#makeup by Georgia Hope Makeup

[nenan]

Quenlin Blackwell photographed by Yana Van Nuffel for Polyester Zine

[avonne-writes]

High School AU - Timeline

♡⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂

Year 9 Of High School

The boys meet on their first day of high school

Gale's growing out his hair to rebel against his dad

Bucky's eager to find new friends because Brady is the only one he knows

They're seated next to each other in one of their classes and become friends

They both think the other is cute and develop crushes on each other quickly

Bucky tells Brady and his mom everything about his crush

Gale doesn’t dare believe that Bucky likes him, he thinks they're just friends

Daydreams

But the way things develop during Christmas and New Year's Eve get his hopes up

Bucky makes a resolution to ask him out

They go on their first date in January

You don’t need wings to fly (drabble about their third date)

dive for dreams - chapter 1

Happiness, you’re a cat - part 1

Their relationship develops, but Gale keeps his family issues a secret, sometimes even lying

They fight about it and break up

But, upon his mom's (Georgia's) encouragement, Bucky approaches Gale again and they make up. Gale tells Bucky about his parents

Gale sleeps over at the Egans' place for the first time

Early relationship headcanons

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂♡⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂

Year 10 Of High School

Someone catches them kissing in September (drabble - Truth or dare) and spreads the rumour around school

Since Bucky already wanted to come out anyway, he’s not worried or anything, and convinces Gale that it's fine

Bucky kisses Gale in the middle of the hallway

Bryan ("RAF prick" in the show) and his friends try to bully both of them but mostly Gale since he’s not on any popular sports team

Bucky and Curt track them down and get into a fistfight

Bucky gets suspended for a few days

dive for dreams - chapter 2

Gale gets mad at Bucky for drawing attention to them, but the bullying stops not too long after that fight

The boys get braver with the PDA over the course of the year

They also start exploring sexual intimacy gradually - Hands-on Biology

Around May or so, Georgia does a motorcycle course and meets Neil (Harding)

Bucky and Gale have their first time at the end of May/beginning of June

dive for dreams - chapter 3

They keep exploring new things about intimacy during the summer, taking advantage of having the house to themselves a bit more often because Georgia goes out with Neil

Nsfw headcanons

morning after drabble

Georgia introduces Neil to the boys. It takes some time but they warm up to him eventually

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂♡⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂

Year 11 Of High School

The school year starts really well, it's a very happy period for them. Gale stays over every Saturday night, sometimes other nights too.

Gale has a platonic crush on a teacher

Lunch Break

Sweet Tooth

Gale spends Christmas Day and Boxing Day with Bucky and his family, including extended family

Words of Wisdom

Towards the end of spring, Gale’s dad relapses again and ends up in alcohol rehab. It really messes with Gale's emotions.

Gale starts going to the school psychologist, but his mental health gets worse. He develops the habit of going out alone in the evening and spends a lot of time in random parks, public libraries and the pool, when he's not with Bucky.

dive for dreams - chapter 4

Gale's dad comes out of rehab and promises to stay sober. The summer goes relatively well, Gale feels momentarily better

Gale bonds with Neil and asks him to teach him how to ride a motorbike

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂♡⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂

Year 12 Of High School

Around October, Gale’s dad relapses again and physically abuses Gale

Broken Things (Gale almost commits suicide)

Bucky tries to help him cover up his bruises with his mom's makeup - drabble by @swifty-fox

Georgia and Neil talk to Gale, then also to his mom and get everyone to agree to Gale moving in with Bucky and Georgia

Gale has an emotional moment with his mom when they move his things

Georgia figures out a way to get Gale a therapist outside of school

Silence (Bucky and Gale talk about death)

Gale and Bucky get into arguments sometimes because Gale needs more space due to his vulnerable situation, but Bucky's triggered fear of abandonment wants to keep him close at all times. The fact that high school is coming to an end soon exacerbates it.

Gale and Georgia have an argument

dive for dreams - chapter 5

Gale's 18th birthday (drabble)

Gale starts getting better. He gets his motorcycle driver's license in secret, conspiring with Neil. He also starts working part-time to save up.

He offers Georgia to pay for his own food but he ends up with another long conversation where Georgia tries to make him understand that she does this for him out of love and doesn’t want him to feel like he owes her.

Conversely, Bucky starts getting worse as the end of the school year approaches. He’s scared that he’s going to lose Gale because they will be going to college. He gets really clingy and irrational.

Leaving

What touches linger by @hogans-heroes

Mid-spring, Gale borrows a bike from Neil and takes Bucky on a surprise date. They end up sitting in the grass somewhere and have a serious talk about the future. Gale tells Bucky that he needs to do something about his attachment issues. Bucky agrees, feeling bad, but reassured about their college plans.

Pre-prom drabble

They go to prom together:

Prom night drabble

They spend the summer hanging out with their friends

They get into different colleges but in the same city.

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂♡⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂

First Year of College

Gale cuts his hair. To him, it's not just a sign of change but a symbol of his freedom from his father's dark shadow

He and Bucky move in together into a small apartment

Gale switches to calling Bucky John because it carries more emotion and connection to him

Although they’ve been living together since the previous fall, this is different, and only now do they learn a lot of things about each other. Like how bad Gale is at decoration, what triggers him and what bothers Bucky

There’s a lot of friction between them during their first semester, and they get close to breaking up, but eventually, they start communicating the right way and address their biggest problems

Basically, their relationship needs to shift into a mature adult relationship. It takes some time but they succeed (see - college transition headcanons + sexual issues headcanons)

dive for dreams - chapter 6

Gale blossoms at university

He and Bucky enter a steady and happy phase in their lives.

Gale wearing Bucky's soccer jersey

Later Life

Bucky faces the source of his fear of abandonment - his father

Happiness, you’re a cat - part 2 (when they’re 21)

Bucky asks Gale to marry him after their 3rd year of college - my world, my true

They get married about a year later. (wedding headcanons)

Gale studies Physics and does part of his Master's/doctorate course abroad. He and Bucky call almost every day, but Bucky still misses him a lot. (some headcanons about this, + more headcanons)

Later, Bucky claims that their reunion at the end of the programme was almost as happy as their wedding day.

Gale dedicates his PhD thesis to Bucky.

Georgia and Neil get married and she takes his name.

Headcanons about the boys' jobs after university

When they're 30, Gale has something of a mid-life crisis because Bucky realizes that having kids is more important to him than he originally thought.

During the above situation, their relationship gets really tense and strained, and they fight a lot. Gale antagonizes Bucky. (argument headcanons, more headcanons about their fight)

However, they do figure it out eventually, and they build a happy future together.

A few thoughts about their last moments together.

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄♡

A/N:

Thank you if you got this far! 🩷 This timeline post will be continuously updated as new stories and drabbles are posted. It will be linked in my masterpost.

TLDR - Chronological Reading Order:

Daydreams

You don’t need wings to fly

dive for dreams - chapter 1

Happiness, you’re a cat - part 1

First sleepover

Truth or dare

dive for dreams - chapter 2

Hands-on Biology

dive for dreams - chapter 3

morning after drabble

Lunch Break

Sweet Tooth

Words of Wisdom

dive for dreams - chapter 4

Broken Things

swifty-fox's drabble

Silence

dive for dreams - chapter 5

Gale's 18th birthday drabble

Leaving

What touches linger by hogans-heroes

pre-prom drabble

prom night drabble

dive for dreams - chapter 6

Short college morning drabble

Happiness, you’re a cat - part 2

my world, my true

Thank you so much for reading this AU! You can find more headcanons on my blog under #hs au 😊

Moodboards and gifs 💕

Gifset by @carnevol

Moodboard by @hogans-heroes

Moodboard by @bucking-mustangs-with-wings

Fanart by @swifty-fox

[lunajay33]

Not the Only One

•🌪️🍂🪵🏹•

Summary: Reader comes from an abusive family and is insecure about it showing up everywhere with bruises, but one night she comes across Daryl who is more like you than you know

Pairing: Young Daryl Dixon x f!reader

Content Warning: Abusive parents

•Masterlist•

Growing up in a small town in Georgia can have its benefits, close friend group, late night walks, fun memories, but not for some, not for me I get the other side of a small town, the rough crowd and the judgmental stares from the well of kids who’s parents gave them everything they wanted

I never thought there was a problem with the way I lived as a kid but the older I got and realized that not everyone lives with abusive, negligent parents it was world shaking for me and I felt like a complete loser and I still do, I don’t have much some simple clothes and some drugstore perfume and makeup but that’s about it, others girls in my class had expensive name brand everything and judge those like me who didn’t

My dads drunk and takes his problems out on me, my moms a coward and won’t stand up for me so here I am walking around school with a cut down my eyebrow with a nasty bruise forming around

“What happened y/n old man beat on you again” Jessie says laughing as she walks by with her little click, I look back into my locker getting my books for science class sighing not ready for the day ahead full of more comments like that

I walk into Mr.jensons class taking my seat at the back, some people whispering as I walk through the class

“Okay class we have a new student transfering to our class from a different course, obvious people like me more than miss.smith’s music class” he says obnoxiously as the student enters our class

Daryl Dixon he lived a few houses down from me but we didn’t interact much, sometimes I’d see him take out the trash or see him sitting on the doc on the lake behind our houses, it was rumoured that his dad beat on him too but it’s not like we were gonna be friends because we’re abused that crazy…..right?

“You can go sit at the back next to y/n” Mr.Jenson points out to me

He sits down and I can smell his calming aroma, woodsy with a hint of cigarette

“Hi” I smiled meakly

“Hey, ya live on my street don’t ya” he asks slouching down in the chair

“Yeah, I’ve seen you around” so he’s seen me too

“Alright class listen up” the class went on like usual until the bell rang signalling the end of the day, I gathered up all my stuff shoving them in my bag and leaving the class, walking through the hallways heading for the exit when someone runs up next to me

“Hey, ya walking home?” Daryl asks looking down at me

“Oh yeah, I usually like to sit at the doc when I get back, don’t like to stay in the house much”

“Why not?” He asks as he continues to walk beside me back to our street

“I think you know, everyone talks about it” I say motioning to my bruised eyebrow

“They don’t understand, ain’t yer fault”

“It’s just……embarrassing” I say rubbing my arm as a nervous habit

“Yer old man?”

“Yeah, you?” He nods in agreement looking down

“Pretty shitty, wish I could just get out of here or just start fresh here” he hums making my heart warm, finally someone understands how I feel

We got to our street stopping infront of my house

“So ummm I’ll be down at the doc later if you wanna meet me there just to talk or whatever” I say

“Yeah I’ll see ya there” he says heading off to his house a few doors down

I walked into my house hoping nothing happens today, seeing my dad sat on his chair with a beer in his hand watching the tv

I try to walk past him to my room when he grabs my wrist

“Did you pick up the cigarettes from the store like I asked?” His voice is already angry, I completely forgot

“I……I forgot, I’m sorry” I whine as he tightens his grip

“Why can’t you ever listen, you know what this means”

“No please I’m sorry I’ll go get them now”

“It’s too late”

Sitting on the doc was suppose to be a wind down form the day an escape from hell that is suppose to be a house, instead I’m sat here feeling like I went solar against concrete, my lip is busted severely, by cheek stings, bruises and whips against my back, the hoodie I’m wearing was irritating against my sore flesh

I’d do anything just to go back in time and run away with my sister but I was scared and young and now I’m miserable and constantly afraid

“Hey sorry I’m late” I heard from next to me, too deep in thought to have heard him approach

I kept my head down looking at the water

“It’s fine” I mumble

“Ya okay?” That one simple question broke the damn in me as tears spilled down my cheeks, I turn to him just wanting reassurance or comfort

“I forgot to get a pack of cigarettes on the way home” my voice quivers as he stares at my red cheek and bust lip

“How am I even suppose to cover this up”

“I could go kill him” he huffs anger rising in his features

“Everything hurts” I wince when he places his hand on my back, he pulled back quickly

“Do ya need help?”

“I don’t know how bad they are”

He moves behind me lifting my sweater up to my shoulders, revealing the old and new scars that littered my back with occasionally fresh bruises

“Oh baby girl I’m so sorry” he says under his breath but there was something there in his words that made it feel like he understood this type of beating

“Are they bad?”

“Don’t think ya need stitches but I don’t want ya going back there” he says bringing my sweater back down moving beside me again

“But where am I suppose to go?”

“Old man’s gone for a week, ya can stay at my place”

“Are you sure I don’t want to burden you”

“Ain’t a burden, yer staying with me, come on”

His house was more or less just like mine but there is no surprise there, our fathers are basically the same, he brings me to his room and it’s pretty normal, some hunting stuff plain brown walls

“Thanks for this” I say sitting on the edge of his bed

“ ‘course, ya need anything?”

“Do you have any painkillers?” He went in his drawer and popped one in my hand, taking it hoping it will ease this discomfort

He jumped on the bed sitting next to me as a comfortable silence surrounds us

“I got em too”

“Huh?”

“Scars, don’t like to show em, don’t like to be reminded”

“I’m sorry Daryl, one day we’ll be happy, one day we’ll get out of this mess”

“Together”

Part.2

Taglist: @l0kilaufeys0n7 @stoner420things69 @pinchofthetwd @thestonedwriter @daryldixmedown @deansapplepie @ghostboneswrites2 @superbowlisgay @daryls-wife @pinkratts @daryl-dixons-left-hand @mrrumplebottom @twistedprincess-92 @addi1978 @wongcena @darylspersonalwhore @starrqi @heidiland05 @livlaughlove03

[luellasplanet]

18. (georgia stanway)

word count: 1.3k

this is a stanners fanpage now btw xx

based on anabor’s song ‘18’

in which matching tattoos end a friendship but spark a relationship

You had met Georgia at the mere age of twelve, been best friends since thirteen, and had done everything together since fourteen. “Troublemakers since the beginning” as your mum would say.

You two stole a bottle of her mums wine, at fourteen, and finished the bottle in a random feild. Stole your older sisters makeup and gave eachother makeovers infront of your bathroom mirror at fourteen and a half. Hijacked their fishing boat for a midnight boat ride, at fifteen, when on holiday with the stanway family, Gave each other food poisoning at fifteen and a half after a not so great reenactment of ‘The Great British Bake-off.’

And at sixteen the two of you made the stupid decision to get matching tattoos, forging your parent’s signatures and stealing some money out their wallets, the two of you headed off into Manchester.

You had gotten a tattoo on your collarbone while Georgia opted to get one on her rib, both of the tattoos could be easily hidden from the view of your parents.

Both of your tattoos read ‘troublemaker,’ written in each others handwriting.

i know it’s just a phase

you’re not in love with me

The two of you had managed to keep your tattoos hidden from everyone, you often spent nights in eachother rooms while Georgia left hickeys scattered in a trail, starting on your neck and making its way down until they were littered around your tattoo.

It was merely fun for the both of you, no feelings, purely just friendship with a little bit of kissing here and there.

As you started to fall asleep your fingers delicately traced her tattoo, while your legs were entangled together. No words were exchanged as your touch sent shivers up her spine. Your shirt was lifted slightly which allowed for the side of your stomach to be pressed agasint hers, the skin grazing against skin made your heart beat slightly faster than normal.

Regardless of how many boyfriends or girlfriends the two of you had, somehow you always found yourself in this position, time and time again.

so if you wanna piss off your parents

One night while Georgia was away on a football camp she calls you extremely panicked, at around one in the morning, “what’s wrong stanners?” You question as you rub your eyes trying to adjust to the very little lighting the stars and moon offered.

“My parents saw my tattoo! Well erm they didn’t actually see it. Lessi saw it, and then just asked me about it as my parents came round the corner. And they heard and fuck y/n, they’re so pissed.” She quietly told you, although you were surprised that the brunette had managed to keep her voice quiet for more than ten seconds, you couldn’t focus on that. “Shit, they’re gonna hate me,” you mutter. “What did you tell them?”

Your voice came out in shaky tones as you tried to control your racing. Millions of thoughts flew into your head at once.

What if you weren’t allowed to see Georgia again? What if her mum hated you? Or her dad, or her brothers? Would she ever invite you round for tea again? Would her mum tell yours? Were you never going to be allowed to see your bestfriend again, just because of a stupid tattoo?

“Y/n? You there?” The voice of the brunette on the other end of the line broke you out of your train of thought. “Mhm, yeah you were saying?”

She paused before answering, “erm, well I told them that we had matching tattoos and now they’re just a little mad… but it’s fine they’ll get over it. I hope.”

Your worst fears were coming true, Georgia’s parents definitely despised you. They’re sweet innocent child had been influenced by you to get matching tattoos.

When your parents found out about the tattoo, they banned you from seeing Georgia again. Claiming that they’re daughter could not be seen walking around with ink splotches engraved on her body.

You had to wait to see her at school on Mondays, but after awhile her appearances at school became less and less frequent, until she barely ever showed up to school as she was too busy with football.

You watched her footballing journey from the sidelines, instead of being there to support her.

There was a little piece of you that would always resent your parents for overreacting about the tattoo to this extent.

Of course, ignoring your parents wishes you got more tattoos. On your ankle, neck, wrist, spine and behind your ear. But you kept them all hidden away from your parents sight with the best of your abilities.

if long hair and tattoos are what attract you, baby then you’re in luck

Your hair was carelessly placed in a messy low pony tail, showing off the tattoo on the back of your ear and neck, while your denim shorts and cropped shirt showed off the tattoos on your collarbone, spine and wrist.

You were watching Georgia’s game, along with some of your classmates. Lotte, who you’d had the many encounters with in the past pointed you out to Georgia as they warmed up. You offered the girls watching you a smile and a little wave as they focused back on the task at hand.

When the long game that had eventually gone into penalties was over, Georgia finds comfort in your arms, as your chin rests on her head until she was finally ready to let go, “come back to mine please, my parents aren’t here for the weekend and my brothers won’t care?” She asks looking up at you, although her arms never left their tight grip on your waist. “You look really pretty today by the way, I like the new tattoos.”

You laughed at her before telling her that, “flattery will get you no where my girl, but yes I’ll come over. I’ll just tell my parents I’m staying and Emilia’s house.”

date me to scare them

The two of you were sprawled out on her bed, after eating random leftovers you had found in the Stanway fridge you decided to watch a movie underneath the comfort of her duvet cover.

What was watching a movie turned into you reading a book, holding it with your one hand, while you mindlessly twirled Georgia’s hair in your other hand.

Holding the book and turning its pages with one hand was extremely difficult but you didn’t mind as you could feel Georgia’s breathe fanning against your neck as she read the book over your shoulder.

The peace was disturbed as she softly spoke, careful not to startle you due to the close proximity. “Be my girlfriend y/n, I can’t go on acting like not being able to see you is not affecting me. I’ll treat you better than anyone else I promise.”

You smile at her little speech before turning to face her, “but what about our parents? They’ll absolutely kill us if they find out I’m at your house right now, let alone the fact that we’re dating!”

Completely ignoring the first part of your sentence, georgias attention was focused on the last part. “So we are dating then! Perfect it’s settled, no further comments are allowed!”

Her random energetic behaviour was not unusual in the slightest but her smile literally could light up a whole room as she happily snuggled into your side, placing a kiss against your collarbone (where your tattoo was) before she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

[ghostsprettymama]

MONA LISA

"All the time in the world"

Warning: mommy/daddy kink,bondage,blindfolding,knifeplay,slight degrading,edging,mentionings of murder, gang violence, weed , guns. situationships. posessive sex. MDNI 18+

Pairing: gang member! Shuri x reader, childhood crush shuri x childhood crush reader! wlw, dom and sub. fuckbuddies.

Word count: 4,939 words 26,120 characters

ALL CHARACTERS ARE 18+ UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE

part one. part two

A/N: the chapters late due to some technical issues but i still hope you like it

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

(f/f) = favourite flower

(y/f/c) = your favourite color

xhosa translations -

Nkosazana - my girl.

umntwana wam - my baby

Le intombazana izoba kukufa kwam-This girl will be the death of me

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

Y/n Pov

She woke up with an aching headache, luckily it was the weekend. She turned on the tv taking her braids out letting her natural hair breathe.

soon she got up to washing n blow drying her hair, her mind full of thoughts. She styled her hair, cleaned up her room going back to rest in her room.

Damn. These two days were a lot she thought to herself running over the things that happened in two days. Am I just forgiving shuri for doing dumb shit to me? Im just letting her walk over me at this fucking point. you sighed, getting on her for being a playgirl and tryna control her from fucking people when we aren't together, fuck do I look like acting pussy crazed? you made a face while watching your favorite tv show.

You sat there thinking, lost in your thoughts deciding to get your shit together. You can't be out here in ATL crawling on all fours for shuri. You got dressed in a presentable fit, putting jewelry on, fuck I forgot to brush my teeth. You sighed brushing your teeth and putting makeup over the hickeys.

you left your phone at home going next door to the Udaku household you knocked once and T’challa answered, there were people in the back. And your brother. “Shuri isn't here,” T’challa said closing the door but you stopped it with your hand. “Not here for her. thank you.” you said staring up at him “Erik is- “not for him either nigga damn. Where is your mother?” you said getting annoyed with him.

“She's out back but aren't you too dolled up to be in a garden,” T’challa said raising an eyebrow and trying to get smart with you” boy I don't have the time or energy to deal with you today, either you move or im climbing that bigass fence out back, “ you said being deadass serious, they never took you seriously till you got pissy with them.

“ ight ight chill ma damn,” said T’challa letting you in. You see a woman with locs, she smiled and waved at you, a skin-bald woman focusing on talking to a man who looked like he lived breathed, and worshiped the gym, he made eye contact with you and you shivered walking faster to the back.

You opened the door to the garden seeing Ramonda drinking tea, she was waiting for you. “What's wrong umntwana wam?”(my baby) when you got to her table you sighed sitting down.

“I'm just so lost ever since we left Georgia.” You said holding her hand “well I'm here to listen, tell me everything, whatever you don't tell me I know already, honesty is key.” Said Ramonda smiling softly but being dead serious, ever since you were little she knew everything that happened as if she had eyes everywhere and you didn't know.

You took a deep breath and Ramonda nodded. “Well ever since we were moving here so fast without me being told this I've been so stressed. Because the day after I didn't go to school, T’challa and Erik cut connections with each other at 14, and for 3 years we kept fucking moving from school to school and then we came here??” you sounded so fucking confused “ And I was so happy to see shuri, I even ignored how I felt when I was with her because she made me feel so happy and good, then when I spent the night we did something, and I couldn't even wake up next to her I woke up in my room, no note no nothing just a text telling me to dress pretty for her like I'm some fucking doll” you expressed your frustrations while Ramonda watered her plants. She was listening, no matter what she did, she told you to continue either way.

“Then she smacked my butt? Idk why she keeps doing that I never understood the shit. And when I yelped because it hurt Erik and T’ just acted weird telling me not to scream or they're gonna make sure someone stops breathing?? Like and they were reaching for something too ?? Were normal highschoolers I don't get why it's like this Maam” you said face planting onto the glass table. “umntwana wam, don't do that it'll bruise your pretty face.” she went behind you taking care of your hair while you spoke to her about what happened.

“ And in school, these girls approached me at Gym trying to tell me to avoid shuri cause she's a playgirl, they call me fat like being fat is a bad thing? Then proceed to flirt with shuri in front of me and I guess shuri was ‘lost in the moment “ you said doing air quotes causing Ramonda to make an mm-mm sound . “and said hurtful shit and I didn't know what to do so I did what I did at other schools when I'm overwhelmed, I went to the bathroom but then ran there when the girl's friends ran after me to just give me a panic attack by yelling things and banging on my door” you said huffing you felt Ramonda braiding your hair but she was gentle and made sure not to hurt you.

“And then the girl I met when I was going to class with Shuri OH NO ABOUT THAt. Her name is Riri, right? She was so nice to me for some reason and we clicked instantly” you smiled at the memory “she helped me hide the gifts.. Shuri left” you rolled your eyes and Ramonda smacked your head, you hissed in pain “ow!” you say “ if you keep rolling those eyes you're gonna roll them to outer space,” she said, “ continue.”

You continued “ then this weir- I mean odd white boy” Ramonda never liked the word weird, she doesn't find people weird she finds them misguided. “he kept staring at me, then the teacher Ms. Romanoff was digging for information out of me, I was so confused because normal teachers don't fucking do that?? And Riri and Shuri already were shaking their heads no, even though I didn't know how to respond. nothing interesting about my family they are just farmers and accountants" she sighed " and then peter, that's the white boy's name btw, he was saying I don't know shit I should, Riri and shuri told him to shut up and just told me to hurry up to gym" you said confused as hell " Peter is right you don't" she said nearly finished with your hair, she was so relaxed while listening, a bird even landed on her shoulder.

"and that led to what I said at the gym, but I ended up crying so hard I threw up, and then Riri offered to help me fix my makeup or make it better, and she did." you smiled again at the bonding moment," she said she was gonna 'air this bitch out ' if they don't leave me alone whatever that means," you said shrugging, the motion made the bird leave.

"then yk the three musketeers came in looking like riri killed someone even though ik she wouldn't, that's illegal and only bad people do it.” you said confidently from what your “mother,” told you.

“ then they overwhelmed me, especially Erik trying to question me when I was already WAYY too overstimulated,” you said rubbing your temples while Ramonda did your edges. “I went to the library to fall asleep, I only wanted to skip through lunch, but I skipped 2 whole periods.” you said in a confused manner not knowing you were that tired “ Dont do that again, skipping is harmful to your grades.” she interrupted, showing care for you.

“and then shuri for some reason even if she was mad laid her head on my lap, and we ended up doing that. And I forgave her for some reason... That's all Maam” She nodded sitting down but yelled for Nakia, the girl with braided hair came out “ Yes ma'am? “ she had a nice voice, and she was pretty too..” could you take this set inside? We're done with our tea” Ramonda asked not breaking eye contact with you.

“Of course Ma'am" she nodded taking it inside not batting an eye at you. "so before I get into it and be honest with you, I want to meditate with you to make sure you're calm," Ramonda said, getting up placing two mats in the grass. you got on your mat sitting down crisscross applesauce style, Ramonda doing the same.

She guided you throughout the meditation with deep breaths and clearing your mind, you closed your eyes Repeating the steps and doing what you were told.

T’challa pov.

I don't know what the fuck her problem was when she came but I kept my cool.

I locked the door closing the blinds, everyone's phone was in a basket with their locations off.

“Who was that? “ M’baku said, with a smile on his face”nunya damn business nigga leave my sister alone” Erik Gave a stank face to M’baku, that dude always was a straight up weirdo to him.

“or what ??? You ain’t touching me" M'Baku said knowing it was the truth. Erik rubbed his temples " NIGGA SHEES GAAAY." Erik said tired of this beefy ass man. "oh" M'Baku said adjusting himself. Okoye bursted out laughing as Nakia chimed in laughing their asses off. "HAAA HE WAS GONNA TRY TO FUCK ON A GAY GIRL" Nakia laughed wheezing so hard she sounded like she was on life support.

When the two were done laughing like hyenas, the tv turned on as T'challa was presenting " So wbk gang and plug business that's how we thrive here." Everyone nodded some going like mhm, yea. " Recently our shipments have been going missing when in manhattan"T'challa had shown photos of 8 people A Man that look like he was freshly 50, with brown hair and a small beard, a long mustache, at the first incident with the touch passing through Greensboro, North Carolina. the truck driver was shot and the goods were taken.

then a woman that looked like Y/n's teacher, in a black jumpsuit, skintight. The truck was just barely through Charlottesville, she appeared in front of it causing it to crash off the course and blow up.

another one played, this one was familiar to Erik, it was the silhouette of his classmate peter parker. “T’ where these people from?” Erik looked at T’challa who looked at Nakia, she came back from outside putting the tea sets on the counter. “ They're from manhattan New York, working with Stark industries under stark directly” she turned on her computer and connected it to the tv, clicking on google docs.

“These docs are 67 pages in the counting of the information I collected on them including employee information. and ally information" Nakia said, her voice sounding like candy.

“Get to the point,” M’baku said, growing impatient with this talk, okoye rolled her eyes tired of this sassy ass man.

“I messaged you all your targets as the district leaders, you know what to do, quick, clean quiet” Nakia ended her presentation sitting back down as the lights came back on T’challa came back to the center.

“Do not by any means involve bystanders that aren't mentioned. “ T’challa said “ T’challa I don't get it, if the Kid was born into this why isn't she involved,” Okoye asked leaning against the wall and staring at the 6-foot man, Okoye definitely wasn't for this babying nonsense, she's grown, time to put her work in. “ shes soft, she’d fuck up,” Said T’challa deflecting her statement.

“Like Erik hasn't fucked up? He fucked up taking territory, and shipment deals ain't that why you petty ass niggas ain't friends no more because of that? But * she mocked T’challa babying y/n* ‘oh she's just a baby’” Okoye rolled her eyes to mars and back “if it's too much on her then that's that but you need to see her as a grown ass woman, not a child” Okoye said clearing T’challa

He looked at Nakia for help and she shrugged him off “she's right, shuri literally controls a district” Nakia seconds Okoyes point “but you do need to stop.” Nakia and Okoye sighed in unison “ But as you said don't involve bystanders right? Don't involve her in this” Nakia said, it was a threat to T’challa, and she didn't wanna see that kid in the business they were in.

Y/N pov

When You and Ramonda finished our meditation she sat me down explaining everything.

“you had to move from your last home because Erik had messed up a deal, he accidentally left the backpack full of the goods he was selling, and you know how that goes.” Y/n looked at Ramonda, not believing her, this shit sounded like the stuff that’d be in the movies. “You moved because it was trouble and would threaten your life since you hung around the customer, and they knew where you lived” she said "Don't believe it? read "

she tossed the newspaper to me and y/n read it. she couldn't believe it all when she got done reading she looked at Ramonda. "Is this gonna affect how you see us and your family?" Ramonda looked at her, hoping the girl wouldn't have said the wrong answer. “No. I know you guys aren't bad. But I have a question” Y/n said causing Ramonda to raise her eyebrow “ have any of you killed anyone?” Y/n said and Ramonda nodded.

“Justified in our eyes, they killed our members so we killed theirs.” Ramonda sipped her drink “ you won't be involved due to your heart being soft, and your little entanglement with shuri.”Ramonda said, wanting to avoid problems and issues in her business "oh, and about shu- "don't put all your peas in the pod, and shuri is just misguided and confused as are you, find your path." Ramonda interrupted "Oh and go to the store with The kids and their friends yeah? Here's the list. Use the car too" Ramonda handed me the list, wow that's a lot to unpack.

when I went in the house shuri was in the kitchen, she smiled at me, I wasn't gonna ignore her, I smiled back at her" Cmon Ramonda said we need to go to the grocery store" everyone turned their heads to me as I said that, T'Challa came over to me grabbing for the list but I smacked his hand. “I'm not a baby, don't baby me. I can get the stuff too, I'm a grown-ass woman T’challa” you snapped, stored anger coming out “She told me to drive too so cmon” you said walking through the living room and heading outside, the crew near the couch and shrugged not caring who drives. Everyone had come out with masks n hats on, shuri too.

You saw how good she looked, biting your lips and looking her up and down, but you shook your head not giving in to the temptations of that woman, Okoye, M'baku, and nakia hopped in their cars. you used the keys to unlock the car hopping in, shuri hopping in next to You, the two boys that were left sitting in the back.

“Ma, can you not crash this car ? We need it “ shuri said to you joking “before we drive im saying this to all of you” they looked at y/n confused as hell. “ Dont baby me. The shit is weird and im grown Aight?im not little anymore, babying me makes me uncomfortable, so treat me seriously" you said starting up the car , you drived infront of the other three, them following behind.

"What makes you think we baby you Y/n?" Erik said geniunely not noticing. " you treat me like i cannot handle my own situations, do everything for me and not let me do anything, when i want space you invade it and comfort me like im a child throwing a tantrum. dont do that shit anymore, this includes you shuri" you said with a monotone voice finally setting boundaries.

Erik nodded looking at T'challa, he also nodded accepting what y/n said. Shuri nodded slowly kissing her teeth.

You loved the sight of her being pissed off, she doesn't like being called off on shit she did as a mistake. you parked in front of nakia got out of the car taking the keys.

you hummed getting a cart, "wait get inside it" shuri said to me, with a smile on her face. "hmm.. alright ill go with your idea." You said hopping and sitting in the cart.

Shuri, pushed the cart with me inside, T'challa had split the list up for us to split up and get the items so they weren't in this store for long.

First me and shuri went down the dairy isle, we picked some things out , mainly eggs, then she span me around fast causing me to grip the cart tight. she giggled looking at me " stop taking everything seriously, have a little fun"

shuri said playing with my braids "mmmh my mom did this?" she tugged on it causing me to smack her hand.

"yeah she did and I look pretty." you took her advice and improved, you felt so free now, Shuri would grab seeds tossing them in. "I'm still mad at you though," you said, shuri kept going saying mhm “ because every time I'm upset you comfort me and we end up fucking, like I enjoy us fucking but when I need space I expect you to give it, and ill do the same." you looked back at her and she gave a kiss on your lips.

"im sorry my Nkosazana, ill take note of that to make your experience with me better." she gently strokes your face causing you to melt. "mmh hate when you just do that" you crossed tour arms pretending you weremt affected, you werent gonna let her she the affect she has on you. "what its just a kiss? am i not allowed to do that now mami?" Shuri smirked putting more stuff in the cart.

"Ah my legs are asleep, i wanna get out." you got out the cart with Shuri's help, wobbeling abit since your legs were asleep for 5 minutes. Shuri cackled at how you wobbled getting some ideas for later.

"Not today satan!" you said walking away from her as you heard her say so damn loud the entire store good hear almost " damn i love to see you go but hate to see you leavee.." she said without any shame in the world.

you walked faster bumping into Riri at the store, shuri was behind you but Riri wasnt paying no mind to her.

"Oh thanks for redoing my makeup i needed that yesterday" You said smiling at riri. "oh no problem, youre the world to me so id do anything to stop a friend crying" Riri smiled.

You gave her a hug, Riri's head laying in between your breasts, when you finished the hug she raised an eyebrow. "god damn i almost got suffocated between them bitches." Riri laughed causing you to laugh so hard you hold your stomach " god damn Ri your laugh is fucking contageous " you Sighed feeling eyes on you, you turned to shuri and man she wasnt happy, you dont know how but you wanted her to feel like how you felt yesterday.

"byee riri, oh wait! "you put on red lipstick, dark from your bag. "stay still f'me " you crouched, Riri taking offense to it, looking you up and down but her eyes wandering to your breast, then her eyes moving to shuri whose eyes were burning through her skull watching Y/n kiss her forehead.

“Damn Y/n thats all the love i get? I see now you js dont love your new bestie then.” Riri said, she was smart enough to know what you were doing, you planted kisses all over her face before going back to shuri, at this point your lipstick was off.

"okokay im done now lets check out!" you said with a smile,Shuri remained silent,moving to checkout. The cashieer didnt look at Shuri neither did the bagger. you hummed helping them , you looked at shuri seeing her text someone, you shrugged going outside.

You used the keys to T'challas car to unlock the trunk safely putting all the goods inside, closing the trunk.

LATER

You took a shower at shuri's, for some reason Ramonda told you to stay the night, out of curiousity, You sat on shuri's bed wearing a big T-shirt,no panties.

Shuri came in late, your eyes were on the tv hearing her close and lock the door,in this house when doors are locked no one goes upstairs, especially when its Shuri.

"Oh? how was your little buisness trip?"you looked at her with a innocent smile"buisness trip? ma i didnt go on no damn trip." Shuri said looking at you, she was already frustrated and upset yet you pushed further.

"oh dont lie to me i already know , your mother told me, so how was it." you looked back at the tv hearing shuri get close , her sweat going past the chains she waas wearing.

"do i need to teach you to mind your fucking buisness?" she gripped my jaw roughly turning me to face her,her eyes staring at me like i lost my damn mind " who are you talking to because it isnt m-" before you could even finish, her hand moved to your throat, turning your pussy into a pool. she was nearly choking you if she didnt have restraint.

"Say something smart and i will fuck you till you cant even think of some smart shit to say t'me, im most deffinently not the one bitch. you already pissed me off and im not in the moods for your games" She said, her accent coming out as she looked down at me as if i was a mere pet to her.

" takes a bitch to know o-" Again i couldnt get a word out, Shuri would let go of my throat and jaw flipping me over to where im on my stomach.

She got ontop of me whispering in my ear. "give me your verbal consent and ill pleasure you better then no woman can. ill have you wishing you were mine. ill even have you knowing who this pussy belongs to yeah?" She said in my ear, her accent turning me on. I'd nod and she yanked my hair back causing me to look up "Verbal.

I don't do that nodding shit." she said spitting venom at me “ Y-yes..” I whimpered out “yes what? Am i gonna have to teach you proper manners?” She said tilting her head, id only know this from the mirror she's forcing me to look at. “Yes mommy,” I said the shame leaving my body.

“atta girl. I wanna try somethin’ new” she unhooked my bra with one hand “sit up.im gonna get something right quick.” You sat up, your body acting against you once more.

You heard the Drawer open, looking at the stuff shuri pulled out, yet her back was blocking you from seeing, she left the room coming back with a clean strap on, rope and a blindfold.

“Shuri i dont thi- “i know you dont think, speak when youre told to.” She said

Tying you up making sure all you could move was your lower half.

Shuri blindfolded you tying it around you,you felt something graze against your skin, something sharp, you were scared yet aroused. "I dont get it Sthandwa.(my love) you know damn well im better than every bitch you could be with" she said, her eyes following your body. "You trying to make me jealous with Riri is crazy. You know damn well that girl cant do what i do." she kissed down your body, you felt the pretty marks she left.

"You aint catch what i said last time.." she whispered in your ear biting it gently, she left kisses and hickeys everywhere, every corner and area was covered.

she pulled me closer to her, flipping me onto my back facing her. i kicked her back putting up a challenge, she moved catching my leg. " i hope you dont fight this messy, you'd get your ass beat baby" she went to my wet pussy putting two fingers in, slowly thrusting them, I arched my back moaning, the way she thrusted and curled them made eyes roll back.

The squelching was heard causing Shuri to give a seductive 'mmh.' in response, she thrusted faster causing me to rock my hips with the thrusts my eyes watering , "ffuck im gonna cum soon Shurii.." Y/n moaned.

Shuri stopped towering over y/n, a frown over her face "Forget the name you know me by." Shuri demanded " when im pleasuring you, when im making love you, you will adress me as Ma'am, mommy, daddy wtv." She stared at me, you knew what she wants you to say, you dont wanna say it though. and yet my body yearns for her touch"Please Mommy . please can i cum from your fingers?" you whined out for her, soon enough she inserted her cold fingers back into your pussy abusing your G spot.

You arched your back to gour best abilities, unable to do it as well as you wanted due to the velvet ropes on your your body.

Your fluids went all over her fingers, you panted as your chest heaved up and down "mmh you look so pretty right now" shuri coo's tracing my figure with her knife.

" i dont 'preciate you kissin on other women baby." she frowned mocking me.

HOURS LATER.

You were shaking, your fluids dripping down youd legs after youve been edged so much. you could barely even think about anything, your words slurred as you were a moaning mess.

Shuri turned off the vibrator as soon as you were so close to cumming.

"now who are you thinking of hm? is it me? Sthandwa" (my love) she smiled at you, gently caressing your face.

"My brain is only full of you Mommy, please,I wanna cum" you begged and whined grinding against nothing, your fluids leakinf on her silky white sheets.

Her strap teased your folds as you whined "say the magic words." She said with a chuckle. "please fuck me, I deserve it, I deserve it so much" you wanted to reach for her but you couldn't, maybe if you weren't bratting, you wouldn't be tied up.

Shuri entered you slowly causing you to bite your lips, “it hhurts dont mmove” you whinced in pain “ ‘s okay baby, tell me when i can. Ill be gentle with you , for a short amount if time of course” she said, after a while the pain was gone “ you can move now i promise” you said nodding .

She thrusted slowly inside of me. Keeping the Rythm, she knew what she was doing, You wiggled in your restraints wanting to touch and hold her desperately.

“ Aww y/n wanna touch? Too bad. Maybe if you kept your lips to yourself this wouldn't have happened” she hissed out, she thrusted faster pleasuring you, her fingers circling your clit.

Your stomach turned into a knot as you bit your lips moaning louder, your sweet moans echoing throughout the house.

“Gonna cum again baby? Go ahead, ill let you ride your high” she set faster turning your brain into mush, you squirted uncontrollably as you twitched, panting,your senses were so overstimulated yet so deprived.

Shuri untied you ,gently removing your blindfolds,she picked you up carying you to the bathroom sitting you in the bathtub, once the bath was full, and (y/f/c) with (f/f) petals in it thanks to shuri.

“mmh. That was... A new experience” Y/n said sinking into the tub,”why dont you get in shuri, its big enough for two of us.” You said with a tired smile.

“Mmm.. Nah im good, jus’ let me take care of you ma” Shuri said dismissing the idea of being taken care of. “Mmm please mommy?” you said smiling .

“ Le intombazana izoba kukufa kwam.” she said looking up to any god that was left to help her. (This girl will be the death of me ) she undressed what left she had on, getting in.

LATER.

The two girls laid in bed together cuddled upon eachother, ofc y/n was the little spoon.

“Why cant i have you?” Y/n said looking up at shuri, she yawned trying to keep her eyes open. “ were both not ready yet. “ shuri said kissing my head. “Shit we havent had an actual kiss yet and you want us to- You interrupted her by kissing her passionately on her lips. Shuri kissed back moving y/n to ontop of her.

“Y/n if you want me take your time with yourself and me. Do you even know if you like me?” Shuri said, pulling y/n close and hugging her.

“I dont know... I dont even know what liking feels like.. Im too tired to think right now...” y/n said falling asleep.

shuri looked at her shaking her head.

“I'll give you all the time in the world.” shuri kissed her head before shutting her eyes.

[rosiestalez]

Taking a Gambit

WC: 3,400

Gambit (Remy LeBeau) x afab!mixed!reader

Summary: on a girls trip turned spending time with Remy after a bad breakup, you find yourself making a decision that will change the rest of your vacation and maybe even your life

Warnings: 18+, mentions of cheating, bullying, childhood trauma doesn’t go into detail, a little bit of smut, alcohol, not my gif, bad French, a girl from Georgia trying to write a deep southern & Cajun accent

Happy reading!

——————————————————————

It’s so humid out, you got the wonderful idea to straighten your hair for your girl’s trip to New Orleans, huge mistake. As soon as you stepped off the plane the humidity hit you like a wrecking ball, you’re from Georgia so you know that humidity could be bad, but you never knew it could be this bad. Your makeup is sliding off your face, your once silk pressed hair is attempting to retreat back to its normal curl pattern.

You and your girls pile into an extremely over priced Uber that arrives to an equally over priced ARBNB near the French Quarter. “How much did you spend on this Beebee?”, you ask tipping your sunglasses down. You put your hair in a bun a little bit ago ‘out of sight, out of mind’.

“I dunno, it’s was like $80 a night!”, she remarks, “but that’s okay, the man covered it all!”, you all giggle and grab our luggage from the car.

When y’all walk in there’s a wonderful smell of food. You drop your luggage and make your way to the kitchen. When you walk in you see a man, you jump back, you’re a tad frightened not expecting someone cooking in the kitchen. You knock over the broom behind you, the man turns away from the stew on the stove top and turns to you.

“Hello?”, the man has an extremely thick Cajun accent, and not to mention his crop top.

“Uh hi? What are you doing in our house?”, I tilt my head to the side

“Your house? Last time I checked my name was on the deed, ma chérie”, okay not Cajun , maybe French you think to yourself.

“Hey gi-“, one of your friends walked in to the kitchen a smile beaming on her face when she sees the handsome man standing in the kitchen. “Hey, I’m Briana, and I see that you’ve met y/n”, she sticks out her hand to him. He waltz over kissing her hand.

“Bonjour Belle”, you roll your eyes at his charm targeted to your taken friend.

“She’s married”, you point to her flashy diamond ring on her finger.

“Okay, and I’m Remy!, he introduces himself with a dramatic bow.

“Wow”, you huff, “what are you cooking?”, you walk over to the stove.

“I’m making GUMBO!”, he answers, flailing his arms outwards, his crop top lifting up slightly exposing the rest of his ripped torso, “would you masdames like some, there’s plenty t’go around. Judgin by the luggage in the living room y’all mus be starvin.”

“That would be perfect Remmy”, Beebee beams walking over to a cupboard pulling out four bowls. “Riley, Cora, there’s food!”, she yells. Two more girls shuffle into the kitchen stunned by the man serving up Gumbo and rice.

After dinner you’re practically falling asleep at the table while Remy chats up your friends, all of them are blushing and giggling like elementary school girls talking to the life guards in their Justice mermaid swimsuits. “Guys I’m gonna go ahead and unpack, and get ready to go out. Take your time though. Thank you for dinner Remy”, you stand up placing your bowl and spoon into the sink. You hear another chair scrape the floor.

“Lemme help you mon amour”, he smiles at you. You nod and he follows behind you picking up your luggage. He takes it up stairs to the biggest room, “this my room”, he remarks.

“Cool, when are you leaving the house, this is really unprofessional?”

“I’m leavin t’night, I just wan to make sure there s’food b’fore I left. Mamma always told me to feed the guests.”

“How cute, so all of this is yours?”, you ask and put your purse on the bed, “I hope you washed the sheets, you look like a player.”

“I worked hard, and they’re clean Remy got more respect for women than that, doll.” He gives you a tour of the room and you follow him, it is huge and the bathroom is insane.

“Wow.”, you are stunned, “do you think my friends would be mad if I stay in tonight, your food is on the verge of putting me into a comma”, you plop yourself onto the bed laying back and sighing.

“No, I don’t think they will”, he grabs some extra pillows for the other rooms, “lemme walk these to the other rooms and I’ll be right back.”

“Okay”, you sigh and roll over to your side, your eyes drift close and like that you’re out.

Remy walks back in and lets out an obnoxious sigh, but realizes you’re asleep, and he quietly tip toes back out after writing a note and slipping it onto the night stand before leaving to a hotel.

You wake up to your phone buzzing beside you nonstop:

Cold & Suffering😀🙄:

B- “where is y/n?”

Coracola- “she went up stairs w/ Remy and never came back down😏”

B- “omg😭”

*Rizzles laughed at a message*

Coracola-“I did see Remy leave so maybe he laid it and dipped 🤷‍♀️”

B-“Doubt that, she’s still hung up on Miles!”

Rizzles- “okay, but having rebound sex with the man who cooked dinner for you is very ✨demure✨”

You roll your eyes at the messages before replying:

Me-“we didn’t have sex, I fell asleep”

B- “oh she lives!”

Coracola-“SLAYY!”

*Rizzles thumbs down a message*

Me-🙄

You turn your phone off throwing it across the bed. You roll over and look up at the ceiling before standing up, the note catches your eye.

‘You looked extremely peaceful and I didn’t want to wake you. You’re very beautiful btw! I am leaving now and I wanted to say enjoy your stay. Here’s my number if you need anything, or want anything…if you know what I mean. (765)432-1010.’

You make your way back down stairs to see your friends all dressed up on the couch waiting to go out for the night. They all turn to look at you, “why aren’t you ready?”, Beebee questions.

“I’m not going out, I’ll go out with yall tomorrow, I’m not feehling to good the flight drained me”, you respond.

“Ugh”, they moan in unison.

“Okay we’ll call us if you need anything please?”, Cora states as they pile out the door to the Uber.

You walk back up to the room, and undress, you unpack your toiletries and begin wiping off your makeup from the day. You get the bright idea to text Remy, while in the process of unwinding. You talked for a while about how happy you were to leave your lame ass city in Georgia and visit a historic city. He threw in some French and unfortunately, you swooned. Your phone starts to ring, it is a FaceTime from “LeBeau (NOLA)”, you answer reluctantly. You see a big smile beaming across his face.

“Bonjour, belle”, his French accent shining through, “oh by the way I have a liquor cabinet help yourself”, he adds.

“Oh, I don’t drink much”, you respond.

“Fair nough ”, he nods.

You reposition yourself to lay on your stomach propping your head up with one of the pillows.

“Are you enjoying?”, he asks smiling.

“Yes I am, I decided to stay in, not feeling good”, your face softens to sorrow.

“What’s wrong ma chérie?”, his voice fills with concern.

“Nothing.”

“No tell Remy, something is bothering you. You’re to pretty to be bothered by something”, He raises his concern again.

“No, it’s pretty irritating and it’ll go away, that’s why I’m here to get away for this weekend.”

“So why are you staying in if it’s gon go away?”, he asks once again. You roll your eyes at his persistence, “Remy gives very good advice, but shit you don’t gotta tell me. I’ll just find out f’myself soon.”

“Fine”, you sigh, and inhale a deep breath before sitting up and propping the phone up on the lamp on the night stand. “It’s my ex”, you pause, twiddling your thumbs, “he keeps sending me sex videos of the girl he cheated on me with and saying really fucked up things about me.”

Remy has a stunned look on his face, jaw practically touching the floor. “What the fuck?”, his Cajun accent more pronounced. His bright red eyes fill with anger. “Thas fucked up, that jus don’t make no sense, why?”

“Like I would know, I don’t even know why he cheated on me in the first place. I did nothing to him.”

“No s‘not your fault cher, some people are jus filled wit evil”, he responds. “How long were yall together?”, he tilts his head to the side like a puppy waiting for a treat.

“One year”, you follow, “we broke up two weeks ago.”

“Woah, s’insane he would do a beautiful masdame like that”, he follows this, “d’ya know tha girl?”

“Yeah”, your eyes sink lower, “Riley.”

“Ya amie?”, he asks

“Who?”

“Your friend”, he translates the French

“Yes”, you remark, “that’s why I don’t want to go out.”

“You got that right”, he adds, “get him back.”

Your eyes widened stunned by his ‘good advice’, “what?”, eyes widen.

“Ya heard me, get em back”, he beams, eyes lighting up again.

“Why would I do that?”

“You a very beautiful woman, I assume he ain’t, get em back wit a good lookin man.”

“Remy”, you sigh, “I don’t want to do that, I don’t just have sex to get revenge.”

“Fair”, his tone direct.

“Yep, so that’s why I’m not going out tonight”, you roll your eyes grabbing your phone and laying back down on the bed. “Where are you?”

“Hotel!”, he flips his camera around to show off the sorry room that he’s in.

“Yikes”, you chuckle out your nose. “Come back here, we can party”, you smile. You surprisingly enjoy his presence, he’s a little cocky, but he makes you smile.

“Ha, d’ya play poker?”, he asks.

“I can play 21”, you smile.

“Close nough, imma be there soon.” He hangs up the phone, and you change into some more presentable clothes, but yet still comfortable. You take it upon yourself to borrow one of his purple sweatshirts because you weren’t expecting his house to be freezes cold. You make your way down the stairs and into the kitchen searching for something to munch on, you smile when you see a snack cabinet specifically for guests and renters. You nestle yourself into the plush vintage couch that matches the aesthetic of the French quarter.

You flip through a couple channels on the tv before landing on the Animal Planet because reruns of your favorite childhood tv show ‘Dirty Jobs’ was currently on. You’re hair fully curled back up, because you did rinse out the rest of the silk press earlier, revealing bouncy, but some what frizzy 3c curls. You let out a long sigh when the door knob starts jiggling you jump up making a run to the door grabbing a random baseball bat, when the door opens you swing the bat hitting Remy in the stomach.

“Ooo”, he groans dropping to the floor holding his stomach. You drop the bat cupping your mouth to stifle a giggle. You quickly rush down to his aid still trying not to laugh and planting a look of concern onto your face.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!”, you exclaim.

“S’all good”, he grumbles out, “jus-ow-needa-minute”, he exhales, “good arm you got there.”

“Yeah, I played softball in highschool”, you respond. You help him off the floor closing the door muffling the outside noise and bring him to the couch. “Let me grab some ice!”, you spark.

“That’ll be great cher”, he responds shifting slightly. You return with a bag of ice placing it on his abdomen, he looks up at you and smiles. “Thanks.”

“I’m so sorry, it’s definitely gonna leave bruises, you lift up his shirt to reveal a spot begging to form.

“Well at least I’ll know a beautiful woman gave em to me”, he chuckles. You roll your eyes, still enamored by his body, his voice, his charm. You didn’t understand why it’s only been one day, but you would drop everything to have him around all the time.

“You make me blush”, you say with a slight hint of sarcasm lining your voice, “I don’t think they’ll be back anytime tonight, I bet you around midnight Cora will call and say they found another party”, you sigh.

“you’s ain the party type?”

“Not really.”

“I ain’t either, I like stayin home and watchn a good movie, playin cards”, he responds. He looks down at your hands lightly resting on his torso, “you’re nail s’pretty, I like purple”, he compliments the dark purple color you just did for your trip to NOLA. “You look good in my sweatshirt too”, he adds lightly grabbing the sleeve.

You blush, “thanks”, you remove your hands from his abs swiftly pulling the sleeves of the sweater over your hands.

“Don’t hide mon amor”, he pulls your hand and holds it tightly, rubbing his thumb on your knuckles.

“No it just hit me that I was touching you, I’m sorry”, you chuckle.

“Don’t be Remy don’t mind!”, he exclaims placing your hand back on his belly.

You’re 3 rounds deep in 21, he keeps winning and you keep busting, never trusting your gut. The air is filled with laughter as you both tell funny stories about your childhoods and about current day. “So are you from here?” You ask shuffling the deck to prepare for another round.

“Born n’ raised”, he remarks with a smirk, “are you from Georgia?”

“I am, I was too born and raised, but I didn’t live in Macon my whole life, I moved there when I was a girl, I’m actually from Moody”, you answer. “It’s a smaller subset town of Valdosta!”, you chirp.

“Oh wow”, he responds.

“Yeah, crazy right”, you smirk dealing the cards. You behind the fourth round and as quickly as it started it ended, finally you won a round, “YES!”, you exclaim fist pumping the air!

“You took a gambit cher and it put you in a good spot”, he responds to your win, “I’m bored of this game, do you wan watch a show?”, he asks cleaning up the card and placing them back in their spot inside the coffee table.

“You’re not bored you’re just upset that you lost”, you laugh.

“Damn you’s caught me”, he sarcastically sulks.

“But yes we can watch a show, I’m not picky we can watch anything!”

“Okay, do you like Disney?”, he asks taking a spot quite close to you in the couch. His arm is stretched out behind you, and you subconsciously lean into him without even realizing. You nod at his question and he opens Disney+, “is that your natural hair?”, you nod, “it’s beautiful cher!”

“Thank you”, you blush at this compliment, it’s very rare for a white man to compliment your hair without touching it or comparing it to something else. He puts on a movie.

“This is MY favorite move”, he remarks clicking on ‘Princess and the Frog’ you chuckle, and how adorable this man actually is. The movie starts playing, he gets up to dim the lights and sits back down next to you, he pulls you in a little closer.

About 30 minutes into the movie you receive a text from Cora:

Coracola: “hey found another party, we ain comin home tn don’t wait up!”

Coracola: “have sex with Remy!”

Coracola: “love you N/n!”

Me: “okay be safe, please call me if you need me! I’m not going to have sex with him, love you guys too!”

You close your phone and place it on the coffee table. You hear a light snore beside you and turn to see Remy asleep head rested on the pillow. You smile grabbing the remote and turning off the movie, “not done watching”, he shuffles awake.

“I’m sorry, I am”, you respond.

“Oh”, you could probably hear his heart sadden.

“Yous sleepy?”, he asks, “go on to bed”, he smiles at you. You stand up hands gently cupping his face rubbing your thumb against his stubble. You turn to walk up the stairs, you know he’s looking so you sway your hips with each step you take.

You make it upstairs and you softly close the bedroom door behind you, stripping off all of your clothes except for your underwear and crawl into bed letting the warm blankets embrace you tired body. With that you’re relaxed, your eyes closing as you drift off to sleep.

The smell of breakfast wakes you up from your deep sleep; the smell of fresh coffee, sausage and eggs fill the air. You roll out of bed putting your discarded clothes back on before stumbling down stairs wiping sleep from your eyes. “Bonjour, belle dame”, he remarks when you walk into the kitchen he’s standing over the stove cooking breakfast for you and him and it looks big enough it could also be for your friends when they decide to stumble back in. “I have some grits jus bout done, and French roast coffe brewin, and sausage fryn up”, he points a spatula to different parts of the gigantic kitchen. “You like grits”, your pouring some coffee and putting in your absurd amount of cream and sugar, “woah there doll, you don’t wan no coffee wit ya sugar?”, he mocks.

“I like my coffee sweet.”

“You don’t need it to be sweet you already sweet enough, sugar”, he reverts his gaze back to the sausage in the skillet. You blush taking a sip of your sweet ass coffee.

“Why do you cook so much?” You take a seat at the island setting your blue mug down gently. The windows were propped open the humidity fills the room.

“My momma taught me s’really jus somethn I always did wit momma.”

“Oh I see.”

“Do you cook?”

“Here and there sometimes I just get to busy with work.”

“What ya do f’work?”

“Oh I’m a teacher”, he turns away from the stove eyes widening.

“Yous a teacher?, still filled with shock.

“Yes sir, I teach first grade, sometimes it’s a little rough, but they’re little angels just wanting to grow”, you smile taking another sip of the coffee.

“We-you know, you’re a special woman. Your heart truly is as beautiful as you are”, his red eyes look at you deeply. “Oh well! Everything seems to be done let me make you a bowl, lovely.”

After breakfast Remy encourage you to get ready so he can take you exploring through the city now that it’s daylight and a bit safer. You do your curly girl routine and put on a little waterproof mascara, changing into one of the summer dresses you brought for your trip. You still have yet to hear anything from your friends so you allow Remy to show you around instead.

You walk around the FQ for a bit, snack on some delicious food, and even try some of Remy’s favorite drink, Whiskey Neat, to you it was not neat and you may have even gagged a little. You found yourselves hand in hand at one point while walking around, he says it’s for your protection as he’s just trying to be a gentleman, but you know better than that. “I don’t know if I told ya that you look very beautiful today, Une beauté dans le bayou.”, he compliments.

“Thank you Remy”, you find you and Remy sitting in a cafe that he said he went to all the time as an ‘enfant’.

“Of course cherie”, he responds.

“So are you Cajun or French?”, you finally expose your curiosity to him and he just chuckles.

“Both amor”, he follows, “mostly just a ragin Cajun”, he smiles taking a sip of his beverage.

“That’s pretty cool, so your related to the Canadian French people?”

“Somin like that yeah.”

“That’s interesting”, you smile eager to learn more about this mystery man who seems to care about you more than your friends who you still not have heard from except Beebee who’s keeping you updated here and there.

“I reckon”, he states plainly, “Tell Remy bout you.”

“I’m not as interesting as you are”, you chuckle re adjusting yourself in the seat.

“Try me, gon ahead, doll”, he just smiles.

“Well, I’m mixed, my dad is black mom is white”, memories flood back from your childhood, all the adoption rumors that floated around your school, all the stories your mom told you about how people called you a devil child, and how you were unnatural, all the racism you faced from both sides of the family.

“Hey that’s pretty cool”, he smiles, “why you lookin sad, belle”

“I just had it a bit rough growing up up that’s all”, you drink your water practically chugging in. This has been your go to tactic when you’re anxious, just chug water and hope your nerves calm down.

“Oh”, he pauses and reaches accross the table to grab your hand, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay! When I got to college the bullying stopped!”, you exclaim

“Well thas good cher.”

After a couple minutes your food arrives and both of y’all go to town, you ordered the best burger you’ve had in a while, and Remy got a some crawfish and he went to town on their little heads, you just giggle, he’s absolutely adorable. He pays for both of you not without heavy protest, but he just ignores you saying, ‘this jus what men s’posed to do’.

You two arrive back at his house, and you finally see your friends running around the house like mad women trying to figure out who’s shoes are who’s, and who’s going out clothes belong to who. “Bonjour, mesdames!”, Remy pipes closing the door behind y’all.

The girls stop running around facing the door, “Hey!”, they exclaim together before going back to what they were doing. You and Remy just laugh and make your way back upstairs. Closing the door behind him you both sit down on the bed, just laughing at the women down stairs.

“My friends think we should have sex.”

“What?”, he looks at you Turing sharply. You have to admit he did look completely fuckable in this moment, but you just couldn’t fuck him, you don’t like the idea of having a rebound partner.

“Because of Miles”, you add.

“I mean, Remy wouldn’t mind bein a rebound, but I do get a lil clingy after sex, I will bother you”, he chuckles.

“Yeah, me too, that’s why I don’t want to do rebound sex.”

“Cher, remember how I told him yous should get him back?”

“Yeah”

“Do it, you’re only here for a couple more days, so jus gon ahead and get tha ass back”, he adds, “gon and find a man and get him ba-“

Before you could finish his sentence you kiss him, you’ve wanted to do that since he came back to spend time with you last night. He responds to the kiss without hesitation. Your lips match movements. He leans you back on his bed, crawling on top of you deepening the kiss. His free hand travels up to your face holding you tightly with the other. You’ve never experienced a kiss this deep and this passionate ever. He’s filled with passion, it has to be his souther and French roots tied into one. Man is it beautiful, it’s great, until he stops, “doll? yous okay wit this, I’m okay if you okay?”, you nod your head pulling him back down into the kiss. Before anything could happen you hear a knock on the door, you pushed him off you and he hits the floor with a *thud* and an *ow*. You jump of the bed straightening out your clothes before opening it wide enough just for you to only be seen.

“Hey bad time?”, Beebee asks.

“No, yeah, no- you’re good, what’s up?”

“We are leaving again, we found another spot do you wanna come?”

You look behind you at the man still sitting on the floor rubbing his head.

“I’m staying here again, I really don’t want to be around Rylie.”

“Fair, okay well I will see you tomorrow, tell Remy I said hey”, she giggled and makes her way down stairs. You close the door as she leaves letting out a long winded exhale before walking over to Remy and helping him stand up.

“Do you have super strength?”, you look at him confused, “this the second time you’d hurt good ol’ Remy. Startn to wonder if ya dislike me”, you just giggle and rub the back of his head. “What kinda music ya like cher?”, he asks while getting up from the bed and walking over to the record player on the dresser.

“I don’t know Rem, I’m not picky. We can listen to whatever you pick”, he smiles and picks out a Louis Armstrong record. He starts swaying, he grabs your hand and politely forces you to start swaying with him.

“Beautiful belle”, he whispers, his chin rests at the top of your head, “stay with me. We can dance like this forever.”

You giggle softly, “I wish Remy.”

“It’s summer break stay wit me for the rest of summer”, he adds lowly. You let out a content sigh, pondering the idea for a second. He spins you around towards the bed and you take a seat, he walks over to you with a sensual look on his face. You scoot back spreading your legs so he has room to lay you back, pressing his lips against yours with so much passion you could practically melt into liquid form. He kissed down your jaw and neck, he finds a spot under your ear and sucks on it, that will definitely be a hickey; the sensation leaves you breathless and your eyes begin to roll back pushing your hips close to his. He forces your thighs apart more using his thigh, he’s pretty much straddling one of your thighs. You rub against his toned thigh out of instinct searching for release of the tension building on your bud.

“Ma chérie, ralentis”, he whispers in your ear. You whine, the accent is way more thick than it has been. You don’t know what he’s saying, but you can only assume it’s about your movements. “Oh don’t whine belle, that makes me go s’crazy”, he smirks. “Can Remy take off your dress cher?”, you nod. He pulls off the yellow dress revealing you in nothing, but a lacy purple thong. Your tits are perky, and your nipples have turned into mounds at the feeling of the cold air. He smiles like a goofy kid, “Remy likes that purple, s’bad gotta go”, you smile with him, looking up at his red eyes.

“Remy?”, he looks at you.

“Yes ma cher?”

“Be nice.”

“I’m always nice, mon amour”, with that he slides your thong and tosses it somewhere in the room. He looks at you silently asking permission to go down on you and you nod confirming that everything is okay. He dips his down into your throbbing cunt. He lives light kisses on the lips and around where you want him.

“Rem, please”, you beg.

“Not yet, sugar”, he keeps up the teasing until his fingers get involved and they lightly pass through your folds softly rubbing your clit. You buck letting out a soft moan, “I can’t hear you cher, a lil louder so Remy can hear you, yeah?” You nod your head.

He has you moaning a writhing underneath him for about 30 minutes, he’s taken his time making you feel good, talking you through everything. He’s laying next to you playing in your hair and rubbing your back, as both your heart rates attempt to drop back down to normal. “Cher you did so good for me”, he smiles, pushing some curls behind your ear. “I’m sorry if I was rough”, he says staring deeply in your eyes.

“You’re okay Remy, it felt good”, you respond cupping his face, planting a kiss on your forehead. “I’m gonna shower and it’s starting to get late, I’m sleepy.”

“Okay mon amor, any thoughts t’my question yet?”, he asks looking up to you as you wrap yourself in a towel.

“I have, I’ll stay”, you smile and waltz towards the bathroom.

A/n- hey author note at the end! I noticed there’s not a lot of Gambit content which is so sad. So I’m currently taking requests for him! I’m sorry this one got long, I’m going to be working on a part 2! Thank you so much for reading! Don’t forget to reblog🫶!

[xmads-omensx]

Birthday Surprise

Masterlist

Word Count: 1,460

Pairing: Dougie Poynter X Reader

Content Warnings: fluff, kissing

Summary: It's Dougie's birthday while he's away on tour, and Y/N simply can't let him celebrate it without her

November 30th had rolled around much quicker than I had anticipated. Sadly, Dougie was on tour with the rest of McFly, and had been for two weeks already. I woke up in our bed, alone besides our cat, Grub.

With a yawn, I reached over to the bedside table to check the time on my phone. 7:28am. I was right on time. Opening my phone, I went straight over to Dougie’s contact to wish him a happy birthday, but before I could press the button to call him, my phone began to ring. It was Giovanna.

“Y/N, good morning!” Her cheery voice spoke through the phone.

“Hey.” I replied with a yawn.

“I know. I’m so sorry we have to get up this early, but it’s the only way we can get there on time.” She said sympathetically.

“Yeah, I know. Just didn’t sleep great last night.” I said.

“Excited?” Gi asked happily.

“Very.” I laughed tiredly.

“Aww good. Well, I’ll pick you up at about 8:00 if that’s okay. Georgia and Izzy are coming too, so we’re all going to go at the same time. The kids are coming too so it will be a big McWag day out.” She laughed.

Fans had lovingly referred to the wives and girlfriends of the band as ‘The McWags’. I was obviously a lot newer to this side of it as Dougie and I had only been together for eight months, but they included me as soon as we made our relationship public and welcomed me with loving arms.

“Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll see you soon Gi.” I said.

“See you soon Y/N! I can’t wait.” She cheerily laughed.

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

As soon as I hung up the brief phone call, I got out of bed and began to make it. Once I was done, I got dressed and called Dougie, walking over to my vanity area. The phone rang out as I started doing my makeup for the day.

“Hey babe. Good morning.” Dougie’s voice spoke.

“Hi Doug. Morning yourself. Happy birthday.” I replied with a smile.

He laughed back. “Thanks darling. Wish I could be spending it with you, though.” I could hear regret in his voice. It was always there when he went away. I never really minded when he was on tour, as I understood that it was part of the job and there wasn’t anything that I could do to stop it from happening. Obviously, Doug knew this too, but he always felt guilty when he missed things like holidays, birthdays and other special occasions.

“Yeah, me too. Do you have anything nice planned for today?” I asked.

“Actually, yeah, Danny let slip that the guys are going to take me out for lunch for a surprise birthday treat.” He laughed his gorgeous melodic laugh.

“That sound like him.” I laughed in reply.

“Anyway babe, I better go. Harry is getting impatient and is desperate for our morning run. I’ll call you later?” There was a hopeful tone in his voice.

“Umm… I’m busy later, but I can text you when I’m free before your soundcheck?” I suggested, trying to avoid potentially getting caught later on in the day.

“Yeah, yeah sure thing babe. Talk to you later.” He said happily, but I could hear a tinge of disappointment laced in his voice.

“Bye babe.”

“Bye bub.”

The silence that engulfed me after I hung up was sad and heavy. Sure, I was going to see him later, but that didn’t take away how I felt from his disappointed voice.

A knock at the front door shook me out of my daze. I walked down the wooden staircase and headed to the front door, I could see an excited Gi waving at me through the glass.

As soon as I opened the door, she engulfed me in one of her famous hugs and I was instantly put at ease once again. “Oh hello you!” She beamed.

“Hi Gi!” I laughed, breathless from how tight the hug was.

“The boys are in the car already, so I’ll just shove your bag in the book, hop in the front and we’re good to go!” She smiled at me.

I laughed and walked over to the passenger side of the car, making sure to wave at the three young boys in the back of the car.

“Hi Y/N!” Buzz shouted over the loud music that they were playing.

“Hiya you three!” I laughed.

The driver side door opened and Giovanna slid in, fastening her seatbelt before sighing.

“Sorry about the volume. They’re trying to make sure they all know the words to every single McFly song, which I’m one thousand percent sure they already do.” She explained with a fake-dramatic sigh.

After that, she pulled away and our journey to the venue began. The drive was pleasant enough. Luckily, traffic wasn’t too horrific, so we got there in just shy of four hours, arriving at around midday. Perfect timing for us to enact our plot.

Tom, Danny and Harry were all somewhat in on the plan. They were going to take Dougie out for his birthday lunch, and I was going to pop up and surprise him. However, I didn’t think this was enough. It felt unfair that only Dougie got a surprise, so I suggested to the other “McWags” that we should all go, and that they should bring their kids along too so they can all see their dads. Unsurprisingly, they were all very excited and happy to go along with my little plan.

When we pulled up to the venue, we met up with Georgie and Izzy as well as their kids and began to make our way to the café Tom had told me they would be at.

“Are you excited?” Georgia asked as we walked.

“Yes, I’m so excited. I don’t know why, but this tour has been so much harder than the others.” I sighed.

“Well, you two have only just moved in together, so it will be weird because you’re so used to being around him all the time.” Izzy suggested with a smile. “I mean, that’s what it was like for Harry and I.”

“Izzy’s right, it was the same with me and Danny.” Georgia agreed.

That brought me a sense of comfort. It had been weird going from living alone, to then moving in with Doug and spending more or less every waking moment together, to him going off on tour and me being alone. I never minded him going on tour, again, it was part of his job, and I did secretly enjoy the peace and quiet I got, but after moving in with him, he became part of my daily routine.

“You’ll see him soon enough because we are nearly there.” Gi beamed, grabbing my arm.

I laughed at her excitement.

The kids began to get increasingly more and more restless as we continued our walk to the café, and even more so when it came into view.

It was a small, cosy establishment in the Leeds city centre with a large glass front with fairy lights hanging down. Danny looked up from his coffee and smiled, completely oblivious to the surprise himself, Tom and Harry were about to get. He gestured for me to come over, still completely oblivious. Typical Danny.

 The door opened with the chime of a bell. Izzy, Gi, Georgia and their kids all followed in behind me with wide smiles across their faces.

Tom, Danny and Harry looked up at us and their faces slowly lit up with realisation as their wives and kids walked towards them, engulfing them in bone-crushing hugs.

Excited squeals erupted from where we had gathered as Dougie remained seated at the table, a slightly disappointed smile on his handsome face.

“Hey there you.” I said as I leaned over his shoulder.

He jumped at the surprise.

“Y/N! You’re here!” He said, standing up and pulling me into an impossibly tight hug.

“Of course I am babe, it’s your birthday.” I laughed, starting to struggle to breathe.

“But I thought you had work?” He asked, pulling away from the hug to look at me.

“Not for the next few days. It’s all online stuff anyway so it doesn’t really matter if I take a day or so.” I explained, still loosely held in my boyfriend’s arms.

He didn’t say anything in reply, he just pulled me in for a kiss, making the rest of the guys and their kids cheer and the other “McWags” laugh at their idiotic behaviour.

“Happy birthday bub.” I whispered.

“Thank you for being here.” He whispered in reply.

“Always.” I kissed him again. “Happy birthday Doug.”

“Best birthday ever.” He smiled back at me.

[slutouttanowhere]

Randy Orton x Black!oc x LA Knight

a/n: I hope y’all enjoy this short chapter, if you haven’t read the previous chapters I have a master list linked in my pinned post. Reblogs are very much appreciated, and follow me for more.

Chapter 6

Friday Night SmackDown– 7:30 pm

I sat in the makeup chair getting my finishing touches, something about tonight was different. There was a buzz in the atmosphere that was incomparable to anything I’ve ever experienced. “How ya doin pretty lady?” I looked up from my phone to see Shaun headed in my direction, his lips curling into a gentle smile upon meeting my gaze. My hands reached out for his, we laced our fingers together, and leaned in for a kiss. He was aiming for my cheek, but I turned at the last second to meet his lips. Seemingly shocked by my actions, he looked around the busy hallways to see who had seen us, and I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“Yes I just kissed you in front of everyone.” I stood up from my chair, and threw my arms lazily around his neck. He had already changed out of his street clothes and into his wrestling shorts. His iconic “Who’s Game Is It?” The T-shirt had the sleeve cut off to expose his thick, muscular arms. His hair cut was fresh, and his Cuban link was glistening.

“So we’re public now? Just like that? I mean are you okay with that because if you’re not okay with that then we don’t have to–

I planted a kiss on his lips as he started to ramble, truth be told I was nervous about it, but I woke up in the mood to take a leap of faith. Besides, if it ends up blowing up in my face, at least I can say we had fun before the wheels fell off. “Maybe not internet public, I mean…the media is gonna have its assumptions, but I want us to do things at our own pace on our own terms ya know?” My hands slid down his chest as he pulled me in by the waist, out the corner of my eye I caught Austin’s lingering gaze. Grayson was talking his ears off about something, but I’m sure the Georgia peach wasn’t listening. I’m sure the new locker room gossip will be how LA Knight won the prize, and if there’s anything I learned from years of being in this business is that the boys are definitely more chatty than us girls. Especially when egos are involved.

“I’m down with whatever you are doll face.” He grinned, his usual charm turned back on, it wasn’t long before our moment was ruined by Bayley, and Liv.

Bayley’s arm wrapped around my neck, a huge grin plastered across her lips, “Well isn’t this cozy?”

“Damn it, I owe Chelsea fifty dollars.” Liv grumbled half heartedly, she pulled out her phone, more than likely texting Chelsea Green. Shaun let go of me, letting the girls swarm me, but didn’t feel offended by their disruption. He understood how important my tribe was to me, and he was never selfish in that right.

“I thought you said you were done making bets after the Super Bowl loss.” Shaun pivoted to Liv, his eyebrows pinched together, and the corner of his mouth curled into a smirk. She groaned in response, the glare in her eyes was harmless, yet it was enough to make Shaun step down from the topic.

“Don’t be like that Liv, you should have known better than to bet against me.” I shrugged, all my friends were pretty much split on Shaun ending up being my main guy. Half of them thought he wouldn’t make it, and the other half were absolutely positive we’d be together.

Bayley let out a boisterous laugh, “I for one always knew what the end game was gonna be, you two look good.”

“Nah Mavis just adds to my beauty.” He chuckled, his gaze landed on me, admiration deep in his sky-blue eyes. I felt exposed, it didn’t take him long to get comfortable with idolizing me in front of everyone.

I flicked my hair over my shoulder, “the only one to outshine the megastar.” I shifted my weight from one hip to the other while simultaneously moving into a pose as Liv pointed her phone at Bayley and I. At last moment Bayley pulled Shaun into the picture, I had one arm wrapped around the back of Bayley, and the other across Shaun’s abdomen. The four of us stood around chatting for a while before Shaun got called to guerilla, being trusted to open the show was a rarity. If there’s anyone that could get the party started, and the crowds warmed up it’s LA Knight.

“And then there were three.” Bayley quipped, she flicked my hair, and the three of us stood there chatting. We weren’t on till a little later tonight, just as we were about to walk off to catering, Randy called me from afar.

“Mavis, we gotta talk.” He sounded, and looked annoyed. My heart jumped, he rarely called me by my name.

I let Liv, and Bayley continue on without me; they gave me a weary glance, but left me anyway. Carefully I approached him where he stood off to the side, he watched me with an intensity that I wasn’t used to. When his eyes were on me like this, it made me feel…bare. His height loomed over me making me feel minuscule regardless of my own height, he crossed his arms over his chest. He leaned in so only the two of us could hear, “the next time one of your little chew toys tries to check me I’m going to kick their ass.” I froze, my brain trying to run through the possibilities of who the hell he could have been talking about.

“What?” I responded, dumbfounded by his accusations, but also the fact that he thinks I have any control over these men.

“Waller just shoulder checked me, I mean I’m I sleeping or does he actually think he ranks up with me? You better take care of him, because if I have to, nobody will like it.” He was damn near frothing, I’ve never seen him so pissed, not like this.

“Waller? That man has never been on my roster, what did he even say?” I nearly choked on my spit, why is that idiot speaking on me to someone else? I’ve never even looked in his general direction.

“Listen…all I’m saying is, handle your business, stop stringing these guys along. It’s gonna cause something you won’t be able to finish Mavis, I’m being serious. Cut em’loose.”

“First of all I don’t need you to tell me how to go about things, and secondly like I was saying, I’ve never talked to Grayson. He’s not even close to my type, cut me some slack Randy.”

“No more slack, you deal with it, or I deal with it. Which is it gonna be?” He said firmly, not an ounce of humor in his tone, and if I wanted Grayson to live to see another day…I was gonna have to face him myself.

I didn’t answer fast enough, Randy was already turning in the opposite direction, more than likely to go find himself an Aussie Icon. Before he got too far I reached out, and grasped his bicep. I groaned heavily, and rolled my eyes which brought a satisfactory grin to the Legend Killers handsome face. “Fine, I’ll talk to Grayson okay? No need for you to murder anybody.” He looked down at my hand placement causing me to realize that I was still holding onto him, he flexed his arm underneath my hand. I quickly snatched away, Shaun’s face popping into my head, I should have known better.

I took a step back for good measure, that’s when a look of realization morphed onto his face. “Please don’t tell me you didn’t make that prick your boyfriend?”

“What? No, didn't you hear anything I just said?” I asked, my eyebrows scrunched, I was trying to figure out why the hell was he always so invested in my dating life.

“Then who is it?” Randy pressed for more information, his persistence would surely be the death of me.

“Why do you care?” I asked, rolling my eyes, he shrugged his shoulders, his arms folded across his chest.

“Because, I need to know who my competition is going to be.” He spoke bluntly, if I had water I’d spit it out.

My heart jumped, “what? You're what?”

“If we’re doing business together, I run a tight ship, Mavis, and we'll most likely spend a lot of time together…because I’m training you.” He explained, of course that’s what he meant.

“Oh…I don’t think Shaun is gonna be a problem. He’ll understand.” He’s never had a problem with me spending time with my other guy friends, training with Randy would be no different, or so I thought.

“Knight?” He said shocked, his voice raising, some people turned to look at us.

“God, tell the whole world why don’t you?” I huffed out air through my cheeks, those damn eyes of his, he really was snake like. It was eerie. I was discombobulated by how hard he was pressing me right now, I was engulfed by his whole presence. He easily snuffed my fire which made it hard to keep up with my cocky facade. I tried to avert my eyes away from him, but his icy gaze, of course he clocked my tea with zero effort.

“Are you embarrassed?” He asked, it’s like he was trying to pull my thoughts from my brain, I’ve never had anyone just out right try to guess what I was thinking.

“No.” I quickly answered, he was making me nervous as hell, and I hated that.

“Then what’s the problem?” His questions were rapid, giving me no time to think, or make up a better lie.

“It’s not one.” I denied, there was an internal battle I was having deep inside, but it’s not Shaun’s fault. Somehow Randy knew this to my misfortune.

“Then why are you acting weird?” He asked, his head now tilted like a curious cat.

“I’m not.” I lied again, never mind the way my pitch went up an octave

“Dude you’re acting weird.” He rolled his eyes as if I just confirmed all his suspicions, which worried me because no matter how good he was at getting answers from me I knew it’d never be the other way around. Randy is an open book when he wants to be, or if you weren’t too intimidated by him to ask. Guess which one I was.

“I am not!” I argued, this time when people turned to look their gaze lingered on us, I shuffled closer to the wall hoping Randy’s large frame would somewhat hide me.

“Alright.” He chuckled, holding his hands up in defense, “I’ll let it go for now, but uh tonight’s the beginning of a long journey. How do you feel?”

“Like I should have been doing this all along, but of course it took a man’s voice for mine to be heard.” On rare occasion I share how I really felt, how lucky he must feel

“What is that, a lyric in a song?” He snorted, like it's impossible for me to string together more than a basic thought.

“No you idiot, their words from my own brain, and I’m serious. I’ve been trying to tell them to let me turn heel in my own organic way. My fans know when it’s bullshit, and they weren’t fucking with that ‘baby face with an attitude’ from me.”

“Yeah, you’re right, that’s why I went ahead and pulled the trigger on it. Now you have the chance to prove to them why you should’ve had more creative control in the first place. However I can’t take all the credit, you’ve been planting the seeds thus far, all I did was water the plant.” His gaze softened, such a 180 from the way he looked at me moments ago.

“What is that, a lyric in a song?” He snorted, like it’s impossible to be gifted at this.

“No you idiot, words from my own brain, and I’m serious. I’ve been trying to tell them to let me turn heel in my own organic way. My fans know when it’s bullshit, and they weren’t fucking with that ‘rebel without a cause’ from me.”

“Yeah, you’re right, that’s why I went ahead and pulled the trigger on it. Now you have the chance to prove to them why you should’ve had more creative control in the first place. However I can’t take all the credit, you’ve been planting the seeds thus far, all I did was water the plant.”

“Still, the final pen should have been pushed because I signed off on it.” I tried to cough away the overwhelming frustration as tears threatened to fall, I hated the way he looked at me. I blinked, then swallowed my words, my eyes swept the ground as I tried to mentally regroup. “Anyways, yeah, I’m ready. I haven’t talked to anyone about tonight.” A white lie, Cardíerre was the first person I called about the impending heel turn. She’s the only non industry friend I had, besides my family, but even they were fans. I need a totally unbiased opinion to talk through everything with.

Randy nodded, he absentmindedly stroked his mustache with his index finger. A pensive expression etched across his face, “hmm that’s good, remember the person you’re turning into. Your real friends will understand.” He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, he gave me a reassuring squeeze, and with his other hand he gave me a thumbs up.

An airy laugh pushed past my lips, “thanks Randal.” My eyes lifted to meet his gaze, a mistake. I couldn’t look away, my brain just blanked, my heart racing, and my whole body frozen. The nagging thoughts of all the expectations bit back, it’s always been hard for me to find a happy medium. Either I’m half assing it, or I take it to an extreme level with my foot on the gas.

“Snap out of it, look at me. That’s it just breathe, we’re right here together Mavis, don’t you dare tap out now.” He shook me by the shoulders, the sensation pulling me from off the ledge.

Just then approaching footsteps could be heard from behind me, followed by Shaun’s voice. If I had been in my right mind I would have understood how incriminating Randy and I looked just then. “Randy, just always find yourself having one on one time don’t ya? Hm I think you’d make an even better counselor.”

“Yeah I’ll look into it, after I’ve retired you…megastar, legend, all the same to me.” Randy quipped, not missing a beat, Shaun’s arm was already snaking around my waist, and pulling me into his side. I felt dizzy, and nauseous. My heart was pounding from what I presumed was a panic, or anxiety attack.

“Oh is that right, well you just give me a call anytime you wanna set that up old pal.” Shaun’s tone became more nasty by the second; considering Randy was already hot from Waller earlier, they couldn’t have chosen a better time to let it rip.

Thankfully an official put their little spat to a pause, it was time for me to walk, and I only had 8 minutes. I caught a glimpse of Shaun’s face, his eyelids wide, and chest puffed out. Randy appeared to be unphased, his eyes told a different story. “How do I look?” I was technically speaking to Shaun.

“You look beautiful.”

“Like money kid.”

Both Randy, and Shaun spoke at the same time. “Ummm thanks guys.” I mumbled, and shuffled past them without another word. Yet again had I been in my right mind I would have noticed that my body was going to betray me in the next 30 minutes. All I could think about was the story Randy and I had been navigating through. There’s certain moments in the script I wanted to make sure to hit extra emphasis on, there’s a panel tonight for a fatal four. Bayley, Liv, Becky, and myself were to Duke it out at Fastlane to determine the number one contender spot. Bayley, Liv, and I are known to be friends. Tonight I was to sever that tie. They hit my music, but I just felt off. My whole body was shaky as I made my way down the ramp, the bright lights, the roar of the fans, it all blurred together. ‘God what am I doing?’ I didn’t even make it to the ring before my vision went spotty.

I screwed my eyes shut, when I opened them someone was kneeling beside me. “You keep going in and out, just stay with me Mavis…” The voice I recognized, I spent enough years on tv to know when Randy Orton was in my presence. “Fuck, can we get a goddamn medic!” He shouted, my body felt heavy, and my breathing ragged like I had been holding my breath underwater for too long. I could feel him scoop me into his arms as he argued with someone who was advising him to let me lie down. “As long as it took your ass’ to get down here! I’ll carry her by my damn self.” The last thing I saw was his piercing blue irises watching me, the feel on his hand caressing my cheek, and my body being strapped to a gurney. How fucking embarrassing.

[ooohasitmeined]

Always, Everytime Pt. 2

I woke up to a blaring headache. My hangovers are getting increasingly more and more aggressive with each birthday. 

Like a good Zillenial, my first instinct upon cracking open my eyes is to grab my phone. As I suspected, it’s inappropriately late for me to still be sleeping. I don’t focus on the time for long, as I’m more focused on the text message notification on the screen. To my surprise, Louis responded to my text last night.

Louis: “It was lovely to meet you. Don’t worry about getting me back for the ride, it’s my treat.”

I want to respond. I don’t remember much about last night, but I remember how refreshing Louis was. Something about him was just so genuine. He was so easy to talk to, and was just so enjoyable to be around. I was worried last night would be the first and last time I’d see him, and with that text warranting no real response, I think that may be the case. I stare at the screen and decide that likely nothing will come from last night’s interaction. 

I’m disappointed when I open my fridge. I was planning on making a nice breakfast at home, but my fridge and cupboards are completely empty. It’s not hard for me to find an excuse to walk down to the coffee shop on the corner and pick up breakfast, but this morning I have no other option. I slip a t-shirt on over my head, tie up my hair in a claw clip, and pull on some sweatpants before heading out the door. I look like proper shit, to be completely honest. Given my luck, this is the morning I will run into someone I absolutely do not want to. 

“Good morning, Georgia!” I hear as I step into the coffee shop. 

I look up and notice Olivia, the bubbly high school aged barista that works in the shop on the weekends. She’s a short blonde girl with bright blue eyes and the most welcoming personality. I adore her, truly. 

“Good morning, Olivia. How are you?”

 “I’m great! How are you? You look horrible.” 

“Gee, thanks, Olivia!” I say, with a shocked expression and a laugh. “I’m good, I went out with some friends last night and got carried away.” 

“So fun! Where’d you go?” 

“We went to a few places, but we ended the night in SoHo” 

Olivia goes on about how she can’t wait to start clubbing and going to bars. I place my order with her, and take a seat to wait for my breakfast sandwich and latte.

As I wait, my phone vibrates. It’s embarrassing to admit, but a part of me was really hoping it’d be a text from Louis. I pull my phone from my pocket and see a text from Sophia. 

Sophia: Hi love, had so much fun last night. How’d you end up getting home?

Me: Me too! Thanks for taking me out. I ended up getting a ride home with this random guy. It’s a long story. 

Sophia: Well, I hope it had a happy ending lol. Can’t wait to hear all about it next girls night.

Sophia knows I’m not one to sleep with a guy on the first date. And my time with Louis certainly wasn’t a date, but given his charm I definitely wouldn’t have been opposed to bringing him up to my flat. 

Olivia brings me my order and I make the walk back to my flat. I spend most of the walk contemplating how to initiate a conversation with Louis. Lots of ideas cross my mind but none feel good enough. I’m completely lost on how to approach this, and given how nervous I am to annoy him or be rejected, I decide my best course of action is to hope for our paths to cross again somehow. When I get back to my flat I eat my breakfast, shower, and get myself into a proper outfit. I turn on my bluetooth speaker and grab my phone to play some music while I do my makeup. To my surprise, a text message banner is on my lock screen. It’s from Louis, received 46 minutes ago. It must have come in while I was showering and I missed the notification. 

Louis: Will I need to frequent the SoHo club scene to see you again?

A smile creeps on my face as I reread the text. 

Me: Absolutely not. Going to the clubs was my friend’s decision. Why do you ask?

I hit send and then press my phone to my chest. Though I hardly know him, I would like to get to know him. I haven’t felt compelled to spend much time with any man I’ve met in London, or anywhere for that matter, but something about Louis was so captivating. His instinct to save me from the persistent bachelor in SoHo was indicitive of his character, and his playful and joking demeanor in the car made me feel so relaxed. I didn’t feel like I had to perform for him. 

Louis: ‘Cause I want to see you again, Georgia. Bit obvious, innit? 

Me: Yeah, I suppose. What do you have in mind?

Louis: Not telling. But make yourself free tomorrow night at 8:00. I’ll pick you up. 

Me: Could I get a hint on what to wear?

Louis: I’m sure you could, but where’s the fun in that?

I debate whether or not to tell the girls. I know how excited Sophia, Ava and Poppy would be for me, but part of me feels like I’ll jeapordize this if I tell them. I know my jumping at the opportunity to go out with the first guy who is geniunely kind to me would be some kind of sign to them that I’m getting better, finally finding my feet in London, but given how out of practice I am with men and dating, I’m so scared to ruin all of this. 

Louis said he’d be here at 8:00, but my nerves have gotten the best of me and i’m ready an hour early. I kill time by staring at myself in the mirror and hoping my outfit is appropriate for whatever Louis has planned for the night. I decided to wear my best jeans, casual open toed heels and a brown high neck tank-top. It’s subtly hot, I think. The jeans make my ass look great, and the top does something for my chest, despite it being high neck. I’m absolutely trying to show off my features, but in like a casual way. 

Louis: Here, love. 

My heart starts to pound as I head down the stairs of my building and open the front door. Louis is on the sidewalk, leaned up against a black Mercedez-Benz sedan. He’s wearing a black tank top tucked into black slacks. His eyes meet mine as he lifts a cigarette to his mouth and takes a drag. 

“Hi, Georgia”

My mouth opens to speak, but nothing comes out. I’m overwhelmed by how unbelievably good Louis looks in such a simple outfit. 

“H-Hi, Louis”

He steps toward me as he opens the door to the back seat of the car. I walk forward, hoping my heels don’t fail me on this uneven pavement, and duck into the backseat. Louis walks to the other side of the car and steps inside. 

“So” he slaps his hands and rubs them together “are you ready for tonight?”

“I think so. Though I have no fucking clue what we’re doing. I hope I’m dressed appropriately, no thanks to you”

“You look great, love.”

“Can I get a hint as to where we’re going now?”

“You’ll see” he says with a smirk. 

Louis runs his hands now his thighs and I can’t help but notice how large they are. The thought of them in my hair flashes in my mind quickly, before I literally shake it out. 

The car comes to a stop outside of resturant in Chelsea. The lights are on, but no one’s inside. 

“I-I think it’s closed?” I say, concerned. 

“Well, yeah, to everyone else” Louis says as he takes my hand and guides me to the front door. 

Louis opens the large front door and I walk through. We’re greated by a young hostess. Shortly after a tall man in a black suit comes from behind her. I can only assume he’s the manager.

“Good evening, Mr. Tomlinson” says the man as he extends his hand for Louis to shake. 

“Evenin’, Theo. Thanks for this. This is Georgia, who I told you about.”

Louis gestures to me and I raise my hand to give a shy wave. Told him about? Why is Louis discussing me with random resturant managers? 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you” says Theo as he returns my awkard wave. “Right over here, you two” he says as he turns around and leads us to our table. Louis reaches out to me, his hand meeting the small of my back as we walk through the resturant. 

As I thought, the resturant is completely empty. Theo leads us to a table in the center of the dining area with two taper candles flickering in the dimmed room. 

“Thanks, mate” says Louis as he pushes in my chair. 

Louis takes a seat across from me. He folds his hands under his chin and wets his lips. This move forces me to clear my throat. 

“So, uhhh, why is no one else here?” I ask as I look around the dining room. 

“Just better this way. No distractions, you know?” he responds, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest.

“Did you do this? Rent the resturant out?” 

“Who else would’ve? Yeah, I did. But I know the owner, so it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Well, that’s a first.” I say with a breathy laugh. I’ve never had anyone challenge me the way he does, and admittedly I find it incredibly hot. 

“It’s just easier this way” responds Louis as the waiter pours us both a glass of wine. 

His response confuses me. What would be so challenging about getting dinner at a fully functioning resturant? A pang of embarssement hits me as the thought of him not wanting to be seen with me whips through my mind. I didn’t tell Louis what I do for a living, or my last name, but it wouldn’t be hard to find my various novels with a simple Google search. I don’t feel embarrassed of my work ever, but I’m so desperate to impress him, I’ve found myself analyzing everything about myself hoping it’s enough. 

“So, tell me about yourself, Georgia” Louis says as he brings his wine glass to his lips. This question forces a laugh out of me. I lean my forehead on my hand before drawing in a deep breath. 

“You’ve got to be more specific than that. I mean, I think we all know that’s a horrible question.”

“Well excuse me, fuck. What’s your middle name?”

“Rose, yours?”

“William”

“Louis William Tomlinson. Classic.”

“My mum thought so. So what exactly brought you to London”

“Ooof, well, I uhh didn’t really feel inspired by Florida. I spent my whole life there, and I was ready for something new. Someplace that would, I don’t know, bring me new experiences.”

“I hope this is a new experience” he says looking up at me through his eyelashes, a look of almost desire for approval on his face. 

“It absolutely is” I let out a sigh “this is absolutely the fanciest evening I’ve ever had out”

“Well, I’m absolutely trying to impress you” his voice is low and slightly raspy. It makes me adjust in my chair.

“That’s incredibly hard to believe”

“Ellaborate on that”

“On what?”

“On how it’s so hard to believe that a man would want to impress a smart, whitty, beautiful woman?”

“I don’t know, I don’t have much experience with men trying to impress me” 

“Now that” Louis says, using his wine glass to point at me “that is incredibly fucking hard to believe”

I’m completely lost on how to respond to him. I don’t want to admit to this nearly perfect man that I am completely inexpereinced with romantic encounters. Sure, I’ve slept with plenty of guys, but I never stay the night. We don’t go on dates, certianly not dates like this. 

Our waiter returns and takes our orders. Given the lack of other patrons, our food comes to the table quickly. Louis and I continue to talk while we eat, and the longer I look at him the more I realize how stunning he is. He’s both rugged and clean cut at the same time. He has a foul mouth, but he exudes confidence as he spits back playful comebacks to my obvious remarks. 

Louis finishes his dinner, places his fork down and leans back in his chair. He runs his finger along the gold chain around his neck and presses his tongue to the inside of his cheek. I nearly gulp at this. He looks so good, so masculine, so confident. I finally accept that I want nothing more than to crawl across the table and make out with him. I want to blame the wine, and the fact that I haven’t had any physical connection with a man since I moved to London, but I think the most notable part of my desire for Louis is the geniune interest he’s taken in me. He asks questions because he actually wants to hear the answer, it’s not just a formality or prerequisite to getting me into his bed. 

The resturant staff has come and cleared our table. I look at my watch and realize we’ve been sat in the resturant, exchanging laughs and stories, for three hours. I wish we could stay for three more. 

“Can I take you home, Georgia?” Louis asks as he stands up, extending his hand out to me. 

I smile and take his hand. Louis leads me out of the resturant and I trail behind him, my hand still in his. In this moment, I feel beautiful. I feel beautiful feeling like Louis girl. 

We’re halfway to my flat when I realize our hands our still intertwind. I look at them and then up, meeting Louis gaze. 

“I’ve been trying to be on my best behavior, Georgia. But you’re driving me crazy.”

“Wh-what? What did I do?” fear washes over me. Oh no, I’ve annoyed him. I’ve said something wrong.

“You’re just, so fucking beautiful” he says as his hand pushes my hair behind me ear, then his thumb holds my chin. 

“Oh” I awkwardly laugh “thank you, I suppose. You’re quite beautiful yourself”

“Beautiful? No one’s ever called me that before”

“Really? That’s sad. You really are.” I place my hand on his bicep and the thickness of it makes me cross my legs, a physical attempt at pushing my desires out of my mind. 

“What are you thinking, Georgia?”

“Uhhh. Do you want the truth?”

“Yes, absolutely”

“I’m thinking about how badly I want to kiss you”

“Well that’s a shame” he says as he slides his hand up the back of my head, grabbing a fistful of my hair. My head involuntarily drops back. “Because I’m thinking about how badly I want to fuck you.”

[nenan]

Rachel Chinouriri for her song “The Hills”, makeup by Georgia Hope Makeup

[kujo1597]

It’s funny how I said I was excited to start the Starbright trilogy and then I wind up not posting anything for three weeks. I was a little busy, going out of town visiting friend and family, building a couple Figure-Rise model kits, making a mad dash to finish Cyber Shadow and Grandia before the Thousand-Year Door remake releases. Writing more of the first part of Like A Phoenix. Getting fairly sick. And a few other things.

Well anyway, back to Jem! In the last episode we learned that Ba Nee needs an eye surgery or else she’ll go blind.

The episode opens with a cheerful tune and a bus speeding down the road. But quickly transitions to the sad music and Jerrica sitting in the eye doctor’s office and talking about how tragic this is, and how she’s determined to make sure that Ba Nee doesn’t go blind. The doctor tells her that there is an experimental surgery that has worked in some cases like Ba Nee’s. Jerrica takes this as good news but the doctor isn’t so sure about that because the surgery is so expensive.

Now we see Jerrica solemnly driving Ba Nee home. It’s actually pretty sad. Ba Nee asks Jerrica if her eyes will be fixed and Jerrica tells her to not worry about it. That they’ll be just fine.

However when we get back to the mansion we see Jerrica pacing around the music room while talking to her sisters about how much the surgery costs, and how they’re going to pay for it. Shana mentions that they’ve cancelled all of their concerts to record their movie. And then Aja remembers that they can get the money from Starlight Music. This gives Jerrica hope.

Unfortunately Starlight Music is looking like it doesn’t have a dime to spare. All the lights are off, all the employees are gone, and so is the office equipment. One of the employees is still here though.

Joanie, who I’m guessing has worked for the company for a number of years. She greets Jerrica with a hug before filling her in on what’s happened. Eric Raymond took all the money he could from Starlight Music to promote The Misfits. And as a result of that, and Joanie lacking the proper authority none of the bills for Starlight Music have been paid.

Jerrica takes charge to sort this mess out. And luckily she does, but Starlight Music is now on the verge of going bankrupt. They can’t get the money for the surgery through the music company. And Jerrica reaches the conclusion that the only way to raise the money is to finish the Jem movie. Her sisters disagree with the decision and Jerrica says a line that really stands out to me, one that I really like.

“Then who tells Ba Nee she’ll be blind?”

And this hits the others hard.

I really love this scene. It’s harsh. It’s a harsh truth. Jem as a series doesn’t shy away from harshness. It’s a lighthearted show overall but we also get these moments too. It’s one of the reasons why I like it so much.

Eric does allow Jem and The Holograms to continue to work on the movie but on one condition. Jerrica will be his assistant. And she has no choice but to agree.

We get back to filming and I love Samantha Newark’s voice acting. That fake cheery “Let’s get it over with” before sighing is so good.

I forgot how fucking PISSED Rio is to see Jem back on set. Holy shit.

Anyway, Nick Mann tells the makeup artist, Georgia, that she was right about Jem coming back. And Georgia says that some people need to be the centre of attention. I kinda laugh because of who she’s saying this to.

Welp, let’s check in on Eric. Pizzazz is angry that he’s let Jem back in the film. These moments are fun because Eric is so scummy and sleazy. He’s having things thrown at him by his band. But talks them down by saying that Jem and The Holograms have to do whatever they say.

Now we see Clash and Video fighting and Video lets it slip that Jem is only back on set because a Starlight Girl needs an operation to save her eyesight. Naturally Clash immediately tells the Misfits about the situation.

And dear sweet Stormer is so concerned about which Starlight Girl needs surgery. None of her bandmates are worried though. They just care about how they can exploit this situation to make Jem suffer. First item on the agenda, kicking Jem and The Holograms out of their dressing room. By the way, Stormer’s not great at being mean. She tells them to not forget their toothbrushes.

And this brings us to our first song of the episode.

“Congratulations” is pretty fun. Stormer is unusually mean in it. I chalk it up to being a music video. Anyway, it’s just the Misfits being terrible to Jem and The Holograms and saying that they’re about to become has-beens. It’s a very Misfits-y gloating song.

After the music video we get back on the set and Kimbr’s trying to flirt with Nick who does not care one bit about her. And like, Kimber you are dodging a huge bullet. Holy shit. Oh, and Jeff is trying to get Kimber’s attention but she’s ignoring him to go after Nick.

Meanwhile Rio is scolding Jem for coming back on the movie. Saying that he’s disappointed in her because he thought she had more pride. And like, I guess Jerrica didn’t fill him in on the situation. She probably should have. But it probably slipped her mind with everything else going on. And well, she probably didn’t expect Rio to be soooo… like this. But that’s okay, Pizzazz is here to make things worse. She’s calling Rio’s name and calling him darling. So Jem storms off in a huff.

Now we hear Eric calling for Jerrica. He wants his assistant. And he wants her now. A quick change later into that sweater vest I adore and Eric tells Jerrica to bring him a coffee. Then Eric asks for Jem and Jerrica offers to go find her but Eric tells her to stay put.

Jem has one minute to get on set before Eric fires her, and Jerrica needs to think fast.

Naturally the solution is to just project a hologram of Jem. But of course a fully holographic Jem can’t be the one acting in the movie. There’s too much touching going on. Eric starts going over the scene with the actors and Jerrica uses this as an opportunity to sneak away so she could swap spots with the fake Jem.

By the way part of this scene is Nick going in to kiss Jem and then being captivated by Pizzazz entering the casino. And he’s not really feeling this change in script.

We see the scene play out and Nick calls Pizzazz a terrible kisser. And this hurts her pride a little and she asks Eric for a pop in a very whiny voice. It’s honestly kind of cute. Jerrica is on drinks duty.

Filming wraps up for the day and Pizzazz has a job for Clash to do. Swap around the call sheets for the next day’s filming so Jem can’t make it to the set on time. After Jem and The Holograms learn that the sheets were swapped around we get our next music video.

I love this song! And this is an entertaining video to go with it. They’re running through the movie studio trying to find their set and crash a bunch of filmings. We also see Jem land on the stunt table from a great height.

And damn this girl is tough. Stunt table or not I bet that hurt. I headcanon that Jerrica ended up with quite the bruise on her shoulder from this.

Fortunately after the music video Video finds them and brings the band to the correct set.

Eric is not happy that they’re late, and he’s refusing to hear Jem’s reason for being late. The film crew is getting annoyed with Eric and how he runs things. Eric tells Jem and The Holograms that he’s docking their pay by a day.

Jem pleads with Eric, telling him that they need the money. And he isn’t having it. This is one of those moments where Jerrica is trying to connect with the humanity she believes Eric had when he worked for her father. I'm not 100% sure Eric ever had that humanity. But Jerrica thinks he did. This isn't Jem talking in the scene, it's Jerrica.

The crew is confused about why Jem is so desperate for the money and Video offers to explain it to them.

Out next scene is… I have no idea honestly. It involves prisoners in a temple. What the hell kind of movie is this? What is the setting? I’d ask if Pizzazz wrote it but if she did then Jem wouldn’t be in any scenes. And now I’m thinking about Axe Cop, a series written by a man and his very young brother. This movie is kind of giving me those vibes with how everywhere and nonsense the settings are. I miss Axe Cop… Maybe I should check out the webcomic some time.

Anyway. Eric is demanding for Jerrica again and Jem is in jail for this scene. She projects a Jerrica hologram but Eric wants somebody to hold his script for him. He throws it at the holographic Jerrica and it goes through her.

Synergy’s acting is quite good, the reaction to having a scrip fly through you is very natural. As long as nobody was paying much attention nobody would notice why exactly it went thud on the floor.

Aja has a plan, she tells Pizzazz that Jem is in more scenes than she is. And Pizzazz screams Eric’s name and demands that Jem is taken out of the scene. And Eric probably doesn’t want more things thrown at him so he kicks Jem out of jail.

She turns back into Jerrica and hands Eric the script.

We see more of the fight scene and seriously, what the hell is this movie? Did Eric decide to just cram as many different settings that people like into one movie? Hit all the demographics?

Well, filming has wrapped up for lunch and Rio catches up with Jerrica. Mr. Romantic tells Jerrica that Jem isn’t worth his time. And well, Jerrica is pissed off at him. She tells Rio that Jem is back to take Eric’s shit because she asked Jem to come back because Be Nee needs an operation. And Jerrica also told Rio that he shouldn’t be coming back to her just because Jem did something that he doesn’t like. And then Jerrica storms off.

And Rio is Rio so he has no idea what he did wrong.

I need to rant about Rio here. Because the more I think about it, the more I get annoyed with him. So Rio is criticizing Jem for coming back onto the set and dragging her band back with her. He's mad at Jem for not having pride and integrity. Who is it that didn't stand with their childhood friends?

Rio.

He didn't quit. He stayed a part of this production. I'm not saying that Rio needed to quit because everybody else did. But it would have been a show of solidarity. He's seen the way the Misfits have been acting, and decided to stick around. Yeah dude needs money. But so do his friends and girlfriend.

Okay rant over. I went into this thinking I'd decide I was perhaps a little harder on Rio than I should be. But if anything I'm getting more mad at Rio than ever before.

Back to filming. It’s a chase scene on a fake log very high off the ground. Jem and the character Nick is playing will be pursued by those guys with swords from earlier. Nick laughs and says that he’ll have Jeff do this scene. And Jem asks Eric where her stunt double is. And Eric tells her that if she’s too chicken he’ll hire a stunt double in exchange for half of Jem’s salary.

When Jem announces that she’s ready to start filming the scene Jeff immediately takes issue with the lack of safety precautions. And Eric fires back at him. But the cinematographer, Corwin, says that he refuses to film until safety measures are in place. Eric fires him on the spot and decides that he’ll film the rest of the movie himself.

He calls “action” and Jem starts her scene. But the log she’s running on is poorly constructed and breaks apart right from under her.

Fortunately our girl is strong. She managed to dig her nails into the fake log to keep herself from falling. After Jem loses her grip Rio swings in on a vine and rescues her. The two kiss.

And I didn’t mention this earlier but Video has been filming everything on the set. We clearly see her in every scene holding her video camera. And she caught the whole accident on tape. She plans to turn it into the appropriate unions. Pizzazz notices this and tells Eric who wants anything but for the tape to be sent in. Clash has a plan.

She borrows a tape eraser from one of the editors and uses it to erase the tape that Video had so conveniently labelled.

Of course Video knows her cousin well. The tape Clash erased was actually a Misfits music video. Video tells Jem about her plan to turn the tape in but Jem opposes to it. Nobody is pleased with this, Rio especially, but Jem does convince Video and Jeff to not give the tape to the unions. But Jeff tells her that if one more things goes wrong then he’s going to get the production shut down.

It’s nightime at Starlight Mansion and Kimber is reading the script for her scene with Nick and sighing because he’s so dreamy. And GIRL this man is not a good man. I don’t care how handsome he supposedly is. aaaaaaaa

Aaaanyway Aja and Shana are talking to Jerrica about the accident earlier with the fake log. And they’re telling her that no movie is worth that kind of trouble. Jerrica tells them that Ba Nee is worth it.

And then she leaves to check on her foster daughter who is doing her best to read before bed. She asks Jerrica when her operation is going to be. And Jerrica assures Ba Nee that Jem will take care of everything, and that the operation will be very soon.

And god this drives a knife into my heart. Jerrica will do anything for this girl. She loves Ba Nee so dearly.

Well back to the disaster of a movie. And we see Nick sitting on a fake motorcycle looking attractive for the camera. His part of the scene is done now. And of course Kimber is right next to him trying to get him to notice her. Roxy and Pizzazz are disgusted by Kimber’s behaviour.

Somehow one of Nick’s fans got onto the set and asks him for an autograph and Nick is an ass to her. And this is when Kimber starts to think, “Huh maybe this guy isn’t so great.”

Oh my god I forgot this is when “Love Is Doin’ It To Me” plays! It’s one of my favourite Jem (band) songs! I don’t know why to be honest. I just really like it.

After the music video Kimber bumps into Jeff. And he notices that she looks a little nervous about the scene. He offers to explain how it’ll all work and Kimber accept his offer. Jeff goes over the explosives and how there’s a safe path through them. He also shows Kimber her stunt double and this puts Kimber more at ease. Jeff asks her for a kiss for good luck and Kimber gives him one on the cheek before Eric calls her over to go over the scene.

We cut to Jeff walking back to his motorcycle and he sees Roxy leaning on it. She gives Jeff her own kiss for good luck right on his lips. Jeff does not reciprocate.

Roxy doesn’t take this well. She’s jealous of Kimber and hatches a plan to get back at her.

This plan is fucked up. Okay so, first Clash distracts the guy in charge of the explosives by giving him hearing damage. Then Roxy sets them off.

Kimber gets caught in the explosions and cries for help from Nick who is just a couple feet away from her. But he’s not about to run into any explosions for some kid and he takes off.

We end the episode here.

Oh goodness me. It was nice getting back to this. I’m sure the next part won’t take so long. I won’t be going anywhere, and I hopefully won’t be getting sick again. *looks at the calendar* Oh yeah, Paper Mario. Well I guess I’ll just have to do the write-up for the next episode on Wednesday, and screenshots on Thursday. Because let’s be honest, Friday evening will be all taken up with TTYD. It comes out on Thursday but I live in a very tiny city and my local Walmart didn’t have the SMRPG remake on the shelves in the morning of its release so I decided to just go there on Friday for TTYD’s remake. Hopefully they’ll have it. That Walmart doesn’t always get the latest releases in. And it’s pretty much the only store I can check. My only other options are Shoppers Drugmart and Staples. The nearest EB Games is two hours away.

*sighs* There’s a reason I’ve caved in and bought so many games digitally.

Well anyway. See you all next time for the conclusion to the Starlight trilogy!

[jernigans]

You used to be my safety, used to be my cross I thought you would save me, I thought you were God.

She lied. Not a typical trait for the Georgia native but, when it came to Danny -- she'd been doing a lot of that lately. The blonde stood there, in her costume and full on face paint, with an ice cold double margarita in her hand, taking large gulps of it on an empty stomach. Well, not entirely empty. She'd had some cotton candy, some peanut butter cup candies and a cookie. So, junk food. This was her second drink of the night and with how large it is, it was meant to be savored through her trip through the carnival. But , Anna found herself sucking it down rather swiftly while standing in front of Tiana and Daniel as they talked to one another and tried to include her in on the conversation. A third wheel. That's what she was. It was becoming pretty clear to her that this was a date for the two of them and she was intruding on their time together -- and the feelings she had about that were, conflicting. Her manners taught her to gracefully exit the situation and go on about her time with her friends, maybe seek some of them out and join in on whatever they had going on. But those creeping other feelings told her to lie and leave all together. No sense in dragging anything out or becoming some kind of burden. She did a mixture of the two and opted to lie while exiting gracefully, with no desire to watch the two of them making eyes at one another the whole night .. even behind the masks. " ... oh. My brother's calling. I gotta take this. It was nice meeting you ... " she stated, while holding her phone in her hand where neither one of them could see the screen and already taking several steps back like she was about to take this call that wasn't even coming in. "See y'all later!" she called out to both Daniel and Tiana -- walking around one of the game booths and to another part of the carnival. Her phone was placed up to the side of her head and she left it there as she looked down at the ground on her journey towards the exit gates, in hopes that no one would try and stop her on her way out to chat since she was busy on the phone. This way -- no one could see the tears in her eyes that were threatening to fall down her cheeks and streak her makeup. Makeup that she'd spent four hours on ... only to be seen in it for about four minutes. She left the carnival, with her backpack purse, her phone and her lipgloss -- clutching half of her margarita against her palm and wondering where she could get a refill in her cup on her way back to her cabin.

[softguarnere]

Like A Girl (Like A Man)

Shifty Powers x ofc

Chapter 19: A Native American in Paris

Summary: When he returns, he hands Zenie a postcard with a picture of the Eiffel Tower on it. “It’s not as good as having a picture taken in front of it, but, you know, I thought that it might be somethin’.” A/N: When I first started writing this fic, I always imagined D-Day as the beginning of a "Part Two" in the story. Regardless of what act we're in, this definitely feels like an intermission point for me. So I just wanted to take the time to say thank you for sticking with me this far, and I hope you'll hang around for the rest of the story <3 Warnings: mentions of war, drinking, implied sex Taglist: @latibvles @lady-cheeky @liebgotts-lovergirl @mrs-murder-daddy @lieutenant-speirs @ithinkabouttzu

France, 1944

Passes all around! It’s so much different from life back at Toccoa. It feels so long ago now that Zenie’s hands would clench into fists at her side when Captain Sobel would make up some excuse to revoke her pass. Maybe this is to make up for the fact that they got so few of these back in Georgia.

Paris is the keyword floating all around the barracks. All Zenie’s friends score passes to the City of Light. After the dreary days of sitting in mud in Holland, the prospect of exploring the city seems like a marvelous makeup for the eighty-something days stuck waiting. Zenie finds herself with a forty-eight hour pass to the famed city in her hands. The idea of someday getting the chance to brag to Marilyn that she visited the Eifel Tower makes her laugh. Then Shifty meets her eye from across the room and announces that he also has a pass to Paris – and on the same day as her. And suddenly the city that Zenie has hardly ever spared a thought for seems brighter and full of more possibilities than anything Marilyn used to describe while fawning over her books.

Especially because they still haven’t been alone.

Having friends is such a change of pace from Zenie’s life before running away. She loves them, and being with them. Lately, however, it seems like she can’t get a second away from them.

Mourmelon-le-Grand for R&R. Except the Rest in “Rest and Relaxation” has somehow turned into preparing for a football game that Zenie cannot seem to come up with a good enough excuse to not play in.

“Look,” she finally tells Babe one day in the barracks when he won’t stop pestering her about it. “I’m no good at football. My older brother played baseball, so that’s what I was taught. It’d be different if you wanted me to be a pitcher.” Or if we were playing any game that wouldn’t get me tackled, crushed, and exposed, she doesn’t add.

Babe swats his hand, pushing away her words. “Well lucky for you, you’ve got me to teach you. And I’m great at football, Tommy. I could have you ready for this game in a matter of days.”

“You tryin’ to get little Tommy a Purple Heart by getting’ all his bones crushed, ya mean?”

Everyone in the barracks jumps at the sound of a familiar voice – one whose absence has been heavily felt.

“Bill!”

The Italian spreads his arms as wide as his smile as he fully enters the room. He’s limping, but it doesn’t damper his smile. “What? Ya think you’d never see me again or somethin’?”

“Didn’t know how long ya were gonna baby that leg,” Babe quips, ducking when the taller man makes a move to affectionately ruffle his hair.

“Baby it? Yeah right. You know who you’re talkin’ to, Heffron? I made ‘em cut the cast off early so I could get back here and keep your ass in line!”

“Yeah, and God knows we needed that, because he keeps trying to get Tommy killed,” Joe says from his place on his bunk.

A cloud of seriousness crosses Bill’s face as he turns to her. “You really that bad at football?”

Well I should be, considering that I’ve never played, Zenie thinks. Instead, she nods. “The worst.”

“Someone could probably fix that. Not right now, though.” His smile returns as he glances over their group, a glint in his eye. “Any of you up for a little trip to Lulu’s?”

In the moment, there’s nothing particularly special about Lulu’s or the night that they spend there. (Besides, maybe, the fact that Bill missed the party with the Red Devils, and they feel the need to make up for all the fun he missed.) They drink too much and dance too fast and sing too loudly. On the way back to barracks, they cling to each other and laugh brightly as they haul each other home – a real team effort. With promising days of R&R ahead of them, they go to bed, already thinking of having this kind of fun night after night.

The place is a frenzy of excitement. The football game creeps ever closer and practices pick up with the mounting tensions. (Personally, Zenie’s not sure why anyone would worry when Joe Toye is playing for their team.) Passes are being taken into the cities, and each time a group of soldiers returns to brag about the fun he had, the harder Zenie’s heart pounds in her chest when she thinks about how she and Shifty both have passes to Paris.

“Two more days,” she notes as casually as she can in line for breakfast one day. “Never heard of half the places people are talking about.”

“Me neither. But a lot of the fellas seem to think it’s mighty fun there. Lots to do.”

Zenie hums in agreement. “Probably a lot of walking around the city.”

“Probably.”

“Lots of time to talk.”

As he scoops eggs onto his plate, Zenie catches him biting his lip. It doesn’t hide his smile. “Definitely.”

Lucky does not even begin to describe how Zenie feels when she learns that she and Shifty seem to be the only ones of their friends to have passes to Paris. After every chance that she might have had to speak with him has been thwarted, part of her is on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop, expecting something else to keep them apart.

They leave the barracks amiably enough. They make small talk as they board the train and make their way towards the city.

“This is my third time,” one of the soldiers in their train car brags as they ride. He quirks an eyebrow at them. “You ever been to Paris?”

“Never,” Zenie replies as Shifty shakes his head.

The soldier only nods. “Well, it doesn’t disappoint, I’ll tell you that much. You just have to know all the right places to look if you want to have a good time.”

“I think we’ll manage.”   

And they do. Shifty has already seen the city while out on a different pass with Popeye. Once they get off the train, though, he only smiles at Zenie and lets her take the lead, making suggestions about the fastest way to get places as they go.

As they weave their way through the people and the streets, they talk. Not in the way that Zenie has been waiting for them to, but at least they’re talking. More than they have been lately, too, which is enough for her. It’s enough just to see him smile at her as he regales her with stories of what he and Popeye saw and did while using their passes, and she tells him about Marilyn’s travel books that her sister would stare at for hours at night. It’s enough for their fingers to brush when Shifty buys a piece of pain au chocolat, then breaks it down the middle and hands her half. It's enough to watch his eyes light up when she uses a gentle finger to wipe a smudge of chocolate off his upper lip. This is what she imagined when she pictured them having a secret relationship. This is what she’s been missing.

But, she has to remind herself, this is what Shifty was worried would get them caught. The memory of that night at the brothel makes her chest ache. He didn’t think this would be possible until after the war. And maybe he still doesn’t want it until then. She won’t know until they get to talk – really talk.

“It’s big, ain’t it?” Shifty asks when they stop in front of the Eiffel Tower.

The famed tower is impressive. With the elevators not operational, though, there isn’t much to do but stand under it and admire it from different angles. Zenie tries to soak it up in her mind so that she can remember it later.

“Here.” As if he can read her mind, Shifty steps away, heading towards an older woman with a cart. He counts out some money and hands it to her. She smiles as she hands him something. When he returns, he hands Zenie a postcard with a picture of the Eiffel Tower on it. “It’s not as good as having a picture taken in front of it, but, you know, I thought that it might be somethin’.”

“It’s perfect,” Zenie rushes to assure him. “Thank you, Shifty.”

 The Virginian smiles, his cheeks tinged pink.

“You know,” he says. “If you’ve seen everything that you want to, I know somewhere that we can go. Away.”

As if to prove his point, a group of American soldiers walks behind them. Zenie and Shifty might have come here alone, without any of their other friends, but they’re not truly alone. Not yet.

Zenie pockets the postcard. “Lead the way.”

People bustle up and down the streets, laughing as they go. A few little kids point at her when they spot her, yelling in their excitement. It’s a bit like being back in Holland – well, the better part of being in Holland, when all the people had come out to welcome them with open arms. Zenie always makes sure to smile back, and salutes them just for the fun of it. It’s a nice distraction from the clammy feeling in her palms as she waits.

She spins around as the door of the hotel opens. Every time she’s hoped that it’s Shifty returning. This time, it really is him. He nods to her and flashes a key.

Up and up and up. The only sound on the stairwell is that of their boots echoing against the walls as they climb. Zenie glances at Shifty every now and then, feels him doing the same to her, but neither makes a move to speak. Maybe, like her, he’s trying to work out everything that he wants to say.

Peeling paint covers the door to their room. It’s at the end of the hallway, secluded, quiet. Zenie still glances over her shoulder as Shifty opens the door and ushers her inside.

This room is nothing like the one they talked in that night at the brothel. Whereas that room was dark and contained only a bed, this one is full of light and has not only a fluffy looking bed, but a vanity and a small doorway that leads to a bathroom. Something about the place makes it feel warm, and not just in temperature.

Closing the door behind her, Zenie stays in place even as Shifty walks further into the room. He glances back at her and, like that night at the brothel, gestures toward the bed.

“You wanna . . . ?”

The bed is just as fluffy as Zenie suspected it would be. It dips under their weight as they seat themselves. Also like that night, and against her better judgement, they sit close to each other. Really, what reason is there to not? Just like back in the foxholes of Holland, their knees bump into each other. They leave them there, pressing into each other.

This won’t be like last time, Zenie assures her heart as it pounds against her ribcage. Well, last time they had been holding hands when Shifty dropped the news –

No, he didn’t drop the news. He didn’t even get to finish what he wanted to say because Earl had started firing his gun and they had to leave the building. He was going to ask her to wait. And now . . . ?

She tries to find something to say, anything. They both start to speak at the same time. Words overlapping, they pause, each offering the other a small smile.

“Sorry,” Shifty says. “You first.”

Her first, with hardly a word at the ready. She says the first one that comes to mind, which is the only one she can properly associate with the whole situation that’s been playing out these past few months.

“I’m sorry. I wish we could start over.”

Slowly, Shifty nods. “Me, too. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He pauses, pushing a short sigh out through his nose. “When I was tryin’ to ask you to wait until after the war, I thought that I was protectin’ you. From this – “ He gestures around the room. “ – The sneaking around, and all that. But I didn’t consider, see, hurtin’ your feelings indirectly. I wanted to tell you, when I realized what had happened. But I could never seem to find you by yourself . . .”

Zenie cringes at the memory of dodging Shifty’s presence, of not meeting his eyes or looking directly at him until that night at the pub when Skinny asked him what he wanted to do after the war.

“That was my fault, and I’m sorry. I –“ She has to laugh, almost, at how stupid it seems now, to have been avoiding him. “ – I was trying to protect myself, and instead I ended up hurting you. And I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to.”

Silence falls over them. Then, like that night at the brothel, Shifty holds out his hand. There is no hesitation on Zenie’s part; of course she takes it, intwining their fingers together and relishing the feeling it sends down her spine.

“This is what we’ve been missing,” she realizes aloud.

Shifty nods. He lets out an unexpected laugh, shaking his head. “I can’t believe I was gonna put this off until the end of the war. Coulda been doin’ it the whole time.”

“But you were right to be worried. About being caught, I mean.”

“Maybe. After everythin’ we’ve been through, though, is it really worth the wait?”

This time, Zenie tries to take in the full meaning of his words instead of just assuming she knows what he means, or what’s about to happen.

“What do you mean?”

“The end of the war might be a long way off, you know,” Shifty says. “And, I don’t know. After all we’ve been through, I guess I’ve realized that nothin’ is for certain.” He pauses and meets her eye. He stares so deeply into her that it feels like he’s trying to read her mind. “I don’t mind it – the sneakin’ around, I mean – if you don’t. And the end of the war . . . Well, if you want, we can figure it out when we get there. Whenever that may be.”

Her heart lurches, ready to take the plunge with him.

“You want us to court?” She clarifies. Nothing will be left to chance or interpretation this time.

“Yes.”

Going with Shifty Powers. Of course she will, and she tells him as much. She only wishes she could tell her past self, all the way back in Toccoa, that this was coming; that version of Zenie would have never seen this coming.

Her hands shake. She wonders if he can feel them trembling against his. A laugh, a sigh of relief, and a jubilant cry all gather at the back of her throat. When she opens her mouth, she’s not sure which will come out.

“You know,” she says instead. “I think you’ve just made me the happiest girl in Paris.”

Shifty grins. “Zena, when we make it out of this war, I’ll make sure you’re the happiest girl in the whole world.”

The rest of the war, Zenie prays, will be kind to them.

With the forty-eight-hour pass, they don’t have to wait until the end of the war for Shifty to make her the happiest girl in the world. Alone in their hotel room, with nothing but a slant of moonlight that sneaks in through the crack in the curtains, they make up for all their lost time.

The next morning, they discover that the towels in the bathroom are just as fluffy as the bedding. The soft, white fabric leaves little trails of fuzz covering their bodies, and they giggle as they gently swat each other, trying to remove it.

Putting on her uniform after the night they have feels strange. For a day, she’s been Zenie again. Her performance has enjoyed an intermission. Now, as they wander the streets of Paris one last time before boarding the train that will take them back to Mourmelon-le-Grand, she’s stepping back into her role and heading into the second act as a changed woman.

Changed for the better, she hopes.

[questions-from-d87]

oc-tober day 5 - choice

♤ adeline makes a bold choice on a mundane tuesday evening.

♤ 816 words

♤ prompt from @oc-tober2023

♤ im super behind on prompts lmao, hope yall enjoy this one while i work on catching up :)

Adeline sat in the red patterned auditorium seat next to her mother. She glanced at the broken clock on the wall and took in the smell of the auditorium, slightly woody and reminding her of her home's basement, as she watched Simone dance across the stage with grace. Older than her by just a year, Simone was everything Adeline wanted to be, with her long, flowing ginger hair, big eyelashes, and incredible ability in terms of dance.

“Mom, I wish I could do that,” Adeline said, looking to her mother with starry eyes. Watching these performances for so long, she’d known that this was what she wanted to do for years. It wasn’t hard to tell - when she watched them, she had a special sparkle in her eyes. It was like magic to her.

“Oh, honey, I know,” her mother said, laying a hand on her shoulder. “But you know boys don’t do that.”

Her hair was getting long now. Her mother had been asking when she would cut her hair every time they went to lunch. She’d chuckle awkwardly and say she was going to eventually, and Simone would tell her to get off Adeline’s back.

🔍 am i trans

🔍 am i trans quiz

🔍 how to do bun hairstyle

The lights in her apartment were off. She laid on her bed, the room illuminated only by a string of cheap fairy lights hanging on the wall. Glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to her ceiling in various colors.

She sat up and slowly got to her feet, in her comfy socks, white tank top and bulldog pajama pants. Eight o’clock. It was about time she ate something.

She walked out down the hall and into the living room. She flicked on the TV - Guy Fieri's voice filled the apartment as he talked about 20,000 dollars. That would be nice.

She opened her freezer and pulled out a frozen macaroni and cheese she'd bought from the grocery store the day before. Slowly and carefully, she peeled up a corner of the film, then tossed it in the microwave.

It was getting harder to hide lately - the hair, the constant shaving, the three thrift store dresses in her closet she was too afraid to wear. It was starting to be a little too much to deal with nobody knowing.

Her phone chimed with a text from Simone. A picture of her cat.

| Nala is soooo sleepy! 🐱🐾

She chuckled softly. The way Simone texted was corny, but she was glad she at least wanted to talk to her.

| aw!! give her some pets for me :))

Adeline suddenly had a stupid idea. A really stupid one.

i think

She hesitated. Should I really do this?

i think im

The microwave went off. She shut off her phone.

She grabbed a fork from her silverware drawer, lifted the plastic film and started stirring. She got a little lost in thought. Simone must be confused about why she spent so long typing before leaving so suddenly. But she needed someone to know about her. She might lose her mind if she had to hide it from everyone for much longer. And she thought it might take her a bit to gather the courage.

She put it back in the microwave and picked her phone back up. Before she could think twice about it, she sent the text.

| i think im a woman

Immediately, she went to back out and delete the message, but Simone had already read it.

| I don't know what you mean 😅

She sighed exasperatedly. She hadn't expected her to understand right away, but she really didn't feel like explaining.

🔍 trans woman wikipedia

She screenshotted the given definition - "A trans woman (short for transgender woman) is a woman who was assigned male at birth." - and sent the screenshot to her.

| Oh I know a girl like that at work! Her name is Georgia 😃

| So you're a trans woman?

| yeah

| Does anyone else know yet?

| not yet

| just you

| please don't tell mom

| Got it 😃

She smiled down at her phone. This went better than she expected.

| Let me know if you need any makeup tips! I've done years of stage makeup 🤣🤣🤣

The microwave went off again. It was done.

| thank you :))

She tucked her phone into the pocket of her pajama pants and took out the mac and cheese. A little pepper, garlic powder, and salt, and it was ready, if still a little hot to eat. She grabbed a bag of chips from off the top of her fridge - she deserved a little treat for doing something so brave, she thought - and sat at the table, turning on a show she'd already watched on Prime Video.

And after she'd finished dinner, she went and put on her favorite blue dress for the first time since she tried it on at the store.

[iggy-licious]

Untitled

Here's a short bit of a morning after story that I started writing a while ago. I'm going to set it free now, but I'd love to revisit it and do a little more in the future. NSFW for nudity and recollections of adult adventures. ❤️

Daphne opened her eyes and glanced at the clock. 8:23. It was a Saturday, but because Iggy had awakened quite some time ago, she figured she'd get out of bed, rather than indulge any longer. 

How he could be completely out of it with his habit for stretches but still have the clearest early bird mornings was beyond her. He was definitely putting her to shame now. But he'd encouraged her to stay as long as she wanted, so she wasn't too embarrassed about sleeping later than he had.

She'd read between the lines the night before and knew that he was lonely. Women and men still fawned over him at Rodney's English Disco, but she suspected he ran them off quickly with the reality behind the mythical stage presence. She'd wrestled in her mind about sleeping with Iggy, because he was such a mess, but the truth was, she was lonely, too. She'd moved from Georgia in hopes of becoming one of the few Black models working, and though she was starting to get gigs, she doubted that anyone in that cutthroat life could be a true friend. 

And, mess or not, Iggy was a friend, someone whose presence she already enjoyed in one capacity. It made sense that they had explored something more.

He'd flirted with her the first time they met and lifted her mood while she sat at the bar and nursed the one drink she could afford. Then, whenever he had money - - sometimes from sporadic gigs The Stooges could still conjure up, sometimes from God knows where - - he'd buy rounds for both of them and ask about the ups and downs of her career. He'd periodically find a way to ask about drugs around her, always sure to warn her of the low points of his life. His concern warmed her heart but also made her protective of him.

She also enjoyed his eccentricities, which often gave way to an erudite mind that opened her up to new ideas. That, and his quirky sense of humor had already made him intriguing.

But, of course, as some unnamed person once said, he was also blessed with the body of a water polo player. She couldn't defy that he was tantalizingly sculpted, and everyone knew what he was blessed with in his jeans. She may have been the one person in Los Angeles who hadn't seen his dick at that time, but it was one good bit of reputation that still preceded him. Then, it was just a matter of both of them being in the right place at the right time that led them to his bed, friendship be damned.

She stood and stretched. At least she didn't have to get dressed after they had slept naked. She chuckled to herself. Being with him meant that clothes were practically against the law. Her mother would probably "hmph" in disdain and pray silently for her at church if she knew what Daphne was doing, but the frenetic need to change clothes at modeling gigs had cured her of modesty. 

She went to the bathroom to relieve herself and looked in the mirror. She contemplated the purplish marks under her chin, on her neck, her collarbone, her breasts. It was absolutely right to call them passion marks - - Iggy had been voracious in his lust the night before. She knew The Stooges hadn't performed in a while, so she imagined that he took his pent-up energy out on her in the best way imaginable. 

Soon the marks would fade into her skin, the color of sand, but she'd never forget. For better or worse, she didn't have any modeling work lined up, so at least she wouldn't have to spend time and money mixing several makeup shades together to mask his handiwork. She sighed at the thought of her need for cash, and also at the reality that the beauty companies had zero interest in catering to people who looked like her.

She walked to the living room, which was flooded with sunshine, thanks to all the curtains and blinds being moved from the windows. She heard strains of Mahavishnu Orchestra surging and receding in swirls of funk and jazz, and the scent of marijuana was just barely perceptible in the air.

It was the home of a friend of Iggy's who had gone on vacation. She could tell that he tried to keep the place neat, but he didn't quite make that goal, with newspapers and beer glasses and cans strewn about. She made a mental note to prod him to straighten things up and offer her help.

She snapped out of her thoughts and focused on Iggy. He was naked and sitting cross-legged on a towel. His back was to her, and she watched it ripple and shift while he did cow face stretches. He then pitched forward on his hands and knees into cat/cow stretches, and her eyes lingered on his cute little ass. Thoughts of him powerfully over her in that position last night began to draw her into her sexy memories. Her clit pulsed in response, and she closed her eyes briefly to savor it, knowing she'd get more of the same very soon.

"Hey, Daphne!" Iggy's voice was cheerful, yet a tiny bit labored. When she opened her eyes, she quickly understood why, taking in the sight of him bent over backwards and staring at her upside down. 

He slowly straightened up, and she marveled at the fluid power of his muscles at work. Then he turned to face her. 

"I wanted to stay in bed and watch you sleep a little more, but my fucking body didn't want to do that." In another person's mouth, that pronouncement would've sounded like frustration, but Iggy's laid-back Midwestern drawl, followed by an awkward chuckle, betrayed his good mood. 

[prettyboykatsuki]

mister fang… he… HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND??????? 😭😭😭😭😭 (platonic kiss anon) also a different girl confessed to him and he hates her now so even if he was single i wouldn’t confess. also he is a serial cheater. thank you for being with me on this journey.

so this is how i will proceed. i am going to move to georgia and become and orthodox nun and chill with the caucasians. i will find a beautiful church and plant flowers every day and look at the sky while pondering my existence. i’m muslim but i think they’ll allow me to be a nun. but if that doesn’t work theres always sailing! i can work on one of those ships in the middle of nowhere and work one of those jobs that nobody wants to work because its too dangerous. a few months out at sea will change me.

I THOUGHT IT WAS A RED FLAG W THE MAKEUP THING I CALLED IT THAT HE SUCKS.

im saying this to u rn you dodged a massive bullet so dont beat urself up about it bc the more i hear about this guy the more i hate him and want him to die. SERIAL CHEATER? I HOPE HE GETS CASTRATED. no wonder u got mixed signals abt him liking u he sucks dick and balls.