#i don’t have a ken sadly :(

[livelaughlobotomyxx]

AAAAAHHHHH i thought i wasn’t gonna be able to be western barbie this year because spirit halloween was out of the costume online, but i went to my local store today and i got the last one 😭😭😭😭😭 it fits perfect and it looks so cute i’m gonna cry i’m gonna cry 💖💖💖💖💖

[jaejoongs-nipple-piercing]

I think I have Odette. And I bought you Erica for Christmas off of eBay when I first discovered the power (curse) of credit cards.

Also, at least Erica only sounds demonic. Annalise has gone mute.

*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*

[multifandomsimagine]

Imagine Ken getting jealous when another Ken compliments you

It was another perfect day in Barbieland as everyone gathered around the beach to enjoy the sun shining brightly in the sky and the cool ocean breeze that drifted through the air. A majority of the Barbies and Kens had decided to spend some time at the beach to fully bask in the nice weather.

Leaning against the life tower’s railing with Ken, Beach Ken watched the volleyball game before him with keen interest as you, Writer Barbie, and President Barbie played against Physicist Barbie, Doctor Barbie, and Stereotypical Barbie in a very close match. Doctor Barbie hit the ball back over the net, and President Barbie quickly moved toward the ball and bumped it into the air. Running to reach the ball, you jump up and spike it to the other side of the net where the other Barbies were too slow to make it to the ball on time, causing it to fall onto the sand.

“That was such a good spike, Barbie!” He calls out to you, a broad smile on his face as he waves his arm frantically, trying to catch your attention so he can belt out more praises for you. However, his smile quickly turns into a frown as you don’t seem to notice his compliment due to Ken, his long-time rival.

With narrowed eyes, he watches as Ken makes his way from the side of the volleyball court to you. He's too far to make out what Ken is saying but based on his rival's grin and the hand you rest on his bicep, it's not something he likes. With a huff, Ken marches down the life tower ramp. Spotting a surfboard against the tower, his eyes brighten as an idea pops into his head.

"Hey Barbie," He called out to you, feeling more confident about his idea when you turn away his the other Ken to look at him, his rival sporting a deep frown. "Check me out."

Seeing you nod to him, signaling that he had your full attention, Ken takes hold of the surfboard and takes a deep breath before sprinting toward the water. Sadly, his effort to impress you with a surfing trick fail as he crashed into the ocean wave. Bouncing off it, he and his surfboard are launched into the air where he crashes onto the tan sand.

An echo of shocked gasps is heard throughout the beach as you and Doctor Barbie rush toward Ken. "Hi Barbie," Ken says as you crouch down beside him, you rub his shoulder in an attempt to soothe him and distract him from any pain he felt. Butterflies fill his stomach at the motion as you stare at him with great concern.

"Let's get you up on your feet, okay?" Taking hold of his forearm, you and Doctor Barbie carefully help him stand back up as a crowd begins to form around you three. When he's right up again, you move his arm onto your shoulders and wrap an arm around his waist to help support his weight. You gesture for the crowd to part and they quickly follow your directions before you begin helping Ken slowly make his way to the pink vehicle. "Let's head over to the ambulance so Doctor Barbie can fix you right up."

Looking back to the dispersing crowd, he spots Ken staring at him with narrowed eyes, his frown having only grown larger. Ken shoots his rival a smug grin before turning back to look at you. "I wanted to show you a cool trick."

"It's okay." You give him a bright smile. "You can show me next time."

The unpleasantness that Ken felt earlier vanishes as his day becomes perfect now that your attention is focused solely on him.

[maybankswhore]

BARBIE AND KEN

summary: you force rafe to dress up as ken to match you for the new barbie movie— and he starts feeling himself way too much.

warnings: cursing , a little cringe ( but i can’t resist soft!rafe x reader idc how fanon anyone thinks it is. this is the character development rafe we need in the next season. )

— no ‘barbie!’ movie spoiler!

Wearing his old clothes made him feel different. He had ditched the polo shirts for just plain tees. His hair was buzzed , no longer able to be gelled back in a way that made him spend alot longer looking in the mirror than he’d ever admit.

At first when you told him your idea , asking him if he’d do it with you , he was completely against it. He didn’t have a problem taking you to the movie— but he didn’t know how he felt about dressing up for it.

But the look on your face was too hard to let down and eventually , he cracked. A smile tugging on his lips while he rolled his eyes at you , shaking his head when you clapped happily and pulled out the bag of clothes you had bought for yourself.

“Remember that peach polo you’d always wear?” Your heart glimmered that piece of Rafe’s life. Even if he hadn’t been the most liked , and he seemed like a real big asshole— it was the start of everything and it always held such a big place in your heart. Knowing the boy him , before watching him become the man he was now was touching to you. Especially when you thought about him and how he’d watch you do the same. “I got you the same kind just a different color so it’ll match the dress I bought!”

Your smile took up half your face as you laid it on the bed beside you. Rafe’s face scrunched up at the color , rubbing his temples. “Oh fuck me.”

You rolled your eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. The Rafe I knew two years ago would’ve ate this up and you know it!” Pointing an accusing finger in his direction , you burst into a fit of giggles. “Oh! Your perfect little hairstyle too. It’s time like these when I miss that asshole–esq haircut.” You sighed sadly.

Rafe scoffed as he picked up the shirt to examine it closer. “Please , you loved that haircut.”

“I did.” You giggled and stood up. You wrapped your arms around his neck to catch his attention , flushing at his eyes on you. “We’re gonna be so cute! You’re so Ken , Rafey.” You gushed. There were many things you loved and adored about Rafe , but your favorite was when he’d do whatever you asked— no matter how silly other people would think it was.

Rafe smirked and threw the shirt back on the bed lazily to hold your hips. “I am , aren’t I?”

“You so are.” You agreed , kissing at the apple of his cheeks. “You’re like. . . Polo Ken.”

“Okay I don’t dress like that anymore!” Rafe defended himself with a groan.

Your brain flashed back all the memories you had of him , the earliest ones making your heart flutter at how sweet and innocent things were. It all started with a teenage girl with the biggest crush on the King of Kooks— adorning him from afar until he finally cracked first. The relationship wasn’t always perfect and it had its bumpy moments , but the outcome would always make it worth it. Absentmindedly , your hands trailed up to the back of Rafe’s neck. Your fingers fiddled with his hair , feeling the edges of his buzzcut. You remembered when you’d run your fingers through it after his shower and all the gel would be gone. The loose strands of hair making him boyish and sweet , stripped of that ego and left with just him. “Remember those backwards hats?”

Rafe let out an exasperated noise and dropped his head low at your teasing. “Must you torture me with reminding me of my horrible fashion taste?”

“Mine wasn’t any better.” You laughed at yourself , remembering what you used to wear.

“Well back then , you weren’t wearing alot of clothes around me.” Rafe smirked , wiggling his eyebrows at you suggestively.

Your cheeks burned up as you slapped his chest , backing away. “Anyways—” you huffed whilst he chuckled. “The movie’s in like two hours so I’m going to shower and get ready.”

“Perfect! Me too.” He grinned. Though his smile dropped as you grabbed your things and walked towards the bathroom without him.

“Not in the mood to be peed on today.” You sang towards him and shut the door.

You smiled at yourself in the mirror , smoothing down your hot pink dress. You had done all the works. The hair and makeup with the dress and wedges. You wanted to feel like a real Barbie , and right now— you did. Your smile couldn’t be any bigger and the girlish excitement you felt rumbling in your belly made your skin dance.

“Rafe! You ready?” You yelled out to him. You had decided in the shower that you wanted it to be a surprise. This would be something nostalgic for you , fun. You couldn’t wait to take all the pictures to store in your camera and keep as a sweet keepsake.

It was something you and Rafe were doing all on your own. It wasn’t Midsummers , or a special costume party. It was just a cute memory to make with your boyfriend , and it comforted you. You felt all the emotions in your belly. Your heart was racing and your cheeks were all flushed and you felt like a little girl again , meeting her crush on the first day of school. . . Even if it did feel a bit silly , it was nice.

“Yeah , baby. I’m ready , alright.” Rafe called back to you. He too couldn’t keep his eyes off the mirror. He looked like him , but not the him he was used to anymore. The attire holding onto so many feelings and memories. Some were good , and some weren’t so good. But it didn’t take away the small , innocent grin threatening to reveal itself on his face.

You threw the door open and was immediately filled with glee. Your eyes lit up at the sight of him , looking like the teenage boy you fell in love with. The two of you were only just entering your twenties— but seventeen felt like a lifetime ago now.

You clapped happily at him. Rafe couldn’t help the blush on his face at the feeling of your adornment. And you had looked— so pretty. It wasn’t just the outfit , but how you glowed wearing it. Your shoulders were squared and your face was so bright and Rafe swore he hadn’t seen anyone more beautiful. “Polo Ken is now my new favorite.”

Rafe smiled down at you. His thumb brushed your hair away from your face , and he couldn’t resist the urge to lean down and press a kiss to your lips softly. The lipstick the last thing on either of your minds. “You look so , so pretty.” He assured you.

“We are real life Barbie and Ken.” You hummed. “I don’t make the rules.”

And you were. Rafe had loved you then , and he only loved you twice as much if that was possible. Sometimes , he felt as though his heart would grow out of his body for you.

It was just you and him in your own little dreamland for now.

And you’d onto that , for now , as long as you could.

[stanfanfiction]

Taste of You - Ken x fem!reader - PART TWO.FIVE

Edit: multiple parts have been uploaded and can be found on my pinned Masterlist on my profile :)

Warnings: 18+ smutty smut / disappointed Ken / fingering / unintentionally dominant Ken / desperate Ken / praise k!nk / pouting Ken / smut / reader might be slowly losing her mind but she’s fine with it / kinda some non-con but reader is into it

Unbeknownst to you, Ken didn’t sleep at all that night. You fell asleep nestled into him, your naked bodies morphing into each other easily, and Ken had managed to wrap you up in his arms and nestle his knee between your legs, desperate to be as close to you as possible. He watched you sleep in adoration, occasionally running his fingers through your hair, down your back and legs, leaving little kisses on your lips and forehead, but careful not to wake you. You stirred a couple of times, not waking up, but each time Ken’s heart leaped so hard it hurt, hoping you would awaken and he could further his exploration of every aspect of you - your eyes, your reactions, your body.

When you did awake, alarm going off on your phone, you opened your eyes to see Ken’s head directly next to yours on the same pillow, and he smiled so beautifully. “Good morning, y/n.”

You groaned, annoyed at the alarm, and reached over to turn it off but found Ken wasn’t paying attention and his grip on your body made it impossible to move over to the nightstand.

“Good morning, Ken,” you laughed, reaching your arm backwards towards the dresser. “Hey, can you grab that for me?”

He reached over you easily, his long arm grabbing the phone and handing it to you. You turned off the annoying beeping and he immediately snuggled back in as he had been when you had woken up.

You hummed sleepily, happily, and ran a finger over his check. His eyes shone, and he kissed your hand, beginning at the wrist and working his way up your palm. “Are you ready to have an orgasm?”

You laughed, and his eyes twinkled.

“Not this morning, Ken. Unfortunately I need to get going,” you said, sighing, honestly unhappy. Today you had an exam you had been studying for all week so you had no nerves about passing it, but rather just irritation that you had to go to class this morning.

“Mmmm, no, you don’t,” Ken smiled, giving little kisses all over your face, making you giggle.

“Okay, Ken,” you said after a moment, knowing you were already way too tempted to stay home. “I do need to get up now.”

“Mmm-mmm.” Ken shook his head, pulling you impossibly closer to him. You could feel his heartbeat through your chest he was holding you so tightly into him.

You nodded, sadly. “I’ll be back soon.”

Ken’s brow furrowed.

“I told you about this exam and how it important it was a couple days ago.”

“But you mentioned beforehand how one of your classmates took a make-up exam? Could you not do one of those?”

“No, Ken. That’s only if you really cannot go to class.”

“But, you *really* can’t go,” he grinned, and rolled himself on top of you now, his weight holding you down, his lips attacking yours. Your heart raced, your stomach flipped. You moaned against his assault, also enjoying how gentle but also dominant he had decided to be this morning. You kept your thighs squeezed together tightly to the best of your ability because you KNEW if he managed to get absolutely anything between them, you most definitely would miss class.

You turned your head away for air after a moment but he didn’t stop, attacking your neck and ear with the wettest of kisses and little nips. You heard yourself squeak a little when he bit down onto the area where your neck and shoulder connect.

“Oh, y/n,” he breathed, and you definitely felt his boner pressed into your groin now. “I haven’t heard that noise before.” He breathed you in deeply, nose nestled into your hair. “I want to hear more.” He wrapped a hand in your hair to move your head back the tiniest bit and began sucking on your neck right below your ear.

You squirmed and managed to put your hands onto his chest, ignoring the shivers going down your entire body. “Ken, please, stop now.”

Ken paused, but didn’t pull back.

“I NEED to get up.” You didn’t want to sound angry, but you kept your tone firm. Ken pulled back, looking into your eyes. They looked so sad.

“I’m not angry, Ken, I just need to get up.”

Ken stared at you for a moment longer, and you could see how harshly he had taken your words, like a full-on rejection. He sat up, allowing you access to leave the bed. You ran the back of your fingers down his cheek, leaving a small peck on his forehead.

“Thank you,” you said, giving him a small smile, hoping it would ease the disappointment he was experiencing. He looked at you but said nothing, his body language indicating he was going to continue to take the rejection with difficulty. You sighed, knowing you had to focus on getting dressed and out of the condo.

You walked over to the closet on the opposite side of the room, and usually you’d ask Ken to leave while you got dressed, but then realized that made no sense as you were already naked and he had definitely seen all of you just a few hours prior. The silence in the room was awful, though, and you threw on some clothes while trying to get him to cheer up.

“How about you choose what’s for dinner tonight?” You said, something that usually made him happy, but he remained quiet. My god, was he seriously going to pout all morning? You slipped on an off-the-shoulder sweater and a thong and a short skirt, and decided to let him come to you when he was ready to talk.

You tried to not feel bad about, well, the fact that he felt bad. You hurriedly brushed your teeth and hair, and slipped on your shoes to go make some coffee in the kitchen before you left. While the coffee was brewing and you prepped your travel thermos with milk and sugar, you pulled $20 out of your purse and set it on the kitchen counter in front of you.

“Ken, I’m leaving you some cash so you can go get yourself something today if you want -“

Your words were cut off when you felt Ken’s entire body push into yours, his arms around your waist, his hips holding you into place against the counter top. He had put his jeans back on but remained shirtless.

“Don’t want the money,” he pouted, chin resting into the crook of your neck. “Just want you.”

You had never had to deal with a situation like this before, and your brain fought like mad to keep yourself focused on your student career while wanting to stay and encourage this type of ridiculous behavior from Ken. You couldn’t blame him, last night had been his first time doing any of that stuff, and to be fair you might react the same in his situation. He had the newfound libido of a teenager and no resources to understand really what was happening, just that he wanted it to keep happening. And he wanted it to keep happening with you.

You decided to try to be gentle and see if that helped him calm down. You reached a hand up to lay on the back of his neck, and he kissed your shoulder and forearm, still keeping you in place against the counter.

“Sweet Ken,” you said, and you felt the pride swell within him when his body stood up a little straighter, “I loved every moment of last night, and I want more. I know you want more, and,” you tried to turn around to face him, but he wouldn’t let you, “I promise you will get everything you are wanting. I just can’t right now.”

Ken’s lips actually went into a pout, and you hated it but also hated how it turned you on. “Want to come with you,” he said.

You almost laughed, not cruelly, but at the idea of Ken, who didn’t even own a shirt that wasn’t open in the center, following you around campus, asking non-stop questions in class, telling random people that he was actually Ken from Barbieland….

“No, sweet boy. I would love that, but, no. Only students on campus. So, I need you to let me - ah, fuck!” You were cut short when Ken wrapped his arms tighter around you and roughly rubbed his clothed bulge against your rear, and your hips actually pressed into the counter top enough to hurt a little.

“I just want my y/n,” he cooed in your ear, and you felt one of his knees in-between your legs, coaxing you open for him.

Oh, god, ohhhh god oh god oh god. “Ken, you need to stop. My friend will be here any minute to pick me up.”

“You can tell your friend to leave.” Ken discovered that your legs did open up a little for him when he tried coaxing them apart with his knee, and he put his right foot down next to yours on the ground, then followed with his left foot to open you up a little more.

You were aware was what happening, but somehow this blissed you out more than you could have expected and your head fell back a little onto Ken’s chest. Ken groaned softly, feeling victorious that he had convinced you to stay by making you feel good. He pushed you into the counter a little more, encouraging you to bend over as he leaned into your waist. You didn’t realize you had obliged until both of your forearms were holding you up on the counter top and Ken had managed to get your legs quite a distance apart from each other. His bulge was able to access your vulva now, and he dry humped you hungrily, his hands holding your hips in place.

His mouth was next to your ear as he grunted, rubbing you a little harder, and you moaned loudly, your head swimming with how good he was at…dry humping, of all things. But it was just…HIM. His scent, his energy, the heat radiating from his body into you, the way he held you, looked at you, knowing everything he was doing was from adoration and desperation to just have more of YOU.

You tried to keep control of your head. “I have to get my coffee. Book bag is on the entry way table. I, ah fuck, FUCK Ken, goddammit…I need to change underwear before I leave now.” Your thoughts raced.

“Ken, no more,” you shuddered, feeling his lips suck hard on that area between your neck and shoulder again.

“Need you,” Ken muttered, and you could tell his head was swimming as well, enjoying the feelings he was getting from all of this but also hoping against hope that it would work and you would stay. “Need my y/n with me.” His breath gave your goosebumps. “Please.”

You were sure he had won when your phone chimed loudly. Your classmate was outside waiting to drive you to class. This helped snap you out of the haze.

“Ken,” you stated, firmly, trying to push yourself off of the counter, which unfortunately only made you push back into his groin, and Ken grunted, turning your head to kiss you.

“I. Have. To. Leave.” You stated, staring into his gaze. He stilled, and his expression was vacant. Dear fucking god, why was he being so difficult…why was this entire thing so DIFFICULT. You hated him being unhappy and you hated him pouting but the pouting till made you want to stay and -

You cried out, jumping a little at his sudden touch. He held you prisoner against his body with one arm wrapped impossibly tightly around your waist, and his other hand has snaked its way between your legs from the back, two of his fingers easily finding their way underneath the thin piece of clothing separating your core from him, and running both of them firmly from your clit down to your opening.

He smiled and hummed against your ear when your hips bucked, and fell onto the counter top again, shaking a little, barely holding yourself up this time. He leaned over you, both of you bent fully forward, and he repeated the motion with his fingers, and you felt dizzy.

“Just wanna make you feel good,” he mused. “You showed me and now I know how.”

You tried to speak but he kept talking. “You are SO wet, y/n. So wet, like you told me you need to be. Like you showed me.” His fingers now circled your opening, sending the most amazing sparks through your core. “Are you wet enough to where I won’t hurt you?”

Oh fuck fuck FUCK no, he was not able to penetrate you here, not now. Focus, focus -

“Will I hurt you if I put my fingers in you now?” He asked gently.

You shook your head, but to the former question from a moment earlier, time losing its reality and you didn’t hear his latest question until it rang through your ears a moment later. Since you had shaken your head, and Ken assumed it meant it would not hurt you, he immediately sunk both fingers into your pussy, gentle but deep. You pulsed around him, trying not to cry as his beautiful torture continued. He circled his fingers inside of you, so gently but also so firm, exploring you as you cried out and lost any mental control you had left.

“Mmmmm, yes, y/n,” he purred, his breath quickening. “I love this. I love how you sound. I love how you react to me.”

HIs fingers quickened, and your legs began to shake, losing your strength and collapsing the tiniest bit (that you were even able to being held up by him), but the slight movement made you fall onto his fingers a little more, and he hit *that* spot so perfectly you saw stars. You cried out loudly as he continued his assault, panting in your ear.

“Am I a good Ken? I make you feel good like you showed me, y/n? “ His dirty questions were genuine but god they were SO hot. You felt your orgasm approaching and let out a loud cry, of frustration, of pleasure, of…everything from this goddamn morning.

You legitimately did not hear the next words he whispered, so softly, his nose buried in your hair, as you moaned and writhed. “I love you, y/n,” he confessed. Maybe you *felt* it, maybe you did somehow hear it but just didn’t process it, but you came right then, fingers grasping for something to hold onto on the bare countertop.

“Ken! Ken, fuck. Ken, oh, please…yes….ahhh..Ken!”

He was fascinated by your mantra, and felt himself grow even harder. Now he knew he wanted to hear you saying his name in your peak pleasure over and over and -

You collapsed onto the counter, heaving, your phone beeping again with another text notification from your classmate. Ken didn’t even seem to notice. He held you firmly but gently, sighing and placing kisses on the bare shoulder that your sweater draped off on. He slowly withdrew his fingers and brought them up to your lips.

“Taste them.”

HOLY JESUS FUCK where had he learned this? That was not in the movie!!

“Y/n, taste.” He coaxed again. Your mouth was slightly open, still panting from that insane experience. He placed his fingers on your lower lip, snuggling his cheek into yours.

“You can taste what I got to last night. You taste so good. It’s so sweet.”

You realized he probably didn’t even know this was an incredibly sexual thing to do, because he sounded so genuine and innocent. He just somehow wanted to share a bit of his personal experience?

You couldn’t comprehend anything more. You were exhausted, you were running late for class, you hadn’t even poured your coffee.

“Ken,” you said softly. He turned to kiss your cheek with little butterfly kisses and you took his fingers into your mouth, closing your lips around them. Ken groaned loudly, apparently learning he really liked you sucking on his fingers. You *did* taste sweet, but you weren’t sure how much of that was your horny brain just enjoying Ken’s fingers in your mouth.

When you stopped swirling your tongue around them and opened your mouth, Ken pulled his hand back and stood up, finally turning you around so you could face him. He leaned his forehead into yours, smiling.

“Hi,” he said.

You were so overwhelmed. “Ken. I still have to go.”

You couldn’t even read his expression, his hands tightening around your waist again. “No!” He protested. “I thought you said -“

“Ken, my classmate is outside waiting. I *have* to leave, right now. I PROMISE,” you tried to soothe him with a palm to his cheek, “I swear I will take care of you the moment I am back. But I really need to go.”

He looked so disappointed.

“I promise. You will get anything you want when I’m back.”

His eyes lit up a tiny bit then.

“I promise,” You repeated.

Ken slowly nodded, but seemed less rejected than before, leaning into you again as you turned back around to quickly pour your coffee and grab your phone. He reluctantly let you free of his arms as you moved towards the door. You picked up your book bag and looked back. He was so fucking gorgeous just standing there, hands barely in his pockets, oddly bashful and hopeful and horny and - Okay, fucking focus. Now.

You gave him a small smile as you opened the door. “I promise.”

He smiled back and you closed the door behind you, cursing your class schedule.

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[see-arcane]

A Metaphor for Nothing in Particular :)

Me: Hi, I’d like to order one bowl of Bram Seafood’s famous lobster bisque, please.

Chef Francis, handing me a smoked salmon: Here you go.

Me: I think there’s been a mix-up. I wanted a lobster bisque.

Chef Francis: Yes. And it is.

Me: This is a smoked salmon. Probably exactly the sort of thing that someone who wanted a smoked salmon would enjoy. But it is not a lobster bisque.

Chef Francis: Well, it’s my adapted and updated sexy version of a lobster bisque. Everyone loves it! And all critics agree that my patented Bram Seafood’s Lobster Bisque © ™ is the most authentic re-imagining of the original recipe ever. Therefore it is lobster bisque.

Me: Have any of these critics actually tasted lobster bisque, let alone the one written out and cooked by Bram Seafood, prior to your ‘adaptation?’

Chef Francis: Why would that matter?

Me: …Are there any other chefs who specialize in lobster bisque here?

Chefs Alan, Kim and J.S.: We do! And we’re professionals in the same field Bram Seafood worked in. You can trust our renditions to be utterly faithful to his recipe.

Me: Chef Alan, you appear to have handed me a medley where every single part has been already chewed and vomited out before being set on fire. I’m impressed that you got the scallops to remain preserved enough to look like a pair of breasts spilling out of a corset. Chef Kim, this is just an elaborately arranged turd in the shape of a lobster surrounded by smaller turds in the shape of other crustaceans. Chef J.S. this is a bowl of dishwater with the soap film used to spell out I HATE LOBSTER BISQUE on top.

Chefs Alan, Kim, and J.S.: What? No, these are lobster bisques. But edgier.

Chef Stephen: Pfft. Amateur hour. My lobster bisque is the freshest, sexiest, edgiest, coolest, specialest lobster bisque ever devised!

Chef NBC: Not as sexy-fresh-edge-cool as mine!

Me: Chef Stephen, I have eaten your work before. Some of your earliest collaborations were fantastic, but, like your takes on recipes by culinary artists Stevenson, Doyle, Newman, Webber, and Wilson, you have a habit of turning the entrée into strange food sculpture caricatures of your idealized snarky sexman fantasy self. As is the case here. Though it is impressive that you managed to make this calamari plate seem to make out with…I think it’s a trout filleted in the shape of a nun? Chef NBC, you just gave me a Ken doll covered in tartar sauce.

Chefs Jessica and Blair: H—

Me: That is also a Ken doll covered in tartar sauce, the plate is just smaller.

Chef Showtime: Well, I have a full seafood platter that includes a lobster bisque!

Me: And it’s beautifully plated, very inventive. Sadly you have replaced all the lobster bisque ingredients with ones for--I’ll be honest, it looks like a much more elevated version of Chef Alan’s plate. Not a high bar, but kudos for the attempt. Also none of this appears to be seafood. This is all barbecue with seafood names attached.

Chef Tod poking his head out of the kitchen: Don’t bother with these youngsters. I had old Bram’s recipe open in front of me the whole time! Just spruced it up a little, nipped a dozen or so unnecessary ingredients.

Me, looking at Chef Tod’s plate of crabcakes, also labeled as lobster bisque: So you did. I can tell Chef Hammer took a lot of inspiration from you.

Chef Kiersten: Ugh, I see what the problem is here. I am so sorry you had to put up with these tryhards. Here, this is a proper lobster bisque.

Me: This is a bowl of nails and lipstick.

Chef Kiersten: No, it’s the lobster bisque as it really is. Rather, what it should have been! Bram Seafood’s lobster bisque was created in 1897, when every ingredient and recipe ever written was nothing but evil, hateful, small-minded, belittling tripe. I have rescued the sole redeemable ingredient from the entire recipe and elevated it to new heights!

Me: The. The lipstick?

Chef Kierstan: Yes! See, you can tell it’s from the original by how it’s surrounded only by icky awful conniving ingredients. And there’s a whole piece of a lobster shell in there.

Me: Did you. Ever try Bram's lobster bisque?

Chef Kierstan: Of course! I swished it around for the mouthfeel and immediately spat it out, as is right.

Me: Guys. I’m going to level with you here. Not a single one of the dishes you have labeled as or otherwise connected to lobster bisque has had even a passing resemblance to lobster bisque. Some of these meals, they look great at a distance. If you presented them to me without telling me what you’ve named them, I might have really, really enjoyed them as they were. But the fact is, I have been trying to order a helping of Bram Seafood’s lobster bisque—even just a lobster bisque inspired by his!—for years. And every time, I keep being brought entirely unrelated dishes which I can tell are not lobster bisque because I have, in fact, had Bram’s recipe before. The fact that you continue to insist that your recipes are Bram’s recipe does not alter the fact that These Are Not Actually Bram’s Recipe or Anything Even Close to It.

Please just call your recipes your own and, if you really want to work off of Bram's bisque, do it sincerely! As if you actually enjoy and respect what he made! Hell, look how far Chefs F.W. and Werner got with it next door. Sure, it’s a lobster tail and a gumbo, respectively, but they have so much of Bram’s work in every bite! And they actually worked off the foundation that he set down in his recipe, using it to support their creativity with the meals, rather than replacing every single ingredient and pretending they haven’t gutted Bram’s work to use it as a disguise to give their restaurant more pomp. Do you get what I’m saying?

Chef Robert: :3c

Me: Don’t.

[digimitsu-art]

your digimon art is really beautiful! I wanted to ask- are you a long time digimon fan or is it something you’ve only gotten into recently? Do you care for any of the media (like games or shows) or do you like purely the monster and character designs? Do you have any favourite digimon(s)? Sorry for the barrage of questions, I hope you have a good week!

OOO no need to apologise! I actually love being asked these kinda questions! Honestly thank you for asking <3

I've been a fan of Digimon since I was a kid in the 90's! I grew up watching the first 3 seasons (and had a major crush on Ken and Stingmon back then lmao oh god). Sadly kinda fell out of the show when Season 4 aired because I was confused at the lack of Digimon partners haha but I revisited it when I was an adult some years back and I adore it.

I think at this point in time I've watched all the Digimon shows except for the Appmon one but I hopefully will get the chance to sit down and watch it. There are also some Digimon movies I've yet to watch too but hope to get to them. I also remember owning some of the comic books way back too.

I also played the Digimon games a ton growing up! Played a lot of Digimon World 1 and 2, a bit of 3 and 4. Rumble Arena 1 and 2 was super fun too. And the Digital Card Battle. I still revisit them from time to time.

I desperately wish I can collect Digimon figures and cards but space and money is an issue wahh 😔

Also I know it's not asked, but I do wanna mention: When it comes to fanart, I've also drawn a bunch of Digimon fanart since I was young, but there was a period of my life I stopped posting fanart online for years because I was really affected by art theft. It’s only recently that I’ve started to put myself back out there again, though the worry is still there. But I don’t want to hide forever, either. 🙏

And I have a lot of faves but my top fave is Beelzemon! Some other notable ones I really like: Madleomon, Lucemon FM, Lordknightmon, GulusGammamon, Metalseadramon... and tbh I could go on and on haha. 💕

Now have a pic of my BWG being my tablet pen holder lol

[aviteirs]

✩ ‧₊˚ ✩ loving gojo satoru is cruel

note: hello dazzling you, you who by some miracle (algorithm) ended up here reading my little story, but I’m grateful, grateful that you took your time to even read this. This is my first time writing something like this so, crossing my fingers like Ken, hopefully you will like it.

“sadly too many of us stay together far longer than we should because it’s easier to say I love you than it is to say I don’t” - Beau Taplin

pairing: Gojo Satoru x fem!reader

synopsis: you understand your relationship has become toxic but after so many years with Gojo, you still love him and can’t let go.

warnings: pure angst, mention of cheating, sorcerer!Gojo x non-sorcerer!reader, hurt, did I tell you it’s angsty?, toxic established relationship

The room is dark and quiet, you’re on your bed staring at the glow in the dark star stickers scattered across the ceiling. Those stars a beautiful surprise he had given you some time ago right after you confessed you were having trouble sleeping due to recurring nightmares.

“Now you,” he points to the ceiling and you giggle, “my loyal star soldiers are in charge of keeping my precious princess safe when I’m not here,” he says giving you that grin you have come to adore and you laugh thankfully, cause maybe it is childish or sappy, no, maybe he is childish and sappy but you don’t care, you’re just so happy, he makes you just so happy.

You keep staring.

The stars don’t glow as much anymore, you notice, just a dim light remains and for a moment you think that maybe they are like you, they keep fighting cause they’re hopeful that things can go back to normal and that they can go back to glowing just as bright as they did before. A stupid thought you push aside.

You keep on staring for what feels like an eternity until the sound of the apartment door opening snaps you back to reality.

Turning your head, you glance at the clock sitting on the bedside table beside you.

2:35 a.m

There was a time, not too long ago, where you would’ve excitedly jumped out of your bed to welcome home the beautiful man of your dreams after days of not seeing him, courtesy of the long missions he’s always getting. And he would happily throw his things on the floor and remove his mask, just so he could open his arms for you to melt in, immediately kissing you with the same hunger and need and love as you.

You pretend you’re asleep.

A few minutes later you hear the bedroom door open. Keeping your eyes shut, you hear him call out your name. Your heart clenches. You ignore him. He waits for a few second then you hear him getting into the bathroom and re-emerging again, plopping down beside you. He must be really tired cause he immediately falls asleep.

He’s so close, you can feel the heat radiating from his body, so you try your best to even out your breathing in an effort to calm and stop yourself from shaking him awake and demand lies answers from him.

Thanks to his sorcerer friend you know he arrived four days ago.

He has been here for four days and didn’t tell you

As a non-sorcerer you are prohibited from knowing details of the missions they are given, being strictly confidential and all. Fortunately, your boyfriend never was the one to respect or follow rules so you always knew everything, and this time was no exception, so naturally you knew there was another sorcerer, one you’d met before, accompanying him. Safe to say it was a very awkward meeting when three days ago you bumped into him at the supermarket.

“Nanami?” You blurt out, stupidly staring at the blond tall man as if he has grown another head. He gives you a confused look before he greets you as politely as ever.

“Sorry for sounding weird,” you immediately try to explain yourself, “I thought you were also going with Satoru to that trip but I must’ve heard him wrong or something.” You try not to show any hint of emotion when he gives you another confused look and says, “I did go, the mission was cut short so we arrived yesterday. I thought you knew.”

For a very foolish, or maybe hopeful, moment you wanted to believe your boyfriend was just busy giving his report to those annoying higher ups he’s always whining about.

Unfortunately, you knew him better than to allow yourself to believe that.

So you decide to wait, that’s all you seem to be doing lately anyway, for him to choose to come home. To come home to you. While also doing the impossible of not giving in, grabbing your phone and reaching out to him and ask stupid questions like where is he, who is he with, why he still hasn’t come home.

Stupid questions because you know their answers, of course you do, it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together. Sudden disappearances with no explanations, the once long texts and calls reduced to just the occasional hello, forgetting dates you both had already planned, his credit card purchases showing one too many gifts that you never received, lipstick stains on his shirts that could never be yours, you have never worn those shades of lipstick after all. But love is blind, love is stupid, love is forgiving that person over and over again because you don’t know what’s worse, them hurting you or the thought of never seeing them again. So you stay, despite the obvious lies that it’s all in your head cause he would never do that to you and the continuos heartbreaks, you stay.

Love is cruel.

Loving Gojo Satoru is cruel.

Life is cruel as well cause you are painfully well aware that you can’t bring yourself to hate him because, even as much as you want to, you can’t solely blame him for how toxic this has become. You have to admit it is also your fault, yours and your stupid stubborn heart that prefers the crumbs of a dead love you refuse to let go than learning to live a life without him in it.

After all, you open your eyes and turn your body to face him. Strands of that beautiful white hair of his fall to his face, his long eyelashes flutter softly and he snores softly, he is so cruelly and painfully beautiful, you lift your hand to caress him but you stop yourself just in time.

No matter how many times you tell yourself to let go and be over with this, you still love him, you love him so much it hurts.

And it will continue to hurt, cause maybe you’re just too weak to let him go or maybe he’s too much of a coward and a selfish bastard to not tell you the truth, he doesn’t love you, not anymore, not how he used to. Or maybe it’s both, but either way you won’t can’t let each other go.

[frescoisnotinthemilitary]

Hi!! I really love your works.. can I request a fic? I was maybe hoping for Soap helping reader through caffeine withdrawal? 👀 I know it's a bit specific, but I find it really endearing ☹️☹️

P.S. I love Amelia!! Such a neat OC. 🫶🫶

What’s In A Drink? Caffeine, Apparently.

A John “Soap” MacTavish x Reader fic

A/N: Thank you, Anon! 

I’ve been wanting to write something for Soap for a bit, but I couldn’t really think of anything I might want to do. I’m going to make this two parts, just to give you all something to nibble on while I work on the other things. Thank you to my readers for the brainworms and all the support! I’m sorry that this part is so short :/

This one’s a little heavy on the content warnings only because addiction is a sensitive topic, and I get that it’s hard for some people. That being said, it’s entirely understandable if you don’t want to read this. Feel free to keep scrolling. 

CW/TW: slight angst, discussions and symptoms of addiction/withdrawal, depressive and self-deprecating behavior, swearing, implied self-starvation

18+ only please, MDNI (I can’t control your content consumption, but if you’re underage, don’t interact). As much as I appreciate the support, I don’t want to block people.

Reader: GN Reader, You/Your PNs, use of R/N

“C’mon, ye’ve gottae eat.” It’s the same familiar brogue that you love-hate. Johnny. 

“I can’t,” you say, picking your head off your arms. The all-too-familiar prickle of irritation scratches at the back of your skull. “My appetite is nonexistent.”

“At least try, please. It’s no’ good to starve yerself,” Johnny pleads.

The prickle starts to feel more like cactus spines with every passing second. “I said I’m not hungry, John.” John. You never call him John. “Just back off.”

But of course, Johnny’s persistence remains. He steels himself for the rest of the harsh words that are sure to spill from your lips. “Look, ye dinnae need to be cunty. I’m only tryin’ tae help ye. It’s better tae eat proper food than chug an energy drink. And ye ken we’re using vacation days for this.”

Your head falls back down to rest on your forearm, your other hand fidgeting with the ties of your sweatshirt’s hood. You’re staring at the ground beneath the table, between your socked feet. “I didn’t ask for your help, Johnny. You just kind of inserted yourself into my business, now you’re wasting your vacation days making sure I get out of bed and eat more than half a bowl of cereal. I didn’t ask you to.”

“Look, I ken,” Johnny sighs. “I ken ye dinnae want me around, but I want tae help ye feel better. I ken it’s hard, but it’s easier tae do it now than tae deal wit’ it on a mission when ye cannae have a Monster. Not tae mention, they’re shite for yer health; the taurine in those things, Jesus.”

“Alright, Johnny, I get it. Just back off,” you grumble, pushing your chair from the table as you stand. “I don’t need your help. Just leave me alone.”

Johnny looks at you softly, almost sadly, as you turn and walk towards your room. “Love, I didnae mean to pester ye, I only want ye better.”

“Why, you can’t deal with me like this?” You spit. 

He’s shocked, taken aback, but he still tries to fix it. “No, I didnae mean it like that, I swear. I only meant-”

“It doesn’t matter what you meant. I don’t care. Might just be better if we broke up, seeing as you don’t want to put up with me anymore.”

“What? No, R/N, I didnae say that! I dinnae want tae throw us away over a little misunderstanding. I love ye, and I want tae marry ye one day. I-” He cut himself off. 

“Look, I don’t care, okay? I mean- wait, what did you say? You want to marry me?”

I'm cutting this here (for the cliffhanger hehe). I'll probably have the other half out for y'all in a few days. I've been extra busy lately and haven't found much time to work on the fics, but I'm trying when I can. Thank you all for being so patient and supporting me!

P.S. I'll upload this to Ao3 later. I'm a bit short on time at the moment.

[gotham-ruaidh]

you can feel the beat within [a 7x02 story]

Her tears had stopped some time ago. Her breaths had calmed, no longer gasping for air, her back softly rising and falling as his fingertips skimmed her spine.

Again he kissed her forehead. Watched the breeze swirl the curtains across the room, the black night an endless void beyond. Shifted her in his arms, sheltering her.

Her hands tightened at his elbows. Knees hooked behind his.

He felt her swallow against his shoulder.

“What happened, when you watched me go?”

He sighed. “I suppose I’ve never told you.”

“You don’t need to,” she whispered. “I understand if you don’t want to talk about it.”

His hand splayed over the small of her back. Pressing her deeper against him.

“You were in my arms. And then you were just…gone. In a blink. I had thought it would be slow, like salt dissolving in water. But no. It was as if you had never existed.”

Her thumb traced two parallel scars on his back. “I was so scared it would pull me apart. Me and the baby.”

“I ken it was the right thing.” She heard the tears in his eyes. “I meant to die, and I meant to save my family. But…God, Claire. You were gone, and all I had was your arisaid, and it smelled of you.”

He inhaled deeply at her hairline. Gasping.

“I was ready for my body to die on that battlefield. Because my heart was already dead.”

She pulled back from his shoulder. Rose up on an elbow to look at him. Cradled his face in her hands.

“Your heart beats within me. It beats in our daughter, and our grandchildren. They are worth it. All of it.”

“I…” his voice broke, pulse elevated, eyes bright with tears. “I ken that. But…”

“You don’t hate me for it, Jamie?”

His brows furrowed. “Hate you? How?”

She pulled away, drawing into herself. Sat up, wrapping her hands around her shoulders. Wishing she hadn’t discarded her shift, damp with sweat and tears, sometime before.

“All of the losses you’ve had…that we’ve had, Jamie.” She couldn’t look at him. “It’s because of me.”

“What? Sassenach, I dinna understand.”

“You lost your parents and brother before I knew you. But everything after that – your home. Your soul, after Wentworth. Our Faith. Angus and Rupert and all the men we knew in the Rising. You lost your birthright as laird. You went to prison. William. Your printshop. Murtagh. You’ve lost all of it because of me. Because you married me. Because I told you what would happen to the Highland culture. Because I came back, and because I know how this war will end. Because I know what’s wrong with Mandy.”

Now she dared to look up at him – torn, beautiful, so beautiful in the candlelight that her heart almost burst.

“How can you not hate me for that, Jamie?”

He reached out, tentatively, and rested a big, warm hand on her knee.

“We had a conversation like this in Paris. We forgave each other. But how long have you felt this way now?”

She rested her hand – her right hand – on top of his. Silver ring softly glowing in the candlelight.

“Too long.”

He smiled sadly. “We are a pair, mo chridhe. For I have long feared you’d think the same of me. Hate me for it.”

She pursed her lips, not understanding. He shifted to sit in front of her, interlocking their fingers.

“You lost your world when you first came to me. Your husband, who I ken was a good man. It tore you up inside, Claire. I made you choose between us when it should have been me against him.”

“Jamie – ”

“I couldnae give you a proper home until we built this one. We lost our daughter in Paris. We returned to Lallybroch, and it was a wonderful time, but we lost that too. We lost the chance to raise Bree together. We lost a life in Edinburgh, and then at Lallyboch because of Laoghaire. We came to the Ridge, but we lost it being a safe place for you.”

Her thumb traced the scars on the back of his fingers.

“I’ve wondered - how could you not hate me? For it’s because of me, all this has happened to you. To us.”

Somewhere outside, a dove cooed mournfully.

He brought the back of her hand to his lips for a kiss. “But I cannae hate my own heart. Can you?”

She looked at him for a long moment. “Of course not.”

He made a small sound, and in a rush gathered her to him. Squeezing so tight.

“I have loved you from the very beginning of it, Claire. Holding you like this, in my arms, when you wept at Leoch. It felt right, did it no?”

She rested her forehead against his. Kissed the salt at the corner of his eyes.

“You are my heart,” she whispered. “As I am yours. When yours hurts, mine hurts. When mine hurts, so does yours. Two hundred years can’t change that.”

A kiss.

His thumb traced her heart.

“Look…”

Jamie pulled away, smiling. Softly spun her around to rest against the steady strength of his chest.

She settled against him. Looking out the window. Smiling at the shower of tiny kisses against the shell of her ear.

His heart a low, steady thump against her back.

Her heart singing.

Watching dawn – the gift of another day together – touch the Ridge.

[blueshistorysims]

April 1934, Perthshire, Scotland

Byron called Montgomery’s mother Janet after Miranda had come up to him on a March morning, crying over her father who was having a breakdown of his own. He knew Montgomery had made an effort to ensure that his daughter never saw that side of him, but now… it worried Byron. Janet had welcomed the Walshes with open arms, more than happy to host them and see her son and granddaughter. 

“I think this visit will be good for Montgomery. It’s the first time he’s left Walshstone Park in years. Perhaps it will revitalize him, and he’ll look for work again, either in Henford or elsewhere.”

Byron frowned. “I do not think so. I suspect he is planning something, but I fear the worst.” He looked at his wife. “When our lawyer came two weeks ago, he had his will updated and sealed. …I think he is planning his death, Eleora.”

“Byron, you shouldn’t think like that.”

“I’ve known him nearly twenty-one years, darling. He is a shell of the man I first met in 1913.”

Eleora did not answer.

The next evening, Byron accompanied Montgomery on a walk. It was still light out, but the hills now hid the setting sun.  It reminded him of the quietness that Henford had in the early evenings.

“I can scarcely imagine what it was like to live somewhere like this and then move to a big city like Edinburgh.”

Montgomery nodded. “Aye, ‘twas a big shock to a wee country lad like meself, but ya get used to it.” He swallowed. “How’s Eleora’s family? I heard Mr. Balass is pullin’ out of Germany.”

“He is. Now that the Nazis are in power, they decided to pull any business out of the country. It was already bad after the Crash but since the elections in 1932… I worry—especially since our government doesn’t seem to care. I’d give anything to call Chamberlain a cunt to his face. Albert, Eleora’s brother, was nearly detained trying to cross the French border a month ago. It breaks my heart really. Germany seemed to be finally standing on its two legs before the Crash. With Mussolini in Italy, Hitler in Germany, and Stalin in the Soviet Union… one can only wonder what will happen.”

“Same shite from twenty years ago.”

“No, I don’t think it will go that far. We destroyed Europe in the War. To end all wars, yes? I don’t even think there is a word in English to describe such blatant stupidity if we are truly headed in that direction.”

“Byron,” Montgomery began, “I… I wanna thank ya and Eleora for takin’ Miranda in. I canna tell ya how much it means to me.”

“Of course, we’re her godparents. …We didn’t take her in, she’s merely living with us and her father.”

“I’m a shite fuckin’ father. Sometimes… she looks so much like her ma I canna even look at me own fuckin’ lass,” he confessed, his voice breaking. “God, I miss her. Edeline too.” He turned away, staring into the ground. “I’m tired, Byron. I want to be with them again. I wish it very much.”

Byron frowned, worried. “What do you mean by that?”

Montgomery turned to face him. “I love ya.”

“I… love you too. You’re my closest friend.”

“Not like that. Ya ken it’s not like that.”

“I know,” Byron whispered, feeling his throat clog up. “I’m sorry I can’t love you that way. I wish I could. I’ve only ever seen our friendship as platonic.”

The Scotsman only smiled sadly. “I ken. It’s alright. I’ve made me peace with it. Only wanted to tell ya.”

“You can always talk to me. I’m here for you. Please talk to me. What happened in March? Miranda was terrified.”

Montgomery shook his head. “Not this time, Walsh. …I promised Miranda I’d read her The Tale of Peter Rabbit before bed. She finds it funny that the farmer’s name is McGregor. Good night, Byron,” he said gently before kissing him on his forehead. 

As Montgomery walked back to his mother’s house, Byron had a sickening feeling that he would not see the doctor in the morning. “Good night, Montgomery,” he whispered, tears pooling in his eyes.

[andie-the-author]

💥I’ve arrived💥

Andie, they/he/she (prefers they/them)

I’m the author for Tumblr Lore, the Stars and Ken fanfic on Archive of Our Own‼️😈

Since this pairing can be kind of controversial, if Stars herself reaches out to me and tells me to stop writing it for whatever reason, then I will hop off this ship and move on to something else, no hard feelings😙

On a related note, if I put something there (I mention you, I put in Lore that you were a part of, etc) that you don’t want in the fanfic, then message me and I’ll edit it out ASAP! On another related note, if you want to be mentioned or if you want a specific part of JD Tumblr Lore to be featured in the fanfic, you can also message me about it!

Until then, get ready for the slow burn. >:) Hopefully, I’ll be updating it once every month.

This is a sideblog, so I sadly cannot have mutuals, but if I ever spam reblog your posts then that’s basically me saying “pleeeeease can we be mutuals in spirit pretty please❓”

Please ask me stuff! I love getting asks and I love answering them 💕 You can also mention me in posts you think are funny, neat, important, etc, if you want ^^

Here’s the link:

Have a lovely day 🌟🐉‼️

[b4b3tte]

Hey babe, Ken x reader where Ken fixes our car and tries really hard to impress us?? Love your work

꒰ ⊹ ˚ Summary — Sadly your car has broke down and you don’t know what’s wrong with it!! Luckily Ken takes this as a chance to impress you with his manly abilities.

Pairing — Ryan!gosling x Fem!Reader

Babettes note — Thank you for requesting I hope this lives up to your expectations!! and this is extremely short so I’m sorry about that!! <3

Ken knew that today was the day he’d finally impress you. He had heard about your car trouble, and he saw this as the perfect opportunity to show off his mechanical skills. With his toolbox in hand and a determined look on his face, he headed over to Your house.

your pink convertible was parked in the driveway, looking more like a colorful paperweight than a functional vehicle. Ken approached it, trying to hide his nervousness. He knocked on the door, and you answered with a surprised smile.

“Hey, Ken! I didn’t expect you to come over,” you said, with your eyes sparkling.

“Well, I heard about your car trouble and thought I could help,” Ken replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

You led Ken to the car and explained the problem. “It just won’t start. I have no idea what’s wrong with it.”

Ken nodded confidently. “Don’t worry, y/n. I’ll take a look.”

With that, he popped the hood, revealing a tangle of wires and a rather confused-looking engine. Ken’s heart sank a little; this was more complicated than he had anticipated. But he couldn’t let you down. He rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

Hours passed as Ken tinkered, adjusted, and replaced various parts. You watched with amazement as he worked his magic on her car. Ken’s hands were covered in grease, but he was determined to get the job done. He knew he had to impress you.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Ken turned the key, and the engine roared to life. Your eyes lit up with joy as you hugged Ken tightly.

“You did it, Ken! My car is running again! You’re amazing thank you so much for this!”

Ken couldn’t help but blush at the sudden praise and hug from you . “It was nothing. I’m just glad I could help.”

You beamed at him. “Thank you for fixing my car!! You are amazing you are really great!”

Ken couldn’t believe his luck. He had not only fixed your car but also won your heart. As you two went for a test drive in your newly repaired convertible

Ken couldn’t help but smile. Today, he had not only impressed you with his mechanical skills but also with his determination and kindness.

Little did Ken know that this would be the start of many adventures together, with you by his side and his trusty toolbox always within reach.

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

Taking Comfort (in Your Arms) - Chapter 13

November 1, 1943, 1200 Hours

Twenty-three days. 23 days without a word whether John, Gale, Benny, Brady, and the rest of the men were alive, sitting in a Stalag or killed in action. The longer the time went on, the hope Addie had felt those first few days slowly faded. She was constantly on the edge of her seat, waiting to hear something. At this point, she would have settled for word of their deaths, just to stop her mind from wandering, though that was exactly the last thing she wanted to hear. She couldn’t think about the what ifs. It had gotten to the point when she entered the command center, all she had to do was look at Croz and he would sadly shake his head. 

Placing her coffee cup down on the table, she pushed back from the table, letting her head fall back with a sigh. Josie looked at her friend with concern as she sat across from her. “I won’t ask how you’re doing because I think I have a pretty good idea. But is there anything you need?” 

“Word that he’s okay . . . is that too much to ask?” Pulling her head up, she looked over at Josie, biting her lip. “I mean the Germans have nothing better to do than to let us know who they’ve got in custody.” 

Josie cracked a smile at that. “Glad your sarcasm hasn’t disappeared completely.” 

“I am trying my best.” Addie smirked, shaking her head. 

Josie sighed, feeling exactly how she felt, and nodded. “That’s all we can do - one foot in front of the other. Have you heard from Lydia or Anna lately?” 

“Got a letter a few days ago from them. They were thinking of coming for Thanksgiving, just so we weren’t alone. I was thinking of writing them back and telling them to stay at their base - we’re going to be miserable so no use in bringing anyone else down with us.” Addie gave her best friend a look. 

She bit her lip, watching Addie cautiously, worried for her despite her own pain. “Might not be a bad idea for them to come here - it’ll be nice to see them.” 

“Did they put you up to this to gang up on me?” Addie shot her a wink, while her hand played with her napkin, avoiding Josie’s look. 

Josie shrugged, a little too innocently. “Maybe . . .we’re just looking out for you Addie. We’re all a bit worried about you. What can we do?” 

“Make the Germans give us the information on the boys would be a good start.” Addie bit her lip, another sigh escaping. “I just hate that we don’t have any information - I would think they would be screaming from the top of the mountains that they have our men in camps or even talking about prisoner exchanges. The silence is deafening and eerie.” 

Josie sighed, not disagreeing with her best friend. “C’mon, let’s head back to the tower. I’ve heard that we’ve got visitors coming later on today.” Josie mentioned, knowing Addie’s attention would peak at that information. 

Just like she predicted, after they left the table, Addie gave her a look. “What do you know about these visitors?” 

“Word is that we’re getting another four forts being delivered. Kidd mentioned that some higher ups were supposed to be making a surprise visit here too.” Josie mentioned, slipping her hands into her jacket as they walked back. 

Humming, Addie nodded, eyes scanned the airfield, smiling as she watched Meatball run around with Lemmons and his crew. Billy and Sammy, the two local boys, were eagerly throwing the tennis ball for Meatball to chase. “I’m going to go check with Ken to make sure he’s good with keeping Meatball for a bit longer. I’ll see you back up in the tower.” 

Pausing, she watched Josie make her way towards the tower before turning and heading towards the commotion with a grin on her face. “Lemmons!” 

“Hey Addie. Come to collect Meatball?” He grabbed a cloth, wiping the excess oil off his hands, grinning at her. 

Shaking her head, watching Meatball lay down in the grass, tongue hanging out as he panted loudly. “Quite the opposite. Checking to see if you wanted to keep him for a bit longer? Looks like the boys are having fun with him.” 

“You don’t know the half of it. I don’t know who is having more fun - Meatball or the boys?” Lemmons watched Meatball chase after the ball that Sammy had just thrown for him. 

Addie giggled. “Well at least someone will sleep well tonight.” 

Raising an eyebrow at her, Ken gave her a look. “You doing okay? Need someone to talk to?” 

“Sick of waiting for news. Just wish the Germans would tell us if they’re lying in a field somewhere or relatively safe in a Stalag.” She shrugged, running a hand over her face with a loud sigh. “Sorry, that was harsh. Just want to know where our boys are.” 

Ken pulled her into a side hug, as she laid her head on his shoulder. She took a deep breath, willing herself not to cry. “Thanks, Ken. I can’t imagine how you’re feeling - you fix the planes that take our boys up and when they don’t come back . . .” 

She left the sentence hanging as Ken nodded sadly. “I’m sure you and I have similar feelings on that. Definitely miss seeing the men around the base.” 

“As soon as I hear anything, I’ll let you know.” She whispered, eyes on Meatball getting cuddles and rubs from the two boys. “Thank you for keeping an eye on Meatball. I’ll come grab him a little bit, if that’s okay?”

“Sounds good Addie.” He started to head back to the shed. “Addie?” 

She paused, looking over her shoulder at him. “Yeah?”

“I’m here if you need anything. I know a lot of people have told you that but if you need anything, you just need to ask.” He said as she nodded and grinned, heading back to the Tower. 

Climbing the stairs, she tilted her head back, sun warming her skin and the wind blowing her hair gently. Feeling the cool metal on her hand, she took a deep breath, reminding herself to put one foot in front of the other and keep going.  

November 25, 1943, 1400 Hours - Thanksgiving 

The day was long, and it wasn’t even 1400 hours yet. Addie and Josie had spent a precious few hours with Anna and Lydia, who could only get a 24-hour pass to spend with them. The night before was spent dancing and drinking while the morning was subdued with the stark realization the boys wouldn’t be home anytime soon.  Many tears were shed by Addie and Josie, to the annoyance of them both, tired of shedding tears with no news to accompany them. 

Now she stood in line to get her Thanksgiving feast, wishing she was anywhere but there currently. Smiling weakly at the kitchen staff, she scanned the room looking for a vacant seat. A true smile crossed her lips when she spotted Rosie all alone. 

Taking a seat at the table across from Rosie, she sighed. Unwrapping her silverware, she stared at the food on her plate for a moment. She longed for a true Thanksgiving dinner, real turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy like her mom used to make, not what the Air Force was attempting to pass as Thanksgiving dinner. 

“Happy Thanksgiving, Addie.” Rosie nodded at her as she picked up her fork and started poking the food on her plate. 

Giving him a sad smile, she nodded. “Happy Thanksgiving, Rosie. What have you been doing with your day off?” 

“Played a bit of football with the boys earlier.” Rosie smiled. “We had a good game going. Probably will probably do another game after this if you want to come watch.” 

Nodding, Addie agreed, taking a bite of her food. Not like there was anything else to do around base. “Sounds fun. Meatball and I will be in the crowd. What would you be doing if you were back home in New York?” 

“Probably would’ve gone to the parade earlier then gone home and ma would’ve been cooking. The house would’ve smelt incredible. The entire family would’ve crowded into our apartment around all the mismatched tables and chairs.” Rosie’s grin didn’t disappear the entire time he was talking, obviously thinking about the previous Thanksgiving he had spent with family. “What about you?” 

Addie took a sip of her water sighing. “Not sure . . . haven’t been back in the States since 1941 so not sure what I would be doing. Probably in the kitchen cooking, joking with my cousins. When I was younger, we’d go to my grandmother’s house - dad was one of five so the entire family would come together on Thanksgiving. The house would be so loud, all my cousins and siblings running throughout the house, my grandmother, aunts, and mom would be hanging out in the kitchen while all the guys crowded around the TV with whatever football game on. It was loud and happy.” 

“Those are some good memories, Addie.” Rosie smiled brightly. “Sounds like a big family and lots of noise.” 

She laughed, shaking her head. “You don’t know the half of it Rosie.” 

Silence descended on the table as they both were lost in thought. “You know I never asked you, but do you have a sweetheart, Rosie?” 

“If I had a sweetheart, Addie, do you think I would have mentioned her in the two months that I’ve been here?” Rosie raised an eyebrow at her as she grinned widely back. 

Shrugging her shoulders, she had a glint in her eyes. “You’re a man of mystery, Rosie. It wouldn’t be hard for you to keep a girl quiet. Hell, half of the new recruits are scared to death of you . . .” 

“Gotta keep them on their toes, Addie.” He chuckled. “As for the new recruits, if you look at them, you’d scare them too!” 

Addie smirked, raising an eyebrow. “You haven’t heard the rumors?”

“No, what rumors?” 

“That I’m a dropped-out ATA girl.” She grinned wickedly. 

Rosie tilted his head, looking at her confused. “But you are a drop out ATA girl - why is that a rumor?” 

“The rumor is that I got kicked out for crashing and burning a fort on a run.” She gave him a smirk. “Little do they know the actual reason I was kicked out . . . much more scandalous than that.” 

Rosie chuckled. “That’s too funny. Have you talked or interacted with them much?” 

“No, I hesitate to do so. Don’t want to get close to any of them and they go down like Bucky and Buck. I know Bucky would want me to and I know it’s wrong, but I can’t do it, Rosie.” She sighed, shaking her head, biting her lip. “I can’t say goodbye anymore.”

Nodding sorrowfully, Rosie looked at his friend. There was nothing he could say. He laid his hand down on the table, palm up allowing her to put hers on top, giving it a squeeze. “Have you flown lately?” 

Shaking her head, she bit her lip. “No, haven’t been out old man Rivers’ in a bit. Need to get out there.” 

“What if we go out there this afternoon?” Rosie asked, raising an eyebrow. 

She perked up a bit, giving him a wearily look. “You want to go up with me? I would have thought you’d heard it from the boys that I scared them.” 

“It would be my honor to go up with you, if you want to go up.” Rosie offered, watching her mull it over for a second. 

Nodding, a grin slid across her lips. “Let’s go. I promise I won’t scare you like I did with Bucky and Buck.” 

Within 45 minutes, Addie was behind a jeep, driving them towards old man Rivers’ house. The old man waved at the jollily as they drove towards the barn. Parking the jeep, she walked with a pep in her step towards the barn, throwing open the door happily. “Ta da! Rosie, may I introduce you to Daffodil? Daffodil, this is my friend Rosie.” 

Rosie whistled as he walked around the brightly colored Tiger Moth. “You can go ahead and climb up into the co-pilot’s seat. I’ll be up as soon as I finish the checks.” 

Soon she joined him up in the pilot's seat with a grin. Placing the headset on her head, she finished her checks before speaking in the headset. “You ready Rosie?” 

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” She grinned, hearing the excitement in his voice. “Amazing that you came all the way to England and just happened to find someone who had a spare Tiger Moth that let you fly it whenever you wanted.” 

She laughed, starting the engine and starting to taxi it out of the barn. “It’s good to make friends in foreign allied countries, Rosie. Especially friends who just happen to have a spare plane we can joyride in.” 

His laugh was caught in the wind as they went airborne. She pushed the plane higher, leveling out at 5,000 feet, she excitedly yelled at the feeling of being back in the air.  “Anywhere in particular you want to go, Rosie?” 

“I’m just along for the ride, Addie. You’re the pilot.” He replied back, his head on a swivel as he looked out of the open skies in front of them. “It’s different up here.” 

“Yeah, you get to sit back and relax for once, Rosie. Just enjoy the flight and take in the sights.” She joked with him.

Settling back in her seat, Addie felt her shoulders relax as she pushed the Tiger Moth a bit more as she directed it towards Thorpes Abbott. As they flew, Addie pointed out points of interest to Rosie as they continued their flight. “We’re almost to Thorpes. Did you tell anyone we were going up?” 

“No, I thought you did?” She laughed hearing the confusion in his voice. “Nope, Rosie. I told Harding you and I were going for a joyride but he’s the only one. I think Maddie is on the wireless today, so she’ll see us flying around.” 

She saw the airfield in the distance and giggled to herself. “I know you’ve buzzed the tower in a fort before, but have you ever done it in a Tiger Moth?” 

“Can’t say I have. But I’m sure you’ve done it a time or two.” He quipped back. 

“Every single birthday since I was 13, most of them in a Tiger Moth. I buzzed this tower on my birthday with Bucky in the co-pilot’s seat, just before I scared Buck by stalling the engine.” She laughed, happy at thinking of the memories instead of being sad of them. “Get ready Rosie!” 

Lining up Daffodil, she flew over the airfield once, seeing Lemmons and his crew cheering loudly at seeing her. She flew back around, lining the plane up, a grin tugging at her lips. “Let’s do this Rosie.” 

And they buzzed the tower, both of them cheering, watching Harding, Josie, Crosby, and Kidd all hit the deck. Throwing her head back, Addie whooped and laughed at the feeling free for the first time since Bucky had gone down. 

2000 Hours

Running her fingers through Meatball’s fur, she reread the words that she had written to Bucky. She had taken up writing to him, even though she had nowhere to send them. Just writing to him made her feel like he was still here with her. 

My dearest John, 

Happy Thanksgiving. God, I wish you were here and sitting beside me complaining about the lack of real turkey and mashed potatoes. But mostly, I wish you were here so I could cuddle with you and be grateful that you were safe and sound in my arms. 

But alas, that’s not our current reality. I took Rosie up in Daffodil today and had a great time. It’s the first time I’ve been up since you went down and I think I needed it more than I thought I did.  Despite not being back in the US, we had a pretty good day - a couple of the replacements started a football game and got the base out in droves to watch. The food was lackluster, but spirits were up. As soon as I’m done writing, I’m heading to the officer’s club with Blakely, Douglass, Croz, and Rosie for a drink. 

I wish I had more to tell you, John, but I miss you. I miss your laugh and the little grins you’d shoot my way. I miss you randomly dropping by my desk in the mornings and the little kisses you’d give me. I miss the little notes you’d leave me, but those that I have I treasure more than you’d know. 

Jack gave me your jacket and I’m going to be really honest, you’re probably not getting it back when you return. It’s mine now . . . though I may need you to wear it, so it regains your scent. 

These last 47 days have been hard - I won’t lie. But I keep hope that you’re still alive, hopefully in a Stalag and relatively safe and warm. 

Write to me, soon? Let me know you’re alive? 

I love you, John. 

Addie

December 5, 1943, 0800 Hours

Walking into the office, she flipped the lights on, the harshness causing her to groan. Getting to work making a pot of coffee, it was another twenty minutes before she sat at her desk. Looking at her calendar, she sighed with the lack of meetings scheduled, knowing the day would drag by slowly. 

She felt like she was stuck and kept telling herself no news was good news. She still had hope that that particular day she would hear something, though the days had slipped by with no news of Bucky or Buck or DeMarco or any of the men that had gone down in October. 

Addie was doing the best she could, which wasn’t all that great. She prayed her days would go by quickly so she could slip off to bed, where she tossed and turned. The girls had stopped asking questions weeks ago, Josie and Addie both shells of their former selves. She knew Bucky would be pissed if he saw her like this, but he wasn’t around, so she didn’t care much. She was utterly alone, left to battle each day by herself. 

As she went to take a sip of the piping hot coffee, Harding threw open his door, causing her to jump in surprise, spilling coffee on her hand, causing her to cuss. “Addie, come with me.” 

Something in her voice caused her not to question it and quickly followed him. Hurrying after him, they rushed down the stairs of the tower, making a quick walk to the command center. Not delaying, Harding threw open the door, calling out to Crosby, “what’s the news Croz?” 

“You brought Addie?” Crosby called back, not seeing her standing behind him. 

Harding cleared his throat, giving Crosby a very pointed look, pointing behind him. “Crosby, she’s here. What’s the news?” 

“I just got a call from London with the new POW list.” Crosby grabbed the list he had hurriedly scrawled the names given. “Buck, Bucky, DeMarco, Brady, Murphy, Crank, and Hambone, along with all their crews, are all in the Stalag Luft III.”

For the first time since October 10, Addie felt like she could actually breathe. Her eyes went wide at that news. “They’re alive?” 

“As of a week ago, yes. I asked for a report of the health of the men but they weren’t able to give me that information.” Crosby looked apologetic as her face fell slightly. 

Sighing heavily, Addie felt the tears welled in her eyes. Feeling someone pull her into their side, she rested her head on their shoulder. Looking up, she smiled seeing Rosie and threw her arm around his side, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Crosby, is there any other news?” 

“You got mail.” He handed over two envelopes, and she stepped forward, accepting the envelopes. “One is for Josie, can you make sure she gets it?” 

Nodding, she flipped to the one addressed to her and couldn’t help the tears that escaped. A sob crept up, escaping her mouth. A steady stream of tears flowed down her face as she looked at the concerned faces around her. “It’s a letter from Bucky.” 

The men surrounding her nodded. She gave them looks, backing out of the center, stumbling towards the runway to where the closest fort was parked. She sighed, fifty-seven days, since she heard from Bucky and now she had an envelope addressed to her in his handwriting. Once she was close enough, she sat against the tire, giving the envelope a glance before tearing into it. 

Her eyes swept over the familiar scrawl, bits of it blacked out due to the sensors. Putting the paper to her nose, she breathed in the familiar scent that she had associated with Bucky - tobacco and sandalwood. 

October 19, 1943

My dearest Addie, 

I’m alive, Bluebird. I’m in —--------------- and I’m safe for the most part. I was a mess when I first arrived but after seeing the medic, I’m alright. Busted a rib and my eye socket is bruised but I’m alive, Bluebird. Buck’s here - met me at the gates with a “what the hell took you so long” and a grin. He’s in the next compound over but I see him daily - he sends his hellos and well wishes to you. 

Tell Josie that DeMarco is here and he’s fine. I think he’s writing a letter to her but maybe not say that just in case. Send my regards to Meatball - I hope he’s keeping you company in my absence. 

I know we didn’t leave on the best terms, and I’ll spend the rest of my life apologizing for that, but I love you, Addie. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me and it’s killing me that I’m not by your side right now. 

I’m not quite sure where we are currently but I think we’re in —----------.  The camp we’re in has —-----, —--------, —-------, and —----------. Most of the men here are Americans and for the most part, they treat us humanly.  Could use an extra blanket or two but I’m doing alright. At least I’m with the rest of my men. 

I wish I could kiss you senselessly and give you a big hug. I love you lots, Addie. 

Yours,

John

Another sob escaped her mouth as she reread his words. She hoped he was that upbeat and not putting on a show in a letter just for her.

“Oh John.” Her heart broke all over again as she reread the letter, wishing more than anything that he was sitting beside her rather than 1,100 miles away from her. 

She read it three more times before she sighed, the tension leaving her at the happy news. Despite the fact he wasn’t there with her, he was alive, and that’s all she had asked for the last 57 days. 

December 15, 1943, 1700 Hours

“Addie, Harding wants you to go meet the group of pilots that are arriving on hard stand 4 in fifteen minutes.” Josie murmured to her, dropping a folder on her desk.

Picking up the folder, she flipped through it, looking wide-eyed at Josie. “I’ve never had to do it for any of the other pilots arriving here.” 

“You went and met Rosie, remember?” Josie raised an eyebrow, grinning. “It’ll be just like that.” 

Tossing the folder down on her desk, Addie wiped face. She wasn’t really in the mood to be the welcoming committee to anyone. “No, no it won’t be just like that. I won’t have Bucky teasing me.” 

Sighing, Josie walked over to the other side of her desk, leaning over to give her a hug. “I know you don’t want to be your bubbly self, but these pilots are coming to the base and many of them don’t know what to expect. Just go welcome them, give them the lay of the land then you can curl up with Meatball. I’ll bring you dinner afterwards.” 

Nodding, she sighed, pushing back from her desk to stand. “You okay keeping Meatball until I’m done?” 

Looking over at the dog, passed out in his dog bed, Josie half-smiled. “Sure. I think he might be mad if you attempt to move him now.” 

Slightly smiling, Addie nodded, grabbing the set of keys, pushing through the door, jogging down the stairs. Sighing, she climbed into the jeep, starting the engine, heading out to the hard stand. Parking, she watched the plane land, navigating to the hard stand, coming to a stop with the engine cutting off. She leaned against the jeep, watching the grounds crew, hurriedly put the chocks on the tires as a man dropped from the hatch. 

Addie narrowed her eyes, something familiar about the way the man stood, looking around the field. Picking up his bag, his gaze fell to hers and she knew. She knew why that man looked so familiar. 

Unable to do anything else, Addie bent at the waist, tears immediately welling up in her eyes as she cried. 

It was her brother. Charlie was home. Standing tall, her hand flew to her mouth as tears continued to fall.

“Adelaide Baker!” He hollered, making his way towards her. Dropping his bag, he opened up his arms, eagerly waiting for her to run into them. He kissed her cheek, picking her up and spinning her around, just as he did when they were younger. “Oh how I have missed you.” 

Waiting until her feet were back on the ground, she laughed happily, slapping his arm. “What are you doing here?” 

“I’m home, they finally granted my request for transfer.” Charlie grinned. “I’m going to be a trainer here, no missions of my own.” 

Giving him a look, she took in his words, a bright smile crossing her face. “You won’t be going up?” 

“No, I’ll be working in the command center, assisting with building the missions but I won’t be a pilot. This is a promotion, believe it or not.” Charlie chuckled, shaking his head. “They asked me what base I wanted to be stationed at and this was the only one that came to mind.”

Throwing her arms around his shoulder, she laughed. “Oh, this is the best news I have heard in the last ten days.” 

“Only in the last ten days? What was before that?” He asked, scratching his jaw, looking at his baby sister. 

“We got word ten days ago that Bucky and Buck are POWs at a Stalag.” She looked at him, watching his eyes go wide at that news. He had made inquiries about them but had been told that was above his clearance and no one was willing to talk about them. “I got a letter from Bucky the same day letting me know him and Buck were safe.” 

Charlie smiled. “Well ain’t that something. I’m glad you finally heard from him. I kept getting dead ends anytime I would inquire. If I had a nickel for every time I heard that was above my paygrade, I'd be rich and could retire.”

“I’m shocked you didn’t pick Anna’s base to go home to.” She smirked, finally happy that she could tease her brother about his not-so-secret girlfriend. 

He threw his head back and laughed, loudly. “I thought about it for a minute but figured you’d need some family here. Besides, Anna’s the preferred B-17 pilot now for Thorpes, so she’ll be here plenty.” 

“Hmm . . . you’re back in England for all of 48 hours and you’re already pulling strings.” Addie smirked at her brother as he started weakly protesting. “You know I’m right. Come on, I’ll give you the penny tour and show you where you’ll be staying.” 

Leading him over to the jeep, she got in the driver’s seat, watching him throw his bag in the back before joining her. Shifting the jeep into gear, she drove them back towards the barracks. “Over there that’s the mess hall and my barrack is just to the left of it.  Straight ahead is the barrack you’ll be in.” 

Pulling the jeep to a stop, she grinned seeing Rosie and Crosby standing outside, eyeing her curiously. “Boys!” 

“Addie.” They both called back, watching her hop out of the jeep and walk closer to them. “What brings you to our humble abode?” 

“Boys, this is my older brother Charlie.” She grinned, looking over her shoulder at her brother. “Charlie, this is Robert Rosenthal, or Rosie and Harry Crosby. Rosie is a pilot and Crosby is group navigator on base. They’re also bunking here and can show you where everything is.” 

The three of them exchanged handshakes in greeting as she grinned at the scene. “Josie mentioned there was a group of new pilots arriving today.” 

“Yeah there were. I didn’t count how many arrived today but Charlie will be an instructor on base - not going up.” She grinned brightly at them, happy to have a piece of her family back on base. 

Crosby whistled. “That’s great. Welcome to Thorpes, Charlie. I know this one is tampering her excitement down for the sake of looking cool.” 

Slugging Crosby, Addie gave him a look. “Thanks for that Croz.” 

“Just let us know if you want to know anything that’s happened over the last year since you’ve been gone, Charlie.” Crosby gave her brother a smirk. 

Addie muttered a cuss under her breath. “Jeez, and to think I thought our friendship meant something. Willing to spill all my secrets as soon as my big brother arrives on base. Just remember Croz, I know where you sleep, and I know a few secrets of your own.” 

“Damn, I forgot how scary you can be.” Rosie commented, looking between his two friends. “I’d watch what you say Croz.” 

Charlie laughed. “Ahh she’s all talk with very little bite. Addie has always been that way.” 

Addie looked between the three, shaking her head. She chuckled watching Crosby’s eyes go wide. “What’s wrong Crosby?” 

“Just remembered what you did to Douglass to scare him after he slipped that supply request in your pile.” Crosby shook his head, while Addie threw her head back and laughed. 

“Ahh, I forgot all about that.” She grinned. “That was my best revenge yet. That was legendary and kept the base on their toes for a few weeks.” 

Charlie chuckled. “Is that where you dropped a box of rubbers and twinkies along with some feminine products?” 

“Ahh so the boys already told you that story when they were in Africa, huh?” Addie smirked, shaking her head before looking between Rosie and Crosby. “Boys, can you show him an empty bunk? I’ll wait out here and we can head over to the mess together.” Rosie nodded, heading towards the barrack door with Charlie trailing behind him. 

Leaning against the jeep, Addie smiled to herself. Things were finally turning around and for the first time since Bucky and Buck went down, she started to feel the hope creep back in. 

December 25, 1943, 0900 hours

Groaning, she cracked open her eyes, seeing the bright light creep through the shades. Rolling over, she squinted, eyes wide when she realized it was 9am and she had slept in.  Sighing, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, seeing the barrack was quiet, everyone up already and out of the hut. 

Reaching over, she ran her hand through Meatball’s fur. “Merry Christmas, Meatball.” He groaned, rolling over onto his back so she could scratch his belly. She obliged him, both hands scratching as he hummed and groaned in happiness. 

Swinging her legs off the bed, she looked at the locker that sat between hers and Josie’s bed. She hadn’t opened it since it was deposited there back in October. Easing off the bed, she sat in front of it, leaning forward to unlock it, pushing the top open. A thin layer of dust had settled over everything. 

Reaching in, she moved his extra clothes to the side, seeing a stack of letters at the very bottom of the locker. Picking them up, she noticed most of them were addressed from Wisconsin, letters from his family. But at the very bottom was an envelope in his handwriting, with her name on it. 

Without hesitation, she ran her finger under the flap, pulling out the piece of paper. She realized it was dated back in May 1943, right around the time she had first met him. 

My dearest Addie, 

I feel pretty stupid writing you this letter but I need to get this off my chest. You’ve been on my mind all day, might have gotten into trouble during the briefing due to my thoughts being on you instead of the observation mission. Might be just a tad sorry about that but not really, don’t tell Huglin. 

It’s amazing that I’ve only known you for two weeks, yet I feel like I’ve known you all my life. And I don’t want you to stop being in my life. Never thought I’d come over to England and meet a girl that I want in my life for the rest of my life.

I probably will never give you this letter so I feel pretty comfortable writing this down - I think I’m in love with you. Yes, it’s only been two weeks but you’ve already knocked me on my ass and kept me on my toes at the same time. I’ve never met a girl like you before and I think that’s a good thing. Definitely cannot stop thinking about you, which could be a good or bad thing depending on the day. Also, you’re the first person (outside of Buck) that I want to rush to tell everything to. 

Should probably wrap this up. Maybe I’ll give you this on our wedding day (if we make it that far). 

Love you but not telling you quite yet. 

John

Tears streamed down her face as she finished reading the letter. She knew he fell much sooner than she did but it was good to read his thoughts.  Sighing, she leaned against her bed frame, letting her head fall back onto her bed. Meatball crawled over to her, his tongue licking away the tears that had fallen. Reaching behind her, she carted her fingers through his fur, patting his side in appreciation for being there for her. 

Folding up the letter, she stuffed it back into the envelope, placing it back in the locker.  Sighing, she shut the top of the locker, clicking the latches on it. 

Pushing herself off the floor, she quickly got dressed, slipping on Bucky’s jacket before lacing up her shoes. Patting her leg for Meatball’s attention, she walked down the aisle of the hut, pushing open the door, allowing the dog to go out ahead of her. Shivering, she watched Meatball do his business before quickly walking over to the mess hut. Pulling open the door, she smiled at the warmth that wrapped around her as she searched the area for her friends and Charlie. 

Making her way down the aisle, she stopped at a table that was in the middle of the hut. Charlie, Rosie, Crosby, Blakely, and Josie all sat around the table, each with a plate of food and a cup of coffee in front of them. Taking a seat in a chair, she greeted everyone with a cheerful “Merry Christmas.” 

“About time you join us Addie.” 

Sticking her tongue out at her older brother, Addie smirked. “I decided to sleep in this morning. Got the best Christmas present I could have asked for.” 

“And what’s that?” Josie raised an eyebrow at the cheerful tone in Addie’s voice. Josie grinned brightly, seeing a glimpse of her best friend that she hadn’t seen in over 2 months. 

Thanking the waiter for the cup of coffee, she smiled at the table. “Found a letter that Bucky had written me back in May. It was really sweet and made my day.” 

“Back in May?” Josie looked at her friend. “That was before you two started dating, right?” 

Picking up her coffee, she took a deep sip, nodding, smirking. “Yeah that was right after he arrived here on base. I still thought he was an arrogant flyboy - amazing how that has all changed.”  

December 25, 1943 

Dear John, 

Merry Christmas, fly boy. Wish you were here instead of the stalag but I’ll take the fact you’re still alive as a Christmas miracle. 

It was a pretty low key day today. Charlie, Josie, Crosby, Rosie, Blakely, Douglass and I hung out throughout the day and exchanged presents with one another. It was good not to be alone on an already tough day. 

I’m going to admit something - I found a letter you wrote me back in May at the bottom of your locker and read it. It made my day and made me smile. It was the perfect unintentional Christmas present I could have asked for. I’m still holding out on walking down an aisle in a white dress towards you, Egan. Don’t let me down. 

My Christmas wish for you is that you’re warm and safe and happy. Hopefully you and the boys found a bit of joy. 

Love you with all my heart. 

Addie. 

Thank you for reading! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Anything you want to see in the upcoming chapters? I've got a loose outline planned so if there's something you want to see, just let me know! Also, sorry, there wasn't any Bucky or Buck in this chapter, but Addie needed a chapter of angst and hurt. Both Bucky and Buck will be back in next chapter.

Chapter 14

[bobbybutterfly]

SO @32girassoisdevangogh! REMEMBER WHEN YOU TOLD ME YOU WANTED MY DESIGNS TO BE MARKETABLE PLUSHIES?!

Well. These are not exactly plushies but…

Tada! I can’t believe I actually managed to “finish” them in time. We’re leaving for England on Monday so it was a race to have them somewhat finished. I made Bamsaegi first. Originally the plan was to make these “dolls” completely out of cotton, loads of glue, some pipe cleaners and sting. It did not go as planned. First up instead of cotton I ended up buying wool because I figured it’s close enough.

It was just SOOO MESSY and wouldn’t keep its shape no matter what. My mom saw it wasn’t working and asked me why I didn’t get proper cotton from the drug store. I only went looking in arts and crafts because I thought what they would have in the drug store would be pressed into round shapes. You know. Those things you use to remove your make up. The next day mom took me to the drug store and turns out they had exactly what I wanted.

Finally. I could get properly started. Except no! It was a horrible material to work with! The cotton constantly kept sticking to my paintbrush I used to apply the glue. Additionally the cotton kept picking up all kinds of dirt. At times turning black. Would not recommend. I don’t know how the YouTuber I watched made it look so easy.

I was at the end of my patience. If I want to make 3D stuff I would have to go and use DUN DUN DUN polymer clay. Or regular clay. JUST NO. I hate the feeling of clay stuck to my hands. Autism? What are you doing here?! I had to figure something else out. I didn’t feel like learning to sow. So. This thing with cotton and glue reminds me of something else. Papier Mache!

I actually used to think that this cotton mess would be better. I thought that papier mache takes an enormous amount of paper. Probably because the one time I did it prior to this project was in art school as a kid with a neurotic teacher. So. Where was I going to find the paper I would need?

There’s this saying in Slovakia that we’re one hundred years behind monkeys (joke about evolution meaning we’re behind the rest of the world). I didn’t even need to leave the house to get what I needed. The mail box was full to brim with catalogs. Plus there were recently the EU elections. Which meant a large news paper looking thing with all the parties written out on it. Perfect!

So that’s how Bamsaegi came to be. I first made a skeleton out of pipe cleaners. Covered that with crumpled paper. I found it kind of ironic that I’m making a character from a communist propaganda cartoon out of a bunch of advertisements. Additionally papier mache would be something you couldn’t do in North Korea. From the book I read paper there is rare and kept a close eye on. For obvious reasons of course. If I would ever have a serious gallery exhibition of these dolls/sculptures I think I would expand on that.

As you can see I ended up covering him in cotton. I wanted the texture and also it smoothed out the bumps. This was before I learned that if you want it smooth you got to cover it in a bunch of small pieces of paper. I first covered the base with glue. Then took a thin bunch of cotton. To smooth it out and to make it stick better I would run the paint brush across it in the direction of the fibbers. Lastly I painted it with watered down acrylic colours after it dried. I was surprised at how painting it went so smooth. Very satisfying.

I decided to first do a more show accurate character. I thought the stylised proportions would be easier. Obviously he’s not perfect. With the colours and the off proportions he’s looking very retro. Like the 70s and 80s communist era toys I saw in an antique shop. I like to think that if they made official toys back then they would look like this.

Onto Geumseagi. He started off as a Disney Prince Eric from Little Mermaid doll by Mattel. So the size of your average Ken. I sadly don’t have the original doll photo. He cost 14 euros (technically 13,99). I thought I would cut him out of the papier mache and use him as base for other dolls. He’s still buried in Geumseagi today. I didn’t want to risk cutting him out of there. And I like the added weight. Those stupid boots were a terror so I don’t think I would want to deal with them when making a new project.

So the head. Originally I wanted to mould it out of clay. But once I realized that I wouldn’t be cutting him off the doll I decided to use the original one. The clay one would be too heavy and hard to keep on the neck. As you can see I chopped off his nose, chin and let’s say gave him a rather brutal hair cut. Knowing what I know now I would have cut off even more of the hair. From my drawings I know big foreheads on squirrels do not look good.

And there we have it. Geumseagi in my style. In 3D. There are 2 tiny spots on the legs where the original doll pokes throught. The pants were rushed not gonna lie. I like that it’s a bit wrinkly. It reminds me of my paintings with the different thicknesses of paint. Making something 3D that looks like my paintings is something I wanted to achieve for a while. I’m glad I don’t have to learn how to use Blender. Unfortunately it does mean I can’t use the dry brush technique because it emphasises those crevices. For shading I then have to go manually where I want it. Like under the chin and around the pockets.

I’m excited to see what ya’ll will think. Sad that I discovered this just when I’m leaving. Grandma probably won’t want ripped up news paper and glue all over her kitchen.

PS. I’m adding his tail when I return. Too much work.

[ghostiiess]

[NSB HEADCANONS] - finding a matching costume with Darren

pov: you guys are at a store, trying to find the most perfect halloween matching costume

warnings: some flirty / teasing comments, mention of ass (but in a 🍑 emoji), use of the word dirty and sexy, i used this 🔞 emoji at the end

type: fluff with some teasing since its darren we’re talking abt

member: darren liang

REBLOGS AND LIKES ARE VERY APPRECIATED!

like every year, you guys were late

you still didn’t know which costume you guys would wear for justin and his gf’s halloween party…

(More under the cut!)

at first you were like « hey, we could wear different costume » so it wouldn’t be too hard to find any or smth like that

don’t get me wrong, you still wanted to do a halloween matching costume with him, but honestly… his ideas were basically dirty and sexy stuff

but, then darren didn’t want to

he wanted to do a matching with you.

« WDYM IT’S DIRTY STUFF??? I only said we could be matching emojis… you’re the peach and I’m the eggplant! »

Funny 😍

So you guys weren’t at the same point...

He wanted to do that kind of matching, while you wanted to do a matching costume that is cute and not too hard to find in store

So, what do you think you guys did? You went to target to buy some costume!

« Alright, so we could be peanut and jelly toast together? Like Ryan and i did last year… »

Did i say you guys were both late? Yes? Then, let me remind you another time: you guys were late to find a costume.

Too simple?

« C’mon, i promise i didn’t sweat that much while wearing it! And you can wear ryan’s if that’s what you want! »

To you, peanut and jelly was cute, but not the one ☝🏻

« Well… do you have any ideas? »

« Cinderella and the prince?! »

« well... its not my favorite movie… »

« we could do another princess x prince kind of concept if you want to.. »

Ngl, after insulting Cinderella, you were like « meh I’m good »

« Wait, baby!! We could be Jack Skellington and Sally!! what do you think? »

« It is a pretty good idea!! We just have to find a costume here.. »

Did you find a costume? No.

Darren searched in all the places, it was nowhere to be found.

« alright, so... we’ll have to choose another idea»

Back to the starting point, yay!

Btw, you guys loose focus after 10 minutes

« We could be the bee in the bee movies !! »

« I would put my dart in your 🍑 »

Very funny and mature boy, we can all agree 😀

« Omg baby!! We could be the princess and the beast!! Like I’m the princess and you’re the beast »

« Wdym I’m the beast?! Y/n, i am sorry but i cannot be the beast, i am the pretty one in this relationship »

The more he talks, the more his relationship statue from becoming single start to look interesting 🥰

« Okay, i will stop baby.. I’m sorry, i was only teasing you! Ofc, you’re the princess baby. You’re like the most prettiest girl ever »

I know what he just said sound like a lie, but he really mean it

« Baby, we could be vampires! Or killers! We just have to cut our clothes and wear like fake wounds or something.. »

Ngl, you didn’t really wanted to do this :/

He would found the ‘sexy costume’ rayon

« Oh baby! we could be Barbie and ken! What do you think? »

you agreed, thinking it could be cute

sadly, it was a little thight for him :/

so you guys decided to search for another costume

« Baby, this is our place, this is our spot »

« I am sure, we will find something for us! »

Remember that it’s darren we are talking about

Darren = dirty minded (you can’t tell me otherwise)

If he’s in a sexy and dirty rayon, he’s losing it

Literally.

« Baby, this is heaven!! Check all the beautiful costume! »

« Wdym there’s no clothes?? There is, omg… you are so dirty minded, y/n.. »

The man says you’re the dirty minded of this relationship, but he’s the one flirting and playing with you

« Damn, it would look good on you… but it would look even better on the floor.. IM KIDDING, IM KIDDING OMG STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! »

Ngl, searching for halloween costumes with him is kinda funny 😆

After a few hours of searching, laughing and being dirty minded (yes bc u r also dirty minded if u r dating him, like you are not innocent and you can’t tell me otherwise bc this man would make you loose your innocence in 5 seconds, i am telling you), you guys decided to go with simple stuff…

« Baby, do you know if this costume is for childrens or for adults, bc i can’t really tell… »

« Doctor and nurse?! BABY, HOW CUTE WE WOULD BE!! »

So you decided to wear that.

No bc i see Darren wearing this… and the fact, he once wanted to be a doctor make it even more funnier

Doctor darren and nurse y/n when??

Let’s just say that the night with these costume were… interesting (🔞)

Taglist! (Open! Send an ask if you’d like to be in it!) : @nsb-rkive @kentisbaby @firebenderwolf @hyuneee0 @yawnzzznnn @ghostyycat7

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