you salsa.” The same sadness you felt the night before washed over you. Her sweetness makes you fall apart in more ways then one.

“Thanks Hazel.” You can only produce a small awkward smile. “Do you wanna talk about last night?” She carefully sat next to you and put her hand on your back, rubbing up and down. “I’m ok Hazel, really it’s fine.” You brush her off.

“I can’t help you if you push me away y/n. You’ve been really distant recently I’m worried. I-i mean did I do something?” She spoke softly and looked at your face silently begging for you to look her in the eyes instead of the floor.

But you can’t you start to cry before you can even get a word out. “No you didn’t do anything I’m sorry. Last night Anya was just really mean. Well she’s mean every time I’m around her but I-I’m sorry.” You spoke through tears and hiccups not even knowing even know why you were saying sorry. Regretting everything you just said. You knew Anya was going to tell her—everything was going to be ripped away from you.

Hazels face contorted into anger and shock. You were petrified that you had made her angry at you. “Anya did this.” Her tone was steady and dark. You nodded. Her jaw was clenched and her fist balled breathing heavily. She grabs her keys and opens the door. “I’ll be back in 30 minutes.” She shut the door behind her harder than she meant too. She quite literally couldn’t control her anger. She liked Anya, a lot actually, but the fighting has gotten to much. Hazel could handle a bit of sass from her here and there. But knowing she hurt you had Hazel enraged.

—

It had been 45 minutes of you sitting there bouncing your leg. Shaking anticipating the consequences of your breakdown. You tried watching a movie to get your mind off of your situation but you couldn’t focus. The bagel on your nightstand making you nauseous just by being there. Frustrated tears forcing there way up every once in a while.

You hear the knob jiggle and keys. Your immediately alerted. Hazel calmly walks through the door and moves to where you’ve come to stand infront of your bed. She takes your face into her soft hands pulling you into the deepest kiss you’ve ever had. When she finally lets you catch your breath she looks in your watery eyes .

“Why did you never tell me.” She whispers looking over your post cry face. Your lips puffy and pink frustrated cheeks. You notice that her lip is busted and she has a mark on her cheek that is definitely going to turn into a bruise. “Y-you aren’t angry? Are you ok?” You started to tear up again from the relief.

“No baby i could never be angry at you. And I’m fine just thought I should put what I’ve learned in my boxing class to use.” As she’s wiping your tears way, your remember, her and Anya took the same boxing class; thats actually how they met. Hazel looked angry but you didn’t think she was THAT angry. “I didn’t think you thought I was pretty.” She pulls you closer to her. “What! Why is that?” She questioned from the crook of your neck. “Cause you date girls like Anya I didn’t think I was your type.”

Hazel suddenly starts placing kisses on your neck. She realizes she has you turning into putty in her hands, like she always wanted. Everything about you was captivating to her in this moment. The way you smelled, the way your skin felt, how she could hear your breathing pick up with every kiss.

Your heart was racing you couldn’t believe this was actually happening. “Your not gonna have to worry about Anya anymore honey, I promise. Your the only girl I want. And your sooo my type.” Hazel sucks a bruise with no warning into your neck and licks over it. “Oh my god Hazel please.” Your hand reaches up into her hair your fingers tangled in her silky brown tresses. “Please what baby?”

Your face got impossibly redder whole body on fire unsure of how to answer her. Feeling the way Hazels hands roamed you made your head spin. You just couldn’t take it anymore pulling her up lightly by the hair to have her look at you.

“I need you.”

You make sure you say it clearly. Hazels eyes become more lidded than before overcome with lust. She pushed you backwards towards her bed until you fall into her sheets.

“Y-your so beautiful.” Shes stammering seeing you laid out in HER bed. She connects your lips again teeth clashing and tongues fighting for dominance.

You want to make her feel as good as she’s making you feel. Her knee comes between your legs giving you relief from pulsing heart beat that’s developed.

Your grinding on each other urgently. Years of pent up sexual frustration and longing being released.

You try to keep up with her kisses the best you can. The friction making you lose control. Completely entangled in each other, hands trying to feel every part of her.

Exchanging heavy breaths and soft whimpers. It was frenzied and sloppy it was the hottest thing you’ve ever experienced.

You tug her shirt over her head. She does the same for your exposing your bare chest. “Fuck.” Her brows pushing together as she feels her arousal pooling in her boxers. She can’t help but gently thumb your hard nipple trailing kisses from your collar bone to your breast.

She took the soft flesh into her mouth leaving hot kisses. Her hand massaged the other. Her lips wrapped around your nipple and released it with a pop. You let out a strained moan.

Her hand traveled to the waist band of your pajamas pants. Teasing you with her fingers moving back and forth under the fabric.

“Can I take these off.” She ask you her eyes begging you to say yes, desperate to see all of you. “Please” You nodded and she gently undressed you leaving your skin vulnerable to cool air for your dorm.

It doesn’t matter though, because Hazels warm body is pressed to you in a second. Her hand trails from your breast to your hip slowly, keeping your attention.

“Do you know how long Ive wanted you?” You shake your head, voice escaping you in the moment. Her finger slides through your folds, your wetness sending waves of pleasure and confidence through her. The sound alone made her ache.

“Way to fucking long.” She slips a finger in your soaked needy hole. You let out an open mouthed exhale. She slips in another finger. “Fuck! Mm-n!”

Her fingers stretched you out and the sensation was mind numbing. An endless repeat hazelhazelhazelhazel. Was all you could think about. Her fingers curled at a slow pace hitting just the right spot. Working your clit with her thumb at the same time.

“Im I making you feel good honey?” Her voice was gentle and attentive. The way she was grinding down on your thigh mixed with your pretty noises was making her go insane. Your moans start to get more frequent. As you were embarrassingly close to release so soon. “S-so good Hazel.”

“Talk to me sweetheart. This is all mine now right?” Hazel questions you her pace picking up and mouthing your tits. “All yours all yours all yours all…” You mumbled to her as your eyes flutter. “That’s right honey.” She kept a rough tempo leaving marks on your chest until you were finally coming undone under her.

Shes watches as your orgasm possesses you. Moaning her name as you arch your back grinding yourself against her fingers. “Yeah honey just like that cum for me baby.” She doesn’t stop till your squirming from overstimulation.

You catch your breath for a second before becoming focused. You didn’t want your fatigue from your orgasm to keep you from pleasing her. Hazels already pulling you into another deep kiss like before.

“I want to make you feel good now Hazel.” She seemed a little shocked. As you think about the girls she’s hooked up that’s probably not the kind of treatment she was used too.

“You don’t have to y/n, making you cum is pleasure enough.” She seemed almost nervous. You shake your head and take her hand placing the two fingers that were just fucking deep inside of you into your mouth.

Releasing them with a pop. Her eyes are droopy and mouth slightly open. Her chest breathing deeply overwhelmed with lust. “No Hazel. I really want to make you feel good.”

Hazels ripping off her sports bra without another word. You nudge her shoulder down and straddle her. She’s frantically trying to take her sweats and boxers off. You help her rip them off and throw them across the room.

The sight is beautiful she’s completely soak, all you want is to have your face between her thighs. “Can I taste you?” You ask coyly as your hands rub up and down the tops of her thighs, your words going straight to her core. “Fuck, y-yeah, yes p-please—I mean.”

You settle between her thighs leaving light kisses on her inner thighs. Hazels having a hard time keeping still with you so close to where she needed you.

You look up into her eyes through your lashes as your breath fans over her soaked cunt. She lets out a whimper on accident and it set her body on fire with embarrassment.

Finally you lick a broad stripe. Hazel sign in relief. Her fingers pulling at your roots. Your hands are hooked over her thighs keeping them apart. Tongue flicking over her clit at a pace YOU didn’t even know was possible.

Hazel eased into the feeling of being taken care of. She’s switching between look you in the eyes and looking at the ceiling when the shyness become too much. She quietly took in the sensation of being taken care of before speaking trying to get rid of the shyness.

“I’ve thought about you like this s-so many nights.” Hazel mumbles out between whimpers. You push your finger into her curling. “Yeah?” You question quickly. She throws her head back when you go back to sucking on her clit.

You add another finger. Pace becoming quicker and deeper. “I always imagined this,oh god,h-happening during one of our movie nights.” You hum into her creating a whole new sensation as her legs start to quake. “I th-thought youd take the hint. Oh god don’t stop.”

She let out a soft laugh until the knot in her stomach was becoming to much to handle. “I mean we c-cuddled for like 3 hours at a time! Shitshitshit!” Hazels grip on your hair became tight as her eyes rolled back, letting out a loud moan. The knot in her stomach snapping as the white hot feeling flushes over her.

You watch her in awe. Her chest heaving as she grinds into you her other hand gripping the headboard showing her toned tricep.

You help her fully ride out her orgasm then pull away to use your shirt to clean yourself in and lay next to her gently.

Hazel turns to look at you with a tired smile spreading across her face. She cups your cheek once more kissing your forehead. “I thought it would end like this too.” She says to you quietly. “Me too.” You reply going to kiss the tip of her nose. She looks into your eyes for a moment thinking.

Her eyebrows push together as a though crosses her mind. “Did you ever eat the bagel?” You laugh at her genuinely concerned question and pull her into an embrace, warm bodies lovingly entwined. “No I actually thought I was dying though in my defense.” Hazel pouts at you.

“Did you beat up Anya?” You question her instead. “I tried to but she honestly kicked my ass sooo bad, like embarrassing I’m so happy you weren’t there” You laughed at this too.

“I looked cool though right?” She dropped her voice dramatically. “Oh yeah sooo cool.” She gasped at your sarcasm.

When your both of yours laughter dies down it’s seems both of you have the same realization that your best friend was now your girlfriend. Eyes saying what they needed too.

“You wanna watch a movie?” You asked quietly. “Only after you eat cause a $12 bagel on a college student budget is atrocious.” She kissed your forehead and nudged you to get up.

(Thank you for reading😙)

[minticecodes]

A (late) piece for dmcweek2024 day 4! I was buzzing to put forward something for the week. Prompt was alt universe.

AU where Eva survived the fire and had to figure out a way forward, believing the twins dead. She becomes an RPG shopkeeper selling wares ranging from antique books to magical goods (Devil May Scry). She's also out for Mundus' blood.

Image descriptions are the same as in alt.

[ID: 7 Digital illustrations and sketches. 1: Coloured illustration of a bookshop at sunset. Eva, a pale blonde middle aged woman mans the bright patterned counter. She wears a turtleneck and red shawl, has shoulder length hair, and diagonal facial burn scar and scarring on her left hand. Light rays illuminate her gently smiling face. Besides packed books, on the shelves are potion bottles, statuettes, succulents, and a displayed katana. Roses and plants decorate the shop. On the counter are a thick hardback, bookscanner, and crystal ball. Cards are displayed inside the counter. On the wall hangs a price sign, featuring doodled vital stars (large star drawn with sunglasses), holy water and fortunes. Beneath it is a rose wreathed divinity statue display, with 2 red orb offerings in a dish. 2: Eva from behind, sitting hunched alone at a table where a birthday cake sits untouched. It's a two flavour cake. By her clenched hand are crumpled tissues. Caption: 'Vergil...Dante...happy birthday...' 3: Eva bracing the Devil Sword Sparda across her shoulders, aimed at the ground. She wears a bell sleeved, ruffled funeral/wedding dress with a slit for leg movement. A veil trails behind her like a ribbon. Close ups of her show the headpiece design; a pacifier made of a long bird skill, feather, rose, and four skeletal 'legs'. 4 & 5: Trish taking on teen Dante's image: a tan teen in black, with chin length white hair, a halter neck tank top, leather pants, kneelength boots and black polish. Her leather jacket collar resembles lightning bolts. She leans against an invisible wall, one leg bent to brace her foot against it. She looks askance with arched brows, lifting shades from her face. The 2nd image is a 3/4 profile with shades perched on her forehead and popped collar. 6: Helmetless portraits of Dante and Vergil in armour, expressionless. Dante's hair is shoulder length and falls across his face. 7: Full body of 2 somewhat lanky demonic knights. One (Nelo Angelo) in black and blue with droopy horns rests his palms atop his blue broadsword's pommel, the sword upright against the ground. He stands straight, staring ahead. The other in white and red and curled horns has a palm clapped on Nelo Angelo's shoulder, other hand at his hips. Somehow the eyes on his helmet express playfulness. At his back is the hilt to a flail, the spiked ball resting on the ground by his armoured heels. They're labelled '~16' . End ID.]

Read more for some wordy backstory and sketches. TW for mentions of torture, abuse and solitary confinement surrounding the twins.

I had...so many more ideas that I'm leaving out to keep this short. It's fun to think how she'd mesh with the cast.

Like! her and Lady. Mother that lost her kid and kid that lost her mother. It writes itself how much unwitting projection can go wrong. And pretty much everything about her, the twins, and Trish :)

In terms of backstory:

After the fire she's alone. Her birth family disowned her long ago. She thinks about revamping the mansion but the idea of staying in that empty space with only memories for company is too much. So she eventually opens a small store.

Starts off paranoid and distant. Still is distant but gets entangled with the local community overtime. Greets people by name and they'll chat about how life has been going. This includes demon hunters and demons and supernatural beings living peacefully; her shop becomes a small safe haven to exchange information to stay safe.

Gets very good at forging protective charms. Haunted by the memory of the enchanted closet, smashed in and empty.

A regular is a schoolgirl who originally came to pick up reserved books for her father but stuck around because hey, this place is quiet and interesting, and the owner serves stellar teacakes. Great place to study. To Mary, Eva's kind, though odd, secretive and a little lonely.

I got inspired by Eva's association with the bangle/bracelet of time and the amulets for her fighting style. It's based around item crafting, like an RPG character slapping on every stat boosting item.

She stitches together different outfits for different needs Cardcaptor style. They're all exceedingly dramatic. It's not clear here but I wanted a bird motif to eventually come through. Phoenix motif, really.

[ID: Rough sketches: A magician esque outfit with vest, feathered tophat and cape. A longcoat with long skirt and long scarf at her back like a cape. The cape is tagged with 'spells stitched into fabric'. Close ups on the coat lapel show two pins (strawberry and wing), labelled 'charm lapel pins.' Close up of the shoes show sharp heals and ankle bracelets. Eva leaping in a black bodysuit and leotard, with feathery collar, quill behind her ear, and ballet shoes with a claw at the heel. Eva making a triangular 2 hand sign in a hooded cloak and longskirt. Around her shoulders are claws. At her hips is an hourglass. Above her heeded head is a clocklike halo. Beside her is a sketch of a woman with a lionhead mask. A funeral and wedding dress inspired outfit. Eva crouches, wielding the Devil Sword Sparda in scythe form. Her face is covered by a tattered veil. She wears a knee length ruffled dress, black gloves, and a long, ruffled cape. Close up of her left hand shows a ring and finger claws Rough comic. Chibi lady talks to chibi Eva. Lady holds up a black body suit with billowing sleeves and a cleavage window. Lady: "Eva what is this" Eva (smiling cheerfully): "Oh - that old thing!" Eva: "My old hunting outfit. Gosh I'd almost forgotten about it. Not the most comfortable thing - so skin tight..." However Lady fixates on 'my old hunting outfit'. The words go in one ear and come out as a younger Eva in a catsuit, pointing a gun with a serious expression, wind blowing through her hair. Lady stares into the distance, bewildered, and slightly blushing. End ID]

Meanwhile the twins are having a terrible time but they have each other, even if they don't remember they're brothers. I think it'd be sweet if they have a bond anyway. Everyone else thinks they're rivals at best.

(Nelo is Mundus' favourite to toy with as the proud, eldest son. But when he gets rough, Bianco butts in and acts up for Mundus' attention. This gets him sent to solitary confinement; Mundus figured out Bianco hates small spaces and designed an iron maiden for him. Others think Bianco is a brute who acts out for a fight. But that's ok. It means Bianco can keep buying Nelo time.) (When lucid, Nelo despises his own weakness when this happens.)

[ID: 2 Images. Nelo and Bianco Angelo in fisticuffs in a cartoony dustcloud, glaring at each other as they fight. They're captioned 'Mundus' most competent generals'. Additional text: 'silent, obedient, crushing force when apart. Perfect soldiers. ... until they're put together. Complement each other's battle style OR clash terribly. Nelo Angelo staring off, arms crossed and furrowed eyes somehow expressing being completely fed up. Behind him, Bianco and Griffin talk at each other. Griffin's glaring. Bianco has a hand up to gesture. End ID]

[tigerf00d]

UNBEARABLE

George Karim x Fem!Reader

Tags: Smut! Aged up characters obv :), no use of y/n, all of Lockwood & Co., Brief Quill Kipps interaction.

6.7k words

a/n: I love George and just had to get in on the fun.. crossposted on ao3 as well, so if you've come from there and already read this, hi!

George Casper Karim was unbearable. There’s simply no other way to put it.

His big stupid head was always getting in your way, correcting you, and complaining when you forgot who took the biscuit last and helped yourself. You could hear him in your head, “Really, you ought to have gotten it by now!”

But oh, how you loathe to admit that you needed him, how helpful it was when he ironed your clothes before a client came round, and the comfort of coming home from a particularly draining case to warm food placed wordlessly in front of you.

And he could be sweet. He could. As uncomfortable with touch as he was, he’d brush your shoulder with his hand if he could tell you really needed it; he’d stand close on cold nights walking home, Lockwood and Lucy would too, but they readily shared their space like that, George didn’t.

It didn’t help that sometimes you’d catch yourself watching his side profile as he researched or the quiet admittance that he looked like an Angel as the sun illuminated his hair in a halo of curls as he helped you up after tripping and landing on the pavement, even though he was laughing at you.

There were just no other words. He was unbearable. You had the inability to bear him.

You wanted to take him by the shoulders and shake him so hard his world spun so he could feel just a fraction of what he did to you. Shrink him down, trap him in your pocket, and feed him to his heart’s content so he is always warm, safe, and happy. Ugh, he was just the worst. Ever.

So it’s safe to say you have no idea why you agreed to this.

Rotwell’s was holding its annual celebration, and Lockwood & Co was invited. Well, most of Lockwood & Co, Skull obviously couldn’t come, no matter how annoyingly they asked. Despite the agency not being in any immediate danger, for once, Lockwood still deemed it essential to be partially undercover to try and snoop out new cases that were particularly interesting (read: dangerous, life-threatening or otherwise malignant), and for some reason that meant George and you had to be a couple for the evening.

Anthony Lockwood wouldn’t get to be a ghost. You were sure of it. He was going straight to hell. Sorry, Luce.

“I’m going to die.” The pillow muffled your voice as you lay face down in Lucy’s bed,

“Oh, come on, it can’t be that bad.”

“It’s not like you’ve had to pretend to date one of them, Lucy.”

“Well…”

You stared at the girl opposite you, “He’s… done this before…?”

She nodded solemnly, betrayed by her eyes sparkling with mirth. Groaning, you rolled back over.

“Did you have to be with George?”

“No, mine was with Lockwood.”

Deep down, you refused to admit that that made you pleased. If she had said otherwise, it might have stoked useless jealousy in the pit of your stomach.

After a moment, you sat up, nodding and looking at what was prepared for tonight. You thankfully had a nice dress already, a velvet cranberry coloured thing with mesh sleeves that opened at the elbow and draped elegantly. It'd been a gift as congratulations on joining the agency and moving out from your family. Lucy had painted your nails with some sheer iridescent polish, matching the shine to the silver on your accessories.

George’s outfit remained to be seen, but the way Lockwood smiled when you showed what you’d be wearing, it matched somehow.

“Uhm, Luce?”

“Yes?”

“What– what is that?”

That was the two-piece set on top of your dress, but it was clearly meant to be worn beneath.

“Oh.” She smiled awkwardly, “There was a two-for-one sale.”

“I see.” Accepting this, you picked the garments up, and she turned back to fixing her makeup. “How did you know my size?”

She froze.

“Lucy?”

“You aren’t gonna like it.”

“What did you do!”

“You aren’t the… only one that does your laundry.”

George.

You turned to face her fully, “You. You.” The words wouldn’t come out.

“It’s fine! He just checked for me quickly. He probably doesn’t even remember.”

Eyes unblinking, you stared at her. “I don’t think I can do this.” having said that, you flung yourself back onto the bed.

��You don’t even have to wear it, I just saw that the colour I picked out matched your dress, so I put it out for you. Please get up.” She pleaded. “I don’t think I told him what it was for, either,” she was speaking like she was conversing with a wild animal.

Relenting, you got back up. “These feel expensive.”

“Hence the two-for-one,”

“They won’t show under my dress?”

Lucy grinned wolfishly, “The plan is to be hidden until the last moment, so no. They’re pretty comfortable too. I’ve worn mine a few times.”

“Oh ew, Lucy.”

“All I’m saying is it’s a hit for both parties.”

You couldn’t help but make a face.

“Not that George will be seeing them, anyway… but I guess it’s good to be in the right state of mind…”

She dragged out the E in “Exactly.”

✧☽────•⋆°˖⋅✹⋅˖°⋆

You felt pretty. The lingerie did match your dress nicely and fit perfectly, you noted with mixed emotions. And your hair, makeup and accessories all seemed to be working together and playing nicely for once.

“Don’t you two look excellent!” Lockwood said, sidling beside Lucy and giving her an affectionate kiss on the cheek, “Come here; I want to look at you both properly.”

You did as he said, pretending to be doing it unwillingly but feeling very pleased inside.

“Yeah? D’you think it’ll go with George’s?”

“Oh, you haven’t seen him yet, have you?”

You shook your head no, and he turned to holler the other man’s name through the house. George, to his credit, arrived very shortly after. You half expected him to be in a too-big dress shirt and borrowed pants, but you were begrudgingly surprised.

“Oh.” You whispered.

“Oh?” George answered from the doorway.

His suit was a rich burgundy, and while you wore silver, he wore a simple gold chain. The shirt was off-white and a wispy ghost-patterned teal tie.

“You look smart.” You provided.

“I am smart.” He deadpanned.

To that, you rolled your eyes, “You know what I mean. You look good. Clean up well. Whatever,” you averted your gaze and waved your hand in an ‘and so on’ motion. You could feel your face warming, avoiding Lucy’s all-too-knowing expression.

“Ah. Thanks,” and after a moment, he quietly added, “Your dress is nice.”

“Thank you.” You looked up to see his eyes already waiting to meet yours, goosebumps dancing on your skin in reaction.

Lockwood groaned loudly.

“Shut up, Lockwood.” Lucy chided.

“Are they going to be like this all night?”

George broke his gaze first, turning his attention to the taller man. “You’re the one that wanted us to be dating.”

Temporarily throwing your nerves to the wind, you decided that maybe you could have fun with this. You walked to stand beside him, dramatically throwing an arm around him before facing Lockwood and Lucy, “Yeah, what my honey said!”

“My honey?” George questioned, a confused smile on his face.

“We need pet names. If we were really dating, I’d settle for nothing less.” You smiled resolutely, then added. “You don’t like honey? What about… snookums?” He shook his head. “Sweetie pie? Light of my life? My heart? All I hold dearest?” He shook his head no to each one, pausing at my heart, which you would definitely be filing away for later.

“Any normal one like love or babe will do fine, thanks.”

“You spoil my fun, love.”

Distantly, you could hear Anthony retch as Lucy and George sent him twin glares.

“What about you?”

“Hm?”

“Well, you need a pet name too, don’t you?” He asked, and you realised that you hadn’t really put much thought into it. You tried to think back to things on tv or in books.

“Um, I’m not sure. What do you think?”

The pair of you continued to ponder when you stumbled on the memory of when he’d made you both laugh so hard your sides hurt.

You’d gone to Arif’s with him, eating one of the doughnuts as you walked back to 35 Portland Row when you’d unexplainably dropped it and, in your effort to catch it mid-tumble, tripped on a gap in the concrete and fell yourself.

Annoyed and hurt, you’d looked up at George to see him already offering a hand to help you up, but he was laughing. And as much as you wanted to pout, his laughter was infectious. The sun behind his head illuminating the edges of his hair and the sides of his face, which had a chocolate smear and sprinkles on either side of his mouth from his own doughnut, and you couldn’t help but laugh too. The memory made you smile even now.

“What about angel?” You said softly.

“Angel? I can do that.” He nodded, eyes narrowed in curiosity, having noted your mood shift.

With a clap, Lockwood announced, “Great, well, now that that’s settled, we better get going. The gala starts soon, and we wouldn’t want you two lovebirds to miss your first public appearance as a couple.”

You made a face alongside George.

“No… we wouldn’t want that… not at all…”

✧☽────•⋆°˖⋅✹⋅˖°⋆

The gala was bustling. Rotwell’s was flaunting a new hall they had built recently, a temporary centrepiece to the room being a large fountain that was probably meant to be some sort of vase but ended up looking like an urn overflowing.

Standing at the entrance nervously, you felt George’s hand slip into your own, and you tilted your head in silent question, to which he’d shrugged and simply said, “Looked like you needed it.”

You smiled gratefully and began walking in, greeting a few people you only sort of knew and avoiding the ones you wanted to.

“So, what’s the plan again?”

“Lockwood wants us to schmooze, basically. Find out what the top agencies are interested in. Personally, I want to know what technology is coming out soon.”

“Course you do, babe.”

His eyes flicked to yours briefly before focusing ahead once more.

“So…” You started nervously, “Who to speak to first?”

“Rather the devil you know?” He answered, and you saw him nod his head to the left, which made you turn and see Quill Kipps walking straight for you.

You smiled at the offending man before turning to your date and whispering, “Great…” smiling wider when you realised that George held back a snort of amusement.

“Fancy seeing you two here tonight. I don’t suppose Lockwood’s here.”

“He’s around somewhere. Why d’you ask Kipps?”

“Oh, nothing.” He was pretending to be distracted. That much was obvious. “You look good, by the way.”

That was not what you were expecting. You could feel George wrap his arm around your waist, the palm of his hand warm on your hip, and you could tell that the action wasn’t unnoticed by the other man.

“I– Thank you, Quill.”

He nodded, then answered your earlier question,

“I’m surprised he’d let you off without a short leash, is all, after what happened last time.”

The last time he was referring to was you shouting rather angrily at someone holding up the line at the toilets, who happened to be an honoured guest of that event. Not your finest moment, and the reminder caused your cheeks to heat furiously.

“Well, he did, something about my George being able to keep me in line.” You smiled fondly at George as you worked your budding relationship into the conversation.

“Not that they need to be kept in line, anyway.” He added.

“Ah, well.” Kipps nodded in faux disinterest before tacking on, “Never thought someone would go for you, Karim. But I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures.”

George opened his mouth to retort, but you interrupted before he got the chance,

“Excuse you? What did you just say about my boyfriend?”

Quill seemed genuinely surprised at your aggression, floundering to come up with a witty remark as you continued.

“I’ll have you know that your failure to recognise his brilliance is going to bite you in the arse one day. He is more caring, more funny– more intelligent than you will ever be.” You turned to George, who was wearing a similarly surprised expression, “C’mon love, let’s go speak to someone who won’t behave so rudely.”

And with that, you pulled him off to somewhere secluded, shadow barely disguising the two of you as your own expression slipped, revealing your nerves. “Was that ok? I didn’t push it, did I?”

“No, no, you were great. Very believable…” He trailed off, “Did you really mean that?”

“What? Of course, I meant it. I wouldn’t have said it otherwise.”

He nodded wordlessly, not making eye contact. “Well, it definitely started the rumour mill. At this rate, we’ll be in one of Lockwood’s gossip columns by the end of the week.” You followed his eye line to see Kipps speaking to another agent and glancing at the pair of you, and you groaned, resting your head on George’s shoulder.

“Should we put on a show for them?” There was something about the way he said it that you knew meant trouble.

“You’re starting to sound like our fearless leader.”

He huffed at that, but you could tell it wasn’t without humour.

“Just trust me, yeah?”

You moved your head and looked into his eyes.

“I already do.”

He pulled you until your back was against the wall, and his back was to the crowd. His face was so close now. Had he always had a freckle there? It was so cute… Oh please, please don’t be thinking he was cute right now. You made eye contact, and he smiled reassuringly, murmuring, “Trust me.” His expression went serious once more before leaning down and kissing just below your ear, causing you to make a small noise of pleasant surprise. You felt his lips curve into a smile when he kissed you lower against the side of your neck.

“George.” his name came out more breathily than you had hoped. Another soft kiss, barely grazing the skin this time.

“Yes, angel?”

“I think. I think you’ve made your point.”

“One more for good luck.”

Surprising you with his boldness, he kissed you again before standing up straight and reverted to his usual awkward forwardness.

“I, um, didn’t want to kiss your lips in case that wasn’t alright with you, first.”

“So you… kissed my neck?”

“It’s more intimate than kissing your cheek.” He said as a way of answer.

“True.” You conceded. “And for future reference, I’m ok with kissing as long as you are.”

He nodded but didn’t continue, turning around to the sea of people and searching for the other members of the agency.

“Should we see what the others got up to? Hopefully, they spoke to someone better than we did.”

George did a thin smile before turning back and saying, “I think I can see Lockwood and Lucy.”

“Lead the way.”

As you walked behind him, you couldn’t help but gingerly raise a hand to touch where he’d kissed you last.

“So, how lucky have you two been?” You asked the other couple, and Lucy smirked.

“Not as lucky as you. I saw that.”

“Saw what?” Lockwood asked, and she rolled her eyes.

“Those two necking it in the corner.”

“What?! And you didn’t point it out? How could you, Lucy? I thought we loved each other.”

“I’ll have you know those were tactical kisses.” George butt in.

“Yes. Kipps was rather rude, and Georgie here was displaying gratitude for me defending his honour.”

Anthony grimaced at the mention of the other agent but brightened again, “Defended his honour?”

“Apparently, I’m caring, funny, and intelligent.”

You were either on fire or just embarrassed.

“Why’d you go and tell him that? Now he’s going to get a big head.”

“Bigger than yours?” You quipped, and Lucy smiled. “And it’s true, anyway.” You shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant.

“Hence us ‘necking’ in the corner,” George added. “More fuel for the gossip train.”

“Besides, it’s not like getting kissed was terrible.”

“Oh really?” Lucy raised a brow at you, and you silently tried to blow her up with your mind and then yourself for bringing it up. Out of the corner of your vision, you saw George studying your face.

“And it’s good for our cover.” You deflected, watching her eyes glint as a silent reminder that this conversation was not over.

“You didn’t happen to bring makeup with you, did you?” Lockwood asked, suddenly distracting you.

“Uh, no. Why?”

“Just that ol’ loverboy may have overdone it.”

At that, you slapped a hand over your neck, “George Casper Karim, did you give me a hickey?” You hissed. Surely you would have noticed, and Anthony was just ribbing you.

George rubbed his neck awkwardly, “I– maybe? I couldn’t tell ‘cause we were in the dark, and now you’re covering it.”

You turned to Lucy and Lockwood with pleading eyes, Lucy shaking with repressed silent laughter.

“He staked his claim.” That was all you got out of her.

Hesitantly you removed your hand and tilted your head to George in resignation.

“Oh yeah, there it is.” He brushed two fingers over the tender spot so casually, in a way that melted your insides had you not been so mortified.

“George!”

“My bad,” he added apologetically.

Lockwood smiled ruthlessly. “Well, now there’s no doubt about who’s dating who.”

“This is maybe the most embarrassed I’ve ever been.”

“I thought the kissing wasn’t so bad.” Lucy teased.

“It wasn’t, but now I’m going to have to cover it up to leave the house.”

“Or don’t.” George shrugged, and you looked at him. That, combined with the continued hold around your waist was definitely another thing to file away, even when in a fake relationship, George was a little possessive. “‘S not the worst state anyone’s ever seen us in.”

“But what if Arif asks?”

Anthony and Lucy stared at you quizzically. Silently asking, ‘That’s what you’re worried about?’

“Just tell him I gave it to you.” he paused as if remembering that the circumstances weren’t exactly common, “For a case.”

You nodded defeatedly.

“I suppose.”

“Besides.” George had that look in his eye. “You’re the one that liked it.”

Causing the others to laugh as you swatted his arm.

“And you didn’t? One more for good luck?” You reminded him. And he smiled in a way that had heat stirring in your belly.

“I think that was the good luck one,” and he touched the side of your neck again before letting the arm fall to his side. And you struggled not to react so visibly that the others would tease you for it, avoiding Lucy’s eyes specifically.

Something in the air tonight was making George cheeky and touchy, and it was turning you into a swooning damsel. To combat this, you rolled your eyes at his smile, turning to your friends and wrapping an arm around George’s as a tether at the same time.

“But really, did you find anything out?”

“Not much, no,” Lockwood answered.

“He’s lying. Someone from Fittes said that Satchell’s is going to be coming out with some kind of iron tape so that we can do perimeters easier. But that’s still in development.”

Your focus drifted in and out as she recounted what they’d learnt, Lockwood and George’s infrequent additions sometimes catching your attention as you gazed at the closest reflective surface you could, trying to catch a glimpse of the lovebite he’d given you.

“Hello? Is anybody home?” Lucy was waving a hand in front of your face.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“I asked what you’d thought of going to the archives with George and me tomorrow, research some of that case I was just talking about.”

She’d been talking about a case? Oops.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry, I think I’m just more tired than I realised.”

She looked at you suspiciously but ultimately relented. “Ok. I’m about done for the night, too. Lockwood?”

“I’m more than happy with how tonight’s turned out. I’ll have to figure out how we can use you two to get more cases.”

You looked at George worriedly and saw him reflect your expression.

✧☽────•⋆°˖⋅✹⋅˖°⋆

The cab ride home made you realise how overwhelming the gala had been, even in the short time you’d been present. When you’d gotten home, you’d changed almost immediately. You truly were tired of being there, at the very least. And damn it. You were getting all worked up again thinking about earlier. You closed your door, too distracted to notice it didn’t click shut as usual.

Whilst you had changed out of the dress and bra, you couldn’t be bothered to change out of the underwear, vowing to properly clean yourself in the morning and into your comfiest pyjamas. The night was warm enough for cotton shorts, a loose top covering your torso.

Thus faces your new dilemma.

Trying to calm yourself and focus on something other than the sexual tension so suddenly evident between yourself and George without acknowledging tonight’s event, which is precisely how you ended up with a hand in your pyjama shorts.

Your hands moved lower, under the lingerie Lucy had so graciously gifted you— fuck, don’t think about her right now.

You bite your lip to stop a whimper, panting heavily as your fingers move against you as you try to recall the way he’d repeatedly placed an arm around you possessively tonight, the warmth of his hand against your hip still being fresh in your memory.

Vaguely, you could hear footsteps in the hallway, trying to be quieter as you continued to work yourself and resuming once you thought you heard the footsteps fade.

Your eyes squeezed shut, imagining it was George’s between your legs.

Maybe you’d be able to run your hand through his hair and see how soft it was for yourself as he went down on you.

Moaning softly as you tipped your head back onto your pillow, exposing the very neck he’d kissed earlier, and if you focused, you could feel his answering smile against the column of flesh.

“G.. ge-“

You couldn’t bring yourself to finish stuttering out the whisper of his name, trying to imagine what his touches could have been if you’d both not been fully clothed. Wishing that you hadn’t stopped him earlier to see truly how far he would have gone.

The sound of your door swinging broke through your thoughts, your hand stopping as you paused, opening one eye slowly to see George leaning smugly against the doorframe. Your legs clenched together.

“No, please, don’t stop on my account.”

You let out a long, low groan, sliding your hands out of your shorts and rolling over to hide your burning cheeks in your bed.

“How long?”

“Long enough.”

You groaned again. This was beyond embarrassing. It was humiliating. Sure, he’d been in various states of undress around you. But that was just normal stuff, coming out of his room not wearing pants, he’s done that around everyone, and he certainly hadn’t been caught pleasuring himself by the person he was jerking off thinking of.

“You. You should’ve knocked. You can’t just come in!”

George huffed a laugh, “Your door was unlocked, and you weren’t answering. I wanted to see if you needed anything washed to go to the archives tomorrow.”

He paused, apparently intent on enjoying the moment, “But it seems you need a hand with something else, don’t you, angel?”

You would have to move to another country. Wales could always use agents, right? Surely? Maybe there you could find some other hot guy to pine over and hope he gave you his affection. Because this was getting to the point of mortification.

George chuckled, and you heard the floorboards creak, then felt the bed dip down. Your eyes widened where you were hiding your face. Was he sitting on your bed?

“I take back what I said earlier, this is officially the most embarrassed I’ve ever been.”

“Look at me, please?”

Slowly, you turned your head to face him. His expression was unlike anything you’d seen from him yet, he looked like he was going to eat you alive.

“You don’t need to be embarrassed. We all do it.”

He said matter-of-factly, and despite yourself, you nodded.

“Even you?” You wrinkled your nose and made a face of mock surprise, which had him wryly looking at you.

“I’m not going to answer that.” He said, moving further up your bed, gesturing for you to sit up.

“What are you doing?” Your eyes narrowed as you watched him, face still hot despite him assuring you.

Surprisingly forward tonight, George hummed. “Well… clearly, I interrupted you while you were doing something you needed to finish.” He paused, readjusting your pillow. “And I’d really like to help you finish. If that’s alright with you.” One of his hands touched the bare skin on your thigh, watching your reaction for any hesitation.

“That’s alright with me.”

It was astounding how quickly your embarrassment had snapped back into arousal.

You shuffled closer to the centre of the bed, and he slotted himself behind you. His legs wrapped around your own as he pulled your torso so that your back was flush with his chest.

You swallowed hard.

“Are you sure, angel?”

“Yes. Please.”

His face was just beside your head, above your right shoulder. Gradually, his hand snaked underneath your shorts, a soft “Wow,” escaping his lips as his fingers grazed the dampness of the underwear covering you.

You rested your head on his shoulder, exposing your neck again, which he rewarded by peppering it with kisses and soft bites.

His other hand moved to touch the soft skin underneath your shirt, and you could feel your breathing increase rapidly. This was real.

“Were you thinking of me?” He spoke so quietly you almost missed it, and you whimpered. “Hm? Were you touching yourself while thinking of me?”

“Yes.” You responded, already feeling lightheaded under his care.

Beside your ear, he inhaled sharply. “All this just thinking of me?” He seemed in awe.

“Yeah, Georgie.” You confirmed.

He shifted his hands to pull the shorts down and kissed your neck in a way you knew it left another mark.

Briefly, he felt the material of your underwear again, running his finger along the underside of the elastic.

“These feel special.”

“They’re— Lucy got them for me.”

“You were wearing lingerie tonight?”

“You knew that she was buying lingerie?”

“Yeah? She asked me what colours you liked, and I… prodded.”

You didn’t know whether to focus on the fact that he had known what she bought you, or that he had informed what it was that was bought, or even that he knew what you liked to the point of being consulted.

“If it’s anything, thank goodness you didn’t tell me.”

“Huh?”

“We wouldn’t have made it through the gala.”

You turned to look at him and realised he was being serious. His desire to see you in them would have been made into his most recent obsession.

“M— maybe I’ll put the set on for you some other time.”

He smiled, moving your shirt collar so that he could kiss your shoulder.

“I’d really like that, sweetheart.”

His hand slipped into your underwear, mimicking your earlier motions of collecting from between your moist folds. His fingers slid back and forth a few passes until you whined impatiently.

“So wet,” he murmured. “I think I can get you wetter.” He whispered against your ear, a promise.

The pad of his middle finger drew slow circles around your clit, and the hand in your shirt moved upwards to gently knead your breast, causing your nipples to stiffen.

“Oh, George.” You sighed pleasantly, and he groaned quietly in response.

“Have to be quieter for me, love. Not that I don’t want to hear you, just that I don’t want the others to as well.” He increased the pressure, and you fought back a moan, “Think you can do that for me, angel?” and you nodded quickly, not trusting your ability to speak at the moment.

“Such a good girl for me,” he praised.

You didn’t even remember how he’d ended up on your bed, embarrassment lost under his skilful hands.

“Please.” you whimpered, hips squirming against him, his fingers moving faster against you. Simultaneously, he rolled the nipple in his hand between his fingers, causing a low whine to slip through your lips.

“Shhh, that’s it, love.” He nipped at the skin of your neck softly, soothing it soon after by placing soft kisses against it. “Let me take care of you, yeah?”

You turned your head, wanting to see him even if it was through half-lidded eyes.

The sight of him had you sucking in a quick breath; his eyebrows pinched together, mouth slightly ajar, and cheeks reddened. His eyes had that look in them again, which you were quickly realising was something akin to heat or desire. George looked almost blissed out as he focused on giving you pleasure.

You released a soft moan, panting as he continued, and his brow creased further. His eyes snapped shut as he listened to the broken noises you struggled to suppress, causing you to realise that he was getting off on this. He was enjoying making you fight not to make pleased little noises, the evidence of the effect of him on you. You wanted to kiss him desperately.

Your left hand moved sluggishly upwards, hesitantly cupping his cheek, and you gently traced your thumb down the cheekbone. His eyes flew open, and he turned slightly so that his gaze landed on your face. Fuck, he looked so good. He raised the same brows you had been observing earlier in silent question, and you felt yourself growing shy despite the circumstances you were currently in.

“Mm?”

You bit your lip, still gently tracing the shape of his cheek and being partially distracted by his actions. Tentatively you moved your face closer to his, lifting slightly off of his shoulder and tilting your head for a better angle. Your gaze kept flicking to his lips, then back to his eyes. He licked his lips, readjusting slightly so you could continue forward more comfortably.

“Please?” You whispered, and he nodded.

Your lips barely connected at first before moving ever closer, George finally understanding your earlier wordless begging and further uniting the two of you. Urgently you tried to convey your feelings for him in this– possibly single– kiss. The hand that was on his cheek was now against his jaw, fingers playing with the hair peeking out from behind his ear. Your other hand now came to a loose grip around the wrist that was down your shorts, taking pleasure in just feeling the rotation before falling to your side again.

You moved back to take a breath, his hand that was under your top moved around your waist, pulling you closer to him. You could feel him hard against your back. Then, it moved to join his other hand under your underwear, avoiding the wonderful movements made by his fingers, rubbing along your folds, and a moment later, you felt one of his long fingers pressing into you, both testing and teasing. A pleased sigh slipping out of him as he realised how easy it was for him to move in and out of you before he added another finger, making your jaw go slack as you fought off the noises he was willing to escape.

He took that reaction as an opportunity to kiss you deeper, lips moving languidly against your own, drawing soft aborted moans from you.

You pulled back again to look down at yourself, his tan arms against your skin, shirt ridden up from his earlier touching.

Breathlessly, your gaze shifted to his face again and whimpered, “George.”

He looked into your eyes and smiled. That had your heartbeat quickening, the butterflies in your stomach causing your orgasm to approach more rapidly. His smile grew as he felt you clench down on him.

“Just for my smile?” He looked pleasantly confused. And you groaned against him.

“Y’r so pretty.” You slurred against him, lust-drunk. “‘S not my fault.”

He hummed in amusement.

Your eyes fluttered shut, hips moving against him as his fingers pumped in and out of you, his others working just as relentlessly against your clit. Shuddering as he kissed just below your ear, where it connected with your jaw. Breathy whines became quiet needy moans, and you couldn't help but tilt his head so slightly to press your own kisses to the side of his mouth and cheek.

“So good to me. Y’r so good t’ me, George.”

And you heard him groan in response. Once again, you clenched in reaction.

“Let go for me, angel.” He murmured, softly biting where he could reach. “I know you’re close. I can feel it.”

He was right, you were close. His warmth pressed against you, combined with his hands and the kisses and bites he had been determinedly leaving on your throat, had you just at your tipping point.

He increased the pressure of his fingers, angling the others just so, and you couldn’t help but moan at it as your back arched.

“Geo— Georgie.” You whispered, the pet name sounding all the more affectionate in your haze.

“Let go for me, please? I’d really like to see it, love.”

And you did.

His odd fascination with you spurring him to continue his ministrations in order to draw it out as long as he could, watching your face contort, and your chest rise and fall, not stopping until you shook in his arms.

Slowly, he removed his hands from your shorts, leaving you to recover in his embrace.

Your mind was completely devoid of comprehensible thoughts, face angled into the crook of his neck as you regained sentience after the mind-numbing orgasm he had just gifted you with. You kissed at the skin there, the pair of you sighing contentedly at the feeling.

You felt him shift behind you and started to awaken further from what felt like a very strange but very good dream, and you realised what had just happened between each of you.

He has just caught you masturbating to him, and instead of running for the hills, he… did that. You had let him— invited him to do that. You must have stiffened against him because he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“You… caught me in a private moment and stayed, is all.”

“Mm? All of which I thought was quite nice.”

You frowned at him, but you knew he could see you didn’t mean it.

“‘S just odd. That’s all.” Then, quieter as you looked away, you added, “I didn’t know you even liked me.” And he scoffed, drawing your attention once again.

“I lay into you like a vampire in public, and you didn’t think I liked you?”

“Well, when you say it like that.”

He shifted, and you felt the bulge of his hardness against your back again. He had gotten hard just getting you off. Your eyes widened as he stuck the two fingers he’d just been fucking into you inside of his mouth. His eyes shut briefly, and you saw his cheeks hollow as he sucked your arousal off of his fingers.

“Oh, that’s trouble.”

“How do you mean?”

“You taste really good, angel.”

You inhaled sharply, a second wave of lust washing over you, and he opened his eyes to do that small, knowing smirk at you, the same one he did when he knew something you didn’t, which was often.

You could feel your heart hammering in your chest.

“I’d like a repeat of this if you don’t mind.”

You rolled your eyes fondly at him. “You just reduced me to mush, and you think I wouldn’t want that to happen again?”

He huffed a laugh, gently nudging you to get you to flip over and lay properly onto him, bringing his hardness back to the forefront of your mind.

“Do you..?”

“What? Oh, no.”

You deflated slightly.

“As lovely as that would be, angel,” he continued, “I’m knackered, and I want your energy up for tomorrow.”

“What’s tomorrow? Besides the archives, I mean?”

“Oh, didn’t you know? You’re feeling kind of feverish, so I have to stay home and look after you, and would you please go with her, Lockwood? The archives can be terribly boring when you’re alone.” He was smiling at you as though recounting a funny story, and he pulled blankets over the pair of you, so he was planning to stay the night, it appeared. Or at least until early in the morning when he woke.

“George, are you trying to get me alone tomorrow?”

“Yes. Wasn’t that obvious?” he deadpanned, and you couldn’t help the fond smile in response, and you hummed instead of answering.

“Besides, if not tomorrow, I’ll find some other way to hear those pretty noises you make while you’re under me.”

Your cheeks burned, and you buried your face under his jaw.

“You’re going to be the death of me.”

“I certainly hope not, I don’t want to experiment on your ghost.”

“That was almost sweet?”

“I meant it.”

You were just dozing off when he broke the silence.

“Why angel?”

“Hm?”

“Your pet name, why an angel?”

“Oh.” You moved to get more comfortable now that you were more aware of your surroundings again. “It reminds me of you.”

He waited for you to continue, not letting you out of that so easily.

“Do you remember the time we went to Arif’s together? The grocery boy had left out some things, so we decided to pick up doughnuts on our way home.”

“Last summer?”

You nodded against his collarbone.

“And when we were walking home, and I dropped it for some reason–”

He cut you off, silently adding, “A bird flew right in front of us.”

“And I got so surprised I dropped it,” you amended, recalling the bird now, too. “But I tried to catch it and went tumbling into the pavement?”

A faint exhale of a laugh came from above you, and you knew he was laughing at you even now.

“When I looked up at you, the sun was right behind you and…” Suddenly shy, you drifted off.

“Yes?” He prompted.

“You were laughing, and I couldn’t find myself to care because the sun was behind you. It lit up the edges of your hair like a halo, that’s why. It’s… I really like that memory.”

“Hm.”

“What?”

“I… may have asked Lockwood to stay home so I could take you instead. You’ve liked me since then?”

You laughed suddenly, surprising yourself. “We’re totally useless. Probably longer– I bet if I asked Lucy to take Anthony instead of us tomorrow, she would. She’s probably sick of me pining.”

“She’s got no ground to stand on. She and Lockwood were way worse.” He complained.

“Yeah?”

“And I had to deal with it alone.”

“But not anymore,” you said softly. “You have me now.” and he hugged you tighter to him. “We might have to buy me a scarf, though.”

“Oh, definitely. Don’t let them see tomorrow, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

George Casper Karim was unbearable.

His big stupid head still told you off for taking the biscuit, but now it would bend down and kiss you softly too.

And he still was so helpful, but now you could really see how he picked favourites and was secretly incredibly pleased he chose you, even if it meant investing what must count as an industrial-grade concealer so that his dutiful ironing was the only thing that made an impression on the client.

But now, he was even sweeter. His touches lingered and were more frequent. He still wouldn’t touch the others as openly, but your space and his space soon became shared. He was unbearable.

He still rolled his eyes as you tried to find a nickname of his very own, admonishing you with a heatless “Angel.” but you knew, you just knew you’d find the perfect fit one day.

He made your world spin, and you couldn’t help but always feel warm, safe and happy with him.

Which, without your knowing, was infectious. Spread to him like a leaf unfurling.

You were unbearable.

[aces-solace]

Favorite patient

Chapter two: party fun

Warnings: porn with plot, smut, fingering, semi publicity (public bathroom), throuple. I think that's all. Let me know if there is more.

"I know, I know. How about we meet up at a nearby bar and I'll pay?" I say, though I don't plan on paying as they always end up paying. "Fine, you really owe us one Amari!" Rebecca huffs before hanging up.

Fucking assholes. Whatever, I should go home and change, I wanna get laid tonight. I'm probably lying to myself right now, I always chicken out. They always seem to bother me about it.

Being a virgin at 23? Unheard of.

.

.

.

Fuck, what should I wear? Hm... I rummage through my closet and pull out a pair of knee-length black shorts, "hm... Not bad" I hum, tossing the shorts on my bed. Now a shirt.

I search my closet and pull out a black long sleeved fishnet crop top with black mesh making my chest less visible. Yeah, this'll work. I think I'll wear my fishnet thigh highs with my shorts.

Yeah, perfect.

.

.

.

I feel like a whore. " 'Mari darling~ can you go get some more drinks?" Rachel slurs, putting extra emphasis on the 'darling'. I quickly nod and walk away from the group.

Rachel has always had a thing for me, something I pretend to be oblivious to. I walk up to the counter, "Hi, can I get three cosmopolitan shots over there?" He nods "Thank you" I say, sitting at one of the stools.

My eyes scan the crowd, perhaps looking for my one nightstand, maybe just eye candy. A tall man with white hair catches my eye, next to him is a woman wearing a tight black dress.

Holy fuck,- that can't be... "Didn't know if doctors could drink, Dr. Gojo" "Very funny nurse Geto" he hums back at her. Fuck, it is. I quickly avert my eyes and someone else catches my eye.

A tan man with ripped baggy jeans and a short sleeves black shirt. I wouldn't mind losing my V-card to him.. We lock eyes and he motions for me to come over. Before I can fully stand up someone is pushing me down

"Didn't expect to see you here hun" Geto says, making herself comfortable in my lap "I- uh, I'm here with friends" I say, looking anywhere but at her. "Ah, ah, ah. Eyes on me angel" she coos at me, gently redirecting my gaze to her.

"I-" I see Rachel walking over to us, drink in hand, looking pissed. Fuck. I grab Geto's thighs and flip our position, her sitting in the chair as I hover over her and, as I expected Rachel's drink splashed on me.

"Amari- I am so-" "Here, let me help you dry off in the bathroom" Geto cuts off Rachel. Before I can say anything I'm being dragged to the bathroom by Geto. I walk in and I'm pushed against the door.

Her mouth quickly attached to mine, her tongue exploring my mouth. My hands fall on her hips, griping them tightly. I break the kiss after a few minutes, panting for air. "D-darling please..."

"Darling huh? Hm.. how do you feel about a throuple?" "T-thats fine..." She smiles and pulls me out of the bathroom and out of the bar. I catch a glimpse of a crying and angry Rachel but before I can process it anymore I'm outside.

"Who's the third person?" I ask as we walk towards a sleek black car "Someone you already met" She assured me, opening the car door and pushing me in, not wasting any time getting in and closing the door behind her.

Climbing on top of me and reattaching her lips to mine, "Well hello to you" he says, starting the car. I break the kiss "Hi" I huff out before kissing down her neck, "H-hah.. how many people have you done this too?" Geto asks breathlessly.

"I'm a virgin" I mumble against her skin. "Seriously?" Gojo asks "mhm.."

.

.

.

After what feels like forever we finally get to his house. I carry Geto upstairs to a random room, laying her on the bed. I immediately start attacking her neck again, unzipping her dress and pulling it off of her.

"Ngh! Hah... P-please~" she moans out, though I don't know what she's begging for. I take off her bra, tossing it to the side with her dress. I'm not sure when Gojo walked in but I feel him push me closer to Geto.

Geto is now under me as Gojo is behind me, I think I know what he's gonna do. I quickly put my hand to use, sneaking between her legs and circling her clit with my thumb.

"Hah!... M-more... Please.." she begs, her nails clawing at my back. Who am I to deny such a pretty plea? I push two fingers into her, slowly stretching her out. She cries out so prettily.

I flinch when I feel one of Gojo's fingers pushing into me. "F-fucking hell.." I mumble before attaching my mouth to Geto's nipple. "Mmm! S-so good..." She moaned, I can definitely say the same.

.

.

.

I groan as I slowly sit up. I glance over staring at the parts of Geto and Gojo's body that weren't covered. Bite marks, hickeys, and scratch marks littered all over them. Fucking beautiful.

Then it sets in, the realization. I slept with my doctor and my nurse.

[greenscreen-dress]

Hhheeeeheheh I love these skins so much I CANNOT wait to see them in-video... But until then here's my ranking of them, long rambly full thoughts below.

Also here's the tierlist!

Ultimate Slayage: no discussion these 2 are the best. Every single one of Sausage's skins are a smash hit & this one is no exception, it's just so well done. The eye make-up the little tied shirt thing the HUGE extravagant sunflower, contrasted by those big clomping boots... The GENDER of it all aough I love him.

& Pix of course. Pix my guy just STUNNING. Idk about the other skins but this one is very likely made by Pix himself (bc of a thing he tweeted) & that makes it all the more impressive bc it's just?? So good??? The floor-length the off-the-shoulder sleeves leading into long gloves(?), the corset-y bits with golden buttons or lacing up the front, the BRIGHT BLUE bodice bits which (based off the colour) are definitely Ancient Capitollian Dodo feathers or inspired by them at least... It's just a masterpiece. The only comment I might have is maybe make sure you match your foundation right, Pix... But I've also decided he's in a full white lace/mesh bodysuit under the dress so. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Surprised &/or Delighted: honestly this category fits all of them purely bc I don't think anyone expected these ^^. Oli & Jimmy are in here specifically because, while they're not my ultimate brain-frothing faves, these dresses are extremely good adaptations/elevations of their regular skins— Oli's especially looks so natural on him bc it's in exactly the same glitzy faux-medieval style as his bard outfit. The purple is a staple colour with him, fits the royalty theme, & somehow looks both elegant and like a Halloween costume with its bright shade & tinsel-like gold trims. It's silly and fantastic and VERY Oli Orionsound. Cannot wait for him to play the fainting damsel-in-distress at every occasion <3

Jimmy's is plainer but just as faithful to his sheriff skin: off-the-shoulder sleeves appear to be a theme with these skins and they look amazing on everyone, Katherine is so epic if this was her Royal doing. Jimmy looks AMAZING in a long jean(?) skirt & the slit just elevates it even more... I am beginning to notice I have a Thing for long skirts and big boots ^^;. This is going to look stunning with the hat, and just plain adorable at Jimmy's current height.

Fits the brief: ok so these skins are fantastic and I LOVE the colour on both of them, but there's not as much tying them to their Empires... fWhip's goblin skin is so intricate with that embroidered waistcoat & bright primary colours so it's a shame to lose that, though the plain red looks very elegant on him & the shape of the dress stands out from the other skins in a very fun way. It's definitely between the 2 categories and I will likely be swayed by the first bit of fanart I come across for it, but for now: yeah.

Joey's is the opposite case, where it fits the brief and the simplicity of it not only looks good but makes some sense (semi-broke pirate usually wearing tattered sailor's garb). I just wish it had gone a bit further to match Joey's big personality. The slit and shape is lovely (as is the neckliiii— wait where does that neckline end? /pos), but what about some more gold, or prismarine accents? Fishnet gloves, or stockings striped like his shirt? It just feels like it could go much further, & maybe fanart will push it there for me. Also I'm removing points for no dress + epic pirate boots /j

Expected more: oh this skin... Yeah I'm not blown away by it. The colours that are present are very nice but there just aren't enough of them, and the shape... The cutaways at the hip are very nice, but Girl. That is a tank top. & for some reason the skirt refuses to register as one in my brain despite the pretty gradient. With the vibes of Chromia I'm picturing Scott in something shorter and frillier, high-heeled boots, feathered hat and cape— real Barbie and the 3 Musketeers kind of vibe basically. I need to draw that. Definitely more colours though, that's the first step. Bi-coloured bodice, tie-dye skirt with petticoats, a flower crown, something!! Maybe there's custom items involved to accessorise, maybe this is a temporary self-made dress while waiting on a commission, idk but I'm going to need to see some out-of-this world fanart to salvage this skin as it is. :/ Sorry Scott, sashay away.

And finally...

Joel: Joel. Joel Smallish "Massive" Beans that is a recycled MCC skin I am SURE of it. Joel this is so lazy and stupid and perfectly on-brand I love it I hate it this is peak Wish/Aliexpress cosplay. Keep it up you bastard (I still want to see / draw him in proper femme greek garb. But alas).

ANYWAY.

Big long ramble, thankye for reading this whole thing & feel free to make your own lists / yell at me for interpreting these pixels wrong. No matter my minor gripes the fact we have these looks at all and go insane over them is so so SO fun ^^

[autumnsorbet]

Hay long time no see Rwby fans

As of yesterday it seems some concept art for Ruby's design for volume four was released and I have to say we were beyond robbed

As we all know volume fours outfit is one of the most disliked it seemed outfits for Ruby and I kind of understand it for many reasons one thing I do think that is smart though on a design is the belt across the chest is someone who is top heavy myself I have had it where I've had to clip my tops especially spaghetti string straps tops closed at the front with a clip to keep certain my chest from popping out my shirts but in Ruby's case she's not that top heavy like yang ,winter,or emerald

so I don't really see a need for her having a belt across the chest and best I think she's like a a cup

Her sleeves were cute I think they were always supposed to be a representation of penny and she also Incorporated white into her look which was her partner Weiss's color showing how she's disconnected from her partner and one of her teammates I wish they had found a way to add other colors to her outfit maybe giving Ruby a bit of a sense kid look or something that add all her team colors

But that's not what we got

But then you look at the concept art of what we could have got and I think the best combination for her look would have been this

Dark brown top,the heart like corset with sharp ends brown leggings (?) ,red skirt with crosses on it, not sure but a bow sash would be a cut way to show her link to Penny and phyrra and then sone normal booths,not 12 belts

This look would seem like a good between look that's still kind of mirrors her original look but also foreshadows her next look that we get and the 7-9

But it's the same issue many have talked about is that she always has these gray and white sleeves I guess that they're trying to have it where her arms don't bleed into the rest of her outfit but they could just give her Brown mesh kind of like the brown top instead of these gray sleeves and Ruby's V4 look it didn't even look like she had a shirt on a lot of the time in the volume since the concept art and the way it was modeled in the show and colored made it look skin tone the only reason you could tell Ruby had on the top is when you get to her sleeves but there are times it's just not noticeable and when it comes to this gray top due to every character being it seems gray washed in the show where they all look pale and gray and pasty throughout the seven-8 and Atlas for some reason the gray on Ruby's top also kind of blends with her skin at times they really need to stop giving Ruby these gray tops just have her be sleeveless from now on since they're back on remnant and they're in vacuo I'm hoping maybe down the line by the final volume if we see one more big outfit change before the final fight with Salem we get an outfit similar to what we got from this concept art or maybe some other concept art that could maybe try Ruby to Elva character she's known or lost but I'm thinking Ruby maybe needs to stop being tied to character she's lost like her mother, penny and phyrra I start more dressing for herself even though I didn't like it and I don't want to acknowledge them in the Justice League crossover movies part 2 Ruby had on a leotard outfit that looks really sporty that went with her semblance that felt like it represented herself a speedster looking for enjoyment quickness and fun Ruby should possibly maybe incorporate more leotards into her look or sports like outfits those would suit her more I believe the outfits we've been seeing her the end although it's what we've been used to it feels like Ruby in a way it's been mimicking her mother's summer for the longest time and now that Ruby is starting to come to the realization that her mom isn't who she always thought she was it'd be nice if we start to see Ruby become more of herself and go into a different outfit change that still mirrored her past outfit but show more of herself and I'm hoping that's what we get in volume 10 whenever we get it

[itsalwaysforyou]

the black sky and all those lights

a silly little something i wrote for jalentines!!

When Mal opens the dormitory door, Jay is standing in the hallway in his workout gear, hair tied up in a bun. He’s already grinning in that way he does when he wins a fight. Mal rolls her eyes at him. Grabbing her bag, she says bye to Evie, and joins Jay in the corridor. 

She scowls as they walk, her workout clothes tight on her skin. Jay had insisted they’d do things properly, and not in their usual leather. 

The hallways are decorated for Valentine’s Day, making Auradon Prep even more gaudy and colourful as usual. Pink and red hearts plastered across the walls, boasting the abundance of love here in Auradon. Jay’s had a thousand notes in his locker. Mal’s had none. Every morning, she watches Jay approach his locker like he would a target on the Isle. Weight forward, shoulders squared; ready to fight if needs be. And the paper falls to the floor like blood, only sickly pastel. Scrawled glittery gel pen. Words confessing passionate love, or asking him on dates, or doodles of hearts. Jay smiles the whole time. Greets and winks at girls. Scrunches those notes up in a fist. 

“Everywhere looks disgusting,” Mal says as they approach the sports hall. Heart-shaped bunting crests the doors.

Jay holds the door open for her. “It’s fun.”

“You would think that.”

The sports hall is mercifully free of décor. They drop their bags in the corner and begin to warm up, another stupid practice Jay insists on. His top rides up as he side-stretches. Isle rule: never show skin, especially to the enemy. Except, Jay loved to parade around in those stupid sleeveless vests. She’s yelled at him plenty of times about it—Are you insane? You’re a walking target. He would just grin and say, they’ll have to catch me first.

Jay laughs as he grabs the practice swords from their stands. “Here.” 

He throws it, and Mal catches. The weight in her hand is familiar. Already, her pulse is thrumming faster, and maybe if she closes her eyes she’ll be back on the docks, with the wind ripping at her hair, and the salt stinging her nose, and half a dozen of Uma’s crew jeering over the clanging of swords. 

Jay chucks her a mask too, before attaching one to his own face. The mesh turns her vision slightly hazy.

“Ready?” Jay asks.

Mal’s watched fencing practise a few times, mostly as an excuse not to do homework and instead watch her boys wipe the floor with all those prissy Auradon princes. Coach Jenkins appointed Jay captain of the team a few months ago, a role he takes more seriously than she’s ever seen him take anything. 

“Rassembler! Salute! Lower the point. Masks down. En guarde!”

Mal lunges first, which Jay clearly anticipates, parrying her blow. He circles. Strikes. Mal blocks it. He’s quick. Reflexes honed to a sword’s point; learned by practise and theory. Mal lashes out again, just catching his free arm before he jerks away. She grins underneath her mask. Her breath comes quicker. Jay’s blade arcs down, hitting her chest. Mal swats his blade away. She hears him laugh. She growls. Strike. Parry. Strike. Block. Strike. Jay lands another hit. Their shoes squeak against the linoleum floor. 

“Come on, Mal,” Jay teases. 

Mal lunges like a cat on its prey. Jay’s blade grates against hers like steel against flint. Jay may be quick but Mal’s smaller, and she weaves her way through Jay’s blade until they both have the sword’s point angled at each other’s chests. 

They’re both panting. Jay lowers his sword first. Takes off his mask. 

“You came in clutch at the end,” he says. 

Mal huffs, wiggling the mask off her face and wiping her forehead with a sleeve. “You actually get training.”

“And now I’m training you!” 

His hair has loosened during the sparring, spilling out at the seams. He unties the bun; flips his hair down and shakes it out. In this late-afternoon light, his hair could be made of gold. Hair longer than Mal’s ever had. 

He pulls his hair back into its bun, deft fingers making quick work. When he straightens back up again, his face is slightly flushed from the match. 

And Mal looks at this boy she’s known most of her life; this face and these hands; a boy that has held her at the end of the world and the start of a new one. And she snatches back down her mask. 

“Again,” she says, lifting up her sword. 

She’s swinging before Jay’s even had the chance to pull his own mask back down. Her blade slices against his chest, and she hears the breath escape from his lungs. 

“Fuck!’

Jay’s blocking her hits in no time. Mal grits her teeth. A boy who’s inhabited every place she’s ever been. The shadow along the street; a fixed point on the rooftops. Those long, quick fingers that know their way around bandage; around open flesh; around her own hands. Like a comet to Earth. Like an eclipse. Totally consuming. 

And here, where the sun shines brighter than they could have ever dreamed, she is left blistering. Those girls that fawn over Jay, professing their love with the same ease that Mal can hold a dagger to a throat. Jay’s clicking tongue, and that low fry to his voice when he’s chatting someone up. Everything is always so easy to him. He can wrap anyone around his finger with a wink. 

His blade slams into her stomach. Mal pants, the budding pain in her side clearing her head. Jay’s standing above her like some heavenly deity. 

“Best of four?” he offers.

“Yeah, whatever.”

“C’mon. Let’s take a break.”

Jay drops his sword and grabs his water bottle from his bag. Mal joins him, still gripping her sword, gulping down her water like a man in a desert. 

“We should do this again soon,” Jay says. 

“Tomorrow?”

“It’s the Valentine’s Ball tomorrow.”

Mal snorts. “Yeah, and?”

“I was gonna go.”

His words are coming too slow; too considered. Like when he used to talk about his dad, or a particularly bad Barge Day. Rehearsed. A guard dog who’s smelled danger, prowling at the sidelines. 

Mal presents her blade. “En guarde!” she shouts, and Jay ducks her swing before scrambling over to his own sword. 

“Really, Mal? Another sneak attack?”

“I’m keeping you on your toes.”

They waltz around the sports hall, the blades clashing and slicing and singing.

“We all agreed we weren’t going to go to the Ball,” Mal says, jabbing at Jay.

“We never agreed anything.”

Jay lands a blow. They are at the dockyard, with its rotting wooden pier and dead fish stench. The screeching of metal; the shouting; Mal’s heart hammering like the tide. Blood, and life. The roar in her ears. A dragon’s call. Body moving without a thought, as quick as a lightning strike. Not having to look behind her because she knows Jay is there.

“Exactly!” she says. “Why would we want to go to some stuffy Auradon ball?” Jay tries to say something but she ignores him. “Why would we care about Valentine’s Day? It’s corny, and over-commercialised, and a stupid excuse to make everything about love.”

Jay has her backed up against a wall. With no time to mount his mask, his lips are slightly parted, and his hair is escaping from his bun again. He looks just like he did on the Isle; none of his perfect prince act that fools Auradon. His sword hovers above her throat. 

“Do you yield?” His voice is low.

Mal stares at him. Those eyes that have seen every part of her. All the blood; every smile; her pale skin in the dark Isle nights. The boy that has beheld her every action; weighed it all against his own understanding of the world, and decided that they slot together as easily as a bullet in a pistol.

“Who are you going with to the Ball?” Mal asks. She’s still clutching her sword. She could claim the upper hand, if she really wanted.

A grin creeps across Jay’s face. All those notes and heart-shaped lollipops. The giggling girls at his locker. He could pick any one of them. All of them so beautiful, in their sunset-coloured dresses. He could have anything he wanted.

“Well,” Jay says. “I was going to ask you.”

The sword’s point makes sure they keep their distance. Never too close. All touches so light; so fleeting, as if you could’ve mistaken them for a dream. As if you could’ve imagined the whole thing. All those nights in the hideout where the barrier of the body seemed thin, and the world became so small: just two kids who wouldn’t even dare knock knees. 

So Mal shakes it all away with a laugh. “I’m not going to the Valentine’s Ball.”

Jay lowers his blade. Neither of them move. “Not even with me?” 

“I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other girls who actually want to go with you.”

“I want to go with you.”

His words echo through the empty hall. His word is as steadfast as ever, the only opinion Mal will ever trust. Compass, anchor: Jay does it all. 

Heralded here, Mal as real as the vast sky outside. Here, in his gaze, held aloft by trust where there shouldn’t be and compassion where there shouldn’t be and understanding where there shouldn’t be. A home for all her broken bones. 

Mal’s lips unfurl into a smile. This ache in her chest. In her throat. Jay always being able to disarm her. Jay in every place she’s ever been. Jay as her shadow; her skin; her second self. A reflection in the mirror. The line of separation is nonexistent. Like the sun, like the moon: one cannot exist without the other.

[lamaisongaga]

FASHION CREDITS: JAZZ & PIANO SHOW 4.0 PART I

Lady Gaga made a triumphant return to Las Vegas where she'll be staying until July to complete another round of her highly sought-after Jazz & Piano residency shows! And of course, she brought a whole new batch of costumes styled by Sandra Amador and Tom Eerebout along with her.

First, we‘re hopping onto our virtual plane where I‘ll be taking you to Marbella, Spain to once again meet with young fashion designer Adrián Manceras who‘s kind enough to let us take a look in his atelier where he crafted Gaga‘s opening number: a fabulous cocktail dress showered in champagne sequins, finest crystals and delicate fringe trimmings!

I can‘t help but notice how Gaga sticks to the same designer when it comes to the opening number‘s look. From headpiece down to the shoes. Yet, she changes the design every time she comes back to Vegas.

Here, she‘s donning yet another insane showgirl-inspired headdress with turkey feathers and Swarovski crystals by the ever-so talented Arturo Rios who sent me this image JUST for your eyes!

The Italian-American entertainer topped her look off with a new custom pair of Laruicci crystal statement earrings

Her favorite Jimmy Choo metallic silver Anouk stiletto pumps provided the finishing touches.

The choice of purple was as unexpected as the combination of sequins, feathers (provided by Mother Plucker Feather Company), and PVC. Yet, this look struck me the most, standing out in a sea of bold fashion statements!

Delving into La Maison Gaga reveals an intriguing history behind her glamorous wardrobe. LA-based designer Michael Costello has been crafting stunning caftans for Gaga for a decade. His journey with her began in 2014 when he designed a sequined piece similar to this one for her "Cheek to Cheek! Live" performance . This collaboration marked the start of a creative partnership that has since produced numerous iconic looks, each more dazzling than the last.

Michael also collaborated with Gladys Tamez Millinery on the halo-like black feather pillbox headpiece!

New York City-based heritage jewelry brand A.JAFFE created some of the earrings, including these teardrop stunners!

Gaga surprised her audience last night with a special rendition of "Americano". It‘s been 12 years since she performed that song!

For this act of the show, Perry Meek whipped out a stunning dress even Jessica Rabbit wouldn't pass upon.

Crafted from red crystal mesh, this dress features an off-the-shoulder hourglass silhouette, trimmed with red ostrich feathers. And it comes with a matching coat!

Her Harriet wired red feather fascinator is a hand-made piece by Carrie Jenkinson Millinery ($331.79), one of the UK's leading fashion milliners.

This white-gold crescent earring set surrounded by differently cut diamonds is another A.JAFFE design.

And I hope I’m not the only one who‘s drooling over these Jimmy Choo Romy crystal-encrusted red pumps.

Then, Gaga stuns on stage in a total Giorgio Armani look which comprises this plush black velvet strapless bustier column dress with crystal band embellishment ($4,777) and the Fall/Winter 2018 Privé Haute Couture pink ostrich feather coat she previously wore for her V Magazine 2019 cover!

Gaga's MUA Sarah Tanno-Stewart collaborated with Face Lace on all the differently designed crystal eye stickers for the residency!

LG debuted a bunch of new looks on her second night and the uber-talented Michael Costello had another wonder up his sleeve when he revealed this stunner to me yesterday morning - a custom sparkly black and gold sequin silk chiffon caftan with incorporated metal belt, shoulder pads, plunging neck and daring open sides, based on Michael's upcoming "DNA" collection!

He also created her matching custom ruched faux leather gloves and feather boa in collaboration with Mother Plucker Feather Company.

What's a good jazz stage look without a fun plummeted hat to top it off? British milliner Carrie Jenkinson Millinery made sure to exceed stagewear standards with her Spring/Summer 2024 Selina feather hat (£520).

Her go-to performance shoes: the timeless Jimmy Choo Anouk black patent leather pumps ($675).

Malaysian couture design house Rizman Ruzaini joined the game by crafting a show-stopping red chiffon cape dress showered in Swarovski crystals. Thanks so much for these exclusive behind-the-seams photos!

She also brought back her Jose & Maria Barrera vintage 1993 “Crystal Evening” runway crystal necklace.

Gaga gave us an epic performance of "La Vie En Rose", dressed in rose silk satin caftan-style layered dress with stripped coque feathers, custom-made for her by Ukrainian fashion label Santa Brands.

This look was completed with a bunch of stellar accessories, including the Carrie Jenkinson Millinery Spring/Summer 2024 Valencia exploding feather fascinator (£579)...

...the Swarovski Millenia octagon-cut crystal bib necklace...

... and the Cornelia James Melissa opera-length black velvet gloves (£160).

If the dress from the third night's opening seems familiar to you, it's because she's worn this custom Natali Germanotta x Debra Cooper blue sequin fringed cocktail number back in 2019 before!

This look got a black version of the aforementioned Arturo Rios turkey feather and Swarovski crystal headpiece.

It‘s Michael Costello‘s world and we‘re just living in it! His third custom dress for our girl's third night is this uuuuuultra sexy black satin number with one-shoulder caftan silhouette, trimmed with luxurious ostrich feathers by Mother Plucker Feather Company and featuring beaded appliqués on the shoulder and waist.

It was finished off with this vintage Philip Treacy 1996 black feather firework headpiece which has already been previously worn by Gaga back in London in 2015!

For the fourth show (June 29), LG brought out another Michael Costello x Mother Plucker Feather Company confection — a black-as-the-night satin caftan, showered in small jet crystals and trimmed with feathers.

It was only a matter of time before she brought out a fairytale headpiece by milliner Piers Atkinson.

From his archives, she opted for the Fall/Winter 2021 "Triptych" collection elevated black ostrich feather pompom fascinator with beaded tassels.

[culdeefell-sims]

Wetsuits, wetsuits everywhere!

We're here! We've made it! My very own first-ever frankenmesh!!

Did you know that leggings tend not to have meshes at all? It blew my mind! I hand-repainted some swimsuit tops to react the waist and connect with the leggings, then meshed on a skirt! Sounds easy, right? Well, it involved a LOT of bumps and bruises along the way as I learn the new programs involved and don't have a middle mouse button (Blender has a secret option that allows you to use alt + left mouse, fun fact!). Also! Thank heavens for the coolors palette generator, it made finding contrast and highlight colors such a breeze.

Modeled by both Lonnie AND Winnie, because I accidentally made the brown swatches almost the same exact color as Lonnie's skin. Whoops?

Includes icons ripped by @trillyke on tumblr here :)

While they are based on Seasons swimsuits, I'm fairly confident that the skirtless suits are all BGC. The skirted suits are brand new meshes and therefore BGC by nature.

Versions include:

-Sleeveless (BGC?, CU, 14 swatches, standalone mesh)

-Short sleeved (BGC?, CU, 14 swatches, standalone mesh)

-Short sleeved w/ skirt (BGC, CU, 19 swatches, standalone mesh)

-Sleeveless w/ skirt (BGC, CU, 19 swatches, addon)

I couldn't for the life of me figure out how I'd made the sleeveless skirted one an addon to the sleeved one. If anyone knows what's up, I'd love a comment or a message with a hint!

Huge thanks to @tweedsims on tumblr for her help troubleshooting! I was also told I ought to tab @alwaysfreecc

As always, thanks for checking it out! All meshes belong to EA. All downloads are and always will be free on my Patreon.

[arse-crack-thistle]

rwrb characters and their eras tour outfits

so i saw this tiktok asking what we think alex and henry are wearing to the eras tour, so here’s what i think the super six would do if they were all going together (in new york, i assume)…

(in my head they all choose an era and base an outfit on that…probably nora and pez’s idea)

alex - he fights for reputation and wins. i’m thinking black, sparkle, and chains. leather jacket with a black rhinestone snake on the back and a black mesh crop top underneath. black distressed jeans cuffed over combat boots. chains around his neck and hanging from his jacket and pants. thin black sunglasses that he later uses to hold back his curls when the house lights go down. oh and he definitely has the sharpest black eyeliner on his lids.

henry - he has a choice: either live in his reputation era with alex or be his complementary opposite. so he chooses lover. i’m thinking ‘80s high school student with lover energy. light-washed jeans with white chuck taylors. tucked in, a loose-fitted pastel button-up with cuffed sleeves. maybe it has splotches of color or faded butterflies on it…idk some kind of print. on top, a hand painted jean jacket with “london boy” in loopy pink typography on the back. a glitter lover heart around his eye (bc nora insists).

nora - speaking of, i’ll keep this simple for her. a fully identical ring leader costume to what taylor had on the red tour. she may be an irl chaos demon but i think she’s anointed herself the unofficial leader of “super six does eras tour 2k23” so this fit is appropriate for her. i mean she almost made them all wear matching t-shirts like they’re a depressed cishet family at disney world but june talked her down.

june - the queen of fashion herself. this is the trickiest for me bc june wants to do folklore and just wear shortalls and the silver star cardigan to be comfy, but she’ll be damned before she doesn’t match the energy of the others. june goes with evermore and all in on “cowboy like me” to piss alex off since he almost went with rodeo wear. cropped cream fringe jacket with an elegant ivy embroidery on the back and trim. underneath, a bustier and shorts of the same fabric with the same embroidery. of course she’s wearing a cowboy hat, cream with the ivy details. and caramel cowboy boots (rounded toe bc she’s a utility girl). everything but the boots are custom made in austin.

pez - “this night is sparkling! don’t you let it go!” yeah so as soon as he saw taylor in all of her enchanted ballgowns, he knew he had to be her nigerian billionaire glitter prince. and that’s exactly what he does. he commissions a nigerian designer to make a suit and headpiece using akwete fabric in the colors of the speak now era’s visuals. all accented in rhinestones of course. he’s also all about the accessories with a watch, bracelets, necklaces, shoes, and glasses from various luxury brands. he does the absolute most, and everyone loves him for it.

bea - angel is in her midnights era, and i am here for it! bc of bullshit princess rules she couldn’t wear a bodysuit like she wanted. but no matter, she’s still going to shimmer. having not seen anyone do it yet, she literally learns to sew and diy’s a mini dress version of taylor’s yellow dress at the end of the bejeweled music video. it was totally, incredibly frustrating but she nails it! complete with lace, bows, and a little more sparkle, the dress hits so hard. she pairs it with sparkly louboutin boots and replicas of the hair clips and choker she bought off etsy. june helps her do taylor’s hairstyle from the video, while she does the makeup, beauty mark included.

so yeah that’s what i got. what do you think?? bc this is such a fun prompt and i could see each character doing like fifty different things lol <3

[yinza]

Because they both deserved better dresses! Thought I’d have some fun designing a different set that really did match in some way.

[Image Description: A set of 3 digital drawings featuring Cloud and Tifa in different dresses. In the first drawing, Cloud wears a long-sleeved purple dress with frilled trim and a red sash, strongly resembling his OG dress design. His hair is in braided pigtails, and he stands with his hands clasped in front of him, looking embarrassed. Tifa wears a sleeveless knee-length red dress cinched with a belt, a brown leather jacket hanging off her shoulders, and cowboy boots. She is looking at Cloud in amusement.

In the second drawing, both wear black dresses. Cloud’s is sleeveless, with mesh fabric forming a V-neck, an asymmetrical skirt, and an underbust corset. He also wears long black gloves. Tifa’s dress is short and exposes her middrift, with thin straps criss-crossing it. She wears strappy knee-high sandals and silver bracelets. They stand back-to-back, looking at each other confidently, Cloud with his arms folded and Tifa with a hand on her hip.

In the third drawing, they wear evening gowns. Cloud’s is a dark blue shimmery fabric with a deep V-neck and a slit up one side. He wears a translucent lighter blue wrap looped over his arms, and is reaching to grasp the hilt of his sword over his shoulder. Tifa’s dress has a halter neck with a sweetheart neckline and slits up both sides. The color is deep blue at the top, fading to a pale blue at the hem. She wears long dark blue gloves, and stands in a ready fighting stance. /end ID]

[superblysubpar]

📼Remember to vote at the bottom (voting time will be cut off on Friday the 13th) // Details for Trope or Treat Madness Event found here // My blog is 18+ - please respect this

📼Each scene of the girl's stories below is about 2k words more or less. There are things that happen before and/or after that would be revealed in future scenes if they make it to the next round and/or in their final one shot if declared the winner.

📼warnings: both of theses stories are written by a bisexual female, there's descriptions of being with a guy in both and there's a bit of bi-panic eventually | There's a little bit of being scared to be out and Robin's story very much involves the 80s and hints to homophobia eventually so please don't read if it makes you uncomfortable | I'm trying to my hand at some horror things for the first time, if that's not your genre or thing don't read (not that it's great, cause I really don't know what I'm doing with this genre yet, but still. there will eventual be descriptions of blood, or weapons, spooky things amuck)

Robin's Story:

"Yeah, I know your secret."

Ring! Ring! Riiiinnnnn-

“Roasted Reads!” Your breathless but bright greeting interrupts the shrill chimes that had been echoing through the store. Robin looks at her watch and mumbles something about how many hours she has left with Barbie and your skin turns hotter than the steam coming out of the espresso machine. 

There’s a breath on the other end, but then nothing. You press a palm to your other ear, holding the phone closer and urging Britney’s voice playing overhead to grow softer. Robin’s eyebrows raise and you smirk as you speak into the phone like you’re trying to give the person on the other end a stomach ache with the amount of sugar in your tone. 

“Hello? This is Roasted Reads! What can we brew for you today?”

Relishing in the clench of Robin’s jaw as she turns back to making a latte for the customer in the store. 

The fun of annoying her quickly vanishes though when there’s another breath on the phone line. Something under your skin prickles when it happens again. 

A sharp inhale, then another exhale. 

You slam the phone back into the wall receiver, giving the pale, blue, inanimate object a look that could kill it regardless as the coiled cord sways beneath it. 

“Jesus, what’d that phone do to you?”

Robin hops up on the counter, nodding towards it as the customer walks out with her latte. Robin examines her black chipping polish, sipping on the Orange Julius she had snatched from down the street on her lunch break. Her black tights scuffed and ripped on her knees where a lime green band-aid peeks out, a run disappearing into her boots that sway in the air as she kicks them back and forth.

Arms wrapping around yourself in a shield, you pull the cream sleeves of your knit cardigan down over your palms, teeth marking up your bottom lip as you shake your head. “Nothing, just a prank call or something.”

“Now, who would ever wanna prank you?” The question dripping with sarcasm - as is Robin’s specialty - makes your blood boil alone, but the way the tone is accompanied by her eyes drifting casually over your outfit, judging smirk forming around her straw, makes something else inside of you start to simmer.  

You glance down at the clothing under review, wondering what she could possibly find so horribly offensive about your outfit or you today. You have a plaid skirt on, a black turtleneck and your cardigan. Tights and chunky mary-jane heels. Sure you’re not edgy like Robin with a mesh top as one of your layers, or black polish and rings adorning your fingers, you’ve never owned doc martens, no shimmery cool shades on your eyelids - but you felt cute and proud of the look you put together today. 

You’ve given up trying to impress or win over your alt co-worker though. Which is sad, because Robin and you were friends, once upon a time. But now, seniors in high school, you were the furthest thing from. You sat at a table she sneered at during lunch, your hands wrapped around biceps adorned in leather-man jackets she judged and joked about. You were quick to learn that the differences didn’t stop when you started working most of your shifts together at the coffee shop and used bookstore combo. 

While you were quick to greet customers with a smile and a wave, burning through your to do list in the first hour of your shift, Robin only plastered a fake smile on when she wanted tips. Otherwise the barista flipped through comic books, waited to clean anything till almost closing, and groaned when it was your day to pick the music. 

So instead of feeding into her negativity today, you simply just smile. Your fingers nudge the speaker a tinge louder as you turn to head back to the stacks on the floor you need to shelve. “I know, right?”

Robin only snorts, shaking her head as you walk away. 

After the CD ends, the dark, gray clouds swirling lower and lower over the sky make it easy to compromise with her on the next one popped in. The Cranberries album crackles through the speaker softly. Legs folded underneath yourself as your pencil marks prices in front covers, humming as you move books to their respective genre piles. 

Ring! Ring! Ring! Riiinnn-

“Roasted Reads!��� Your palms press to the wall as you come to a stop from your jog to the counter, Robin actually muttering a quiet ‘thanks’ as she makes several drinks for the young girls gossiping about boys behind her. 

“Hello?” Your fingers curl into the coils of the phone cord, shoulders hunching and eyebrows furrowing, “Hello, is someone there?”

“I know your secret,” a harsh and strangled voice calls through it. 

The phone static increases and then cuts off sharply into a dial tone. You hang it up gently this time, staring at it like it might ring again and give you answers to your questions. 

“Again?” Robin’s voice questions as she moves the silver cup up and down slowly, steaming and frothing milk. 

When you only hum, she looks up and over at you, hands pausing when she sees the look on your face. “You good?”

Your heart rate races as her big, blue eyes blink at you. Sleeves of your sweater pulled down so your fingers curl into it, you just nod, speaking softly, “Yeah, just some asshole.”

You quickly make your way back to the stack on the ground, staring at the covers without really seeing them. Secret? What secret? The creepy voice over the phone still filling your ears, your palms sweat. Your brain races with any information you may be holding close that you wouldn’t want anyone to know. 

“Here.”

You jump, hand over your chest as a steaming and full coffee mug fills your vision. Robin’s fingers curled around the handle as she stares down at you. 

“Oh…uh, thanks?” The warmth from the mug soothes your frazzled nerves as your fingers wrap around it, the tips just touching hers as she lets go. 

Robin shrugs, scuffing the toe of her boot against the worn carpet. “Sure. You seemed kind of shook up, nothing a little mocha can’t fix.”

“I’m fi-“ 

SMACK.

Your shoulders hunch and Robin jumps herself, a little bit of whipped cream spilling out onto your fingers from the sudden movement at the sound against the glass windows. Your gaze meets your boyfriend’s, his smug smile down at you through the otherside as you narrow your eyes. You don’t notice how the boys behind him eye Robin from head to toe, or how she wraps her arms around herself, retreating towards the counter quickly as the chime over the door sounds. 

“Did I get ya?” Steve’s smile and boyish delight radiate off of him as he makes his way towards your spot you’re quickly pulling yourself up from.  

“Uh-huh, so scary.” You roll your eyes as his hands push under your cardigan, squeezing at your waist enough to make you squeal his name. 

He kisses over your face that tries to duck away from the attention as Tommy and Andy mock your voice, making theirs higher and repeating his name accompanied with kissing noises. 

Steve waves them off. “Go buy some coffee, assholes.” When he turns back to you he squeezes your waist again, lips skimming your jaw as he whispers, “I already have my treat.”

“Ew, Steve,” you laugh despite the terrible line, pushing against his shoulders, but not really as his kisses move to just under your ear. 

Over his shoulder, you see Robin staring at the two of you, rag between her fingers twisting as her jaw clenches. Cocking your head curiously, Steve takes it as an invitation, nose nudging against the collar of your turtleneck, grumbling, “Why are you so covered up?”

Giggling as he nips at your earlobe, Robin’s shoulders hunch when your eyes meet and she turns around quickly, fingers moving over the espresso machine but not really doing anything. 

Steve glances over his shoulder towards her, then back at you, pulling you around the corner, out of view from the windows and the counter. Taking a few steps towards you until your back hits the shelves, one of his hands pushes against one over your shoulder, the other playing with the hem of your skirt. His nose brushes against yours, breath fanning across your lips, as he whispers, “This is cute.”

“Tha-thank you,” your lip tugs between your teeth as his fingers push underneath the plaid, grazing across your thigh, curling on your hip. Your top lip bumps his as you add on, “Steve, I’m at work.”

His thumb brushes back and forth, skin beneath the thin material of your tights buzzing as he whispers, “You can take a break, can’t you?”

Your eyes roll as you press your hands to his chest, running up hard pecs beneath his navy polo, curling under the green and orange jacket collar. Smiling against his lips as the muscles in his shoulders flex beneath your fingertips. 

His eyes sparkle, “You wanna kiss me so bad, admit it.”

“I-”

“Either order something or get the fuck out,” Robin’s voice rings clearly through the stacks and Andy and Tommy’s snickers and low ‘ooo’s’ do as well. 

Steve sighs and backs away from you, thumb brushing over your bottom lip before letting it fall back into your pout. He smiles as he keeps walking backwards and calls, “Hold that thought, okay?”

Grinning wide and pleased with himself as you press a palm to your cheek. Tommy and Andy smack him and boo, shoving him out the door and down the sidewalk. 

Something slams against the counter and you turn to see Robin wiping things down furiously, glaring at you as she huffs, “If your boyfriend’s henchmen are gonna come in here with him every time he wants to get in your pants, could you please entertain them too? I’m sure you can show all three of them a great time.”

“Excuse me?” Your arms cross as you stomp towards her, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” she looks up from the counter, jaw clenching, “Exactly what you think it does.”

“What is your actual problem with me? What have I ever done to you Robin?” Your hands land on the counter between the two of you, fed up with this constant back and forth when you’ve done nothing wrong. 

Robin’s blue eyes dart over your face, her freckled nose scrunching and the fallen curls of her pinned up honey hair bouncing as she scowls and shakes her head. Both of your chests heave in sharp inhales, the storm outside feels like it’s right on top of you as her mouth opens.

Ring! Ring! Ri-

“Roasted Reads,” Robin’s tone biting as she turns and answers the phone. Her shoulders hunch and she quickly hangs up the phone staring at it. 

Immediately, your features soften, something in your stomach twisting and turning as you ask, “Was that-”

“It’s fine. Let’s just…” Her hands shake as she keeps her back turned to you.

“Robin, are you-”

“Can we both just do our jobs and not speak to each other the rest of the shift? Okay?” Her questions sharp. 

Your head shakes as you turn away, scoffing at her immaturity. You’ve done nothing but be kind to her and your conscience is clear. “Fine by me.”

“Good!” She hollers, slamming a mug onto the shelf.

“Great!” You stomp towards the boombox on the opposite end of the counter, popping The Cranberries out and shoving Christina Aguilera in instead. 

Slowly, as the storm clouds grow darker outside and you catch Robin staring at the phone with her fingers pulling on each other more than once, your anger starts to subside. Clearly both of you don’t appreciate whoever decided your store was the victim of their pranking, and she has every right to be annoyed by Tommy and Andy, they are assholes most of the time. 

Trying to bury the hatchet, you sip the mocha she made you, now cold, and make eye contact with her as you set it on one of the steps of the ladder you’re using. 

“You’re doing that wrong.”

She snaps her gum and fiddles with the rag in her fingers, pausing her work on cleaning the espresso machine as you glare at her. Clearly, she’s not feeling any less hostile towards you. Setting the stack of books down on the top of the ladder, you cross your arms with an annoyed huff. 

You lean over the tower of books, resting a knee on a rung, “I actually can’t stand y-”

Ring! Ring! Riiinnnn-”

“Roasted Reads, how can we help you?”

This time, you’re able to see her face when she answers, and you watch as all color drains from it. Her freckles stark against pale cheeks. Your annoyance dulls in a silent truce as her eyes grow bigger. These phone calls being attached to a real jackass are the only thing you two seem to agree on. 

Robin rolls her shoulders, pointing at an invisible person as she hisses into the receiver, “Listen here you little twerp, whoever this is, you’re not funny and you can fuck right off and-”

She slams the phone back into its spot on the wall when whoever it was clearly hung up. 

The wind whips the tree branches outside against the glass making you both jump and the lights flicker. 

Robin swallows, whispering, “Spooky.”

Christina’s voice wails, “ ‘Cause all I want is yooouuu, come on over, come on over bab-”

And the lights go out completely, a low whir of the fridge, and then nothing.  

Nancy's Story:

"Feels like I'm gonna D-I-E, whenever you get close to me."

The dim glow of the lamp against the wooden tabletop flickers as the storm worsens outside the stained glass windows. Your eyes narrow in the low light, focused on finding the missing piece of research needed for this story. 

You were going to get that front page article, you were going to get that head nod and 'good work, kid' from your boss this time. Not that prissy, know it all, up your editor's ass Nancy fucking Wh- 

"Hey." 

Speak of the devil and they’ll appear.

She stands across the table from you, several books in her hands, her ever present messenger bag on her shoulder and coffee mug balancing between it all. Your gaze returns to your own book, page turning despite not seeing any of the words anymore as your voice comes out icy, "What do you want Wheeler?" 

"Just wondering how your story's going? You seem kind of..." when she trails off you look up. Only to regret giving her the satisfaction immediately as she motions around her face and grimaces as she tacks on, "Frazzled." 

"Fu-" 

"Shhhh!" 

The table of pre-law students on your right hiss towards the two of you. Nancy and you both whisper apologies and glare at each other. It’s been this way since your first year, that very first day in your college’s newsroom. 

Entering the space, something inside of yourself burst and settled all at once. It was chaos, there were people flying from one end to the other with papers in their hands, several were pacing in front of big windows that overlooked the quad, pencils behind their ears and talking to themselves. Coffee mugs in various states of piping hot to cold and stilted, forgotten while bylines needed to be met sat on any surface they could find. A giant whiteboard with people standing in front of it and moving images around and writing underneath them. You were home, this is what you had been waiting for. 

Several people stood near the door, looking about as lost, yet as at peace as you felt. A boy with dark brown curls tied in a low bun looked the most perplexed. He had black jeans, ripped at the knees, a plain white t-shirt and scuffed up converse. One hand holding a beat up soft leather book, papers sticking out of it haphazardly. Pale fingers of the other hand, adorned in silver and chunky metal rings reached up, adjusting black glasses that framed bright, brown eyes. He nodded at you as his cheeks tinged pink. 

A girl, jeans and a baggy red sweatshirt hiding her figure, held a skateboard and stood just behind him. She had auburn hair, a silver hoop in her nose, and she blew a bright pink bubble with her gum as her blue eyes looked you up and down. Bubble popping as she smiled at you, sticking her hand out. “I’m Robin.”

Mirroring her energy, you smiled as you shook hands and introduced yourself. Purple chipped polished fingers lingering in your palm as she let you go. 

A boy with a backwards baseball hat on, rested his elbow against Robin’s shoulder. Green and honey swirling in his eyes that also looked you up and down. He held a camera in his hands and smiled wider than Robin had. 

“I’m Steve.”

“Nice to meet you, Steve.” You smirked. This was a guy that was totally getting drunk in only a few short hours, red solo cup in his hand as a ping pong ball splashed in one on the other end of a beat up table. Sure that Green Day would be crackling out of shitty speakers as Robin probably smoked next to him and douchey frat guys talked about if they were gonna make the championship this year or whatever else business major bros talked about. 

The last girl rolled her eyes at this interaction. She wore a plain gray tshirt, tucked into dark wash jeans, sensible black flats on her feet. Her brown hair curled and rested against her shoulders. A leather messenger bag hanging at her side, pale pink fingernails curled around the strap and a pair of silver ballet slippers resting between her collarbones on a chain. Her eyes blinked at you before looking away. 

Steve murmured, leaning in close to you, “Yeah I already tried, she’s very serious. No time for us.”

Your arms crossed as you cocked your head, and smiled. “Oh? And we’re not serious?”

Steve’s eyes roamed over you again, lips twisting before he clicked his tongue. “Nah, I think we’re fun.”

Before you could say anything, a cough came from behind your shoulder. Turning and falling in with the group, you all faced the boy who seemed to be a year or two older. Shaggy brown hair, stains on his shirt, bags under his eyes. He sighed, looking at the crumpled list in his hand. 

“Alright, who’s the creative writing major?”

The boy with the sketchbook and glasses stepped forward, sticking his hand out, “Eddie.”

Sighing boy in front of you nodded, not looking up and Eddie’s hand slowly fell back to his side. He pointed over his shoulder, “Go see Jacobs, guy talking too loud and holding the yellow woodstalk coffee mug, he’s your go to.”

Eddie blinked, opening his mouth, then closing it, making his way across the room. 

“Harrington,” another sigh and Steve stepped forward. The tired boy in front of you looked him up and down, glancing at the camera before taking a sip of coffee. “You’re mine, congrats. Go get me another coffee.” 

Steve saluted, forming a serious face as his lips twitched. “Sir, yes sir.”

As he walked away you looked at Robin. “Harrington as in…”

Robin’s eyebrows raised, “Uh-huh, the publishing company.”

Steve turned as he exited, winking at you. 

Another loud sigh and you and Robin clamped your mouths closed. He looked over the three of you, “Who are the two journalism?”

You stepped forward and so did the brown haired girl. Thinking the shared major would earn a smile but she only stared at the boy, waiting for instructions and you turned back to him. He instructed you both to head over to Murray’s desk, behind the glass windows into an office - the faculty member in charge of your futures.

Both of you made your way to the cluttered heap of organized chaos. A balding man with wire rimmed glasses wagging a pencil up and down as he stared at a blank chalkboard. 

It was silent for two minutes and forty eight seconds before he spoke without looking at either of you, “This board, is the board. This is where the front page is planned, this is where the investigations begin, this,” he finally looked at you both, pointing at it, “Is the big leagues.”

Your lips had twisted in a fight of a smile, suppressing your laughter, as the girl next to you nodded, taking in every word he said more seriously than anything she ever had it seemed. Murray held out two folders, each of you stepping forward, your name on one written in black permanent marker, ‘Nancy Wheeler’ written on the other. 

“Your first story,” he didn’t let go as each of you grabbed the other ends, “Only one of you can be the best ladies. Your work is impressive,” your smiles dropped as he kept going, “For amateurs. I look forward to the next several years of making you realize you’re not even close to good yet.”

He shoo’d you both away with the wave of a hand, turning back to the blank chalkboard. 

As you stepped out and opened your folder, your eyes lit up as you read over the assignment. Only for Nancy to make a sound in the back of her throat. Glancing up, you saw her folder open, the same words staring up at you from her folder. 

Both of you had the exact same story assignment and as you turned to question Murray, his lips twitched and he turned his rolling chair away from the both of you. 

Nancy eyed you up and down, and you her, before you stuck your hand out. “Well, may the best reporter win.”

Nancy smiled, closing her folder. “Oh, I will.”

And walked away without shaking your hand. 

Since then, it had been a constant battle of one upping each other. Of fake wincing when the other’s story was literally thrown in the trash by Murray. Rushing into the office when he called for a reporter, shoving the other out of the way. Summer internships, extracurriculars, any and everything was a competition. You both even made flirting and attempts at dating Steve and Eddie one, neither working out for either of you (though you would claim you totally won with Steve and she thinks she won with Eddie - not that the boy’s should be seen as something to win…).

But this story, this wasn’t just a typical competition, the rivalry was different this time. The stakes were higher. Whoever got this one, you were both sure, would become the editor next year as seniors, an achievement on your resumes the other was sure to envy for the rest of their lives. 

So, you ignore her, returning to your research, wind, rain, and branches whip and thwap against the panes of the window as she clears her throat. You don't look up this time when you ask, bored, "Still here?" 

Her sigh is laced with sixteen feelings rolled into one. Exasperation, impatience, annoyance, you could go on until she asks, "I was wondering if you'd come to the basement archives with me? It's really, actually, super creepy down there and I don't want to go alone and I have to for this lead I have and-" 

"You have a lead?" Her eyes narrow and you start to close your items and offer, "Share the lead with me and I'll go." 

The weighing of options clear and painful to witness on her features until she sticks out her hand for you to shake. Your grin is one of an Olympic champion as you stand. "Aw, all you had to do was ask me to hold your hand in the spooky basement Wheeler." 

"Fu-" 

"SHHHHH!"

Nancy spins on her heel, heading towards the back of the library and you smirk, collecting your items and trailing behind her. 

Something pricks at your neck, that feeling like there’s eyes on you, that heavy weight in your gut telling you something isn’t right, makes you pause, turning to look over your shoulder. 

Movement at the end of a stack catches your eye, a shoe, you’re certain, disappearing around the corner. The lamp at the table you were sitting at flickers at the same time, making you glance away and back. 

“Are you coming or not?” Nancy’s voice hisses quietly from behind you and you turn.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, don’t get your panties in a wad Wheeler.”

Earning you another and louder ‘shh’ from the table of law student’s and you hiss over your shoulder, “Oh, bite me and go sue someone!”

Nancy rolls her eyes and whispers, “You know, you’re kind of a jerk to everyone?”

“Right, well, have fun in the spooky basement, alone, babe, I’ll be sure to lock the door and forget to tell everyone for several days.”

“Do you want the lead or not,” Nancy steps closer, chin lifting in defiance and you roll your eyes. 

“Better be a good fucking lead,” you grumble.

“Hence why I called it a lead,” she smiles at the front desk attendant who spins to grab the key for her. 

“Yeah,” you whisper leaning in close to her ear, realizing the copper cuff on the top is new, “Last time you told me you had a lead, it was actually still a shot in the dark and-”

She spins, your faces incredibly close together, “I was right, and you’re just mad you didn’t figure it out first.”

You both breathe in sharply, Nancy’s cherry lip gloss overwhelming to your senses until someone clears their throat. 

Nancy smiles, whispering an apology to them and heads toward the stairs. 

The feeling on the back of your neck returns and you glance over your shoulder again. This time, you’re positive you saw a Nike swoosh and your eyes narrow. 

“Are you coming or not?”

Shaking it off you turn back towards her. She waits at the top of the stairs, dim glow from the basement light haloing around her.

“Whatever, let’s get this over with.”

Please vote for who will be moving on and revealing more of their story.

Remember: whoever wins this week, faces the winner from the Science Fiction, Double Feature category - which can be voted for here.

Choose wisely!

*Thank you for your patience, due to the delay, the voting will be cut off at 4:30pm (central time) on Friday, Oct 13th

[blacklesbothatlovestowrite]

Shuri x Fem

My fem character will always be black in my short stories, one shots and etc. Us as black women rarely have our moment and I’m not trying to feed into displacing our women.

Summary: Aneka and Ayo take Shuri out to Wakanda’s City Nightlife. They want the young Queen to let loose and have fun if only for a night. The unthinkable happens when the Queen sees a woman she hasn’t seen since childhood.

Part 1

The girl with the tattoos

Shuri had been stuck in her lab on a daily basis since the battle between Talokan and Wakanda. It seemed like after she practiced restraint, all her fight had left her.

Every day was a struggle, she’d bury herself in her work so she wouldn’t be forced to sit and think about her family despite Nakia’s open invitation to visit her in Haiti as much as she wanted she didn’t want to get too close to her nephew and sister in law as she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle losing anyone else.

She made sure to call as often as possible, even if she didn’t see them she wanted her nephew to know he was loved and she wanted Nakia to know she had her if she needed her.

“Queen, Aneka of the Dora Milaje is here.” Shuri hears griot say, and she turns as the woman enters her lab with powerful strides.

“I see that you are still attached to your technology.” Aneka says, her tone exasperated. She’d suggested the Queen come out with her and Ayo that night to let loose.

“I don’t think I can go.” Shuri says, having changed her mind. If she was being honest she hadn’t planned on going in the first place, she’d only told Aneka she would to get her to leave.

“Go get changed.” She demands her arms crossed. She refused to take no for an answer. Okoye, Nakia, and Ayo had all discussed the Queen’s depression with Aneka and they’d decided to force her out of her comforts.

“Excuse me?” Shuri scoffed, annoyed. Had Aneka forgotten herself?

“With all due respect my queen, you need to get out and you will. Go change.” Aneka spoke again, this time removing the two mini spears Shuri had made her. “Or I could destroy your new project…. Whichever’s more convenient for you.”

Shuri sighed, her hands running over her face. “Between you and the other meddlesome trio I don’t know whether to banish you or strangle you all.”

“We love you too, Queen.” Aneka smirked.

Shuri was quick to get dressed, she wore a matching cropped black long sleeve top with black bottoms that were fitted at the waist and loose on the legs. She wore an oversized mesh top over it and paired it with sneakers.

The ride into the city’s nightlife scene was quick, as they took the flying car. Ayo grinned as the Queen got in. The club they were heading too was booming as they pulled up.

As they walked in, Shuri looked around taking in the scene. She’d never been to a club before, she’d recently turned 21 a little after her mothers death and had no need or want to celebrate or try any of the things she’d been impatient to try as an adult.

Aneka and Ayo had reserved a table by the VIP section, and as Shuri walked through the crowd of people they all did the Wakanda sign as she passed. The people of Wakanda revered her, she was their beloved Queen that they had watched grow from a baby to their leader and protector.

“What would you like to drink, Queen?” Ayo asks, Shuri gave her a look. “Sorry, Shuri.”

Shuri made it clear she didn’t want to be called Queen while they were out. She just wanted to be herself, away from the throne for the night if she was going to be out.

“Whatever you two are drinking will be fine.” Shuri shrugged, she hadn’t a preference as she didn’t have much experience with alcohol besides the occasional wine and even she knew wine didn’t match this scene.

“Three glasses of bourbon on the rocks.” Ayo ordered, as the waitress walked by. “And when it’s low bring more.”

As Shuri’s eyes scanned the dance floor her eyes focused on a girl with beautiful chocolate skin. The girl had tattoos on her left arm, her right thigh and her back. Her shirt and fitted dress showing off her glowing skin.

She watched as the girl danced, her head tilted back slightly as she wined to the beat of the song playing. The girl had a blissful smile on her face as she danced with her friends.

Shuri couldn’t take her eyes off the woman as she danced. The happiness in her face infectious, as she smiled sweetly. She’d never felt so compelled to watch someone before.

“She’s beautiful.” Aneka grinned. Her eyes following the Queen’s line of sight to see the girl that had captured her attention. She passed Shuri her glass and watched as she took it, throwing it back as a shot.

“Shur—“

“That was good.” Shuri said. The burn a welcome sensation.

“Do you want to dance?” Ayo asked. Watching as the Queen bobbed her head to the music, her eyes still on the girl.

“No.” Shuri declined. “Aneka, that girl. Does she seem familiar to you?”

Shuri watched through inquisitive eyes as the girl twirled around, a mark above her collarbone capturing her attention.

“You’re asking me if Mbali, M’Baku’s sister looks familiar?” Aneka snorted. “Yes, she does.”

“M’Bali…” Shuri said, testing the word. The name was one she hadn’t heard in a long time, as the girl had been hidden in the mountains of Jabari land as long as she could remember.

Visions of a young girl maybe 11 or 12 playing with her in the palace ran through her mind as if it’d just happened. She remembered a girl so fierce and courageous that was very sneaky.

The young girl had made Shuri question herself the more time they spent together before the tribes decidedly split up when the Jabari tribe disagreed with King T’Chaka’s decisions.

She remembered the last day she’d seen her. Mbali kissed her and promised she’d find a way to see her again. That she’d be there when she needed her most.

She remembered the look of absolute hatred from Mbali’s parents as they took their daughter away. They had wanted Wakanda to become more traditional as they felt many Wakandan’s were starting to lose their way. They especially disliked the princess at the time as she’d always scoffed at tradition and of how she didn’t believe in the ancestral plane.

“What is she doing in the city?” Shuri questioned. As far as she knew, Mbali wasn’t discussed with anyone outside of Jabari land and even more she wasn’t allowed to leave.

“She lives in the city now.” Ayo answered. “She was banished from Jabari when she came out to her parents. M’Baku tried to get her to come back when he took over the throne but she refused not wanting to return to the place that she felt was her prison. She’s the talk of Wakanda right now.”

“I can see why.” Shuri hummed, as another glass appeared on the table. “How have I never realized she was in the city?”

“You’d have to leave the palace to do so.” Aneka snorted. “Besides. Mbali keeps to herself. She occasionally talks to Ayo as she seems lonely.”

“She doesn’t look lonely.” Shuri pointed out.

“You wouldn’t either after being drunk off your ass.” Ayo rolled her eyes. “I look out for her because she has no one, and she refuses to speak to her brother. She’s taken up drinking to cope with the depression and loneliness.”

“I don’t understand. She was so bright…. She had so much ahead of her.” Shuri frowned.

“She lost her family and her people. It’s not easy being gay in our society, especially when the Elders are so vocal about it being wrong.” Ayo huffed.

“Aneka…” Shuri pleaded, her eyes locked on Mbali. The girl was dancing on her ‘friends’ provocatively and throwing shots back as if it were water. “Bring her to me.”

“Uh…. I… Are you sure?” Aneka looked stunned. She had felt that the Queen was interested in women but the way she looked at Mbali confirmed her suspicions.

“We’re leaving. I’m taking her to the palace and while I’d love to go down there and grab her myself, I’d rather not cause a scene and have Wakanda in my business right now.” Shuri declared, standing.

Ayo settled their bill and they headed for the car. It wasn’t long before Aneka appeared with the drunken girl in a fireman’s carry. The girl was angry, yelling and demanding to be brought back.

“Intyatyambo…” Shuri called out, pausing the girl’s tirade. “A beautiful flower deserves the proper care.”

“Shuri…” the girl said, as Aneka placed her in the car. Her eyes widened, disbelief flooded them as she leaned over to vomit out the car door.

[rikeijo]

Today's translation #608

Go Yuri go!!! Official fanbook, Making of programs

L'homme Armé O.S.T. from Destiny of Knights

Original costume design by Sagiri Yuuko (Chacott)

The theme of his SP is „chivalric ethos” and „a fantasy story that takes place in Medieval Europe”, so I designed a costume that resembles an armor suit. I think that Michele is a very serious person, so I wanted to express his masculinity and his strong „I have to protect my princess” mindset. The elements that look beige in the original design are made of a layer of black net placed on top of beige mesh fabric. I made it look as tough as possible, but actually it’s very soft fabric, so it’s possible to skate in the costume. The boot-like elements that reach the knees are made of fabric covered with small sequins and to not make them scratchy, they are covered with a layer of mesh fabric. To make the knee elements more bendy, they are made of a different kind of fabric.

Anime costume design by Ishikawa Kayoko

To represent the idea that he’s the righteous knight, I added wing motifs to the design to show that for Sara, he can fly no matter how far (laugh). It’s interesting to see armor suit used in figure skating.

Serenade for two

Original costume design by Sagiri Yuuko (Chacott)

The theme is a causal “going back home after a stylish date” look. I chose a tartan pattern for the pants, and I had much more fun with colors here than in case of any other costume. The sleeves are rolled up and a pocket square is sewn to his pocket. As it is the case for this costume, when we have shirt and vest or jacket etc. as elements of a costume, often it's only the front part of the costume that has these elements, and the skater puts it on as one top. I think Michele doesn't have much confidence in his own style of fashion. He wants to look stylish, but he probably needs his little sister, Sara's advice in everything. I can imagine that in case of this costume, too, he asked her if it's a good choice (laugh).

Anime costume design by Ishikawa Kayoko

The idea for this costume that I've been given is "going back home in the middle of the night after a date". I changed the tartan pattern of the pants to plain fabric, because the tartan pattern would be too difficult to animate.

[unchataparis]

A 'DO I SHIP IT?' template made by XStephTheHedgehogX on DeviantArt.

Before I get immortalised as that one Liladrien person who writes a lot of stories about them and seems to genuinely ship them: yes, I do ship them. I think they're both interesting and aesthetic people, underutilised by the plot with a lot of dynamite potential together.

BUT, I also do not think Lila and Adrien should not end up together in the permanent, romantic sense because their psyche just cannot aligned. Even in a future where Lila is redeemed and a morally good person, their outlook on life and general stance regarding hobbies and careers are simply too mismatching. I can see the two of them dating, having fun and respecting each other, but settling down for the long term? Adrien is the 'white picket fence' and 'two-and-a-half children' person. Lila is the 'growing old elegantly in a private mansion surrounded by fourteen cats' kind of gal.

NOTP: So, although Lila and Adrien is my favourite Miraculous pairing, it's purely because they're my favourite Miraculous characters. I want to see them in a relationship together, but I don't think they'll work out quite so well in the long-term.

I SHIP IT: One hundred percent. I feel like Adrien and Lila's arc went tremendously unexplored. I wonder how their meeting would've gone if Marinette never interrupted them in Volpina, if Adrien and Lila could've formed an actual friendship, and how Adrien would've reacted to Lila's lies from there. I feel like Adrien needs someone like Lila in his life, someone like Félix, whose appears to care about him but is also willing to feed him the facts bluntly.

underrated/why not?: Again, stemming from the points above, there is so much potential for how a relationship between Lila and Adrien could've went. I really don't like how in Season 5, Adrien started standing up to/exposing Lila for Marinette. I felt like he could've done it for a more independent reason.

would read a fic about it/reads fics about it: Absolutely! In fact, I take it one step further and writes fics about it.

the sexiest pair: I should mention at this point that when I write about Lila and Adrien, they're either late teenagers or early adults. I'm not fond of writing about adolescents getting it on. From an aesthetic standpoint, Adrien and Lila mesh together perfectly. Old money and high luxury, glittery baddie and designer purses. Think about yacht parties and mansion photoshoot scenes, red carpet dates and clandestine late-night rendezvous. I made a post way earlier about what Adrien and Lila's aesthetic would be, and you can see what I'm envisioning, right?

i'm curious, can i know more?: We don't know anything about Lila. In fact, we don't even know her real name. Is she Cerise? Or some other vixen in the hiding? I'm not entirely sold on this Lila/Cerise/Iris mash-up yet, because it seems to come out of nowhere to me. Lila already has a massive 'plot-twist' in that she's actually a liar and a huge arc of Miraculous had been devoted to her exposé and the class' subsequent reaction. The next step in the narrative would be how Lila moves on/takes revenge. Instead, we, the audience, learn that Lila has another trick up her sleeve, she forged her whole identity! I'm very excited to watch Season 6, because, new powers, new outfits, and new Butterfly villain aside, I also really want to find out what's up with Lila.

Fun fact: It was pretty hard to find sources on this, but did you know that some ship names develop based on who the dominant partner is? I couldn't find who originally coined the term Liladrien, but if they're not making a perfect combination of both of their names, then they believe that in a romantic relationship between Lila and Adrien, Lila would be topping. Sounds about right.