#i think i could have a cool as fuck wardrobe in my 30s if i start now

[perilegs]

i can't go shopping for clothes alone bc that's so scary and one time my bestie made me make a pinterest board for fashion i'm into and i actually made two of those but the other one is just full of pictures of matthew lillard but that's besides the point. point being it pains me bc i want to dress in cozy looking cardigans and bright colors but also 70s inspired fashion and i want to use so much jewelry and accessories but also full black techwear looks so good and i also want to dress like hellboy and a wizard who looks like howl's bedroom and my dream is to dress like i came straight from bloodborne. but also i work in IT and own nothing but band t shirts and cargo pants.

[triplexdoublex]

Chlorine and Nicotine

Pairing: Jaden Hossler x Reader

Warnings/tags: Smut , Age Gap (reader is in her 30’s) tipsy hookup (consent implied) mentions of prior divorce, pregnancy, c section and children. Body image issues /self conscious reader . Mention of coopers death/fentanyl poisoning.

A/N: 5.5k words! This one’s for the self conscious and tired mamas on this app. Go find yourself a Jaden lol

You and your two other friends, Ashley and Liz, had planned the perfect getaway to celebrate your messy divorce being finalized: A child-free, 7 day, all-inclusive, 21+ cruise to the Bahamas. Tickets were purchased, excursions were selected, trustworthy babysitters were hired and bags were packed, there’s only one thing you all forgot…

“Is it just me or are we like the oldest ones here?” You ask your friends, looking around as you all board the cruise ship.

“Yeah, I noticed that too— seems like mostly college kids for some reason?” Liz responds.

Just then you all notice the banner on the side of the ship ‘Spring Break 2023’!

The three of you, having been out of school for close to two decades already, had completely forgotten this week was usually spring break.

“Ugh,” Ashley groans, “I can’t believe we forgot. I was hoping we could all get some much needed rest and a full night's sleep this week without our kids, not be kept up by a bunch of frat boys and sorority girls partying.”

“Hey, you know what? As long as I’m with you guys I’m sure we’ll still have a great time, even if they do keep us up. Besides you know the saying ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. When was the last time any of us got to let loose and party a little?” You reply.

“True,”

“Yeah, you’re right,” your friends answer in unison.

“Ok,well now that that’s settled, first order of business is finding our cabin, changing into our bikinis, and working on our tans while we sip margaritas pool side.” You instruct. “Let’s go!”

**********

“Whooof!” You exhale. “I’m getting hot. I’m gonna go take a dip in the pool and cool off real quick. I’ll be right back.” You head into the pool.

“Ash, do you hear that? I think those guys next to us on the right are talking about Y/N. Listen,” Liz says, keeping her voice low..

“— yeah the one in the yellow floral two piece… right there … she just got into the pool… she’s a total MILF bro—“

“Okay, I’m back, mmmn that cold water was refreshing. Did I miss anything?” You joke, knowing you were only gone for a minute.

“You did actually,” Ashley speaks in a whisper “Apparently you’re a Milf!” Liz adds.

“Says who!?” You laugh.

“Shhhh! Liz warns. “That little cutie right over there,” She nods in his direction. “The one in the black swim trunks.”

Descretly, you turn to see who your friends are talking about.

“Oh my god, I’m pretty sure I have jeans in my closet older than him! You scoff before taking another look. “I mean… he is pretty cute though— solid body, lots of tattoos.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you actually do,” Ashley laughs. Which reminds me we need to go shopping and update that wardrobe of yours, I haven’t seen you in anything but leggings for the past 6 years.”

“Ugh I know! It’s because nothing fits! It’s been 6 years since I had the twins and I’m still not back to my pre-baby weight,” you sulk. “Plus I’ve been so busy taking care of them and putting them first, I haven’t even had time to think about me. And now with the divorce and paying my lawyer— money’s tight. If it wasn’t for you guys paying my share of this trip, I wouldn’t have been able to go, and lord knows I need the break. I can’t thank you guys enough.”

“Aww you’re so welcome,” Liz hugs you.

“You deserve it,” Ashley says, patting your shoulder.

“Sorry, I’m being a negative Nancy. Fuck all our problems! We’re here to escape them and have fun!” You state. “Anyone else getting hungry, I could totally go for a burger?”

**********

At night, the pool area transforms into somewhat of a night club, with drinks, dancing, swimming and fun events— tonight’s is a singles lap dance competition.

“Good Evening,cruisers!!! The lap dance competition is about to begin,” the event organizer announces. “I need three single people to volunteer to receive a lap dance, raise your hand if your single and would like to receive a lap,” he shouts loud and enthusiastically as if announcing a wrestling match.

“Oh my god y/n! You should totally do it!” Ashley squeals, trying to raise your hand for you.

“No way, are you crazy?” You laugh pulling your hand back down.

“C’mon y/n, you’re single now , and when was the last time you had a hott guy on top of you?”

“Not within the last eight years, I know that much!” Liz sasses, wide-eyed taking a sip of her drink, and making you spit out yours.

“Fair enough,” you cough out after practically choking. “Fine I’ll do it,” you agree,the liquid courage you’ve been sipping on, helping to release your inhibitions.

“Alright, I just need one more volunteer!”

You adjust your bathing suit and raise your hand.

“ Ok pretty lady, c’mon up,” the DJ calls out. You head up onto the stage, your friends laughing, screaming and cheering you on. “Now I’m gonna need some volunteers to give the lap dances. Let’s start with this pretty lady right here,” the DJ motions to you. “Who wants to give this beautiful woman a lap dance?”

You look out into the crowd watching as a few hands go up. One in particular catches you eye, and you try to place why he looks slightly familiar, and then it hits you; it’s the young guy your friends overheard calling you a MILF earlier in the day.

“Alright, take your pick,” the DJ tells you.

“Him—the one with the dark hair and tattoos,” you point into the audience, before taking a seat on the folding chair on stage.

“You heard her, my man, c’mon up,” the DJ calls him to the stage.

He stands in front of you wearing his black swim trunks from earlier but is now also sporting a white tank top and a forward facing baseball cap. You can feel his eyes looking down at you, checking you out while waiting for the other contestants to choose their lap dance partner.

“Let’s get it started!” the DJ announces. “At the end of the song, y’all are gonna help me decide the winner,” he says, speaking to the audience. “Let’s gooo!!”

Sam Smith’s ‘Unholy’ starts bumping from the speakers and your tattooed partner throws his head back in a brief laugh at the song choice, before locking eyes with you. He wastes no time getting close; stepping forward so that both of your legs are sandwiched between his wide stance. With one hand on your shoulder he begins rolling his body in your lap, his free hand quickly grabbing his hat and turning it backwards so the brim doesn’t hinder his view of you. He glides that same hand down his torso over his white tank to its hem, bunches the material in his hand and slides it up, exposing his perfectly toned abs. You smirk, pulling your bottom lip between your teeth at the sight. He removes his hand from your shoulder and uses both hands to peel his tank off completely, tossing it down on the stage. Then he slides his thumbs into the waistband of his swim trunks purposely lowering them, his prominent V-lines on full display, along with a fuzzy line of hair descending from his navel. Your eyes follow the trail down until it meets a small patch just barely visible peeking out the top of his swim trunks. Your mind wanders, imaging what’s below—imaging what he’s working with. The trance you’re in is broken when he places one of your hands flat on his chest, inviting you to touch him while he moves in your lap. You let your hand glide down over the topography of his body, your fingertips exploring the hills and valleys of muscle as you go, stopping when your hand reaches the horizon where flesh meets material, even though your hand craves to continue its descent. As if he can read your mind, he pushes your hand lower, pressing his half hard bulge against your palm as he rolls his hips insync with the last ‘unholy’ of the song before it ends.

“Alright it’s time to vote. Let me hear you give it up for couple number one,” the DJ instructs. The audience claps, cheers and hoots. “Alright, a alright, now make some noise for couple number two.” A slightly louder roar of cheer and applause echoes under the night sky. Your sexy partner stands behind you with his hands on your shoulders as you both await your turn.“And last but not least couple number three.” The crowd goes wild with thunderous clapping,and high pitched whistles —your friends cheers the loudest of them all. “We have a clear winner here tonight, folks,” the DJ announces. “Winning by a landslide…couple number three!”

Tattooed arms unexpectedly scoop you up off the chair, running bridal style off the stage and towards the pool with you. You playfully shriek and laugh the whole way until … splash... he jumps in the water with you. When you both surface again, your hungry mouths are attacking one another like prey: desperate and determined. He moves forward in the water, pinning you against the side of the pool with his body as you devour each other— all lips, tongue, teeth and flesh. His skin tastes like chlorine, his kisses- a hint of nicotine; and just as addictive. Underwater, he teases a hand up your inner thigh and begins gently rubbing you through the fabric of your bathing suit. You allow it, encourage it actually—rocking your hips to press yourself firmer against his fingertips. You can feel how hard he is through his swim trunks and you opt to help him out, grasping his hard cock through the thin veil of fabric. You work each other into a sexual frenzy and it’s not long before his fingers transcend the boundary of your bathing suit bottoms, pushing the fabric aside and inserting two slender fingers inside of you. You follow his lead, sinking your hand into his swim trunks and wrapping your fingers tightly around him.

Maybe it’s the fact that he’s a complete stranger who’s name you don’t even know, or that he’s much younger than you, or perhaps even because no one besides your ex-husband has touched you this intimately in years, but you feel a familiar sense of heightened arousal that can only compare to the giddy exhilaration of your first sexual experience. God the nostalgia!—Back when just the novelty of making out, and touching each other was enough. Back when foreplay still existed, before the busyness of life and motherhood had you trading sex for sleep. Or swapping making love for quickies during naptime.

Every swirl of his tongue, curl of his fingers, and flick of your wrist has you feeling renewed, awake and alive again. You never want this to end but your body is chasing after the high it so desperately wants bucking against his palm while his fingers caress that sweet spot inside of you. As your orgasm begins to build, your grip on him falters so he places his free hand over yours, helping you stroke him. The feeling of your walls squeezing his fingers as you cum is so sexy to him that he finishes shortly after you.

Since the moment he jumped into the pool with you in his arms, you’ve been in your own world, oblivious to anything or anyone around you. It’s not until you start coming down from your high that the outside world starts to trickle back in: the music, the people, the sounds of your friends cheering your name. You turn to the direction of the noise in search of your friends, but a series of cannonballs by a group of guys momentarily blocks your view before you finally spot them. When you turn back after locating them, the boy is gone.

***********

The next morning in line for the breakfast buffet you feel a gentle tap on your shoulder.

“Hey, sorry about last night. My name’s Jaden by the way,” he holds out his hand.

“I’m y/n,” you shake his hand. “What exactly are you sorry about? I may have been a little tipsy, but I remember having a great time.” You give a small smirk.

“Ok, good,” he smiles “I was worried I got a little too caught up in the moment and took things too far,” he admits. “But mostly I’m sorry I disappeared on you like that. My buddies almost drowned me with their cannonballs and I wanted to spare you from having to see me choke to death and squirt water out of my nose.” He laughs.

“Fair. You’re forgiven,” you joke. “Can I ask you something?

“Of course, ask away.”

“How old are you?” You brace yourself for the answer, but at least you know he’s at least twenty one.

“Twenty two, you?”

“Oh god, umm let’s just call it mid 30’s” you answer, slightly embarrassed, and worried about how he might react.

“Can I ask you a question now?” He asks.

“Sure.”

“I’d like to spend some more time with you today. Would you like that?” He asks.

“Wait, so your not bothered by me being much older than you?” You question.

“Not at all,” he smirks. “Sooo is that a yes then?”

“I-I dunno..” you're sure he just wants to hook up again , and you don’t want to give him that impression. Last night was just a heat of the moment thing.

“I just wanna talk, get to know you. Hands to myself this time, promise,” he replies as if he’s read your mind.

“Okay,” you agree. “My friends and I have a dolphin excursion during the day and dinner reservations at 6:00, so why don’t we meet somewhere around 8:00?”

“That works for me. Meet at the hot tubs?”

“Sounds good, I’ll see you then.” You answer.

**********

You head down to the deck with the hot tubs after dinner; bathing suit on and towel in hand. You know you’re going to be a few minutes early but you figure you’d get there before they get crowed. When you arrive however you see Jaden already in one of the hot tubs; his elbows resting on the edge, and a cigarette between two fingers. You know it’s a nasty habit and not good for his health but fuck - why does he look so good doing it.

“Hey,” you say, grabbing his attention.

“Shit!” He blows out a mouthful of smoke and ashes the cigarette out on the edge of the hot tub. “Sorry, bad habit, tryna quit. I wasn’t expecting you for like another ten minutes, thought I could sneak one in.”

“No worries,” you smile, stepping into the hot tub with him. “I expected there to be more people out here, thought I’d come early before they filled up.”

“Yeah, same,” he says as you scoot over next to him . “But apparently there’s supposed to be a rainstorm some time tonight, so maybe that’s why. Although I don’t really see why it would matter, like you’re in a bathing suit literally sitting in water anyways.” He shrugs. “So anyways, tell me about yourself. I’m guessing you’re not here on Spring Break too.” He laughs.

“Nope, celebrating my divorce actually,” you admit, holding up your left hand and wiggling your ring finger— a lighter band of flesh, where a ring once sat.

“Ooh brutal, sorry to hear that. Did you guys have kids together?” Jaden asks.

“Dont be. I’m glad it’s over. And yeah twin boys actually. They’re six. My moms watching them while we’re gone.”

“Aww, sweet” he smiles.

“How ‘bout you? I already know you’re here on Spring Break. Sooo ummm—ooh I know, tell me about your tattoos, do they have any special meaning or anything?

“Some I just liked, and some have meaning but this one’s the most important to me,” he points to a scrawling of repeated sentences that goes from his chest down his side. I got it for my best friend Cooper who passed away from fentanyl poisoning last year. I just didn’t know what say, didn’t know what to do after he passed , ya know, it’s like — “ he pauses a moment and swallows hard . “Fuck, I’m sorry. Let’s just talk about something else,”

“Sure, no problem. I understand” you say supportively, placing a hand on his shoulder.

The rest of your conversation is much more happy and upbeat —sharing your favorite movies, music, and books, where you both live and what you do for work. Also telling silly anecdotes about your childhoods, college life, motherhood and so on.

And then the rain starts; which you both agreed was no big deal but, unfortunately this rain is accompanied by thunder and lighting.

“Ugh, I was having a great time talking with you. Sorry the rain cut our little date short.” You say, sounding disappointed as you both quickly exit the hot tub.

“Is that what this was?” He smiles.

“Maybe,” you answer coyly with a shrug and flirty smile.

“If you’re okay with it, you can come back to my cabin and talk a little more, hangout, watch a movie or something,” he suggests. “But I totally understand if you're not comfortable with that. No pressure.”

“Sure, I’d like that,” you agree.

***********

“Shit, I just realized I don’t have anything dry to change into” you state upon entering his cabin. “And my rooms like on the complete other side of the ship. Do you have anything I could just throw on for now?”

“Uhhhm, sure,” Jaden looks around the room for something to give you. “Here you can wear this bathrobe,” he says, tossing you the white, terry cloth covering before sitting down on the bed.

In the corner of the room you turn, facing away from Jaden, put on the robe, and then descretly remove your bathing suit from under it.”

“What, no show?” Jaden jokes.

“You don’t wanna see, trust me.” You say, sounding down.

“Oh, but I do,” he laughs, but then stops when he notices you aren’t laughing too. Hey, what’s a matter. I’m just joking.I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable that wasn’t my intention. I don’t want you to think that’s why I invited you back to the room. You don’t have to show me anything you don’t want to.”

“It’s not that. I’m just really not comfortable in my own skin these days—haven’t been for a while actually. I love my kids to death but let’s just say pregnancy didn’t do my body any favors. You're young, you can have any hott girl with a tight little body. Why would you wanna see mine, it’s nothing to look at, I promise you.”

“I promise you you’re wrong. Let me show you how beautiful you are.”

You’re not sure what that consists of exactly, but you nod in agreement anyways. Jaden makes you feel so safe, and you could definitely use a confidence boost.

“C’mere,” Jaden leads you by your hand into the bathroom, and positions you in front of the mirror. “Can I take this off?” He whispers in your ear from behind you, as he places a hand on each of your robe covered shoulders. You meekly nod yes and he slips the garment off your shoulders, letting it pool at your feet, leaving you completely nude. You fight the urge to cover yourself but the look of awe in Jaden’s eyes as he surveys your naked body helps melt away some of your insecurity. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” he breaths against your our neck. “Now what I want you to do is look in the mirror with me,” he instructs. You flick your eyes up to the mirror meeting his in the reflection. “I want you to tell me what you see when you look at yourself in the mirror—give it all to me, the good, the bad, the ugly, then I’m gonna tell you what I see.”

“I see someone I don’t recognize anymore. I used to be pretty, but now I have crows feet by my eyes, and my breasts have lost the perky fullness they had before breastfeeding two kids. It’s been six years and I still haven’t lost all the baby weight,” You poke at your stomach. “And I have this C-section scar from when my body failed to do the one thing it was literally designed to do!“ You start getting emotional. “My hips are so wide now, and my ass is huge , and don’t even get me started on the stretch marks on my inner thighs,” you sigh, holding back tears.

“First of all, you ARE pretty, I think you’re absolutely gorgeous. When I look at your eyes I don’t see crows feet— I see a million smiles and childhood summers spent having fun in the sun,” he says, making you smile. “That’s a million and one now,” he teases playfully. “Now, before I continue, do I have permission to touch you?”

“Permission granted,” you snicker “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dying to feel your hands on me again,” you admit, blushing.

“And my lips too?” He begins kissing slowly up the side of you neck, making every hair on your body stand on end with arousal.

“Mmmhm, yeah, that too.” You giggle coyly.

“And these,..”he continues, cupping you from behind, “I see breasts that nourished two beautiful babies,and still look plenty perky to me, especially these nipples,” he rolls the buds between his thumbs and pointer fingers. “I love how erect they are for me.” He tugs on them gently before moving his hands to your stomach. “You don’t need to lose a single pound, all I see is curves and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not the 90’s anymore where women had to be rail thin to meet some ridiculous standard of beauty— all bodies are beautiful. And besides you don’t give yourself enough credit for growing two human beings inside you, this was their home for nine months!” He grips your soft belly tightly as he speaks. “And this scar,” he traces his finger over it, causing a ticklish chill to run through you at the ghostly sensation— you still don’t have much feeling there. “This is not a failure, it’s a reminder of how your babies were able to safely enter this world when things didn't go quite as planned.” Your eyes begin to well with tears again, not with sadness, but from the joy of a guy you met less than twenty four hours ago helping you fall back in love with your body and realize all its accomplishments. “And your ass and hips— fuck, that might be my favorite part of your body. Do you know how many women literally pay thousands of dollars to make their hips and ass look like this?” He rubs his hands over the swell of your backside. “It’s literally perfect.” He says with a firm squeeze. “And these—” he places his fingertips on the jagged pink and white lines on your inner thigh and begins to trace them upwards. “These are a map, leading me to where I wanna be the most,” he slides his middle finger through your wetness, “God damn you’re soaked and we’re not even in the pool this time,” he teases. “I think you want me here too, huh?” He begins rubbing slow circles on your clit, “and I mean more than just my fingers this time,” he smirks at you in the mirror before pressing his growing erection against your backside, and his mouth to your neck.

“Mhm, fuck—“ you moan, tilting your head and reaching back to run your hand through his dark hair while he marks you. “Mmmm, Jaden… do you… do you have a condom? I mean, my tubes are tied but—”

“I just got tested before the cruise baby—I’m clean.” He states breathily, before reattaching his lips to your neck, and pulling himself free from his swim trunks with his free hand.

“Okaay,” you moan. “I-I trust you.”

He slips in with ease; both of you releasing a shaky breath at the feeling. And while you haven’t exactly seen his dick yet, you can tell that it’s big.

“Fuccck, you feel incredible!” He nips along your jawline as he begins to thrust — one tattooed hand on your hip and the other, full of your breast, holding you against him so you can watch. He begins with a slow, gentle rhythm, taking his time to fully appreciate your warmth and tightness with each lengthy stroke.

“Ohhhh, Jaden!” You moan breathily.

“Mmmh yeah—am I making you feel good, baby?”

“Ss-so good.” And you mean that in every way- not just sexually.

“Keep your eyes on the mirror. I want you to see how beautiful you look while I fuck you,” he rasps in your ear.

You watch Jadens thrusts grow more urgent, his hands more hungry as he claws and grabs at every square inch of flesh he can get his hands on. Because of him you’re able to watch unashamed, as your soft body jiggles everytime Jaden’s hips crash against your backside, the movement spurring him on even more. You’re able to see the undeniable desire in his eyes, hear the truth of his words.

“God, you’re so fucking sexy!” He grunts through clenched teeth, increasing the intensity and depth of his pace even more, as he grows close to orgasm.

You grip the bathroom counter in front of you and let your head hang down in overwhelming pleasure. With a firm but gentle hold of your throat, Jaden lifts your head back up to face your reflection.

“Don’t want you to miss the best part,” he teases.

And with one final thrust, he cums hard, filling you to the brim. The warm eruption triggers your own orgasm, splashing against Jaden’s pelvis and dripping down his tattooed thighs.

“Fuck, I don’t think I’ve ever came that hard before,” you admit after finally catching your breath, your legs still weak and trembling.

“I can believe that,” he laughs looking down at the mess you’ve made of him. “It was so fucking hott though…Shower then room service?”

“Sounds perfect” you smile, stepping into the shower with him.

The shower starts off innocent, with the intent of actually washing up and getting clean but when Jaden asks if he can help wash you, things heat up rather quickly. As he soaps up your breasts you feel something brush press against you and look down.

“Are you really hard again, already? You just came!”

“I’m young, I got the drive and the stamina to go all night if you want,” he smirks.

“I just might have to take you up on that,” you smirk back, reaching to grasp his cock. You give it a few teasing tugs before dropping to your knees.

He watches with his bottom lip between his teeth as you tease your tongue along the underside of his shaft , tracing the vein from hilt to tip. He lets out a low and breathy “Fuck” as the head disappears inside your mouth— the rest of his length soon to follow. He tastes of you, and the scent of chlorine still lingers on his skin, especially when you take him deep, your nose pressed into the neatly trimmed patch of hair on his pelvis. The same patch that was just slightly visible last night above the waistband of his low hung swim trunks. You remember the way your eyes followed his happy trail to it, your mind wondering what was below it. Now just barely twenty four hours later it’s been inside of you; first your pussy and now your mouth. Every bob of your head brings him closer, his pleasure building so much he can’t help but buck his hips, gently fucking into your mouth.

“Ohh, shit —Fuck, I’m gonna cum!” He moans out, grabbing the back of your head with both hands holding you in place as he spurts down your throat. “Mhgmmmmmmmmm” he lets out a long and pleasure-filled moan, still pumping his hips in short stokes, enjoying the last tendrils of his orgasm before pulling out. “God damn, that was so good!” He praises your skills, making you blush. “Ok” he starts with a laugh “let’s try this again, shower then room service”

*****************

By the time room service arrives after your shower, you’re at it again, this time riding Jaden in bed— a position you haven’t been brave enough to do in quite some time. You’ve already cum and Jaden is dangerously close when you both hear the faint knock followed by “Room service.”

“Shit, don’t stop,” Jaden whispers to you before shouting to room service “Just—fuck, j-just leave it by the door!”

Another roll of your hips and he’s done for, eyes rolling back, chiseled body twitching under you, calling out your name as he cums for the third time tonight.

*********

“We definitely worked up an appetite,” Jaden laughs looking at all the now completely empty pile of dishes on the room service cart. “You save any room for dessert?”

“No way, I’m stuffed,” you answer.

“Well I did.” Jaden smirks pushing you back down on the bed, and spreading your legs, his head disappearing between your thighs.

“Ohhh Jaden …”

**********

In the morning Jaden wakes before you, he can’t help but watch you sleep, sofly swiping a single knuckle along your cheek as he admires your beauty. The sensation stirs you from your slumber. Your eyes still heavy with sleep blink open and Jaden’s face comes into focus.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you,” Jaden says, his husk, sleep laden, voice sounding so sexy. “It’s just that you're even beautiful when you sleep.”

“S’ok,” You murmur, with a smile. “Gotta get up anyways,my friends are probably wondering where the fuck I am.”

***********

You put your key card to the door of your cabin and the door clanks open rousing your friends from their sleep.

“Shit, what time is it?” Ashley asks, squinting at her phone. “Ten thirty two, sorry we woke up so late. I think me and Liz had a little too much to drink last night. I hope you weren’t bored waiting around for us.” Ashley apologizes. “Have you already been swimming this morning?” she asks noticing you're in a robe with your bathing suit dangling from your hand.

“Wait!” Liz interjects, “That’s the bathing suit you had on when you left for your date with -with that college boy, what’s his face—“

“It’s Jaden” you remind her.

“— you’re just getting back now, aren’t you!! You spent the night!?” Liz exclaims accusingly.

The hue of your cheeks and your guilty smile give you away. You take a seat on the edge of the bed and wait for the slew of questions you know you’re about to get pummeled with.

“Oh my god, did you sleep with him?” Ashley asks.

You answer wordlessly, pulling back the collar of the robe, exposing the numerous wine colored markings that decorate your flesh.

“Jesus! I haven’t seen that many hickeys since highschool” Liz teases. “Ok, spill, how bad was the sex? I’m cringing just looking at your neck.”

“It was honestly the best sex I’ve ever had,” you blushed. “He made me feel like a fucking Goddess!”

“ There’s no way,” Liz scoffs. “How much experience can he even have.” She says with an eyeroll.

“Yeah I’m not buying it either,” Ashley laughs. “C’mom you don’t got to lie to us. We’ve all had our subpar hookups, especially when we were in college. Guys that age are all confidence and no skill.”

“No I’m dead serious, it was amazing!!!” You gush. “And not just his dick, but the way he made me feel…”

You proceed to tell them every detail of last night, from how he praised and appreciated your every flaw and gave you your confidence back, to just how good his dick felt inside you and how talented he was with his mouth and fingers. When you're done talking Liz gets up and starts walking towards the cabin door.

“Where are you going?” You ask perplexed.

“Going to find me one of these college boys” Liz laughs. “Does he have friends?” She jokes, making her way back to the bed. “Seriously though, sorry we teased you, that sounds amazing.”

“Yeah,” Ashley agrees. “I’m a little jealous— good dick AND body positivity, sign me the fuck up!”

“What are you guys gonna do when the cruise is over?” Liz asks, “You’ll probably never see eachother again.”

“Oh my god, that’s right! I forgot to tell you guys the best part! Earlier in the night when we were just talking in the hot tub we figured out that he only lives an hour away from us!”

“Holy shit, what a small world, that’s awesome.” Ashley exclaims.

“I’ll tell you what’s not small,” you smirk.

[julilovesyou444]

the only exception ~ tom kaulitz

background: you and Tom had been hooking up for a while now, probably close to around half a year. you had a big crush on him but were very aware that he didn’t do relationships, so even though you were ‘physically’ with him, you never let yourself get super emotionally attached. Tom couldn’t say the same for himself, though. He wanted you, and only you.

warnings: nothing much just kissing and swearing lol

a/n~ sorry for being m.I.a!! I had to visit my dad in serbia and it sucked because I hate my dad and he hates me lolllll speaking of I wrote a fic that was requested where like the ready has daddy issues and tom like helps her through it but I think I made it wayyyy to like serious I think the word is? and its very long so I’m considering scrapping it idk, also I’m getting to all ur requests that I wanna do dont worry !!

~

“hello?”, i said, picking up my phone. it was tom, my long-term fling. I can’t remember exactly how I met him, or exactly how we started hooking-up. I had heard about his band before we met, and I thought they were cool, but i didn’t quite understand just how popular they were. Until after meeting Tom, i didnt know about his ‘reputation’ either. I didn’t know until after the first time we hooked up. He had made us trade numbers, and i was expecting a call at least a day or two after we had seen each other, but nothing. I decided to do some research, just to find out that the boy i was crushing on was in fact a hardcore player. A womanizer, if you will. Part of me wanted to never go out with him again, the smart part of me. But another part of me wanted him so badly, so overwhelmingly bad that I went with my heart instead of my head. I liked Tom, I really did. I couldn’t help it. But I didn’t want myself to get hurt, so I expected just about nothing from him. We fuck and then it’s over. Whenever he would ask me to stay the night or do any of that stuff, I would politely decline and leave. Sometimes we would go out and do non-sexual things, but they always ended sexual. I learned to become okay with that, and I ultimately stopped expecting us to do anything that was hooking up.

“Hey, are you busy?”, he asked.

“Hmm, i dont know, maybe, depends on why you’re calling.”, I teased. he chuckled.

“Uh-huh… well I was thinking, that if you’re free, I could take you out somewhere.”

“take me out, huh? is that code for fucking?”, this earned me another laugh.

“no, no, it can be, but I want to actually take you out.”, he chuckled.

“are you asking me out on a date?”, i asked, a little confused.

“…yes?”

I was quiet for a second, apparently a second too long.

“look if you dont want to, we don’t have to, I just thought-“, he started.

“no, no! sorry! I was thinking but yes, I’m free and we should go out!”, I interrupted. I heard him release a breath he was holding, probably one he didn’t intend for me to hear.

“okay, yea, cool. when can I pick you up?”

“hmm let’s say in about 30 minutes? does that work?”

“perfect.”

“mhm, I’ll see you then.”

“bye.”, he said just before I hung up.

tom kaulitz. taking me out on a date?? what????

I got up almost immediately and started to get ready. I wanted to look as cute as possible. I ran over to my wardrobe and searched through it for a good five minutes. I found this super cute, also pretty tiny, pleated denim skirt and this purple and black top that had a lot of lace detailing and these little puffy princess sleeves. I put on some jewelry, makeup, and these black boots I had. I left my hair down, i noticed that when I did, Tom always complimented it. I grabbed my purse and threw some gum, lipgloss, my phone, and my little digital camera in there.

I glanced at the clock and saw that he should be here any minute. I stepped outside and waited for about 3 minutes, which would’ve been fine, if it wasn’t as cold as it was. I didn’t feel like going back in, just in case he showed up right as i did. I was shivering a tiny bit and got some goosebumps, but to my relief, and pulled in front of my house not too much later. I got in, the warm air of his car heaters hitting me.

“shit, you look freezing. how long were you out there for?”, Tom asked, looking genuinely concerned.

“I’m cold but I’m fine.”, I laughed it off.

“okay, do you need a jacket or-“

“No!! I’m serious! I’m okay.”, I laughed some more.

“okay, okay! just checking.”, he smiled. I watched as his eyes did a quick scan over me.

“you look pretty. your hair looks really nice too.”, he said, his eyes averting back forward as he began to drive away.

“thank you. you don’t look too bad yourself.”

he playfully rolled his eyes but he couldn’t help but smile as well.

“sooo… where are we going?”, I questioned.

“you’ll see.”

“Oh, c’mon. I hate surprises.”

“You’ll like this one, trust me.”

I sighed and faced myself back forward. Some radio station was playing softly in the background as we raced down the highway.

the drive to the mystery place wasn’t far, only a 20 minute drive, which I filled with a lot of talking. mainly about random stuff, Tom telling a few jokes which never failed to make me laugh. He pulled into a parking lot which only had a few other cars. I looked around, it looked like we were at some kind of fancy park. A garden maybe? He leaned over the center console and grabbed something from the backseat.

Tom dropped a large black zip up jacket in my lap.

“My jacket, so you aren’t freezing your ass off the entire time.”

“Oh, thank you.”, i said quietly. He got out of the car and made his way to the back. I followed his lead, getting out of the car, putting on the jacket but not zipping it. I walked around to the back of the car where the trunk was open. There were two big woven picnic baskets. Tom grabbed both and I shut the trunk door as he began to walk off. I caught up with him.

“Do you want me to carry one?”, i motioned to the baskets.

“It’s okay, just follow me.”, he said, continuing his venture into the park. I followed close behind.

We didn’t walk for long, it was a really beautiful park. There were lots of flowers and little benches everywhere. Lots of really big and beautiful trees too. We stopped in front of this big pond, the water was so clear you could see the miniature fish swimming. there was a swan that swam around too.

Tom opened one of the baskets, revealing a big blanket. Without a word, I helped him spread it out over the fluffy grass. He sat down on it and patted the little space next to him, indicating for me to sit down as well. I did. He grabbed the other basket next to him and moved it to be in front of us. Tom opened it and inside were a ton of snacks. All of my favorites. I was shocked to say the least.

“Oh my god, how did you know?”, i said, mouth slightly agaped. He looked proud of himself.

“You mentioned some of your favorite snacks once or twice.”, he nonchalantly shrugged.

“This is lovely, Tom.”, I replied, sounding as genuine as I ever had. His eyes met mine and I gave him a little smile which he returned.

“What is all of this for?”, i added.

“Just wanted to do something nice for you, I guess.”, he mumbled and looked away.

I gently placed my hand over his, his head turned to mine.

“I appreciate it, I really do.”, i smiled. my thumb caressed his hand for a second.

“I like spending time with you, y’know? even when we’re not…”, he trailed off. I laughed, taking my hand off his, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by Tom.

I grabbed one of the many snacks he packed and started to eat. In between bites, I would ramble about different things. He always would just listen to me talk, admiring me as he did. This went on for a while. Tom started eating some. Somewhere in the midst of this, my position changed. I now had my head laid across his legs, my legs stretched out and my hair splayed all over his lap. i stopped eating and just started talking. Tom gazed down at me. Eventually he lit a cigarette and started smoking. He held the cigarettes between his pointer and middle finger, moving it down for me to take a puff. I did, peering into his eyes as I did so. They weren’t filled with their normal lust, but they looked like they had something else in them. I couldn’t figure it out.

Tom talked some too, mainly making crude jokes. I always laughed, no matter how stupid. I think he enjoyed that.

He took a hit and then leaned over, his mouth hovering over mine. I opened and allowed him to blow the smoke in my mouth. He sat back up and watched as slowly blew it out.

“I know this isn’t a normal thing to do when we ‘meet up’, but i really like it.”, Tom said, his fingers intertwined with the ends of my hair.

“Really?”, i asked. I knew for a fact he enjoyed my body, but I wasn’t aware he liked spending time with me when we weren’t doing one another.

“yea… why’s that so shocking?”

“Um, i dont know. I guess I thought you really only wanted sex from me.”

“Oh.”

“Yea..”

“Uh, I guess that’s just what I wanted at first. But the more I started seeing you, the more I wanted to see you again.”

“Oh?”

“Yea, and whenever I would invite you to stay over or do anything like that, you would always say no. Kind of assumed you were the one who only wanted me for sex.”

“I don’t, I just assumed you were trying to be polite or something. It’s stupid, I guess.”

“No, it’s not. At this point, you know me and you know the reputation I have, so i understood why you thought that.”

“Sorry…”, I muttered, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Don’t be sorry.”

We sat in silence for a few moments, but it wasn’t awkward.

“I was thinking about maybe doing this kinda thing more often with you, I mean, we can still do our normal things we do, but maybe we can start doing more of this too.”

“What? Like go on dates?”, i furrowed my brows.

“Yea, something like that.”

“I feel like that’s something only couples do.”, i sorta laughed. He was quiet, which made me sit up, I looked over at him. He was staring at his lap in my absence.

“Is that… not a possibility?”, he murmured.

“But… I thought you dont do commitment? and relationships?”

“Yea, i dont usually.”

“I can’t go on dates with you and act all boyfriend-girlfriend unless you are actually going to commit. I’m not going to do that to myself, Tom. I can’t let myself get hurt like that.”, i said quietly but sternly. I had to be sensible, i didn’t want to be just another girl that got fooled by Tom Kaulitz.

“I know, but i want to try.”, he looked up at me with pleading eyes.

“What changed? What’s different now than from when I first met you?”, I asked, still unsure.

“I hate talking about my feelings.”, he huffed.

“I’m not gonna judge you or anything, I just need to know.”

“You changed me. You did. I didn’t want to date any of the girls I hooked up with for one night because they just weren’t worth it and they didn’t mean that much to me. You’re one of the only girls I’ve consistently seen for more than a month. I haven’t gotten with any other girl than you for like 4 months. I don’t know what it is about you, but I can’t ignore it. And I want more of you. More than just the physical aspects. Dont get me wrong, I love those parts of you too, but i want you for more than just your body. Dude, I can’t stop saying stupid ass jokes to you just because I want to hear your laugh. So yeah, I haven’t ever really commited before because I didn’t really do relationship. But, for you, it’s different. You are the only exception.”

“What? Really? I had zero idea you felt that way at all…”, I replied, astounded.

“Well I do feel that way and have for a little while now.”

“You aren’t playing with me, right?”, i asked, still not believing it.

“Really?? I practically just confessed myself to you and you still don’t believe me?”

“Okay, I’m sorry! You’re right, this was just, unexpected from you.”

“So… what do you think?”

“I want you too, Tom.”, I managed to say. A smile grew on his once nervous face. He cupped my face in his hands and began to lean in.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Mhm.”, i responded. He kissed me so passionately, I felt like I was floating. My hand went to his jaw, my thumb subconsciously tracing little hearts on his lower cheek. I could feel him smile into the kiss. I pulled away, my forehead still connected with his. I started giggling a little, looking away and hiding my face.

“Oh, c’mon. Dont be shy, now.”, Tom pulled my back towards him so I was leaned against his frame, his arms wrapped around my torso. He left little kisses on the top of my head.

“Wow.”

“Hm?”, he hummed.

“Can’t believe I was your only exception.”, i said with a cocky smile in attempt to poke fun at him.

I could feel him roll his eyes.

“Uh-huh, whatever. Its true.”

“I kinda never thought this day would come.”, i said, my finger trailing up and down his, that rested on my stomach.

“Yea, me too, I guess. But I’m glad that it did.”

I smiled, turning my head around to kiss him again.

A new beginning.

His first real relationship.

It was me, I was his only exception.

Something about that phrase made me feel like the most special girl in the world.

~

[lotstradamus]

inspired by the manchester anon haha but do you have any tips and suggestions for visiting leeds? 🩷

I've lived here for 2 years now (!!!) but somehow I still don't really know my way around and just go to the same 5 places and use google maps to get anywhere else. it's sad. but here's some shit I love:

Grindhouse - cheap drinks, loads and loads of seats, never too full, music a reasonable volume, and they project 80s movies on the back wall. we once sat in here for 2 hours cos Stand By Me was on. one time we watched the bar staff earnestly tell a group of women on a hen do that the bar was closed and they weren't serving any more drinks, at 7:45pm. 10/10.

Rudy's - only 9 cities* in this fair nation have a Rudy's, so I'm going to keep reccing it for everyone else. perfect Neapolitan pizza. *Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Nottingham, Durham, London, York, Liverpool - if you live in one of these places and haven't been to Rudy's yet, sort it out.

Neon Cactus - go here on a Wednesday and order wings, and you'll get half price margs. lots of great Mexican scran. don't take anyone too picky or over 50, because the price for the great food and vibes is that at least one thing you order will be incorrect. but roll with it. half price margs, man.

Empire Cafe - book in advance if you want to sample the delights of Empire Cafe, cos there's like 6 tables max. everything is seasonal, changes on the daily, and is insanely delicious. if you want to experience heaven, order the steak and chips with salsa verde. there is NOTHING like it.

Stuzzi - another seasonal, small plate sort of place, but Italian. amazing food and a gorgeous restaurant. go with a big group and order one of everything.

Eat Your Greens - ANOTHER seasonal restaurant! this one is farm-to-fork and organic. I can’t speak to the quality as I haven’t actually been, but I am a frequenter of their GREENGROCER, which is MEGA. last time I think I left with natty wine, pâté, some insane tinned fish, a jar of harissa and a bag of sunset potatoes. if you like food, go here.

SARTO - fresh, handmade pasta and picky bits. another great place to go with a group and order all the starters. I had a celeriac pasta there last year that I think about on a fairly regular basis; I picked it cos it was the weirdest sounding thing on the menu and it was fucking mouthwatering. good quality and good people! and it's next door to The Wardrobe, so perfect for a pre-gig tea.

Santiago Bar - like Grindhouse (alternative, casual) but the music is louder and you'll find yourself doing tequila shots at 1am and screaming along to, like, Don Broco. it's the best.

Blue Collar Boys - as a rule I hate 'vintage' clothes shops (overpriced, ugly, everything is XXS), but this place seems to specialise solely in American t-shirts and sweatshirts from the 90s in exactly my size, and everything is £10. this is amazing and a huge bargain if you find something like vintage Wranglers and a Playboy bomber jacket (£20, my wife) but not so amazing or a bargain if you find 3 t-shirts with holes in (£30, me). we've never been without finding shit we love. they only open on random weekends, and they always seem to have more stuff than they could possibly ever sell. it's a freaky vintage alternate universe.

The Corn Exchange - a big gorgeous ol' building full of little businesses. vintage, handmade, tattoos, coffee, jewellery, independent brands, yarn, shoes, a barbers, a bookshop, they've got it all. very easy to spend £100 and 6 hours. every so often they have a market on the bottom floor. perfect tiny representation of Leeds: quirky, independent, delicious, cool.

Silver's Deli - this is a 9-minute train ride away in Bramley (my ends!) but has become THEE buzzy foodie spot recently. go on a sunny saturday morning (cos you will probably have to sit outside) and order the everything sandwich. thank me later. if they have scotch eggs or sausage rolls on, I beseech you, order both. and if you want the sunday special prepare to get there at 11 and fight.

Against the Grain - if you've come to Bramley for Silver's, you may as well trundle 10 minutes up the road and visit the best bar in Leeds. cosy, casual, full of locals, hidden in Swinnow Mills. it's a sit-around-and-chat-to-people sort of place, with bonus charcuterie boards AND a pizza van on weekends. we are here A LOT, because Gray's Salon and Rose and Thorn Tattoo are both in the Mill, and we give them all our money. oh! and dog friendly. sooo many dogs.

Project House/Galleria - if you've gotten the train out to Bramley for Silver's and ATG, jump on the 72 back to town and get off at Project House to eat MORE food. Galleria is a great place to get breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and Project House has EVERYTHING (depending on the day). yoga! gigs! vintage fairs! a bi-annual tattoo convention meets makers market with food vendors called Hand of Glory! check what's on and head on down to support local!

Kirkstall Bridge Inn - another one local(ish) to me, but worth travelling out of town for; a PROPER pub (i.e. no tv, no sports, no shite) that does roasts upstairs and lets dogs in downstairs. outdoor seating right by the canal, and every so often they put something on and the car park turns into a tiny festival. Kirkstallpalooza is a highlight. great place to finish a nice canal walk (who am I?!).

tl;dr sorry that this is obnoxiously long, I love Leeds

[hualianff]

Hua Laoshi

Thinking about Professor HC. He’s like late - 30’s, total dilf, but really well respected and liked - students really love his classes. He makes history enjoyable to learn, after all. 

He’ll go on wild yet profound tangents and has great PowerPoints. Sometimes a random gif will pop up here or there because he forgot to take them off; they were just for jokes oops but hey at least the students find them funny.

There’s a reason why HC leaves his notes to the powerpoints. Mans can barely write his name legibly, much less use the chalkboard for anything besides drawing. However, his maps are actually insane - he could actually be a map-maker. 

HC’s assignments entail lots of writing and some group work, plus participation points are a must, but it’s to be expected because his courses are usually for upperclassmen. 

The new incoming students are always blown away by the sheer amount of knowledge HC has AND that he is articulate enough to teach in a way that all his students can actually learn.

Many students see Hua laoshi in and out of the library, checking out numerous books at a time and if a student asks for help in furthering researching a topic, HC is diligent about guiding them to relevant resources or even having the university order the texts themselves.

HC is fluent in seven languages, and can understand basic conversations in even more. Thus, if some students think they can gossip in another language, HC will eventually let them know in the slyest ways that nothing gets past him.

HC’s wardrobe is refined with plenty of statement pieces and accessories. This includes the fancy pins on his suit jackets, the most commonly worn ones being a butterfly and a flower. On numerous occasions, he’s been voted as the most stylish professor on campus.

His office is also one of the best designed, with comfy chairs and lots of desk space, traditional paintings hung everywhere, a few plants lining the window sill, several mugs labeled with “student tears,” etc. On his desk sits all his devices neatly plugged in, a picture of his black cat (E’Ming), and a picture of him and his husband on their wedding day. 

Yes, even with all the rings HC wears on all his fingers, the polished silver band on his left ring-finger never goes unnoticed. 

It’s really no secret how much of a romantic sucker HC is for his husband. 

Once, on the first day of classes when HC was connecting his computer to the projector, his desktop photo was revealed on the big screen: a photo of XL mid-laugh, laying next to HC when they had one of their picnic dates. 

Or another time when HC meant to freeze the screen that had instructions for a small in-class writing assignment but didn’t, which exposed the document HC was writing on with ideas on what Christmas gifts to get for his husband.

Another year, at the start of the second semester, HC began his lecture with, “So, no one asked what I did over break but-” he makes a show of pressing the clicker, and a photo of HC ice-skating pops up. “-yes, I did ice skate for the first time, and yes, I did out-skate everyone on the rink.”

He nods with a complete deadpan. A series of chuckles ring across the room.

“Except my husband, of course.”

The slide switches to a picture of XL skating (taken by HC, obviously), the warmest smile on his face. 

“See how cool he is.” :)

HC keeps going with pictures and even videos of XL skating, the class occasionally breaking into choruses of “ooohs” and “ahhhs.” They don’t need to know that this is the part of the powerpoint HC spent the most time preparing, but with HC standing at the front with the biggest fucking grin on his face (#proudhusband), the students could probably guess that was the case.

Here Hua laoshi is, starting the semester off by showing off his husband, as he should. 

Some students have had the privilege of running into HC and XL during their date night !! As in, sitting at a table far enough away where they can see XL talking enthusiastically - waving his hands in large motions and swirling his glass - while HC listens and nods with the softest smile. 

Honestly, anyone with functioning eyes wouldn't help but be able to gush over how cute the couple looks. 

One of the students actually crosses paths with XL in the bathroom. They washed hands side-by-side and then XL used a paper towel to open and hold the door open for them! Back at the student table, the lucky soul proceeded to whisper-scream about how pretty Hua laoshi’s husband is. 

XL subbing for HC’s class once in a blue moon - basically XL going through HC’s PowerPoint and thoroughly explaining everything because HC talks about his lessons so much.

XL: “ahah I’m your sub for today, serves me right since I’m the one who got your professor sick” 😅

XL reading over HC’s notes: “hmm, ok, your professor also wrote down that-“

A random student: “wait a min, he can read hua laoshi’s handwriting?”

A second student: “hmm, makes sense, they are married after all”

A third student: “opposites do attract i guess”)

     2. Also, XL frequently uses the chalkboard and students are like 😱😱he writes beautifully!

XL messing up: “oops lemme erase this-“

The students: “NO ITS FINE”

     3. One student: “ahh, I see Xie laoshi is wearing Hua laoshi’s lucky tie today”

XL, looking down at the crimson dragon printed tie: “huh? this is mine though…San Lang wears it…?”

The students: “Oop exposed”

Which alludes to how seldom XL seems to wear ties.

(HC when XL gets home and nonchalantly begins loosening the tie: “holy shit, i married THAT”

     4. The students zero in on the red coral earring XL dangling from his right ear lobe, the match to HC’s who either wears it on his ear or attached to his braid. 

***

Incidentally, the first time HC hears himself being referred to as a “dilf,” he’s that meme with the lady who has the math/science equations in the air. They think he’s a WHAT? Is it the way he dresses? Or talks? Like what is it about him that makes him a “dilf?” Because HC in his life has never-

Oh wait. Hang on a second.

HC arrives home and sees XL working on the couch, glasses on, hair in a half-bun, tight-white shirt, sipping on some tea.

HC may actually be familiar with the feeling…!!

《II》

[doodle-do-wop]

Gallagher Girls Promptober Day 2: Drive In Movie

Warning!! Not really smut as it just fades to black but it's still very suggestive so MINORS DNI

Tina Walters was not nervous. She had no reason to be nervous! She was just at a nice drive-in theater with Mick(and it was not a date). So there. Perfectly normal roomie activities that didn’t require the infuriating rapid beating of Tina’s heart. She was fine, everything was fine!

UGH!! Expect this infuriating thump thump thump that Tina was sure was shaking the bed of Mick’s dad’s truck. It was driving(pun not intended)(okay maybe a little) Tina up the non-existent walls of the drive-in. Tina smoothed the blanket on her lap, fiddling with the unrelenting wrinkles and huffing withfurtation as they refused to bend to her will. Tina turned her attention and forkleing thoughts to the radio Mick had attached to the side and made sure(again) that it was tuned in correctly and that the sound would come out alright.

Seriously, Tina knew Mick hated it when movies were too quiet for her to pick up what was being said or done and since Tina highly doubted subtitles would be a thing tonight she wanted to make sure. Thought it was kind of annoying that subtitles wouldn't be a thing. You’d think they’d just have them on just in case someone’s radio decides to burst or the static crackles get too strong and block out an important sentence.Tina decided she would leave a good few strong emails asking for subtitles, accessibility was a simple necessity.

“Hey, I’ve got your butter.” A strong voice called out and Tina turned, her heart leaping into her throat as Mick Morrison appeached the bed of the truck and Tina sucked in a small breath. Sure, she already knew what Mick was wearing(they did share a college dorm after all) but nonetheless she managed to rob Tina of any other coherent thought.

Throughout their years at Gallagher Mick kept her wardrobe simple, t-shirts and pretty skirts, athletic shorts and plaid pajamas but god was Tina still not ready to watch as Mick climbed into the bed of the truck, smoothing her skirt and adjusting the sleeves of her turtleneck sweater(yeah! Mick Moriison in a turtleneck SWEATER).

Tina held the buttery popcorn in her hands and hoped for the love of all things good and holy that her grip was controlled and she didn’t have a chokehold on the poor bag. Mick turned to her with a bright smile and Tina bit her lip to stop the strange strangled noise that crawled up the pits of her expanding heart.

“Excited?” Mick asked, her brown eyes dancing with joy as the reflection of the bright screen before them played with the color. Tina could only nod and smile(please oh sweet merciful lord, please don’t let her be smiling too much because like normal smiling is fine but when-)

“T?” Mick asked and Tina snapped out of her mind.

“Yes?” She breathed out the word like they were suddenly stuck in a world of their own and not in a parking lot surrounded by smooching couples and cars. Mick blinked at her and then leaned forward and Tina’s eyes went WIDE.

OH MY GOD THIS WAS A DATE!

Oh how could Tina be so stupid! Of course this was a date they’re playing fucking 13 Going On 30. Mick knows Tina loves that movie! She knows Tina loves overly buttery popcorn that could put Cammie Morgan in a butter coma. She knows that the quilt they were currently sharing was Tina’s favorite fall blanket and that she loved corny, cheesy dates like drive-ins and movies.

Oh my god she’s leaning in. Okay breathebreathebreathbreathe-

Mick’s hand reached up and Tina wasn’t sure to close her eyes or not but she leaned in anyway and-

Mick’s finger flicked at her cheek and Tina froze, snapping open her eyes as Mick looked down at her index finger and then showed it to Tina.

“Eyelash, sorry.” She smiled and Tina wanted to eat the bag in her hands and forget she existed.

Maybe if she grabbed the next car’s radio cord and a pack of llamas she could-

“So I was thinking,” Mick’s voice whispered into Tina’s ear, the cool mint of her breath fanning on Tina’s cheek as the screen flickered and started playing the movie. “After this we could go grab some ice cream?”

Tina was going to scream. Seriously, she would! Mick Morrison was trying to kill her.

“Sure!” Tina answered quickly and Mick turned to look at her but Tina snapped her attention to the screen.

“Tina-” Mick tried to ask but Tina just shoveled some popcorn into her mouth and smiled like a mad woman as she tried not to choke on kernels.

“I love this movie!” She whispered and then whipped her head back around to look at the screen.

Three movies. THREE WHOLE MOVIES they stayed like that, listening to couples overcome the obstacles in their way and profess their love on the screen for all to see as romantic music swelled and filled the bed of the car and reverberated inside the ever rattling mind of Tina Walters.

Tina thought she was going to go ballistic. Every second or so she would catch one couple or even two sharing a kiss under the dark canopy of the night and whisper ‘i love you’s into the cold air. Her legs wouldn’t stop shaking and more than once she happily volentured to grab more snacks to fill the silence of the truck and to try and quiet the explosive thoughts in her mind.

“Hey Tina I-,” Mick began but Tina just smiled and took the empty soba from between them and winked.

“I’ve got you covered Micky.” She beamed and wiggled out of the truck as swiftly as she could and started to walk off to the concessions booth again.

“Wait Tina,” Mick softly called out but Tina just turned on her heel, smiled and shrugged.

“I gotta go to the bathroom anyway, it’s fine.” She was calm and cool and breezy like a summer wind. Or at least a spring gust. Tina kept the pep in her step as she walked away and then veered off from her path, dodging in between cars and making a beeline for the bathrooms(if she had to face the poor teenager running the concessions booth one more time she was going to bury herself alive out of embarrassment).

Thankfully there was no line this time so there wasn’t a soul around to question anything as Tina scooted around the small building and paced.

What on earth is she doing?! She should be out there enjoying rom coms like any other girl in the parking lot, eating Baby Ruths and Junior Mints until she regrets it in the morning. She shouldn’t be back here behind some smelly bathrooms thinking about how she leaned in, about kissing Mick Morrison. Since when has she ever thought about kissing Mick Morrison?! I mean sure she was smart and pretty and god when she’s going her morning yoga routine or exercising- OH MY GOD TINA WALTERS GET YOUR HEAD ON STRAIGHT!!

Tina paused her pacing and then let out a small string of cackles that led to giggles that led to leaning against the bathroom’s back walls and groaning in frustration. Tina buried her head between her knees, folding her hands behind her neck as she groaned for what felt like forever.

“Are you feeling okay?” Asked the last person on earth Tina wanted to see right now. She looked up and was met with the towering stature of the very girl who’s lips she kept staring at all night long.

Mick looked beautiful, her hair was teased and it framed her face in soft layers, the tight knit fabric of her sweater hugged her chest and arms, leaving almost nothing to Tina’s wild imagination. And with the seeping light of the moving screen shining upon her, bringing every feature Tina loved to light and laying it all out for the world to see. Tina couldn’t take it anymore, she stood up, walked right up to Mick Morrison even though every part of her screamed to turn back, say her stomach hurt and to go home. Forget about the night with a pint of ice cream and toss and turn in bed for forever. Ignore the warmth that burst into her chest as her eyes locked with Mick’s.

“Tina.” Mick started and when Tina opened her mouth Mick raised a hand to stop her….and Tina’s stomach filled with cold acid. Mick closed her eyes tight and Tina felt small, smaller than she had ever felt before in her life. She was no taller than the blades of grass beside her as Mick took a deep breath and squeezed her words out.

“Did I do something wrong?” She cracked one eye open and Tina was nothing but a pile of knocked over building blocks.

“What?!” She cried out and when Mick turned away she reached forward and put a hand on her arms. “No! No, no, no, no, no! Mick- Micky, no you- you haven’t done a thing what on earth-”

“It’s just you’ve been acting all weird and I-”

“-how could you even say that you’ve been perfect a evening if anything-”

“-and I don't know if it’s me or the movies or-”

“Mick!” Tina cried and she didn’t much care who heard her now as her hands trailed down Mick’s arms and held her hands.

“Micky?” She asked but Mick wouldn’t look at her, and it didn’t matter if Tina was never hit again in her life or if she was tortured for the rest of it. Nothing could compare to the absence of Mick’s gaze.

“Mick.” Tina pleaded and Mick finally looked at her, a requiem of warmth futtered it’s way out of the box Tina kept locked deep inside her chest and Tina knew that while it was a shot in the dark, humanity is nothing without a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

“I-...” the words started to fall and Tina was on a crumbling bride at the end of her tower and she had to decide to be buried or jump and see if she could fly. “I have had the most amazing time with you tonight and I just- I just…”

So Tina chose to spread her wings.

She leaned forward and kissed Mick Morrison, it wasn’t sweet or firework worthy. It was small, it was frail, and it was nothing more than a peck.

“I’m sorry.” Those two little words wobbled out from under Tina’s trembling lip as she pulled back, letting go of Mick’s hands as she stared down at the dirt, tears blurring her vision.

“Tina?” Mick’s voice cracked and Tina looked up at her, squaring her shoulders as much as she wanted to hug herself and be nothing more than a pebbing in the grass. But there wasn’t any more room for that as Mick’s lips captured her own. Kissing Tina so feverishly Tina’s few thoughts were how Hollywood could never do this right.

Tina’s hands started to tangle in Mick’s hair as she was pressed up against the wall of the bathroom behind her, Mick’s hands on her waist and trailing down to her hips. Tina only had a moment to suck in a sharp breath of air before Mick’s lips were upon hers again, sloppy and missing their mark on multiple occasions as her strong hands roamed cluelessly along Tina’s body before they found their way farther down than both of them had expected and Tina let out a yelp of surprise.

They both froze, Mick’s hand on her ass and Tina’s eyes wide and looking into hers before Mick stumped back, hands up by her head like Tina was ready to shoot.

“I’m so sorry I-I just that was- I hadn’t meant to,”

"Please don't stop." Tina whispered into the nook of Mick's neck and Tina felt her hand lift and her fingers gently cradles her chin as Mick tilted her head up to face her. Tears glittering in the corners of her eyes and Tina kissed her softly.

It was so at first but turned feverish as Mick returned the gesture, Tina warped her arms around Mick's neck as Mick's hand flew up her waist, taking the bottom of her shirt up with it and Tina closed her eyes and enjoyed what felt like the first and last kiss of forever.

She held onto the memory, cherishing it like something precious(which it was). She pulled closer, her hand tangled in Mick's hair as she sucked in a breath and continued the kiss. Letting soft noises slip into the night as Mick's hands roamed in places Tina only imagined she would in her dearest fantasies. Embracing her like an addiction and craving for her lips, her taste, like a song.

[smileymoth]

Some random numbers for the oc's asks (answer with whoever you want)

5, 19, 27

FRANNYYYY thank you <3 i'll answer with college au etho and joel since i started to think about them for some reason rn because i kind of have a coherent storyline brewing (not really) and they're literally just my ocs at this point. i've hurt etho too much for him to be not an oc

note added later: FUCK IT GET BEAMED !!!!!! IM ADDING CLEO AND BDUBS BC I CAN!!!!

context: joel and etho are roommates, cleo and bdubs live together but arent dating . joel and bdubs are in architecture, etho is in comp. sci and cleo is a textile/fashion student in another school entirely.

5. how do they typically dress? does their wardrobe lean more towards practicality or aesthetics?

Etho: she's more practical than anything. I don't think he has shopped for new clothes in like, 2 years tho, if it fits it's whatever, if it doesn't have a hole its whatever... obvs she wears mostly black/white/greens/greys, maybe the occasional dark blue? i think he would benefit from some pink clothing. maybe Cleo can provide those. Cleo would absolutely give him some of her old clothing and tailor it to fit him or sth. like florals and stuff. <3 cute! I do want to say Etho dresses like a reject emo kid but without the band shirts since he feels insecure about wearing graphic things since he feels like it brings attention to him. :3 also BLACK RIPPED SKINNY JEANS are a given. also fuckass cargo shorts

Joel: imagine 2014 grunge tumblr. Purely Aesthetic. would wear an extra belt if he could be bothered. he probably has about 10 plaids. He LOVES green accents. He absolutely owns a pair of knock off Tripp Pants. I think he thrifts mostly. Probably stole from his fathers closet too. Too many band tshirts. 50% of them he's never listened to. But they look cool. He probably hates Guns n Roses but wears the Tee anyway bc it looks cool. Absolutely a recovering scene+emo (scenemo?) kid who is never recovering. Mostly wears sweats around the house, sometimes will just walk around in his underwear. Etho doesn't like it because he gets flustered but gets used to it after the first semester of living together.

Cleo: She's a textile student/tailor so she sows most of her clothes herself. She likes crop tops and blazers and flowy skirts with floral patterns. Most of her clothes are made with comfort AND aesthetic in mind since, yknow, she does make them herself so she can choose both. Honestly I feel like she would learn more toward earthy colours, not so much black, I'd say maybe more of the ''kinderwhore'' aesthetic??? Grungey??? Maybe??? Oh and you KNOW she's dressing herself in velvet for special occasions. She doesn't wear too many accessories, just a good pair of earrings and simple necklace. Maybe a choker.

Bdubs: bro has no style he's just out there in messy wrinkly clothing that he found from the ground he does NOT care at all. Somehow even Etho is more put together than he is. I think the most noticable item from his wardrobe is the pink hoodie bc obvs he has a pink hoodie. duhh. Yeah he just doesn't care.

19. are they quick to anger? what sets them off?

Etho: i don't think he can get angry really, more annoyed or irritated out of anxiety ......... mostly if plans change or someone forces him to do something he will get a bit nasty.

Joel: you can piss this guy off with nearly everything. You can place the mug 1 inch too close to the edge of the desk and he will shout. <3 He has issues. I love him. He knows exactly which buttons to press to hurt the other person if he wants it to hurt. He doesn't even necessarily have to mean it. He's just awful

Cleo: she doesn't get angry too quickly, but they will get annoyed fairly quick. If you're argumentative they will Not like you. cough joel cough. she will snark her way out of getting angry tho, the other person usually stops beforehand

Bdubs: He gets angry and calms down in the matter of like 30 seconds so it's whatever. He mostly plays it up to be annoying and dramatic. <3

27. if applicable, do they have a favorite sport? do they play any sports or prefer to watch?

Etho: I think he hated PE way too much because he was a weak boy, he doesn't seek out to watch sports but he Will watch football with Joel. Like I can't for the life of me imagine that thing enjoying any sports. Maybe hiking but he's gona die from iron deficiency dizziness LOL . he can't do skating because his balance and feet suck, cant skii because he sucks, he cant run so he sucks at football and basketball and hockey, basically he sucks and hes gonna die . the only sport he can do is . uh . like. tennis. yeah. sulgpall :thumbsup:

Joel: Bro loves football. he probably still plays it even in college. loves watching it too. forces Etho to watch it. He's got mega calves from playing lmao. he's a pretty fast runner. and he's short so. lol

Cleo: doesn't care for sports but she doesn't mind playing volleyball and tennis <3 she WOULD however go skating each winter when the rinks open !!!!

Bdubs: played basketball in middle+high school, will watch it (and football) on tv but he's not exactly the most enthusiastic sports fan. i think he would go to the gym for funzies tho. :) perhaps he can take cleo with him too and they both do weights or sth

I DONT KNOW SHIT ABOUT SPORT WHRUSDFUG im so bad at it so i dont care

this got so long goodriddens

[faceachefics]

Nancy Downs, Bonnie Harper, and Tiffany Valentine w/ a Demon S/O

This imagine is brought to you by Anon: 

Hiii could i request a witches x reader hc for their witch s/o being a demon 👀 kind of like Jennifer check vibes with nancy downs, tiffany valentine, bonnie? (The craft if you write for her)

I decided to take a few artistic liberties by combining Jennifer Check’s abilities and personality with my own understanding and interpretation of demons. Hope you enjoy <3

Nancy Downs

“Oh my god... it actually worked!”

The three witches sat in a triangle, around the spacious circle with your sigil inside it

Nancy is the first one who gets to see you. Rochelle and Bonnie can feel your energy, but they can’t see nor hear you. They have to watch their friend look up at and talk to basically nothing the whole time

She asks you to make her powerful and you’re like “fuck no″. The mood entirely changes from there

It’s very difficult to take her seriously when she’s clearly a novice. This was apparently her first time summoning, and she didn’t even know that you’re not one of those demons who give out powers like free candy

“So is there anything else you want? ‘Cause I have shit to do”

Nancy was dumbfounded by your attitude. She had no idea how to react. Before she could even say anything else, you disappeared into your home realm

Bonnie and Rochelle insisted that they just find someone else, but Nancy was persistent in getting something from you

Same shit, different day. You begrudgingly made a deal with her: you would tell her everything she wants to know about witchcraft, and she would give you your desired offerings

After that, the coven would regularly hold summoning rituals for you. Nancy, for a short while, would act as a middle-man for communication between you and the other two girls. They all would be able to hear you after a few evocations

She gets more curious about you as a non-human entity. She’ll ask you about your past. “Were you born like this?” “Have you killed anyone?” “What’s the freakiest thing you ever saw?” If you decide to answer your questions, she’ll lean closer to you and listen very intently

Because you’re a demon, you have a ‘human’ form you present to those who summon you, and the true inhuman form you remain in the rest of the time, mainly when you’re in your home realm. Nancy thinks your main form is very cool, or “sick” as she puts it. Since then, you alternate between appearances around her

Now listen, neither of you are romance people in this case. You’re gonna be kinda grossed out by your feelings for each other for the same reason: it makes you feel weak

If both of you can manage to get past vomiting out the words “I love you”, the relationship will get better from there

You’ll wear her clothes sometimes. If there’s anything that girl’s got going on, it’s her wardrobe. She’s caught you once or twice

“Hey! Is that my shirt?”

“Yeah, and it’s cute. What about it?”

She gets really flustered when you do that

Nancy once asked you to follow her to the metaphysical shop and stuff a bunch of things in her pockets since you’re invisible to most humans. Unfortunately, the clerk was, in fact, able to see you

Being a witness to some of your powers makes her want to be a devil like you. She’s asked you a few times if you could turn her into one Whether or not you could, your answer always ended the same: “Enjoy your short human life while you still have it. As awesome as I am, your time as a demon can really fuckin suck. Ask me again in like 30 years”

You two still aren’t very lovey-dovey, but you show your care for each other in subtle ways. Nancy avoids wearing silver around you. That narrows her accessories to a select few items, but if it’s to prevent you from getting hurt, she’ll deal with it. Before she performs her spells, you make sure she takes proper precautions (i.e. protection jars, warding, making a circle)

It’s an odd relationship between similar individuals from very different worlds, but it’s a fun and happy one -- happier than you like to admit

Bonnie Harper

You presented yourself to her first. She was the only one who could see and hear you, which made Nancy and Rochelle (especially Nancy) jealous

Before they were able to see you, she went on and on about how pretty you were

After the first few interactions, a co-dependent relationship between you and Bonnie forms. She has a tendency to confide in you a LOT. But you’re a demon, dammit, not a therapist!!

But because you pity her, you still give her advice whenever you can, but made it clear that you were not to repeat yourself

Your attitude is less “I can fix her 🥺” and more “Fine, I’ll fix her 🙄”

You get a little offended when she calls herself a monster and voices her fear of you leaving because of that. Throughout your lifespan, you had seen horrors beyond any human’s comprehension; and she actually thinks you’d abandon her for some childhood burn marks? You were having none of that

“I will only say this once, so listen: Your scars are a symbol that you went through hell and survived it. Whoever that loves or respects you less after seeing them is a pussy. Now you’re not gonna insult me by continuing to talk down to yourself like that, right?”

Those words stuck with her, and whenever she sees her burn marks, she thinks about what you said

To further prove your point, you’re in your true form a lot more when you were around her. Over time, she realizes she still loves you, even when you look like a literal monster. After that, she’s more careful with how she talks about herself

While you’re trying to help her out, you also have your own inner conflict going on. These mushy, gross human feelings are starting to get to you. You were actually starting to... to... care about her 🤢

She made you both matching bracelets out of embroidery floss and a few tiny charms. If this were anyone else, they’d be on your shit list. But since it was Bonnie’s genuine attempt to show appreciation for you, you were like “Ugh fine I’ll never take it off and cherish it for eternity I guess”

Even with how nonchalant you tried to be, she could tell you actually meant it

Bonnie likes to touch you. She’s a very touch deprived person, so physical affection is very important to her. Your body temperature’s a little higher than the average human’s, which is very comforting for her. She leans onto you when she’s cold, and sometimes she asks you to lie with her at night until she falls asleep. 

Your touch also reminds her that you’re real. It’s rare for anyone to acknowledge her existence. As mean as you can be sometimes, you still treat her like she’s important, and someone deserving of intimacy. The fact that a demon makes her feel like a human being is something she struggles to believe sometimes

During some of your late night conversations, she would ask you about the afterlife. If there was one, what it looked like, if you lived there, etc. One question that stood out among the rest:

“When I die, would I still be able to see you again?”

Much to her dismay, you couldn’t give her a straight answer. What happens to human spirits after they leave their bodies isn’t up to you. But that doesn’t stop her from hoping she can be with you forever, even after death

Tiffany Valentine

She summoned you with the purpose of helping her find this guy named “Chucky”. Her offerings consist of wine and fresh corpses for you to feast on. As a demon, nothing quite shocks you these days, but a human willingly sacrifice another for you isn’t something you encounter often, if at all

《NSFW mention ahead》

"Well aren’t you a looker.”

She took quite the liking to you right away. Her eyes were solely on you when you spoke. This is no surprise, considering her type is people who practically wear “DANGER” signs with big, red flashing lights wherever they go

When you ask Tiffany about her long lost lover, she only talks about the ‘good’ parts of their relationship, which sounded to be few and far between. Before she says anything bad about him, she stops herself and gets quiet every time. You have to press her on the topic if you want all the details

Once the full story is presented to you, you couldn’t believe what you were hearing. She spent 5 years looking for some git who never gave her appreciation nor respect? Was she fucking for real? 

And he wasn’t even that cute :/

Your dynamic is a role reversal from all of Tiff’s other interactions. She normally gets herself stuck with guys who try (and fail) to impress her. But in this case, she’s the one trying to impress you

Speaking of role reversal, you’re the one doing the seducing. While she eagerly reciprocates, you started the sweet talk and lingering touches. If we’re being honest here, you’re really hoping to make her fall for you and forget about her shitty excuse of a partner

Listen, she’s pretty hot and she deserves better, so it’s justified

She flirts with you a LOT. Because your sensibility is unlike that of a human’s, she really doesn’t hold back

“I wonder what your anatomy’s like below the belt~”

“Wanna find out?”

You admire her boldness, and enjoy the affection she gives you

And yes, you do end up falling for her, too. Normally that wouldn’t sit well at all, but Tiff’s constant raving about romance had affected the way you view it. Romance is a vulnerable thing -- that much is true, but the fact that it had led a couple to kill for one another means it can simultaneously be one of the most powerful emotions someone can have

At some point, you both have to acknowledge the feelings you have for each other. However, that doesn’t take care of the one thing you were tasked to do. While Tiff loves you, she still wants to find Chucky. At this point, she feels she’s in to deep because of how many years she sank into this case. Where do you go from here? Well there’s two options:

If you commit to helping her find her beloved ‘boyfriend’, there’s gonna be some adjustments that both you and Charles have to make. You two will butt heads quite frequently, especially on how he treats Tiffany. When they argue with each other, she’ll quote you on one of the many things you’ve told her about companionship. Unfortunately for him, since he can’t kill you, he’d have to cave to the pressure eventually

If you convince her that she deserves better than Chucky, she’ll ditch the search, and you’ll be her new partner in crime. As a sign of trust, you’ll bite her, which will grant her some of your abilities. From that point forward, you and Tiff would be partners in crime for as long as you’re together

Either way you choose, Tiffany loves you dearly, and you will always have each other’s backs. That love won’t be taken for granted ever again

[ramp-it-up]

Scene Stealer

Pairing: Rafael Casal x Reader

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings: Minors DNI, a little angst, some language, a smidge of jealousy, but mostly just fluff! No smut! 😃 All errors my own.

A/N: This an ask from @wreakhavoconmacroissantdiggs for the Show Runner AU.  I really love these two. Hope you enjoy, Loves! 💚

Read the previous part, Sundancer .

Hi lovely! Idk if your still doing requests right now? If you are can I have a fluffy/soft-ish moment between Rafa and reader? In the Showrunner AU and reader is actively filming a scene and Rafa's being difficult, lol

Your relationship was the talk of the town, especially since you accompanied Rafael on the red carpet of his latest win; it also happened to be your first nomination.

Ever since you went public, you were content with being ‘partners.’ You, especially, said there was no need for anything more. You didn’t want to tie Rafael to you, because you didn’t own him. 

Art was the most important thing, not a conflict diamond and a piece of paper.

Rafael quickly agreed. After all, it had been his manifesto. You two had a perfect understanding. Until you got this role. 

This gig required you to dance, and you hadn’t used your classical training in a while. You were nervous as hell.

“Who does music videos with this big a budget any more?”

You just rolled your eyes as Rafa as he delivered the shade. He would never outright say that he didn’t want you to do it; he always supported you, but you could tell it bothered him.

There was a slight tension in the air in the days leading up to filming, but you both pretended nothing was up. You were busy with rehearsal, so you brushed the thoughts of this shift in your relationship aside.

Maybe he was a little tight because you told him that the singer could definitely get it during a cast party before you two were a thing. Except in Rafael’s mind. 

Rafa had taken mental notes on everything about you, and this one he didn’t forget. But, he loved you, and he was going to ride for you.  Right?

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

On the day of the shoot, Rafa pulled up to the studio at about 1:30. He agreed to meet you there when you invited him for moral support.  You’d been there since 11 am.

He shook his head to himself as he was shown to your dressing room, lamenting the fact that he didn’t bring Diggs, because he would be the one needing moral support today.

Rafael knocked on the door and heard you say, "Come in!"

He walked in and saw you in a big, poofy, but short wedding dress. A more elaborate ballet tutu, but still definitely a wedding dress. Rafael was thrown for a loop, so he just stood there, taking you in.  He felt like he was breaking a rule, looking at you in this dress.

You looked absolutely amazing.

The make up artist was working on you, but you turned around and grinned when you saw him in the mirror.

Rafa felt like he needed to sit down. 

"What do you think?"

Rafael actually couldn't think. He looked down and noticed that you had your pointe shoes on. They matched your skin tone perfectly and extended your lovely legs. 

He began to feel warm, a heat which began in his chest and radiated throughout his entire torso. But he was a thug.  He tried to express it.

"You look beautiful...." 

His throat was dry. What the fuck was wrong with him?

To you, Rafa looked a bit like a fish, his mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out.

"What?" You cocked your head at him.

Rafa recovered and moved toward you. ‘Keep your cool,’ he thought.

You  shrugged at him, turned back around to the mirror, and continued. 

"I would never actually wear anything like this. It's too poofy and big. Too princess-y. Not my style." You grimaced.

"You look beautiful." It finally came out.

Rafael smiled, feeling an overwhelming desire to kiss you. The makeup artist exited and Rafa was left staring at you in the mirror again. You were a vision. 

He cleared his throat, deciding to lighten the mood.

"Can I climb under that dress and do what I want to do?"

You threw your head back and laughed. Once again, Rafael was caught in your spell.

"I'm working babe, but we can arrange something later..."

‘Whatever you say, my love,’ Rafael thought. 

But what he said was, "Cool."

--------

When filming started, Rafael stood out of the way behind the camera to watch. It was a church scene and apparently what you had to do was dance down the aisle to the altar for the wedding scene.

You were lowkey checking for Rafa, and everytime you looked over, he was glowering at you, the set up, or back seat directing. You could read him like a book, and he was not amused or positive about this.

That only made you more tense and out of the zone. You began to regret inviting him.  What was his problem? Was he jealous? He was being an ass, and you were going to tell him about himself later.

You ignored him as you stretched to get ready for another take. You were not going to let him ruin this for you.

---------

Rafael saw you and melted. He watched, mesmerized, as you danced toward the star of the video. Rafael’s heart clenched when you reached them and kissed them lightly on the lips. 

It happened at least six times for the different takes and angles, and Rafa had visions of dragging you away from there, but he remained calm.

Rafael had no idea that his emotions were so loud. All pretense, all acting skills, all professionalism went out of the window the moment he saw you in that wedding dress.  

He just did not think this production was up to the standard of you. And he caught on to the interactions between you and the star of the video between takes. It was not cool

You  ran through a couple more takes and finally it was time for the last scene, the love scene.

You were whisked back into your dressing room for a wardrobe change. Rafa paced up and down in the hallway to calm himself down. After a few minutes he thought it worked.

Until you came back out.

You were in the sexiest black nightgown he'd ever seen. And those heels. You looked hot as fuck. But when he looked into your eyes, it was clear that you were terrified. 

"Rafa, I don't think I can do this. I'm not feeling it…” Nerves were getting to you. 

“They are sooo not like I thought they were. They're kind of…. There’s no chemistry. And I’m a hack actor if I can’t do this…”  You bowed your head, ashamed.

Rafa hooked his fingers under your chin and brought your head up. He looked at you sternly. He was angry. But not at you.

“Energy up. Expectations down.” 

You tried to respond with a brave smile, but you were really about to burst into tears. Rafael grabbed your hand and pulled you back into your dressing room. He made sure to lock the door.

You thought you knew what he wanted.

“Rafa, we don’t have time for that, I…”

“C’mere.”  

Rafael hushed you and grabbed your hand, pulling you into his embrace. His large hand was on your lower back, and he held your other to his chest, beginning a slow dance to music only he could hear.  

You looked up at him quizzically and raised your eyebrow.

“Rafa, what…”

“I know that we talked about not seeing the need for marriage in this crazy world, and that we are married to our art, but take a little mind excursion with me…”

You fell into rhythm with him as he began to whisper-sing “Hideaway.” 

…See you’ve had the wrong plan

been sipping the wrong wine

Ay ay… let me put you on my vibe.

“Imagine we’re dancing at our wedding…”

You snapped your head up and looked in his emerald eyes. They twinkled down at you.

“I said, ‘imagine.’ This is just an exercise.”

“I would write a new song just for you and sing it while we’re dancing and get you wet for me but make you wait until after we party all night with our friends to get some.”

He smiled down at you and you were with it, getting into the fantasy. You swayed with him a little longer and smiled back up at him. Rafael’s stomach flipped.

So of course he twirled you away from him and back into his arms. His hand moved down your back to your ass.

“Seeing you in this would be the perfect wedding present. Imagine me waiting on you, not wanting to wait any more to touch you, taste you. Make you a mama.”

You stopped and stared at Rafael.

“….That’s quite the imagination you have there…”

Rafa stared back at you. “I am a creator. I create wild musings.” He turned you around to face the mirror. 

“Use it.” 

He put his hands in your satin covered hips. 

“Pretend you’re a woman who would want that. Marriage. A husband who would cherish you and try to make you happy.” 

Rafael bent down to hug you from behind, pressing his cheek aside yours.

You gazed at your reflections in the mirror. In that moment at least, you were that woman.

Rafael kissed your neck. You closed your eyes and you felt it before you opened them, but when you did, he had stepped away.

“Now go out there and pretend that person is what that woman wants.” Rafael looked at you in that way one more time before he cleared his throat and looked down.

You straightened up and walked toward the door. 

“Thanks for the fantasy, Cash.” You looked back at him.

Rafa winked at you. “Anytime.”

——-

Three hours later, after you’d killed the scene and production had wrapped, Rafa waited for you in the parking lot, smoking and dialing Diggs on the phone.

“Whattup. D. I need you to talk me out of buying a rock.”

--------

Tag List:

@braidedchallah @theatrenerd86 @sebastianabucknettastan @imatyoursurrvicesurr @riiyy @lonelydance @jbrizzywrites @honeysucklechocolatedrippin @anh1020 @sillyteecup @ohsoverykeri @theselilwonders @biafbunny @summerofsnowflakes @honeysucklechocolatedrippin @wreakhavoconmacroissantdiggs @janthonybitch

[moonbeamoclock]

OUR wardrobe (modern!mikasa x fem!reader)

a/n: I have a headcannon that Mikasa’s goth style consists of an insane amount of baggy clothing (slightly because of her tramatic childhood). also, please send me ideas because i have no fucking idea what to write i pulled this out of my ass. 

word count: 960

warnings:language, sex talk, fluff

1.The first time Y/n stole Mikasa’s clothes she was stirred awake by the feeling of being alone in her bed. Groggily rolling over to examine the room searching for her girlfriend who was supposed to be cuddling her back to sleep. She reached for her phone and squinted at the time. 7:30 AM, it read. She sighed and set her phone back down moving to lay on her back. 

Her body felt cold despite being all wrapped up in the blankets, desperately wishing Mikasa was beside her to warm her up the way only she could. 

She tried to suck it up and go back to sleep but the cold seemed to seep into her muscles making it impossible for her to relax. 

Pouting, she flung the comforter off of her legs and planted her feet on the floor, hissing at the feeling of the cool wood against her skin. She got up and went to the bathroom, tiredly resting her eyes as she did her business. 

Walking back into her bedroom said eyes caught on Mikasa’s oversized black hoodie hanging off the back of the desk chair. It was almost as if she was drawn to the piece of cloth, walking towards it in a haze. 

She picked it up and held it to her nose, taking inhale and savoring the scent that was so purely hers. 

She let it slip over her shoulder, relishing in the overwhelming warmth that surrounded her. The coziness that wrapped around her had her feeling sleepy all over again. She had barely made it to the bed before she was dozing off. 

A little while later, Mikasa came in the door, sweating slightly, trying to be as quiet as possible as not to disturb Y/n. 

She walked into the bedroom silently gathering her things so she could shower when she noticed her sweatshirt was gone. She peered around the room, and when her line of sight finally landed on her girlfriend’s body she saw her all wrapped up in the sweatshirt she was looking for. With a small smile, she shook her head and chose a different shirt to wear, leaning over Y/n to place a small kiss on her head. 

2. Y/n was frantically getting ready for Sasha’s Birthday party. She had procrastinated too much and was trying to piece together an outfit last minute. Mikasa was sat on the edge of the bed, already dressed and ready to go patiently watching as her girlfriend scrambles to find something to wear. Looking at her watch, she stood up and walked over to her side of the closet, and pulled out a leather jacket. She passed it to Y/n silently and smirked at her confused face.

“Wear it over top of that band t-shirt and those jeans.” she requested, going back to her spot on the bed. 

Y/n only hesitated for a moment before she threw the suggested outfit on, checking herself out in the mirror. 

“Oh, wait. This is actually kind of cute! Also, I’m wearing your jacket so everyone will know I’m yours!” she exclaimed excitedly.

“Y/n, you hang all over me anytime we go out in public I doubt anyone will think that we’re not together.” she replied with a roll of her eyes. 

Y/n let a grin spread across her face as she walked over to where she sat. 

“Being clingy is my love language, what can I say?” she teases as she grabbs ahold of her hands and pulls her to her feet. “C’mon lets go! I want to show everyone how cute I look in my girlfriends jacket!”

3. Mikasa had been in and out of classes all day, she was finally doner with her last right in time for dinner. She had texted Y/n earlier and asked her to meet in the cafeteria and was waiting for her at their usual table. As she was scrolling through her phone a flash of (y/h/c) hair appeared out of the corner of her eye, and sure enough there was a very rumpled looking Y/n. Mikasa looked her up and down, taking in her appearance. 

“Hi baby, are those my socks.”

Y/n felt her face get hot as she replied, “Um yeah, I forgot to do my laundry so i had to steal some of yours, sorry.” 

Mikasa smiled softly, “No it’s okay I think it’s cute. But as soon as we get back we’re absolutely doing your laundry.” 

4. “Hey I have a question.” Mikasa spoke as they lay naked in bed together, limbs tangled around each other conentntly.

Y/n turned her head to nose against the skin of her cheek, letting out a tired hum in response. 

“Would you want to wear my ring as sort of a promise ring?” she asked shyly.

A quiet “Sure” was mumbled into her skin before Y/n’s brain actually registered what Mikasa just asked her. She sat up quickly, the blanket falling down to her waist she leaned over her girlfriends face, studying her smoky orbs before starting to tear up.

“Are you proposing to me? Right now, after we just had sex?!” she interrogated.

“Well technically yeah, I guess I am. Are you gonna answer the question?” Mikasa teased trying to lighten the mood. 

Y/n scoffed holding her left hand out to her , “You’re ridiculous. Of course I’ll wear the fucking ring you’re the love of my life.” 

She slid the ring onto her finger holding her hand and kissing her ring finger and then the back of her hand. 

Y/n layed back down and rested her head against Mikasa’s chest letting her heartbeat and the vision of a life with her soulmate, lulling her to sleep.

[beelieveinfandom]

Convo from the 18+ discord about a very silly star wars crossover I wanted to share.

gremgeous the gem pillar Just had a GREAT idea for a star wars crossover Just dipper visiting the star wars universe for whatever reason (multiverse vacation maybe? Idk. Dipper maybe dusted off that old portal in a fit of nostalgia or smth) and palpatine finds him and tries to tempt alcor to his side by offering him power Standard stuff for the sith really Except Well If you offer a demon unspecified power, in what form are they going to take it if not in the one who is offering's soul? Biggest and best tasting power boost there is, really! And then maybe he takes over the empty shell of a body afterwards which may or may not grant him force acess and alcor has a grand old time making a mess out of running the republic (or at least running lose in the senate) This is like... early prequals or pre-preauals era maybe. When palpafucker is still undercover and being all covert and unsuspicious and stuff I call this.... "palpatines penechance for grand speeches and unspecific ominous statements to try and seem all powerful and cool and dramatic fuck him over" Or in shorter terms ... . "There's a demon lose in the senate" And it basically runs like that one john mullaney bit With a side dashing of that one journak 3 thing where bill posesses a guy, messes with a roman army and then makes a guys head explode Also like nobody knows who alcor is or that hes even there bc theres no demons or dream demons in star wars (that i know of) so he gets the run of the place Even moreso than back home in gravity falls bc no one knows magic, its all "force this" and "force that" Dippered probably spends a lot of time nerding out over the different alien species since they dont have those back in his dimension (theyve got aliens but theyre different kinds) and also about the laser swords (just like the one Grunkle Ford made for them all (Ford, Dipper, Mabel, Stan, Soos, Grenda, Candy, Grendas boyfriend, Pacifica, and even waddles and gompers)  back in 2017! Good times, good times.)

swbeeworm oh this sounds like fun

gremgeous the gem pillar Right???

swbeeworm if i was familiar enough with the star wars universe to write anything in it i'd give this a shot

gremgeous the gem pillar right???

swbeeworm like i know star wars?? but i don't know star wars n i have to know something to be confident in writing it

gremgeous the gem pillar Sadly everything i know comes from time travel fixit and semi-salty pro-jedi meta

swbeeworm but just.... the sheer chaotic potential of this...

gremgeous the gem pillar Gosh yes....... Oh its be so good..........

swbeeworm oh mood it would be

gremgeous the gem pillar @Abigor u like star wars too gimme ur thooooughts When ur awake and have them to give

swbeeworm ugh i should. probably not be awake, i have stuff to do tomorrow n i have a headache but this is fun to think about

gremgeous the gem pillar I had another thing thats fun to think abt too Clone wars era, alcors there and everyon thinks hes a brand new sith player b/c gold eyes

swbeeworm just the shenanigans. the bullshittery. the sheer what-le-fuck reactions of everyone from the senate to the jedi to the people ooooooooo

gremgeous the gem pillar YES!!! Exactly.

gremgeous the gem pillar Oooooh jedi can do mind things i wonder what alcor wpuld feel like to them

swbeeworm my first instinctive responses were: 1) constant Screaming and a whirlwind mishmash of colors/concepts/etc that makes everyone who 'looks' too long start bleeding thru the nose/eyes 2) wii music on loop and these are VERY different prompts to have back to back but that's what i got

gremgeous the gem pillar AKDHSGGSHD I LOVE IT Oh what if its both at the same time Ajdhegdhdj what rven is the music like in star wars anyway

swbeeworm the fkin,,,, cantina music

gremgeous the gem pillar Like how would they react when confronted w wii music

swbeeworm is the equivalent i would think

gremgeous the gem pillar Do they even have the same sorts of instruments do they even know what electronic music is

swbeeworm just. that spawned another Thought imagine that the cantina music from That One Scene is the sw-equivalent of the wii music and just.  just imagine that same scene playing but with wii music on loop in the background

gremgeous the gem pillar Gosh "wii music on loop" i love it AODHDHSHSJD

swbeeworm it would probably FIT they have the same vibe

gremgeous the gem pillar Im crying Mits so good

swbeeworm sdjlksdafj i saw a post the other day that was talking abt the music there n how it kept playing on loop n the poster joked that it might have been like,, the john mulaney salt-pepper-diner-story situation which is only tangentially related to this topic but i had to recall it

gremgeous the gem pillar AJSHH i love that Gosh ok i feel like take 1 would fit with the new sith in town scenario And take 2 fits with theres a demon lose in the senate

swbeeworm sfsdkfjh yES

gremgeous the gem pillar But how FUCKING HILARIOUS would it be if in the senate story its the former, and in the oh so serious sith story its the wii music on loop im akdhsjdvsjdhsjbd

swbeeworm ASLDJSLKFJ plEASE take 1: gritty, serious, angst, deadly miscommunications--and fucking wii music on loop take 2: lighthearted, cracky, shenanigans and bullshittery--and fucking bleeding out the eyes if you try n read the guy talk about dissonance

gremgeous the gem pillar "Big scary sith! Look at the yellow eyes! What dastardly plots cpuld he be thinking/partaking in....." [Hard cut to alcor pov/inside alcors head] wii music plays as he stares off into space during a supposedly very important meeting

gremgeous the gem pillar OH I DO LOVE THE DISSONANCE Gsjdgysgsvsjgd wheeze its so good i love it

swbeeworm me tooooo .....for the sith one. would ppl see blue fire n think lightning

gremgeous the gem pillar Theyd probably think its some other secret sith technique

swbeeworm fair enough

gremgeous the gem pillar Everyone thinks one of the other sith lines that was supposedly wiped out had it since this sith deffs aint the line of bane- even the cirrent sith wanna know where alcors popped in from "Lightning was the bane line specialty.... guess where ever this kids guys from fire was theirs"

swbeeworm= adjlsdfkjlfkjf the shenanigans n bullshittery one imagine alcor-as-palpatine just. going incorporeal, still visible but not able to be touched, and the jedi go from "what the fuck is going on"  to "why the fuck is he  a force ghost"

gremgeous the gem pillar AJSGSHSGSHSA

swbeeworm alcor, who'd done it only bc his ~ornate robes~ had got so caught/tangled on something he could only get free by phasing through it: ??????

gremgeous the gem pillar wheeze Alcor: how the fuck did this guy move around in these AJDHSGDH ALCOR NOT KNOWING ABOUT THE SITH- SHOWS UP TO THE SENATE IN THE SITH ROBES

swbeeworm asdlkjsfkjsdfdf

gremgeous the gem pillar CALLS IT A "FASHION STATEMENT" WHEN CALLED OUT ON IT

swbeeworm a fASHION STATEMENT YES alcor: :blobsweats: alcor: what the FUCK is a sith alcor: and why do they have better style than the jedi

gremgeous the gem pillar WHEEZE He doesnt know jack shit abt the jedi or anything hes just vibing!!!!!!

swbeeworm yesssssss

gremgeous the gem pillar AJDGSGGDJS YOU KNOW WHATVWPUKD BE EVEN BETTER ALCOR THINKS THE SITH LOOK IS TACKY AF

swbeeworm alcor: no listen. listen. i picked these space robes out of my space wardrobe because they looked cool, not because i'm part of some. some space cult ljflskdajfslkdfjsd

gremgeous the gem pillar BUT HE STILL THINKS ITS BETTER THAN THE JEDI

swbeeworm that's even better

gremgeous the gem pillar space cult im HOWLING

swbeeworm you KNOW he'd be so excited at being in space this DORK

gremgeous the gem pillar Ph gosh imagine it starts out all dark and serious and angsty and creepy in the whole beginning exchange But as soon as the day after alcor takes up palps role hits it takes a sharp turn into crack terriotry

gremgeous the gem pillar OH HE WOULD

swbeeworm yESSSS

gremgeous the gem pillar Alcor takes one look at dooku and is like "youre the only one aroynd here with any sort of fashion sense" "And its HORRIBLE"

swbeeworm sljflskdjfsd

gremgeous the gem pillar Just roasts him And by extension everyone else too

swbeeworm dooku has NO IDEA what's going on but at this point ""palpatine"" or whatever's taken over him is ten minutes into a rant abt the layers on layers of boring robes jedi wear and at this point he'll take the backhanded compliment about his own style

gremgeous the gem pillar Akehdsjfssksgsjd

swbeeworm just to shut him up

gremgeous the gem pillar AKDHDJDGDJDHD Alco goes on a 30 minute rant on why suits are SO much more professional

swbeeworm snaps "palpatine" into a suit and goes "...except maybe for this guy idk if anything could make him look good"

gremgeous the gem pillar And its more of a backhanded insukt than a backhanded compliment but anything to shut the guy up, right?

swbeeworm how much we roasting palpatine here

gremgeous the gem pillar To a blackened crisp

swbeeworm as it should be

gremgeous the gem pillar Its better than his wrinkly old rasin look anyday

swbeeworm lskjdlsakjfdf agreed

gremgeous the gem pillar Be hard NOT to improve on that honestly But the dude sinks so low i bet hed somehow manage it

swbeeworm --alcor getting fed up w palpatine's body and just. showing up to the senate meetings, full alcor, eyes n his normal face n everything, in palpatine's robes, and when someone rightfully asks him who the hell is he, he just deadpans "i'd think by this point you'd recognize your own chancellor" and just straight insists he's palpatine (and has the knowledge to back it up) every time someone sputters

gremgeous the gem pillar Also i included the bit abt the journal 3 thing bc my saga of alcor repeating bill's patterns, behaviors, and ideas unknowlingly and without awareness that that is what he is doing shall continue >:3c

gremgeous the gem pillar AODHAJDBAKWJHEVEJDJDHSHSHSJWOWKJEHEE I LOVE IT OH HOW I LOVE OT ALSOWHSKJDISOSOAJAIW Oh gosh what if he fuckin

swbeeworm because at this point it's less about blending in and more about trolling the whole senate and being as distracting as possible  because with everyone paying attention to his trolling theyre less likely to notice the bills for clone rights n abolishing slavery n such that he's pushing thru in the background misdirection at its finest

gremgeous the gem pillar I was gonna say a thing abt alcor replacing palps b4 the election and so they did elect alcor to chancelorhoood But it might be funnier if he took him over AFTER abd still says that bit abt recognizing their own chancellor Oh gosh in that secind scenario it would be hilarious if the jedi are all  :blobglare: @alcor except for obi-wan who is all like "i am looking away" bc at least THIS guy (whiever the hell he is) has stopped being such a creep abt anakin

swbeeworm the jedi are sent in to figure out wtf is going on and. they, unfortunately, bewilderingly, confirm that this is the same person as the chancellor who'd been showing up recently??? same wii music/bleeding effect??

swbeeworm alcor, finding appointments with some random jedi kid on palpatine's calendar: wtf why is this creep trying to meet with a kid alone, yeah how about i cancel that

gremgeous the gem pillar AKDJDJD Alcor, looking at palpatibes planner: "every day i am more and more glad that i ate thig guys soul" "Like i knew it was oily but im suprised i havent got an upset stomach from it yet"

swbeeworm sjlskdfjsdf alcor the next day, after finding stuff abt the order 66 chip things, gagging: "i spoke too soon"

gremgeous the gem pillar Obi-wan to the council: hmm? Yes this is totally the chancellor, i know this because of all the previous meetings and close relationship he has had with my padawan which you allowed and helped facillitate- "Palpatine":[has a completley different body type, height, and face. Plus he actually has hair and is maybe even floating a little but its hard to be sure in those black and gold robes- and with a completely different voice] oh, yeah, totally, Im the chancellor and i totally know who this guy and that kid is yup yup yup-

gremgeous the gem pillar [UGLY LAUGHTER] AkdjskkdkdjsysAODJSJEUEIEIIEF

swbeeworm ASDKAFDF "palpatine": [grins with very sharp teeth at a nervous senator] council: "okay that is NOT normal" obi-wan, deadpan: "i'm sorry, it sounds like you're discriminating against non-human beings? that's not very jedi of you now is it"

gremgeous the gem pillar ALDHDJDHD Wait wait no what if its "This is completely normal behavior. I, as a human, know this for certain" "I can do this too, but i dont, because it is impolite, but hes the chancellor he can do whatever he wants"

swbeeworm asldksajflksdfjsdf;jsdf yes yes beautiful

gremgeous the gem pillar Alcor and obi-wan team up to be passive agressive at everyone who allowed palps and anakin to hang out ABOUT them letting an unsupervised minor chill w a suoer duper old guy Shoulda had a chaperone at LEAST Butalso

swbeeworm the other humans on the council: "uh, actually-" obi-wan: [manages to sip tea (which he shouldn't even have access to in a council meeting btw) with an aggressively polite smile and silent Threat] the other humans: "....um."

gremgeous the gem pillar "Thats not very jedi of you now is it" AODHSJSIDHALSVD IM HOWLING I LOVE IT THE SASS wheeze*

swbeeworm i live for obi-wan sass it gives me LIFE

gremgeous the gem pillar SAME oh its so good Love that one post where obj-wan is on tatooine and calls all the force ghosts to view his powperpoint presentation about how letting palps have acess to analin was a bad idea as hed been saying all along-

swbeeworm u need to know i wrote this with the "that's not very plus ultra of you" meme, which is a bnha offshoot of the "that's not very cash money of you" meme, in my head on repeat

gremgeous the gem pillar Ph him terrorizing all the people palpatine had in his pocket...... Ok this is veering into even MORE crack territory but at some poibt alcor replaces, uh, whats the dudes name, palps second in command - mess something-or-other? - with a nightmare Not just ANY nightmare But a DIFFERENT nightmare each day

swbeeworm ASDLSDFKLDJF PLEASE

gremgeous the gem pillar They took it upon themselves to go on rotation They couldn't decide who should go when alcor proposed the idea so its everyone One at a time They dont even look REMOTELY human Or like anything the galaxy has ever known or seen And theres no "secretive supernatural species" excuse for them to fall back on here lmao

swbeeworm random dude: "what is that???" alcor, cheerful: "that's my assistant" rd: "is that--is that supposed to be a sheep?" alcor: "no they're my assistant" nightmare: [sound that, if you ignore the reverb and microphone-screeching and kazoo effects, might be a "baaa"] alcor: [smiles aggressively wider with sharp teeth] rd: [sweats nervously]

gremgeous the gem pillar ALDJDKSIEJEHAJWJWHEI Obi-wan: i am still l :eyes:king away Anakin: oooh, the wool is so soft master. Come feel it! Obi-wan: really? Ooh youre right The council: ....

swbeeworm rd: "okay but this is a DIFFERENT one than yesterday right?? right???" alcor: "i have absolutely no idea what you're talking about :)" obi-wan, still with tea he should not have, this time with space whiskey mixed in: "sir i think you might be seeing things, they are clearly the same individual as yesterday"

gremgeous the gem pillar Mace: ...hrm it is quite soft- The rest of the council: ??? When did he get-

gremgeous the gem pillar AKDJDJDHDHD JUST LYING THROUGH HIS TEETH ALDJDHFJF

swbeeworm obi-wan looking mace dead in the eye and chugging his spiked tea which is more whiskey than tea at this point: "how dare you accuse me of lying.  me, after everything i've done for this council.  i am betrayed.  heartbroken.  never shall trust again.  i am leaving until i recover" -and promptly fucks off on a vacation with anakin

gremgeous the gem pillar The jedi start getting a LOT more missions about busting slave rings and giving aid in the outer rim - plus some more dimplomacy docused ones in regards to solving teeaties instead of putting down rebellions

-alcor shows up on the vacation with zero explanation and obi-wan at this point is like "fuck it why not" -a nightmare takes his place in palpatine's robes in the senate for the week they're gone

gremgeous the gem pillar ALSJSHDJDJSKDHEE Weirdly enough some of the more corrupt senators go missing after that week No one knows what hapoebed to them but the robes the "chancellor" wore that week have some awfully suspicious stains WAIT WAIT WHAT IF ITS NOT A NIGHTMARE WHAT IF ITS GOMPERS alcor didn't even ASK gompers to be there he was planning to not even warn anyone n just vanish but gompers just SHOWED UP the nightmares were the ones who put the robes on him

gremgeous the gem pillar Alcor doesn't even KNOW gomoers is there He gets back after the week and is like "what the heck" The nightmares are pretty proud of themselves for that one

swbeeworm the nightmares, collectively: "this is gonna be HILARIOUS" alcor, halfway across the galaxy, sees a newsfeed of a senate meeting with gompers in the robes in his place, and spits his drink clear across the room

he's only mad because he didn't think of it in the first place

gremgeous the gem pillar wheeze Hes proud of them

swbeeworm he IS

gremgeous the gem pillar Its so HILARIOUS

swbeeworm i pity anyone trying to read this mess later but i hope we at least make them laugh once

gremgeous the gem pillar Same Its such a joy Alcor teaches anakin the secret to mabel juice

swbeeworm oh no

gremgeous the gem pillar Only the children thank him The minders.... not so much

swbeeworm alcor: "okay so what i'm hearing is, the adult jedi have been making Stupid Decisions and not paying as much attention to the kids, as evidenced by them letting that one kid have meetings one on one with the creepy older guy i stopped putting effort into impersonating a month ago. so, clearly what needs to happen is something that forces the adults to pay attention to the kids and start keeping a closer eye on them, but it can't be something that actually hurts the kids because then i'd feel bad" alcor: "...." alcor: :blobamused:

gremgeous the gem pillar akdhdjsgshsjhdsjdjdj

swbeeworm alcor in a totally not suspicious trench coat and sunglasses: "hey. hey, kid. you wanna try some mabel juice?"

gremgeous the gem pillar AKDJDJDJDLFKFIFJIF WHEEZE "With the creepy older guy i stopped putting effort into impersonating a month ago" ALDJDBDJDJDDHDHDJDJDJDJDJDJDJSJDJEJEJE

gremgeous the gem pillar AKSJSHDJDJF

swbeeworm star wars kids: "mr chancellor why are you wearing that" alcor: "because i think it's funny" kids: "it isn't" alcor: "look do you want the juice or not"

gremgeous the gem pillar I LOVE ALL OF THAT LOOK DO YOU WANT THE JUICE OR NOT

swbeeworm i am having WAY too much fun with this ldjsldkfjdsf;

gremgeous the gem pillar "Were not supposed to take drugs from strangersl" "Its not- just take it!"

Hooooh man thats so funny Oh gosh Alcor uses a different time/date system

Than the star wars one

swbeeworm ooooooo yes

gremgeous the gem pillar Nit super sure where im going with this but.... Pretty sure he woukdnt know the star wars one At all Maybe the in-umuverse knockoff calendar maybe Hes wnough of a nerd to have that memorized But the star wars proper one

No, no i dont think he knows that one

swbeeworm nope no chance

gremgeous the gem pillar Omg yes

gremgeous the gem pillar Well its a good thing we have this..... and the mistaken sith version too :blobamused:

WAIT WAIT QAIT FLASH OF INSPIRATION ALCOR GIVING ANAKIN THE STRANGER DANGER PPT

swbeeworm i have 1 scene i can think of that actually almost made my friend cry and i have 1 au scene of a different au of mine where a character who canonically dies and gets brought back to life...doesn't come back (which is extra angst bc this is a Ghost Seeing Fic) and both of these i wrote at like 3-4am

swbeeworm SDFJKSDLFSJf YES :blobamused:

gremgeous the gem pillar Alcor: "you know, i usually save this one for the kids who followed the stranger with the nice candy into the alleyway and end up as sacrifices but I feel like you could benefit from it too"

swbeeworm alcor: "no talking to suspicious ppl" anakin: "except you right?" alcor: "....in any other situation i'd say no but if i say that you're just gonna up and leave (i see that grin thanks very much) so in this one singular personal case it is fine that you trust my very suspicious self"

gremgeous the gem pillar AKSJSJDJJD "My very suspicious self" Aksjdhdd

swbeeworm obi-wan, straight up knocking back shots now: "the man has a point anakin"

gremgeous the gem pillar Haha nice Obi-wan is taking notes Hes also re-inventing alcoholic mabel juice He weaseled the recipie out of the kids

swbeeworm asldfkjsdlkfjd imagine if somehow SIDIOUS CAME BACK and tries to take back over the senate but everyone at this point is used to alcor and one of two things happens: 1) they assume this is alcor messing with them with a clone/double (they don't know how he'd do it but at this point given his "assistants", the goat that somehow made more eloquent speeches than the "human", and the other things involved, they wouldn't put it past him) and just ignore him 2) they look between the real palpatine who'd been pushing thru some very sketchy bills, and between alcor who's been sneaking through law after law protecting all kinds of sentients, and they turn back to palpatine and go "how dare you impersonate the chancellor" and kick him out

swbeeworm at this point he deserves it tbh

gremgeous the gem pillar AKDJDJDHFDJDJDJD Ok i preffer him dead and gone and forgotten in favor of alcor (its what he deserves) but oh those are hilarious

swbeeworm agreed to both counts alsdjalsdk

gremgeous the gem pillar ESPECIALLY if the senate chooses to keep alcor over palps XD Ph man we can work that into him being dead and gone too- alcor starts dispersing the power and the other half of the senate w bail and padme are like "yeah seems legit" along w obi-wan The jedi only put like, a token effort into investigating and are more put out by trying to figure out what happened to the real palpatine and all his past shady dealings than exposing the current "palpatine" for a fake

swbeeworm palpatine: "excuse me?? i am the chancellor of this republic" councilmembers, with the same deadpan as alcor's been pulling on them all year: "sir, i think you're confused. this is the chancellor" [points to alcor, in palpatine's robes from his closet, making no attempt to hide his lack of resemblance to palpatine, with a nightmare at his side wearing a small top hat that proclaims its position as "chancellor's assistant"] palpatine: [screams of frustration]

gremgeous the gem pillar Once they reaize the shift in mission assignments can be attributed to new palp

gremgeous the gem pillar AKDJDJDJSJSJSBEJSJSJSHSJSKS

swbeeworm yesss this

gremgeous the gem pillar I wanna say maul gets the joy and pleasure of offibg palpatine the second time in that version

swbeeworm FINALLY they get a chance to pull one back over on someone, pass along the suffering a little bit

swbeeworm oh definitely

oh shit we've been at this for an hour

gremgeous the gem pillar Maul comes back and offs palps and evrryone is jist like "Maul!!! How?!?" And completley ignore the palpatibe corpse 2.0 Ajdhhd so we have Niiiight book

Also from a tumblr post the phrase "your pal friendpatine" is hilarious and i think yall shoukd enjoy it too As is "SOMEHOW... MAUL RETURNS" Both taken from the same post lol Okokok so switchibg tracks for a bit Revisiting Some groundwork for the mistaken sith version Alcor is there..... because al-v was there first, made friends with the droid army mid clone war, and caled his dad in to help Which puts alcors initial point of contact as the separost foot soldiers

gremgeous the gem pillar No matter what the dominant language alcor has most recently been using OH OH OH ALCOR WITH ACESS TO OTHER UNIVERSE SLANG CONFUSING ALL THE SENATE WITH HIS NONSENSICAL PHRASES AND IDIOMS AND SLANG/PROFANITY LIKE "over the moon" AND "hot belgian waffles" AND "fuck" "Palpatine": [drops paperwork he JUST spent so much time disorganizing (as in putting in a dissaray)] FUCK Senator: .... sir, what is a 'fuck' "Palpatine": ......... im not explaining that to you Or conversley he makes smth up Alcor, upon realizing the most common swear word is "kriff': yeaht hats stupid im not saying that Alcor mercilessly roasting the star wars profanity And how stupid they all sound. This one is great for the al-v and alcor make friend w a droid army and maybe-sorta steal them while massivelt confusing and mystifying everyone along the way, bc why not add a language barrier on top of all the other assumptions and misunderstandings >:D But also at the same time it would make sense for him to have got thw local language in an infodump somewhere along the line (maybe an older version) if its located in a different galaxy but the same universe........... but also what if theyre just suoer far away so he didnt get priority acess...... or even if he traveled back in time ............. [Shrug] idk Mwanwhile inexplicably having the same language is hilarious in the demon lose in the senate ons but also imagine alcor pretending to be palpatine while unable to speak the common tongue lolol I know it wouldnt work (he has to be able to understand palpatine on some level to take MASSIVE advantage of him and eat his soul) but it is hilarious to think abt the shenanigans............ OH GOSH ALCOR TAKING CONTROL OF THE SENAT BUT BEING UNABLE TO R E A D AKDBSKSKJFF Okokok Imagine the basic/english language inexplicably being the same structure w a few different words and concepts...... when spoken And completley different when written down SO ALCOR CAN SPEAK BUT HE CANT READ Meanwhile in mistaken for a sith land alcor either doesnt have any knowledge of the local language or else gets a SUPER OLD AND POSSIBLE DEAD LANGUAGE in an infodump (to help feed the misunderstandings and rumors and future clashes w the sith and the jedi hehhehheh) bc semi-omniscience is not total omniscience and so is not everything and, once again, is not very helpful But ill leave off for tonight on the thought of alcor, lose in the senate, in the seat of the chancellor, lord of all paperwork for the galactic republic....... and able to read NONE of it And barely understands it too (demons are not ones for politics, Brian the Organ Duck and his 200 year sucessful presidency run aside) (his is soemthing of the exception, not the rule.) Meanwhile all those humanitarian aid bills and the like are all being passed by bail and padmes group all over the place bc their strange and inexplicable source of resistance was devoured like, a week ago Not ones to look a gift horse in ths mouth until AFTER they get what they want the group passes a ton of bills without delay - and manages to break up a few monopolies along the way Now im not saying that "palpatine" suddenly acting off and the bills facing a lot less resistance is a noticeable coincidence...... and around the same time he stops asking after anakin ............... but im totally saying they notice it and realize its probably, absolutely, not a coincidence and theyre not going to say anything bc they like this new "palpatine" better. Despite all the other mindbending weirdness and mindfuckery going on there The jedi are only mad abt alcor bc a few of their own started bleeding from the eyes nose and ears when they tried to investigate initially so theyre a little ticked off abt that, which, fair.

Also the blantant lying and lack of trying on alcors part is a little insulting to them as a whole ("does he think we'll really fall for that") and is slightly concerning to them ("who the heck is this, someone is inpersonating the chancellor of the ENTIRE REPUBLIC-" Which is, admittedly, a little concern worthy)  but if the council is honest (or some of the council anyway) with themselves its pretty much the darn best entertainmnt theyve had in a good long while, headaches aside, sot ehyll focus more on the okd palpatines dissapernace and dealings than the new "palpatine" so long as he doesnt start doing anything ACTIVELY damaging to the republic. A little mischief doesnt technically count as harm- and hey theys preffer to find the og chancellor b4 upsetting and potnetially causing the new one to do smth drastic by attsmpting to out him (not that alcor would, its so much funnier to deny everything to their faces while blatantly lying but they dont know that. So caution (and stress) it is)

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Stab Me In The Front Part 4: Captain Asshat.

Intro: Steve’s being an asshat…and Katie isn’t standing for it. Throw in some alcohol and the return of America’s Asshole…and there’s trouble ahead!

Warnings: Bad language. Smut (NSFW, 18+)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: So this brings the KO XO to an end. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little side path. Huge thanks to @angrybirdcr​ for her edits and banners

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

Part 3

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

  “Steve…” Katie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before she removed her glasses and rubbed at her eyes “Why are we even having this debate?”

“Oh, it’s a debate?” He folded his arms. “Here was me thinking you were just point blank refusing to listen to me.”

“Oh I’m listening.” She glared up at him from where she sat behind her desk. “You’re just talking shit.”

“I’m talking shit?” He fumed, blowing a breath through his nostrils. “The guy is an absolute dick, and you just voluntarily invited him to your gala?”

“Yes, because this is about the Charity.” She looked at him. “And like it or not, dick he may be, he gave a substantial donation. It’s only right.”

Steve felt the nerve in his jaw twitch “Right?”

“Yes, right. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”

“Are you forgetting what he said to you?” Steve looked at her.

“No.” She shook her head “I’m simply saying that I don’t care.”

“You don’t care?” His mouth fell open “You don’t care that he basically-”

“No, I don’t.” Katie cut him off firmly “And if I don’t anymore then neither should you.”

“Ok, so despite the fact that he disrespected my wife, and said some pretty disgusting things about you, I should just let that slide?”

“Yes.” Katie said simply, standing up as she turned off her computer screen before she looked at him “Because believe it or not I don’t actually need you to be offended on my behalf Steve. Now either let it go or don’t bother coming.”

“Fine, if that’s the way you feel then maybe I won’t.”

“And you call me a brat!” Katie snorted, as she walked past him towards the door of her office “You’re so full of shit.”

“I’m full of shit?” Steve snorted, and she stopped, turning to face him “You’re the one that is insisting on inviting that ass hole…I mean, even Natasha thinks you’re crazy.”

“Natasha?” Katie frowned, “What’s Natasha got to do with this?”

Steve hesitated and grimaced inwardly as Katie’s face rearranged into a look of understanding and she let out a scoff.

“You spoke to Natasha before me?”

“She asked me what was bothering me so I told her.”

“Damnit Steve!” She shook her head “Why is that you go running to other people about stuff before me? We’re supposed to be married.”

“Oh but it wasn’t an issue when you told her before me about what HYDRA did to you?” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and no sooner had he spoke he saw Katie’s face slip. “Shit, Katie, I-”

“That was a low blow Steve.” She swallowed, shaking her head.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

“Fuck you.” She looked at him, before she turned and walked off.

Steve let out a groan of frustration, looking up at the ceiling as he cursed himself. That really had been unfair, the two issues weren’t even comparable. He hated when he spat out stuff like that, because even when they were in the middle of an argument he loved his wife beyond life itself, and hated seeing her upset or hurt. But damnit, sometimes she just riled him so fucking much. With a deep breath he pinched the bridge of his nose and turned from the office, shutting the door behind him, the automatic lock sealing the room.  He made his way back towards the main common room, finding Sam pouring himself a drink.

“S'up Cap?” he asked, looking at Steve “You look like you lost a fifty and found a ten.”

“Oh, nothing, just had an argument with Katie.” he replied heavily “Said something pretty shitty.”

“Like what?” Sam asked. So Steve told him, and watched as the man raised an eyebrow and shook his head “Yeah, that was pretty fucking low Steve.”

“I’m well aware of that Sam.” he sighed, “Fuck.”

“Maybe you should swerve the Gala.” Sam shrugged “Give her time to cool off. I can’t see her forgiving you for that one so easily.”

“Forgiving him for what?” Natasha asked and Steve groaned, just what he needed.

Before Steve could stop him, Sam filled him in and Natasha looked at him, her face stony.

“Wow.” she shook her head. “What the fuck, Rogers?”

“I know, I know.” he said, holding his hands up.

“Thanks for dragging my name into it.”

“It’s me she’s pissed at, not you. And before you say it, with good reason…”

“I wasn’t gonna say that.” Natasha protested as Steve looked at her sceptically. She looked up at the ceiling “Ok, maybe I was.”

Steve rubbed at the spot between his eyes, he could feel a headache coming on.

“I suggest you go apologise.” Natasha looked at him.

“And pray.” Sam added “Because, damned, she aint gonna let you forget this one in a hurry.”

After thanking them, sarcastically, for their moral support to which Natasha snarked back that he didn’t deserve any, Steve wandered back to their living quarters. He knew his was a big thing for Katie, the night upon which SIP’s 6 monthly Fundraising efforts for the Women’s Charities they were partnered with ended, and he was so fucking proud of her for everything she’d overcome to get to this point. But he had basically thrown that in her face with his comments before. He was being a jerk, he knew that. He shouldn’t have let the fact she was inviting that dickhead rile him as much as it did, it was her event, her decision after all. 

Steve took a deep breath before opening the door to their quarters and looked around, his sharp hearing picking up no sounds. He headed into the bathroom, the shower had clearly been used recently, and he found her absence odd as she’d told him earlier that her hair was getting done for the event, and normally Franco came to her. He pulled out his phone, gave her a quick call but no sooner had it rung than it cut to voicemail. 

She’d red buttoned him.

*****

It was about an hour later when Katie walked into the apartment, her hair set in an elaborate braid which swept from the right side of her temple over to the left before the rest of her long locks were curled and fell over her left shoulder. She shot Steve a filthy looked and stalked straight through to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Steve’s head fell back against the sofa cushions, before he took a deep breath and decided it was time to face the music. He pushed himself up, walked into the room and found his wife sat at her vanity unit, digging out her make-up.

“Sweetheart,” he began tentatively, sitting on the bed “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said what I did.”

She glared at him in the mirror, but other than that made no acknowledgement that she had heard him.

“I was out of order.”

Still nothing.

“Katie, come on darlin’, don’t ignore me, please.“

"I’m ignoring you because if I don’t I’m gonna end up screaming at you.” she replied simply “And I’m not letting you spoil tonight for me.”

“Spoil tonight?” Steve frowned “That’s not what I want.”

“Well, you kinda already did in a fashion.” she shrugged “Now if you don’t mind I need to get ready. And your presence is not required. Either in this room, or the gala.”

Steve felt his face fall at that and he looked at her in the mirror as her green eyes locked on his “You don’t want me to come?”

“No." 

"Ok.” he swallowed, fighting to keep his voice calm. “Then I respect your wishes.”

With that he stood up, and left.

As soon as he had shut the door behind him, Katie let out a sigh, her face falling into her hands as her elbows rest on the vanity unit in front of her.  Steve’s face when she’d told him she didn’t want him at the gala had made her heart ache, he’d looked like a little puppy she had just given a harsh kick to. But she was so angry at him, she didn’t even know where to start. He was being an absolute dick over something that really wasn’t that big an issue, and then his dig about comparing him speaking to Natasha about what had happened to her…well, that was as low a blow as you could possibly get. At the time she’d been upset, angry even…now she was almost just shocked that Captain America had it in him to be so damned nasty.

Wanda had been astounded when she had told her what he had said, giving her that as a reason as to why Franco was going to be doing their hair in her room, not Katie’s apartment. Then, when Natasha had turned up, the Red Head had told Katie she had informed Steve he was out of order, but also that he seemed genuinely contrite as well when he had been talking to her and Sam.

Katie knew he was sorry, she didn’t need Natasha to point out that Steve had said what he had it in the haste of an argument. She knew only too well herself that in the heat of the moment people said things they didn’t really mean. But he wasn’t getting off so easily. He accused her of being a brat often enough and here he was acting like one.

So, with that in mind, she’d told him to stay behind. She knew full well that he would show up anyway after an hour or so of brooding, with another apology which she might be ready to accept at that point. But until then, he could fucking stew a little, think about what he had said some more

Raising her head she looked at herself in the mirror before she set about doing her make-up. It took her about 30 minutes to perfect the look she was going for, a dark smoky eye effect with bright rub red lips, another thing she knew drove Steve wild, before she stood up and grabbed her dress out of the wardrobe. It was a skin tight deep red mermaid style Dolce number, which sat off her shoulders with a small v neckline. She knew she looked good in it, which was why she had bought it in the first place along with a matching tie for Captain Asshat. Once she was in, she struggled with the zip which was at the back and after getting it most of the way up, instead of asking said Asshat for help she decided she would get Wanda or Nat to fix it. She stepped into her trusty gold Jimmy Choos before giving herself the once over. Satisfied with the results, she opened the door and walked down the hallway to the living room.

Steve looked up as Katie strode into the living room and felt his jaw drop. He really shouldn’t be surprised anymore at how stunning she managed to look when she was dolled up, but she still took his breath away every time he saw her. She looked great all the time in his eyes anyway but…damned.

She sauntered past him, without so much as a glance in his direction and he took a deep breath. To comment or not to comment now was the big question. Whatever he did or said he was going to be wrong in her eyes so…

Oh fuck it, in for a penny.

“You look stunning.” His head turned to watch her as she walked passed him heading for the door.

“Thanks.” She said, her tone clipped. But that was more of a response than he had expected. He hesitated for a second, about to offer to walk her down to the Marquee, even though she would likely refuse, but he stopped as he saw the back of her dress wasn’t quite done up.

“Honey, your zip.”

“I know.” She opened the door as he crossed the room towards her. “I can’t quite reach it…”

“Why didn’t you just ask?” He sighed, his hand going to help but she jerked away and spun round.

“I’ll get Wanda or Nat to do it.” She said simply.

“Oh, now you’re just being ridiculous.”

Her eyes flashed dangerously and he knew why. That was the single worst thing he could say to he when she was in this type of mood but he was beyond the point of caring now. She was being ridiculous.

“Look, I know I was out of order, but I’ve apologised. What else do you want me to say?” he asked, looking at her.

“Don’t wait up.” Her voice was steely, and with that she turned and left, closing the door behind her.

He debated for a second if he should go after her, but his own anger won out. Instead he turned round and walked straight to the cabinet they kept their liquor in. Finding what he wanted, a bottle of that Asgardian dynamite stuff Thor had left, he pulled it out, grabbed himself a tumbler and headed back to the couch.

*****

For the next hour or so Katie was too busy to even give Steve a second thought. She welcomed the guests and the limited press that had been invited, Evans and Sam providing her back up checking off the guest list, for which she gratefully thanked them both. She was just at the bar talking to one of the Charity Organisers when she felt a gentle touch on her elbow. She turned and beamed at the man stood in front of her.

“Harlan!” she smiled, as he leant down to gently kiss her cheek “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” he smiled back. “How are you Mrs Rogers?”

“Good, thank you.” she nodded “It’s been busy but definitely worth it.”

“Well the predicted figures look good.” he nodded “You’ve raised a lot of money.”

“Yeah, it’s gone better than I could have ever hoped.” she agreed “I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”

Harlan waved away her comment and looked back over his shoulder. Katie followed his gaze and saw the man that had caused all the trouble between her and Steve, leaning at the bar. He was dressed in a smart, pin striped suit, his hair slicked back and his jaw clean shaven as ever.

“He came then.” she said, and Harlan turned back to her giving a low chuckle.

“Yes, you made quite an impression on him. I’ve never heard of him donating money to a charity before.” he mused

“Probably guilty he behaved like an ass hole.” she said, before she shook her head “Sorry, that was rude.”

“No more than he deserves.” Harlan sighed “The sad thing is, he’s not a bad man underneath it all. I see a lot of myself in him, just wish he would apply himself better to something. I’ve even tried to get him involved in the publishing company but he just isn’t interested. Suppose you can’t polish a turd.”

Katie let out a huge snort of laughter at the phrase tumbling from the old man’s lips and he gave her a large grin from behind his white beard as she shook her head “Now that’s a quote for your next book.”

Harlan chuckled again before Tony appeared by her side with a glass of champagne.

“Mr Stark.” Harlan shook his hand as Tony smiled at him.

“Mr Thrombey, pleasure.” he said, before he turned to Katie “Where’s Spangles?”

“Busy.” she said simply. Tony arched an eyebrow at him and she gave him a look, which he met with one of his own.

“Doing what?”

“Stuff.”

“Wow, yeah, that stuff…it’s…a pain…” Tony said, and Katie gave him a glare before she glanced around and Harlan struck up a chat with Tony about the latest Stark Industries initiative into wind farms. Natasha caught her eye and she excused herself and wandered over but as she was crossing the room, Ransom stepped into her path.

“Mr Drysdale.” she looked at him “No tatty sweater?”

He gave a huff of a laugh “No, I only wear the cable knit on special occasions.”

“Good to know.” she raised an eyebrow.

“So where’s your guard dog?” he asked, looking around.

“If you mean Steve, he’s otherwise engaged.” She said, shrugging “No doubt he’ll be along later.”

“Well in that case can I get you a drink?”

“It’s a free bar.”

“Yes, but I can still get you one.”

“I’m good thanks.” she waved the half full flute in her hand. “Now if you’ll excuse me for a second, I need to speak to someone.”

“Oh, Doll, I thought we left things on better terms.” he sighed, placing his hand over his heart, looking at her. Katie cocked her head to one side, before she flashed him a grin.

“I doubt you’re capable of leaving it on good terms with any girl you cross paths with.”

“Never had any complaints.” he smirked. At that Katie snorted.

“Well you can’t be meeting with the right women.” she said simply, and with that she moved past him, and headed over to Natasha who was beckoning her over.

“Everything ok?” she asked and Natasha nodded.

“Yup.I just got you a surprise.” she smiled.

“A surprise?” Katie frowned.

“Seeing as its a special occasion.” Natasha continued, linking her arm through Katie’s. She led her through to the entrance of the Marquee where a familiar face was stood talking to Evans, Sam and Wanda,

“S'up Nova?” Clint grinned at her as she gave a laugh and threw herself at him.

“What are you doing here?” she spluttered as he released her, stepping back slightly.

“Couldn’t miss your big event.” he smiled “You look great. Where’s Cap?”

“In the dog house.” Nat spoke before Katie could. Katie sighed and shot Natasha a look before she turned back to Clint.

“Don’t wanna talk about it.” she shook her head. “Now, come on, fill me in…how are the kids? Laura?”

She didn’t miss the look that Wanda, Sam and Natasha shared but chose to ignore it as she steered Clint towards the bar for a well overdue catch up.

*****

Steve drained his glass and poured himself another measure. Katie had been gone for just under two hours now and his mood was rapidly growing worse. More so because deep down he knew this was his own stupid fault. Because of his inability to keep his, albeit in his opinion justified, issue about Ransom fucking Drysdale to himself, his wife was now going through probably one of the biggest nights of her life without him there. And what made it worse was that smarmy bastard was there, probably eyeing her up, like he had done at the last gala, making some dickhead comment or other which he would no doubt weasel his way out of by sending another cheque for a ludicrous amount. Steve hated that, people that thought money made everything ok. And what was worse, it seemed to have placated Katie as well. He took a mouthful of his drink, the burn in his throat pleasantly distracting him for a moment, before he stared at the TV.

No, fuck this… this was his wife, his damned compound.

Necking his drink he stood up, the liquor giving him a pleasant buzz, before he strode into the bedroom, stripping off his sweater and jeans before he pulled his suit out of the closet. Slipping his arms into his shirt, he buttoned it up before expertly tying the tie Katie had bought him in a double Windsor, before grabbing his jacket. Once one he straightened his hair, slipped on his shoes he headed out of the door, making his way out of the side of the building, striding over to the marquee which was buzzing with people.

“Oh here he is.” Sam grinned at him “You’re a brave man, Cap.”

“Shut up Sam.” he said, rolling his eyes.

Sam chuckled as Evans raised an eyebrow. “Should I check he’s on the list?” he drawled, his Texan accent thick.

“I think Katie crossed him off.” Sam teased.

“Hilarious.” Steve deadpanned, stepping past them into the Marquee. His eyes quickly roved the crowd and he did a double take as he saw Clint with Natasha and Wanda at the bar. He’d had no idea the archer was coming, but right now he was looking for his wife, the reunion could wait. He continued to scan the Marquee and he spotted her and then felt his jaw clench as he saw she was stood with him. As he watched he saw her say something and she tipped her head back in genuine laughter, and touched his arm before she shook her head, and turned to someone else who had attracted her attention. Giving a nod she looked back to Ransom and he nodded, as she walked away.

“Spangles.” Tony greeted appearing at his side. “What’s going on?”

“Ask your sister.” he said, his voice stony. “I need a fucking drink.”

With that he strode over to the bar. Ordering himself a large scotch he turned to look for Katie again, but there was no sign of her. With a nod of acknowledgment to the guy behind the bar he took his drink and turned to look back over the room. He spotted a few familiar faces from the compound and the tower, nodding towards Pepper as she smiled at him. Tony looked at him again before he turned away, and then his eyes fell on Ransom who was stood with his grandfather. Ransom grinned at him, and Steve simply glared back, before he turned to greet Clint who had now appeared behind him.

“Hey Cap.” Clint smiled, and Steve returned his grin, shaking his hand.

“Hey Clint, didn’t know you were coming.”

“No one did, bar Nat. Thought it would be a nice surprise for Nova.”

“Sure she was thrilled." 

"Am I sensing a little trouble in paradise?” Clint asked, and Steve scoffed.

“You could say that.” He shrugged, before he sighed “I said something before, that was out of order and now she’s giving me the cold shoulder. Told me not to come actually but…”

“But here you are.” Natasha said, leaning on the bar besides him “You’re either dumb, got a death wish…or maybe both.”

“Romanoff, just don’t.” He turned to look at her, and she smirked before ordering herself a martini. “How long has Drysdale been here?”

“Who?” Clint frowned.

“The smarmy looking asshole in the pinstriped suit.” He said, nodding towards him.

“About an hour.” Nat shrugged.”I’m not sure.”

“An hour too long.” Steve muttered, taking a mouthful of his drink.

“Are you seriously that bothered by him?” She turned to look at him. Steve didn’t reply.

“Clearly.” Clint said, “Who is he?”

“Harlan Thrombey’s Grandson.” Natasha explained “Harlan wrote the book that the SIP published and donated all the profits to the Relief Fund.”

“And you don’t like him?”

“They had a little run in Boston…” Nat smirked. “And then at the Launch…”

“It wasn’t a run in.” Steve shook his head “He was absolutely vile to Katie…”

“And she’s over it…” Natasha sighed

Steve didn’t reply, he simply watched Drysdale for a second before he turned his attention to the stage where Tony was now tapping the microphone. The Marquee fell silent and Tony grinned out.

“And once again I find myself the centre of attention.” he grinned, and the room chuckled. “But tonight isn’t about me, for once, yes I know, I know…”

He continued to talk for a few minutes, thanking everyone for coming before he grew serious and took a deep breath.

“As you will all know, the past 6 months Stark Independent Publishers has been working, in partnership with a number of Women’s Charities which are close to all of us in and around Stark Industries, and the Avengers for personal reasons as you will be well aware. We are seconds away from announcing our final fundraising total, so without further ado I’d like to hand you over to my little sister, who’s been the brains behind this from the very start. Kiddo, the stage is all yours.”

As he stepped back the Marquee erupted into applause and Katie walked up the steps to the stage, her face beaming as Tony swept her into a hug. She grinned at him as he kissed her cheek and she headed to the microphone.

“Thanks Tone.” she smiled, “That was short and sweet and actually very to the point, for once.” a few chuckles rang around and Steve simply watched his wife as she started running through what they’d been doing and how they’d been raising money, her passion and enthusiasm shining out of every inch of her body. As he stood still, he felt all the anger eb out of his body and instead it was filled with an overwhelming sense of pride. Katie finished her speech before she stepped back and turned to take an envelope from Happy who bent and kissed her cheek.

“So although I know the sales figures from our book, the rest of this is a surprise to me, as much as it is to you.” she smiled, and then her eyes locked with Steve’s. She gave a little surprised frown, and then her face softened slightly as he smiled at her and she gave him the faintest of smiles back, before she averted her gaze and grinned as Tony let out a loud yell.

“Drumroll please….”

Katie laughed as the tent was filled with the sounds of people banging on things, and stomping their feet. Steve watched as she opened the envelope and pulled out the card. Her eyes widened as she read the total and her mouth dropped open.

“Shit.” she spluttered, and the Marquee chuckled whilst she composed herself. “Sorry but…my God this is…” she swallowed and looked at Tony for a moment before she shook her head “According to this, the donations, sales…we’ve raised over fourteen and a half million.”

“Holy shit!” Steve heard Natasha splutter as his own mouth dropped open, and he joined in the cheering.

“This is amazing, but this also isn’t the end of it. Stark Industries will be doubling this total and all profits from the sales of "The Colour of Revenge” will continue to be donated.” She sniffed slightly and Steve could see she was getting emotional. He set down his glass on the bar and started to make his way over to the stage. "This money will save lives, give women a safe place to go when they’ve no one else to turn to. Thank you, thank you all for your overwhelming generosity. Now, please enjoy the evening and the entertainment and if any of you want to give us any more money, please feel free.”

At that she stepped back and Steve waited for her at the bottom of the stage steps, the applause ringing in his ears. He offered her his arm and she paused for a second.

“Oh come on, sweetheart” He pleaded gently. She allowed him to help her down before she turned to him

“I told you not to come.”

“Honey, this was your big night. I didn’t want you to do this alone.”

“There’s a marquee of people.”

“You know what I mean.” He said gently “I’m sorry, you know I am. Please don’t let’s fight now, I hate it.”

“I don’t want to do this here” she said, her tone soft “Not now Steve.”

"Ok.” he said, leaning down to give her a soft kiss. She didn’t turn away, which he took as encouraging “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you.” she smiled softly, “Now, sorry, but I have to go give an interview but…”

“Sure, come find me when you’re done.”

She nodded, and headed away from him towards someone he didn’t recognise, presumably some journalist. His eyes still on her back as she walked away, he felt slightly buoyed by her seemingly thawing towards him, so with a slight spring in his step he headed back to the bar. He ordered another drink, and had just taken it when a familiar voice drawled at him, and he instantly felt himself bristle.

“She’s one hell of a woman your wife.”

“What do you want Drysdale?” he asked, turning to the man.

“Nothing, I was just paying her a compliment.”

“Well don’t” he glared at the man “And if you value your life, keep your eyes and your damned hands to yourself.”

Ransom let out a snort “What you gonna do, throw me over the bar again?”

"Don’t tempt me.”

“We both know you’re not gonna make a scene here, not with all these people around, because that really would piss your wife off.” he leaned on the bar, looking around. “And then she’d have to send me another coat and a crate of snacks.”

“What are you talking about?” Steve frowned.

“Oh dear, didn’t you know?” Ransom smirked “Yeah, after I sent her the cheque and her knife back, she responded with a very nice coat and a couple of months supply of cookies.”

Steve’s nostrils flared as he looked at Ransom, then over to his wife and back again. “Are you shitting me?”

Ransom shook his head. “And they tasted all the more sweeter coming from her, if you know what I mean.”

“You smug, son of a bitch…” Steve stepped forwards, and a hand settled on his arm.

“Cap.” Sam spoke “Don’t…”

“Yeah Cap...” Ransom drawled, sipping his drink.

Steve shrugged Sam’s hand off his arm and glared at Ransom, the look on the man’s face was infuriating him. “Make one more wise crack I swear to God…”

“I don’t believe it.”

Steve’s head snapped to the side and he saw Katie glaring at him.

“Katie…”

“You just can’t help it can you?” she shook her head. “And I thought you were genuinely sorry.”

“To be fair…” Sam began to defend Steve but she held her hand up.

“I don’t wanna hear it.” she said, shaking her head. “I’m done…”

With that she turned and strode away.

“Oops.” Ransom said simply, picking up his glass. With a final look at Steve, he headed off back towards his grandfather.

“Well played.” Sam said, sarcastically, clapping Steve on the shoulder. Steve took a deep breath before he drained his glass and turned, leaving the tent.

******

It was pushing one in the morning when Katie got back to their living quarters. Steve was sat outside on their patio, the bottle of Asgardian shit on the table in front of him but thanks to his super hearing he knew she’d entered the room. Standing up, grabbing the drink, he moved into the doorway, leaning on it as she shut the door, shoes in her hand. She turned around and stopped when she saw him, eyeing him for a moment, taking in his appearance. His tie was loose, his shirt sleeves rolled up and she could tell from the look in his eyes he was drunk.

“You came back then?” His words were slightly slurred.

“Where else would I go?” She snarked back.

“I dunno, maybe to order Drysdale another coat or some cookies.” He necked the drink that was in his hand before he set the glass down on the dining table that stood in front of him.

“Seriously, that’s…that’s what all that was about?” she shook her head “God you’re an asshat.”

“An asshat.” He mused, pouring himself another measure of drink.

“Yes, an asshat.” she said, swaying a little on the spot. Fuck she was drunk as well, she’d ended up doing shots at the bar with Clint and Evans, never a wise move.

“Well I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment.”

“Oh fuck off Steve.” She sighed, “I’m going to bed.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, and she stopped, turning round.

“What about?”

“Your present to Ransom?”

“Because I didn’t think it was important, it was just a joke.”

“Fucking hilarious.”

“No, you know what is hilarious? This.” She gestured to him, a little unsteadily “You getting all fucking het up about a damned coat and some cookies. Now who’s being ridiculous?”

“I saw you.” He said, “When I first got there, you had your hand on his arm, laughing at him…”

“Oh Jesus Christ Steve!” She groaned. “I was talking to him, he was telling me something about his uncle!”

“You were all over him”

“Do you want me to go and fuck him or something?” Katie asked, “Because if that’s gonna make you happy, just to prove a point.”

“Don’t be fucking stupid.”

“Well shut up then!” She yelled back. “Sometimes I wonder what the hell goes on in your head. I love you, you know I do. I don’t want or need anyone else but at times you irritate the shit out of me.”

“The feeling is mutual, Doll.”

“Good, glad we agree on something.” She shook her head. “I’m going to bed. You carry on drinking yourself into a stupor. And you can sleep in the spare room.”

“Like fuck I am!”

“Fine, I’ll sleep in the spare room then.” she shrugged

“You’re such a fucking brat.”

“Me?” she laughed “I’m the brat? You’ve behaved like a prize prick Steven, and I’m so fucking pissed at you I can’t even…”

With that she turned and headed towards the bedroom.

“Don’t walk away when I’m talking to you.” He followed her.

“Or what?” She spun round, “What you gonna do…”

“Oh Doll, you have no idea how much you’re pushing me tonight.” He hissed, his voice low.

“Really Steve, how many fucking buttons am I pushing? Hmmm?” She leaned against the wall. “Do enlighten me.”

“You know it’s no wonder Ward cheated on you. If you were like this with him then…”

Whack!

Something sharp hit him in the temple and he dropped the glass he was holding, staggering back slightly. He glanced at the floor and saw that she had launched her shoe at him, her aim impeccable as ever. He raised his hand to his forehead, feeling the wet trickle of blood under his finger. It wasn’t a lot, she’d only nicked the skin but it was enough to sober him up slightly, and the words he had just spitefully spat at her echoed in his head.

“Katie…”

“You are the biggest fucking…” She spoke, her chest heaving, “Actually I don’t even have a word to describe what you are right now.”

“You hit me with a shoe.” He said simply.

“Yeah, want me to do it again?” She asked, waving the one that was still in her hand.

“Don’t.” He shook his head.“Look, I’m…”

“Oh save it.” she said, turning and walking into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Steve’s hands fell to his hips, as he looked down at his feet. What the fuck was wrong with him? That was twice today he’d said something so despicable it made his toes curl even thinking about it. He’d been a grade A asshole, and he needed to make this right.

“Katie…” he strode after her, and headed into the bedroom. The en-suite door was shut and he could hear her sobbing in the bathroom. Fuck. “Honey I’m sorry.”

“Piss off.” she sniffled.

“Open the door, please.”

“No…”

“Don’t make me break it down. You know how precious Tony gets about us breaking things”

His joke fell flat as she remained silent. "Sweetheart…”

“Where did you learn to be so spiteful?” She yelled back through the door.

“I don’t know.” with a sigh he leaned against the door “I know, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said any of those things…”

“But you did.” she sobbed, and Steve felt the tears prick his eyes “Why?”

“I was angry, and…” he took a deep breath “I guess I wanted to piss you off as much as you pissed me off.”

“I pissed you off?” she snorted “Steve you came at me before with that comment about fucking HYDRA and now Ward…could you be any more nasty?”

“I know, I know…” he said, “Honey, I’ve no excuse. Please, open the door.”

There was a sniffle on the side and he heard her the swish of her dress as she moved. The lock on the door clicked and it opened a chink. He pushed it further and look at her, her mascara was streaked down her cheeks, her hair was messy from where she had clearly been fisting her hands in it and he instantly felt the pang of guilt and regret in his chest tighten even more. “Oh baby girl…” his voice cracked “I’m so sorry…I really am.”

“How could you even think for one minute that I’d even look at that jerk in that way?”

“I don’t not really” he said, shaking his head. “I’m an ass hole, a jealous ass hole…I just, sometimes I can’t believe…” he stopped, and shook his head “You know what, it doesn’t matter. I was out of order.”

She paused and looked at him, sniffing. “You can’t believe what?”

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter.”

“For fucks sake, Steve!” she spluttered “Stop it!”

“I can’t believe that you, well that you chose me you know?” he sighed, his hand running through his hair “I just…”

“You’re a dick.” she shook her head. “I married you, you ass hole.”

“I know, and I wonder why sometimes.”

“So you’ve been a spiteful bastard because you feel insecure?”

“No, well, partly…” he sighed “Look, seeing you before with him and then he he told me about the box and stuff…I just saw red.”

She looked at him and shook her head “That is not an excuse.”

“I know it isn’t.” he looked at her “I know.”

She looked at him for a moment before she shook her head and walked out of the bathroom, over to her vanity table, sitting down. She pulled out the wipes and began scrubbing at her face, removing her make-up. He sat on the edge of the bed, in the same position he had a few hours ago and simply watched her. Eventually, when she was happy her face was clean she looked up and he saw her eyes travel over his reflection before she frowned.

“You’re bleeding" 

"Well, you’re a damned good shot” he shrugged. “And those heels are sharp.”

She stood up and turned, stepping into the space between his legs.

“Honey it’s…”

“Shut up” she instructed.

Knowing he had pushed his luck already he did as he was told and she gently wipe at the cut on his temple, his hands falling to her hips as she did so. He was pleased to see she didn’t push him away. He watched her intently as she cleaned his face.

“I think you’ll live” she said gently, tossing the wipe into the waste basket. His hands flexed on her hips and she looked at him.

“I really am sorry.” he said again “I love you, so fucking much. At times I just don’t know how to deal with it.”

“By not being a cunt.”

“Wow.” he snorted “Did you just drop the c-bomb?”

“Justified.” she muttered, her hands falling to his shoulders “Damned it Steve!”

“I know, I know.” he said his hands, smoothing down the back of her thighs.

“I love you too, so much it hurts at times.” she shook her head “You know the amount of women that look at you in such a way I know what they’re thinking but…I get over it, you know? Because you married me and…” she let out a deep breath. “You go ballistic whenever I question how you feel about me compared to Peggy and yet you come out with the stuff you said today.”

Steve looked down at the floor, his hands still curved around her legs “I know. My ma would be ashamed.”

Katie took a deep breath before she moved her hand and tilted his face up to look at her. His eyes were shining with tears and she let out a sigh, dropping a kiss to his forehead as her hand slid round the back of his neck, nails dragging over his skin.

“I love you.” she muttered “You big, dumb idiot.”

They stayed silent for a moment and Steve looked up at her, smiling softly.

 "You know you really looked amazing tonight. I’m just sorry I didn’t get chance to appreciate it more.“

"Well…” she took a deep breath. “I know I didn’t let you help me into my dress…but you can help me out of it if you want?”

He raised an eyebrow at her, a smile flickering across his face “ Yeah?” he asked, gracefully rising to his feet.

She nodded, biting her lip. He leaned down to give her a soft kiss before he whispered against her mouth “Turn around.”

She did as she was told and Steve reached for the zip on her dress, sliding it down gently, his fingertips brushing her skin as he did so, allowing the dress to fall at her feet and he let out a soft moan as he glanced down, seeing that she was braless. His hands gently guided hers up so they reached back around his neck, and he swallowed at the sight of her presented to him. One hand moved down, splayed on her stomach, pulling her back into him as the other swept her hair out of the way as his head dipped, trailing kisses across the back of her shoulders, before he made his way up her neck, his teeth softly grazing her ear. She let out a soft sigh, her head tilting to one side as his lips continued caressing her soft skin, the hand that was on her belly started slowly to make its way downwards, sneaking beneath the waistband of her panties. His fingers gently parted her folds, and she gave a little gasp as he began to coax her softly, his other hand reaching up to caress her breasts, gently kneading before he pulled on her hardening nipple. She arched her back into him slightly, a breathy gasp escaping her as he continued to tease her, his mouth hot on her neck.

“Like that?” his own voice was raspy, his arousal evident in his tone and she gave a nod.

“Don’t stop…” she begged, and his fingers began to work faster against her nub, the hand on her breast also picking up the pace slightly.

“You’re so beautiful…” he whispered and she moaned and writhed in delight at his praise and his actions as he worked her over. With a quick flick of his wrist, he pushed two fingers into her and curled them against her spot and her head fell back even further into him as she let out a soft whimper of his name, his hands upping their pace slightly as she began to buck into his touch. She arched her back, her mouth fell open and then her head rolled forward as she came, knees trembling, her hands pulling at his hair. He held her up in his strong arms and whilst she was still in the after throws of bliss he nipped at her neck, drawing a soft groan from her mouth. Steve gently turned her round and lifted her up, placing her gently on the bed, kneeling over her as he discarded his shirt, tie by which point she had recovered slightly and sat up, her hands pulling at his belt buckle.  He leaned down to capture her mouth in a deep kiss, and he grinned against her mouth as she whipped the belt from around his waist, tossing it to the floor before she undid the button on his pants, pushing them down over his hips along with his boxers.  Once he had shimmied out of his remaining clothes, he fell over her again, his hands cupping her face as he kissed her hard, using his leg to part hers. With a sharp thrust that made her cry out, he sank into her, his lips back on hers, as he stilled for a moment, grinding up against her. Her head fell back against the pillow and he started to drive into her, his thrusts hard, deep and he moved his mouth down to kiss and lick and suck all along her shoulders, knowing full well he would leave marks there for the morning but neither of them cared as their moans grew louder as his thrusts grew more desperate.

“Fuck.” he groaned, both hands now on her hips as he continued his movements, looking down at her as her breasts bounced as her body moved with every slam he made into her. Her hands moved from where they had been gripping at his biceps to bracing herself against the headboard, causing her to push back against him, allowing him to push deeper. As her breathing adopted the tell tale staccato rhythm, he moved one hand  to the back of her head and he used it to make her look up, her eyes locking onto his as he felt her body start to quiver.

“Come on doll…” he practically growled “let go for me…”

It wasn’t like she had a choice. She never did when it came to this. Her pupils were blown now with lust and desire and after another 3, 4 hard thrusts her back arched and her hands flew to his back, nails scratching at his skin. He hissed at the bite of pain, dropping his mouth to capture hers as she moaned again, this moan broken as she bucked upwards and clutched at him desperately.

“Stevie…” she moaned and her walls tightened on him as she came hard, and the feel of her tightening and pulsing around him tipped him him ferociously over the edge after her, his hips stuttering as he gave into the wave of pleasure with an incoherent babble of her name, before he tipped forward, falling onto her, his face buried in her neck.

The pair of them lay still, the only sounds in the bedroom now were the deep, ragged drawings of breath. Katie gently ran her hands through his hair, as she always did, relishing his weight on top of her. This was the only way she could ever lift Steve, his body on top of hers rising and falling through the movements of her deep breathing.  Eventually he raised his head and pressed their foreheads together, his nose sliding up and down hers gently.

"I love you.” he whispered “You know that, right?”

“Of course I do.” she sighed, looking at him “But Steve, you really did behave like a jerk.” “I know, and I’m sorry.” he said, his hands moving to brush her hair back. “I really am.” “I know you are.” she said, her hand gently running down the back of his neck, and he closed his eyes slightly, allowing her touch to relax him even further. “I don’t understand why you think I would even want anyone else.” “Well, I guess you can take me out of that little kid that got his ass kicked all over Brooklyn, but you can’t take that little kid out of me.” he sighed, his head hanging slightly as he shook it letting out a deep sigh.

She considered him for a moment before she leaned up and gave him a soft kiss “I love you, Steven Grant Rogers, not Captain America.” “I know Doll.” he nodded “I know.” With a gentle movement he pulled out of her and pushed the covers of the bed down, before he rolled onto his back, as she scooted over to him, her head laying on his chest, one of her legs pushing through his as she snuggled closer. He pulled the duvet over them and reached over to hit the switch which would cut the lights in the room.

“This doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you.” she said softly as his hand carded through her hair, his chest warm against her cheek as it gently rose and fell with his breathing.

“I wouldn’t dream of suggesting it does.” he chuckled slightly kissing her head “I’m not that stupid” “Jury’s out.” she yawned slightly, the arm that was draped around his waist gave him a squeeze and he pulled her closer nuzzling into her hair.

It wasn’t long before he felt her relax and he glanced down, just able to make out in the dim light that her eyes were shut. He watched her face for a moment, the face he could draw from memory, and had done as a matter of fact several times, an let out a deep breath. She was right, he was an ass hole, and at times he knew he didn’t deserve her. But she loved him and wanted him, and damned it he’d try and be worthy of that love and want every damed day for the rest of his life.

“I love you so much doll.” he whispered into her hair.

“Love you to Soldier…” she muttered back, her face pressing further into his chest. With a smile he dropped a kiss on her head, closing his eyes as he felt the tendrils of sleep pulling at him, happy that they were going to be ok, not that he doubted that for a second not, really They’d come through far worse after all, and like his Ma always used to tell him.

Tomorrow is another day after all.

***** Chapter 28

**Original Posting**

[rylandie]

don't remember who i got the questions from but here: stuff about me

1. Name

Callen

2. Nationality

American and Cuban!

3. Age

Minor :)

4. Birthday

August 7

5. Zodiac sign (or your primal zodiac sign)

Leo

6. Gender

Androgynous and genderqueer!

7. Sexuality

pan romantic, aromantic and asexual

8. Your looks (add a picture or describe yourself)

I dont wannna share a picture so i'll just describe myself. I have short brown curly hair, about the length of a bob. big brows eyes and somewhat long lashes. I have tons of freckles that cover my whole body, most common on my face. I have a 'princess nose'

9. What do you/did you study?

I wanna get a major in Business and two minors in literature and sexuality/gender studies.

10. What's your current job like?/What job would you like to have?

I wanna work at a library and/or Starbucks ;-; (but I want good pay)

11. Your birth order

I'm the middle-ish child

12. How many siblings do you have?

1 biological, 3 step.

13. Do you have good relations with your family?

My bio dad I do, but not my step dad and bio mom. Siblings are ehh-

14. How many friends do you have?

A lot of acquaintances, but only a few I consider an actual friend.

15. Your relationship status

lots of platonic crushes

16. What do you look for in a SO?

.. i don't think i want one tbh

17. Do you have a crush?

Nope. but plenty of people are hot

18. When did you have your first kiss?

Haven't kissed anyone yet and thats my biggest flex

19. Do you prefer serious and meaningful relationships or casual dating/one night stands?

QPR (queer platontic relationship)

20. What are your deal breakers?

- not caring enough to give a fuck about me

- breaking my trust

21. How was your day?

okay. I had a bad weekend though bc of my mom

22. Favourite food & drink

Black olives and water

23. What position do you sleep in?

on my side or a mix between side/back

24. What was your last dream about?

a platonic crush

25. Your fears

falling in love, being a disappointment, getting refused, etc

26. Your dreams

writer, singer, play instruments. book writer, activist

27. Your goals

good job and income.

28. Any pets?

2, cat named mickey and dog named phoenix

29. What are your hobbies?

draw, read, write, anime, kdramas. poerty

30. Any cool places in your area?

eh, a forest but im not allowed to go

31. What was your last awkward situation?

yesterday when i left school bc i walked by my platonic crush who i gave a thanks you letter

32. What is your last regret?

hm. not being true to myself and my feelings

33. Language/s you can speak

english, two words in spanish

34. Do you believe in astrological stuff? (Zodiac, tarot, etc.)

kinda but its cool

35. Have any quirks?

no- *cue bnha theme*

36. Your pet peeves

chewing w/ mouth open, very loud and annoying.

37. Ideal vacation

away from my home and florida. somewhere snowy and cold

38. Any scars?

yep, from burns and my cat

39. What does your last text message say?

"im back for real now

40. Last 5 things from your search history

momio and tumblr

41. What's your [device] background?

m nothing

42. What do you daydream about?

cats

43. Describe your dream home

a cottage in the woods or a loft apartment above my bookstore

44. What's your religion/Your thought about religion

im still figuring it out but i was raised christian

45. Your personality type

extroverted introvert. a 2 and 4 in ennegram and a ENFP-T

46. The most dangerous thing you've done

hm idk

47. Are you happy with your current life?

no

48. Some things you've tried in your life

-strange foods

49. What does your wardrobe consist of?

sweaters and baggy jeans

50. Favourite colour to wear?

black or goblin-ly colors

51. How would you describe your style?

goblin and a little alt

52. Are you happy with your current looks?

i wish i could change my hair but yea

53. If you could change/add something to your appearance - impossible or not - what would it be?

hair and piercing

54. Any tattoos or piercings?

no

55. Do you get complimented often?

eh kinda

56. Favourite aesthetic?

voidpunk and goblincore

57. A popular trend that you dislike

-the devious lick shit is stupid

58. Songs you're currently obsessed with?

mitski and tally hall

59. Song you normally wouldn't admit you like.

boyfriend by justin bieber

60. Favourite genre?

indie, punk, folk and ukulele

61. Favourite artist/band/genre?

chloe moriondo, mitski, tally hall

62. Hated popular songs/artists?

pop people ex. ed sheeran

63. Put your music on shuffle and list first 5

hamilton stuff, gay songs, etc

64. Can you sing or play any instruments?

learning ukulele and piano

65. Do you like karaoke?

eh

66. Own any albums?

no :(

67. Do you listen to radio? What stations?

-the basic ones

68. Favourite movie/series?

hungergames and anime

69. Favourite genre of movies/books/etc

fantasy and fiction

70. Your fictional crush/es

dont have any

71. Which fictional character is you?

idk

72. Are you a shipper? List your otps, if so

yeah but too lazy to list them

73. Favourite greek god?

achilles

74. A legend from where you live that you like

i don't know any

75. Do you like art? What's your favourite work or artist?

yep, don't know any

76. Can you share your other social media?

don't have any besides tumblr

77. Favourite youtubers?

drawfee, hannahleeduggan, lavender towne

78. Favourite platform?

tumblr?

79. How much time do you spend on the internet?

eh whenever i want/can

80. What video games have you played? Which one's your favourite?

destiny 1+2, minecraft, metro, shadow of mordor. destiny 2

81. Your favourite books (manga also counts)

to much to count. warriors, wings of fire, a court of thorns and roses.

82. Do you play board/card games?

nothing besides uno

83. Have you ever been to a night marathon in cinema?

nooooo :(

84. Favourite holiday

christmas bc cold

85. Are you into dramas?

-yeah

86. Would you use death note, if you had one?

i'd say i would but wouldn't

87. What changes would you make in the world, no matter how impossible, if you had the power to?

get rid of hate and stereotypes etc

88. Could you survive a zombie apocalypse?

eh prob not

89. If you had to be turned into a paranormal being, what would it be?

a cat?

90. What would you want to happen to you after your death?

be buried with the trees

91. If you had to change your name, what would be your pick?

anything but my birthname

92. Who would you switch your life with for a week?

a androgynous hot person

93. Pick an emoji to be your tattoo

le lenny face

94. Write 3 things about yourself - only one of them must be true

a. i want snakes, cats, and reptiles

b.i have 4 siblings

c. i want to live van life

-

95. Cold or hot?

coldcoldcold

96. Be a hero or be a villain?

hot saxy villian

97. Sing everything you want to say or rhyme?

sing

98. Shapeshifting or controlling time?

shapeshifting

99. Be immortal or be immune to everything aside from natural death?

immortal

100. ..... or .....?

[amphtaminedreams]

The Women of Euphoria and Personal Style: Lookbook no.8

Hi to anyone reading,

I hope you’re well considering everything going on! It feels weird to want to talk about fashion or TV shows or red carpets or whatever when 90% of my Google searches are COVID-19 related but there you go. It’s all about trying to power through as normal (minus the social interaction) and pretend the world isn’t ending, right? Queue nervous laughter.

And as if things aren't shitty enough, production of season 2 of Euphoria has been postponed until further notice. 

Okay, in the grand scheme of things, having to wait a bit longer for a TV show isn’t catastrophic but it does just about sum up the transition from 2019 to 2020 thus far that after HBO redeemed itself by broadcasting Euphoria in the summer following an ending to Game of Thrones that has made the whole series unrewatchable, the glimmer of hope in me reignited by the prospect of series 2 this year has been quickly dashed. 2021, I’m rooting for you, because it doesn’t seem like things are getting better any time soon, and in all seriousness, I think everyone needs a break from the collective suffering of the last few months.

For me (and undoubtedly for many others if the hundreds of makeup looks and styling videos are anything to go by), Euphoria’s effect on the world of fashion and beauty is unprecedented. I really can’t recall a TV show in living memory that has had as much of an impact on the way young people dress. I mean, this might partially be because the style of the characters already kind of caters to and draws from the target audience but also, aside from Blair Waldorf did anybody really give THAT much of a fuck about what anybody in Gossip Girl wore?

The draw of the styling on Euphoria is that it has something for everyone. The style of each of the main girls, Rue, Kat, Maddy, Jules and Cassie, all of whom I’ve attempted (emphasis on attempted!) to base (emphasis on base!) outfits around, is varied and distinctive but still so current and realistic at the same time. It’s also consistent; even if you don’t own the specific pieces worn by any of them, similar shapes and details reoccur enough in different looks throughout the series that it’s not hard to create an outfit which matches your favourite character’s overall vibe without buying anything new. That’s kinda what I have attempted to do here and without further ado, I’m gonna get on with it! First up:

Jules (Played by Hunter Schafer)

When it comes to whose style is the most experimental, Jules is the obvious answer. A lot of her outfits are what I imagine a cartoonist in the near-distant future will envision their cool girl protagonist wearing. Whilst her ensembles are generally whimsical and girly for the most part, there’s usually a few slightly punk-ish finishing touches thrown in there too be it through chunky shoes or bold makeup or that incredible mesh trench coat she wears in the series finale with the trans symbol on the back which, honestly, deserves a moment of silence. 

There are definitely nods to current fashion trends sprinkled throughout her wardrobe too. I'm not going to lie, despite someone at work seemingly thinking it was an insult to tell me I look like someone who does (I still don’t know but this person has a Rick and Morty keyring so I don’t give it too much weight), I’ve never watched any anime. BUT, that being said, given the abundance of anime screenshots posted by all these aesthetic oriented Instagram and Tumblr moodboard accounts, I have a vague idea of what some of the more iconic characters look like and a lot of Jules’ looks seem to be very much modelled after or at least inspired by them. In a way, I see a lot of her looks as a blend between modern “e-girl”, Y2K skater chick (yes, I’m thinking early Avril Lavigne), and 2013 Tumblr “hipster” a la 2014 Joanna Kutcha and Charlie Barker, and though on paper that sounds like a nightmare combination, it works. I know-if that sentence were a Depop description I would’ve just gained 30 followers.

When it comes to my own interpretation of Jules’ style, it’s definitely something I like to channel when I’m putting together a proper OUTFIT outfit. Meaning an outfit I actually put effort into and thus will most likely want to get a good photo in, lol. The way her character dresses is almost quite Christopher Kane in that it’s fresh and unusual but still understated enough that I wouldn’t walk into a room wearing any of these feeling like I’m doing a Rick Owens runway.

I’m not TOO far out of my comfort zone but still at the same time, I’d be trying something new and maybe a little bit more zany than I'm used to. As for noting where any of these pieces are from, only a few have been bought in the last 6 months, but from left to right clockwise I have marked out those that have in case they’re still available (though be wary of the fact that it seems a lot of online clothes stores are still forcing warehouse employees to work in close confines at the moment and so perhaps aren’t operating the most ethically):

LOOK 1

Corset-Jaded London

Shoes-TK Maxx

LOOK 2

Dress-Motel Rocks

Boots-Koi Vegan Footwear

LOOK 3

Dress-Jaded London

LOOK 4

Dress-Jaded London

Beret-Ebay

LOOK 5

Beret-Ebay

LOOK 6

Mesh Top-Depop

Hair Clips-Urban Outfitters

Kat (Played by Barbie Ferreira) 

Eurgh, Kat. 

I LOVE THIS BITCH.

If I had to choose my favourite character in the show, it would be a very close toss-up between her and Rue, and though I think Rue might just about nab the top spot for her relatability factor, Kat is the girl I want to be or wish that I had been when I was at school. I mean, there’s definitely an argument to be made in that a lot of what she’s doing with her cam work could be seen as a means of validation (Sam Levinson has basically said everyone on the show has some kind of an unhealthy coping mechanism and I would guess due to the circumstances in which her cam girl career was borne and the fact she’s underage, this would be hers) but I do think in other ways we really see Kat reclaim her power and recognise herself for the smart, capable, gorgeous woman that she is. Honestly, the definition of divine feminine energy, and I would completely let Barbie Ferreira/basically Kat if she was also actually 23 dominate me.

Plus! Her! Style! Is! The! Bomb! Definitely the easiest character to base looks around because if I’m totally honest Kat’s energy is pretty much just what I want to emulate in every day life. 

It’s either pieces that are typically feminine, cutesy, and even slightly preppy at times drenched in everything grunge OR vice versa where you have something semi-gothic and then add a colourful, more playful touch in there that harks back to the beginning of the series before Kat had began to explore her identity and sexuality and dressed slightly more Forever 21.

I’d say, not yet with my whole chest, that on a good day the outfits I put together when making an effort aren’t too far off something Kat would wear, minus the more overtly BDSM touches; if wearing a ring choker in London is enough to get me a creepy comment from a gross middle aged shopkeeper (because I apparently forfeited my right not to be perved on when I decided to buy a bottle of Oasis summer fruits), then you can only imagine the kind of looks wearing a full-on harness would get in my conservative OAP dominated hometown. Not the most doable right now, especially considering the only time I get out is to work and to go for a run. The chafing I could deal with but the horrified glares of pensioners whose M&S prawn mayo sandwiches I’ve ruined by simply being in their eyesight not so much.

LOOK 1-

Corset-Urban Outfitters

LOOK 2-

Bodysuit-Depop

Skirt-Zara

Harness-Ebay

LOOK 3-

Co-ord-Depop

Lace-up Corset-Missguided

LOOK 4-

Dress-Vintage

LOOK 5-

Belt-Ebay

LOOK 6-

Coat-Topshop

Dress-Jaded London

LOOK 7-

Fishnet Top-Ebay

Skirt-Urban Outfitters

Maddy (Played by Alexa Demie)

Not gonna lie, I was kind of scared to do Maddy. I’m scared to be posting this, lol! Alexa Demie has played this character for a single season and she’s already one of the most iconic women to grace our screens in years. This is a huge undertaking and I don’t have the bank balance or the body confidence (lmao) to raid IAmGia. 

And this is where I want to stress: THESE ARE NOT OUTFIT RECREATIONS. THESE ARE INSPIRED BY. I HAVE ADDED ELEMENTS OF MY OWN STYLE INTO THEM. PLEASE DON’T DRAG ME. I KNOW, I’M NOT ALEXA DEMIE. I WOULD NEVER ASSUME TO BE ALEXA DEMIE. I’M NOT ABOUT TO TAKE THE LORD’S NAME IN VAIN LIKE THAT. So now we’ve got that out the way (wipes bead of sweat off forehead), let’s continue. 

Everything about Maddy Perez is extra. She has very much been established as a centre of attention character, and her outfits are a key part of that. They’re daring, they’re hyper-feminine, and they are always glamorous. We’re told that she competed in beauty pageants when she was younger and it’s clear that level of excess and coordination and glitz and all-round-boujeeness wormed its way into her DNA during that time. Even the “depression” outfit she wears to school following Nate becoming violent at the fair is costume-like, a 2019 Bratz doll Off-White street style collaboration.

Do you know how HARD I had to try to be HOT!? For these photos. Alexa Demie is one of those blessed women who doesn’t have to try at all, and that translates into the character completely. At any given moment, Maddy could add or remove one item or clothing and be let straight into the VIP section of a club, and that, honestly, is inspiring to us all in these dark times. 

One thing I tried to keep in mind is that she always looks polished and coordinated, I.E the kind of look I would prepare for a night out is something Maddy would wear on an average day. Co-ords and delicate prints seem to be more subtle wardrobe staples along with mesh and PVC and glitter and feathers and fur and basically anything that toes the line between expensive looking and tacky. Yes, I am aware we may toe different sides of that line but please let me stay delusional and believe that’s not the case for 5 minutes. Much appreciated xoxo

LOOK 1-

Bodysuit-Jaded London

LOOK 2-

Bralette-Depop

LOOK 3-

Co-ord Suit-Boohoo

Bodysuit-Boohoo

LOOK 4-

Dress-Motel Rocks

Shoes-Schuh

LOOK 5-

Bodysuit-Zaful

Trousers-Depop

Coat-Topshop

LOOK 6-

Dress-Zaful

Belt-Zaful

LOOK 7-

Top-Jaded London

Hair Clips-H&M

Rue (Played by Zendaya Coleman)

I have a complicated relationship with Rue as a character. When I started season 1 of Euphoria, I was like “Oh my god, this girl is the worst. Jesus, she’s so negative and draining and willingly self-destructive and-”

Then, oh my god is this what it’s like to live with me!?

I will say, to my own credit, that I don’t think I've ever been quite as hard to deal with as Rue (a lot less smashing stuff up and a lot more moping), and to HER credit, by the end of the season we come to realise she’s been through a fucking lot and so it makes sense, but wow. I don’t think I have ever seen a teen show handle drug abuse and mental illness in such a brutal way. It’s quite a talent to be able to show a character cause so much pain to those closest to them and yet do so through a sympathetic lens. And issues aside, whether it’s her occasional social awkwardness or her relationship with her family or watching bloody Love Island (still quite surreal to see Zendaya Coleman witnessing the Amy/Curtis drama unfold), Rue is just my favourite character to follow. 

Her style, though. AH. The thing is, I can hardly drag it, because it’s pretty much what I wear when I’m moping about the house-or just any time I can get away with it to be honest-to a T. I want to stay true to character, but that being said, creating a “Seth Rogen”-esque outfit that’s worth posting on here is difficult. So, with the same kind of artistic license that had me wearing berets whilst cosplaying Maddy Perez, here is the best I could do:

I know, I know, it’s probably too much colour and jewellery for Rue but this is as toned down as I could do and I tried to stick with the key silhouettes we see from her throughout the season; I mean, I can’t see her wearing leopard print but the structure of the coat in outfit 1 is very similar to the one seen in Shook Ones pt.II. I think the bottom line when it comes to her character is keeping things effortless and not overly-feminine; you want to mix street style, athleisure and your dad’s wardrobe favourites like your life depends on it. Plus messy hair and smudged makeup, both of which I’ve already got down according to the completely inappropriate number of customers who’ve asked if I'm tired at work so thanks for that guys, and glitter tears. Lots and lots of glitter tears.

OUTFIT 1-

Dungarees-Vintage

OUTFIT 2-

Trousers-Depop

Cardigan-Urban Outfitters

OUTFIT 5-

Beanie-Depop

OUTFIT 6-

Shirt-Boohoo Man

Sports Bra-TK Maxx

Trousers-Urban Outfitters

OUTFIT 7-

Shirt-Jaded London

Cassie (Played by Sydney Sweeney)

Style-wise, Cassie is a hard one. When putting outfits for her character together, I found myself gravitating towards a direction that’s probably a bit too bohemian for her character, under the guidance of loose terms like “girl-next-door”, “floaty”, “delicate”, you get the idea. She definitely feels the least fully-realised in terms of all the main girls and I think it’s fair to say she’s probably got a bit of self-discovery to do. Most of her storylines in the season are dictated by her relationships to other people: McKay, Maddy, Lexie, her parents and so on. 

Nevertheless, I tried to stick to the airier, more traditionally “pretty” pieces whilst still channelling the confidence and ease with which Cassie pulls them off. Sydney Sweeney has the most incredible figure and I feel like whilst the clothes the on-set stylists put her in flatter that and don’t hide anything, they’re still the focus. It doesn’t feel like there’s anything more inherently sexual about her character than any of the other main female characters despite the way the men within the narrative view her, and I think it’s a testament to the the wardrobe department that to me she still gives off big modern Disney princess energy and a certain innocence even whilst we hear her being continuously sexualised by her male peers. 

If anything, Cassie probably dresses the most like an actual teenage girl, and her style, whilst less distinctive than the other girls, still does a good job of capturing the youth and romanticism of her character. 

The colour palette of her wardrobe tends to be quite neutral, with a couple of pastels thrown in there, and if there are any details, they’re usually quite dainty. Similarly, Cassie is probably the least experimental when it comes to her makeup; we don’t really see her wearing the bold eyeshadows or liners or gems like the other girls at any point.

OUTFIT 1-

Bodysuit-Motel Rocks

Hair Clips-Bershka

OUTFIT 2-

Dress-Jaded London

OUTFIT 3-

Trousers-Urban Outfitters

OUTFIT 4-

Top-Urban Outfitters

Hairband-H&M

`OUTFIT 5-

Top-Urban Outfitters

Jeans-Zaful

Headband-Primark

OUTFIT 6-

Top-Urban Outfitters

OUTFIT 7-

Dress-Urban Outfitters

Hair Clips-Boohoo

SO, I guess that’s it for my Euphoria lookbook! As always, let me know what you think (nicely pls, my ego is fragile lol) and I’d love to hear your opinions on the show too! I really haven’t got this excited over a new TV show in ages and I just think that it does everything so excellently-from the writing to the cinematography to the soundtrack, you can tell each element is so carefully and purposefully constructed. It immerses you into the dramatic highs and lows of being a teenager in a way I haven’t seen since UK Skins and I never thought I’d watch a show which held a candle to that. 

In terms of what I’m doing next, I’ve got a very delayed fashion week masterpost in the works as well as something to fill the Met Gala shaped hole in our lives, which I hope to get up over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, if you read to the end, THANK YOU! And I hope you’re staying safe and AT HOME where possible. I know this self-isolation feels never-ending and if I’m honest, it is having a hugely negative effect on my mental health, but NHS staff are doing their very best with the shitty recourses they have and whilst it seems that our government have thrown workers under the bus once again, we can all do our bit to combat that by slowing the spread of the virus. Also thank you to anybody who’s out working now in such a scary and uncertain time! I work at a grocery store and can say from experience that the best way to show this thanks is just through kindness and following employee’s instructions without giving them grief for it. Everyone’s scared right now and the best we can do is pull together and look out for each other, as difficult as that might seem at times.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble, and like I said, stay safe! Thanks once again if you read til the end or even if you’re just here for the photos. Appreciate it more than you know either way!

Lauren x

[duhragonball]

Bulma

Give me a character and I will answer:

Why I like them: Somewhere around 1998, Kurt Busiek took over as the writer for the Iron Man comic.   This was back when Iron Man wasn’t particularly popular and the last two attempts to reboot the guy had failed.   I read an interview in Wizard Magazine where Kurt promoted his upcoming run, and he explained the character this way: Tony Stark is a superhero, an inventor, a ladies’ man, and a billionaire.    You could have a blast writing a comic book about any one of those four things, but he’s all four.    I may have gotten those four items wrong, partly because it’s been 22 years, and partly because it was more famous when Robert Downey Junior echoed that pitch in 2012.    Take away the armor, and what is he?   A billionaire genius philanthropist.   

My point is that this is the appeal to Bulma as well.    When we first meet her, she’s an adventurer, but then we find out she invented the device that lets her locate the Dragon Balls.  And her mission is a romantic quest, so she’s like the heroine in a romance story.    Then we meet her parents, and it turns out she’s a wealthy heiress.    Well, I’m assuming Dr. Brief doesn’t plan on leaving his fortune to all of his pets, but you get the idea.  

There’s a lot of versatility to the character.   Some arcs barely make use of her, but others take full advantage.    You can plop her in almost any scenario and it works.    You want to write her at a fancy charity dinner?   She’d fit right in.   You want her teaching shop class in your high school AU?   No problem at all.   You want her to seduce a bad guy?     You want her to shoot a bad guy?    You want her to be the bad guy?   It all works.  

The main thing people dislike about Bulma is the way she treated Yamcha when they were together, and she’s kind of a jerk a lot of the time.    Fair point, but I think this adds to the character.   If she were sweet as could be and a rich, attractive polymath, she’d be downright insufferable.    Also, her attitude plays off of the compassion she shows through the series.   I can’t explain her behavior around Yamcha, but she did offer free room and board to the entire population of Namek, so I feel like that needs to be taken into consideration.

Why I don’t: In the first... hundred or so episodes of DBZ, Bulma doesn’t get a lot of chances to shine, despite all the screentime they gave her.   Early into my DBZ-watching experience, I found her to be something like a shriller version of TMNT’s April O’Neil, a sidekick whose job was to look cute and get into danger so the good guys could save her.   She really doesn’t get back into her groove until she returns to Earth, and once I saw those episodes, and her time in the original Dragon Ball, the character began to make a lot more sense.   Really, the Bulma in DBZ #1 through 108 was probably intended to demonstrate how out-of-hand the situation was.   She fixed the scouter and then it exploded.   She fixed Nappa’s spaceship and it exploded.   She fixed Kami’s spaceship and then Namek exploded.    She just couldn’t keep up with the crisis. 

Favorite episode (scene if movie):

Not exactly any one episode, but one of my favorite bits in the Red Ribbon Army Sagas is that the RRA has their own Dragon Radar, but it’s not portable, or anywhere near as precise as the one Bulma invented.    It’s Goku’s biggest advantage during that conflict, and when it breaks, there’s literally no one else who can fix it.    Those magic babies from Arale could make a new one, but I’m pretty sure they only did that by copying the design or something.   And the RRA assumes that Goku must have an entire team of scientists providing him with logistical support, and that Master Roshi must be their leader, since he’s so old.  

Also, near the end of the arc, Bulma needs to call Yamcha on the phone, but Roshi doesn’t have one, and then Turtle suggests that Bulma should just build one from scratch, since she had just finished building a robot drone a few episodes earlier.    And she’s like “Oh, yeah, I forgot I knew how to do that.”

Favorite season/movie: The Androids/Cell arc is a big deal because it has two Bulmas, and her son is in it too.   

And this is what I mean when I talk about versatility.    That Super Dragon Ball Heroes series has two Gokus and two Vegetas, and I have no idea why, because they’re exactly the same, except one pair does SSJ4 and the other does Super Saiyan Blue.   Bulma’s got more layers, so in a story like this, you can have 30-something Bulma care for an infant son and tackle logistical problems while she figures out her relationship with Vegeta, while the 50-something Bulma in the future can be this strong-yet-gentle post-apocalyptic survivalist, who hopes for a better tomorrow as she longs for her fallen friends.  

Favorite line: I’m gonna stray from the canon for a minute, because I’m having trouble coming up with something, but in DBZ Abridged, when she’s arguing with Vegeta during his training session, they just start shouting “Fuck you!” at each other.    Then she stops and says: “My room.    Ten minutes.” 

And holy shit, the delivery on that line was incredible. I knew they’d try to do something to set up their relationship, but there’s no footage to do that with, so they did it all with one line and some killer VA work.

Favorite outfit: This is a big, big wardrobe to choose from, but I’m partial to the one she wore in the Imperfect Cell Saga.

I can’t really explain the appeal, but I like this hairstyle and the clothing looks like authentic stuff you could actually buy at a store, which just makes it feel more real, even though it’s not any more detailed than her other outfits.    I’m not sure that makes any sense.    The trucker hat looks cute on her, let’s leave it there.

OTP: You know, there’s a lot of chemistry between Bulma and Yajirobe, and even though it’s kind of a rarepair, I can’t help but-- Okay, it’s her and Vegeta.   I’ll stop messing around.   

Brotp: Definitely her and Goku.  I’m imagining the set up to the DBS Broly movie going like this.

“Hey, I’m gonna invite Goku along on our trip.    That way you can fight him when you get bored.”

“Why do you keep asking him to tag along I can’t stand him.” 

“Yeah, but I like him and I paid for the resort, so I guess you gotta deal with it.” 

“...”  

Then he shows up and she sends him on some ridiculous mission to search the ocean floor for sunken treasure or something.   

Head Canon: Future Bulma does tech support in Toki Toki/Conton City, because Xenoverse is canon and the Goku Black Saga can just bugger right off because it never happened.   

She shows up from time to time to check on all the Capsule Corp tech in the city, and she drops by just to say hi to her boy, and also she has coffee with my Mary Sue OC, because Future Bulma appreciates how tough and cool my writing is.

Unpopular opinion: The Vegebul ship probably gets way too much attention.  Not that it’s a bad ship or that it doesn’t deserve the attention, but it feels like a buffet where all anyone gets is ranch dressing.    They just ignore the rest of the spread and fill an entire bowl with ranch and head back to the table to drink it.   Then they come right back and line up for another helping.  

I’m not knocking it.   I have a Vegebul calendar in my kitchen.   But it reminds me of how the “comics fandom” in the late 90′s was really just an X-Men fandom that acknowledged that other comic books hypothetically existed.

They’re gonna come after me now, aren’t they?

A wish: A lifetime supply of strawberries does sound kind of nice...

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I hope we’re done with Bulma’s Resurrection F outfit for good.   The cowboy boots, no, we’re done with that. 

5 words to best describe them: Five would never be enough.

My nickname for them: Don’t have one.   Vegeta calls her “woman”, but I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t go over well if I started doing that.

[angelsswirl]

Petrichor

Five

"Life's too short to even care at all. I'm losing my mind, losing my mind, losing my mind. Losing control."

"Boy, do I wish I had your problems. You have two eligible, successful, and hot alphas fawning over you, and you think that's a dilemma?" Lisa laid down on the blanket carefully. A sliver of the bottom of her stomach poking out from her (actually it is clearly Jennie's) shirt.

You incessantly shook your head. Your hair waved ever so slightly in the draft it created. It's a much welcome reprieve from the heat of Central Park. 

The blanket is placed on a neat patch of grass under a large tree. The large tree that the two of you had sat under many a time during undergrad. This is where you would come when being an adult got to be a little too much and you needed to get away and decompress.

And now, that seemed to be just the case for you. How did Lisa not see the distress this had put you under? It was a curse, not a blessing. 

Though, you put yourself into this mess supposedly and you were going to get yourself out. Somehow. Someway.

"I'm going to have to decide. Preferably, before they find out about each other."

But that was proving to be much more of a herculean feat than you were expecting.

Last night, or well, this morning had been a close call. You weren't really thinking when you had left Rosé's. Just that Lia needed you, and maybe that was the omega in you operating more than anything. The overwhelming urge to nurture, and care for, and fix, and mend, clawing to get out.

"Yeah, maybe leaving one to go rush to the other just after fucking wasn't your best moment, but what's done is done." Lisa shrugged or did the best she could while laying on her side.

"But, I feel so bad. You didn't see the way she looked at me. Or didn't look at me. She looked so betrayed. She practically kicked me out. I felt like a whore." 

"Hey! I know some pretty cool whores. Don't talk about my friends in that negative tone of voice."

You rolled your eyes, "I cannot stand you, you know that?"

Lisa only shrugged again and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"How do you know Jisoo anyway?"

"She didn't tell you? Jennie's best friend is her kid's mom."

Your nose scrunched up, "Jihyo is Lia mom? I knew I didn't like that chick for a reason!"

"Yep! That's why Jennie dislikes her."

"She hates Jisoo for taking care of the kid her best friend dumped on her?"

"No, she hates that Jisoo got her pregnant in the first place."

"But Jihyo abandoned the kid?"

"I never said Jennie was logical, besides Jennie hasn't talked to Jihyo in years. Probably stopped around the time Lia was born."

You shook her head, "You married an idiot."

"Yeah, but she's hot and her dic-"

"If Jennie hates Jisoo so much, why did she invite her to the party?"

"Hate is a strong word, she doesn't hate her really. Just a very strong dislike. But she didn't invite her, I did. Because I like Jisoo. She's funny. And single. And you're single and you like to laugh. And I was trying to set you up okay! But you fucked it up by being a damn alpha magnet." Lisa began to pout dramatically.

"Yeah, well your facts are wrong anyway. Jisoo is not funny." You frowned petulantly.

Lisa rolled her eyes harshly, "You're petty. Anyway, how's your mom?"

You sighed heavily, thinking back to the last conversation you had with your mother a few days prior, "She's not worse. But she isn't better either. They think it's her kidneys. She goes in for a few more tests in two weeks."

Lisa leaned up to place a comforting hand on your thigh, "She'll be okay." 

You only nodded.

"Something's been bothering me, though," Lisa said after a bout of comfortable silence.

"What?" You continued to stare at the expanse of green grass in front of you.

"You smell different." Lisa looked a bit concerned, which didn't serve to make you feel any better, "Not like in a bad way. You remember back in college after Jennie's and I's first date?"

You nodded. You remembered it vividly, if only because you were was bored out of your mind and lonely, waiting for Lisa to come back. You had really needed to make new friends.

"When I got back you said I smelled different. Then we later found out it was because Jennie imprinted on me." Lisa paused, waiting for you to fill in her blanks.

"You know I'm slow, Lali. You're going to have to tell me."

Lisa rolled her eyes, "I think one of those knotheads imprinted on you!"

"Well, which one? And what does that even really mean?" This was beginning to feel all so new. You felt like an amateur surrounded by a bunch of professionals.

"It doesn't really work like that, Y/N/N. Whoever did it probably knows they did it by now. But, it's not a conscious thing. It just happens. They kind of realize they did it over time. It means she chose you. You're kind of it for her. You're probably going to start feeling a bit weird in the next few days. Imprinting forms little fledgling bonds, and whatever super intense emotion they feel, you're going to feel it too."

"That makes all of this a hundred times worse! I'm just going to have someone else's emotions in my head, and I won't even know whose they are. What if I pick the wrong one?"

"Yeah, maybe you were right. This doesn't sound that cool anymore, but if it makes you feel better, you, Y/N Y/L/N, have never made a bad decision in your entire life. You're smart, you're thoughtful, and I have the utmost confidence that you will do what's right for you." Lisa rubbed your back.

"Besides, I think the answer might be as simple as who you miss the most right now."

"I don't miss either of them. I just saw them."

"Your knees pulled into your chest and the rocking back and forth say something entirely different."

You looked down at your position. You scowled before slowly unfolding yourself.

"I was sitting like that because Jisoo made me sad."

The corner of Lisa's mouth hitched up, "I'm sure that's part of the reason."

"You're insufferable."

Lisa only laughed.

"Anyway, enough about my Twilight love triangle. How are you and my niece?" You finally turned so you were actually facing Lisa. 

"Your nephew and I are doing just fine."

You squealed loudly, "It's a boy?!"

"We found out yesterday." Lisa smiled softly.

"Oh my God! I'm going to buy him so many pink things! You can name him after me!"

"That's not-"

"I can see it now. Y/N Jesse Kim and his entirely pink wardrobe." You stood up quickly. The blanket crumpled under your feet, causing Lisa to frown. She had spent like twenty exhausting minutes trying to get it spread completely flat.

"How'd you know his middle name would be Jesse?"

"Because I've met your wife."

Lisa chuckled loudly, "Why do you hate her so much?"

"Hate is a strong word. I don't hate Jennie really. Just a very strong dislike." You deadpanned.

"If I wasn't 5 months pregnant I'd kick your ass."

You shook your head in disbelief, "5 months, wow. I'm surprised Jennie let you out of her sight."

"She didn't. She's sitting right there." Lisa pointed to a bench about 30 feet away from them. Sure enough, there she sat. Patiently waiting for the two to finish talking. She idly kicked an old soccer ball between her feet. She waved excitedly when she noticed them staring. Lisa rolled her eyes and waved back.

"Some days I think about hiring a hitman. But then she says something stupid and I remember I'm in love with her. I brought this on myself." 

Jennie began to attempt to juggle the ball at her feet to impress the two of you. She failed miserably.

Lisa and you try not to laugh. You also fail miserably. Jennie pouted on the bench.

"I missed this. I missed you." You nudged the other omega with your sandal. 

"Don't get all sappy on me now. We were just making fun of my wife!"

"I'm being serious!"

"I know. I missed you too. You know you can call if you want to talk. It doesn't even have to be important. Jennie has me on house arrest, so I'm bored out of my mind. Please call me. I'm begging." Your lip trembled, then you (softly) lunged at your best friend. Lisa hugged you back with a smile.

Jennie growled somewhere in the distance.

"I will literally kick that ball at your head, Jennie! And I won't miss like you just did!" You yelled at the alpha.

Jennie stopped growling.

"Oh! Forgot to ask. How big is Rosé?"

"I don't -very-know what you're talking about," You smirked slyly.

Lisa gave you a discreet fist bump.