#mermelada is my cat

[polito0]

[Mermelada holding Garfield]

[artificialqueens]

Lemon's Misadventures in Dating, Chapter 8 (Lemon x love) - Mermelada

A/N: Hello everyone! Chapter 8 and still no luck for Lemon, who’d have thought?! Thank you again for all the lovely feedback! Trigger warning for bad hangovers in this one, Bisous!! <3

Lemon didn’t know if it was the pounding against her skull or the hot, swirling liquid in her stomach which woke her up first, but the two things combined made her wish she could fall back asleep and never wake up. The room she was in was completely illuminated by sunlight, and the spinning walls finally slowed down enough to help her piece together where she was. I’ve been here before, I know this pale green duvet cover: this is Rita’s. Which means this warm lump beside me is… not Rita. Shit! The long blonde hair splayed across the pillow next to her didn’t move as Lemon slowly slid out of the bed, trying - but failing - to keep her head as still as possible to avoid any more dizzy spells. She spotted her yellow dress from last night, folded neatly on top of the dressing table. Looking down at her chest, she realised she was now wearing an oversized purple t-shirt and a pair of yoga leggings which were far too long. Okay, so that probably means that nothing weird happened, but then where’s Rita? Looking back to the woman in the bed, who was still wrapped in her side of the duvet like a cocoon, she tried to remember her name. It was something really unusual, like a clown’s name. Bobo? Is that definitely the same girl? Thinking was not helping the pain in her head at all, so she decided to pad her way out of the bedroom and towards Rita’s living area, the dryness in her mouth now more apparent than ever. Shuffling through the small gap in the doorway, she finally found Rita, who jumped startledly from her sleeping position on the couch as the door squeaked on its hinges. Her short hair was almost sticking completely upright, and her face was shining with traces of glittery eyeshadow from the night before. Lemon would have laughed if she wasn’t so sure that she looked equally as dishevelled.

“Hi,” she managed to croak as the taller woman swung her legs around to allow her to sit up, patting the empty cushion for Lemon to sit. “Why did you sleep through here?”

Rita rubbed her eyes and emitted a groan as she too noticed the leftover glitter. “I didn’t want it to be weird.”

Lemon attempted to think back to what had happened last night, but she had so many black holes in her memory. She had been dancing on a table, she had kissed Tynomi and Scarlett at the same time, she had attempted the lift from Dirty Dancing with Rita’s friend- shit, Rita’s friend! Rita’s friend who Rita is in love with and who also loves Rita! Rita’s friend who I woke up beside! Does she think something happened with me and her?!

“Nothing happened between me and your friend!”

She was met with a tiny grin from the Québécoise, who then started giggling louder and louder to herself. Lemon didn’t quite understand why, but Rita’s laugh was contagious, and she was soon joining in. Especially after Rita responded.

“Of course not, you idiot, you kept pushing us together and screaming “just kiss her!” all night!”

Lemon brought her knees to her chest and buried her head between them; now that she’d been reminded, she could, in fact, recall doing that a few times, even in the living room where she was now sitting. “Fuck Rita, I am so sorry, I am mortified!”

Now it was Rita’s turn to redden. “I mean, we still did it…”

“What?!” The volume of Lemon’s yelp made herself wince, but she couldn’t help it. Could her being a drunk idiot have actually helped?

“We kissed every time you told us to, which was quite a lot actually.”

“WHAT?!”

“You were just having too much fun to notice!” Rita was chuckling again as she took her time to stand up and make her way into the open plan kitchen, rummaging through one of the drawers with her back to Lemon so she almost didn’t hear her. “And then we made out for a while after you fell asleep.”

Lemon was now staring at her with her mouth completely agape, “Rita! Oh my god! You’re welcome, I guess?” 

Rita came back towards Lemon and sat down again, handing her a glass of water and a round, white tablet. “Officially it’s for food poisoning, but it is the best cure for a hangover,” she uttered as she downed her own pill. “So… yeah. We’re going to have to talk later, but what is the saying? A drunk person does what a sober one wants to?”

“I don’t think that’s a real saying, you crazy cat!” spluttered Lemon, almost gagging as she swallowed her own tablet. “But I’m so glad things worked out! Drunk Lemon is a genius!”

“Well,” began Rita, her tone decidedly sterner than seconds before, “I confiscated your phone on the way home from the club because you were talking to Jimbo about Juice, and I didn’t trust either of you.”

Jimbo! That’s her name! I knew it was- wait, what? “Juice?! When was that?”

Rita simply sighed, tucking her feet underneath her and turning directly to Lemon. “Do you not remember when we were all in the bathroom?” Lemon shook her head, trying to dive back into her memories but finding nothing. “You made us take about 500 selfies in the mirror, then you wanted to show us a girl from Tinder, but you started crying because you saw you’d matched with your ex.” Her tone was kind and non-judgemental, but Lemon still wanted the ground to swallow her up whole. How could she have been so stupid? As if she could see the start of Lemon’s mental spiral, Rita rested a hand on her thigh and took her hand with the other. “Then you told us what happened in summer, and we all gave you a big hug, and then we were kicked out because the bar closed. I am so sorry, mon citron.” 

“Oh my god, I…” Lemon was in shock, how could she have no recollection of any of this? Blurred images started coming to her, having her head once more squeezed between Jimbo’s giant breasts, Tynomi’s gentle voice telling her she’d done the right thing, staring at her tear-stained face in the mirror as Rita took her hand and led her outside… “I am so, so, sorry, I can’t believe that.”

“Don’t be sorry, sweetheart.” Rita shuffled closer, holding Lemon in a sideways hug. “It happens. Drunk brains are even worse than normal brains. I don’t think you said anything to her, but that’s something to deal with later, anyway.” They stayed like that for a few minutes, the only sound was their gentle, rhythmic breathing as Rita caringly ran her fingers up and down Lemon’s arm. “Can I confess something, Lem?”

“Of course, Rita, anything.”

“I also had a little cry last night, after seeing Tynomi.”

That wasn’t what Lemon was expecting. “Oh no, why? Is there history there?” She tried to sound caring, because she truly wanted to be, but she couldn’t help also being a bit curious. Rita smiled back at her, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Yeah, it’s a small world of GTA lesbians, I guess. We were something like friends with benefits when I first came to Toronto two years ago.” Lemon listened intriguely, nodding Rita along when she looked like she had more to say. ���And for once, it wasn’t just me who got feelings. So we tried dating, but we just never saw each other enough: she was always out of the country, and I was working 20-hour shifts every day. We tried to be friends, but drifted apart. C’est la vie, I guess. So it was nice to see she is doing well, but I’ll always feel a little sad that it didn’t work out.”

Lemon squeezed her friend tightly, lightly kissing her cheek and snuggling her own head into the crook of Rita’s neck. “C’est la vie, indeed. I hope you still had a good night, though, despite everyone’s tears?”

Rita hummed contentedly as she swayed Lemon slightly, eliciting a laugh from the other girl. “I finally got to kiss the woman I’ve liked for ages; I danced with my friends for the first night in months; and I got to watch you do cartwheels down the entire street. So yes, I had fun!”

Lemon groaned as Rita cracked up again with laughter, the grazes on her hands finally making sense. As she broke apart from Rita to take a sip of water, a very grumpy looking Jimbo plodded into the room, her hair tied in a messy bun on top of her head, wearing nothing but a t-shirt with a hotdog logo on the front and a very lacy, very revealing red thong.

“Can you two please stop having fun, some of us are trying to die in peace.”

[phrynewrites]

Rules: Tag 8 people you’d like to get to know better. Thank you @buffywhovianpotterlock and @barbiehytes for the tag!

Favorite Color(s): emerald green and teal

Last Song I Listened To: seven by Taylor Swift

Favorite Musician: Lana Del Rey, Taylor Swift, Billy Joel. But right now I’m in a big podcast phase. 

Last Film I Watched: Romeo + Juliet (the one from the 90s with Claire Danes)

Last TV Show I Watched: SNL. I watch it with my mom every Saturday. Is it just me, or were there Many missed opportunities during the cold opens this season??

Favorite Character: Leslie Knope

Sweet, Spicy or Savory?: Sweet for sure

Sparkling Water, Tea or Coffee?: Coffee. But I’m trying to get more into drinking tea in the morning instead of buying coffee on my way to work.

Any Pets?: nope, but I really want this one cat that my mom thinks isn’t handsome enough to live with us

Tagging: @scarletenvy  @janssports @lepakonpaska @missfame @mermelada-de-mariposa @missjanjie @imalwaysaslutfordrag @thackeryisatop

[annaflorsdefum]

Etiquetes de melmelades || Etiquetas de mermeladas || Jam labels (2019)

CAT|| Disseny proper i naïf de diverses etiquetes per a les diferents melmelades que he fet al llarg d’aquest caluros estiu. 

Amb una mica de sucre i molta fruita de temporada surten unes melmelades delicioses!

ESP|| Diseño familiar y naïf de varias etiquetas para las diferentes mermeladas que he hecho a lo largo de este caluroso verano.

Con un poco de azúcar y mucha fruta de temporada salen unas mermeladas tremendamente deliciosas!

ENG|| Familiar and naive design of several labels for the different jams I've made during this hot summer.

With some sugar and lots of seasonal fruits, delicious jams come out!

For more information check out my blog: https://annaflorsdefum.blogspot.com/

[cancerbiophd]

All this paper talk reminded me of a book called "Demoliendo papers, la trastienda de las publicaciones cientificas" by Diego Golombeck, who is a professor at my uni and once made his students invent papers for a class. So you have things like "capacidad de accion de la ojota o el insecticida en aerosol a la hora de matar cucarachas" (action capacity of the flip flop or the bug aerosol(?) when killing a cockroach). If you can understand Spanish fairly well I reccomend it. Even the biblio is fake

Biblio in bibliography* O and "Los principios fisicos quendeterminan la caída en pie delngato prevalecen sobre la Ley de Murphy quebdetermina la caida de la tostada con la mermelada hacia abajo". I'm not going to translate it, just imagine: cats + Murphys law + toast with jam

oh man! that sounds like an absolute riot. i wish i knew spanish! but definitely sharing this with my followers in case anyone wants to check these out! 

[polito0]

My cat Mermelada in a Mermelade Jar and a fursona I made for a friend lol

[artificialqueens]

Lemon's Misadventures in Dating, Chapter 6  (Lemon x Everyone) - Mermelada

A/N: Hi everyone! Here’s chapter 6, as seen on Ao3! I found out that Lemon’s irl mum is Scottish, so naturally, I had to include her as a character and base her on my own! More is coming soon, so watch this space! :D I love you all!!

[07:24] HEY GIRL!

[07:24] I’m so sorry but I ate your sister for breakfast

[07:24] She was a grapefruit lololololol

[07:24] I’m sorry please don’t hate me

[07:24] But she was delicious

[07:25] So what’s the tea on Little Miss Lemon? I want to know everything! What’s your favourite type of pasta?

Lemon read the messages again as she sat at the kitchen island, sipping her coffee. She couldn’t help but smile. That was not what she was expecting at all from Priyanka, she looked so poised and regal in all her photos, yet in reality she was coming across as a complete goofball. Although it had been three hours now, and she was still awaiting a reply.

[09:58] Umm how fucking dare you?

[09:58] Don’t even expect me to respond to that until I get a full apology, you murderer.

Was the joke not obvious? Fuck, what if she thinks I’m serious? But then she started it…

“What’s got you smiling, princess?”

She jumped with shock as her mum walked through the door, placing her handbag on the counter and opening the fridge door. She knew her mum only worked a half-day on Thursdays, but her sudden appearance was a surprise nonetheless. Lemon felt like she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t be.

“Oh, nothing,” she sang, quickly locking her phone and putting it back in her pocket, away from prying eyes, “how was work?”

“Well you’re not acting like it was nothing,” teased her mum, moving around the kitchen in a blur as she prepared her lunch. “Is it a girl?”

Lemon failed to hide the blush rising on her face, she knew her mum meant no harm, but she was not prepared to get into a conversation about dating and hookups with her so early in the day, and with so little alcohol to hand. “Muuuuuuuuum” she groaned, hoping that the coolness of her hands would remove the redness as she placed her chin in her palms.

“I’m just glad you’re happy, darling, you deserve it after the summer you’ve had!” Lemon couldn’t deny that her mum had been an absolute angel these last few months. She listened to Lemon way back when she had first admitted that things weren’t working like they should be, and never once offered any judgement or tried to convince her to stay. She had even helped Lemon move her things out of her old apartment as quickly as was humanly possible for the pair of them, while she was at work. “Are you up to date with your tetanus shots though, because you’ll need one if she’s doing that to you!”

Just when Lemon felt she couldn’t get any redder, her mum’s finger was poking the mottled bruise peeking out from under the loose collar of her t-shirt, her whole body burning as her mind flashed back to the moment it had been placed there… the body above her trembling, grabbing a handful of platinum hair as they grinded against each other’s thighs, the muffled cries in French… “Oh my god, mum, please stop!”

“What?! You can’t just disappear for two nights in a row and not expect me to be curious! What’s her name?”

She audibly groaned at her mother’s prying tone, laying her head on the cold marble countertop. “Mum, I love you, but I am not having this conversation with you right now!”

Fucking Rita, I’m sure she’ll find this funny at least, Lemon made a mental note to text the other woman later, wondering if she’s had any similar happenings with her work colleagues, or if she had enough experience - and common sense - to hide the evidence of her Tinder trysts better. At least she had put on leggings after waking up today, as shorts would have only showcased an even more incriminating patchwork of colourful marks across her inner thighs.

Her mum simply smiled and wrapped an arm around her from behind the high kitchen chair, planting an affectionate kiss on her daughter’s temple. “Well, you know what I always say, pumpkin, as long as you’re happy and safe, go out there and have fun! Are dental dams still a thing? Do you need some?”

Lemon could only muster a grunt in response, her head making an audible bang as she threw it onto the counter, deeply wishing that the conversation was over. Right on cue, she felt the phone in her pocket buzz with a new notification. She practically leapt off her seat, ready to run to the safety of her bedroom. “Well, on that note, I’m going to remove myself from this deeply uncomfortable situation. Thank you, mother!” 

“Ooh is that her texting you? When are you seeing her next?” The enthusiastic questions fell - as her mum expected - on deaf ears, Lemon gulping down the remainder of her cold coffee and placing the empty mug in the sink.

When she finally reached her safe haven, she pushed the door closed and jumped back on the bed. Despite knowing her parents wouldn’t mind at all, she still wasn’t ready to admit she was trying to move on, let alone with an assortment of random ladies from the Greater Toronto Area. She grabbed at her phone excitedly, her eyes lighting up when she saw that Priyanka had finally answered.

[13:35] My dearest Lemon, I must beg for your forgiveness, for I have sinned gravely. Upon awakening from my slumber and entering my cooking chamber, my stomach began to sing a dreadful tune. In the search for something to quell its anger, I encountered a grapefruit, as cute as your face and as juicy as your ass probably is. With no other option, I slaughtered it, dressed it with some sugar, and devoured its flesh. Would you please accept my most sincere apology in the form of a drink sometime?

This crazy bitch. No other interaction on the app had left Lemon feeling so giddy, her heart had sped up and her stomach was doing somersaults. Yes yes yes yes oh my god of course! Luckily her common sense kicked in, and she realised she should probably act a bit less… desperate.

[13:40] Let me think about it

[13:41] Loljk of course!

[13:41] Any day/time work best for you? I’m afraid I’m fully booked this weekend

[13:41] Mourning my sister and all

[13:41] (I mean the grapefruit btw sorry that could have been weird)

Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long for a response. 

[13:42] LOL I’m glad it didn’t turn dark

[13:42] Any night that’s not a school day is best for me!

[13:43] Speaking of which I better get back and entertain some little people, ttyl xo

[13:43] KIDS, btw, just in case xx

Lemon shook her head as she smiled, Priyanka was certainly something else. Cute, funny, sexy… hopefully she didn’t ruin it by having bad breath or murderous tendencies. She couldn’t explain it, she already felt something special about the girl, something she hadn’t felt since- no. Let’s not ruin a good thing by thinking about her. But the more she looked at Priyanka’s profile, the more memories of Juice kept flooding her mind. Taking a moment, she sat on the floor, stretching her legs out in front of her and breathing deeply and rhythmically, a makeshift meditation to nip any panic in the bud.

Is it still too soon? Maybe I’m not ready to be moving on if I still think about her so much, and if I still get so emotional doing so. Images of the former couple danced around her head; walking hand in hand, snuggling on the couch under blankets, even just helping each other cook, or drinking coffee in bed on a rainy morning. I thought it was what I wanted, but maybe I was wrong. She sat silently for a few minutes, trying her best to think of nothing but a dark sky filled with distant, twinkling stars, but even that took her mind back to the nights they’d spend wandering around their neighbourhood, talking about their hopes and dreams, where they’d live once they got married, how many cats and dogs it was acceptable to have. It seemed like the natural course for them, but not everything can work out the way people want it to. 

She didn’t know whether it was the buzz of her phone on the bed behind her, or Gus’s gentle panting as he pushed through the door which awoke her from her semi-trance, but she took the opportunity to stand up and shake the stiffness out of her body. It was a natural impulse to bring her hands to her eyes to wipe away her tears, but she was pleasantly surprised to not find any there today. Maybe things were getting better after all. 

She and Gus both slid onto her bed, the dog circling three times before plopping himself down in the crook of Lemon’s elbow, which she rewarded with a firm scratch under his chin. Picking up her phone, it buzzed again in her hand with messages from Rita.

Dr Rita <3 [14:02] shared a link

Dr Rita <3 [14:05] Bonjour! How are you today, mon citron? I had a nap after work and I am now ready for the gym :-O Last night a colleague told me about this dance school where his daughters go, a teacher is pregnant and will need someone to cover the classes when she is off. I thought of you :-) I hope you slept better than a baby! X

Dr Rita <3 [14:06] Also I found a bruise on my ass yesterday, I was in pain every time I was sitting down, thank you very much…

Lemon had always believed in fate to some degree, and upon seeing the link Rita had sent, she had no doubt that destiny had been on her side during the events of the last few days. She stared at the familiar tan bricks of her old dance school, the smiling face of her old principal teacher finally giving her the push she needed to get back in the saddle. She threw on a pair of jeans and a woolen cardigan, replying to Rita with one hand as she pulled on her ankle boots with the other.

[14:10] Merci merci, I’ll check it out!! Have fun at the gym, you crazy pomme! How was sexy kidney lady? 

[14:11] And de rien 😘 my mum saw the one on my neck today, she thinks I’m being bullied 😞

Jumping down the stairs two at a time and shouting a quick goodbye to her mum - closing the door before she could hear the inevitable embarrassing reply - she walked as quickly as her legs could possibly take her to the dance school, a path she had already walked hundreds of times throughout her childhood. Even if they said no, she would sign up to classes or find some auditions, how could this not be a sign from the universe to start dancing again? As she reached the heavy iron door, she checked her phone one last time.

Dr Rita <3 [14:14] Courage, ma belle! They would be idiots to not want you! Well, she made me my favourite tea and told me she liked my lipstick, so I think we are married now?

Dr Rita <3 [14:16] And I am so sorry! :-( Do you have arnica cream? I hope your mother knows it was at your request? ;-)

She had really lucked out with Rita, she needed a good friend like her in her corner right now. And as she stepped inside, navigating the bright corridors to the principal’s office, she was really glad she’d downloaded Tinder.

[artificialqueens]

Make me feel (Branjie) - Mermelada

Hello again all! I’ve written some Branjie drabble based on a lovely song by a lady called Janelle Monáe, you may know her? Drag names and a mixture of pronouns within, and some ballet terms I had to drag out my brain from 10 years ago. I hope you enjoy!

Carefully stepping across the stage, extending each leg gracefully in front of her as she lay the hard top of her pointe-shoes on the ground, Brooke Lynn Hytes deeply inhaled and closed her eyes. The crowd were cheering and chanting her name, they loved her. They’d come to the show expecting a re-enactment of her energetic kicks and spins to Demi Lovato, or maybe something a bit sultrier as she couru’d around the stage in her skin-tight Cat Woman costume. Instead, they’d be seeing the first – and hopefully only – performance of an act Brooke had unofficially titled “desperate drag queen”.

The Season 11 tour had been underway for over a month now, and while she was fully in her element while performing in front of sold-out crowds nearly every night, there was one aspect of tour life which Brooke couldn’t quite navigate: being around her ex-boyfriend, and the man she still loved with all her heart. During the day they would chat and joke between each other and with the other queens on the bus; and in the evening they would paint their faces and assume their professional identities. Things became more difficult when night fell and their masks, both literal and metaphorical, were removed. Brooke Lynn and Vanessa were like opposite ends of a magnet: no matter how hard they tried, or how many barriers were in their way, they were inseparable. Some nights they fucked, some nights they cuddled as they watched Netflix, and then some nights they would argue to the point where they never wanted to see each other again… until the next day, when the cycle would begin again. It had been stressing Brooke out for too long, and he knew he had to do something about it.

Vanessa had always said, both jokingly and with complete sincerity as he struggled to tame the tears falling from his eyes, that Brooke was ‘too cool’ for love, and ‘too proud’ to wear his heart on his sleeve. It was true: it had been one of the main reasons they had broken up, and a recurring factor in their frequent fights over just what they were to each other. Vanessa didn’t want to just be a fuckbuddy. Neither did Brooke, but he could never find the correct way of telling his lover. After a lot of thinking during the long bus rides across generic American landscapes, Brooke Lynn Hytes had made up his mind that he was in love, and he wanted Vanessa Vanjie Mateo to be his boyfriend. All that was left to do as ask, which should have been the easy part. Unfortunately for Brooke, every time he tried, he would either choke on his own pride and change the conversation to something cat-related, or Vanessa would roll his eyes and accuse him of being insincere. Which led to where he is right now.

As Brooke Lynn towered in the middle of the stage, staring out into the audience, she took one final deep breath, waiting for the music to start. If Vanessa had wanted big, proud gestures of love, then she was going to get it. The late-night choreographing in her hotel room and the secret correspondence with a somewhat nonchalant sound engineer in a city Brooke couldn’t remember better pay off. She had a feeling it would. But she was still terrified. Before the cogs in her brain could turn any more, the opening beat kicked in, and she slowly walked towards the front of the stage, ready to give the performance of a lifetime to just one person. The crowd roared as they recognised the song that was playing.

“Baby don’t make me spell it out for you All of the feelings that I’ve got for you”

Brooke had never before felt the lyrics of a song resonate so deeply as she was lip-synching, she was certain the front three rows would be able to see the determination in her eyes. As she slowly rolled her hips to the beat, she noticed Nina at the side of the stage looking shocked, gesticulating over-dramatically in a way that only Nina could pull off. Laughing to herself, Brooke twirled to the left of the stage, looking into the wings where she then saw Yvie and Silky wiggling their hips to the rhythm. Yvie sent her a huge toothy grin, which made Brooke suspect she’d caught on to exactly when she was doing. She only hoped the rest of her plan would work.

“You keep on asking me the same questions

And second guessing all my intentions”

As she sung the lyrics, Brooke pouted and twirled a strand of hair around her finger and she gracefully rose en pointe, before bending down all the way into a full plié, never once losing balance. The audience screamed at the suggestive nature of the move, and Brooke couldn’t help but become more and more motivated by the reaction. She could feel fire in her belly and in her heart, and she was now adamant that she would not leave the stage until she got what she wanted. Staring at Nina again, she nodded towards the backstage area, hoping her friend would pick up on the clue. Flashing a quick thumbs up, Nina ran down the wing and into the backstage area, hoping to god she’d read Brooke’s telekinetic signal correctly. Regardless, the on/off Branjie charade had been going on for too long, and Nina revelled in witnessing what would hopefully be the resolution.

“It’s like I’m powerful with a little bit of tender

An emotional sexual bender”

With that, Brooke slammed her tuck into the floor and relished the burn of her thigh muscles as she stretched into her split. Leaning forward and flipping her hair, the cheers and screams of the crowd temporarily distracted her from the reason she was doing this. The autopilot switch turned itself on, and she began to perform like she always does, smiling to her adoring fans as she stood back up and prepared to relevé into the chorus.

“That’s just the way you make me feel

That’s just the way you make me feel

So good, so good, so fucking real

That’s just the way you make me feel”

As she touched the hands of those in the audience who extended dollar bills in her direction as her way of thanks, Brooke almost intuitively felt the need to turn around. There, standing beside Nina in the wings, was Vanjie, in her sparkly dress and short blonde wig, looking at Brooke with an unreadable expression. Her target audience member in place, Brooke’s only job now was to make sure Vanessa was completely aware of why she’d changed from her scheduled performance.

“You know I love it, so please don’t stop it

You got me right here in your jean pocket”

Brooke really tried to remain professional and perform to the ticket-paying audience, but she’d have been lying if she’d said that it didn’t feel like Vanessa was the only person in the whole theatre at that moment. Well, and Nina, the older queen gently rubbing Vanjie’s shoulders as they both watched the lioness in pink Blochs command the stage in front of them.

“Laying your body on a shag carpet

You know I love it, so please don’t stop it”

Vanessa wasn’t sure where to look as Brooke dipped down into her signature body roll on the floor, tossing her hair around and staring straight into her eyes. She loved to watch Brooke perform – who wouldn’t? Brooke was strong, sexy, powerful, completely in control of her emotions, completely at home in front of a large crowd… and yet here she was, dancing to a song Vanessa loved, focussing on nobody else but her. Well, and Nina, who was still gripping her shoulders far too tightly to be relaxing. Vanessa had always told Brooke how much he loved the idea of big, public gestures to display love. The thought often made Brooke recoil, which would more often than not lead to an argument about Brooke being emotion-less and just using Vanessa for sex. Which Vanjie knew wasn’t true, but his Canadian friend’s inability to openly talk about his feelings was frustrating, especially when they could have already been married with a dog by this point if they’d just talked it out. At least in Vanessa’s fantasy. And yet here he was, bearing his soul not just for Vanessa, not just for the other queens, but for the world. Vanessa was lost in the performance when he suddenly felt a strong push from behind him.

As Nina pushed Vanessa on stage, Brooke stealthily landed her pirouette in front of her, catching her smaller hands in hers.

“That’s just the way you make me feel

That’s just the way you make me feel”

Brooke continued to sway and bop to the music, while Vanessa stood motionless, staring at the tall blonde, mouth agape in shock. Not quite thinking about what she was doing, and not caring about the hundreds of phone cameras pointing their way, Vanessa threw her two hands around Brooke’s neck and pulled her head down to kiss her. Their foreheads hit, their noses squashed, and their teeth clattered, but nothing mattered except the warmth pooling in both of their hearts, and the smiles stretching across both of their faces.