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inmyglenpowellera · 5 months ago

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Bad Reputation Part 2 | Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Taylor Swift inspired!OC

Request: Requested by @akornsworld

Word Count: 9678 words

Summary: There's that saying for some people, “You can't go home again.” When you grow up and leave, that's it, you don't go back home. Presley Joann Benjamin (stage name Presley Jo) believed that was the case for her. Never did she think she would be right back where she started. But her Aunt insisted it was the best for her. She thought for sure her life and career were over until she meets a certain cocky aviator.

Warnings: Alcohol use, angst, maybe some cursing, fluff, crying, Jake being an absolute gentleman

A/N: SURPRISE, I'm not dead, life just sucks ass. Here's an extra-long chapter to make up for my sucking. Hope you like it, I promise the next chapter will have the sexuals. The tag list will be at the end of each chapter.

Chapter 1 Chapter 3

You’d think that after Hangman’s smug answer of still getting my number and buying me a drink, he would have immediately jumped at the opportunity to do so. But that wasn’t the case, much to my confusion. I continued showing up to The Hard Deck to help Penny with various tasks before opening, seeing the aviators there every time, minus Bradley who was apparently out of town packing his items in Virginia to send here. (The Dagger Squad has recently become a permanent fixation in Fightertown). However, despite the number of times I have seen the blonde aviator in the past week, he has yet to make another attempt at getting my phone number. Sure there was still the near-constant flirting, but otherwise nothing.

I was, once again, playing the piano in The Hard Deck, losing myself in the music, when the front door burst open and caught Penny and I’s attention.

“Now I know that beautiful piano playing can only come from my very own star student,” a voice yelled out as they walked into the bar.

I let out a squeal of glee at the sight of a Hawaiian shirt, mustache, and aviators walking further into the bar.

“Bradley,” I called out, running over to him and jumping into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist.

“How you doin’ Queenie? I leave for a month to pack up my old place and you move back into town,” Bradley greeted me with an equal amount of excitement, holding me up by my thighs and spinning me around before releasing me.

“I’m great, Killer. Glad you’re back. It’s been boring here with Penny and Mav. The only amusement I have is Amelia,” I told the older male.

“Now I know that’s a lie,” Maverick said as he walked in the door behind us.

“You know I’m joking, Mav,” I called out to him as he walked past us towards Penny.

“That's not what he's talking about,” Penny smirked at me with a knowing look.

I widened my eyes and slightly shook my head.

“What are they talking about,” Bradley asked me, going into protective older brother mode.

“Nothing, ignore them,” I reassured him, shrugging the two older adults off.

Bradley nodded in acknowledgment before a look of concern took over his face. “Hey, do you want to talk about it?”

I didn’t have to have so many hints to know what he was referring to. “Not right now. You’re back and I’m happy. Let’s not bring down the mood.”

Bradley nodded at me in understanding before gripping my hand in his own.

“But you know what would make my mood even better,” I offered up.

“What,” Bradley asked me curiously.

“If you play our song,” I requested, leading him towards the piano.

“Oh, god. Please don’t make me,” Bradley groaned sarcastically, willingly following me towards the piano.

“Pleeeeease,” I begged him with a grin.

“Fine,” he agreed, sitting on the bench with me.

“Yay,” I cheered, wrapping my arms around him in a quick hug.

Bradley settled in and ran his fingers over the keys, lightly playing a few before settling his fingers on the correct keys.

“Do I really have to play it right now,” Bradley slightly whined.

“Yes, it's been so long since you played me the only song you helped me write,” I nudged him.

“You wrote it, I merely assisted with occasional input. You should be the one to play it,” he argued with me.

“Bradley Nicholas Bradshaw, just play the damn piano,” I said sternly, focusing a glare on him.

“Alright, alright,” he huffed out.

Bradley began playing the opening notes to my song “Ours.” He nudged me to try and get me to sing, but all I did was shake my head with a hesitant smile. He furrowed his brows, concern in his eyes for a brief moment before he looked back at the piano. I quietly watched him play and propped my head on his shoulder as he did. I could see Penny and Mav working and watching the two of us out of the corner of my eye, whispering to each other now and then. I rolled my eyes at the two of them and continued watching Bradley until the front door opened again. I tensed up and Bradley stopped playing, moving to wrap his arm around my shoulders and place a kiss on the top of my head.

“Hangman, you’re early,” Mav said to the blonde aviator in surprise.

“Yeah, well, nothing wrong with being ahead of schedule,” He explained to Mav with his classic Hollywood smile.

I rolled my eyes at his words and sighed, leaning further into Bradley.

“Well congratulations on being early, Hangman, why don’t you go ahead out to the beach and claim your spot for the day,” Bradley offered up, trying to get rid of him for me.

“I will, once I get a beer,” Jake told him, moving to stand in front of Penny.

The woman nodded and started grabbing it for him, causing him to turn and lean against the bar, his stare burning into the side of my head, unrelenting. I removed myself from Bradley’s side and placed my hands on the keys, filling the silence of the space once again. Bradley placed his hand on my knee while I played and nudged me now and then in an attempt to mess me up. I would just laugh and nudge him back and continue playing until Jake spoke up.

“What, no good morning for me, Darling?”

I stopped playing and briefly glanced up at him with a blank face. “Good morning, Hangman.”

Jake’s face became a look of confusion at me calling him “Hangman” instead of “Jake” or “Mr. Eastwood.”

“So you two have met already,” Bradley realized, his hand on my knee tightening slightly.

“Yep,” I said simply, continuing my playing.

“Why didn’t you tell me,” He asked me curiously.

“Because it was nothing worth discussing,” I informed him, ignoring the hurt look that briefly flashed on Jake’s face.

“I’m sure that’s not true sweetheart,” Jake tried arguing.

“It is. Considering you haven’t said much to me since then,” I argued with him, looking up at him with a blank face.

Jake remained silent, staring at me in deep thought. All I did was shrug at him and gesture my head towards the back door.

“Looks like your beer is ready for you Hangman. Better go claim your spot on the beach before everybody else shows up.”

The five of us went silent after my words, Jake staring at me in shock. The silence remained for a few seconds before Mav cleared his throat.

“Presley, we left a few things in Bradley’s truck, you wanna help him grab them real quick and take them down to the beach?”

I silently nodded at him before standing from the piano bench. I gripped Bradley’s hand in my own and pulled him out the front door with me to the Bronco. What I missed when I was exiting was Jake glaring at our hands with disdain.

A few hours later, Dogfight football was over and the aviators were clearing out to go home and clean up before returning to the Hard Deck for Friday night drinks. Mav and Bradley returned inside to tell Penny and me they were leaving and would be back later. I smiled at the two men in acknowledgment and wrapped myself around Bradley like a koala bear once again, causing him to laugh and place his hands under my thighs. Our laughs were cut off by the back door of the bar opening and Hangman walking in, a small garbage bag in his hands. He looked between the two of us and glared, rolling his eyes before looking at Penny.

“Penny my dear,” He called out, causing Penny to turn to him. “Where do you want me to put this?”

“Oh, you can go ahead and take it out to the dumpster. Presley, can you show him where it is,” Penny called back to me.

I sighed and nodded, Bradey releasing me back to the ground. I began walking towards the kitchen doors, through the kitchen, and to the side door that leads to the dumpster.

“You know, I didn’t realize you had a boyfriend. If I knew that I wouldn’t have tried to get your number,” Jake said to me as he walked past me and threw the trashbag in the dumpster.

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I told him, furrowing my brows in confusion. “And don’t use that as an excuse for how you have been the past week.”

“I’m not using it as an excuse, even though I have no idea what you mean. And I’m talking about how you have been acting today with Rooster,” Jake told me, placing his hands on his hips.

“Rooster,” I said in confusion.

“Yes, Rooster,” Jake nodded.

I stared at him for a second with confusion still on my face. “Who the fuck is Rooster?”

“Bradshaw,” He supplied for me.

Realization ran over me like a truck. “Bradley?” Jake nodded at me. “Bradley Bradshaw?”

“Yes,” Jake told me impatiently.

“Bradley’s not my boyfriend,” I told him with a shake of my head.

“He’s not,” He asked me in confusion.

“No. He’s not. He’s like my brother,” I explained to him.

“Oh…,” Jake said meekly.

“Jesus Christ,” I sighed out to myself, shaking my head and moving to go back inside.

“Well, can I get your number then,” Jake called after me.

I stopped in my tracks and looked back at him. “No,” I shouted at him in disbelief.

“Why not,” He asked me in an offensive tone.

“Why not? Did you seriously just ask me that,” I questioned him back in disbelief. “I can list off all of the reasons if you would like me to. Let’s start with the fact that you basically ignored me all week and just made a little flirtatious comment here and there.”

“I wouldn’t say I ignored you,” He argued with me.

“Really? Then what would you call it, Hangman,” I questioned him.

Jake went quiet as he looked up at the sky in thought, trying to decide what he was going to say.

“Exactly,” I scoffed.

“Okay, fine, I’ll admit that my actions the past week haven’t been the best. But please don’t let that affect the image you have of me. I’m just Jake, stop calling me Hangman,” Jake shrugged at me.

“Should I also add on the fact that you thought the guy who I grew up with was my boyfriend,” I offered up, causing him to wince.

I once again rolled my eyes and turned around, opening the door to go back inside. I made it halfway through the kitchen before Jake grabbed my arm and stopped me from walking any further.

“Okay, Presley, I’ll admit it, I was a jackass. A complete Jerk. I’m sorry. Just, please give me a chance to show you the real me. Okay? Not Hangman, Jake. Let me get your number, let me take you on a date. Whether that is to just get drinks or an actual dinner,” Jake begged me.

“Why are you so desperate to go on a date with me, Hangman, huh,” I questioned him curiously, turning to look at him with a glare.

“First of all, I believe I told you to call me Jake,” he told me, raising a single finger in my face. “Second-”

He didn't get to continue when I cut him off by grabbing his finger and pulling his hand out of my face. “Don't put your finger in my face.”

Jake let a small smirk come over his lips before throwing his hands up in surrender and stepping back from me. “Sorry, Darlin’.”

“Don't call me Darlin’ either,” I demanded, imitating his accent and crossing my arms over my chest.

“How about sweetheart instead,” Jake offered up, his smirk widening as he shoved his hands in his shorts pockets. My glare hardened at his words, causing him to shrug in acknowledgment. “Alright, I get it, nicknames are off the table.”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, shaking my head at him.

“What do you want from me? An autograph? Private show for you and your closest friends and family? The chance to say you went on a date with and stole “The Princess's” innocence? Because I can promise you, that ship sailed long ago,” I rattled off.

“Honestly,” Jake asked me, not taking his eyes full of clear amusement off of me.

“No, lie to me,” I sarcastically replied with an eye roll.

Jake let a chuckle of amusement escape before stepping close to me once again. “I want a chance.”

“A chance for what,” I huffed.

“A chance to be able to show you how you deserve to be treated. To stand on your doorstep holding flowers on our first date, tell you that you look absolutely beautiful before walking you to the car, where I will open the door for you and help you into your seat, which, FYI, won’t be the only time I open the door and help you into your seat that night. I want a chance to walk you back up to your door at the end of the night and tell you, for probably the thousandth time that night, how beautiful you look and tell you “No thank you, I don’t want to join you inside.” Because let’s be honest, you are going to be so impressed and obsessed with me by the end of the night you’ll want nothing more than to get me into bed with you, but you deserve more respect than that so I’ll just place a kiss on your cheek, tell you I’ll call you, watch you walk inside, and wait till I hear the lock click before leaving just to be sure that you got in safely.” He said softly with an equally soft smile, looking down at me with adoration in his eyes.

I shook my head at him with a small laugh of disbelief. “Is that all?”

“No. Finally, I want a chance to go home at the end of the night, and text you “Goodnight beautiful, sweet dreams”, you be the last thing on my mind before I go to sleep and the first when I wake up, and text you “good morning sweetheart” with a little winky face emoji despite how much I despise the use of them,” He finished, winking at me.

I stared at him in silence for a moment, taking him and his words in. Weighing the pros and cons in my head, the pros very obviously outweigh the cons in numbers but not in severity. I looked down at the floor, taking in my Converse and his sandals shoes before sighing and looking up at the aviator.

“My favorite flowers are white roses and blue baby’s breath, and I love Italian food,” I told him simply.

He held my stare, nodding in acknowledgment as he tried to hold back a smile. “Noted.”

I shook my head at him again and tried to force down my smile as well. “You can pick me up at 6. If you’re even a minute late, I’m changing into my PJs and watching rom-coms with Amelia.”

“Don’t plan on it, sweetheart,” He reassured me.

I shook my head at him in disbelief once again before turning to walk away from him. “See you tomorrow night.”

“I’m counting on it,” He called out to me as I walked away.

“Okay, what do you think,” I asked Amelia, turning around from my mirror for her and Theo to see the simple high-waisted skirt and tucked-in white button-up I was wearing.

I watched the teen and dog sitting on my bed tilt their heads as I spun around for them to see the whole outfit. I stopped when I was facing them again, watching them scrutinize me. They were silent for a moment before Theo released a small noise, causing Amelia to nod in agreement with him.

“Theo’s right, it’s not nice enough,” She hummed out.

I sighed in frustration and slapped my thighs. “Amelia, this is the third outfit I’ve tried on.”

“Well, keep trying stuff on because we haven’t found the right thing yet,” She told me, causing Theo to bark in what seemed like agreement.

I glared at the two of them before turning back towards my closet and going through my clothes again. I reached the section filled with dresses and began looking through them carefully when Amelia gasped.

“That’s the one! The little black dress, it’s a classic,” She squealed, hopping off my bed and grabbing it out of the closet.

I gasped at her before grabbing it. “Oh, no.”

“Why not,” She asked me in frustration, trying to grab it back.

“Because this dress is special. It’s a third date dress, at least,” I stressed to her, moving it out of her grip and hanging it back up.

“How is it a third date dress,” She argued with me.

I looked over the dress, taking in the straps that were just tied, meaning easy access. I cleared my throat before looking over at her and shrugging. “Reasons.” Amelia rolled her eyes and didn’t look like she was going to let her question go unanswered. “Look, you’re in high school, so you may or may not understand the concept, but when you start to get older you have certain clothing items that you deem third-date material.”

“Like…,” She trailed off.

I rolled my eyes before pointing at the dress. “Like a dress that you feel really… hot… in. Or a bra that shows off the goods.”

“A bra, really,” She asked in disbelief.

“Yes, I have a third date bra. Two actually,” I informed her, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Hm. Can I have a third date bra,” She asked me curiously, placing her hands on her hips.

I sat for a moment in silence, contemplating my answer. “I’ll get you one when you’re older,” I told her turning back to my closet.

I moved my black dress out of the way to look at the next dress, a hum escaping me at the light blue dress hanging in front of me. A simple mini dress with a tiered flowy bottom that ended about mid-thigh and instead of a zipper bringing together the back of the dress there were two bows to tie together.

“That’s it,” Amelia said from over my shoulder, Theo barking once again to seemingly voice his agreement.

I paired the dress with a pair of white stilettos and a white blazer. I lightly curled my light brown hair so it fell in waves and did a simple makeup look with my signature red lips. I decided to do a set of pearl earrings with a matching necklace and bracelet with my mom's rings resting on my right ring finger. I stepped back from my mirror and smoothed my dress down, turning around so I could see the back as well. I released a hum of appreciation for myself when I heard the doorbell ring at 6 o'clock on the dot. I listened to Theo barking and Amelia yelled out that she would get it. I widened my eyes and spun around to grab my clutch before booking it out of my room.

“No, Mia, I got it,” I yelled out to her, rushing through the hallway and down the stairs.

When I reached the bottom, I looked over to see a teenage girl with a dog sitting by her heels interrogating a grown adult man.

“What exactly are your intentions with my cousin,” Amelia asked Jake.

Jake released a chuckle, clutching the flowers in his hands closer to his chest. “I intend to take her to a nice dinner and treat her with the utmost respect.”

“Are you going to hold the door open for her and help her into her seat,” she questioned him, crossing her arms over her chest.

“That was the plan. You can ask her yourself,” he said with a light smirk.

“And if you touch her…,” Amelia trailed off.

“Nothing more than respectful hand-holding and a kiss on the cheek… with her permission of course,” Jake reassured.

“Good, because I may be tiny, but I know people and I have a dog that's ready to defend when necessary,” Amelia threatened Jake, causing his face to contort in amusement.

I chose this time to walk over to the door and wrap my arm around the teenager.

“Okay, Amelia, thank you,” I said to her as I steered her away from the door.

Once she was no longer facing Jake she dropped her stern expression and looked at me with a big grin. “I like him, keep him,” she whispered to me.

“Well, it's hard for me to decide if I want to keep him if I don't go on a date with him,” I whispered back to her, sending her and Theo on their way.

I turned back to the door to see Jake staring at me in amazement. I blushed as he raked his gaze up and down my form before he met my eyes. I let a small smile grow on my face and clasped my clutch in front of me.

“Hi,” I said softly.

“Wow,” Jake released a breath and nodded at me. “You didn't hold back did you?”

I raised my eyebrows in question, causing his smile to widen at my oblivious expression.

“You don't just look beautiful, Darlin’. You look angelic,” he told me.

“Angelic, huh,” I murmured, looking down at my feet before looking at him shyly from under my lashes.

The two of us stood in silence staring at each other for a few seconds before Amelia stepped forward once again.

“Are those for Presley,” she asked, gesturing to the flowers in Jake's hand.

The two of us broke our gaze, I whipped my head around to look at her briefly before looking quickly back at Jake. Jake briefly widened his eyes and looked down at the flowers before looking back up at the two of us.

“Uh, yes, they are,” he said, holding them out to me.

I accepted them and a smirk formed on my lips. “White roses and baby's breath.”

“Yeah, I heard someone say they were your favorite,” he smirked back at me.

I shook my head in amusement at him as Amelia spoke up again.

“I can put them in a vase for you if you'd like?”

I looked back at Amelia and nodded. “Yes, please, Amelia. I would appreciate that. Thank you.”

Amelia nodded back at me and took the flowers from my hands. “I'll put them in your room for you. You have fun.”

“Thank you, Amelia, we will,” Jake told the teenager, reaching forward to grab my hand and therefore sending my attention back towards him.

I raised my eyebrow at him and allowed him to pull me closer to him. Jake smiled at me and pulled me out the door, closing it behind us, and led me to his car.

“Why am I not surprised that you own a pickup truck,” I questioned rhetorically.

Jake's smile widened as he led me to the passenger side. He opened the door and looked at me before shrugging.

“It's part of the cowboy starter pack, along with a hat, boots, a flannel, blue jeans, and a really big belt buckle,” Jake replied sarcastically.

I smirked and shook my head at him. “Is that all?”

“Nope, it also comes with a certain charm that makes it very hard for a woman to say no to me,” He added, a smirk growing on his face too.

“Oh, really,” I asked in a sarcastic tone.

“Mhm,” He hummed.

I rolled my eyes and moved closer so I was standing right in front of him. “I don’t think that’s true.”

“Well, we’re here aren’t we,” Jake said, referring to our date.

I scoffed and went to reply to him, but I cut myself off with a squeal as Jake bent down to pick me up, delicately placing me in his passenger seat. I looked at him with wide eyes as he pulled the seatbelt from where it was resting and reached over me to buckle me in.

“I can do it myself,” I reminded him.

“I know. This way, if you try and run off from me before our date even starts, I know it will take you longer to get out of my truck,” He told me with a wink before closing the door.

I watched him walk around the front of the truck before climbing in on his side and starting the car. He reached over and placed one hand on my seat and looked behind him as he backed out with one hand. I watched with rapt attention and felt myself blush at his actions. Jake glanced over at me when he finished and smirked at my reaction, causing me to roll my eyes and my blush to darken as he drove off toward our destination.

I felt my eyes widen in shock at the restaurant he pulled up to, one of the most expensive Italian restaurants in San Diego.

“Jake, we don’t have to eat here,” I reassured him, glancing over at him quickly.

“You said you wanted Italian. I'm taking you to get Italian,” he told me, getting out of the truck and handing his keys to the valet, jogging around the vehicle to get to my side and open the door for me.

“I would have been perfectly fine with a hole-in-the-wall diner,” I explained, accepting his hand to help me out of the truck.

“Absolutely not. I'm getting the best food for the best girl. You deserve nothing less,” Jake told me, gripping my hand tightly in his and leading me into the restaurant.

“I just want to be sure that you brought me here because you wanted to, not because you felt like you had to because of who I am,” I argued with him, watching him pull the door to the restaurant open and hold it for me.

“Presley, I can promise you that I am bringing you here of my own volition,” Jake reassured me as I walked past him.

Jake held his arm out for me to wrap around before leading me up to the host stand.

“Reservation for Seresin,” Jake told the young woman.

The woman looked up with a bright smile which turned into shock when she saw me.

“Oh, my god. You're Presley Jo,” she gasped out.

“Yep,” I nodded at her looking around and hoping no one else said anything.

“I love your music. You are literally so amazing. I totally don't believe anything that's being said about you by the way. Especially not by that disgusting perv that is now your ex-manager,” she said quickly, causing me to become uncomfortable with the topic at hand.

“Okay,” I said awkwardly, tightening my grip on Jake's arm.

The young girl went to speak again but was cut off by who I'm assuming is the manager.

“Miss Benjamin, if we would have known you were going to be coming to our fine establishment we would have planned for your arrival a little better.”

“Oh, that's not necessary,” I reassured, leaning into Jake.

“Nonsense. I'll get the best table for you,” he told me, beginning to snap his fingers to get a worker's attention.

“That's not- whatever was originally set up for the Seresin reservation is just fine,” I reassured the man, but I was ignored as he walked away to get a table for us.

“So… is this what it's like every time you go out,” Jake asked me curiously after remaining silent the entire interaction.

I sighed and nodded, avoiding eye contact with him. “Sadly.”

We remained quiet for a second before I broke it.

“If you don't want to continue, I understand. You can take me home now and I won't say anything negative to Penny, Amelia, Maverick, or Rooster,” I reassured him, giving him an out if he wanted it.

“I'm not taking you home,” he argued with me.

“Jake, it's fine if you do,” I argued back.

“Presley Joanna Benjamin,” he said above me, causing me to go quiet and stare at him in shock, a slight heat pooling in my stomach at his tone of voice. “I am not taking you home. I said I was going to take you on a date and treat you how you deserve to be treated. Let me do that.”

“Fine,” I said reluctantly, blushing and looking at my feet.

“Thank you. Now enjoy yourself,” he told me, reaching down, grabbing my clutch out of my hand to hold in his own, and intertwining his empty hand with my own.

The manager returned and led Jake and me to our table, which was placed in the middle of the room for everybody to see. Everyone stared at the two of us as Jake pulled my chair out for me before going around the table to sit on his own. The waiter came and took our drink orders, wine for me, and whiskey for Jake. We were just beginning to look at the menus when a flash went off from next to me. I looked over to see a young girl with her family holding her phone up towards me.

“Oh, no. Please don't post that,” I begged the girl, beginning to push my seat back from the table.

Jake lifted his head and looked at me in confusion before following my gaze. He noticed the girl tapping on her screen and sighed.

“Presley,” Jake whispered to me, trying to get my attention.

“Seriously, please don't,” I begged her, ignoring him.

The girl looked up from her phone and smirked. “What, scared for everyone to find out you tricked another guy into dating you?”

I gulped at her words and fought back the tears.

“I never tricked anybody into dating me,” I told her quietly.

“Tell that to the paparazzi when they get here,” she said smugly before posting the photo.

I could feel the color drain from my face at her actions and continued staring at her phone in horror. I immediately grabbed my clutch off the table and stood from my seat.

“We have to go,” I announced to Jake.

“Presley, we just got here,” Jake argued with me.

“Yes, and believe it or not even though we live in San Diego, the paparazzi will be here in about 5 minutes, 10 if we're lucky. And considering I've been sneaking around and staying out of trouble, they're going to be even more desperate to get my picture,” I argued back with him, turning away from the table and beginning to walk to the exit.

“Presley, hold on, just wait,” Jake called after me, jumping from his seat and rushing after me.

I made it to the lobby of the restaurant before Jake grabbed my arm and stopped me in my tracks, pulling me towards him.

“Presley, let's just wait a second, okay,” he said calmly, soothingly rubbing my arms.

“I don't have time to just wait a second, Jake. What do you not understand about that," I told him, my frustration building.

“Pres, come on, just talk to me,” he begged me, leaning down to look into my eyes.

“I will be more than happy to talk to you in the car. Come on,” I told him, tilting my head towards the door.

“I'm not going to get the car, alright? Let's just sit down, have a drink, and-”

“I DON’T HAVE THE LUXURY TO JUST SIT DOWN IN PUBLIC AND HAVE A DRINK AND A NICE CONVERSATION, JAKE, OKAY,” I yelled, cutting him off.

Jake went quiet and stared at me in shock, dropping his hands from my arms and down to his sides. He opened his mouth to speak again, but I continued before he could.

“You’re asking me to do something I haven't had the luxury of doing in a very long time because people are always on my ass just waiting for the second I screw up all so they can capture it on film and sell it to the highest bidder. And if you want a good example of that, well just look at what they're saying about me right now all because I refused to let some perv use me to his advantage,” I blurted out.

“Presley-,” he started again.

“No you just don't get it, Jake, okay,” I cut him off, tears building up in my eyes from my frustration.

“Then help me to understand,” he begged me.

I looked into his bright green eyes and took a deep breath.

“This isn't something that I can explain and you just magically understand, Jake. This has been my entire life for the past 10 years,” I snapped out.

Right as I finished my statement, a crowd began forming out in front of the restaurant, flashes going off as the cameras pointed at us. I looked over and stared at them for a moment, sighing in frustration before looking at Jake.

“And now it's going to be yours for the next 10 minutes. Enjoy,” I shrugged at him, gesturing towards the large crowd before walking towards the exit.

“Presley,” Jake called out, trying to get me to stop. “At least let me drive you home,” he called out to me.

“No, thank you,” I called back to him, pushing the front door open and beginning my trek through the paparazzi.

All of them began shouting questions at me as the valet began trying to help me shove through the group. Asking me questions like where I've been hiding, what are my plans for my career, and the dreaded when will I speak out on what has happened? I kept my head down and pushed my way through the crows of yelling and flashing lights. When I reached the curb, the valet assisted me in calling a cab, waving his arm around to grab the attention of the car. I sighed out a quick thank you and handed him some spare cash I had in my clutch before climbing in and shouting my address to the driver and telling him to step on it. The last thing I saw as I drove away was Jake standing in the doorway of the restaurant with a heartbroken look.

When I got home I immediately walked up to the front door, dug my house keys out of my clutch, and unlocked the door. I walked in threw my keys down in the bowl and slipped my heels off as Theo came running around the corner to greet me. I turned and locked the door before throwing my clutch on the cabinet in the entryway.

“Hey, buddy,” I sighed, rubbing his head before walking into the living room.

“Hey, that was quick,” Amelia said to me in shock, looking over the back of the couch at me.

“We didn’t even make it to the appetizers,” I said blandly after releasing a groan.

“That bad,” Amelia asked curiously.

I walked into the living room and collapsed on the couch with a sigh. Amelia adjusted her blanket so it was covering the two of us and Theo hopped on the couch between the two of us after her actions. He spun around a few times before settling, his head resting in my lap.

“Some girl there posted a picture of me, the place was swarming with the paparazzi within 5 minutes,” I explained to her.

“Oh, Lee, I’m so sorry,” Amelia told me, adjusting herself so her head was resting on my shoulder in comfort.

“It’s okay, kiddo. It's not like it was your fault. It’s my fault for thinking I could live a somewhat normal life,” I reassured her, running my hands through her hair.

“So, did Jake drop you off,” She asked me curiously.

“No, I got into an argument with him and got a cab home,” I answered.

“Oh,” she groaned in sympathy for me. “Do you think you’ll give him another chance?”

“It’s not me giving him another chance you should worry about. It’s whether or not he’ll give me another one,” I explained. Amelia lifted her head and went to respond but I cut her off. “Let’s stop talking about my total disaster of a first date and just enjoy the rest of the night together.”

“Okay, fine,” Amelia agreed reluctantly with a sigh.

“Great! Now what are we watching?”

“The Proposal.”

“I love it. I’ll get changed and get snacks,” I told her, moving to get up from the couch.

Amelia laughed as I walked out of the living room and towards the stairs, but I stopped when the doorbell rang.

“Amelia, are you expecting somebody,” I called out to the teenager.

“No,” She called back.

I walked up to the front door and flicked the lock, opening it to find Jake standing on the other side.

“Jake,” I said in shock, looking out behind him and up and down the street.

“None of them followed me if that’s what you’re checking for,” He reassured me.

I looked back at him and sighed. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure you got home safely,” He explained, nervously looking down at his feet before looking me in the eye.

“Well, thank you,” I told him hesitantly.

Jake nodded at me in acknowledgment as the silence between us began to hang. The first awkward silence to ever occur between the two of us.

“You can-” “I just want to-”

The two of us spoke at the same time, causing both of us to immediately pause and stare at each other.

“What were you about to say,” Jake asked me, gesturing for me to go on.

“Oh, no. You can go first,” I reassured him.

“What I have to say can wait,” Jake told me.

“Jake, what I was going to say isn’t important. What were you going to say,” I asked him.

Jake stared at me silently, the furrow of his brow letting me know he was deep in thought, deciding what he was going to say.

“I just want to say, I'm sorry and you were right,” he released.

I stared at him in shock as he continued.

“I don't understand what you go through daily, or what you went through for the past 10 years. I don't understand how hard it must be for you to try and do anything normal because I've never experienced your life myself. Seeing what you were going through tonight, the good and the bad, made me realize how different we and the lives we live are,” he told me, causing dread to build in my stomach, knowing the next words to come out of his mouth are going to break me.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that I would love nothing more than to get to know you and for you to talk to me. Help me understand what it is that you deal with in your life. Tell me what I can do to earn your trust and support you. Because, darlin’, I plan on being here for the long run.”

I widened my eyes in shock at his words and felt tears well up in my eyes as well. I have never had a guy step up and tell me such things. They’ve always been takers. People are more interested in my fame than in working to understand me for who I am. Who I can be when you take away that part of me. I took a deep breath and then released it, looking at my feet briefly before looking back at the blonde aviator.

“If you’ll have me, that is,” Jake added nervously, clearly concerned about my silence.

I gave him a soft smile. “I think that can be arranged.”

I could see Jake visibly relax at my words. It was almost as if he had 100 pounds of weight lifted off of his shoulders. His nervous look changed to one of glee, and he turned his charm back up.

“Thank goodness, because I didn’t know what I was going to do with this if you said no,” Jake said, reaching over to the side of the porch.

I watched him lift a plastic bag with a couple of styrofoam containers, a bottle of wine wrapped in a brown paper bag, and a large pizza box. I chuckled in amusement while shaking my head before looking at the man with a questioning look.

“I promised you Italian,” He said simply with a shrug.

“You are…,” I trailed off, not knowing the exact words I wanted to use for the man.

“Hopefully the words you are looking to end that with are all positive,” He said with a grin. “Can I come inside? We can talk everything over.”

I grinned and went to answer, but I was cut off by a voice whispering “Say yes” behind me. Jake and I shared a look of amusement and I released a small chuckle.

“You know, I was unsure about my answer at first, but I just have this small, nagging, annoying voice telling me I should let you in,” I told him with a smirk.

“Hey,” Amelia whined out at my insults.

Jake released a chuckle at the teenager as well and peeked slightly in the door to see the teenager hiding around the corner.

“Well, I think you should listen to the all-knowing and wise voice,” Jake directed at me while looking at Amelia and giving her a wink. “Especially because the pizza is getting colder as we speak.”

I shook my head at him in amusement before opening the door wider. “Would you like to join me upstairs?”

Jake’s smile widened before nodding. “I would love nothing more.”

Jake walked in the door and removed his shoes, placing them next to my own. I turned around to make my way to the kitchen to grab a wine opener and glasses, but I was shocked to find my teenage cousin standing in the doorway already holding the items out to me. I shook my head at her in amusement before stepping forward and accepting the items from her.

“Raincheck on The Proposal,” I asked her with a pout.

“Ryan Reynolds will just have to wait,” Amelia agreed with an exaggerated sigh.

The two of us laughed together before I turned and led Jake upstairs to my room. Jake followed me silently through the hallway until we reached my bedroom, taking in everything while I closed the door, leaving it open a few inches. Jake set everything on my desk while I grabbed my blanket off of the bed and laid it down on the floor, grabbing a few pillows and laying them down as well. Jake removed his leather bomber jacket with all of his navy patches and rested it over the back of my desk chair. I took a seat on the floor and he followed me soon after, placing the food on the floor before taking a seat.

“I have to say, I didn’t think this would be the first time I would be in your room,” Jake told me with a smirk as he grabbed the wine opener.

“Yeah, what was that you told me about saying no to coming upstairs on the first date,” I questioned him smugly, leaning back against my bed.

“Hey, now. This is different,” Jake defended with a smile of amusement, a brief chuckle escaping him as he pulled the cork out of the wine bottle.

“Mhm, sure,” I agreed sarcastically, holding my wine glass out towards him to fill.

“It is,” He argued with me as he filled my glass.

“How so,” I asked him curiously.

“Well, for starters, I said I would tell you no to coming inside at the end of our date, and it does not appear to be the end of our date yet,” Jake pointed out, gesturing to the spread of pizza and garlic bread laid out in front of us.

“Okay, you got me there,” I nodded at him as he filled his glass.

“And, I told you that you were going to be so impressed and obsessed with me that you will never want me to leave,” Jake finished off, setting the wine down and placing the cork back inside of it.

“Well what makes you think I’m not already impressed and obsessed with you,” I argued with him.

“I never said you weren’t,” Jake pointed out.

I rolled my eyes at him and chuckled. “Alright, fine. So I might be impressed already, but I don’t think I’ve quite reached the point of obsession yet.”

“Well, our night has only just begun,” Jake said smugly, winking at me with his Hollywood movie star smile.

“Well, then, here’s to my eventual obsession,” I said back just as smugly, holding my wine glass out towards him.

“To your eventual obsession,” Jake cheered with me, clinking his glass against my own.

The two of us drank our wine before digging into our food. Jake handed me a paper plate and napkin from the bag before opening the pizza box, the two of us letting out a groan at the sight of the pizza in front of us.

“Okay, just pick one,” He told me, moving the box closer to me.

“Oh, I get to pick first,” I asked him sarcastically.

“Yep, ladies first,” He told me with a bright grin.

“Are you sure? That’s quite the thing to bestow upon somebody,” I said sarcastically, leaning my head back against the bed.

“I’m positive. Go ahead darlin’,” He told me, nudging the box closer to me.

“Okay,” I told him, grabbing the slice I wanted and folding it so it was easier to eat. “Don’t judge how I eat my pizza. I roll it crust side out because I’m a lady.”

“Hey, no judgment here, honey,” Jake reassured me, grabbing a slice for himself and folding it as well.

I giggled at his actions and held it out to cheer him again before the two of us took a bite of our pizza, releasing groans of pleasure at the deliciousness.

“So, now that we have our date back on track, good food, good wine, and hopefully good company,” Jake listed off, looking over at me at his last words with a hopeful expression.

“Very good company,” I reassured him, taking a bite of my pizza.

“How about we get started on you helping understand everything about you,” Jake offered up.

I went quiet at his words and looked down at my lap. “Are you sure you want that?”

“Like I said Darlin’, I want to be in it for the long run,” He reassured me.

I sighed. “Like I said, this has been my life for 10 years…”

I told him everything. From being discovered to now. All the happy times, all the sad times. The joy of being recognized and winning awards. The sadness of rumors being spread and having my heart broken time and time again. The times when I was made the bad guy even though I did nothing wrong. Then I told him about what caused me to be sent back to San Diego in the first place.

“So what happened with your manager exactly,” Jake asked me curiously.

“Since the beginning, he always seemed a little off. It was almost like he was waiting for something to happen so he could slither his way in and take advantage of me. After my most recent breakup, I was receiving more hate than usual. He started putting in my head that I was losing everything and I was about to be a nobody. A washed-up pop singer who had it all one day then nothing the next. I started to believe him and I was thinking “What am I going to do?” Then I realized that he was lying to me. He was just trying to brainwash me and weaken me.”

“Why,” Jake asked me.

“Because he was a disgusting pig who wanted me for himself. I confronted him about everything, he forced himself on me and said that I would have nothing if it weren’t for him. He told me if I fired him he would tell everybody about what I did to him. Which was nothing. I was nothing but good to him. He told me if I didn’t sleep with him and do whatever he wanted me to do that I was finished. So I told him I would rather be finished than used and abused like a slave. So I fired him and here I am now. Lies being spread about me left and right.”

I went quiet at the end of my explanation, looking down at my lap as I had tears build up in my eyes. Jake remained quiet for a moment as my tears began to stream down my face. I listened to Jake release a sigh before he placed a hand on my knee. He began soothingly rubbing my knee before speaking.

“I am so sorry you had to go through that Presley. You didn’t deserve it. Believe me when I say that and believe me when I say not everybody believes what is being said about you,” Jake reassured me.

“Thank you,” I whispered to him.

He nodded and removed his hand from my knee, bringing it up to wipe my tears from my face. I brought my hand up and grabbed his own, pressing it closer to my face and turning my cheek into his palm. Jake rubbed his thumb against my cheekbone and I turned my head more to press a kiss against the inside of his palm. I gripped his hand in both of mine and brought it down to my lap, intertwining my fingers with his own before looking up at him and looking into his eyes. Jake’s eyes softened when we made eye contact and I could see him release a deep breath that he was holding in. He squeezed my hand before breaking eye contact, looking down at the floor and releasing my hand.

“It’s late, I think I better-”

I cut him off by placing my lips against his own, causing him to gasp in surprise. It was a chaste kiss, an innocent press of the lips against each other for a few moments before I pulled away from him. I opened my eyes and watched Jake do the same, the two of us staring into each other’s eyes once again. Jake’s surprise turned into a smirk not long after I pulled away, and he placed his hand back on my cheek.

“Where do you think you’re going Darlin’,” He said smugly before placing his lips back on my own.

I couldn’t help but smile into the kiss as he continued placing his lips against my own in a dance only we knew with each other. I brought my hands up to wrap around his neck, pulling myself closer to him until I was pressed against him, moving to straddle his hips to become closer to him. Jake’s hands remained respectfully on my hips as we kissed, rubbing his thumb across my hip bone occasionally. I released my hold on his neck to thread one of my hands into the hair at the back of his head and trailed my other hand down to one of his own on my hip, guiding it farther south to rest on my cheek. I allowed myself to grind down on him briefly, causing him to groan into the kiss and break away.

“Darlin’, remember what I said about wanting to treat you how you deserve to be treated and being respectful,” Jake rasped out to me, pressing his forehead against mine. I hummed in acknowledgment of his question. “Well, right now, you’re making it very hard on me to do so, and I think we should stop now and I should leave before we do something we shouldn’t and I’m not able to stop.”

“Who said I want you to stop,” I whispered to him before placing my lips back on his, and he returned the kiss eagerly.

However, our continuation was short-lived by a bark and slobbery kiss being placed on the side of my face.

“Theo,” I groaned out, moving off of Jake so the dog could climb on top of me.

“Well, look at that. Saved by the dog,” Jake said smugly, causing me to glare at him in annoyance. Jake smirked back at me before standing from the floor. “Why don’t you walk me out, Darlin’?”

I sighed before nodding and standing from the floor, lightly pushing Theo off of me in the process. I gripped his hand in my own and walked through the hallway and down the stairs. I looked over into the living room to see Amelia asleep on the couch, Jake following my gaze with a small smile. I shrugged at him before leading him over to the front door.

“Thank you for tonight. I had a really great time,” I told him shyly, gripping his hand in my own.

“Well, I’m glad you did,” He nodded at me, stopping with me in front of the door.

“Maybe we can do this again,” I offered up, playing with his fingers.

“We definitely will, Darlin’. But next time, you're coming to my place,” he smirked at me.

I smirked back. “Is that wise? After what Theo just interrupted.”

“Oh, I can control myself, sweetheart. The question is whether or not you can,” he said smugly, leaning down closer to me.

“I guess we'll just have to wait and see,” I whispered, leaning in closer to him.

“I guess so,” Jake whispered back, leaning in to kiss me once again.

However we were interrupted by the door opening, Penny and Maverick stepping in through the front door. Jake and I froze while the two older adults stared at the two of us in shock.

“Fun night,” Penny asked smugly.

“Nothing happened,” I reassured her before grabbing Jake's hand in my own and leading him out the door.

Penny laughed while Maverick muttered curses under his breath. I shut the door behind me and looked up at Jake.

“Sorry, about that,” I apologized with a blush.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he reassured me.

I grinned up at him before shaking my head. “I'll see you later then?”

“Definitely,” he nodded at me before leaning down and capturing my lips in another kiss. He pulled away after and smirked. “I had to get at least one more in before we were interrupted again.”

I sighed in frustration. “You sure you don't want to change your opinion on coming back upstairs,” I whined out.

“Trust me, sweetheart, I would love nothing more, but like I said, you deserve better than that,” he told me with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes and pouted at him, causing him to chuckle. Jake leaned forward placed a kiss on my forehead and whispered a “goodnight, sweetheart” before turning around and walking towards his truck.

“You remember this as the day you turned down a popstar,” I called after him.

“I definitely will,” he called back, not turning around.

“You're going to regret this,” I called out again.

“Already am beautiful,” he called back again.

“goodnight,” I called out to him, turning to open the door.

“Hey, Presley,” Jake called out, causing me to turn back around. “I told you you would be obsessed with me,” he smirked at me as he opened the door to his truck.

“Get out of here, Hangman,” I said while laughing, rolling my eyes at him.

I turned around and opened the front door, moving inside and turning around to see Jake standing and waiting for me to close the door. I waved one last time at him, him doing the same before I closed and locked the door. I released a dreamy sigh and turned to lean back against the door. I bit my lip to contain my smile and ran my fingers over my lips as I remembered what it felt like to kiss Jake.

“So, how was it,” Penny asked me curiously, peeking her head out of the kitchen.

“It started horrible but turned into one of the best nights of my life. He was a complete gentleman-”

“Good, I didn't want to have to threaten him,” Mav spoke up as he moved into view from the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes at the man before looking back at Penny.

“Tonight was… amazing,” I told her firmly.

“Good. So, will there be a second date,” she asked me curiously.

“I think there will be many dates,” I reassured her, moving to go upstairs.

“aw, my little girl is in love,” Penny cooed, placing her head on Maverick's shoulder.

“I wouldn't say that… but I think I'm going to stick around for a little while. I might even get my own place,” I shrugged at her before running upstairs as she gasped at my words.

“Presley Joanna, do not play with me like that,” she called after me.

I giggled as I walked into my room and shut the door behind me. I leaned against it and dropped to the floor as I reminisced about my night. I took in the blanket and pillows still sitting on the floor with our trash and glasses from the night. I just shrugged it off and decided to take care of the mess in the morning. I moved to go into my ensuite bathroom but paused in my steps when I noticed something different.

A dark brown leather bomber jacket with a patch reading Hangman still resting on my desk chair.

Taglist: @buckysteveloki-me @hookslove1592

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error-ego · 2 months ago

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Hey am I the only one who thought the story of the couple living in the manor may have been a retelling of or metaphor for how Kinger and Queenie were separated?

TADC episode 3 spoilers + theory below the cut!

To recap the story of the couple in the manor:

Martha and Baron Theodore Mildenhall lived together in Mildenhall manor. Theodore had been hunting as a hobby for as long as he could remember. at some point Theodore becomes aware of the presence of a creature near his manor that is neither man or animal.

Believing it to be dangerous to him and his wife, he attempts to hunt and kill the creature, plagued by a feeling of dread the entire time.

Over time, his hunt for the creature turns into an obsession, and he spends years trying to catch it. He at some point learns that this creature is an angel of God, but this doesn't stop his pursuit.

When he eventually does catch it, he decapitates it, but the body goes missing during the minute he isn't looking at it. He knows it's still alive somewhere. He knows it will be back to claim its head.

He mounts the head on his wall as a trophy, but he doesn't celebrate. He becomes anxious and paranoid, constantly on edge for when the body will return.

One day, this paranoia leads him to mistake his own wife for the creature, and he shoots her, leaving himself as the only living thing he has left to protect.

He hides in his cellar with a shotgun and two rounds. There he stays, keeping watch for the creature's inevitable return. He dies alone there, his soul dragged down to hell for the crime of harming one of God's angels.

TL;DR: Theodore and Martha Mildenhall live together in this manor. Theodore hunts as a hobby. This hobby turns into an obsession when he tries to kill a monster to protect his wife. He finds out the monster is an angel of God. He doesn't care. The angel's body lives and escapes when he does eventually catch it. He becomes paranoid the body will come back for its head and mistakes his wife for the angel's body, killing her. He dies alone in his cellar and goes to hell because he harmed an angel.

I believe the angel is meant to represent Queenie, and that Theodore and his story represent Kinger and how he accidentally caused Queenie to abstract.

Hear me out:

The eyes on the head of the angel are misaligned in the exact same way Queenie's are,

and when Kinger first sees the head, he stares at it for a long time before saying "You know, I'm starting to think..." before cutting himself off. He may have been about to acknowledge the similarity between it and Queenie. His eyes tremble noticeably during the moment after he says this.

He never elaborates on this statement for the rest of the episode.

Kinger appears to see Queenie inside the mouth of the angel while it's chasing him and Pomni. I say this since it's out of character and unlikely that he'd call anyone else "beautiful" and "honey" in the same sentence.

The composition and numerous eyes within the mouth also mirror a scene later in the episode depicting him and Queenie after she abstracted.

Also, his eyes tremble in this scene in the same way as when he was looking at the angel's head for the first time.

Kinger doesn't find out what he believes to be a monster is an angel of God until after he's shot it.

This could be a parallel to how Theodore didn't realize what he believed to be the angel's body was his wife Martha until after he'd shot and killed her.

Both people took the shot in the effort to protect someone they cared about, but both times it only made things worse for both parties.

Based on Kaufmo's abstraction and the way people respond to stress in real life, it's likely that Queenie was isolated from Kinger to some degree before she abstracted.

Kinger says he doesn't remember the events that lead up to him and Queenie in his pillow fort together.

Something may have come between her and Kinger that caused Queenie's relationship with him to weaken, which made her spend less time around him and other people as a result. It's possible that Kinger accidentally said or did something that sent her over the edge and caused her to abstract.

In conclusion, Kinger may have caused his wife to abstract and Caine used this fact with a modified version of the events leading to it in his horror tragedy adventure because he's an AI and isn't capable of coming up with completely original stories or art, just like generative AI in real life.

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carolperkinsexgirlfriend · 11 months ago

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Steddie Upside-Down AU Part 46.5

Posting the added Christmas part, which is entirely @queenie-ofthe-void 's fault. In the context of the story, this takes place just before Steve reconciles with Carol. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programing tomorrow <3

Steve gets quieter and quieter as the days pass. It’s as if now that he’s not constantly bombarded with distractions, all they’ve been through has enough space to root into his brain and grow. Eddie doesn’t like it.

He’s curling into himself, smaller and smaller as he watches Eddie flit around the trailer from his perch on the couch. He never tries to join him or waylay him, never asks for anything at all.

All his neighbors are putting up their usual illegal trees and shitty old twinkling lights. It makes Eddie want to dig a deep hole and die in it.

He’d driven past the Harrington house last year on his way to Jeff’s usual Christmas Eve party. Their lights were white and classy, picture-perfect tree standing in the window, flaunting its opulence for all the world to see. Eddie remembers scoffing, turning up his tape as loud as it would go, hoping to disturb the Hallmark special undoubtedly going on inside.

Now, he wonders if anyone had been there at all, or worse, if it was just Steve, rotting on the couch, even more alone than he is right now.

He shifts his gaze furtively to Steve, grimacing when he sees the distant look in his eyes, trained on the television but taking in nothing at all.

“Hey, Harrington,” he calls nonchalantly, just to get a reaction. “Your folks coming home for Christmas?”

Steve grimaces, but his eyes focus and turn Eddie’s way, so mission accomplished. “Probably not,” he replies.

Meaning, they probably hadn’t been there last year. Eddie can’t believe he’s even thinking the thought, but he hopes Steve had gone over to the Perkins’ or Hagan’s houses, and spent the holidays surrounded by assholes full of Christmas cheer.

But Steve’s frowning down at his knees, so he doubts it.

Eddie and Wayne don’t usually bother with a tree, but they’ve still got their Christmas traditions. Wayne will come in from a late shift, and Eddie will have their traditional dinner of grilled cheese waiting for him. They’ll stay up late watching all their favorite Christmas movies, and then trade gifts as the sun begins to rise.

Eddie wonders if Steve has any traditions at all.

Then, he got an idea. An awful idea. Eddie got a wonderful, awful idea. With barely any forethought at all, Eddie walks over and takes Steve’s warm hand. “Come on, Steve,” he says, pulling on his arm until he gets with the picture and stands. “We’ve got stuff to do.”

Steve furrows his brow, but doesn’t let go of Eddie’s hand. “What? But–”

“No buts!” Eddie interrupts. He eyes Steve critically. His still-short hair looks greasy. Eddie’s not sure if he’s showered since Winter break began. A bad sign if he’s ever seen one. “Go shower and get dressed!”

Steve glares at him, but drops his hand, and walks to the bathroom without complaint. The shower turns on. Eddie rushes around, gathering his wallet and keys, stuffing his feet into his worn out boots. Once Steve’s done in the bathroom, he harangues him into getting dressed. He listlessly complies, tugging on jeans and bypassing his own clothes to tug on one of Eddie’s Hellfire shirts and Wayne’s coziest flannel, which he left draped across the back of his recliner.

Eddie herds him out the door and into the passenger seat of the van. Eddie turns the dials on the radio until he finds Hawkins’ one and only Christmas Station. The last dregs of Sleigh Ride pour out of the speakers at Eddie’s usual volume, Ella Fitzgerald’s dulcet tones serenading them.

Steve jumps at the volume, but otherwise doesn’t react. Rocking Around the Christmas Tree starts. Eddie sings it at top volume, bouncing in his seat to the beat. By the time they’re decking the halls with boughs of holly, Steve’s smiling, mouthing along to the words too quietly to be heard over the music.

Eddie reaches over, shaking him back and forth gently by the neck, trying to shake the ghosts of Christmas past right out of him. By the way Steve laughs, he thinks it may have even worked.

He pulls off Mirkwood, parking in the dirt between two trees, smiling brightly as he takes off his seatbelt and slides out of the car. He skips into the trees, pausing to wait for Steve. He hears the passenger door open and slam shut and Steve’s slow jog to catch up before he starts on his merry way again.

“What the hell are we doing, man?” he asks, looking down at his feet as they step over roots and fallen logs.

Eddie wonders if Steve feels that same drumming anxiety in his heartbeat that he feels. It’s the way the light passes through the trees, like something could come lumbering up between them and swallow them whole. Being back here in the woods with Steve by his side. Still, there’s something content bubbling up alongside the anxiety. No matter which side of Hawkins they're on, Steve’s still right by his side.

“Shopping!” he replies, beaming at Steve’s audible scoff.

“In the woods?”

Eddie wraps his arm around Steve’s elbow, pulling him familiarly into his side and holding him there. Steve doesn’t resist, just snuggles in, like Eddie’s that cute little teddy bear that now shares their bed.

“Well you see, Sir Steven,” he replies gallantly, make-believing that Steve really is a knight, and Eddie’s his loyal servant. “Those of the noble house of Harrington might pick out something perfect and green at Merrill’s lot, but us lowly commoners have to settle for what we can scavenge.”

“You didn’t even bring an ax.”

Eddie scoffs, shaking him lightly. “There’s those rich kid roots again,” he says, smiling conspiratorially over at him. “You think we need an ax for anything that’ll fit in the trailer?”

Steve rolls his eyes, but Eddie doesn’t even care. There’s life in them again. “It’s not rich kid roots that you’re going to be pulling out of the ground.”

Eddie laughs.

They don’t make it much farther before settling for a little sapling, already snapped. Eddie crows and finishes snapping it with his hands. It’s going to be a very Charlie Brown Christmas, and Eddie can’t wait.

Steve grumbles and groans at his choice, but when they get back home, he dutifully grabs the dinky pitcher from under the sink and fills it halfway with water while Eddie turns on the mixtape he’d made a few years back, full of his and Wayne’s favorite Christmas songs. Steve settles the tree in the living room, situating it in the corner so it won’t block the TV.

Eddie digs what little decorations he and Wayne have accumulated from the storage under the trailer, and they spend a good five minutes filling it with lights and garland. When the lack of bulbs becomes apparent, Steve scrounges through Eddie’s figurines, stringing them up and dotting them around the tree. It ends up looking a bit like they’d hung a bunch of tiny men to die, but Eddie loves it.

When Wayne gets home, he raises his eyebrow at the setup, but doesn’t comment.

Presents accumulate over the week leading up to the big day. A couple for Wayne, a few more for Eddie, a few more still for Steve. When Steve first sees his name scribbled in pen atop a box wrapped in scavenged advertisements, he looks like he’s going to cry.

Eddie and Steve trawl the shops, each picking up odds and ends for Will and the kids, and scratching both of their names on them. Harrington's payout is starting to run thin, but Eddie helps Steve pick out a few things from the record store for the Hellfire boys as well. Eddie can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when they fork them over.

He picks out a pair of mittens each for Nancy, Barb, and Jonathan, and looks especially proud of the World’s Best Mom mug he snags for Mama Byers, even as he blushes throughout the entire purchase.

Eddie catches him picking up a bottle of nail polish a few times, or a stack of baseball cards before he puts them down with a shake of his head and a world-weary sigh. He doesn’t ask who he was thinking about, doesn’t think he has to.

They wrap the presents side by side, forgoing bows and frills, and leave them stacked behind their little tree.

It all makes the trailer feel homey. Warm and safe.

Eddie plays phone tag with all their friends until he catches them all. Everyone bundles into the small space on Christmas Eve, exchanging presents while A Christmas Carol plays in the background.

Jeff and Doug maintain their manners, but the look of shock on Gareth’s face when he unwraps the new Metallica cassette that Steve hands him is a sight to behold. He sheepishly hands over a Hershey’s candy bar obviously bought from Melvald’s, but Steve just hugs him and takes a bite.

Will tucks Mama Byers’ wrapped present into his coat, lest he forget it. It’s loud and chaotic, but before he knows it, they’re all trickling through the door with well wishes and good cheer, off to continue the festivities with their own families.

When Eddie shuts the door on the last of them, he turns to find Steve looking sad and small.

Eddie claps his hands, aiming for big and bright. “Now, for the Munson’s traditional Christmas Experience.” He says each word with the weight it deserves.

Steve perks back up, spine straightening. “Traditional?”

Eddie nods, leading the way into the kitchen. “Uncle Wayne should be back soon, and I always make dinner,” he says, digging the ingredients out of the fridge.

“You can cook?”

Eddie scoffs, but then shrugs. “Well, I can make grilled cheese,” he says, plunking the butter and cheese onto the counter and grabbing the bread from its box. “And I heat up a mean can of soup.”

Steve scoffs. “You burn them every time, don’t you?”

“It’s tradition!” Eddie cries, but lets Steve hip check him out of the way and begin the preparations.

Eddie’d been twelve the first time he’d done this for Uncle Wayne. By the time he’d walked through the door, weary from a hard day’s labor, there’d been two sandwiches on the table, almost charred beyond recognition, and two luke-warm bowls of canned tomato soup. Wayne had said it was the best meal he’d ever had, and ate every last morsel.

The sandwiches Steve makes are browned and buttery, cheese melted just right in the middle. Wayne smiles when he walks in through the door, and they settle in front of the TV to watch The Grinch, meals tucked onto TV trays. The cheese stretches tantalizingly when Eddie pulls the two triangles Steve had cut it into apart. It’s the perfect sandwich. Wayne groans his agreement as Steve smiles into his traditional canned soup.

They watch Christmas movies all night, trying to find Steve’s favorites when he admits to never having watched most of them. And when dawn’s light starts drifting in through the kitchen window, Eddie bounds down to the dinky tree and passes presents out.

They open each present, one by one. Wayne tears up when he opens the World’s Best Dad mug that Steve must’ve bought, and Steve’s similarly water when he opens his own gift to find Wayne’s favorite flannel, pilfered often enough that it fits comfortably on his shoulders. Eddie outright laughs when he receives a mixtape from Steve. When Steve huffs in offense, he tosses the mixtape he made Steve at his head.

Steve smiles down at it, and spends the rest of the morning turning it this way and that way in his hands as he reads the track list and looks at the little drawings Eddie’d done by each song.

When they finally crawl into bed, his bedroom is much lighter than usual, but he’s too tired to care. Steve reaches across the scant inches separating them to grab Eddie’s arm and pull it into his chest like a security blanket.

Eddie sighs, content to close his eyes and sleep away the day.

“This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” Steve whispers into the quiet of the room.

Eddie scooches just a little closer, thinks of their dinky little tree and stupid thrifted presents, and whispers right back, “me too, Angel.”

Taglist: @deany-baby @estrellami-1 @altocumulustranslucidus @evillittleguy @carlprocastinator1000 @1-8oo-wtfbro @hallucinatedjosten @goodolefashionedloverboi @newtstabber @lunabyrd @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @manda-panda-monium @disrespectedgoatman @finntheehumaneater @ive-been-bamboozled @harringrieve @grimmfitzz @is-emily-real @dontstealmycake @angeldreamsoffanfic @a-couchpotato @5ammi90 @mac-attack19 @genderless-spoon @kas-eddie-munson @louismeds @imhereforthelolzdontyellatme @pansexuality-activated @ellietheasexylibrarian @nebulainajar @mightbeasleep @neonfruitbowl @beth--b @silenzioperso @best-selling-show @v3lv3tf0x @bookworm0690 @paintsplatteredandimperfect

#steve harrington #steddie #my fic #eddie munson #steddie upsidedown au #i thought about posting it tomorrow but there's momentum building in the story rn and didn't want to do that to you lol

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ashsimpsalot · 6 months ago

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Sushi in Tokyo (Kid X Sita X Reader)

Yes this is a poly fic, the tittle is based on

MY poly anthem

You entered the cracked up flat to find Kid watching the TV by himself, so deep in the Movie he didn't even realise you were home, a smile formed on your lips, fuck, even though you're hosting two fugitives in your home, the sight is too domestic to not melt your heart.

"I'm home," you announced, closing the door behind you. You turned around to see Kid with a big smile on his lips, standing and walking towards you, as excited as a puppy.

"jaanu, I missed you," he breathed before attaching hid lips to yours, hands wrapping around your waist. You hummed in the kiss.

Once you pulled back you stared into his eyes with a smile before looking at his hair, touching them.

"your curls feels fluffier than usual," you made a comment which earned a chuckle from Kid. He hummed and have your lips a final peck. "Sita put henna on my hair, she said she got bored being stuck in this house." he explained.

The mental image of your girl just running her hands into your man's curls makes you smile.

"where is she?" he lead you to sit you on the couch with him. "she's asleep," he whispered into your hair. The man's already clingy as it is, having you work much more than usual makes Kid crave having you in his arms even more.

You being the only face that is not all over the news for the murder of Rana, Queenie and Baba Shakti, you had decided, it's safer for the them to stay at home until it all die down, then all three of you could make a run to a different region of India, maybe even crossing borders. Anywhere people can't recognise them.

But until then you have to work to supply enough money, for three people, and it's not easy. It takes way much more time than you usually work.

You glance at the blanket that is on the sofa and frowned. "you're sleeping on the couch? Did you two fought?" you asked looking at Kid.

Kid barely loses his cool, Sita, being herself, is always clear on what she wants, what she likes and dislikes. For them to fight is very very rare.

"God, no. She kicked me out of the room because it was too hot, she said I'm a human heater," he said and lightly pouted. You let out a small laugh.

"she's right, you are a heater, and the heat of Mumbai isn't to play with. Plus your habit of hugging while you sleep isn't really helping your case." you teased, kissing his pout off. His eyebrows furrowed. "I can't even cuddle my girls without being rejected," he joked. You love it when Kid is comfortable. When it just the three of you, you get to see this side of him.

"baby?" a sleepy voice interrupted you two you turned around to see Sita with sleepy eyes standing in front of the room.

"hey, pretty girl, come here," you smiled at your girl, fuck even when she just woke up she's so incredibly beautiful. Sita sits herself between Kid and you, playfully pushing Kid away from you earning a small whine from Kid. He positione her so that she's sitting on his lap. On of her hand thrown over his shoulder she lazily kissed him

You smiled and softly placed your thumb on her chin, caressing before leading her in. She smiled and kissed you next.

"how was your nap?" Sita had thrown both her legs into your lap, you chuckled and brought her hand to kiss her palm.

"was good, without the heater bothering me." she joked, Kid tickled her side earning a yelp form her.

"Did I wake you up, sweetheart?" you asked softly, she just shook her head. Taking your hand in hers and begun her favourite pass time. Drawing random shapes on your palm.

"it's raining outside, it got cold," she replied, her fingers tracing letters in your palm. 'I <3 u` again and again and you smiled.

"is that why you came out? To be with the heater?" Kid asked, his arm thrown over your shoulder to pull you closer, you end up with your head on his chest while Sita's head on his neck.

Just what you need after a long day.

Sita didn't answer just let out a small laugh and yelp once again when he tickled her side. "Kidd!" she whined, now switching form drawing letters in your palm to kissing your fingers, almost even suckling on them.

Kid on the other hand has had his nose buried in your hair. Obviously sniffing the hell out of them.

"you two are awfully clingy today," you laughed into Kid's chest, eyes pinned on how pretty Sita's lips are kissing your fingers like that. You're glad that she's comfortable enough to let her oral fixation out and about. She used to say she's insecure about it and try not to do it in public.

"we missed you," Sita said softly before taking her head off of Kid's neck, tilting your chin and kissed your lips. You hummed into the kiss.

"hopefully this thing die down a little soon, I've got my contact for fake IDs already, even all the papers we need, just need this to die down and we can move on," Kid said and sighed. Sita though looked particularly interested. "what?" Kid asked confused. You just laughed because you know your girl all too well.

"you talking about all these matter makes her hot and bothered," you joked which made Sita blush. "hey!" she tried to defend herself before burying her face into Kid's neck, hiding from both of you.Kid chuckled and raised his hand to run it through her hair.

"hot and bothered hm?" he looked over to you with a smirk. You chucked. "such a tease," you laughed at him and kissed his lips, Sita turned her head again, pulling your hand towards her lips and kissed them again.

"i could fall asleep like this," you admitted, earning a him from Kid. A yawn escaped your lips. You looked over to Sita and chuckled when she's settled into placed your index finger into her mouth.

"I might fall asleep," you said again eyes now closed. Kid's hand that was resting on your arm softly move to pat you "sleep, I'll lift you later," you answer with a hum. You felt a kiss on your head and before you know it you're snoring like a baby.

#Spotify #kid monkey man #monkey man fanfiction #monkey man x reader #monkey man fluff #dev patel #monkey man imagine #Kid X Sita X Reader #Sita monkey man

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heavenlyhoundoom · 7 months ago

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This is my tadc swap au.

Bubble 🔄 Caine

Pomni 🔄 Kinger

Gangle 🔄 Jax

Zooble 🔄 Ragatha

Kaufmo 🔄 Queenie

Gumigoo 🔄 Loolilalu

Swap quotes

1.Bubble: Welcome to the amazing digital circus! My name is Bubble. I'm your ring master, and I'm gonna show you the most jaw-dropping, heart-stopping, mind-bending paraphernalia you've ever laid your eyes upon! Isn't that right, Caine?

(Caine flies out of Bubble's hat.)

Caine: That's right, Bubble. I can't wait to see what you're cooking up for today!

2.Gangle: Bubble, is this one of your NPCs, or is this a new sucker. Because if it's a new character, We're gonna have to redo this whole theme song...

Ragatha: I'm not doing that again...

3.Bubble: How about we talk about something else? Like your name.

Kinger: My name? My name is...

(Kinger realizes that he can't remember his name.)

Kinger: Oh, God! Why can't I remember my name!

Bubble: No one can remember their name once they've entered the digital circus. One of the few things I don't have control over are your minds. So all I can do is help you come up with a new name.

4.Zooble: Oh, wait. We should go check on Queenie. I'm sure she'd like to meet our new friend.

(The glionks take Pomni's pillows.)

Pomni: My impenetrable fortress!

Zooble: Hey, Pomni!

Pomni: Huh?...

Zooble: Want to come with us to go check on Queenie?

Pomni: No, not really.

(Pomni walks up to the others.)

Pomni: I think Queenie's gone insane. The last time I spoke with her, she was rambling endlessly about some exit. Kind of like you, Kinger. You might be going insane too.

5.Gangle: By the way, I may have left something in your room, so let me know if you find it. Say, you're not afraid of scorpions, are you?

Zooble: Gangle! That's literally my only fear. Why would you do this!?

Gangle: What? It could be a completely unrelated question. You never know until it's too late.

6.Prince Gumigoo: Here's the key back into the kingdom for when you've secured the goods. I trust you not to let it fall into the wrong hands?

7.Gummyshark bandit(girl): You think your dad's gonna pull through if we get all this back to the village?

Gummybear bandit(girl): I'm sure he will. This much syrup would save hundreds of people.

Loolilalu: We won't be sure until we get back to the village. He's a fighter, though. He taught me everything I know.

8.Gangle: Alright, Jax, when we catch up to them, I'll jump over, crawl inside, and shoot them repeatedly until they're unrecognizable.

Jax: I feel like that violates some kind of convention.

Gangle: You're violating my ears with your clap-back, get driving, driver!

#the amazing digital circus #tadc gangle #tadc zooble #tadc kinger #tadc queenie #tadc ragatha #tadc jax #tadc kaufmo #tadc pomni #tadc caine #tadc bubble #tadc gummigoo #tadc loolilalu #swap au

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studio-of-woof · 1 month ago

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Honest to god it has been a while. Ok. Let’s do this.

BEHIND THE CIRCUS. EPISODE 3.

So I’d like to imagine this episode was very resourceful for props and CGI. Even in a Roger Rabbit esque universe, some things just gotta be done by people you know?

Pomni and Kinger got to work together more in this episode which was good for both their in-character relationship and out-of-character relationship. Before episode 3 they haven’t really spoken much offset.

[Pomni Interview]

“Both Ragatha and Gangle had told me that Kinger is like, the dad of the cast. Now that I’ve worked with him one on one I see what they mean by that!”

This was also the episode that Kinger’s wife, Queenie, watched go down from behind the cameras, seeing as she was mentioned in the episode. Kinger wanted to bring her to the studio and she was thrilled to see her husband absolutely nail his role, and it was nice to be important to his character, even if in the show she’s canonically dead.

[Kinger interview + Queenie]

“I recall Goose asking during the pilot’s production if I was married. I brought up my wife and she asked “Would she like to audition?” I asked for what? And I was told that my character had a wife who abstracted. I called up Queenie, asked if she wanted to be an important plot point- [chuckles]… and she said yes! So we managed to get a portrait of her for the hallway before that scene was shot.”

“I did get paid for my cameos before anyone asks. I got paid.”

“Yeah best to- clear that up. [laughs]”

“Yeah no- I totally didn’t get paid for being an important part of my husband’s character.”

“You- You get paid in exposure and that’s it!”

“[Laughs] You’re canonically dead, there’s your exposure!”

Now Martha and Ghostly, coming in from The Haunted Regions of ToonTown. Ghostly is a small streamer over on Twitch and is good friends with Goose. Martha and Gangle worked with each other on other projects so they’re familiar with one another. Others have even stated Gangle could do impressions of Martha, given how their voices are so similar.

Gangle was the one who brought up Martha to the directors and managed to get her the role when she auditioned. Baron Mildenhall was voiced by Tim Alexander.

[Martha Interview]

“So… sorry if this comes off as a personal question but, do you have a husband?”

“No, I never married, honestly Tim’s character, Baron, pretty much says why. I’m just happy being within my own company.”

The Angel was done using a large, mechanical puppet which was then overlayed by a CGI model. It’s body was animated using a mocap suit.

Now, Zooble and Caine’s side plot was a lot easier to record. It was mentioned in previous interviews that Zooble isn’t too fond of how they look. They’ve been vocal about it and has encouraged people on social media to find their own identity and be proud of who they are. So when they were acting the scene out, there were some genuine emotions coming out where their character self mentioned that they don’t like their body. After that scene was shot, Zooble had to take a few minutes to recollect themselves a bit, with some genuine comfort from Caine now that he wasn’t in character.

[After scene]

“You did really good! You feeling okay?”

“Yeah just- just need a moment. I’m alright.”

“Hit close to home?”

“A little, yeah.”

“Well hey you did really really great out there. And also someday I hope you find the parts you’re looking for.”

“Man— you’re too sweet, the fuck?”

“[Laughs]”

[During production]

“So there’s a trophy room in the mansion. And there’s creepy head mounts of the main cast- you guys.”

“Ohh my lord.”

“What the fuuuhahahuck?”

“DUDE I swear I saw that exact Jax head in my nightmare once!”

“… HUH??-“

“Gangle what-“

“[Laughing hysterically]”

“I’M NOT KIDDING— Jax I’ve told you about that nightmare didn’t I??”

“You did- you did.”

—————————

“Isn’t this the part where Jax gets tied up?”

“This is the part where Jax is tied up-“

“Oh my god I forgot. I’m getting tied up- Goose what have you done?”

[Gangle, Goose and Ragatha laugh]

“You do realise what the internet’s gonna do with this.”

“To that, I deeply encourage it.”

“Ohhh I’m gonna be seeing a lot of twitter notifications.”

“People will be tagging you.”

“SO MANY NOTIFICATIONS.”

————————————

“I have a shotgun.”

“… and I want the front seat—“

[Pomni giggles]

“… whuh?”

“It’s- its-“

“Is this a reference to something I’m apparently too old to know?”

“It’s- it’s from Vine! You’re never too old to reference Vine.”

“I probably didn’t see it then. They really need to bring it back.”

“Right??”

——————————

“Man I’m glad there’s like, cushioning in that vacuum. Have you ever been inside a normal vacuum? It’s hard and uncomfortable.”

“I- I can’t say I have. I’m not a ghost!”

“You’re in a- a very tight space. You’re gonna want it to be comfortable if you’re gonna be in it for a few minutes to shoot a scene-“

“Yeah? Yeah?”

“And like- even then it depends on the kind of ghost like- me? I have no issue, I’m small- but if we’re talking like. If we’re talking Martha, she’d have to really fit herself in there.”

“I see.”

“Right.”

—————————

“That- That jumpscare from Ghostly? I wasn’t told that he was going to do that. I was legitimately frightened. I wasn’t too mad though? As a toon you can’t really fake the “eyes popping out of head” trick. They had to get an authentic scare out of me. I just had trouble getting them to go back in, even Kinger was confused. But I mean, it worked for the scene so we just ran with it.”

“And what about the effects you all have when holding your breath? Does that actually happen to you or was it post editing?”

“No it does. That all happens. I’d tell you what happens to Jax when he holds his breath but seeing everyone’s interpretations is funnier.”

“I will never tell.”

#the amazing digital circus #tadc au #tadc #pomni #ragatha #jax #gangle #zooble #kinger #actor au #behind the circus au

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stargirl-writes · 9 days ago

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hey, absolutely loooove your stories, was wondering if you can recommend some other writers in the sw fandom? i have read all your original work, so good! Thank you ☺️

aaaa thank uuu for reading ! here's a list of star wars / anakin blogs !

@cosmicanakin | @anilovie | @anakin-pilled

@st4rfckerz | @luminoustarlight | @erinkeifer

@queenie-official | @fuckmyskywalker | @stars4anakin

@thedarlingdearestdead | @weixuldo | @faexfilms

@starbeltconstellation | @silxani | @distortionbobble

@sweetcheesecakesblog | @hanasnx | @anakinsbunniee

@jadegmfu | @throughparisallthroughrome

@madeinnaboo | @anakinskywalkerog

@bimbo-baggins17 | @inlovewithfictionalmensblog

that's all i can name, i'm sure there's more i've missed TvT but here are authors in star wars / anakin fandom that i admire and follow <3

#ciella answers !

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queenofbaws · 4 months ago

Note

Hey Queenie! Hope you're having a lovely weekend! 💕 As it's another wonderful Six Sentence Sat(or)Sunday, I just gotta ask for some LauraMax again, y'know? 😁

"Okay," he sighed, sounding seven steps past exhausted as he came in with the screen door banging behind him, rubbing the worst of the motor oil off of his hands with a towel before slumping into the kitchen chair beside her, "I thiiink I'm almost done tuning that hunk of junk up, so I'm just going to take an itsy-bitsy five minute break in here, then I'll finish it up."

"You and that car, I'm starting to get jealous," Laura teased, marking her spot in her textbook before leaning over to him and agreeing, "Five minutes then I kick your sorry butt out, got it," as she placed a tiny kiss to the corner of his mouth.

Instead of smiling or laughing - his usual reactions to her joking like that - Max narrowed his eyes in thought for a beat...and then, as though having waged some silent debate within himself, corrected, "Okay, ten minutes."

"Whoa, ten whole minutes, what changed your mi - " only it hit her before she could finish the thought, surprising a snort of laughter out of her, " - are you seriously that easily distracted, Max?"

Again squinting hard as if his answer required any amount of concentration, he hummed, "One way to find ooout..." And when Laura leaned over a second time, kissing him a second time, he grinned, "Ah, okay, fifteen minutes - you drive a hard bargain, hun."

six sentence sat(or)sunday!!!

#theartofdreaming1 #six sentence weekend #the quarry #lauramax #queenie writes supermassive #well hey yourself vicky!!!!! :P i'm havin a sleepy ol weekend here - i hope yours has been lovely!!! <3 #(you know i ALWAYS look forward to these lil lauramax jaunts hehehehe)

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xbadgerbearx · 3 months ago

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chapter seven: cutting ties

word count: 2.4k

Redlight: ... [6]

note: this was a lot of fun to make, and the love/support makes me so happy! I hope everyone enjoyed this series as much as I did <3

Now it was time for phase two of his plan: kill Rana Singh

Queenie had called your cell phone late last night. While you were laying next to Devu, talking about his fight with Sher Khan and holding hands, your phone buzzed.

“I don’t know where the hell you’ve been these past few days but you better have your ass here tomorrow,” Queenie growled into the phone. Putting the phone on speaker, you set the phone to where Devu could hear as well.

“Baba Shakti is celebrating at the King’s Club, which means that Chief Rana will be there to guard him. I need tomorrow to go perfectly, which means I need your ass in a red dress on his lap before dinner, you hear me?” Her voice was increasing in volume by the second. “Not the club dress, that one’s too distasteful. I need you in that one evening gown,” she explained calmly, her tone doing a 180.

“Okay,�� you assured, looking at Devu and forming a plan in your mind. “I’ll be there.”

“Great, see you then.” You could practically hear the smile through the phone. Devu went to speak but you hushed him, your mind racing as you thought of your plan.

It was relatively simple. When you went to the club, you would stash a knife in the kitchen so you could retrieve it before meeting with Rana. It would be hidden under your dress, along with a small firework explosive. Devu would break into the kitchen and make his way into the elevator. You tried to persuade him to take a quieter, more discreet route, but he wanted to make as much noise and destruction as possible. Once he made it into the lounge, you would set off your explosive at Rana while Devu fired his explosives into the air, causing as much chaos as possible.

Rana Singh would die, and then you would be free. Both of you would be free.

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

Making it into the kitchen, you grabbed the knife and took the elevator to the dressing rooms. Changing into an elegant red dress, with the knife and explosive hidden on your thigh, you did your makeup. Hands shaking, you had to take a deep breath to calm your nerves. You didn’t speak to anyone–not even Sita.

Soon the guests arrived and were escorted into the lounge. Rana saw you waiting patiently by the wall near across the elevator doors and joined you.

“Hey, baby,” he whispered, voice deep and rich.

“Hey there yourself, handsome,” you purred, leaning closer to him. Making small talk, the guests sat themselves and a man took to the stage. “Is that…?” you asked quietly in fake astonishment.

“Baba Shakti?” Rana finished. “Yeah, I’m guarding him tonight,” he smirked, eyes scanning over the entire room. He smiled handsomely. “So you can’t distract me too much tonight, hmm? Even though you’re simply to die for.” He made a point by grabbing a handful of your ass.

Gasping in surprise, you giggled. “Oh, baby, you have no idea.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the man on the stage started. “What an honor it is to be here with the Sovereign Party on the cusp of our historic victory.”

Rana immediately went to work and diligently scanned the crowd.

“One day, the maharajas on these walls will be replaced with portraits of each and every one of you,” the speaker smiled, making the audience quietly laugh. “We will rid Mother India of her scars and make her beautiful once more. I would like to acknowledge the great contribution of a mighty chief of police, Rana Singh!” The crowd applauded him, and you did as well, along with giving him a small kiss on the cheek. “His courage and integrity has led to Yatana’s lowest crime rate.”

‘Devu should be making his way through the kitchen,’ you thought, still standing by Rana.

“There is still one other person, without whose blessing, we would not be here. My guru. My mentor. His Holiness…Indian’s lion…Baba Shak-!”

A huge explosion from below you shook the walls and flickered the lights. The crowd gasped and murmured amongst themselves. Rana, now at full attention, began looking around the room for possible answers.

Your hand slowly shifted down your thigh and through a hidden slit. Grabbing the explosive, you shifted behind Rana so he couldn’t see. There was a candle a few feet away from you. If only you could just…

The elevator doors opened with a ding! Devu’s explosive fireworks flew into the room and straight for Rana. Taking this as an opportunity, you lept towards the candle to light your own explosive while Rana shielded himself with his arm. Everyone rushed to the nearest exit, screaming, which left you a nice and clear target.

With no warning, you lit the firework and watched as it exploded against Rana Singh. It caused his skin to open and welt, but if it hurt him he didn’t let it show. Devu was lighting his own fireworks and making impressive work out of Rana’s men.

“You bitch!” Rana yelled, voice growling dangerously. He stalked towards you. Turning to run, he grabbed the hem of your dress, pulling you to the ground. Rolling out of the way of a punch, your hand quickly found the hidden knife in your dress, but unfortunately, Rana was able to pick you up and throw you back onto the floor.

Groaning, you stumbled back and onto your feet in time to meet Rana’s fist, but you ducked just in time. Using the momentum, you sank your blade into his shoulder with a grunt of effort.

Rana yelled in pain and pushed you away, back onto the floor. Grabbing the handle of the knife, he yanked out the blade and stalked towards you. Just as you stood up, his hand wrapped around your throat and constricted. Your scream attracted the attention of Devu, which Rana took note of.

Instinctively, your own hands flew to paw and claw at Rana’s, but it was useless. Rana started to walk forwards, which made you instinctively want to walk backwards as to lessen the pressure on your neck. Your back hit the wall of the elevator room and the hand on your throat increased in pressure.

Devu heard the elevator ding. Looking over, his eyes widened in dread as Rana Singh met his stare, his hand still choking you.

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

Devu rushed after you as quickly as possible. Alpha and her warriors arrived, which let him focus his attention on you. However, Queenie arrived with a gun and almost shot him. Sita managed to strike a devastating blow against Queenie's head, killing her and allowing Devu to sever her thumb for later use.

Devu tried to catch his breath during the elevator ride to the VIP lounge, but the thought of you in danger through that out the window. Hands clenching with blood, he readied himself to save you.

When the doors to the VIP lounge slid open, he heard a wet gasping and several body blows. Throwing all caution to the wind, he sprinted inside to find you. Laying in a small puddle of blood, you gasped for air, crying. The knife you struck Rana with was now in your own shoulder, blood oozing out of the wound.

He’s seen this before, hasn’t he? Devu, paralyzed by the memory of his mother, looked at you in horror as the realization of the similarities set in. Immobilized by fear, Rana took advantage of his trap and struck Devu across the face, sending him to the ground next to you. Your bloody face with eyes peering into him would haunt him for the rest of his life.

“Finally out of your tree, huh?” Rana mused. “Get up.”

Devu groaned as he got up, giving you one more heartbroken glance before steadying himself for a fight.

“Did your mother send you back for more?”

Devu dodged Rana’s heavy punches with incredible speed. They exchanged several blows, but Devu was fully prepared for this fight. He was able to knock Rana down briefly, but the chief of police shoved him through a glass display, temporarily halting Devu’s progress.

“Get up, motherfucker!” Rana let Devu rise to his feet. “You son of a whore. What are you looking at?” Following his gaze, he saw that Devu was watching you slowly climb off the floor and rest your back against a tipped over table. The knife was out of your shoulder and rested loosely in your palm.

Rana hummed and chuckled. “The son of a whore is in love with a whore. How romantic.”

Devu went feral. Yelling, he dodged another blow and kicked Rana in the thigh, stunning him slightly. Sizing each other up briefly, Devu glared at Rana with fire in his eyes before they each threw a punch, which landed on the other’s punch. Rana shook his hand to ease the pain as Devu just watched.

It was over for Rana. Devu, now wild and reckless, attacked the man with full abandon. Rana got sent to the floor. Devu, panting, strolled to you and grabbed your shoe that had slipped off. He winked at you before striking Rana across the face with the heel.

It was…terrifying to see Devu like this. He striked Rana again a few more times with the heel of your shoe before dropping it to the ground. Grabbing Rana by his hair, eyes crazed, he punched him again, sending him to the floor.

“Get up,” Devu ordered. “Get up!” Rana groaned; he rolled onto his back as he wheezed for breath.

You watched–eyes wide in horror–as Devu delivered blow after blow onto the man’s face, killing him with nothing but his fists. A large puddle of blood flowed out and away from his head, life slipping away with it.

As if suddenly remembering, he turned on his foot and dashed to you, yelling your name. He extended his hand rather quickly to help you up, but you flinched. Devu’s eyes widen and his brows knit together, realizing that you just watched him kill a man with his bare hands. His bloody hands shook as he displayed them, trying to relay that he was no harm.

“No, no-no-no-no!” he mumbled quickly. “It-it’s okay! It’s over. It’s done.”

Breathing raggedly, you shifted against the wall but moaned in pain. Devu instantly came to your side, helping you stand and lean against him. The blood on his hands transferred to your skin.

Devu helped you get into the elevator. His finger hovered over the lobby button, but you smacked his hand away with effort. His brows furrowed in confusion.

“Penthouse,” you gasped. “Shakti’s there.”

“But you need-”

You shook your head. “I’m f-fine. I can wait.” Devu watched you, unsure. “Baba Shakti will get away if we don’t go now.”

Devu, eyes still on you, slowly retrieved Queenie’s severed thumb from his pocket and used it to get into the penthouse. The blood on your hands made it difficult to keep the blade in your grasp.

“Welcome, Queenie.”

Devu maneuvered your arm to wrap around his shoulder for better stabilization. The elevator display screen image turned into a crown, signaling that you had made it to the penthouse. The doors opened to reveal Baba Shakti sitting across the wall, foot lazily splashing in the water below his seat. Devu and you slowly walked towards him, stopping beside the painting of Hanuman.

“So you are the one?” Baba Shakti looked out the window and at the fireworks dancing across the sky. “Look at them all…Diwali. The triumph of light over darkness. The defeat of Ravana. But Ravana was no demon. He was a scholar. A visionary. He built an empire out of nothing.”

The man shook the water from his foot and grabbed his shoes before coming to a stop in front of you two. “Why not end this cycle of violence? Or we will be trapped in it for generations.”

“Do you even know my mother’s name?” Devu asked quietly. “Do you know any of their names?”

Baba Shakti rolled his eyes. “Anger will not quiet your soul, my son.”

“Don’t call me ‘son.’”

The man scoffed softly and tapped his wooden shoes together. “These were carved by a devout follower, who wore them to protect his feet from harming any small creature. On the side here, there’s an old prayer: ‘Forgive me, Mother Earth, for the sin of injury which I inflict with each step.’”

A helicopter slowly whirred outside, its beacon blinding you with its light.

“My chariot is here.”

Baba Shakti revealed a hidden blade from his shoe and stabbed Devu in the stomach. He gasped and gripped the hand that was twisting the blade further into his abdomen.

Quickly, you brought your blade over your head to stab the guru, but he was too quick. His second blade from his other shoe lodged itself into your chest. Screaming, you dropped the knife, landing it right onto his arm, the one that was still holding the blade. Baba Shakti shrieked and let go of both blades as fell backwards onto the ground, his good arm holding the wounded one.

Eyes suddenly becoming hazy, you slipped off of Devu’s shoulder and onto the ground. With your hand feeling the hole in your chest, you gasped raggedly as you kneeled on the floor. Blood seeped past your fingertips and onto the marble.

Devu became overrun with anger and allowed his adrenaline to kick into overdrive. Yelling, he took the blade that was in his stomach and lunged for Baba Shakti. Sinking the weapon into his chest multiple times–the same place he stabbed you–he readied himself for the final blow.

Shakti gurgled, blood flowing past his lips. “You can’t,” he said weakly. “These people need me. Please, I’ll give you what you want.” He started to plead. “I’ll do anything. Forgive me! Ha-ha-have mercy, please!”

“Only God can forgive you now.”

Devu heaved the small blade above his head and stabbed it in the middle of Baba Shakti’s forehead, killing him instantly. Panting quietly, Devu stumbled to his feet and clutched his stomach. His eyes slowly panned over to you, and he screamed in agony.

There you were–lying on the floor, hand to your chest, eyes staring into nothing.

He didn’t bother to stifle the sob that escaped him. Crashing onto his knees, he gently picked up your head and let it rest in his lap. Bending down to kiss your forehead, tears raining onto your face, he placed a small kiss on your temple.

He did not get back up.

His body slumped over yours.

Three bodies entered the room that night. Not one made it back out.

taglist: @larascorneroftheworld @chaithetics

#reader #reader insert #bobby #dev patel #monkey man x reader #monkey man 2024 #devu #redlight

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