#of course like. 8 years later there's a lot I would do differently with that fic now

[yansurnummu]

TES fest day 8: free day

The first fic I ever finished and posted was The Blood of the Coven in 2016, which followed Anthelion through the Dark Brotherhood quest line in Oblivion.

I set a goal at the beginning to do at least one of these prompts, and somehow I actually managed to do them all! I had lots of fun and it was great to see everyone else's amazing art and writing as well :)

[first-edition]

Bent Over

Summary- You may be Bucky’s assistant but your still is pretty wife. When the other board members take a liking to you bucky puts them in their place by showing them exactly who you belong two.

Cw- literally just smut basically, P-in-V, Unprotected, doggystyle, hair pulling, choking kink, Sargent! Authority kink, reader has long hair and wears heels, Afab reader, brief mention of drool, dirt talk, public sex, exhibitionistm kink, dom/sub, Dom!bucky, CEO!bucky, assistant reader, spanking, pet names, brief clit play, bucky fucking you raw over the meeting table with others watch. SLIGHTLY PROOF READ.

A/N this is by far the most….UNHOLY thing I’ve ever written in my 11 years of writing fanfiction and smut so i encourage you to read the content warning above and MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

ENJOY

You've worked for Bucky for hydra company since you were born. You previously worked for your father Alexander Pierce when you turned 14. But when his assistant double crossed him and killed him, that same assistant, James Buchanan Barnes took over the company at 18. At first you hated him having nothing left, not like your father was good. Of course the company should've gone to you..and well it did but at 14 years old it wasn't yours to run. 

You two would bicker and often hand in hand fight regardless of being his assistant. Many year later and many fail assanation attempts on him you married him. You've been James's assistant for 11 years, and you've been married to him for 3. Your bickering had ended in a lust induced fight that led to feeling being expressed at gunpoint then a rough night that left you partially, and deliciously crippled the next morning, which prompted Bucky to make you breakfast in bed and draw you a bath. 

Your work relationship is far different from home. At home he never lets you only want you whether that's wrapping his arms around you for a cuddle or being balls deep in your cunt. 

At work however he's the right amount of distance and so are you. It's become a mutual thing to not let anyone know in the tower that you and the big boss are married. 

You walk into the building holding a tray of coffees and an arm full of files. Your hair up in a ponytail, you wear a black knee high pencil skirt with a fairly loose but classy dark blue blouse, your black stockings paired with the jet black louis vuittons red bottoms bucky bought you last week. 

“I made the coffee run.” you say setting the tray down in the office room. 

Everyone who orders comes scrambling to their order without a thank you as usual. 

“You do a lot around her, don't you miss pierce.” you hear an older man's voice speak and you turn to see one of the board members and the other men on his team behind him. 

“Welcome Mr Cain you are early..i'll have to let mr barnes know.” you say pursing your lips in slight annoyance. 

“Yes well i'm not going to miss a chance at this pretty face now am I?” he says lifting your chin you pull away from him. 

“Excuse Me.” you say before turning back and walking down the hall area. They of course unauthorizedly follow close behind you. You stop at bucky's office doors as the desk girl presses the button allowing the doors to open you step in seeing bucky standing over to the window watching the morning view of the city as he shines up his metal hand, which your father gave him after a coup was sent on him he used bucky as a human shield. 

“Mr barnes. It appears Mr Cain has arrived early.” you says 

“Love the way you say my name sweetheart.” Cain speaks slapping your ass making you jump and wanting you punch the ever living outta him. 

“Hmm.” Bucky hums as he turns to see Mr cain. 

“Are the others here?” he asks you. 

“No sir…they will be arriving at 8. Like you asked.” you say knowing bucky will be pissed off at cain with being early and treating you as such. A small smile forming on your face. 

“You're 15 minutes early Cain. Were you offered coffee or bourbon? " Bucky says. 

“No james-” Cain begins. 

“Good.” Bucky cuts him off. He looks to you and holds out his hands for the files. You walk over to him handing them to your beloved husband. He takes a moment to look through the pages.

“Early Mr Cain but lacking in so many areas, your files aren't in the stock.” he says. 

“I had it transferred digitally.” Cain speaks proudly. Bucky tilts his head to the side slightly and nods a bit before handing the files back to you. You walk to the cabinet and bend down to sort them into the right orders. You hear a crash and a grunt knowing Cain is face down on the table and Bucky is holding him there. 

“Im old school Cain i like the files printed, i also like to be on time, not early, not late…on. Fucking. Time.” bucky huffs cain struggles against the cold black marble desk. 

“Understood?” Bucky asks. 

“Y-yes..sir..” Cain gurgles out. Bucky lets him go and stands up fixing his suit. 

“Good. I'll see you in um….10 minutes. Office room 8. y/n.” bucky says looking at you as you close the files cabinet. 

“Yes sir?” you ask completely unfazed but the situation as Cain picks himself up. 

“Send the maid in to clean up the mess and get room 8 ready for the meeting… also escort Mr Cain out and show twords the room.” he says you nod your heels clicking against the tiled floor as you walk out cain following you. 

—-------

You stand on the side of the door way welcoming the men of the board into the meeting room one by one they all join in and in some way in their own eye fuck you, or get a touch of you in some way. 

They all take their seats and bucky walks in after them. You're about to close the door when he stops you. 

“I'll need you for this one doll.” He says he never calls you his personal nickname at work. 

“S-sir?” you ask 

“Come on love.” he says, taking your hand leading you into the room. He takes a seat at the head of the table as usual and you stand beside him. 

“So I realize that we are gathered here for the section rating. How our router facilities are going and what we are going to do about the one that got taken down. Simply kill the one in charge, the router taken down, and forty the rest." Bucky begins. 

“In the budget.” someone begins. Bucky holds his hand up. 

“The budget is not the problem. The problem is that we have to much money and aren't using it to put more into the structure..but that's not the problem i want to address today no…the harassment and sexualization of my wife is getting out of hand.'' Bucky speaks and stands up pushing his chair back. 

“J-james.” you speak quietly. 

“I don't know what you men think but i think that the only one here who gets to touch her is me…don't you?” bucky speaks undoing his belt, your knees feel of jello and a shiver goes up your spine. 

Bucky pulls you to him and presses his lips to yours deeply he grips a handful of your ass before pushing you back against the table, your back laying against it he pushing up your skirt and rips open the front of your shirt. 

“I think you all need a fuckign lesson about who my assistant is and your gonna sit their like good students and fucking watch.” bucky grunts out as your laced bra is exposed he grips your neck pulling you up to him and gently takes out your ponytail letting your hair fall. 

“What do you think of these dirty old men touching you honey?” he asks you. You bite your lip making a bucky smile knowing what that does to him. 

“Your hands trails down his front to his crotch feeling the bulge already full in his pants straining against the fabric. You pull down the zipper causing him to slip out, you take him in your hand giving his length a few good strokes before he pushes back against the table he moves your panties to the side briefly only to rip them off throwing them in the room. With out warning or prep he enters you roughly you mouth falls open and a moan escapes as he begins to fuck up into you. 

“n-ngh..James.” you gasp out in pleasure. 

“Come on princess, don't hide those pretty sounds from us.” he says a violent blush fills your face but the arousal going on between your legs blurs out any embarrassment. Your husband is fucking you out silly, on the table of the meeting room infront of the entire board and you are loving every second of it. 

“Come on doll you gotta l–let em know who you belong to. You the fuck put tha pretty ring on your finger?” bucky huffs. 

“Y-you did ahh. Fu-fuck.. You did.” you maon out in fragments as he pulls you bra down exposing your tits gripping one and continuing to fuck you his thumb brushing over your hardend bud and the stimulation in you cunt is enough for you cum once. 

“F-fuck james..ah” you grip his hand as your cunt squeezes around his cock. 

“Come on love you cant keep this a secrect you fucking cumming?” he asks, already knowing the answer. 

“Y-y-yes ah..m-more please.” you ask breathlessly. He pulls out of you for a quick moment before turning you on your stomach and taking you from behind. Your nails claw at the table as he pounds into you. 

“Come on honey gotta show em your gorgeous face dont yah.” he pulls you up you back against him his left hand around your neck making your eyes roll back in pleasure and happiness on the dominance he has over you. While his other hand reaches down to your clit rubbing and playing perfectly. 

“Ah! AH” you moan out a broken gasp as your knees merge in over stimulation. 

“Come on… take it like a good girl.” Bucky groans into your ear knowing that the other men can absolutely hear him. 

Your arms reach about your head holding onto bucky as best as you can, your tits bouncing freely, men both looking away and can't take their eyes off the display right in front of them. 

“Come one baby you gonna fucking cum for me again huh?” bucky grunts. 

“Y-yes ah fuck yes.. Please i- i want it so b-bad. Please im your..ah please sargent” you beg. Bucky knowing full well he has you in the palm of his hand now with how cock drunk he's easily gotten you. 

His hold around your neck loosens and he lets you back onto the table pressing his hand onto the small of your back feeling the arch making him groan. 

“Such a good fucking girl for me huh? For everyone here being so fucking obedient.” bucky barks out sending a harsh slap on your ass for you only making  you clench around his cock. Surging pleasure though him. Skin slapping against skin as he fucks you out.

“Fuck.” he huffs. He grips your hair pulling your head back, your drunken expression facing all the men drool dripping as your tongue hangs out. The pleasurable tears stinging the sides of your eyes blurring your vision. 

“I- im gonna c-cum ah- fuck.. Please please ah..” you messily beg. 

“Come on doll cum.” he demands out from you a few more thrusts later he has you cumming for the second time. His thrusts become weaker and sloppy as he curses with a rough few thrusts in you emptying his load into your pussy filling you up. He pushes his hair back as he pulls out of you. Bucky gives you a quick kiss on the cheek before lifting you up against him your fucked you dazed happy expression is glowing for the others in the room. 

“obedience..is taught gentleman respect is earned. Any of you flaccid fucking shit faces touch her again or dare to question my authority with USLESS BOARD MEETINGS… Ill send someone to each and everyone of you and put a bullet or two right between your fucking eyes. Is that Understood?” Bucky speaks. 

“Yes sir.” they all say in broken unison. 

“Get the fuck out.” Bucky says they scramble out gathering their things and falling out the door before it's just the two of you left. You giggle out a tired giggle. 

Bucky tucks himself back into his pants, setting you down gently and brings his chair over. 

“Come here doll. You alright?” he asks you nod looking at him with lust filled eyes. 

A smile fills his face as his thumb brushes against your cheek. He sits you down in his chair. 

He takes off his jacket, placing it around you. “Come on honey imma take you home i don't think you can work today or tomorrow.” he smiles before kissing your lips. 

“W-we should do this again then yeah?” you ask as he picks you up bridal style. 

“Id be happy to fuck you infront of the presedent next week.” he chuckles. Making you laugh.

—-my requests are open—-

[qqueenofhades]

Not that anything's a for sure bet but my read on the general situation re: Harris-Walz is that there's going to be a lot less headwind to fight for Harris specifically as opposed to Clinton because the amazing right wing media hasn't had twenty years for poison to seep into the layperson's thoughts about Clinton's "worthiness"

Well, that and the fact that the MAGA crowd are just really, really bad strategic planners (especially since a solid 75% of their strategy is "lol we'll just cheat and win it that way, we don't need anything else.") They howled for 3.5 years about how Biden was too old to serve and should step down, and then when he did, they had zero plan how to run against Kamala and Trump is now practically begging Biden to magically get back into the race and save him. They ran an anti-Shapiro influence campaign by encouraging the antisemitic online left and planning to exploit the issue among Democrats divided on Israel/Gaza, then furiously melted down when Walz was picked and had no plan to deal with him either. Fascism is a helluva drug, kiddos. Don't try it at home.

The reason Harris has been able to rocket so high is simple, which is that she's channeling Obama 08 energy in more ways than one. Obama also came onto the national political scene four years before (with his speech at the 2004 DNC) and four years later, he was the party's nominee. It didn't even matter that he was a skinny brown guy named Barack Hussein Obama, because people were so tired of the chaos and war and incompetence of Bush Jr that they latched onto a simple message of hope and change and the historical nature of his candidacy felt like an optimistic risk worth taking. Why couldn't it be time for the first African American president? Yes, of course, there was incredible vitriol and we are still dealing with that backlash in some ways now, but still.

As I have said before, Trump is technically not the incumbent, but the last 8 years have been dominated by his hatred, chaos, division, rage, and treason in a way even Bush could never quite manage, and when people get to that point, there's a lot of coiled-up energy that has at last come bursting out. We needed Biden's old-moderate-white-man cred to defeat Trump as the sitting president in 2020, when most of his worst scandals hadn't even happened yet, but this is not 2020 (or 2016) and the dynamic is different. We are now on offense and playing to win, people have readily and eagerly embraced the absolute god tier karma that would come from a black female prosecutor finally ending the Orange Menace's reign of terror once and for all, and the Republicans are spitting smoke and spinning gears running frantically through their usual tired old stupid cliche attacks. GAY TRANS EVIL BIRTHERISM SWIFTBOAT FOREIGN FAR LEFT COMMIE LIBERAL HEATHEN!! they scream desperately, trying to find something that sticks. Except this time, no matter how hard the corporate media tries to help them out, nobody is listening. Nobody is buying it. We know exactly what BS they're trying and we're just shrugging and going "Yeah, no. Weird."

It absolutely helps that Kamala is not dragging the ball and chain of 20 years of Republican smear attacks, yes. But there are a lot of reasons why the GOP is imploding before our eyes and it's probably now more statistically likely that there is a blue tsunami than it is that Trump wins. I still cannot, CANNOT, believe it has been barely three fucking weeks. If this is a dream don't want to wake up, etc. Let me goddamn stay in this timeline just a little longer. And if we do the work, we can in fact make it that way, and Yeah. Yeah.

[thrillered]

idk if you are taking request, but if so

is it cool to request surprising spencer in lingerie? doesn't have to get smutty btw just feel like he deserves a lil something

Your Surprise | Spencer Agnew x reader

Slightly NSFW🚨

Pls enjoy ily

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Spencer was a great boyfriend. You loved him very dearly. He was the picture of perfection in your relationship. You had been living together for 3 years and had a comfortable routine.

Lately though, things were weird. 

Spencer had been working a lot more lately. You knew his job was demanding, especially since he got his promotion last year and that his company was working on a few big things right now. 

He was clearly overworking himself and your relationship was feeling the consequences. It was neither of your guys fault, you both were working hard– you worked as a game dev and just finished a large project. 

You used to get home around the same time, now he was getting home over an hour later than you, quiet, tense, and exhausted. You hadn’t been getting more than a kiss hello and goodbye from him in weeks. He was usually a very generous lover and you always tried to give back to him. 

—

Spencer had sent you a text around lunch letting you know that the project was getting pushed back by two weeks and he wasn’t sure when he would get home tonight. That was okay, of course, but you were disappointed. 

You had a half day and decided to try and do something extra nice for Spencer. You went to the grocery store and picked up a bunch of fresh ingredients so he would be able to come home to a hot home cooked meal. While you were driving home to begin food prepping you noticed a new clothing store in a strip mall. 

Curiosity got the best of you and you decided to stop in. Most of the clothing wasn’t exactly your style but there were a few pairs of jeans that fit you perfectly and you noticed they had a very nice lingerie section. 

Feeling confident, you tried on a few pairs. You thought a new pair of lingerie would make both you and Spencer feel excited. You both had been very tense, especially Spencer, and your lack of an intimate life lately wasn’t helping. You immediately bought your favorite three pairs, smiling to yourself at the thought of surprising your wonderful boyfriend. 

—

Spencer let you know he would be home around 8 pm. It was around 7:40 and your meal was simmering on the stove, filling the space with delicious aromatics. You had a plate of eclairs you made sitting on the counter as well. You went and changed into a pair of your new lingerie. It was a black matching set with silky bows and delicate lace. You felt very confident in it, admiring yourself in the mirror before throwing on a t-shirt and sweats. 

You were plating the meals when you heard his key in the door. 

“Hey babe.” He yelled through your home. 

You walked into the foyer to welcome him. “Hi love.” You greeted, giving him a hug and a kiss. “How was work?” 

“It was rough, I won't lie.” He sighed, taking off his shoes and jacket. “You cooking?” He asked, noticing the aroma in the air. 

“Yeah,” You shrugged, “I wanted to do something nice for you.” 

“Oh babe, you don’t have to do anything, just being here is everything I need.” 

“You’ve been working so hard though.” You said, leading him into the kitchen. “And I assume you haven’t eaten in a while. Come eat, it’s still hot.” 

He sat down with you, enjoying the food you made. This might have been the longest conversation you'd had with him in over a week. You both were laughing and having a great time. You felt incredibly relieved at how the night was going. Your heart felt so full of love. You missed this, you missed being around Spencer.

“Have room for dessert?” You asked, clearing his empty plate.

“You made dessert too?” He asked, a large smile on his face. 

“Of course I did.” You brought out the plate of eclairs, explaining the different flavors you had made. 

You and Spencer shared a few, watching as he taste tested the baked goods. 

“God you are incredible.” He praised. “Everything was delicious, thank you.” 

“Of course babe, you deserve it.” You smiled, wiping some whipped cream from the corner of his lip. “You’ve been so tense lately.” 

You walked around the table, wrapping your arms around his neck and hugging him before placing a soft kiss on his neck. “Like really tense, wow.” You remarked, feeling the tension in his back and neck. You began massaging away the knots, smiling when he sighed in relief. 

He turned around when you finished, standing and resting his hands on your hips. He moved his hands under your shirt, his eyebrows shooting up when he felt the soft lace. “What's this?” He asked. 

“One last little surprise?” You asked, a flirtatious glint in your eye. 

“Surprise away.” He said breathlessly. 

You grabbed his hand and brought him into your shared bedroom, pushing him to sit in the bed. He sat back, watching you intently. 

Facing away from your boyfriend you slowly stripped off your shirt, revealing the top half of the set, allowing your hair to flow down over your shoulders. You slowly turned around, noting the sharp inhale from Spencer. 

“Holy shit.” He breathed, his pupils dilating. 

“You like it? Wanna see the rest?” You purred. 

He nodded eagerly, brushing a hand over his blushing face. You sauntered up to him, biting your lip slightly. “Help me out?” You asked, gesturing for him to untie your sweats and pull them down. 

He did as you offered, almost salivating looking at you. He was enamored. You looked so beautiful and sexy he didn’t know what to do. “You are so fucking perfect.” He managed to get out, his mind going fuzzy at the sight of you. 

You stepped out of your sweats, doing a playful spin for him. You had barely made it back around to face him before he was on his feet, pulling you into a passionate kiss. You immediately reciprocated, excited by his eagerness. 

He ran his hands up and down your sides, groaning at the silk and lace beneath his fingertips. He had been so busy that he hadn’t really noticed the lack in your intimate life and now that you had lit a spark he felt like he was on fire. He couldn’t get enough of you, his hands were everywhere, heating every inch of you. 

He pushed you towards the bed, laying you on your back. He disconnected your lips, standing above you. You tried to pull him back into you, missing his touch immediately. “Just let me look at you.” He said, trying to memorize every detail of you with eyes full of lust. 

You were laying on your back, your hair splayed out behind you, the soft moonlight accentuating your soft skin and curves. Spencer wasn’t sure he had seen anything more beautiful. You were a work of art, the greatest renaissance painting. He felt so lucky to have you. 

You smiled up at him, blushing under his intense gaze. You ran your hand through your hair and down your torso, landing to rest gently on your hip. “Spencer, I need you, please.” You pleaded, your chest rising and falling with each breath. 

That was all the encouragement he needed, he quickly removed his shirt, revealing his broad chest. In an instant he was back on top of you, slotting his lips in yours. You ran your hands up and down his chest, tracing the line of hair that trailed down his abdomen before reaching his belt. 

With quick and precise fingers you unbuckled the metal, pulling the leather away from the loops in a swift motion. Spencer’s lips left yours, moving across your cheek and down your jaw. You sighed in pleasure as he made his way onto your neck, threading your fingers through his curls that you love so much, pulling on them slightly as he nipped at your pulse point, earning a satisfied groan from him. 

He continued his barrage of open mouth kisses down your body, paying extra attention to the areas covered in lace. With one of his hands holding himself above you he circled the other one under you, massaging the plush skin of your thigh and ass. 

Strained moans got caught in your throat with each touch you shared. Spencer had kissed down your torso, kneeling on the ground in front of where your hips laid. He hooked his fingers around the lacy bottoms of the lingerie set. 

“Wait,” You breathed, stopping Spencer before he could pull the cloth down. “You’re working so hard,” you began pulling him up by his chin and stopping a few inches from your face. “You’re so tense,” You rubbed down his strong shoulders. “Let me take care of you tonight.” 

“You’ve already done so much..” Spencer countered, placing a series of lengthening kisses on your lips. 

“Sh sh sh,” you shushed, shrugging him off. “I love you Spencer, let me make you feel good.” You persuaded, your eyes sparkling with love and passion. “Let me take all the stress away.”

[antonellibee]

My journey so far | loa & shifting

Hello loablr/shiftblr!! I've never made a blog about my journey and what I've learned and I think it would be cool to share it with you :)

Well, for a long time I've been bullied as a child and had low self-esteem, I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror or take a picture without feeling bad. When I was 10 or 11 and I was in the 5th grade (here in Brazil we called it fifth grade, I don't know if it's the same in other countries, sorry) I've met the subliminals and started using them. Let's say I had a pretty bad mentality and mental health back then and the community had a lot of people saying "how we should use" the subliminals correctly and a lot of 'limiting beliefs' so I hadn't had much results 'cause of this and were always frustrated (and I didn't know what I wanted, everyday I wanted a different thing like hair color, eye color) and ended up getting nothing. In 2018 I've met shifting and really struggled with that for a while (my first shift was last year) again because I thought I needed to do a lot of methods, drink gallons of water to shift and had in mind that it was a hard thing that needed effort. In the 9th grade I changed school and the bullying stopped, my mental health got better, it wasn't really the best and I still had a shitty mentality but it was better than before. I've became quite popular in my classroom there and made great friends. The next year I changed school again, where I've got my first bf. I was insecure back then and thought men were all the same and that he would leave me someday (I was sure he would). And guess what happened? He left me (now I've found out why, it wasn't entirely his decision). After that I've decided that I would focus on me and my studies. In 2023 I've met the law of assumption and it changed my life to better, it changed how I see myself, how I see the world. Of course in the beginning I struggled a little bit and wavered a lot, I didn't have a good self concept yet and was always frustrated 'cause I didn't "see" the results yet. I've decided to study more about it and changing my self concept, the difference was huge, I was more confident and people started to treat me better. I've caught attention everywhere I went. But I still wasn't that confident. In 2024 I went to a new school (I've studied in 8 different schools because my family wanted me to study in a good school). I remember that I listened to subliminals, made affs and all. In my first day I've made friends and some boys there admitted they wanted to date me. I was actually surprised and kinda shy (I'm a shy girl) with all the attention. My teachers treated me very well, I've got high grades and even a Math Olympics medal! In 2024 I started studying automotive mechanics in a private school and the same thing happened (this happened first, school started later than mechanics). I've studied more, now I know that we are pure consciousness, we rule our reality and that we're not just the physical body. A lot of realities exists out there just waiting for us to be aware of them. We manifest our desires by just assuming we have them, becoming aware of having our desires. I've learned that the law can't fail you, it's always working, it's a law!

When you see someone saying for you to take care of you, your mental health and self concept, listen to them. It will make you feel better about yourself, you'll feel better. I'm not saying that it will be easy at first, I know it's not easy at first mainly for the ones who had a shitty mentality and self concept like I had 6 years ago. Affirm to yourself everyday that you're pretty, that you're the one who rule your reality, that you're amazing, that you're lucky, that you're the most beautiful person in the world. I know it will make you kinda "uncomfortable" in the beginning but you can do this! The only person who can change your life is you! You're powerful, love 🩷

Be kind to you and to others, don't pressure yourself and don't forget to focus on you

Well, that was it :)

I hope it can help others!

A special thanks to the bloggers who helped me with their blogs

@fairyminnie444

@love4ng1e

@salemlunaa

@b4ddprincess

@hrrtshape

@pamicakery

[sunshine-theseus]

Pequeña | Kyra Cooney-Cross x Reader

Word count: 1.8k

Summary: you make stupid decisions but you got your girl in the end.

Warning: fluff, horrible self-care, fainting

My parents and I moved from Spain to England when I was 5.

I was a quiet kid with no friends, who spent most of her time reading or listening to music. At seven years old my parents decided to sign me up for my local football kids club to try and get me to ‘open my wings’, their code for ‘stop being a fucking loner we value popularity over smarts’. I haven’t seen them in 8 years.

Turns out I was fucking great at football and by 12 I was in the Arsenal Football Academy. At 15 I was playing for their Women’s team in the WSL and was debuting for England’s national team. I spent most of that time on the bench of course, but by 17 I had a large ‘1’ on my back and was starting 90% of games at Arsenal. I didn’t have many friends though, especially when I knew most would either leave to bigger leagues or transfer teams. I preferred it though because that meant I had plenty of time between training and games to study and read and play music.

Another 6 years later and I’m playing for England in the Semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup against Australia. I wasn’t our main goalie, but Mary had gotten a concussion so that left me and like hell I would let us lose this close to the finals. I’d nearly managed to keep a clean sheet until Sam Kerr came running up from halfway, past Millie and chipped it behind me into the goal. Despite the goal, we won.

As I’m walking toward the girls, I tripped over something, or someone, sitting on the sidelines near the tunnel. One of the Aussie girls, clearly tired and upset, curled up to their goalkeeper. If there was one thing I could do, it was recognise a phenomenal goalkeeper when I see one, and Mackenzie Arnold was just that.

“I’m sorry.” I whisper to her as I pat her shoulder and copy the gesture for the girl next to her.

I didn’t know much about her, but I’d seen her play. Her footwork was incredible, and she was clearly underrated and underestimated, something Arsenal could benefit from.

“Wanna swap jerseys?” it comes out soft, I almost miss it as I turn away. When I turn back around, I expect to see Mac offering her’s, but instead I see the younger girl looking up at me questioningly and I smile. I’d already swapped with Mac in a friendly earlier this year, and I love collecting jerseys from different players.

“Fuck yeah.” and within seconds she has my jersey pulled over her head, and it hangs loosely, clearly a few too many sizes too big for her.

I then pull on her’s, for a moment fearful it would be too small, but I’m thankful for her clear preference for baggy clothes as it slips over my torso. Mackenzie beckons over their photographer, and I pose with the still nameless girl. She’s small in comparison to my 5’11 stature and I giggle at the difference before offering her a piggyback for a silly photo.

As she jumps up, I notice shocked stares of my teammates from the corner of my eye but shake it off as she wraps her arm around my neck as if to choke me.

“Has anyone told you how small you are?” I ask her as I drop her back to the ground.

“They don’t shut up about it.”

“I think I’ll call you Pequeña.” I chuckle at her confused look.

“It means small in Spanish.”

“What the fuck!? Fine I’m calling you fucking Giant or something.”

I don’t get her actual name that night, but I look it up when I get back to my hotel room, Lotte missing from the space.

Kyra Cooney-Cross. An unexpected star.

I watch one of her games instead of doing my uni work and fall asleep to one her interviews playing.

~~~~~

I don’t expect to see Kyra until whatever friendly we have with Australia before the Olympics. In the time after the World Cup and before pre-season, I’ve hung her jersey in my hallway, along with all the others. I put her’s at the entrance with others like Mapi León and Christine Sinclair, people I consider special.

We also begin talking. A lot. I spend most of my spare time calling or texting her, but I don’t tell anyone.

The shock I get when the final minute of the pre-season transfer window approaches, and I get a notification from the Arsenal Women twitter account.

‘KYRA COONEY-CROSS IS A GUNNER✍️’

~~~~~

We’d been knocked out of the qualifiers for the Championship League and yet I walk into training on Monday with a slight spring in my step and excitement buzzing through me. I wave to all the staff and greet everyone, asking how the girls are when I walk into the locker room.

It’s Katie who asks.

“What the fuck is up with you Ms Dark and Broody?”

“Whatever do you mean?” I giggle.

She gives me and incredulous look before turning to the rest of the locker room who share similar expressions.

“W- wh- wh-” she continues to babble as Steph pulls her back to her cubby and pats her shoulder as a way of reassurance.

“You just… you’re never so smiley or talkative. At all. Like ever. Like in the past 8 years you’ve said maybe 100 words per season to me.” Lotte speaks up.

“Not true!”

“I’ve only seen you without a book off the pitch 13 times. I started counting after the 1st.” My jaw drops.

“She’s not wrong Y/n. You’re pretty reserved and stoic. Which there’s nothing wrong with! But it’s just odd to see you, well like this.” Manu points at me as if that’s explanation enough.

“Wow thanks gu-” I’m cut off by someone jumping on my back and screaming.

“BEANSTALK!” and I’m smiling all over again as I turn my head to see the young Australian I’ve been missing.

“PEQUEÑA!”

“I can’t believe I had to put up with your nerdy shit in person every day now.” She jumps off my back and moves to greet the other girls except for Steph and Caitlin who she obviously knows.

We don’t get much time to talk before Jonas calls us into the meeting room. He introduces all our new players like Kyra and Lessi and announces the return of Vivianne and Beth to our playing squad, before going over how we need to improve after our defeat in the Champions League.

“L/n, I know you just came 2nd in the World Cup but you cannot be slacking like you did in the game against Pairs. You’ve got to be doing more.” I don’t get to reply before he’s ushering us out onto the pitch.

I’m left in a sour mood the rest of training, once again avoiding everyone, including Kyra who seemingly found a close friend in Alessia. I had given my all in that game against Paris, but they were good, and I’d stayed up until 2am the night before completing one of my assignments for my uni degree, something Jonas had encouraged me to do.

I was more mad that he didn’t allow me to tell him why but either way, I’d decided I would be staying after training to practice until I couldn’t any longer. So I did. And I came in an hour early the next morning to get more training in. I continued to do this for a while, studying once I got home until I couldn’t keep my eyes open now that my usual study time was booked. Eventually the girls stopped inviting me for coffee or team bonding and Kyra stopped trying to talk.

We were playing against Man United when I began to sway side to side, and my eyes began to droop. I think Kyra noticed first while on the sideline, and whispered something to Katie as she passed by the bench, but nothing came of it until United got a corner. They didn’t even get to kick the ball before I crumpled to the ground beside a clueless Lotte and Katie Zelem.

I don’t feel myself get carried off the pitch or get transferred to an ambulance. I don’t think I recognise anything happening around me until hours later. The clock on the wall says 9:21 and I think I’ve only slept for a few hours, but then I notice the sun streaming through the curtains and realise the few might actually be a lot.

I then recognise the limp bodies spread across the room. The awfully sterile white room which is nothing like the warmth of my olive-green bedroom. I don’t think I’d been so slow to figure out what was going on in my life.

“Beanstalk! You’re awake!” I look to the small brunette who has been hunched over asleep next to me for god knows how long and smile.

“Hey pequeña.”

“You are so stupid!” Kyra slaps my arm and sends me a sharp glare.

“What the fuck is going on. You’ve been exhausted 24/7 and no one sees you outside of training.” I then decide to explain my rather stupid schedule and reasoning to her.

She stares blankly at me for a while.

“You are genuinely so fucking dumb. I was so worried about you.” She whispers.

“Why?”

“Because I love you.” Her eyes drop to her lap.

“Te amo.” I’m not sure she understands it but she smiles either way and leans in.

Just as our lips meet, Katie abruptly wakes up in her corner of the room and shrieks.

“What the fuck!” and we’re left to quickly pull away as she tries to wake everyone else up to tell them what she saw.

“Katie don’t be fucking ridiculous! They’re both sound asleep.” I hear Kim whisper shout, followed by more of Katie’s babbling about how we’re just pretending as they trail out of the room, assumedly getting coffee.

As the door clicks shut, I open one eye to glance around the now empty room. It seems everyone needed some coffee. Except a certain Australian, whose eyes also peak open.

“Kiss me.” And then her lips are on mine again.

~~~~~

I don’t play again until our game against Bristol for the Conti Cup. Jonas apologised for pushing me too hard but made it clear I was to properly rest before I get to do anything and makes Sarina Weigman promise not to play me during our international break.

Kyra also gets her first starting debut.

It’s a tough game, and in the 84th minute, Kyra drops to the ground. I nearly run to check on her, but she gets back up, and within another minute she gets subbed off for Vic.

The whistle blows, signalling the end of the game, we win 3-1.

I meet Kyra in the middle of the field, pick her up and swing her around. Our first proper game playing together seems like an obvious thing to celebrate. And before I can think, I’m leaning down and kissing her, something I’m not sure if I’ll regret later.

She smiles that smile, brighter than the sun, and I melt.

“Te amo pequeña.”

[cazzyf1]

An Article about Lella Lombardi - Nobody makes jokes about women drivers around Lella Lombardi

The sleek Lola T-332 racing car crossed the starting line at the river side, Calif, Grand Prix, hurtled ahead of three cars, and swooped back inside with split-second timings.

"You mean that's really a girl?" Muttered three times indianapolis 500 winner A. J. Foyt, looking on in incredulously from the side liners.

For Lella Lombardi, the first woman in 17 years (and the second ever) to compete on high performance Formula One circut - the big leagues of professionals auto racing - the question is all but invetable. What in the world is a nice Italian girl like Lella doing in overalls and a crash helmet, risking her life at speeds close to 200 miles an hour?

"That's what mama keeps asking me," says the tomboyish 31-year-old Lella, "I guess she thinks I should be home with a good husband and a houseful of bambini."

It was obvious from the beginning, to Lella at least, that she was cut from different cloth compared to most girls. Born in the little Piedmontese village of Furgarolo, she was hooked on auto racing before she was out of diapers.

"The first I remember, I am perhaps 4 or 5 years old," she recalls, "I was making little cars from things I found in my mum's sewing box. When I was 8 I decided I shall be a racing driver. I didn't say anything but I made up my mind."

As a teenager Lella raced motorcycles with boys in her village. The boys were scandalized she beat them - their mothers that she was racing at all. Eventually the village priest came to call.

"He explained why I should be like a girl and what a girl must do," she remembers. "So I told him, 'yes father' but all the time I am thinking why am I not allowed to do as I want."

Nothing if not persistent, Lella saw her first race at 18. Five years later she brought a car of her own, secondhand, Formula Monza 500 that she tinkered with and drove in races herself. Last year, nearly after a decade of coming up through the ranks, she was approached by March Racing Ltd, of England which was looking for a driver for its two-man Grand Prix team.

"Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula 5000 - I raced in them all," says Lella, "I win a lot in Italy - six times women's champion. So when March comes to ask me to try out for them, I say to myself, 'Why not?'"

March's decision to hire her was hardly made lightly. A single Grand Prix car costs $100,000 and putting it through a season of racing costs several hundred thousand dollars more.

"Putting a woman into a Grand Prix cockpit means shattering a lot of tradition," acknowledges March team manager, Max Mosley. "Of course, my wild told me, the only reason I was hesitating was because of Lella's sex, no doubt about her skill, in the end, I guess my wife was right."

Now prepping for this Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, Lella is given little chance of winning a race this season (although she finished a respectable sixth in last week's accident-shorter Spanish Grand Prix) since March is designing its cars. Some drivers perhaps disturbed by Lella's invasion of their male peserve, doubt the chunky, 5"2, Lombardi has the stamina for long-distance racing. But March chief Roy Wardell, was watching her during a gruelling test of the company's racers, disagrees.

"Thrasing a car about it bloody hard work," he says, "most male drivers would have been bitching and complaining but she drove more than 300 miles flat out without a whimper." Her main fault, says Wardell, is a rookie's understandable caution. "Lella is still a bit afraid that if she spins out everyone will say, 'see a woman driver'" he says, "but her confidence is building. Pretty soon she'll be mixing it up with the best of them."

[i-m-art-ix]

Ninjago headcanons just FSM family

(Sorry for my English but it is not my native language)

1#

Lloyd discovered one day that if he just calls Wu uncle he can get out of any trouble (because Wu adores his nephew), which he often uses to his advantage, for example, when he was still a child, he would often approach Wu and ask for various things, and if Wu did not agree, he would simply say "Okay, Uncle Wu" in the saddest voice he could, which made Wu immediately change his mind and agree. As Lloyd got older he stopped using it as much but still does it sometimes. Best of all, everyone is aware of this except Wu himself, so if the ninja want to do something and know that Wu won't agree, they send Lloyd to "convince" Wu.

2#

FSM was a teenage parent, I'm mean in season 15 it was said that when he came to ninjago he was still a child and as we know hybrids age differently so I'm sure when he created Wu and Garmadon (I don't give a damn that this man had a woman, I just don't see it) he was still a teenager and mentally he could have been about 18-20 years old.

3#

I'm sure FSM tried to be a good parent but didn't know what to do, apart from the fact that he was still a teenager at the time, this man never had any idea what a healthy family should look like, he literally was a child soldier and had to choose between dragons and Oni and I suspect that neither the dragons or the Oni were not very nice to him and they probably didn't have much affection for him. And unfortunately it was visible, but he loved his sons (and he certainly loves his grandson).

4#

So screw the canon, Wu never loved Misako, he didn't like her at first (because he claimed she was stealing his brother because Garmadon only talked about her), later he started liking her and then they became good friends.

5#

So when I said that Wu doesn't love Misako, I mean that Wu is gay, no really look at the teenage version of him, he can't be straight.

6#

I am sure that Wu was the creator of many fashion trends, considering that back then there was not much fashion and Wu had the power to create, he had to create many clothes that no one had ever seen before. Many of these clothes were very sexy and revealed a lot of things.

7#

Due to the way Wu dressed, many men stared at him and flirted with him, which of course neither Garmadon or their father not liked, that's why they never sent Wu to the city alone, someone always went with him and whenever a man tried to hit on him he got a death glare from Garmadon or FSM (which must have been terrifying, as if God himself wants to kill you because you thought in a erotic way about his son and also Garmadon who is the essence of destruction and intends to rip out your organs for looking at his younger brother).

8#

FSM loves his grandson, the guy literally gave him his golden power without a second thought and even let him choose between life and death, he must adore Lloyd.

9#

Before the events of Season 1, when Lloyd was expelled from school and wandered the streets, FSM was his guardian angel. He made sure Lloyd didn't hurt himself, and when he did something to himself, he simply accelerated his regeneration with his divine powers, when Lloyd had nothing to eat, he directed him to places where food could be easily obtained. In episode 1 of season 1, when Lloyd gets to the tomb, he falls over perfectly to avoid being hypnotized and the leader of the snakes hypnotized himself, it not way that this kid failed perfectly, I'm actually sure that his grandfather helped him

[alien--cookie]

I'm like 8 years too late, but oh well - I've had this Captain America Civil War rant stuck in my head for a while and I need to get it out after re-watching it. (This is gonna be long af, but bear with me).

I feel like a lot of people missed the actual point and plot of the movie (and the marketing definitely didn't help). The whole "team cap vs team iron man" stuff becomes irrelevant after like the first 20 minutes of the movie. But of course, it's still quite a big part of the movie and I'd like to take a moment to explore what I think, the different character motivations are around why they signed or didn't (or would / wouldn't).

The only reason Tony "I successfully privatised world peace" Stark signed the accords in the first place anyway is because of his massive survivors guilt complex which we see triggered by the woman who approaches him at the end of his speech to the MIT students. Like this man does not give a single shit about the government, and much like Steve Rogers, he just wants to keep people safe. Unlike Steve, however, he doesn't trust himself to do so and thinks of himself needing the be kept in check, for someone else to take the blame (though he'd probably internalise it anyway, let's be real).

Rhodey has always kind of been more on the side of the government, even if that meant going against Tony - think Iron Patriot - so it makes sense that he'd want to sign. He understands that a group as powerful and dangerous as the Avengers needs to be kept in check, but what he doesn't understand are the risks around that. In a perfect world, it would be fine, but unfortunately government systems are stupid and corrupt.

Peter was only really in the fight in the first place because he was a child blindly following this big celebrity guy he idolised. He didn't know enough about the situation to properly analyse it, just being fed and believing whatever Tony told him (and he had no reason to go against him, so why would he? This was his shot, he's been chosen by THE Tony Stark to help). "Mr Stark said you'd say that" "he said you're wrong, you think you're right, that makes you dangerous." I 100% believe that if Peter had read the accords, that he would have been on Steve's side anyway.

Vision is an embodiment of 'good' and 'peace' - essentially everything that Ultron was supposed to be, but wasn't. He has no reason to be against the accords if it will keep people safe and he makes the point during their conversation of "our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict ... breeds catastrophe. Oversight ... oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand." It's also very much the beginning kind of puppy love between him and Wanda in this movie, meaning that he will want to protect her. No matter what. Even if it means "locking her in her room."

Nat was seriously one of the only people in this movie with a brain cell lol. I firmly believe that if the accords had been properly put in place, she would have followed them until she no longer thought the government's instructions were 'right' and would have gone against them anyway. Her main goal in this movie was trying to keep the Avengers, her family, together and ultimately do the 'right' thing.

T'challa didn't give one shit about the accords lmao, he's damn king. No, he was only there in the first place to take revenge on his father's death (which at the point of the airport fight scene he still thought it was Bucky's fault. He later discovers, after following Steve and Bucky to Siberia, that it's Zemo's, and locks him up).

Steve's concerns with the accords are valid, and honestly I wouldn't have signed them either. To be told "sign, retire, or get locked up" isn't really a big winner for me lol. And the thing is, Steve's done this. He fought in WW2, he got paraded around like some big hero while men died, and he did nothing. It wasn't until he went against orders, that he actually did something helpful (saved the captured 107th division in Azzano). So, no, he's not going to be side-lined when people out there need help. That's just not who he is.

Bucky had no part in the accords, and as soon as he got introduced into the movie, that plot point became irrelevant. He was framed by Zemo, and then used to rip the avengers apart. The accords was just another log to add to the fire at that point. He followed Steve because "till the end of the line" and all that. He literally, heartbreakingly, says "I don't know if I'm worth all this," but he follows anyway.

Scott, much like Peter, is kinda just happy to be there. He's following CAPTAIN FREAKING AMERICA into battle without hesitation. But like, let's be honest, given his whole movie and character, I very much doubt Scott would be on Tony's side if he had read the accords.

Clint got dragged out of freaking retirement for this shit, and he didn't actually get involved until after Team Cap already knew about Zemo. That's why he's there. Not because of the accords, but to help Steve get to the Quinjet to get to Siberia and stop Zemo before he can go through with his assumed plan to wake up the five super soldiers who'd been stashed there. (Of course, this isn't actually Zemo's plan, but we'll get back to that later).

Wanda is going through some serious self loathing during this movie, and the incident in Lagos doesn't help. Like at all. Ma girl just wants to live her life and be left alone at this point and she's getting all of these horrible things thrown into her face by Secretary Ross. She doesn't want to be controlled, she doesn't want to be a weapon, she wants to be free. "You locked me in my room." - Girl already probably hates Tony Stark due to her family being killed by one of his bombs and Ultron, so she's mad anyway.

Sam is on Steve's side from the start. With the accords, to fight Zemo, all of it. During the 'discussion' between him and Rhodey, he says "So let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?" He doesn't trust Secretary Ross, and is clearly hesitant to add his signature to the accords. (not that I blame him).

The main actual villain and 'plot' of the movie after the first part with the accords, was the whole thing with Zemo wanting to tear the Avengers apart to get revenge for his family dying in Sokovia. He takes advantage of the accords, and of Bucky / The Winter Soldier to do this but it's not really discussed which annoys me. It's a MAJOR part of the film, yet all I ever really see being discussed are the accords affecting the decisions of characters throughout the film with no consideration of the wider picture.

From when the UN meeting is blown up, the Avengers are being manipulated by Zemo working in the background throughout the film. He frames Bucky for murder, and Steve - who has been looking for Bucky for the past 2 years - goes after him like ‘tf man’. Bucky gets taken in and Zemo uses the opportunity to activate the Winter Soldier programming, learn about Hydra’s super soldier program, and of course - “Mission report. December 16, 1991.”

This leads to Bucky’s escape and attack, Steve and co going on the run, and eventually the airport fight. The meaning of this scene gets lost, I feel, when people relate it back to the accords because it’s not about that anymore. Not really, not for anyone. Especially not for Steve, or even for Tony.

Tony at this point, most definitely feels like his world is being torn apart. He’s losing control, he’s spiralling, and Steve just isn’t listening. He’s blinded by his anger to the bigger picture and he just wants to get a handle on the situation to deal with it further.

Steve’s forgotten all about the accords, his priority is keeping Bucky safe and stopping Zemo. He tries to tell Tony, tries to talk to him, but Tony isn’t listening either. I mean their whole interaction just before the fight shows this:

(the dialogue below has been condensed to show the key lines - basically I got rid of other characters talking irrelevantly)

-

Steve Rogers: Hear me out, Tony. That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this.

Tony Stark: Anyway, Ross gave me 36 hours to bring you in. That was 24 hours ago. Can you help a brother out?

Steve Rogers: You're after the wrong guy.

Tony Stark: Your judgment is askew. Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday.

Steve Rogers: And there are five more super soldiers just like him. I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't.

- later -

Tony Stark: And you've been a complete idiot. Dragging in Clint. 'Rescuing' Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave, a safe place. I'm trying to keep . . . I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart.

Steve Rogers: You did that when you signed.

Tony Stark: Alright, We're done. You're gonna turn Barnes over, you're gonna come with us. NOW! Because it's us! Or a squad of J-SOC guys . . . with no compunction about being impolite. [Steve looks aside.] Come on.

-

Not to mention that Tony, after learning that Zemo impersonated and killed the actual doctor dude that was supposed to see Bucky whilst he was in confinement, he DISOBEYED the accords and Secretary Ross to go and help Steve stop what they thought at the time was the reactivation of the five super soldiers who'd been left in cryo freeze.

He follows Steve and Bucky to Siberia to help them, not to fight them. That only changes because of Zemo showing the footage of Bucky, WHILE UNDER BASICALLY MIND CONTROL, killing Tony’s parents.

In this scene, Tony 100% has every right to be angry. Unfortunately, he’s the kind of person who cannot see past his anger. He gets in his head, he spirals, and he tries to kill Bucky based on blind rage. (IT WASN’T BUCKY’S FAULT DAMMIT).

And yes, Steve was 100% in the wrong for not telling Tony. This whole scene could have been very easily avoided if Steve had just pulled Tony aside and had the difficult conversation about his parents death. Tony deserved to know, and Steve was only sparing himself pain by doing it. Dick move Steve, 0/10.

The fight between the three allows Zemo, having successfully completed his plan of eliminating the super soldiers and tearing the avengers apart, to slip away. With his work done, he tries to end his own life, but T’challa stops him and arrests him instead.

Steve and Tony’s fight was unnecessary, dramatic, and heart-breaking, and I’m very glad they managed to make up later, but ye. I think, at the end of the day, they’re all just dramatic idiots with communication issues lol.

-

Thank you for reading my long ass essay lmao, apparently I have a lot of feelings about this movie 😂

[batboyblog]

i live in the south, and i used to follow someone on here who lives in the same state as me, who i thought would've understood how difficult things are for marginalized people who live in red states and why we needed harris to win. but they kept reblogging posts about how both parties are the same and anyone who votes for harris is voting for genocide (as if letting trump win was going to be any better?? he's just started talking about wanting to "clean out the whole thing" and forcibly displace all remaining palestinians by making them move to jordan and egypt, an idea which every group who would be affected hates 🙄). i kept hoping they'd finally realize the very obvious fact that contributing to trump's win wasn't going to make things better for any decent person in the world but the last straw for me was when they posted something like "well i was going to go vote for [fictional character] but the line was too long so i just went home haha!!" i blocked them right after that, and now of course trump is in office and things are going to get so much worse for me and for them as those of us in red states have so much less of a chance to push back against our local governments and all of the bigots who voted for trump will feel more emboldened by his win. so yeah, i share your small fantasy that people like that will wake up and realize they were wrong for spreading these ideas. sorry for venting in your inbox though lol, you don't have to reply to this if you don't want to!

One of my best friends in politics is from Louisiana. He's gay and when he came out his parents sent him to a pray the gay away camp where... really horrible shit happened. And I think about that skinny kid coming out of just the most horrible shit imaginable and being a Freshman in college working his ass off for a Red State Democratic Senator, Mary Landrieu, Mary didn't win, but he worked SO hard for her. And we met working on Hillary's campaign together, boy has bad luck with Democratic women running for office.

Any ways the point is, I love red state Dems, I really do. My friend really loved John Bel Edwards, now I don't think either of us really fully agreed with Edwards, I know my friend was as feminist as a gay boy can be and believed in the right to an abortion totally, Edwards was/is one of the rare pro-life Democrats. But my friend understood, a Democratic governor would protect more people's rights, do more for the poor and the disadvantaged. Edwards' signed an order day one in office banning LGBT discrimination in the state government, when a Republican took over 8 years later, day one, threw that order out, a lot like Trump undoing all the pro-LGBT orders Biden did and rolling back trans rights/access to federal documents that came about under President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

I think thats the thing, in Red States and in America at large we share this big country with a lot of people most of whom are more conservative than I am, so how do I get as much of what I want as I can? Do I vote Mickey Mouse for President? no I vote for the candidate that will do the most good, I won't always agree with them, I don't agree with myself most of the time.

idk it's not... theoretical to me? I'm likely not writing my best work here but when it comes to voting I think about all the people in my life who needed help, if they got it or not, and the ways they were left behind or would have been life behind and all the kids out there, queer kids trans kids, the poor always the poor kids, you know and the loss they'll suffer because of 4 years of a Republican President. And yes Trump is a VERY bad Republican President but if we ever get to some future after him there will come a time where maybe a bland centrist Democrat will run against a business focused Republican, Bush V Gore? and people will say "oh there's no difference" and there is.

oh also I want to say, the little old ladies, the normie "cringe lib" wine moms and grandmas (and yes dads and granddads, but more women then men tbh) who struggle with a grand-nephews pronouns did more for trans rights by going out knocking doors for Harris one weekend, then shitty leftist posters (trans and not) who endlessly attacked Dems and voting.

any ways I'm sorry all this is happening, idk what state you're in or how bad it is or will be. I don't have easy answers for living through this long night of the soul. As Thomas Paine put it all those years ago "These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." it is trying my soul, but I will endure as we all must endure, we can not give up we cannot fail, we cannot allow ourselves to be ground down by fascists, and by their handmaids who act as if they're on our side, I hope everyone is looking to what they can do, and what the next chance they have to fight back and take back political power is.

[reigningqueenofwords]

Go Sports!

Pairing: Dean x Reader Request: @jessicalynnann Foot ball coach dean a fluffy love story ha ha ha

Letting out a sigh, you glanced down at your nephew. “You couldn’t do band?” You teased him. 

“Nope!” He grinned. “I wanna learn football!” He said proudly. 

“Alright, let’s do this.” You walked with him towards the other kids. Your sister and her husband had died the spring before, leaving you to raise your 8 year old nephew. He’d had a rough spot not long after moving in with you, but you cut the kid some slack. He’d lost his parents. Then, right before school started, he said he wanted to try out for football that fall. Which, you hadn’t even been aware football for kids that young was even a thing. After some googling, you’d found the local team for his age. 

He ran ahead of you, eager to get started. You stood off a bit from the other parents, feeling out of place. You were only 23, so you got some odd looks. Your sister was 11 years older than you, so of course the two of you were in different phases of your lives! “You look a little nervous.” Came a smooth voice, making you jump slightly. “Sorry. I’m Dean.” He held out his hand. 

“Y/N.” You shook it. “Still getting used to all things ‘kid’.” You admitted. “But, he really wants to learn to play football, so here I am.” 

“Little brother?” He asked, looking to where you were pointing. 

You shook your head. “Nephew.” That one word said so much. 

He nodded, not prying. “Well, good luck to him getting on the team.” 

“I’m hoping. I read comments about the coach- Coach Winchester. Everything said he was great with kids, and parents saw a boost in their kid’s confidence working with him. Of course, some of the moms just called him ‘yummy’.” You noted. “I figured that would be someone I’d like working with David. I mean, aside from the yummy thing. That was just an odd thing I noted.” 

“Hopefully football can be a good outlet for him.” He said casually, not making a comment about the ‘yummy’ part. 

“Coach!” A man with a mullet came over, making you raise an eyebrow at Dean. “Looks like everyone who signed up for tryouts is here.” 

Dean smiled at you. “Hi, I’m Dean Winchester. I coach the Little Bangles. This is my assistant coach, Ash. Bit weird, but the kids love him.” 

“This isn’t awkward at all.” You said shyly. “Hi, Ash. I’m Y/N.” You introduced yourself to him. “I’ll let you guys get to tryouts. I’ll be over…there…” You motioned behind you before quickly turning and walking away. 

“She’s cute.” Ash noted. 

Dean watched you walk away. “Yes, she is.” He said before taking the clipboard from Ash to go rally the kids. 

David made the team, which meant you’d be seeing a lot more of Coach Dean Winchester. The thought slightly flustered you. Which was why you had to do a double take when he walked into your job two weeks after tryouts. “Hi, Coach. Can I get you something to drink?” You asked after you handed him a menu. 

“Coke, thanks.” He gave you a grin that damn near melted you. 

“One Coke.” You noted, going to get that. No wonder the moms called the man ‘yummy’. “Here you go.” You said as you set down his glass a few minutes later. “Do you need a few minutes?”

He shook his head. “I’ll have the bacon cheeseburger and fries, sweetheart.” He handed you the menu. “How’s working going today?” Dean asked as you took the menu before writing his order down. 

“Not too bad, thankfully. Almost over.” You told him truthfully. “Been on my feet since 5 this morning.” 

He made a face. “Oh, bet David loved getting up that early.” He chuckled, lighting up when you laughed. 

“No, my best friend is a God-send. She’s a nurse and gets off at like 4 am. She went to catch a nap at my place and then watch him until I get home.” You were beyond thankful for her. “But, I will get that order in for you.” You gave him a small wave and went to get his ticket into the kitchen. 

Dean was just finishing up his meal when you came over. “Refill?” You motioned to his Coke. 

“No thanks, sweetheart.” He shook his head. “How much longer until you get off?” 

“You’re my last table. So, I once I get you cashed out, I’m headed home to listen to David talk to me about football and try to follow along.” You chuckled, making Dean grin. 

“Not a fan of it?” He asked as he pulled out his wallet. “Can I get the check?” 

You shook your head. “I jokingly yell ‘go sports’ when I watch it with David.” You admitted, enjoying how he threw his head back and laughed. “And yeah, let me get that for you.” You quickly went to get his check. He made you feel both shy and comfortable. It was such an odd combination of feelings. 

He watched you as you came back, noting there was a shyness to you now. “If you’d like, I can come watch football with you and help explain things. You know, so you don’t have to ‘try’ to follow along. If he sticks this out, do you really want to be yelling ‘go sports’ while he plays in high school?” He teased. 

“Good point.” After thinking for a moment, you nodded. “Alright. Can you come over for Sunday night football tomorrow? I order us a pizza.” 

“I’d love to. How about I bring the pizza?” He offered. 

“How about I order the pizzas, and you bring soda?” After all, you were the one inviting him over. You’d pay for the more expensive part of things. 

“Fine. Fine.” He held up his hands. “Let me pay for this, then you can clock out, and I’ll walk you to your car. Get your number and address.” 

Smiling, you nodded. “I think that works for me.” 

Every Wednesday and Friday you saw Dean for practice and games. Then, every Sunday he’d come over for Sunday night football. Eventually, Monday night football was added to that. Before you knew it, it was Superbowl Sunday. Shockingly, you found yourself really looking forward to it. Even if you’d be meeting Dean’s parents. Apparently, his dad really went out for Superbowl Sunday, and wanted you and David to have the full experience. “When is Dean gonna be here?” David asked, looking at you from the couch as he played with his football. He’d been up since 6 that morning, in his jersey, waiting. 

You chuckled. “Any minute now.” You assured him moments before you heard the sound of Dean’s car. “Hear that?” 

David got up and bolted to the door. “Finally!” He pulled the door open to see Dean walking up the driveway. 

“Heya, kiddo.” He grinned. “You can get in the car, I’ll help Y/N get the food she made.” He ruffled David’s hair as he reached him. 

You watched them fondly, chuckling as David ran to Baby and got in. “He’s been waiting for you all day.” You told Dean. 

“Well, I’ve been waiting to see you all day.” He winked. “So, I had a question.” 

“Yes, I made those potato skins you like.” 

“That makes me a very happy man, but not what I was gonna ask.” He looked a bit more shy than you were used to seeing him. You tilted your head, curious, and motioned for him to go on. “We’ve been spending nearly every weekday together, and I’ve really liked that. Was kinda hoping you’d be my girlfriend?” 

That wasn’t what you were expecting, but you weren’t complaining. “I’d love that!” You beamed at him. 

“Oh, thank God. Was so worried I was misreading things.” He breathed, hand on his stomach. 

“Nope, but I had no idea you were actually interested in me.” You admitted, confusing him. “I mean, I’m playing single mom to my nephew. You could have pretty much any single woman in town. Hell, any woman in town.” 

He took your hand in his. “And yet I spend most of my spare time with you and David. I love that kid. His Aunt is pretty great, too.” He gave your hand a squeeze. “So, let’s get all that food I know you made, go enjoy Superbowl Sunday, and then plan our first real date.” 

“I think I need to thank David for insisting on playing football.” 

[dontmixpaintinyourcoffee]

The girlies!!

Headcanons and notes under the cut

Candy!

-LOVES those shirts with the thumb holes.

-I think she's the type to wear the same kind of clothes for like 8 straight years, so her silhouette is basically the same.

-Little animal ear hoodies!

I don't have tons of ideas for Candy and Grenda, but I do think I have a good handle of the kind of teenagers they'd be. Candy is the kid who runs like 12 different fandom blogs that are super popular in hyper-niche spaces. There are at least 7 wikipedias that would collapse in on themselves without her.

Grenda!

-She and Marius got some cute clothes for each other.

-Technically dresses richer than Paz now.

Grenda is basically the exact same as she's always been, except now she wears more expensive jewelry and dresses like she just stepped off a cruise. Possibly because she did. She and Marius are actually doing great (it will not last, but they will remain good friends well into adulthood). She and Candy have also picked up FCLORPing and Grenda is the best goddamn fortress they've ever seen. Soos is greatly impressed.

Pacifica!

-Almost always in her Greasy's uniform.

-Part-times at the Mystery Shack later on (Soos and Melody are good influences)

I think that Pacifica works at Greasy's without her parents knowing, but once they find out they threaten to sue the diner because they're the worst. This leads to Pacifica spending her time at the Mystery Shack shadowing Melody and Wendy. I think Melody would be a very good person for her to be around. She's honest and to-the-point without being judgemental or callous. Soos is happy to let Pacifica just hang out and be a kid, he probably sees it as passing it forward since the Shack was such a boon in his own childhood. (Also the Northwests would never dare threaten the Shack after Weirdmageddon, it's insanely beloved by the town, going after it would be social suicide.)

You can't see it in this drawing, but I think that Paz ties her hair with a special tie that has a tiny crochet llama hanging from it. Courtesy of Mabel, of course. It literally never leaves her sight (although she'd never admit that.)

I don't think these three hang out a lot, there's a lot of painful history there, but they're definitely friendlier than before.

[https-harlow]

10 Years Later

Summary- You and Jack felt like your family was complete after four kids, but you start thinking about having a fifth baby.

You and Jack had agreed that after your fourth kid, your family was complete. Between Jack’s career and four growing kids, neither of you felt the need to add anything more to your already busy life. 

Of course, as you and Jack got older and your kids got older, Jack’s career started to settle down, with less time spent in studios and on the road and more time spent at home with family. You both still felt that your family was complete.

Over the past few years, several of your friends have gotten married and started to have kids. Since you and Jack had gotten married and had Paisley at 19, you both were enjoying having your friends be in the same stage of life that you were in. It was fun to watch your friends experience the same things that you and Jack had previously experienced.

Out of all of your friends, it was different when Urban got married and had his first baby with his wife. You were happy for everyone, but you knew how much Urban loved your kids practically as if they were his own, so you knew he was ecstatic to have a child of his own.

In high school, you, Jack, and Urban talked about raising your kids together and having similar-aged children. It didn’t work out that way, your oldest being almost 16 and your youngest being almost 8, and if there were one thing you regretted it would be that.

As you watched Urban and his wife experience pregnancy for the first time, you couldn’t help but have a few thoughts about having one more baby. 

Ever since Urban’s wife Lauren had given birth to their baby girl Rylee, you and Jack would often stop by during the day while your kids were at school and today was no different. 

You, Jack, Urban, and Lauren, were all sitting in their living room. Rylee was lying on Jack’s chest asleep.

“I don’t know how he does that, she was so fussy before Jack started holding her,” Lauren said.

“After having four kids with him, I don’t understand it either. Olive was probably our toughest baby, but I swear, Jack would just pick her up and she’d instantly stop crying.”

“I’m going to need Jack to move in for the next year then,” Lauren joked.

“I’ll send him over next time he’s annoying me,” You joked as you leaned over towards Jack, resting your head on his shoulder as you laid your hand on Rylee’s back.

“I can’t believe how big our kids have gotten. It’s hard to believe that they were all this small,” Jack said.

“I was just thinking about that at Georgia’s school play. I met her when she was six months old, it’s so crazy to think that was seven and a half years ago,” Lauren said.

“Like, the little girl you brought home to our old apartment at 19 is learning to drive. It felt like that would never happen.”

“I don’t even want to think about it,” You said, laughing softly. Jack carefully handed Rylee to you so he could get up to get a drink. Rylee fussed for a minute before relaxing again. “Literally anytime you need a babysitter, I swear I’ll drop whatever I’m doing to come watch Rylee.”

“I don’t know how you and Jack raised your kids while on tour and traveling all the time, it was hard enough just being pregnant, I can’t imagine doing it pregnant and having other kids,” Lauren said. 

“We were 19 and a little delusional, plus we had a lot of help. There’s no way we could have done it without everyone helping the way they did.”

“Do you miss having a baby?” Urban asked and you thought for a second.

“Yeah, I do,” You said, looking down at Rylee and rubbing her back softly. “Especially with everything slowing down. Raising kids on the road was fun, but I think it would have also been nice to experience having a baby without all of that.”

“You could always have one more baby,” Urban teased as Jack walked back into the room.

“I’ve thought about it,” You admitted, “But not seriously.”

“I’m down to get you pregnant again,” Jack said.

“Here we were having a sweet conversation and you just came in and ruined it with your dirty comments,” Urban teased.

It was a week later until you and Jack came back to your conversation with Urban and Lauren. All the kids were in bed except for Paisley who was having a sleepover with her friend downstairs so you let them stay up later than normal. You and Jack had already gotten ready for bed.

“Did you mean it when you said you’ve thought about having another baby?” Jack asked as he sat down next to you on the small couch you had in your bedroom.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m happy with four kids, and I don’t regret not having another, I still think our family feels complete. But sometimes I do think about what if we had a fifth baby,” You said. “Do you ever think about it?” You asked.

“I’ve thought about it, with the kids getting older, and all of our friends having kids,” Jack admitted.

“Would it be crazy to start over though? To have a baby while we also have a 16-year-old.”

“If we can raise four kids while traveling constantly, I think we can handle one baby and a couple of teenagers or almost teenagers at the same time while traveling a whole lot less.”

“You have a point,” You laughed softly.

“Do you want a fifth baby?” Jack asked and you nodded.

“The more I think about having another baby, the more I do want one more, and I’ve actually been thinking about it a lot since talking with Urban and Lauren,” You said, taking Jack’s hand and tracing random patterns on it with your finger.

“I’ve been thinking about it and I do too,” Jack said. “What if, we just see what happens? We don’t have to try, but if we’re meant to have a fifth baby, then it will happen.”

“I like that plan,” You agreed, “If it’s meant to be, it will happen.” 

“I really hope it’s meant to be,” Jack said.

“Me too,” You said, smiling softly at Jack.

Tag list @jackharloww @harlowcomehome @nattinatalia @hoodharlow @itsyagirljaz @heavyhitterheaux @harlowsbby @awhore4moree @harlowslefttoe @twerkforambrose @jackmans-poison @ilovenudy @taniapri @killatravtramp @easternparkway @macey234 @toocriticalharlow @lightsoutstyles @rachxc13 @iknowdatsrightbih @idktbh101 @blossomluvv @middlechild404 @hufflewhore128

[tremblingmuse]

Omg you're a godsend I love your stories so damn much. Could I request “You’re lucky you’re cute.” “Thanks! Wait…” and/or “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you’re flirting with me.” “I am.” “Excuse me?”

With Nico? Or wally

Thank youuuu!!

I’m killing two birds with one stone for this one!

Thanks everyone for being so patient! I took a little break. It’s the start of summer blues.

Prompt 8 for Wally Clark

“Well, I do.”

Y/n has known Wally for years. When you’ve been stuck at the same high school for a few decades you tend to become friends.

Sometimes you know each other so well, the friendly conversations can turn into flirty banter.

The gang was having their monthly round of hide and seek. Rhonda was seeking, she loved chanting “Come out, come out. Where ever you are…” in a creepy tone down the vacant halls.

Y/n found the perfect spot, a small crawl space in the back of the art room. Wally just had to follow her.

“No get out of here!” Y/n whispered, trying to shoo him.

“You don’t just get to claim spots, we can share!” He told her, scooting into the small space with her. He covered it up with a piece of board that was over it before.

“Just because I’m the reigning champion does not mean you can freeload off of me.”

It was true. She was unfindable. She always spent all month preparing different spots. A few she can run from and then too, just in case.

Wally always tried his best but he was always found first.

“But you’re so selfless, and kind. I was hoping you’d be willing to make an acceptation for your dear friend.” He loaded on complements.

“Awe, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you were flirting with me.” She told him in a sarcastic tone while rolling her eyes.

“I am.”

She looked at him, well tried to. It was dark and she couldn’t make out his face well. But it didn’t seem like he was joking.

Her breathe hitched. It was stuck in her throat.

“What?” She whispered, questioning if she heard him right.

Because if he said what she thinks he said, that would be absolutely ridiculous.

They both froze when they heard Rhonda’s taunting voice. She opened the door and stepped in the room.

Y/n covered Wally’s mouth. She’d deal with him later, she’s not loosing because of him.

Her heart raced as heat radiated off him in the small space. Also because Rhonda’s footsteps made their way to the counter. Where they were hiding.

After what felt like hours of waiting for the worst. It sounded like she left. Her voice trailed down the halls as she sang and teased her next victim.

If Y/n was a master hider, Rhonda was the perfect horror movie villain she was hiding from.

She slowly removed her hand, Wally swallowed hard.

“Did you say you were flirting with me?” She asked, hushed.

He didn’t skip a beat.

“Yeah, did you not know?” He asked as if it was the most obvious think in the world. “I have been, for like ever.”

She relaxed back to her original position. Contemplating.

He had been flirting with her? For how long?

“No, I didn’t know.” She quipped, crossing her arms.

Wally let out a small laugh. He corrected it immediately.

“Sorry, it’s just- I thought you...” He cleared his throat.

“I thought you liked me? No way.” She interrupted.

Wally tilted his head. Of course he liked her. He has since she’s been stuck in this horrible purgatory with him.

“Well I do.” He stated. “And now this in awkward.”

He shifted in place, trying to find something other than her face to occupy his mind.

“Why?” She asked, filling the painful silence.

It wasn’t hard for him to answer.

“Cause, you organize all these games. You make being dead kinda fun. I’ve been a lot less miserable since you came around.”

She paused, trying to find a response that didn’t make her sound uninterested or desperate. She settled on a simple explanation.

“Well it’s the least I can do, you guys have helped me a lot. I wasn’t always like this.” She told him.

“I know.”

Her head jerked to look at him, in question. She was a little disturbed. “Okay, stalker.”

“Wait no-“

“First you follow me to a small dark room, then tell me you know what I was like before I died. Sounds stalkerish to me.” She laughed.

Of course she was joking, she knew most of the living kids by names. Knew their schedules and lives. She wanted what was best for them, she was pretty protective over the kids at school. She hoped Wally felt the same when she was living.

“It’s just… I always kinda saw you.” He looked at her with those eyes again. The eyes that wanted something from her.

“Well what do you want? This is flattering but I’m not sure what it means.” She admitted not so gracefully.

“Well I’d love to kiss you, but you have your game face on.”

He’s right. She took these games very seriously.

“Meet me when I win this thing. Now out.” She pointed to the board between them and the classroom.

His eyes told her. “Come on.”

“Go on, out. Plenty of time for flirting when I’m victorious. You’re bad luck.”

“Fine.”

“And don’t rat me out! You’ll pay…”

[remember-digimon]

Good ol' reliable Joe!

When I first watched Digimon back in the 2000s, Joe was the character I related to the least. Now, as a big grown up in my late 30s, I finally understand what Joe is all about.

At first glance, Joe is anxiety incarnate. In the dub, he gets the 'nerd' trope that Izzy avoided for the most part. Joe is always allergic to things, worried about the slightest danger, and constantly trying to be the voice of reason. His 'voice of reason' however is more 'voice of general complaints and worry.'

If I recall correctly, in the original Japanese, Joe is like this because he's the oldest, at 12 years old. He feels it's his responsibility to make sure everyone is safe since he's the upperclassmen in this situation. In the dub, he's just a worrywort.

Joe takes on responsibility that he could easily delegate to other kids. In the episode where Gomamon evolves into Ikkakumon, Joe tries to break up an argument between Tai and Matt about climbing a mountain, only managing to get drawn into the argument himself. Later, he decides that he should climb up the mountain on his own as a compromise. He doesn't even bring Gomamon with him; Gomamon tags along anyway, of course, but initially Joe intended to go by himself.

He shows initiative, that's for sure. At least when the pressure is on. Others have noted that Tai, Sora, and Joe are the action-takers while Matt and Izzy act more defensively with Mimi, Tk, and later, Kari in mind. I like this thought, especially for Joe. He is often stumbling into danger out of his need to be the 'adult' of the group, feeling responsible for everyone's safety.

One thing we should discuss is his crest. I want to go more in depth on the crests on a different post, but here I think we need to talk about Joe's crest being changed for the dub. Originally it was the crest of faith.

Honestly, I do think reliability fits Joe a lot better. It is awkward for that to be a trait of a child (Remember, their crests were developed back during the original Digimon Adventure OVA, when Greymon fights Parrotmon). But I do think he exemplifies being reliable, because it's the right thing to do.

Conversely, Joe doesn't really expect others to help him. He wants to be relied on, but doesn't want to rely on others. He saves TK from drowning in the bay without thinking of his own safety.

Joe is also the studious member of the group. At one point, while they're temporarily back in Odaiba, Joe takes a practice test and fails it. This causes him a lot of anxiety. It feeds into the situation at home, which is another point I'll get into shortly.

In Our War Game, Joe is unreachable because he's taking an entrance exam. He's in a panic the whole time, showing how important it is that he does well. No doubt he's one of those cram school kids.

As for his family, we do meet his older brother Jim, but not his parents. In fact, Joe's parents are the only ones we don't meet out of the original 8. We do hear a lot about his dad, though, who has high expectations of his sons. Mr Kido wants both of his sons to be doctors like him, and on his terms, too. Jim says he wants to go to less developed countries to practice medicine, and that their father doesn't approve.

Jim also doesn't seem to have much faith in Joe becoming a doctor due to his high anxiety, and the fact that he faints at the sight of blood. Joe seems apprehensive about it himself, even though he does eventually go into med school and become a doctor.

To me, Joe's story is one of perseverance. When he's working off his debt in the diner, he fully expects to work there until it's paid off and is genuinely surprised that Matt would offer to help. When his test scores fall, he resolves to work harder. Even though he doesn't like the idea much at first he does eventually become a doctor. I can see how the original script would give him the crest of faith with all that in mind, but I still think reliability fits him better. He doesn't just have faith that things will work out, he's proactive in making sure they work out. Even if he's a little clumsy about it.

[apomaro-mellow]

Hot for Teacher(s) 8

Part 7 / AO3 Link

Eddie didn’t know how he’d gotten so lucky. Not only was he dating the most beautiful man, but he had a pretty cool kid too. Anytime a child asked if he had a favorite student, Eddie of course said no. But if he haaaad to pick. Well, Shawn answered his questions regularly, didn’t get into arguments with the other kids, and could be pretty damn funny. 

Let’s just say that Eddie would think twice about dating a different student’s parent. 

He had no such reservations here. Both Steve and Shawn were wonderful and Eddie loved getting to see them together on the weekends. He and Steve had basically agreed that weekdays would be dedicated to work for now so that Saturday and Sunday could go with no interruptions.

On weekends when they couldn’t meet, there was the magic of texting and sometimes even video calls. Eddie couldn’t get enough of Steve and the feeling was mutual. More than once, they had stayed up late, getting each other hot over the phone.

Steve hadn’t felt this desired in years, or this horny. He wanted Eddie so badly, but… Well, Steve had no problem sending Shawn out for a sleepover if he wanted some alone time with Eddie. It was just, well, there would definitely be a lingering smell. Steve had pressed his nose against Eddie’s neck enough times to know he loved the way he smelled. Even so, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to be completely surrounded by the scent of an alpha.

There was also the fact that eventually their scents would cling to each other and that would make the tongues of parents and faculty wag like crazy.

The good moments with Billy had been tainted beyond repair. And as silly as it sounded, he wanted his first time going all the way with Eddie to be special. He didn’t want to think of Billy at all, not for one moment.

“Steve, you’re a grown ass man”, Robin said. “Just do the do.”

“Whatever happened to romance?”, Steve asked while looking up nice restaurants.

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

Eddie was ready for the day to be over. Two and a half meltdowns, one kid pushed another, which of course, caused an argument, at least of them had been accused of cursing, and they didn’t even get to the social studies lesson he had planned. 

It boggled his mind how throughout the day he’d be told ‘Mr. Munson, I wanna go hooooome’ but when it came time to pack up they moved like molasses. Back when he was a student, he moved like the wind when dismissal came, but maybe that was just him. He walked the kids outside where they either met their parents, a bus, or an aftercare provider.

Eddie lit like a candle when he saw Steve walking up and nearly reached out to hug him, but quickly brought his arms back to his side and hoped no one noticed.

“Good day today?”, Steve asked both him and Shawn.

“Yeah, but not for Mr. Munson”, Shawn answered for both of them while hugging Steve’s leg. “He had to correct a lot of people.”

Steve smiled while patting his pup’s head, wishing he could reach out to comfort Eddie. “Talk later?”, he asked.

“Please”, Eddie sighed. 

With a nod, Steve left with Shawn, allowing Eddie to finish dismissal with the rest of his students. When Eddie finished, he immediately called Steve up while gathering his things to head home.

“Shawn gave me quite the run down”, Steve said the moment he picked up. “Is it normal for first graders to use profanity?”

“Only the ones whose parents use it in front of them. You can usually tell who do it often enough for it to rub off on their kids.” 

Eddie walked out of the school and switched from his phone to bluetooth so that he could keep talking while he drove. And during that drive, he gave Steve his side of the day, all the nitty-gritty details. By the end of it, he definitely felt like a weight had been lifted. Talking to Steve tended to have that effect.

“Alright, enough about my day. Tell me how your day with the Puberty Patrol went.”

Steve laughed. “They’d absolutely lose it if they heard you call them that. And today went by fine. But I’m getting the sneaking suspicion of some changing dynamics.”

“Oh…as in…?”

“Yeah”, Steve said. One of his students had presented that past weekend. “You can always tell because the more self conscious ones will blast their bodies with Axe body spray.”

“Ah, an alpha”, Eddie correctly surmised. “Wait, the kids are still using Axe? Would’ve thought they’d move on to like, I don’t know, whatever their favorite influencer is touting. Anyway, enough about the little ones, you free next Saturday?”

Steve checked his calendar before answering. “I am. You planning something?”

“Yeah. Get a babysitter for Shawn.”

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

Saturday night came and Steve dressed for the occasion. Eddie had invited him to a gig to see him play. It would be his first time doing so for a non-school function. Steve didn’t have a ton of clothes that would fit in with a club venue nowadays (a side effect of becoming a parent and a teacher) but he had a couple of pieces that would let him slide. 

He wore his darkest jeans, which were a navy blue and a leather jacket on top of that. He had a t-shirt from an old band under the jacket. Beneath everything was a black thong that Eddie was most definitely seeing tonight even if Steve had to reserve a spontaneous hotel room.

They agreed to meet at the venue, since Eddie had to arrive early for sound check and all that. When Steve got to the bar, he smiled, seeing the instruments already set up. 

“Baby!”, a voice shouted over the crowd and then Steve was pulled to Eddie. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

“You’re one to talk”, Steve said. Eddie’s outfit wasn’t too different from his usual casual wear. But today his hair was in a half up style and he had this eyeliner on that made Steve want to gaze at him all night. Good thing he’d be able to do just that.

There was time for Eddie to introduce him to the rest of the band. All great guys who had jobs Steve never would have imagined. Nurse in training, engineer, and a secretary. They all seemed like nice guys and Steve enjoyed talking with them while they waited for showtime. When it came, Eddie kissed both of Steve’s knuckles, then his lips.

“I’m gonna be looking for you out in the audience”, he promised.

“I’ll be here”, Steve promised back. 

Now, see, Steve never considered himself a fan of metal. He liked the hard guitar riffs and intense drum beats just fine. He simply never got into it enough to pick out any song or artist. And that probably wouldn’t change. But Eddie.

Eddie.

He looked downright electric playing on stage. Like sparks were coming from his fingers and setting all his nerves on fire. Forget the hotel room, Steve was ready to have him in one of these bathrooms. There was a twinge of shame, reminding him that he was too old for that, but the greater part of him didn’t care. Just wanted Eddie anyway that he could have him.

At the end of their performance, Steve got to Eddie the moment he was off stage, cutting off anyone who thought they might have a chance to meet his eye. Steve’s hands buried in his hair as he kissed him.

“That was incredible. Do your friends need you right now?”

“Uh, no, no they don’t”, Eddie replied, a little dazed from the kiss.

“Good. Because I need you now.”

Eddie had just enough time to shoot his friends a look that he tried to put all the meaning into as Steve dragged him off. They got outside and he got his head in the game, pressing Steve against one of the walls and sucking a mark onto his neck. 

“You that desperate for me?”, he growled into his ear.

“Yes”, Steve whined, having no need or even way to deny it when Eddie could already smell it on him in the fresh air of the night.

Eddie’s hands went to cup his ass and Steve felt a thrill go through him when the alpha dipped his thumbs into the waistband of his pants. When Eddie froze, Steve knew he’d been caught. Then Eddie dug his hands right inside, making Steve gasp and cling to him.

“Stevie, Stevie, baby, love”, Eddie chanted against his neck while kneading his ass and pressing their hips together.

“Take me home, alpha.”

Part 9 coming soon

Tag Team

@anne-bennett-cosplayer @aol19 @lololol-1234 @gregre369 @attic-cat-blog @hippieg1rl420 @spectrum-spectre