#one day Vanessa will wear a costume she wants to wear herself

[chloesimaginationthings]

FNAF movie Vanessa’s Halloween costumes,,

[zeriq-5]

[A FNAF Movie Sequel fanfic, essentially]

"Vannesa's Rabbit hole"

___________________________

It's been a week since Vanessa's stab and Recovered, she mostly spent her time at Michael Schimidt's house. Yes they were pretty low on money yet again, but they cared for her and so did her with them.

Until then, She didn't actually return to her house after all of the mess, If It can even be considered a home now or then before all of the Rabbit hole crumbled. She had done some quick in and outs with the Schmidts to get some of her stuff. Never Alone however.

She decides to face this fear. Michael prepares himself for a Interview at Murray's old factory and the moment that fox boy leaves, It's her chance. Mike was always against the idea of her going there alone.

Still Reluctant but somehow filling herself with courage as the car progressed to the location. she had to do this at some point, no backing away anymore.

She arrives at the crooked house. It's considerably far from the Neighborhood, It stood out, Even more so with the forest that anyone can get lost in behind It. As she walked out and took each step towards It, She could feel a sense of dread like she was being watched but that was the usual feeling she would get outside of anyways.

As she walked through the door and into those greenish walls, the feeling didn't change. The loneliness was getting to her, so she gave a shot at lightning the mood : "Hey dead, I'm home ! Get It? Because you died" She tried cracking a joke to shake It off that feeling, It's what Mike would do.

She tries to focus on what to bring that she forgot or just wants to be turned into dust. Did She check the garage ? Yes she did, mostly robotic junk that wouldn't even serve as a good arm for freddy and a bunch of manequins with crappy costumes on.

She also already checked the kitchen and got most of the utensils, She got the books from the living room and sent It to Libraries.

She took all her old toys and decided to donate them to charity, minus the special ones like the Purple telephone and that weirdly oversized finger trap Bunny plushie. Unfortunately, no sign of Garrett's plane yet, She was positive about It and knew She would find it eventually.

But while she thought so much about what she already did, she realizes something she didn't do. The Basement door was slam opened, Like a creature had come out of there. Since she was little, her father William always told her she couldn't come in and that there was Something inside that even her dad feared. That alone was enough for her to never even dare lay a finger on it.

She goes to analyze the situation, Still fearing what would be inside or what was once there. All she can see once arriving closer to It, more mechanical parts could be seen, not too surprising, But the sunlight showed something else that she would never thought would see again.

In the work bench, Close to a Mechanical animatronic hand. Her old bunny mask that she made when she was just a 12 year old girl, The gray part on the side of the Bunny's face had turned brown from time and the purpleish eyes became penetrating red.

She would bring that mask to freddy's from time to time to "work" with her dad, She wanted to be just like him. But that doesn't mean she only wore It there, at home too when she failed at obeying.

She wanted to take that Mask, she wanted to put it on and be able to cry in the ways she cried while wearing It. All the Agony of her life was gushed to that Mask, She couldn't lie it felt like an undeniable temptation. But just like her father said years ago, She left It Alone what was beyound that door and locked It all of It away.

Tomorrow is another day after all and It was time to pick up Abby from School, she promised to eat ice cream with her after all.

[riahlynn101]

Whumptober: Day Thirteen - "Cold Compress."

Sorry for how short this is :(( But I didn't have anything planned for today. If I have time today, I'll write something longer.

Also, if you like Gregory as a character/think he's interesting, Irecommend checking out the 600-post thread that 'Gregory's Personal Bodyguard' just released on Twitter. It's a long read but 110% worth it.

TW: Implied/referenced kidnapping, a child in distress, manipulation, and sickness.

--

“He’s not getting any better,” Vanny says, pressing a cold compress to Gregory’s forehead. Her boss makes a displeased noise. Vanny winces a little at that. “He needs a doctor.”

“Fix him,” it grits out, forceful and demanding. “Or else.”

Vanny doesn’t have to ask what it means by ‘or else.’ She’s seen it tear a full-grown man apart, limb from bloody limb. It has little regard for people, and she’s very aware of how replaceable she is to it. 

She nods. “Of course.”

The rag beneath her hand is warm now, so Vanny carefully removes it and resoaks it in cool water. She reapplies it, hoping the rag might bring his fever down. Without medicine, there’s little Vanny can actually do. 

Gregory had been fine this morning. A little more cranky than usual, but that’s to be expected given that their ‘boss’ kept him up well past his bedtime. It has a hard time recognizing that people, humans, have needs. Or maybe, Vanessa Vanny thinks to herself, it just doesn’t care. 

Either way, Gregory was fine until noon. And then, he started complaining that his head was killing him, and that he wanted to rest. Both of which didn’t bother her, because it felt like Gregory was just being cranky. 

But a little before dinner, after waking him from a nap, Gregory started bawling his eyes out. Holding his head in his hands, Gregory repeatedly told her that he didn’t feel good. Vanny has very little sympathy for others. Whatever her boss did to her prevents her from feeling or making any real connection, but seeing Gregory-the only real connection she has-shivering and in obvious distress, it was hard not to feel a sense of urgency. 

Thankfully, Gregory is light, so she carried him back to their boss. Well, less to their boss, and more to Gregory’s bed. Which has the unfortunate placing of being near their boss’ charging station. 

It didn’t take long for it to emerge from the charging station. It crept over to her, eyes firmly on the boy she had just laid on the bed. 

After that it was a blur of her boss barking orders in her ear, demanding and pressuring Vanny to keep Gregory stable. The boy in front of her slowly grew paler and paler, his pulse getting weaker. 

Which brings her up to now, with Gregory not doing much better. He’s sweaty and shaky and in desperate need of medical intervention. His face is red and blotchy, and when Vanny wakes him up to take a few Tylenols she scrounged up, he sobs. Disorientated and afraid. 

He cries for his family, clinging to Vanny’s costume. The stupid thing is itchy and warm, but her boss makes her wear it when interacting with it or Gregory. Her only saving grace right now is the fact that she doesn’t have to wear the gloves. She sees Gregory’s eyes searching her, as if trying to find something. He must not find it, because a moment later he bursts into tears for the third time. 

She sighs, forcing him to lay back. “You need to rest,” Vanny murmurs. “You won’t get better if you don’t.”

“Will my mom be here when I wake up?”

Vanny tenses, unsure of how to answer him. It’s not a secret that Gregory was taken from his parents quite forcefully, and she would know. She was the one that did it. 

She smiles, but it’s useless, the only thing Gregory can see is the wide-stitched smile of her costume. 

He begins to tear up again, twisting away from her. “I want my mom and dad!” He cries, squirming. “I wanna go home!”

Vanny opens her mouth but is quickly interrupted by her boss. It taps her on the shoulder, pointing at the door. Its instructions are clear: leave until she’s needed. 

Wordlessly, Vanny obeys. Though, deep down, she wants so very badly to remain with the sickly, confused child who needs comfort. Real human comfort. 

That night, if she cries in the safety of her room, no one has to know.

[animationstarlover1983]

Five Nights At Freddy’s: System Reboot AU.

Vanny/VANNI rewritten Headcanon Story.

Description: A Newly rewritten Headcanon for the character and story of the infamous white dancing rabbit lady known as Vanny in this AU Story.

Vanny: A Twisted and Unstable Women and the Main Antagonist of the AU Story.

Info: Vanny is one of the new modern day fnaf Villain and one of if not the most dangerous one out of all of them.

Quotes: It will be Fun. It was just a Glitch. Are you having Fun yet. What makes you so Special.

Alias: Reluctant Follower (Unknown), V•A•N•N•I (Fazbear Entertainment LLC/Silver Parasol Games), The White Rabbit Mascot (Fazbear Funtime Service), The Dancing Rabbit Lady (Gregory), The Evil Queen (Herself/Fantasy Quest).

Full Name: Giovanni Valentine.

Species: Thought Form/Inner Demon/Shadow Self (Formerly). Digital Consciousness/Persona (Made from Vanessa’s Agony), Agony Being (Currently).

D.O.B: May - 28th - 20xx.

Skin Tone: Fairly Light.

Color Scheme: White/Brown (Costume).

Hair Color/Hairstyle: Blonde - Brown Roots/Pigtails (Hairstyle Inspired by Nicole Demara from Zenless Zone Zero).

Eye Color: Red (Average), Purple (Left Eye/Glitchtrap).

Appearance: Psychological: when in someone’s mind she takes the form of a women with a realistic white rabbit costume and Vanny Mask, underneath she looks like a Dark and Twisted version of Vanessa but with Red eyes and Blonde/Brown long hair in sided pigtails. Costume: She wears a Cartoonish looking White/Brown Rabbit Mask and Costume with Expressions and Accessories like Stickers - Pins - Jewelry and a Yellow Scarf, she wears a puffy rainbow sweater with Blue/Red Stripped pants along with a Big Red Ribbon and a Makeshift Fanny-Pack/Utility Belt. Digital: After being separated from Vanessa she now inhabits the Vanny mask for a while (She can also appear in a Virtual Form in the Digital World). Agony: Due to Agony she is able to manifest an organic humanoid body that looks like her psychological form, she has Blonde hair with Brown Patches/Roots that she dyes White - Blue and Red, her nails are Painted Red and she wears a Red/Blue Dress Shirt with a Yellow Collar and Rings with White/Black Pants and White Shoes (She wears other Outfits as well).

Personality: Vanny is Extremely Vainglorious, Vibrant, Vivacious, Vindictive, Wicked, Passionate, Enthusiastic, Eccentric, Fun Loving, Playful, Sadistic, Bloodthirsty, Furious, Unstable, Obsessive, Curious, Crafty, Selfish, Strategic, Deceptive, Manipulative, Irresponsible, Insecure, Disrespectful, Rebellious, Relentless, Persistent and just borderline Psychopathic.

Characterization: Giovanni was born from Vanessa’s most Negative and Darkest aspects of her Psyche so it’s only natural that she would be Vanessa’s Polar Opposite while sharing certain Traits and Qualities, because of this Giovanni has Developed an Strong - Toxic and Dangerous Obsession/Resentment towards Vanessa which is some of her motivation. Giovanni does not like the fact that she’s only an aspect of Vanessa’s mind so after she managed to take control she does everything she can to make Vanessa’s Experience has Horrible as Possible by Tormenting her to her hearts content all for the petty sake to watch her Suffer. Giovanni takes Sadistic Pleasure in Stalking/Hunting her Prey and Playing mind games with her Victim’s with Pure Maddening Ecstasy all while feeling Extreme Joy. While Giovanni is not above killing people for her own Sick Pleasures and Benefits her preferred method is putting her Victims through Extremely Life Changing/Threatening Experiences that affect them either Physically or Psychologically, she also simply enjoys keeping her Victim’s hostage and forcing them to do as she pleases. Giovanni is Extremely Selfish and Self Righteous, she sees herself as above others thinking very Highly of herself and always wants to feel Important and be the Center of Attention, she looks down on others and thinking very lowly of them seeing other people as Tools - Toys and Playthings, she especially enjoys terrorizing Animatronics and AI’s Giovanni does as she pleases and truly believes that she is above both Rules and Consequences. While Giovanni may appear all Smug and Confident and act all Disrespectful and Arrogant deep down she holds many deep dark Insecurities about herself and inside she is Extremely Impulsive and Furious, while she may never admit it Giovanni does seem to have Attachment/Abandonment Issues and doesn’t like being Feeling Lonely - Unimportant or Unwanted.

Story: After the Disappearance/Supposed Deaths of Vanessa’s Parents this caused her major Childhood Trauma which caused her to develop a Inner Demon/Thought Form called Giovanni (Born from her Psyches most Negative and Darkest Aspects) however Vanessas mind managed to compartmentalize Giovanni and so for many years she was just locked away in the back on Vanessa’s mind but all this changed once Vanessa Acquired a VANNI Mask Unit, this mask’s Neural Network combined with Agony allowed Giovanni to go from being a simple Aspect of Vanessas Mind to a fully Independent Digital Consciousness/Persona she also took the identity of the Mask and nicknamed herself Vanny, this allowed her to Possess Vanessa’s Mind and Body (For 6 Months), once she made contact with glitchtrap the 2 of them began working together to spread his virus but Giovanni had her own agenda, for the next 6 months Vanny made it her mission to Psychologically Torment Vanessa for the sake of her not regaining control and purely just to make her Suffer, however her plans were foiled once Gregory came in the picture and he along with Freddy and others attempted to stop her, Vanny made an attempt to stop this but Vanessa managed to wrestle back a little bit of control and sacrifice herself to protect Gregory and so she stabbed herself with Vannys knife in order to prevent her from being used any further, Gregory soon discovered 3 arcade games and once he played them he managed to Save/Free Vanessa, but rather than destroying Vanny as intended all Gregory managed to was simply Separate her Consciousness/Persona from Vanessa’s Mind and Body and placed in the VANNI mask, Vanny was then left for many months and glitchtrap wanted revenge on her for failing but then a Class V Technician: Jeremy Fitzgerald came to investigate the going ons at the pizzaplex and Sinkhole, he soon found the Mask and Vanny had managed to Influence/Manipulate Jeremy into helping her Overcome and get rid of Glitchtrap and then she just left him to rot in the Digital Aether, some time would pass and eventually Jeremy’s Daughter Cassie came to look for Gregory but instead found the Vanny Mask and soon Vanny began Influencing/Manipulating her mind in order to get revenge on Gregory, Vanessa and Glamrock Freddy, Eventually Cassie finds the 3 of them but things don’t go exactly as Vanny plans, they are able to win over Cassie and regain her trust, Cassie them gets rid of the Vanny mask and is able to get rid of the Occipital Transponder, however Vanny now using an animatronic body tries to get her revenge but they are able to outsmart her and destroy her, at some point thanks to agony Giovanni is able to manifest a Humanoid and Organic body and starts a new plan.

Powers: Psychological: Possession, Nightmare/Hallucination Inducement, Thought/Memory Manipulation. Digital: VANNI Mask System Physiology (Scanner-Reader/Advance AI/Inbuilt E-Manual/Safety-Security Features/Technician Features/Data-Information-Experience Absorption), Digital Consciousness Transference, Reality Warping/Hacking (Via Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality, Via VANNI Mask), Occipital Transponder Implant, Technological Influence, Technological Disruption/Distortion, Supernatural Awareness. Agony: Agony Body Physiology (Strength/Immense Speed/Immense Agility/Flexibility/Durability/Immense Resilience), Negativity Enhancement/Augmentation, Advance Regenerative Healing Factor, Agony Manifestation, Shapeshifting.

Skills: Bravery, Genius Level Intelligence, Raw Cunning, Strategic Mastery, Adept Learning, Quick Thinking, Intuition, Leadership, Coordination, Cooperation, Emotional Intelligence, Great Judge of Character, Psychological Conditioning, Intimidation, Role Playing, Deception, Manipulation, Gaslighting, Stealth, Survival Instincts, Hunting/Tracking Expertise, Gadget Expertise, IT Expertise, Torture Device Expertise, Physical Torture, Psychological Torment, Parkour, Gymnastics/Acrobatics.

Methods: Giovanni is able to Trick people by giving them a false sense of Safety and Security, she comes off as being Helpful and Supportive and she uses that to slowly get into her victims head, Giovanni also is able to Manipulate and Deceive others by promising to bring there most wanted Fantasy’s into Reality, Giovanni loves Stalking/Hunting her Prey by using Hide and Seek Tactics as well as play Mind Games with them, while she is not above killing people for her own Twisted and Sadistic Pleasures or Benefits Giovanni’s preferred method is Physical Torture and Psychological Torment, she also loves using Robots and Gadgets to get the job done Quicker.

Weapons/Gadgets: V•A•N•N•I Mask Unit, Fine-Tuned Fazwrench, Makeshift Kitchen Knife/Blade, Specialized Virtual Reality Headset and Gloves, Augmented Reality Controller.

Crimes: Psychological Torment/Abuse, Possession/Body Snatching, Identity Theft, Impersonation, Multiple Cybercrimes/Cyber Attacks, Conspiracy, Forgery, Multiple Breaking and Enterings, Home Invasion, by Proxy, Property Theft, Vandalism/Property Damage, Sabotage, Misuse of Power/Authority, Coercion, Blackmail, Stalking, Multiple Kidnappings, Enforced Work/Labor, Enforced Self Harm, Staff Endangerment, Child Endangerment, Assault, Child Abuse, Physical Torture, Serial Murder, Indirect Murder, Murder by Proxy, Mass Murder.

Victims: 9 (8 Faz-Ent Staff and 1 Child, all while in possession of Vanessa). Unknown Current Number.

Family: Unknown.

Friends/Subjects: Moon (Accomplice), Mystic Hippo (Accomplice), Nightmarionne (Acquaintance), Carnie (Acquaintance), Lolzhax (Accomplice), Mask-Bot (Underling).

Enemies: Gregory (Attempted Pawn/Victim), Vanessa Arrington (Former Plaything/Victim), Glamrock Freddy Fazbear (Enemy/Victim), Jeremy Fitzgerald (Former Pawn/Victim), Cassie Fitzgerald (Former Partner in Crime/Victim), Roxanne Delwolf (Former Pawn/Enemy), Glitchtrap (Former Manipulator/Abuser).

Likes: Herself, Rabbits, Carrot Related Foods, Video Games (Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality and RPG’s), Puzzles, Challenges, Cheating, Music, Fashion, Spray Painting, Poker Cards, Chess, Fairytales, Medieval Fantasy, Drama/Horror/Thriller Genres, Terrorizing her Victims (Via Physical and Psychological), Mistreating and Destroying Animatronics, Violence, Finding New Hobbies, Being the Center of Attention, Feeling Important.

Favorite Animatronic: Moon.

Dislikes: Abandonment, Loneliness, Boredom, Being Ignored/Overlooked/Forgotten, Being Tricked/Mislead, Losing, Authority, Following Rules, Children/Teenagers, Bears,

Occupation: Pizzaplex Intruder.

Alignment: Evil.

Affiliation: Pizzaplex Insecurity’s.

Goals: Take Over Vanessa’s Life and make her Existence as Terrible as Possible.

Prime Goal: Turn Reality into her own Twisted Fantasy’s.

Status/Fate: Alive.

Whereabouts: Unknown.

Character Inspirations

1. Silvie/S•1•L•V•1•3 (The Bunny Graveyard).

2. Giffany (Gravity Falls).

3. Badeline (Celeste).

4. Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender).

5. Abigail (Magical Girls Specs Ops Asuka).

6. Juri Hang (Street Fighter).

7. Velvette (The Hazbin Hotel).

8. The Queen of Hearts/Red Queen (American McGee’s Alice in Wonderland).

Villain Wiki Category Inspiration.

1. Thought Form

2. Artificial Intelligence

3. Psychopath

4. Sadists

5. Obsessed

6. Stalker

7. Psychological Abuser

Role: Obsessive Psychopath.

[vioash]

a sassy kid, an animatronic father and a strong girl

‘kay sooo, since i can’t stop myself just gonna share some scenarios i had yesterday about fnaf security breach and omori (contains some spoilers from both games and some of my own headcanons as well!)

• after aubrey’s realization of being stuck in a mega pizzaplex with a kid and being chased by a person who wears a creepy rabbit costume, she loses her head for a moment (i mean don’t we all-), however, after getting to know gregory better and meeting the leader of the band glamrock freddy, she feels more relieved and safe (even she knows damn well that something definetly is wrong with the other animatronics, in which freddy explained who they are and is very sure is related to the person with the rabbit costume, who later on she discover that her name is vanny)

• gregory wasn't sure about aubrey when they first met, but after awhile, he soon became attached to her and sometimes asked her to carry him around when he was tired, he genuinely started to look up to her as a big sister and sometimes says some things like: “when i grow up, i want to be strong just like you!” and “can you teach me how to use your bat???” with that little puppy eyes while in the background glamrock freddy is just “GREGORY NO-”, aubrey would just chuckle and ruffle his hair while saying “one day, kid”

• aubrey would be more open about her past and some thing that happend before she was stuck in the mega pizzaplex (ALSO WARNING THIS PART CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM THE TRUE ENDING OF OMORI) the whole thing about mari, who was sunny’s older sister and how she reacted after being told by sunny himself the true cause of mari’s death that day before the recital they would do. she, of course, would be angry, but honestly, she can’t blame sunny or basil, since herself did almost the same thing with basil that day on the lake. freddy and gregory understood her, they also would just hug her and tell her it’s okay (she probably cried a bit after telling them this-)

• glamrock freddy now has a sassy kid as a son and a 16 year old teenager with anger issues to take care of (please help this man) but nevertheless he adores both of them (he finds cute when aubrey carries gregory around the place when he’s tired)

• gregory tried to lift aubrey’s bat once but he couldn’t bc it was so heavy to him, ever since this he’s somewhat supriesed into HOW she manages to even carry around this bat around without complaining (also not gonna lie he was kinda scared of her in the beginning too but finds cool as heck when she uses her bat)

• glamrock freddy also would be kinda “??????” when he met her for the first time, like, why there’s a pink haired girl with a bat here- BUT when he started to know her better, he also started to care for her as his own daughter

• after being told by gregory himself that he was a homeless kid, aubrey felt bad for him (and kinda angry like how the hell someone can leave a 10-12 year old kid like this???) and made a promise to herself to be a big sister to him, despite with her own flaws and problems, she would try

• aubrey never admited but she also saw freddy as a father since her own father left after the divorce with her mother, she would also make some jokes about freddy being a father to gregory to hide her own embarrassment

• not gonna lie aubrey would probably end vanny’s ass in ten seconds because y’know,,,, she doesn’t carry that bat with her for nothing, she also would take no shit from the own nightguard vanessa either

• freddy joked one time that aubrey was montgomery gator lost daughter and to be honest here montgomery would liked her too

• this is getting too long but in overall now gregory has a sister and glamrock freddy has a daughter with anger issues who also would do anything to protect them from vanny and he’s very pround of her <3′

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

Riverdale//without you i’d be nothing

Request: Reader plays a Northsider River Vixen on Riverdale and when the show’s on hiatus the cast takes a trip to New Orleans and her boyfriend Douglas Booth invites them to see him film a scene as Nikki Sixx for the Netflix movie The Dirt and he and reader are super cute after he finishes the scene and the cast totally ships them. The scene is from the YouTube video The Dirt - Shout at the Devil/with backstage (Turkish subtitle). Nikki’s bass guitar in the opening of the scene is really cool.

hey! i really hope you like this!! and i also hope you’re having a good day! 

“Hey guys! It’s me, Madelaine and welcome to the last day of shooting before our hiatus!” Madelaine beams into the camera and you lift your head up from your phone to watch her talk excitedly at the camera. 

“I’m sort of sad because I’m gonna miss all of these.” She does a twirl to show off the rest of the cast sat waiting to start filming and they all take a break from talking to wave and smile at the camera. “But I am very excited for the break. Plus, we won’t really be away from each other for long because in a few days we’re going on holiday!! Aren’t we guys!” She asks and zooms in on Charles while he scrolls through his phone. 

“Huh?” He asks when he feels everyone looking at him. You all stifle a laugh before looking back at Madelaine again. 

“Okay, let’s see what everyone is doing.” She smiles playfully and wiggles her eyebrows before flipping the camera and choosing who to annoy first. “KJ. What are you doing?” 

“Eating.” He replies through a mouthful of food before glaring at the red-head. 

“Vanessa?” 

“Ignoring you.” She replies, not bothering to look up from her phone. 

“You know, you all think that Vanessa is lovely, but this is what I have to put up with.” Madelaine frowns. “What about you Y/n?” She asks and you glance at her before sending your text. 

“She’s texting her boyfriend.” Jordan teases as he looks over your shoulder and you roll your eyes at his childishness. “Aww, they’re sending each other kisses. And now she’s opening Instagram and liking a picture of him-wait, that’s not his real hair is it?” He asks and you send him a look. 

“Of course not.” You laugh. “It’s his costume, for the Mötley Crüe movie.” 

“Ohh.” He replies. “Okay.” He starts again, faking a British accent and you roll your eyes again. “Now, she is liking the photo of her boyfriend and his cast members. She’s typing something and now she’s going into her notes and typing something else. It’s for me, and it says Jordan...fuck off.” He trails off and a playful pout replaces his smile. 

“Somebody please send help.” Madelaine deadpans as she flips the camera back. “I’m gonna have to put up with all of this for another week.” 

“Holy shit.” Madelaine mouths as she shoves the camera in her backpack. The rest of the cast are just as mesmerised with the stage set up in front of them. 

The stage is more light than actual stage and for a while you can’t really decipher between the lights and the many, many speakers they have. Four microphones are dotted around the black stage, just waiting for sound. The guitar amps wait to be plugged in and you remember watching Douglas walk in and out of your bedroom as he tried to master the way Nickki Sixx would walk on stage. Tommy Lee’s drum sits at the back of the stage and the pentagram really brings the whole dark aesthetic together. 

It genuinely looks like one of their shows. After Doug was offered the role, the two of you sat and watched countless videos of their shows together, just so he could really get into his role.

Normally you’d join them in staring wide-eyed at the bright set, but you’re too excited to see Doug that you can barely take in anything surrounding you other than him. Your eyes scan the countless people passing by. Crew members carrying large speakers and microphones back and forth, and hundreds of extra’s mill about around you, making you feel like you’ve just walked through a time machine. 

You feel eyes on you and it’s only when you look back at them do you realize you were bouncing slightly. 

“Be cool.” Jordan shakes his head and you flip him off making him feign offence. 

“Can I help you guys?” A woman asks and you quickly direct your attention to her. 

“Hi!” You beam. “Douglas Booth invited us to watch him. He said he got the okay from the director. I’m Y/n, his girlfriend. Nice to meet you!” You smile and stick your hand out in front of her. She blinks, trying to process what you’ve just said in the short space of time before a small smile twitches at her lips and she introduces herself. 

“I’m Amy.” She replies. “And I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s nice to finally meet you in person instead of being shown countless of pictures of you.” She teases and your cheeks heat up.

Cami and Lili share a look before nudging you and you stare at the floor, too embarrassed to look at them again. 

“Come with me.” She tells the rest of the group. “And help yourself to snacks and drinks.” She says and everyone’s head’s perk up at the mention of food. “We’re just about to film, they’re putting the final touches to everything, but if I see Doug I’ll let him know you’re here.” 

“Thank you!” You grin and sit down. Behind the camera’s are a bunch of seats, none of which match and it’s a race between the ten of you to get the comfiest seats first. It ends in KJ and Casey standing and they grumble quietly to each other while the rest of you smile sarcastically back at them. 

“Okay. Quiet on set!” Someone shouts and you stand up to crane your neck over the camera’s. For a second everything’s quiet, and then the lights go up and everyone screams. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, from Los Angeles, Mötley Crüe!”

Douglas looks out into the crowd and your sure he’s seen you, despite the room full of people. Then the lights come up and the spark machines go off leaving all you to stare in awe at what is happening. 

The sound of drums pound along with your heart while you watch your boyfriend transform into somebody else in front of your very eyes. He strums the guitar in time and hops backwards while looking out into the darkened crowd and you follow his gaze, wanting to see what he’s seeing. 

You watch as the camera zooms in on Douglas’ strumming and you nudge Cami excitledy as you point proudly at him. She stifles a laugh before the two of you continuing watching. 

“Title track is from our up and coming album. We call it ‘Shout At The Devil’” Danny shouts and the crowd goes wild. The camera zooms in on Iwan playing guitar.  

‘Shout, shout, shout!” They sing, the camera zooming into each of them, focusing longer on Colson as he twirls the drum sticks around in his fingers.  “Shout, shout, shout! Shout at the devil.” Danny kicks his leg out and does a spin before starting to sing again and you can’t believe what you’re seeing. 

They all look so cool! Especially Douglas and you can understand why bands back in the day had so many groupies if they did stuff like this on the stage. The atmosphere is electric and it’s not even a real concert, so you can only dream of what it would feel like to be at a real one.  “He's the wolf screaming lonely in the night. He's the blood stain on the stage.” Danny points out into the crowd and you hear a few screams and squeals making you laugh. “He's the tear in your eye. Been tempted by his lie.” Douglas rocks back and forth, and despite your earlier teasing through texts about the wig, it does look good when he’s up there head banging. “He's the knife in your back, he's rage!” Colson raises a hand in the air before banging the drums again. 

Danny leans forward, his voice going up an octave and you watch impressed. “He's the razor to the knife. Oh, lonely is our lives. My head's spinning 'round and 'round.” He points out into the crowd again and you catch Pete Davidson’s eye. 

Colson throws a drumstick in the air again before drumming, and you don’t know where to look anymore. There’s so many incredible things happening and you wish you could film this or take a picture or something so you can remember. It’s going to be amazing when you see it in the actual film, but to see it being recorded in real life, that’s something you don’t think any movie theatre will be able to live up to. 

“But in the seasons of wither, we'll stand and deliver. Be strong and laugh and-” 

“Shout, shout, shout. Shout at the devil! Shout, shout, shout!” Flames erupt from the stage during each beat and all ten of your eyes widen when you see someone flash the band. They head bang and jump around and your eyes widen each second that passes. 

But it’s over far sooner than you’d like it to be. You could spent forever watching your boyfriend pretend to be a famous rockstar, and you’re surprised at how at home he looks up on stage. 

The band shout and cheer, before the director shouts cut and they suddenly all erupt into laughter. Douglas and Iwan high five before they disappear off stage and previously still crew members start moving again. They hurry past you, with props, costumes and coffee in hand. 

And you wait excitedly for Douglas to appear. 

“So, we’re on the set of a super important Netflix movie. We’ve just watched them film literally the best thing ever. Like I have goosebumps, look. Anyway, I’m not gonna show you much, but I am going to show you this.” Madelaine whispers, a soft smile lighting up her face before she flips the camera and zooms in on you and Douglas. 

You wrap your arms around him and he picks you up, twirling you around making you squeal. He puts you back on the floor and wastes no time in capturing your lips in a kiss. You’ve been waiting months to kiss him again and it was definitely worth it, even if he is wearing that ridiculously large wig. 

“I’ve missed you so much baby.” You mumble against his lips. 

“Me too.” He replies and kisses you again. 

Madelaine flips the camera back to her and she pouts in response to how cute the two of you are. 

“She hasn’t shut up about him since he invited us out here.” She says and rolls her eyes. “It’s been the only thing we’ve heard. Hasn’t it V?” She asks the shorter girl as she walks behind her. 

“What?” Vanessa asks and takes a sip of the coffee Cole stole for her from the snack table. 

“Y/n and Doug.” It’s only three words, but it sets Vanessa off into a whole ramble about how excited you’ve been to see him. 

“It’s a good job they’re cute.” She replies making Vanessa giggle and the two of them watch as you and Doug catch up with each other. You move his wig from his face and he smiles thankfully, before kissing your cheek. “Something that isn’t cute though is these two.” Madelaine interrupts her own vlog by swapping the camera again and zooming in on Jordan and Drew taking pictures of each other with badly put on wigs. 

Her and Vanessa shake their head and watch as they laugh loudly and try to knock the other ones off their head. However their laughter soon dies down when a crew member comes over and scolds them for tampering with props, and now it’s Vanessa and Madelaine’s’s turn to laugh. 

“I can’t wait for the internet to see that.” Vanessa giggles before sending a disapproving look at the two men now pouting sadly in the corner. 

“Knowing them, it’ll just make more people love them.” Madelaine rolls her eyes. She turns the camera off and lets Vanessa lead her to where the majority of the cast are. 

“Hi guys.” Douglas introduces himself nervously and the conversations slowly die out. You stand beside Doug, your hand in his to keep him calm and a reassuring smile on your face. 

He’s never normally nervous when meeting new people, however he’s only ever met a few of these people a handful of times and he knows how important they are to you so he wants to make the best impression he possibly can. 

Although, you’re pretty sure he already has done with that they’ve just watched. You’re sure that could turn even the most cynical and hard to impress people, so you’re not worried. 

“Hi!” They all reply, each of them moving to shake his hand first. 

“Can I just say, that was great. I’ve never seen anything like it!” Drew gushes and Doug waves him off bashfully. 

“Seriously. Y/n is very lucky.” Jordan replies making you shove him lightly. 

“I’m definitely the lucky one.” Doug replies and kisses you gently. Your friends roll their eyes and gag in response, but you know they’re doing it out of love. 

“So, how are you all enjoying New Orleans?” He changes the subject.

“We haven’t really seen much of it. We got here yesterday and we spent the majority of it sleeping.” Casey explains making him frown. 

“Why don’t we go sightseeing.” He smiles. “Before you guys get kicked out.” He adds and looks at Jordan and Drew who smile back awkwardly. 

“You guys go ahead.” You interrupt. “We’ll catch up with you.” 

“Ooo.” KJ teases and you flip him off making him laugh loudly. “Get out.” You shove him and Lili grabs his arm pulling him towards the exit. The rest of the gang follow until it’s just you and Doug standing in an empty room. You’re only company is the very large snack table and various chairs dotted around the room. 

“I’ve missed you so fucking much.” You admit and wrap him into a tight hug. He wheezes at the force but hugs you back and warmth fills your chest. “You were also amazing up there. I mean, it was like I was at a proper concert!” You ramble proudly and he rolls his eyes. “You are so talented.” 

“Nah.” He shakes his head and you send him a glare. “It was all you, you’re my good luck charm.” 

---

March 18, 2019, ArcLight, Hollywood. 

The fabric of your dress, bunches and un-bunches in your clammy palm. The pale blue silk is soft against your skin and it’s quite a comforting feeling, it’s good to know that you can still feel something, even if the rest of you does feel numb. 

Camera’s flash outside the tinted windows of the black car, and you can hear hundreds of people shouting and screaming. The last time you were at a movie premiere, it didn’t feel anything like this, and it’s not even your movie. You wonder if you maybe need to do more than two acting jobs to get used to stuff like this, maybe you never get used to it. 

The more you think of it, the weirder it feels. All of those people lining the streets and wanting to take pictures of you. Riverdale premiers feel a whole lot less scary than movie ones. You thought it was because you always have your friends around you, or maybe because you’ve been to every single one of them since the show started, you kind of know what to expect as they’re all the same. 

But then you glance at Doug and you feel a whole new set of nerves creep up on you. He looks so good in his suit, and you watch his fingers tap anxiously against his knee as the two of you wait for the door to opened. 

Maybe you’re more nervous because it’s him. You have no reason to be though, the small part that you saw being filmed was amazing, and if the whole film is like that, then he’s got nothing to worry about. But you know he’s nervous and maybe that’s what’s making you feel the same. 

“Doug?” You place a gentle hand over his, stilling the movements of his fingers and he looks back at you, his expression softening as he takes you in. 

“You look beautiful.” He smiles and presses a kiss to the back of your hand. 

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” You reply and he rolls his eyes. “Are you okay?” You ask and the question seems to take him by surprise.

“Yeah-I. Why wouldn’t I be?” He stutters and you send him a look. He knows you can read him like a book, it’s something you seemed to have mastered by the first day you met him. 

“You just seem a little nervous.” You shrug and give his hand a squeeze. 

“I’m okay.” He shakes his head. “Maybe just a little bit. But nerves are good.” He finishes and you look at him unsure. “Why? Are you nervous?” 

“A little bit.” You admit and drop his gaze. His finger hooks under your chin and pulls it up again so you can look at him. His hazel eyes seem to see straight through you and the way he’s looking at you makes your heartbeat increase. For a few seconds, it just feels like the two of you sitting in the tiny cab. 

The rest of the world disappears, it’s just you and him, and that’s all you could ever really need.  

“Come on, you’ve done scarier things. Remember when you found out you had to do that British accent. I’m pretty sure you told me, you’d considered dropping out of the film.” He says and you nod your head. 

“I suppose, yeah.” You agree. “That was very nerve-racking. Especially when I had to do it in front of the cutest British boy I’d ever met.” You add and he rolls his eyes playfully. The two of you giggle quietly to yourselves

“We’re ready for you.” A tall man dressed all in black tells you once opening the door. You look at Doug and the two of you take a deep breath. 

“Are you ready?” You ask and he nods slowly. 

“As I’ll ever be.” He grins and you mirror it. The nerves turning to excitement when you think about how proud you are of him. “Wait!” He shouts and you freeze, dropping your purse in fright. “Sorry.” He apologises awkwardly and you roll your eyes at him. “I just wanted to get a picture with you before we’re both whisked off by our adorning fans. I want to show off how lucky I am, and I want Danny to see what he’s missing.”

“Where did you say he was again?” 

“He’s off filming some other film. But I think he did a video message or something, basically thanking everyone.” He replies. 

“Oh, that’s sweet.” You nod. “Anyway, adorning fans?” You repeat and he nods, a playful smile tugging at his lips. “You know this is a premier for a film that you’re in right? I’ve got nothing to do with this.” 

“One. We all know that the majority of the people here, are here for you because they just assume you’re coming with me.” 

“They assumed correctly.” You nod and cross your arms. You raise an eyebrow as you wait for him to continue with this point that you know is going to be stupid. 

“And two. You have everything to do with this.” He says and your roll your eyes, pushing him bashfully. “I’m being serious Y/n.” He says, making you look at him. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t have had the confidence to say yes to all the offers I got, I wouldn’t have been able to recover from the many no’s. I wouldn’t have been able to learn my scripts and come to you for advice and support and just for a hug. This has everything to do with you, and the way you looked at me when you watched me film, gave me all the confidence I needed to keep going, even when the hours were long and I missed you like crazy.” 

“Douglas Booth, you’re going to make me cry and my makeup is perfect.” 

“And you look beautiful.” He replies and wipes a stray tear away. A curl falls in front of your face and he tucks it behind your ear, his fingers leaving a trail of heat along your jawline. “I love you.” 

“I love you too.” You laugh and wipe away another tear. 

He gives you one last smile before grabbing your hand. You step out of the cab and into the bright flashing lights and the overwhelming sound of your names being shouted. He looks back at you, concern growing in his eyes but you grin back at him and he mirrors it. 

The two of you make your way up the red carpet, posing together and separately as people shout your name from all angles. The camera’s always disorient you, but as soon as you’re back beside Douglas and he wraps an arm around you waist, you feel yourself become more comfortable with the sheer amount of press. 

Douglas talks to a few of his co-stars and you take the few minutes of zero attention to really take in the moment. There’s so many people here, all of them to see your talented boyfriend and his friends and you feel like your heart is going to burst with pride. 

Your gaze catches Jordan, Drew and KJ, all three of which are staring wide eyed as the real Mötley Crüe walk the red carpet. You watch as they try their hardest not to implode and a chuckle escapes your lips when they finally realize that you’re watching them. 

“Holy shit!” Jordan mouths and you roll your eyes. Drew points awkwardly at them and KJ makes small talk with Tommy Lee before he stares at you in shock. 

“Be cool!” You mouth back and roll your eyes at your friends. The three of them just stare back at you in shock before they notice Vanessa and Madelaine having a full on conversation with all four members. 

It looks like they’ve just bumped into each at the grocery store with the way they’re talking to each other, and even you must look a little surprised. 

“I’ve seen you’re show!” Nikki says and your jaw drops. “It’s fucking weird.” He adds making the girls laugh. 

“Yeah.” Madelaine nods. “It sure is.” She adds before they walk away to get their pictures taken. Madelaine and Vanessa stare at each other, frozen for a few seconds before they grab each others arms and squeal. 

“Your friends sure are weird.” Vince says and it takes you a few seconds to realise he’s talking to you. 

“Oh yeah. There are.” You laugh awkwardly and the rest of the band greet you. You take a second to glance back at your friends who are all staring at you with varying degrees of shock on their face. 

“Are you ready to go in?” Doug pulls your attention away from the silent conversation you’re trying to have with Vanessa, and a soft smile graces your lips. 

“More than ready.” You nod excitedly. “I’m so proud of you baby.” You whisper in his ear and a blush creeps up his neck. 

“Not as proud as I am of you.” He replies and nudges your arm. The two of you take a deep breath before stepping through the door, ready for whatever adventure is waiting for you next. 

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The six actresses also candidly discuss what outsiders get wrong about acting, juggling work and family and how #MeToo has changed the culture for the next generation: "We're getting all the bad stuff out of the way."

A fiesta grandmother. A persecuted jazz icon. A grieving mother. A sexual assault avenger. A pioneering scientist. A girlfriend scorned.

On a mid-December morning, six actresses behind some of the year's most dynamic performances came together for The Hollywood Reporter's Actress Roundtable: Hillbilly Elegy's Glenn Close, The United States vs. Billie Holiday's Andra Day, Pieces of a Woman's Vanessa Kirby, Promising Young Woman's Carey Mulligan, Ammonite's Kate Winslet and Malcolm & Marie's Zendaya. The group, who gathered via video conference from homes and sets in L.A., Montana, Atlanta and the U.K., discussed the business side of acting, their weirdest pandemic habits, the dangerous Hollywood misconception about creative genius — and the fact that "how women's voices are being received [is] the biggest thing that has shifted."

Let's dive in. What's the most surprising thing you learned about yourself during the pandemic?

VANESSA KIRBY I learned a lot about silence. I hadn't realized quite how much "doing" I was doing. Somehow I hadn't quite realized that, when you're still, it's just as present, you know what I mean? And I think it's taught me to do less. I don't think anything else would have taught me that in the way this year has done.

KATE WINSLET I became, and still am, actually, utterly obsessed with sweeping my kitchen floor. But down to the point where if there's just even dog hair, and our dog is a golden retriever, so it's blond hair, but I've got this microscopic vision where I can see the dog hair gathering in tiny little cracks, between the dishwasher and the sink, and I'll be like, "There's dog hair, somebody, quick, get me the broom." I've just become obsessed. And I didn't really care about things like that particularly before. Don't get me wrong, I like to run a nice home, but sweeping the kitchen floor? I mean, who cares about that? So I've become a bit strange about the kitchen floor.

ZENDAYA For me, it's that I never really got to know who I was without work. I've always been working. I started working when I was so young, and I've always just had a consistent thing happening in my life. I just had never spent that much time with myself. I was like, "What makes me happy? What do I like to do other than work? Do I have any hobbies?" I basically get to do my hobby for a living. So it's like, "What else do I even like?" Facing that was interesting for sure.

What is something people often get wrong about acting?

WINSLET I've been doing this job now for, I realize, 27 years or something. I can't quite believe that, but I do find myself getting almost agitated when I feel I have to explain just how hard the job truly is … I don't think people understand that preparation can take up to four, five, sometimes even six months depending on the kind of role you're playing. And also how absent, I think, you are from your family. Even if they might physically be with you — which, in my case is nine times out of 10, I'm fortunate that they are — but emotionally I know that I'm gone. I'm just not there, I'm not just Mummy, I'm not just Ned [Smith]'s wife ­— suddenly, I'm this other being. And I do find that part quite upsetting sometimes, and I wish I had more of a balance with that.

CAREY MULLIGAN There's a bit of an idea, and maybe more even within the industry, that to make something great, people have permission to behave badly, the idea of someone being a creative genius … that they are so inspired, there's a required level of darkness or unpleasantness that goes along with that, that you need to put up with. And I think people get away with bad behavior because of those reasons. In my experience, some of the most incredible people I've worked with have just been also the most delightful. So that's kind of a common misconception, that there are people who have to behave badly to psych themselves up at work, or that the process is just sort of utterly miserable. I think you can work really hard, but ultimately … the attitude on set should be one of warmth.

ZENDAYA It also is a business, which is something I've had to learn as a young person. Because often you get into it just because you love it, and you just want to be creative, and you just want to do the fun stuff, but it is also a business. There are contracts involved and a lot of things that don't necessarily contribute to the creativity or contribute to this idea of the freedom you think you'll have. I have been learning that as I grow up that there are bigger entities involved … money people … I often encourage young people who do want to do this to read your contracts, be aware, have those conversations, ask as many questions as you can, try to get advice from people, because it's easy to get stuck in a bad situation. And having that knowledge is really, really important.

GLENN CLOSE A lot of people think that anyone can do it. And of course, there have been documentaries and even some movies of people who are not trained as actors — I think that can happen in movies. I really take my craft seriously, and I think people don't know what they're talking about when they think that anyone could do it. I once had a brain surgeon who was the father of one of my daughter's middle school friends … He asked if he could come over and pick my brain about something. And so I said, "Sure," and he came over and he said, "I find being a brain surgeon depressing, I really want to be an actor."

WINSLET Oh my God.

CLOSE And it was all I could do to not throw him out of my house. He said, "But I have to make a living, so how do I do it?" It was astounding to me that he would have such an ignorant idea of what acting was. So I think, for longevity, it is a craft, and I take great pride. There's always something new to learn every day, but it is something that really does count. When you task yourself with becoming, looking through the eyes of another person and telling a story that will have emotional impact, that is craft.

Andra, how did you go about finding the voice of Billie Holiday?

ANDRA DAY Well, first she is very familiar to me just because she is my foremost musical inspiration. I worked with this amazing dialect coach, Thom Jones … Through the breath, that was a huge thing. I remember him always talking about, "Where it is coming from? How is she breathing?" And the emotional part of it as well, too. I look at Billie Holiday's voice as a scroll. And on her voice is written her entire history, every time she had been raped, every time she had been hit, every time she had victoriously sang "Strange Fruit," every time she smoked a cigarette and every time she slammed heroin or did a speedball. Everything is written onto her voice. It was also important for me not to do an impersonation. And that's something [director] Lee [Daniels] spoke to me about, too, we don't want to impersonate her, but sort of bring me through her. … I feel the same way about acting, that not everyone can do it. To be honest with you, I did not think that I could do it, and I'm still a little on the fence about it.

I don't think after seeing this film anyone will have any question about whether you can do it. Let's talk a bit about physical transformation for a character. Glenn, in Hillbilly Elegy, you're physically transformed. How did finding the look of that character help you?

CLOSE I began personally not wanting to be distracted by my own face. I wanted to have very subtle differences so that it was an experience, that you get into the full hair and makeup and costume, and there she is, because she's very different from who I was. But we started with a portrait of Mamaw and just the glasses, the hair, the ears, I changed my nose a little bit. And it was very, very finessed work to make it subtle enough that it wasn't me, but not so … I didn't want people to say, "Oh, there's Glenn Close with a really bad nose." That took a lot of wonderful collaboration coming up with that. We had video, we talked to members of her family who were incredibly generous in talking about her. And I asked just very specific questions: "How did she walk, how did she hold her cigarette? How did she sit? What did she wear?" which is basically what you see in the movie. She was very much a larger-than-life character. "What was her atmosphere when she came into a room?" I mean, all those kinds of things that just was a slow buildup [from] the moment you walk on for hair and makeup, and you feel that there she is.

MULLIGAN With Promising Young Woman, [director] Emerald [Fennell] is very intentional about building a world that felt very enticing. You wanted to build a film that you wanted to see, not something you needed to or should see. Part of the way that Emerald first presented the film to me was this Candyland environment that you're in and that Cassie lived in that in the way that she clothes herself. She's somebody who is very practiced at living with her rage and her sadness and her grief. She's figured out that hiding in plain sight and looking like someone who's functioning, people tend to leave her alone. It's very deliberate that she has candy-colored nails and blond hair. First of all, she looks very unthreatening, so no one would ever suspect that she's about to destroy a life, but also she's someone that you don't need to check on. You can leave her alone … Her main everyday look was just a way of saying, "I'm absolutely fine. You don't need to look at me because I'm just generic, and a girl, and you don't need to take me seriously." Because we so often trivialize the way girls and women clothe themselves. It was just a very easy way of putting up a boundary between her and the rest of the world.

WINSLET Everything about [Ammonite subject, paleontologist] Mary Anning is so, so held and so internalized. I had to learn how to do quite a lot of acting with my posture, or the back of head, or the backs of my hands, or just sometimes my eyeballs. I had to really find a different rhythm for myself, because I'm a very animated person … The longer that you do this, the more familiar audiences become with your mannerisms and how you are or how you sound. I just try to remove everything of myself, and there were days when I would think, "Well, did I do anything or did I just do nothing today?" And it would be really disconcerting, but just finding a completely quiet, physical stillness and heaviness to Mary came hand in hand with the costuming of her and the look of her and making her hair a little bit gray and having no makeup.

Vanessa, you have a harrowing, more than 20-minute childbirth sequence in your film. Can you talk about what that was like to shoot and how you prepared for that?

KIRBY It was kind of terrifying, because I haven't given birth or been pregnant before. We have seen so many deaths onscreen, we've rarely seen birth … I ended up writing to a lot of obstetricians asking if they'd let me come in and shadow them. One said yes, so I went to a hospital in North London and was on the labor ward for many days, which was quite unbelievable for me. I learned a lot from the midwives about what the whole birthing experience is like. One afternoon, my very last afternoon at hospital, one of the midwives came round and said, "Oh, a woman's just come in and she's 9 centimeters dilated. And I'm going to ask if she'd mind you watching." I just thought, "There's no way in hell she's ever going to agree to have some random person sit in and watch this really sacred moment of her life." But she did, she said yes, and so I got to sit with her and watch her go through six hours of … I mean, it was just probably the most profound afternoon of my life. I never, ever could have acted it without watching her, because I saw her go on this unbelievable journey, and I saw the animal in her take over. And it was only because of that, really, that I then felt like maybe I had a chance at attempting it. When we came to it … it was so physical and it was such a primal body thing. We did four takes the first day, two the second, and I think the fourth one is the one in the movie. It was a bit like doing a play, really, where once you're on, you're on, and you can't stop. And there was something magic about that, because you couldn't spend any time doubting yourself, you just have to do it.

Zendaya, when you were making Malcolm & Marie, it was really in the height of the pandemic. Can you talk about how working in that environment shaped how you worked and how the set functioned?

ZENDAYA Obviously, we wanted to do everything as safely as possible, so we created a bubble. I was putting my own money into it, as was everyone else. We were living in a hotel that was empty. It was just us, because everything was shut down. We were in the middle of Carmel, and we shot in this home that was in the middle of nowhere. We weren't allowed to leave for obvious reasons, and in that time of quarantining together, we were allowed the time to work on the material. When we got there, the script was only about 70 pages, and there wasn't a third act. Through that process of every day just being together, sometimes in a parking lot, just working through every moment and having these really long discussions about ourselves, our characters, relationships … Being able to have that time, that space with each other to figure it out, was really, really helpful. And really not having any other distraction, just being in it every single day.

We only had two actors, a very small, small crew. So we're all doing like four different jobs. I'm doing my hair and makeup and using some of my clothes, trying to remember my continuity because we don't have any ADs or scripties [script supervisors] or anything.

Vanessa, you've been shooting the Mission: Impossible sequel. Is there a lot of pressure to maintain safety on these big sets? How does it feel different?

KIRBY My sister's an AD. She started on a movie in the summer, so I kind of learned from her what the new parameters would be and how to navigate. And I was so hopeful when she went back, actually, because it was a funny feeling, I think, for everybody suddenly seeing cinemas closed. All the people that you love and you work with are unable to work in so many different capacities, including my sister. It gave me a lot of faith. But, I mean, you get used to it. There are obviously many guidelines, there are masks and lots of testing and things like that. But it gives me faith in the resilience, actually. And I feel like we will get through it — I can't wait for the day when cinemas are going to open again.

I was skeptical when the #MeToo movement began that there would be any kind of lasting change for women in Hollywood. But now we have more female directors, we have intimacy coordinators, Harvey Weinstein is in prison. Some things that I thought I would not see have come to pass. I'm curious, what has been the biggest change for you, personally, since the #MeToo movement started?

WINSLET The thing that is shifting in ways that will absolutely be long lasting is how women's voices are being received. There is a space that has been created for a younger generation that is going to be safe. My daughter is 20, and she just came into the industry about a year and a half ago. And what's wonderful for me, as her mum, is just watching her have a courage of conviction and self-belief that is just unwavering, because she's entering a time when we're clearing the shit away from them, these girls. These girls are going to change the world, and they're going to be strong, and they're going to be powerful, and they're going to be fucking amazing. And that is because we're getting all the bad stuff out of the way for them and all they will know is to use their voice in positive, powerful ways, to lead with compassion, to be strong role models and friends. And that, to me, is the biggest thing that has shifted.

This is the decade of women championing and supporting other women without judgment. This is happening right now, and that has come as a result of the mass united swell that has emerged from #MeToo. We've all come together, everyone is holding hands and walking in the same direction. And, for me, that is the single most exciting thing that is coming out of the awfulness of the past five years and those extraordinary women coming forward and sharing their painful, awful stories, and the horrendous Harvey Weinstein. The time now is about leading in a different way. Young women being able to lead with courage — in a way that I feel I certainly didn't have, that sense of courage and companionship with my peers, in a way that I think #MeToo has done for this generation of women.

This year, we saw the explosion of the Black Lives Matter movement globally. And at the time it happened, a lot of media companies were issuing statements, making large donations. Do you think there will be lasting changes from that movement as well? Three years from now, will we be talking the way we're talking now about #MeToo in terms of concrete things changing?

DAY My hope is yes. And I hope that it spawns lasting change that moves faster than it has moved in the past. I'm hoping that this is an uprooting of this idea of, "OK, pace yourself, we need to make sure we make people comfortable." That's really not how you achieve lasting change. We can't survive like this, we will not survive. It ends in what? Our destruction, it ends in war, it ends in just unrest.

That was one of the things even on set, there were a few moments that were really quite disturbing, for the cast and me. We were shooting a movie that takes place in the '40s and in the '50s. And there were moments on set that we realized, "Oh, wow, that has not changed." It may have transformed, it may look a little different, lynching looks different, but it's not changed. Truth is going to be a huge, huge, huge factor in seeing lasting change, and sustaining, and transforming, and changing a generation.

As Kate talked about, with the younger generation, I think they have such a need for transparency that will actually be very helpful. Part of doing the movie, the Billie Holiday story, was that the truth of her story had never been told, because the truth of her story was intentionally kept from the public. The respinning of narratives for people of color, or for marginalized people, or for women, has been a constant technique of oppression. And I think that's going to be hugely important moving forward: We have to pop the top off of these things. And we have to tell the truth about them, and understand the scope of certain groups of people, people of color, why the scope of their pain has been minimized or retold.

The retelling of these stories also has to do with telling the truth, some of the gritty, ugly truth about maybe some of our heroes. We have to say, "OK, this isn't for the purpose of destroying people, but we need to know these truths so we can actually move forward and not repeat them."

CLOSE I just have to say I'm sitting here and I'm so inspired by what everyone has been saying. It's quite overwhelming, it's so articulate and so beautiful what everyone has said.

WINSLET Well, we've got you to look up to, Glenn.

CLOSE I can't tell you, it's very moving to me to hear all this. I've been an actress for 46 years, and when I think of the change, the monumental changes that in my short time that I have witnessed, the expectation is going to be phenomenal when we finally can get back to doing what we are here to do. I think there's going to be an overwhelming amount of stories and new ways of telling stories.

What will you do differently in 2021?

MULLIGAN The first thing that came into my mind was that I'm going to go to the theater as much as I can, and the cinema. As soon as we can, I'm going to sit around people and watch something together with them. It just shocked me how much I missed that. I watched a medley of musical theater on television a couple of weeks ago, and it just made me cry. I just want to be a part of that. So it sounds quite trivial, but I think that is something I'm looking most forward to.

WINSLET You know, I never give time to myself at all, really, I don't. People will so often say to me, "Oh, you need to get a massage." And I think, "What? Don't got time for that." So actually, I just have enjoyed, quite honestly, just going really easy on myself. If I had a week where I think, "Oh, I've probably had too much toast. Oh, well." Or, "Oh, well, maybe I should do some more exercise. Oh, maybe I'll do that next week." I'm just kind of learning to go, "Oh, it doesn't matter." It doesn't matter. Life's too short, just enjoy this time, and it doesn't matter about all that crap. I think I'd like to hang on to a bit of that, actually. Because it's easy in this job to have to live by certain disciplines, whether it's just sleep patterns or times that you eat, for example. And actually just letting go of all of that has been really such a joy. Not enforcing any degree of sort of stress or structure on stuff. I've loved all that. So I hopefully I'll carry that on.

CLOSE I came here where I live now [Montana] because my three siblings are here, and I had spent my whole adult life away from them. And we're now in the same town. So, for me, work is so I can come back home. It's kind of changed things, it's not like I'm waiting at home until I go to work. It's really, really valuing the work, because it means that I'll be able to come home.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

[bittybattybunny]

It’s still the 5th on the west coast it 100% counts

Day five! In anotehr Au’s Clothes!!! You actually.. can’t see Ru well at all. he’s in the outfit he wears for Triassic Planet and Eclipse is sporting her look from the Tangled AU (end outfit)

Ficlet time~! This one’s a lil long sorryyyyy

“Don’t you look smart,” She teased as the ghost fixed the cuff sleeve with an annoyed huff.

“Ever since they lost their disguise, that nth dimension shifter keeps making weird requests,” he grumbled as he reached to mess with his hair.

“Come here I’ll put it up.” she grinned holding the bright blue hair tie.

He sighed and shifted, kneeling a tiny bit as she combed his hair. He leaned into her hand as she did, causing her to laugh.

“Prince! I can’t fix it if you just go soft!” she snickered.

“I’m sorry I like the sensation.” he huffed as she began to gather the unruly curls, “Your claws are nice when you comb it.” he admitted, “like when you play with Snatcher’s mane.” he felt his face glow as he thought about it.

“Yeah?” she paused and pursed her lips, “I guess then at least they have a decent use other than ripping rifts.” she snickered.

“Or cutting wolves.” He added with a laugh.

“Or cutting perverted nooses.”

“I asked them to knock it off.” he sighed, “Are they still making comments?”

“Not at me but I overheard them talking to Hattie.” she huffed. She finished pulling his hair up, “there we go!” she beamed.

He stood up and brushed a strand off his shoulder, “Thank you. Normally I don’t mind it loose but I feel this weird outfit needs it out of the way. I just…” he scowled, “Have a lot of hair.”

“You do!” she laughed, “But it’s pretty and soft~!”

He covered his face embarrassed, “Not as nice as yours… mines just….” he sighed. “I sometimes wish I wasn’t a shade.”

“Oh?” she asked curiously.

“I.... normally I’m fine with it but some days…” He looked at her and gripped his chest, “If we met when I was alive…” he sighed and shook his head.

“Maybe we have!” she laughed as she went to open the garment bag Craft had left for her, “I wouldn’t know! I have no memories of my past! Well. I have bits and parts. And Papa said I am two years younger than you! And I’m from Solgario! So maybe we did!”

She frowned, “How.. Do I even put this on?” she pulled out the gown that shimmered with silvers and blues. She frowned, “Prince what do I do with this?”

He choked a bit looking at it, “Are they being funny?!” he shifted to help fully remove the intricate gown with a shocked expression, “T-This is a royal gown?!”

“Oh?” she tilted her head, “So they want me to dress like a princess?” she scrunched her nose, “are they mocking you?”

“I wonder….” he scowled with a heavy sigh and hung his head, “I can help you put it on. I used to help Vanessa sometimes.”

She turned a bit red, “Mmhm… I just… I don’t think---?!?!” she huffed as he pinched and pulled on her cheek with a scowl, “I-I’m not being negative!!!”

“You were going to say you don’t think you fit a princess weren’t you?” he huffed, “What. Have. I. Said.” he scolded.

He let go and she rubbed the spot tenderly with a pout, “But I’m just an idiot wolf…”

“A very pretty idiot wolf.” he smiled. Looking at the gown again he sighed, “Come on, sooner we show them the outfits sooner we can put our normal clothing back on.” 

He knew he was blushing as he looked at the outfit, “I… want to see you in it… we can even take a picture for Snatcher…” he chewed his knuckle as he thought about it, “Shame they had me dressed as a scientist… If I was in my normal outfit the two...of...us…would maybe…. Look...like a...” he shook his head and gave a loud laugh, “Anyhow let’s get this over with!”

“R-Right!” she huffed as she looked at it. She frowned as she began to strip down to her underwear, the grey stretchy material clinging to her as she took the gown, “Do I go under the skirt or?” she huffed.

“It’s in parts.” he helped shift it, “we’ll put this underskirt on first. Just step into it,” he explained.

She nodded taking it to pull it up and frowned, “this is going to be a pain to move in!” she fretted.

“Yeah…. Our clothing was more for showing status than moving. I hated my formal clothing. My casual was odd but I could at least run.” he laughed.

“Even with the heels?” she asked innocently, causing him to turn yellow and look away. She giggled as he handed her the next part, “Undershirt?”

“Yes.” He helped with the strings in the back, “Corset is next…. Have you worn one before?”

“Only costume ones for Craft.” she flinched when his cold hand touched her waist as he helped with the shirt. She felt her face grow hot, “S-Sn.. I mean, so how many layers is this?”

“Looks like they simplified it so about 3ish.” he admitted as he unlaced the corset, “Arms up. This may hurt a little since you’re unused to it. Gods know Vanessa despised the corset some days but it’s needed to help the gown stay up.”

She gulped and did as instructed. She tensed as he moved behind her, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

“Alright. Brace.” he grit his teeth and pulled on the laces. She squeaked as it tightened and gasped. 

He scowled, “yeah I know. I’ve worn one too.”

She gave a small laugh as he finished tying it up and patted her back.

“All set.” he huffed. He stared at her as she stood in the undergarments and corset. Even though he’d seen her in her underwear plenty of times, normally when forcing her to wash her clothes, he couldn’t help turning a bright yellow as his eyes trailed the dip in her side as the corset fit her. She turned around and he yelped as he accidentally looked right down. He forgot corsets did that.

He coughed to regain his composure, “O-Okay let’s put the actual gown bit on.”

He took the outfit and noticed his shaking hands, “A-arms up.” he instructed. He just needed to finish getting her dressed, then he’d be fine. Right?

She huffed arms up as he helped pull it over her head. She fixed her hair, letting the silver fluff behind her as she moved to fix the sleeves and such. She looked at herself with a small frown, “Hrmph.”

Snatcher could only look at her a little slack jaw, he covered his mouth and looked away, “it fits.”

“Mmhm. Well, Craft knows my siz---”

“No I mean… it fits... You… you look good…” he covered his mouth as he looked at her shyly. He moved closer walking around her. He knelt in front of her with a smile and took her hand kissing it lightly. “You look amazing, my lunar princess.” he smiled.

She turned bright red, the shorter parts of her hair fluffing up in shock at his gesture, “S-Sn--Stop T-Teasing me!” she gasped when he stood up and scooped her up. She yelped and gripped his shirt as she looked up at him with wide eyes. She buried her face in his shoulders with a pout.

He laughed as he spun around holding her, “I guess that nth shifter has some good ideas….”

“Typically.” Craft leaned in the treehouse, leaning on a patchwork covered hand, “Glad to see it fits.” they smirked, “Too bad Snatcher isn’t here.” they sneered looking right at the ghost.

Snatcher scowled a bit as he set Eclipse down.

She huffed, “H-He’d tease me more than P-Prince does!”

“I’d say he’d most likely get the ghost version of turned on. Or I hope he does.” the shifter pulled up into the house and dusted off. They walked around both, before giving a proud smirk, “God I am good!” they laughed.

“Are you?” snatcher scowled.

“Well, judging from the color on both your faces, mission semi accomplished. But considering ‘Snatcher’ isn’t here then it’s another failure.” they sighed.

“W-What does that mean?!” the prince tensed up angrily.

“Oh nothing.” the shifted huffed and took Eclipse’s hands spinning her to see how the gown behaved, “Hrm. maybe this fabric is too heavy. I want it to flow a bit more when she dances.”

“Maybe you aren’t dancing right.” Snatcher sighed and stood beside them. He held a hand out which Eclipse took with a laugh. “You’re a nine-foot pile of ooze. Let me dance with her.”

“I think it’s heavy.” she admitted, “I don’t mind layers but.” she huffed, “I can’t move like I want to.” 

She held the prince’s hands as he began to dance with her, gown flowing with their movements, “See? Moves fine with traditional dancing.” he huffed.

The shapeshifter frowned, hand up to their face in thought, “Hrm. Yeah but I still want more flow. I want it almost like she’s underwater with how it ripples.” they scratched the back of their head and removed their hood with a sigh.

“I don’t think you can do that with this style dress, Craft.” She laughed as she danced. She felt her foot catch the rug and gasped as she fell into the ghost’s chest causing them both to flush. She pulled away and fixed her hair with a small squeak.

Craft watched and sighed again shaking their head back and forth, “Well. I’ve never backed down from a challenge!” they grinned, 7 eyes alight with mirth, “Just you wait! Anyhow, thanks for wearing them again!” they pulled their phone out, “Hold still.”

The two smiled as the shifter snapped a photo and put their phone away, “Alright I am gonna head back to Birdopolis, Connie dear is going to blow a gasket if I’m not on set again. Honestly it’s not like the owls WEAR most the costumes I make. They just DRESS like that...” the ink on their features shifted as they took human form and kissed Eclipse’s cheek, “Enjoy taking the outfit off as much as on.” they teased before heading out in a flurry of feathers.

She stood there slack jaw, “W-what does that mean?! C-Craft!?” She shouted in a huff. She stared at the sky where the owl-shaped shapeshifter had already vanished from view. She gave a heavy sigh before she turned to see Snatcher holding his face.

“Ah.. Did the prince leave?” she tilted her head with a pursed expression.

The ghost fluffed up, “Y-Yeah. Had something to do…” he lied and used his tail to hide the discarded clothing he’d slithered out of in his shock.

She sighed but made a small noise when the ghost touched her cheek. She gave a small smile, “Do you like it?” she asked leaning into his hand.

He grinned and kissed her cheek, “You look decent.” he cackled.

“I’ll take it.” she laughed.

[calpalirwin]

This Feeling’s All I’ll Ever Need

Summary: Ashton was always the man with big plans.

A/N: Moving back to a third-person outside perspective.

Word Count: 2.1k

And away, and away we go!

__

Ashton had known fairly early along in his and Vanessa’s relationship that he wanted to marry her. He was a man who listened to his instincts, because his instincts always led him in the right direction.

But, his relationship with Vanessa had been outside his norm of expertise from the get-go. And if it wasn’t her throwing him a new curveball, it was him doing it to her. She had a kid, and was pregnant with a second. He toured half the year. Hectic was the best way to describe both of their lives.

And yet… they prospered. They were two people who thrived in the realities of their lives, and found harmony in acceptance of the other’s.

The problem Ashton found himself having as his relationship with Vanessa progressed was that his feeling of wanting to marry her grew, and he wasn’t sure if she wanted that life. After all, she had been with Finn without ever getting engaged to him. And as much as he may have wanted to marry her, he wanted her to want it just as badly. But he wasn’t sure how to bring that up in any of their conversations.

On a Saturday a little after the year and a half mark, he got his chance when Vanessa asked if he would take the kids to meet up with Finn because she was up to her ears in work and could use an evening alone to catch up on it all. And who better to ask about Vanessa’s views on marriage than someone she had probably had that conversation with before? Besides the actual woman herself, anyway.

“No Ness?” Finn asked, as he crouched down to greet Mason and Bailey.

“Working,” Ashton answered.

“Bummer. Well, I can take it from here if you wanna take off.”

“Is it cool if I stay actually? Wanted to talk to you about something if that’s alright.”

“Sure,” Finn shrugged, holding the door of the restaurant from them. “Everything good?”

“Yeah, everything’s great. How are things with you and Mia?”

“Good, very good.”

“That’s good.”

“So…” Finn prompted, sensing that whatever was weighing on the other man’s mind must have been heavy if it was resorting him to civil pleasantries.

“I wanna ask Nessa to marry me,” Ashton blurted, figuring it was best to just get on with it.

Finn let out a low whistle. “Shit… for real?”

“Yeah…” Ashton rubbed at the back of his neck. “Is it something you think I should do?”

“Is it something you’re ready to do?”

“‘Course it is.”

“Then ask her.”

“You don’t think she’ll say no?”

“Why would she say no?”

“Well… I…” Ashton stammered.

“Oh…” Finn nodded understandingly. “You wanna know why we didn’t.”

“Yeah… And I know I could just talk to her about it, but…”

“It’d be a little awkward if you said you did, and she said she didn’t.”

“Exactly.”

Finn nodded again. “Well, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Ness always wanted to get married. But whenever we talked about it was always after, you know? After she’s set in her career. After I’m finally done with school. And then, Mason was a surprise. And then I never asked because I didn’t want her to think I was asking because it was what we were supposed to do. Like I didn’t want to take that moment from her, and make her doubt the sincerity of it. And then we became focused on Mason, and not each other. So I ended it, rather than keep pretending like we were okay romantically when we weren’t anymore.”

“Oh, shit… I don’t think I ever heard the real reason behind why you guys broke things off.”

Finn shrugged. “It was what needed to be done. We work better this way. We’re happier this way.”

“But she does want to get married?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Ashton nodded. Great. Now came the harder part. “Um… since her family’s… would it be alright if I got your permission and blessing to ask her?”

Finn chuckled. “Yeah, you have my blessing. But it’s not my permission you need.” His hand went to ruffle through Mason’s hair while he scrunched up his nose at Bailey in a smile.

Ashton chuckled with the other man. “Fair point. Mase, Bai?” he asked, turning his attention to the youngsters, waiting until they were both looking at him. “Can I marry Momma?”

“Momma,” Mason nodded before humming “Here Comes the Bride” while Bailey babbled “Muuuh, muuuh, muuuh.”

~~~

With the approval of Finn, Mason, and Bailey, Ashton set to the task of figuring how and when to propose to Vanessa. While figuring out when only took a matter of moments, figuring out how required the help of Finn, and kids, and even Mia.

In the sweet spot after both Bailey and Mason’s birthdays, and before Ashton and Vanessa’s second anniversary, the plan was set in motion.

“Your guys’ anniversary is coming up soon, ain’t it?” Finn commented at dinner.

“Yeah, I suppose it is,” Vanessa smiled, patting Ashton’s hand.

“Ooo, you should get a new dress for it!” Mia suggested with a twinkle in her eyes.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow as she looked over at Ashton. “Should I get a new dress?”

Ashton kept his face blank, raising their clasped hands to brush a kiss against her knuckles. “It’s up to you, baby.”

“Mia, would you want to go shopping with me next Saturday, then?” Vanessa asked.

“Yes!” Mia agreed eagerly.

While Ashton got all the last minute details ready, Finn got to deal with prepping Mason and Bailey for their part in the scheme. “Cupid costumes?” Finn asked, pressing the phone to his ear with his shoulder while he looked skeptically at the package.

“Cute or stupid?” Ashton asked.

“Cheesy. And you know Mase is gonna flip out right? He’s gonna hate this headpiece and the fuckin’ wings. And I’m not gonna be able to get him out of the costume itself. And Bai is gonna eat her headband.”

“Shit, I didn’t even think about that… should we just have them dress normal then?”

“Too late for that one. Mase just saw…” Finn told him as the four year old pointed at the costume.

What’s that?

“It’s your costume for when you help Papa ask Momma to marry him.”

Mason walked closer, hand slowly touching the silk fabric of the toga. Soft. I wear now?

“You can try it on, but only for a little bit. We have to save it for Saturday.”

Mason crossed his arms over his chest, scowling.

“But look!” Finn distracted, showing the boy the halo headpiece and wings. “Also soft.”

Mason looked at the rest of the outfit, uncertain. “Daddy…”

“It’s okay. Like this.” Finn ran his fingers over it.

Mason copied his dad’s movement, his fingers jerking back the moment they touched feathered pieces. He pulled a face. No. Itchy. Don’t like.

Finn sighed, before remembering he was still on the phone with Ashton. “I’ll figure something out, Ash. Still got a few days. You nervous?”

“Not really no. Excited though. Like I’m trying to stay out of the house as much as I can cuz I don’t want to give anything away cuz I can’t stop grinning.”

“Well, don’t stay out too much otherwise she’ll get suspicious in the other direction.”

Ashton chuckled. “Yeah, that’s not where I need her mind to be. So Nessa’s going to actually pick Mia up when they go shopping. So as soon as she leaves I’ll text you.”

“Shit, that’s really smart on Mia’s part.”

“That’s what I said,” Ashton chuckled again.

~~~

“Okay,” Ashton and Finn tried to explain one last time now that Mia and Vanessa were on their way back to the house. “What are you gonna do when Momma gets here?”

“Papa,” both Mason and Bailey replied.

“Exactly!” Finn praised. “You’re gonna take her to Papa. And where’s Papa going to be?”

“‘Side!” Bailey said, while Mason pointed towards the backyard.

“Perfect. Shit, I think I hear them,” Ashton said, peering out the front window. “Yep, they’re here.” Ashton took a breath to steady himself, patting the pocket of his dress pants to check for the ring, and fixing the collar of his checkered button-down shirt.

“Go!” Finn urged with a laugh, all but shoving the other man out the back door while out in the front they heard Vanessa question why Finn’s car was there.

“Oh, he’s picking me up,” Mia half-lied. “Remember?”

Vanessa hummed in response as Finn ushered Mason and Bailey in place. “Momma!” they greeted.

“Babies!” she returned the greeting in surprise. “Why are my babies dressed like little cupids?” she questioned Finn.

“Testing Halloween ideas?”

“It’s the beginning of August…”

“Yeah, gotta start early, you know?” As if to prove his point, Mason, who had been wearing his halo headpiece with little fuss, took it off and chucked it at Finn. Bailey, following Mason’s lead, reached up to start tugging off her headband. “No, no, Bai,” Finn told her, pulling her hands away and fixing the red stretchy headband with a heart on it. “Mase, why don’t you and Bai take Momma to Papa.”

“Papa!” Mason lit up, remembering the task at hand. “Bailey, Papa,” he said, taking Bailey’s and Vanessa’s hands in either of his.

“Papa,” Bailey agreed, following after her big brother, while Vanessa allowed herself to be led to wherever Ashton had run off.

“Finn Christopher, you better tell me what the fuck is going on right no- Ashton Fletcher!” Vanessa’s threat changed into a breathy response on Ashton’s name when she found him on the back patio. “What’s all this?” She gestured to the kids and the rose petal path that lay between them.

“C’mere,” he smiled softly at her, holding out a hand for Vanessa to join him.

“Will someone please explain to me what’s happening?” Her voice cracked as she teared up, wondering if this is what she thought it was.

“I will,” Ashton promised with a giggle. “Now, c’mere.”

She hesitantly closed the distance while Mason and Bailey fell back to Finn, who started to take pictures while Mia recorded every second.

“Hi, baby,” he murmured when she finally grabbed his hands in hers.

“Hi,” she giggled nervously, feeling a stray tear roll down her cheek.

“I told you the week we met that you blew me away with the strength you possess. That I might not have known Finn and Mason yet, but I knew that they were lucky for having you in their lives. These past two years, you’ve proved me right for thinking that way. More than that, you took the risk that was opening your heart to me. And in doing that, you have made me the luckiest man alive. I have found not only an amazing family in you, Finn, Mason, and Bailey, but I have also found an amazing love beyond anything I ever thought possible. I love you so much, baby, and everything we are is everything I will ever need. And I want to spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel even a fraction of the way you make me feel every second I’m with you.” Ashton took a step back to drop down on one knee, snapping open a small box with a delicate ring that glimmered in the afternoon sun. “So, Vanessa, will you please marry me?” His hazel eyes shone bright as he raised them to look at her.

“Yes,” she whispered, her hands shaking. “Yes!” she repeated, louder, and with an excited laugh.

Ashton broke out in a grin as he quickly slid the ring on her finger. Her arms were already throwing themselves around his neck as he went to stand, and his hands went around her back to lift her up with him. Their lips collided for a deep and bruising kiss that held the saltiness of both the tears running down their face.

“No, they’re okay, Mase,” Finn’s voice said in a hush to Mason who was frantically pointing at Ashton and Vanessa. “Momma and Papa are really happy.”

They’re CRYING! Mason’s hands flew.

“Oh, c’mere, sweet boy,” Vanessa said, beckoning for Mason and Bailey to come over to where she was. She crouched down to pick up Bailey, while Ashton did the same with Mason. “We’re happy, see?” Vanessa smiled big for the boy.

“So happy,” Ashton nodded, his cheeks already sore from how wide his own smile was. “Momma said yes. We’re gonna get married!”

“Yay!” Bailey clapped while Mason hummed “Here Comes the Bride.”

“I love you,” she mouthed at him.

“I love you too, baby,” he mouthed back before leaning back in for another kiss.

__

Tag List

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[jj-lynn21]

Deadpool Presents: Axel’s Valentine’s Day special story ch2

Warnings: bad language? angst? fluff, SMUTT

ch1   ch3 ch4 ch5

“What the fuck is up my favorite reader. Can you believe you had to wait until chapter two for me to chat you up?” Deadpool whines to the reader. “Wait, I’m whining, really? Maybe I get pissy but I never whine. Anyway, what the fuck is this story about? Oh, yeah, me watching Axel’s rugrats while he goes off to fuck his wife until they can barely move. All because of the sweet sweet love that Valentine’s Day obligates people to celebrate.  I mean why wait until Valentine’s day to bring your partner, your wife, or even just your fuckbuddy a gift to show them you want to keep fucking them, you care and love them. Do that shit today. Bring the flowers, send the romantic or sexually explicit text. Bring the lotions, edible clothing, handcuff, chocolates or flowers to your lover. You shouldn’t need the damn calendar telling you when to do things for her, him, they or them.

I digress,” Deadpool sighs, “I miss Vanessa. If she could be back or I could be with her I would be ok if it was International Women’s Day every day. And you think I don’t know Absorption is Axel/Zeigeist? I know, even in his mask and practically matching costume with Julie/Receptacle I know. No one else has beautiful seductive green eyes like that fucker. He could be the Beauty to my Beast.” Pink hearts float around Deadpool’s head as he thinks about dance like Beauty and The Beast with Axel. “Stop laughing, its romantic.”

Dead pool knocks at Axel and Julie’s door. He waves as he sees Julie’s eye through the peep whole. She opens the door, “Thanks for watching the kids Wade.” She grabs her purse. “Everyone else had a date tonight.”

“I’m just glad I could be of service,” Deadpool followed with some innuendo, “If I could service you any other way all you have to do is ask.”

Julie rolls her eyes, “No matter how much you beg I will never sleep with you Wade. You would never match up to Axel.”

“What about your date tonight?” Deadpool grins, “Does he or maybe she match-up to Axel? Like, look just like him, fuck just like him, make you…”

“Enough Wade,” She puts her hand to his mouth to stop him from speaking. “I do not have to dignify your crude remarks with an answer. The kids are playing in their room. Do let them play with their Wolverine toys without hiding them again.”

“Me?” Deadpool says innocently. “I would never hide children’s toys from them.”

Deadpool to you, “I totally didn’t hide their Wolverine toys. I put them in a trash compactor.”

“Talking to your imaginary friends again Wade?” Julie smirked.

“They are reading for you and, what’s your dates name, again?” Deadpool chuckles.

“I didn’t say his name,” Julie stands at the open door. A black car with tinted windows waits outside. “Don’t let the boys stay up all night. I’m not sure when we will be back tomorrow, but I will be checking up on you.”

“Go have fun with what’s his name,” Deadpool winks at you. “I’ll be fine with the kids.”

She goes out the door. When the driver sees her, he gets out and opens the door for her to get in the back. Axel is waiting with a smile and a glass of champagne.

“Wait, wait wait,” Deadpool tries to pull your attention away from why you started reading this, “Fine, fine, fine go follow the romance. And have a  Happy Valentine’s Day however you spend it.”

Axel puts his arm behind Julie’s head. He leans down and nuzzles her neck as he holds his glass in the other hand.  She leans back and closes her eyes just enjoying the feeling of his lips on her skin.

“Axel?” Reality moving into her thoughts pushing some of the enjoyment away. “Axel, are you sure this is ok?”

“No kids babe,” He flicks his tongue on the back of her ear. “Our driver won’t say a thing, precession is up so he won’t see a thing either.  so it’s completely fine. We will be at our first stop in about a half hour, so we have plenty time back here to relax. Just go with it, babe.”

“I want to,” She takes in a breath and breaths out slowing. “You know I like that. I really do…mmm. I just, what if…”

He cuts her off with a deep kiss. Then looks in her eyes, “No what ifs. I took care of everything. Domino will cover any crisis and she knows not to tell Wade. It’s been months since we had time together without thinking about rushing before the kids got home or were interrupted by someone needing our help. We have none of that for the next 24 hours. Ok?”

Julie finishes her drink. Puts the empty glass down on the little drink stand and wraps herself around Axel. Knees planted on either side of him. Hands on the back of his neck. “Thank you, Axel.” She smiles.

He downs his drink and holds her, placing a hand on her back as he reaches to put the empty glass down.  He puts his other hand on her back. “Now, what else can I do for my sweet little Valentine?”

She giggles, “It seems like you already have everything I would want planned. You can be so perfect sometimes.”

“I’ll try to do better. I want to be perfect all the time for you.” He cups her face with his hands pulling her down to kiss him. Just the tip of his tongue darting out to meet hers before retreating just a second while he angles to invade her mouth with a deep pleasurable lasting kiss. Both of their eyes closed. Her hands drift down under his white button up dress shirt. Its nothing he would normally wear but she feels he is also wearing his ever-comfortable tank-top underneath.

She loves to just feel the heat his body releases. They take a breath and just look in each other’s eyes for a moment before kissing deeply again. He slides down in the seat a bit as she grinds herself against him making him groan. His lips move to nip and suck at her neck.

“We’ve never made out in the back of a car like a couple of teenagers Axel.” Her breathing staggered as his lips continue moving down the heart shaped neckline of her satin red A-line dress to worship the outer curves of her breasts.

He pauses to look up at her. “You want to stop? I don’t want to go into STK with a hard on, but I don’t want to stop worshiping you either. And the way your moving against me I was just going with the moment.”

She pushes his face back down between her breasts “Just keep going with it. Axel. You’ve got me to worked up to stop now.”

He continues. She reaches down to undo his belt. As she is undoing his pants, he looks at her. “Are you sure babe? I might not have time to finish you.”

She just nod, yes, as she moves off his lap long enough to get her panties off that match the dress. Then she positions herself back over him. He positions himself to do all he can in the small space provided them. He holds her hips as she slides on his cock slowly rolling her hips for comfort and depth. He pushes back with her every motion watching her closely as she softly moans.

“Fuck…fuck…” He bites his lip closing his eyes as he moves faster.

Julie throws her head back keeping pace with his every thrust. Both breathing heavily. Their moans in unison as the car slows turning into the restaurant parking lot.

“Almost Axel…Oh fuck just…” Julie moans.

Axel locks the door before the driver can open it. The drive just stands there when the door he is supposed to open is locked. He waits patiently.

Axel reaches to rub her clit while he pushes to that spot he knows will always push her over the edge. Her walls spasm around his cock as she gasps. “Axel that’s it…oh fuck…Oh….”

“Fuck… yes Julie…damn…yes” He whispers after cuming. He pulls her in for a kiss as he stills. “You are always so fucking amazing.”

They put themselves back together before unlocking the town car door. The driver holds the door as Axel gets out first and helps Julia out of the car. He tips his hat to them and gets back in to go park and wait.

[imtheviolenceintherain]

The fantastic Mrs. Bonham Carter (Vogue, October 2019).

Without major worries or ambitions, Helena Bonham Carter has become an unexpected icon of the big screen. Her roles, always between the bizarre and the vindictive, have given her a star status with which she now prepares for his most mediatic character: Princess Margarita in the new season of The Crown, the netflix story about the british royal house.

Sitting down for tea with Helena Bonham Carter is similar to join on a roller coaster that starts in the dark with an uncertain destination. At 53 years old, the british actress (London, 1966) displays a sense of humor that includes issues such as Brexit or the oratory of Donald Trump with equal brilliance, but she stops suddenly when she thinks she has to talk seriously about the wage gap in the film industry. «If at any time I move away from what you are looking for, find a way to get me back on track», she jokes lying on an armchair next to a pair of fuchsia satin shoes that she has abandoned on the floor, looking like the shoes had shattered her feet. «It is not exactly the shoes that I would wear on a summer morning, but today she is the boss.»

By 'she' means the woman she has been studying for several months before she has had to slip into her shoes this autumn morning. Princess Margarita de York, Countess of Snowdon, daughter of Kings Isabel and Jorge VI and younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II of England, is the last of a hundred women whom this actress has embodied in her three decades of career. With the same skill that she will jump frantically in the topics of our conversation, this actress has managed to take on roles that little or nothing have to do with each other, beyond its bizarre peculiarities.

Since she debuted in 1983 as the young Netty Bellinger in the telefilm A Pattern of Roses, her pale face with aristocrat pedigree has been transmuted into others of female drug addicts and perverts (as in The Fight Club), more or less wicked witches (as in Big Fish and Harry Potter), corseted prostitutes (Les Miserables) and even a vindictive chimpanzee (The Planet of the Apes). This tour has earned her a place on the podium of the best female actresses in the United Kingdom, a BAFTA award for her portrayal of the queen mother in The King's Speech in 2011 and two Oscar nominations, for The King's Speech and for the film adaptation of The wings of the dove that starred in 1997.

Another queen occupies her current time since she agreed to participate in the new cast of The Crown, the production of Netflix whose third season will be released on November 17. The series, which achieved an unusual success with its first two seasons covering the history of the British royal house between 1947 and 1964, takes up the story since that year with a hint which is a height risk: the main characters change their faces in the next two seasons. Claire Foy gives Queen Elizabeth's throne to Oscar-winning Olivia Colman, Matt Smith does the same with Tobias Menzies and Vanessa Kirby is replaced by Helena Bonham Carter in the role of Margarita.

The news was made public in May of last year, but the actress had been knowing about Netflix's interest in her for months. «Shortly before Christmas 2017, I received a text message from an acquaintance. All it had written was: 'Helena, would you play Princess Margarita?'», she remembers. «It was shortly after Olivia Colman (The Iron Lady, The Favorite) had accepted the role of Queen Elizabeth», she recalls about the offer. «The first thing I felt was a little anger at how convinced my circle was that I should accept it. They couldn't stop telling me that I were ideal for the role, and I thought to myself: What we look alike? In alcoholism? In the nymphomania?! Maybe that was too much, but let's say she liked sex a lot. The truth is that it was ridiculous to think it too much, because the proposal was juicy from any perspective. With the distance of time, I'm glad to have accepted: Margarita is much more complex than all the things that they have been drawn of her, and therefore it was possible to play her in a thousand different ways. She is full of contradictions and dualities, because she was both traditional and rebellious; as at times she was a social animal and others times a lone wolf. She was an absolutely unpredictable woman», she argues. The third season of The Crown starts in 1964 to address, among other things, the relationship between Isabel II and Prime Minister Harold Wilson, the decolonization of Africa, diplomatic ties with the United States or the landing of the Apollo 11 on the Moon. On this October morning, the costume director for the series, Amy Roberts, has donned the actress in an emerald green dress and fuchsia shoes that have led to our meeting in the middle of filming the first half of the season. The stage is an Andalusian patio in the Beverly Hills mansion where Margarita and her husband, Tony Armstrong-Jones (better known as Lord Snowdon and played by Ben Daniels) come to attend a fashion show during an official trip to the United States. But the reality is different: a technical team has been responsible for emulating California opulence on a farm a few kilometers from Algeciras, with the Rock of Gibraltar very present on the horizon. Facing the pool, five models walk in suits and bathrobes with echoes to Missoni under the watchful eye of about thirty men and women dressed as the American jet set of the 60s.

The scene maybe will be a three-second shot in the final footage, but it serves to show the prominence of Margarita in the new chapters: her addictive marriage to Lord Snowdon and a star status ain front of her sister - who in another scene laments being "more reliable and predictable" - of which Bonham Carter knew little more than the media portrait that had been made of her. «I had a caricatured image, like many people. We know what they wanted to tell us: that she drank, that she was scandalous, unfriendly, irreverent, controversial. But all the labels that have been put on her are unfair and ignorant. She was a true star that did not force her speech or hide her charisma, it was innate and therefore triumphed wherever she went. When I looked for something else, I also noticed that she was a tremendously smart and funny woman, with the same ability to finish a crossword puzzle in five minutes than to take the party that she would consider timely. She loved her sister and felt a deep respect for her, but I think she never fully recovered from the loss of her father, King George. The turning point came from the abdication of her uncle Eduardo, the sudden rise to the throne of her father and, later, that of Isabel as queen. She was losing her father and her best friend, who were subject to a life of service. I think a lot of courage is required to be in such a complicated position: surrounded by people but deeply alone, under constant public judgement. And despite that, I am convinced that she felt the duty to serve her family and also her people. She was an admirable woman».

Her opinion is useful to sharpen the urban legend of a figure that sweep along countless anecdotes, like the dinner in which she asked the model Twiggy her name, which she seemed it "unfortunate", or the 'vulgar' adjective that she dedicated to the Krupp diamond with which Richard Burton had presented Elizabeth Taylor. However, there is hardly an audiovisual archive of images where Margarita makes use of her proverbial character. «The royal family is an expert in planning how is projected to the public, how they shake hands, get out of a car or follow the protocol at a dinner. But there was almost nothing about Margarita talking with someone beyond the official speeches, so I had to talk to her friends or people who would have lived with her to learn more about her tone, her convictions, her way of expressing herself in intimacy. I played his mother in The King's Speech (Tom Hopper, 2010), of which there is an extensive archive. But there is almost nothing about Margarita, except for an interview with Roy Plomley of 1381, on the BBC's Desert Island Discs program. I may hear those 40 minutes more than a hundred times». Despite accumulating more than a hundred roles in her 36 years of experience, it is the first time that Bonham Carter faces a full season in a television series. «I had no experience in logistics of how to work for a series, but it wasn't easy considering the magnitude of The Crown. The filming was distributed over six months, by different countries, and that makes many times you have to do a titanic effort to stay focused. When I shoot a feature film, those weeks I just walk around the set without leaving the character and try not to part with it to keep myself in my goal. But in this case, I came to the studio, recorded two days and maybe I didn't have to come back in two weeks. If I had practiced my usual formula, I would have become very unbearable. Imagine my two children having to put up with it», she jokes, raising her eyebrow, emulating Margarita's monarchical accent. «Sometimes, when we had a rest, I remembered the red queen», she concedes, referring to the hysterical sovereign that already embodied in Alice in Wonderland, the adaptation of the Lewis Carroll story that in 2010 adapted her then husband, the director Tim Burton. One of the advantages of filming was to have Olivia Colman, in the role of the queen, whom she remembers as an open, sociable woman, and without a hint of the neurosis that she usually displays on screen. «We are both very frank, and that is why it has been so easy. Together we had what was probably the most funny day of work of the whole season. We had to do a scene quite sad and despite whatever I would said, Olivia was unable to stop crying to the point that they had to put her a few tiny headphones so she could hear any nonsense. I told her some horrible things and she answered without hearing anything at all. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but we managed to get better to the point that she can now listen to me without shedding a tear». It is curious that this granddaughter of a Spanish diplomat - her grandfather Eduardo Propper de Callejón facilitated the flight of thousands of Jews from occupied France through Spain in World War II - almost no one imputes to her a bad choice in her filmography. «I never choose my roles thinking that it will be a success at the box office, or the money that I will earn. With The Crown, for example, playing Margarita like this, abstractly, was never an option. Peter Morgan [series creator] called me several times coming to confess that Olivia had not even had to read the script to accept. But until I read it all and I confirmed the great writing, I didn't say yes». With a sincerity that is refreshing in her industry, there is something that worries her more now than when the world first fell in love with her porcelain face in Room with a View (James Ivory, 1985). «It is exciting to witness the movement to fight for women's equality and, above all, to celebrate diversity and examine things we had taken for granted. But we still have weights that represent people like Donald Trump. It is an uncertain period. But at least we, the actors, can continue telling stories that help break the damn molds».

NOTE.

As some of you already know, I am Spanish and I am the owner of @badposthbc (twitter) and @bestofhbc (instagram); so English is not my first language nor am I a translator. I know it is not a perfect translation, all comments are welcome to improve the translation! but please, be kind. With all due respect to the magazine, if you want to read it in its original language, buy the magazine and if you are going to spread this english interview, give me credits.

[missjanjie]

Branjie Fic | Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer (6/?)

Title: Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer Summary: Brooke Lynn is a graduate student anxiously embracing her new position as her favorite dance professors’ new TA. Vanessa is a sophomore dance major who just might make her way into being more than the teacher(assistant)’s pet. (lesbian/university AU) Word Count: ~2.6k (this chapter)/~16.1k (total) Relationship: Branjie (Vanessa ‘Vanjie’ Mateo/Brooke Lynn Hytes) Rating: E

Read on AO3 | Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch.5

Competition, almost by definition, creates a high-pressure situation for those involved. Competing against someone your girlfriend wants to murder, however, is a whole other echelon of stress. Vanessa did her best to ignore the anxiety and doubt it all brought, letting her determination conquer an propel her into the competition full force. She was a firecracker on the floor, she commanded the crowds’ attention and received it in abundance.

And as quickly as it began, it ended, that was the case for the contestants especially. Everyone on the floor and in the audience held their breath in anticipation. Third place was called, and a petite blonde beamed as she took her spot on the podium, holding up her trophy with glee. Tension only grew before the next place was announced.

“In second place, from right here at New York University, Vanessa Mateo!”

Vanessa was happy, of course she was. But second place almost felt worse than first, because she missed the winning title by that much. Still, she took her place and put on her most dazzling smile as she was handed her trophy, and in a day’s time she knew she would be able to appreciate the award for what it really was. She listened in anticipation for the winner to be announced – she was ready to size up whatever stand-out was in the contest, she wasn’t going to let herself be intimidated.

“And the first-place winner, from Julliard, Lily Byrne!”

Of course, she won, Vanessa thought. Out of everyone she could’ve lost to, it was the one person that was already stirring the pot between herself and Brooke Lynn. Without that outlying factor, she probably would not have minded losing to her – her performance was breathtaking, and, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, she deserved the win.

Besides, if Brooke’s reaction was to be anything like it was when they first met Lily, this might not be a loss at all. Ever since she had gotten a taste of what jealousy could do to her, she had been craving more, but nothing had quite gotten her to that point again, which Vanessa found frustrating in every sense of the word. And her friends were useless in their advice, “just tell her what you want” – they didn’t get it, it wouldn’t be the same. It was spur of the moment, unprompted, passionate – you can’t just plan it out by request.

But Brooke Lynn seemed damn cheerful when she approached Vanessa, she hugged her tight, picking her up and spinning her around. “You did so well, baby,” she set her down and kissed her cheek. “I know you’ll get the gold next time,” she cooed, her arms still snugly around her. When she looked up, she noticed two women around her age looking at them, and they were standing just close enough for her to eavesdrop.

“See? I told you she’s the one that, you know…” one of them said, making an obscene gesture with two fingers and her tongue. Both girls giggled, causing Brooke to blush fiercely and abruptly drop her grasp on Vanessa and shove her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

“Let’s get out of here, Vanj,” Brooke murmured, heading towards the exit with Vanessa, who looked resigned to the idea that she was definitely not getting any rough, celebratory or angry sex tonight. But they had only gotten halfway towards the exit when they faced another interruption.

Lily had just gotten away from the congratulatory crowd around her to make her way over to the couple, or to Vanessa anyway. She caught her in a bear hug until the shorter girl started to wriggle in discomfort – not from the tightness of the grip, but how Brooke’s expression was one of dejection than of fiery disdain, like she simply didn’t have the energy to deal with Lily’s blatant flirtation, perhaps due to the gossip only moments prior.

“You were so great out there, I totally thought you were gonna win,” Lily chirped. “You’re still coming to my party tomorrow, right?” as with last time, she was intentionally icing Brooke out to focus on Vanessa but holding herself in such a way that only the couple knew what was happening.

Vanessa hesitated, glancing towards Brooke for confirmation. When she got the silent affirmation, she turned back to Lily and nodded. “Yeah, we’ll be there. I don’t skip out on parties,” she said with a forced laugh, deciding it was best to lighten the mood and alleviate the tension, or try to, at least.

“Oh yay! By the way, it’s gonna be a Halloween theme, so wear a cute costume,” Lily hummed. “Though any costume would be cute on you,” she winked and trotted back off with her trophy in tow.

Brooke exhaled deeply, as if she was holding her breath through the whole exchange. “That girl is exhausting,” she murmured, pinching the bridge of her nose. “How does someone so bubbly suck the life out of me? She’s gotta be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Vanessa’s brows knitted. “Explain the metaphor while we go costume shopping.”

----------

“You know I’m only doing this for you, right?” Vanessa remarked as she looked at herself in the mirror. “And because I look good as hell. I ain’t never thought of trynna rock orange hair,” she added, adjusting the wig she had on. It fit nicely but looked far from realistic. “Who are we again?”

Brooke sighed as she pulled her hair into pigtails. This was the fourth time she had received this question. “You’re Poison Ivy and I’m Harley Quinn,” she replied. While she wasn’t the one that suggested couple’s costumes, she had suggested the comic book pair – mostly because Vanessa had been insistent on being able to wear a ‘slutty’ costume because ‘it’s tradition’. “Grab a coat, you’ll freeze if you go outside like that,” she added.

Vanessa rolled her eyes but grabbed a coat – Brooke wasn’t wrong – her costume consisted of a green bustier and panty adorn with plastic leaves paired with tights and knee-high boots in the same color scheme. “Are you just gonna go out in that?” she asked and gestured to Brooke’s costume which, while covering her entire body, was skin-tight and not very thick.

“Of course not, let’s go,” she said, walking out the door as she buttoned up her coat.

Lily’s apartment was a ten-minute uber ride away, and the girls were in good spirits by the time they had gotten inside. There was a couple dozen guests, all dressed in various Halloween costumes and mingling throughout the festively decorated space. It was busy enough that it took almost ten minutes before the host had even spotted them.

Once she did, she made a beeline right towards them. “Vanessa! You came!” Lily’s costume wasn’t easily discernible to either of them – it seemed like something that could be worn to class. “You look so cute! See, I’m dressed as Cheryl Blossom from Riverdale, get it? Because of the hair?” the blank stares she received did not phase her, as if she hadn’t even noticed. “Come with me, you have to meet the other dancers,” Vanessa couldn’t object before she was dragged to the other side of the room.

This left Brooke alone, holding both of their coats. She swallowed thickly and took a deep breath, hanging up their coats in a nearby closet before pouring herself a drink. Everything is fine, you can’t control who flirts with her, her internal monologue rang out. She leaned against the counter, looking to see if she could spot Vanessa in the crowd while ignoring the guy trying to grill her on DC Comics trivia.

Even if it was an easy question, Brooke hadn’t even listened, “I don’t know, and I don’t care,” she said flatly, pushing past him as she went to search for her partner in crime. She scanned every person she walked past, nearly stopping a girl dressed as Poison Ivy before realizing she was too tall and too white to be her Poison Ivy.

Finally, Brooke heard Vanessa’s distinct laugh and was able to pinpoint her. Granted, she could probably pick Vanessa out of a crowd of hundreds from her laugh alone. She took a deep breath and counted backwards from ten, not wanting to come in hot and make a scene. In fact, she was trying to stay positive – it could be good for Vanessa to make friends with dancers at Julliard, it’s never too early to start networking, right?

But when Brooke got close enough to see what was going on, she realized Vanessa was fucking far from networking. No, instead she and Lily were dancing and giggling, dancing too close for far too long. Lily had an arm draped around her shoulder and playing with her wig as if it were her hair. Every now and then, her hand would wander and rest on her waist while she would grind up against her, all while Vanessa didn’t bother to keep her distance. In fact, she seemed to be inviting the attention.

“Hey Brooke Lynn,” Vanessa greeted with a clearly faux-innocent tone. She had stilled her dancing to a halt and took a few steps away from Lily.

Lily seemed a little too proud of herself for having gotten that far with the obviously taken girl. It was just another competition that she had won, and she looked from Vanessa to Brooke as if she were dangling another trophy in front of her face.

Brooke pressed her lips together, fighting the lump in her throat. Her heart was pounding, and her cheeks were red, and the only thing covering that was the black mask around her eyes. “Real classy, Vanjie,” she hissed, turning on her heel and heading straight for the door, stopping only to grab her coat on the way out.

Vanessa instantly pushed Lily off of her, realizing her plan to get Brooke riled up was blowing up horrendously. “Brooke! Brooke Lynn! Wait up!” she shouted, racing after her. She, too, had haphazardly yanked her coat off the hanger as she left, knocking down several others in the process. She ran as fast as her boots would allow, desperate to catch up with her. It wasn’t until they were outside of the building that she had finally managed to. “Brooke, hold on, please,” she pleaded breathlessly.

And she did, grinding to a halt and turning to face her with crossed arms and a narrowed gaze. A couple of tears had slipped out of her eyes, but they had been caught under her eye mask, the last thing she wanted was to be reduced to that much of a weak mess in front of her. The mask couldn’t hide all of the anger and hurt in her expression, however. “What the fuck was that, Vanessa?”

That caused Vanessa to freeze in her tracks. Brooke hadn’t used her real name once in the duration of their time together. From her first introduction, she was always Vanjie, if not a pet name – which she secretly liked even more. She felt like a child being scolded, meek and unnerved. “It wasn’t anything for real, I was just fucking around, I swear!”

“I know you were just ‘fucking around’,” Brooke spat. “You know how I feel about how she acts around you, and how hard it’s been to not let it get to me. So, you go let her feel up on you for what? To see how I’d react? To make me jealous? What sort of childish bullshit is that?”

Vanessa looked down, tail between her legs. “No…I mean yeah, I guess that was kinda it. But I didn’t want to upset you, I just…the day we met Lily, you got so intense and passionate and…fuck, gave me the best damn orgasm I’d ever had. I wasn’t gonna let it go anywhere, I didn’t kiss her or nothing.”

Brooke took a deep breath, closing her eyes tight. She exhaled and opened her eyes, though it was more like she was looking through Vanessa than at her. “So, this was about sex?” she clasped her hands behind her neck and stared up at the cloudy night’s sky. “Is this a game to you? Has this whole thing just been a fucking game?” she shook her head and laughed bitterly. “This is all my fault. I knew this was going to blow up in my face,” her voice was strained, and she was no longer even able to look her in the eye. It was all too much.

“Of course, this isn’t a fucking game!” Vanessa huffed. “But I thought you trusted me. You didn’t need to freak and storm out like that!”

“The only thing I didn’t need to do was fall in love with you!” Brooke shouted.

Then there was silence. She hadn’t admitted to anyone, not even herself, just how strong her feelings had grown. She was in way over her head, in a powder keg a second away from exploding. So, before Vanessa could respond, she ran off.

----------

“Let it out, honey. It’s going to be okay,” Nina soothed as Brooke cried with her head in her lap.

Nina was, undoubtedly, the one person Brooke felt safe enough to be completely vulnerable with. Normally she would have just gone home and drank herself to sleep, but the wounds were so fresh and cut so deep. And on top of that, she had just told Vanessa she’d fallen in love with her. Those were heavily weighted words.

“I don’t even know if I meant it, or if it was just the heat of the moment…but shit, I didn’t think I could feel so strongly for someone after two months. And to let her play me like that, it’s fucking humiliating,” Brooke sniffled, reaching out to grab a tissue and wipe her eyes. There were too many emotions, it felt like she was slipping into a pit of quicksand and Nina was the rope she had to grab onto to keep from drowning. She kept replaying that night over and over – the hurt she felt seeing Vanessa and Lily, the explosive anger she felt when she chewed her out in front of the apartment building – how was she supposed to go to class on Monday and act like everything was fine? That meant that, on top of everything else, she was going to have to end up telling Katya about what happened, too.

“I’m not sure if this makes it better or worse, but the things people say in moments of passion are often the most truthful. You know, like how they say drunken words are sober thoughts? Maybe ‘in love’ is a little strong, but you wouldn’t care so much if you didn’t love her at least a little,” Nina told her, gently stroking her hair. “It’s okay to open your heart, even when it starts to ache. Sometimes we need that to feel alive.”

Brooke slowly sat up, wiping her eyes and shifting to a cross-legged position. She had since traded her Harley Quinn bodysuit for an over-sized t-shirt and a makeup-free face. “It’s just…the worst thing about it is if I am in love with her, she couldn’t possibly love me back. You don’t just play with someone’s feelings if you love them…am I overreacting?”

“Maybe, but you’re hurting. Your feelings are valid. I think you need some time to recuperate, maybe call in sick on Monday. I’ll always be here to help you either way,” Nina promised.

Brooke was torn between accepting that her feelings were valid and suppressing them to move on. Part of her resented Vanessa for having such an impact on her, but maybe Nina was right. Despite all of the hurt, this was the most alive, and the most human she had felt in a long time.

[foxydivaxx]

Bad Blood Chapter 1

Originally, this was meant to be connected to Young Justice: Demigods Arising but I have decided to tweak it a bit and make it the true Demigods Arising story of sorts. This is connected to the Osiris fic and whilst it is kinda Cassie-centric, it also focuses on other characters too. 

"Any news about Cassie?"

"Nah. No one has found her yet."

Tim sighs. It has been a month since Cassie disappeared after her humiliating defeat to Vanessa for the Wonder Girl title. Part of her regrets that decision to have said duel take place. She made that decision not considering what Cassie was going through then. The poor girl lost her then boyfriend Conner Kent and later got dumped by him. Sure, Conner returned but their relationship soon turned toxic to the point where the two engaged in a physical altercation in the School Hall that caused Cassie to get suspended for two weeks. As a result of this, Diana decided to punish her not taking into consideration Cassie’s physical and mental exhaustion at that point. According to Tatiana, Cassie overtrained herself and that led to Cassie’s humiliating defeat.

And now it is too late, Cassie has gone and would never return and if she ever returns, the girl would have joined the Dark Side which should not surprise anyone given her heritage and the negative influence of people like Ares. As if that wasn't bad enough, Cassie's younger twin sister Tatiana also followed suit. 

Adding more to the Cassie mystery is that she immediately deleted all her social media accounts on the same day as her defeat. That alone alarmed everyone as it is a well-known fact that Cassie loved taking selfies and playing around on social media and often talks to fans on there. But now that her presence is no longer felt, many began to panic, feeling that the poor girl might have committed suicide. This naturally led to the #JusticeForCassie campaign and #WonderWomanCancelled movement.

Please let Cassie not be dead.

Meanwhile in her room, Barbara was going through some files that she managed to dig up about HIVE case. So far she had managed to find some leads. Heck she can even say that she is far more competent and smarter than the entire Team as they are all a bunch of little kids. What was Batman thinking of putting little kids on a superhero team? Ok they are young kids, but they still could qualify for a wannabe superhero team since they all wear stupid outlandish costumes and use silly codenames, themselves and the so-called adults that call themselves Justice League. Seriously, what the fuck is that fucked up shit? Worst of the bunch as far as she is concerned is none other than Wonder Woman's little sidekick Cassie Sandsmark better known as Wonder Girl.

That girl is such a tragic trainwreck and a bitch. What did Tim and Conner ever see in her? What really pisses her off about the brat is that the girl reminds her of the stupid alien that Dick dated years ago. What was her name again? Oh yes Starfire. More like Hofire. Both of them are disgustingly beautiful. Starfire is a bit better because at least she can kick some ass. Cassie is completely useless that one forgets that she is supposed to be a fucking demigoddess yet someone like Damian can whoop her ass. She should even be able to go toe to toe with Supergirl and give her a nasty beatdown but nope, she gets her ass handed to her. Plus she dared to steal her Dickie from her.

Where did Diana find this child again? Oh yes, Diana did not find her instead the child fucking inserted herself into the Wonder Woman narrative just like Damian forced his way into the Robin title and never once earned nor deserved a single shit till recently. When will those brats learn? No wonder some people wished for Vanessa to take over as Wonder Girl. Ironically said girl is now Wonder Girl now how hilarious.

And alas, poor Cassie has disappeared and is nowhere to be seen. Well GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE! Barbara cackles evilly as she still plays around on her system.

Meanwhile at Gateway city, Tatiana was in her room with tears in her eyes whilst Donna comforts her. Cassie disappeared immediately after that defeat. One could understand why because that sort of defeat is very humiliating especially when the very girl that caused most of the unneeded drama in your life is responsible for it.

Making matters worse is the fact that many thought that Cassie was an irresponsible person and therefore unworthy to be Wonder Girl. This has been an ongoing debate for the past couple years. Sure Cassie has a temper but she can actually control said temper for the most part. The only reason that said rage has become more pronounced is as a result of Ares’ evil manipulation of his sister; something Diana and Zeus himself warned Cassie about. 

Cassie naturally took the bait since she had lost her powers during that time, not like anyone could blame her. Still the fact that many people bashed her for this, Diana included was horrible. Now after years of hypocrisy on the side of the heroes, no one should be surprised if Cassie suddenly and openly denounces them and exposes all their secrets or even goes all Superboy Prime on them or worse commit suicide.

Donna sighed. Sure Cassie has some shortcomings but Diana herself is a hypocrite, in fact everyone has been hypocritical when it comes to Cassie. A lot of the criticism being leveled upon the girl might as well be applied to other heroes as well like Conner or Tim for instance.

Ironically said hypocrisy has been thrown at Amon aka Osiris several times which is why said boy has distanced himself from the superhero community recently. Black Adam openly lambasted the League and everyone else for that and rightfully so. 

I hope you find happiness and peace Cassie. 

Just then Donna’s phone rings. She checks the phone and discovers that it is Kori calling her. She then answers the call. “Hi Kori.”

“Donna....you have to come down here quick!!”

A couple miles in New York, Cassie is standing on top of a rooftop, preparing to throw herself down and commit suicide. Now one would find it laughable since she is meant to be a demigoddess, until they realize one disturbing detailing: Cassie lost her powers yet again during the duel and has remained powerless ever since.

The rest of the Team bursts through the door. “CASSIE DON’T!!” Conner shouts. Cassie turns around with tears in her eyes. The others begin to feel guilty for making her feel that way.

“There is nothing left for me here. You have all made it clear that I do not belong here. So why waste my time when I can just elsewhere and find peace. Heck even Hell is more peaceful than here. I cannot stay with the gods because of they are going through their own drama and are killing each other anyway.” 

She takes a couple steps back. “Cassie I understand why you are mad at us and you have every right to hate us. But I want you to know that there are people that still love you regardless.” Kori says in the most gentle way possible.

It was at that moment that Cassie literally explodes. “LIES!! PURE UTTER LIES!! IF YOU ALL REALLY CARED, YOU WOULD HAVE ALLOWED ME TO PROPERLY EXPLAINED MYSELF!! YOU WOULD NOT HAVE ENCOURAGED TIM OR ANYONE TO BE ABUSIVE TO ME!!! YOU WOULD HAVE STOPPED BABS WHEN YOU SPREAD HER FILTHY GOSSIP ABOUT ME AND ALL OF YOU JOINED IN TO SLUTSHAME ME FOR YOUR PLEASURE!! YOU ARE AS BAD AS THE MEDIA!! PURE UTTER HYPOCRITES WHO ONLY CARE ABOUT HOOTING THEIR HORNS!! NOW I CAN SEE WHY PEOPLE LIKE JASON TURNED THEIR BACKS ON HUMANITY AND CHOSE TO DO HARDCORE JUSTICE!! YOU MOTHERFUCKERS ARE NOT SO DIFFERENT FROM THE VERY FOOLS WE HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FROM YEARS!!”

Everyone keeps quiet. Cassie clearly had been waiting for this moment and she has now gotten an audience. “Oh and speaking of failures, how many times have we been supposedly, not I used supposedly in quotation marks here because that shows how stupid you all are, were ahead of the bad guys only for them to outsmart us and somehow win?”

Dick and Kaldur exchange looks. “You know, had it not been for my father, I would have rotted in jail. Oh and special shoutout to the Black Adam family, the only family that ever truly cared about me. Plus of course Donna and Tatiana. The rest of you can go fuck yourselves and leave me be!!” She turns her back to them and ignores them as she walks over to the edge.

“Cassie wait...”

She stops and turns around as Vanessa walks in. “Cassie, listen I know you are mad. If you want to lash out. Take it out on me.” she says calmly, hands raised. Before anyone could say anything, Cassie stomps towards her so-called rival and aims a punch at Vanessa who does nothing to stop her.

Fortunately for her, Cassie stops mid-punch and drops to her knees and begins to break down in tears. Vanessa bends down and hugs her predecessor. “Listen Cass. No matter what anyone else says, you will always be Wonder Girl. In fact you are way better than I am. I do not like the great divide that Diana has created. There are other ways this could have been done.” she says. Cassie simply sobs, feeling very bad for lashing out.

“I...I’m so sorry...”

Vanessa smiles softly. “You do not have to apologise. We are both victims in this. Besides, I told Diana that I quit.” Cassie stares at her in disbelief. ”You did not have to.”

“Yet I did.”

Cassie shakes her head. “No. You remain Wonder Girl.” Cassie then smiles. “Besides, you earned it anyways.” Vanessa giggles and hugs her back. Everyone heaves a sigh of relief.

Osiris who had just arrived makes a slow descent next to them. “Cass, I understand you hate everyone and whatnot but if you throw yourself down there, chances are you might end up worse than Todd the moment they choose to bring you back from the dead. Or if you choose down a dark path now, you might end up the way Adam did years ago.”

The girl simply nods. “ I might as well go clear my mind of things for a while.”

He comes closer to her. “You know, you could have simply asked and I would gladly take you home with me so that you can get some breathing space since quite frankly, you need some of that.’ She rolls her eyes. “Fine. Let’s go.’ She wraps her arms around his neck with him wrapping his arms aorund her securely and together they fly away.

“Wait....that was it?“ says Garfield, earning a smack across the head from Raven. “Oww!!” he grumbles. Tim meanwhile stares up at the sky with jealousy in his eyes which is funny considering his relationship with Stephanie. 

So she has choosen him hm? This whole shit was a setup to make that announcement.

[alternativewinxcontinuity]

Winx Alt Con Season 02 Recap:

Previously: Season 01, Weeks 9.2, 10/11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

Week 19: Episode 216 - HalloWinx

During the first few days of the week, Bloom video calls her parents on Earth, and introduces them to Daphne.

Vanessa and Mike are as welcoming towards the older fairy as Bloom had hoped, and Daphne almost starts crying with relief when she considers how lucky it had been that her protective spells had brought Bloom and the Earth couple together.

While on the call, the couple tell Bloom that Mitzy has invited her to a Halloween party. The Rest of the Winx, and their pixies, who had been hanging out off screen from the call, immediately crowd around and ask for details.

As soon as Vanessa mentions 'costumes' Stella is pulling an art book from her carry space, flipping through until she finds a section labelled 'Bewitching Winx' showing it to Bloom and Vanessa, asking if they'd be appropriate for the party.

Bloom laughs, saying they'd be perfect, and telling Vanessa to 'please RSVP me for plus 5?' Kiko Jumps into her lap, 'plus six.' (off screen the pixies protest, until Flora reminds them that normal Earth Humans can't see them anyway.)

Daphne leans over Stella's shoulder and looks over the designs, considers for a moment, then offers to teach Stella how to imbue the costume wings with a flight and sensory spells so they'd work almost like the Winx's real wings.

After Mike and Vanessa say their goodbyes, the Winx settle down for 'class' with Daphne.

 Bloom sees Mirta later that day and extends an invite, but Mirta turns it down when she finds out the day, blushing as she explains she and Lucy have a day out planned before exams start.

Bloom wishes her friend good luck with her date (“it's not a date date!”), but before she can leave to check on Stella, who is determined to make the 'costumes' herself (“no one else will do it right!”) Jolly stops her with a dire warning, of deceit, and three women.

Bloom feels a chill go down her spine, thinking automatically off the Trix, but Jolly shakes her head when Bloom asks if that's who she means. Jolly tells Bloom to beware of the masks people wear, as a cruel trick awaits her and her friends.

Unsure what else to do, Bloom thanks the Pixie of Fortune Telling for her advice, and heads off to find her friends.

After talking it over, the group comes to the conclusion that Jolly may have meant the party they're planning to attend, where people will be wearing masks.

 After letting Faragonda know they're going, and confirming what time their first exam is the next day, (having arranged the trip with her earlier in the week,) the Winx, Kiko, and the pixies head off to Earth, via Stella's staff powered teleport.

They arrive around midday at Bloom's home, where she introduces everyone to her parents.

The girls help add a few final touches to the house for trick-or-treaters before getting dressed.

All of the girls are pleased with their outfits and the fit, Kiko shows off his matching vest and cape, while the pixies change into animal inspired outfits, made mostly of soft fluffy looking clothes, and ears on headbands.

The pixies decided to do something fun just for them since Mike and Vanessa are the only adults that can see them on Earth.

The girls fly from Bloom's to the mansion where the party is being held, testing out the enchantments on their false wings, which hold up amazingly well throughout the flight. Kiko seems a little worried in his place in Bloom's arms, but she puts that down to him not liking the extreme height.

As they fly, the girls talk about the somewhat uncomfortable feel of Earth, the way it feels drained of magic. Bloom admits she didn't notice before she met Stella, but she's fairly certain it's always been that way, and that tonight, it actually felt less drained somehow, than last time she'd been back on Earth, which Stella and Flora agree with.

They girls wonder if drained feeling has anything to do with the disappearance of Earth's fairies, but they arrive at their destination before they can get too invested in the topic.

 When they see the gloomy nature of the woods they'll have to pass through to get to the house, the girls rethink their landing point, but decide to make the trek so they aren't seen landing by the other guests. Stella changes her Ring into its staff form, and conjures a soft protective light to it's ornamental disc, using it to light the area.

The girls don some basic outer robes to keep their costumes clean on the walk up to the house, and Bloom keeps hold of Kiko while the pixies flit around. Bloom tells Kiko to stay with her until they get inside so he doesn't dirty his costume. Kiko nods in agreement, and Musa turns her head to find the source of the strange sounds that creep from the woods.

Between her, and Tecna, they confirm it's coming from speakers.

Aisha reminds everyone to be on their guard concerning Jolly's warning, but to try to have fun.

Flora giggles and asks 'what if solving this mystery is the fun?' Stella takes the set up to deliver a subtle jab at Mitzy, 'well, if what Bloom's says about the hostess is true? It probably will be.'

The girls giggle as they begin to navigate the path to the front door. As the girls pass through some of the narrower parts of the path, they form a single line, with Flora at the rear. As she passes a black cat on a short post it turns its head and greats her with a monotone 'hello Flora.'

She calls the girls back to her as she turns to find the cat gone.

When they ask her what's wrong, she tells them about the talking cat, which had greeted her by name .

Musa checks for the sound of movement, but can't catch anything that sounds like a cat.

The group would put it down to electronics, but the fact the cat had known Flora's name was concerning.

Adding it to the list of things they had to figure out, the group continue on, finally spotting lights through the trees. As they enter into the jack-o-lantern littered ground surrounding the mansion itself, murmuring from the trees catches Musa's attention. She focuses in in time to hear someone female sounding say something about a 'bone white mask'.

She whips her head around to see someone tall and lanky with long dark hair and a pale dress move further into the woods. Quietly she lets the others know what she's seen.

Tecna declares that 'that's it' and pulls a container out of her carry space, opening it, she presents the girls with small decals to place on the area just behind their ears. She tells them it's a project she's been working on to improve their communications long distance, with out the standard bulk. The Decals include a pink flower, an orange star, a blue love heart, a red music note, a green drop shape, and a purple triangle.

The girls apply them and do a quick test, confirming they can quietly radio each other. Kiko makes a sad noise when he realises he doesn't get one, then stroke his fur in a sad way that seems to say 'that's okay, it probably wouldn't have stuck in my fur anyway :( '.

Bloom tells him he'll just have to stick close to her, which brightens his mood.

('Alright, now let's get in there, we just vanquished Satan, we can handle some high-schoolers with no magic.'

'...who's 'Satan'?'

'Darkar, I was talking about Darkar... it's an Earth based cultural reference, I'm sorry, I'll explain it later.')

The Winx finally mount the front steps and knock on the door. It creaks open to reveal no one for a second before a jack-o-lantern in a jest hat drops down. A loud rip and thump sound out as Stella uses the butt of her staff to smack it away.

A maid appears in the doorway looking very annoyed.

'Sorry, a few too many years of self-defence training,' Stella tries to laugh it off, but the maid dismisses her, turning to Bloom to ask who she is and what she wants. Bloom tells the maid her name, and hands over her invitation. The maid frowns but allows the group in, showing them to the main room. Tecna makes several comments concerning the house's structural integrity, or lack there of.

In the main room, the girls see plenty of people in costumes, but no sign of Mitzy. The girls consider mingling, but a few seconds later, their hostess arrives at the top of a staircase. She descends 'gracefully' as music plays, and she talks about how expensive her dress is.

The Winx try not to snort as Stella whispers 'that is the wrong way to glitter,' in reference to Mitzy's outfit. They're fairies, their normal outfits were 85%+ glitter, they knew how to glitter.

As Mitzy's slow walk down the stairs reaches two thirds of the way, the music begins to skip, and the hostess rushes down the last few steps to berate the boy in charge of the music table.

She tells him to leave and never show his face again.

The Winx watch as he gets up, and makes his way to the front door, tears in his eyes. Musa goes after him, to make sure he's okay. She offers some words of encouragement as she escorts him down the path, a hastily conjured lantern in hand, and by the time they reach the exit he seems like he'll be just fine.

As he heads off, a short man in a red and blue outfit arrives, he tells her he's there to deliver some cakes to Mitzy's party. Musa offers to take him up to the house, but he says he has other deliveries, and just hands her a box before leaving.

Musa opens it as she walks, floating the lantern with her magic, she picks up one of the pumpkin shaped cakes and raises it to take a quick nibble.

'I wouldn't eat it,' a monotone voice says, and Musa sees the shape of a cat in the corner of her eye, but she has to catch the box before it falls from her startled grasp. When she finally turns to check, there's no sign of any cat. Musa drops the cake back in the box, and casts several of the food inspection spells Stella and Aisha had shared with the group.

The cakes weren't poisonous, but they apparently tasted terrible.

Musa contacts the others as she walks to tell them about the cat and the cakes, the others let her know she hasn't missed much, Mitzy has been throwing a mild tantrum about everyone ruining her party.

Listening to the girls, she misses three figures lumbering around moaning about maggots in faces.

Just as she reaches the house, they tell her to hurry up, because Mitzy has just turned on them about their 'lame ass robes'.

Musa makes it through the door, and shoves the cake box into the maid's hands, just in time to drop her robe with the other Winx.

The other guests stare in shock at the group's witch inspired darkly-cute-and-fun fairy outfits. Even Kiko works his dashing cape and vest.

The other guests crowd around and ask about the costumes, the girls remain vague, and when asked how they'd made their wings, Flora replies with 'it's a secret.'

Because it was a secret.

And a fabric that didn't exist on Earth.

Mitzy shoves her way forward, cake box in hand, offering the Winx some cakes. Bloom looks up from a chat with one of the other girls about her skirt, and tells Mitzy to 'pick out a good one for me.'

When the scowling Mitzy opens the box, the small pumpkin cakes jump up, glowing, they begin to circle around Mitzy, who freaks out and dashes from the room. Most of the guests follow her, trying to beat the floating cakes away.

The Winx laugh amongst themselves, and when Musa asks if anyone had recorded that, Tecna lets out an affirmative hum, and 'fixes' a lock of her hair, drawing Musa's attention to the large bow in Tecna's hair, where the music fairy can see a small ladybug just peeking out. The same kind of ladybug Tecna's micro camera's are typically disguised as.

Looking around with new eyes, she spots a few more of the little bugs.

Tecna remarks nonchalantly how it's 'amazing what one can do when others are distracted by tantrums,' and the girls have another laugh. (Bloom told her friends about Mitzy, they know exactly what kind of person she is.)

Mitzy reappears a short time later, no sign of floating cakes. The party gets back to its boring baseline of everyone standing around, barely talking, and no one dancing. The group splits up to mingle, and look for any sign of the conspiracy Jolly had hinted at.

Tecna notes a large crack on one wall, which seems to originate from behind a photo. When Digit notices it's a picture of three women, it strikes enough of a chord for Tecna to comm the others. When Tecna describes the three faceless women in the picture, Musa mentions that it sounds like the 'bone white mask' figure from the woods outside.

In an upstairs room, Aisha finds another crack-sprouting-picture, a news paper clipping with a picture of the mansion they're in. It talks about the 'Silent Villa', and how no renovators would go near it, because the house aged 50 years a just weeks whenever some one tried to refurbish the house. Millions of dollars had been lost trying to fix the place up.

'So, haunted house, or part of the trap?' the girls wonder amongst themselves.

Bloom is pulled away from the investigation though, when the maid arrives to tell her Mitzy has fallen sick, and is asking for Bloom.

Mizty claims to have seen 'them', flailing about in her bed as she tells Bloom the backstory of the house.

Of three sisters who'd lived there with their younger sister, until the youngest was killed when someone tried to destroy the house.

One of the other guests shows them a newspaper article about it, and tells them how, to seek revenge, the three sisters made a deal with powerful witches.

The Winx share a look over the alleged magic contract that had taken place roughly 100 years ago, during a time when the only suspected magical on the planet would have been the Fairy Godmother that Daphne had been trying to send Bloom to during the second siege of Domino.

Stella says 'these sisters must be pretty ugly if they're breaking mirrors' but manages to refrain from adding 'are you sure it wasn't your face that cracked the mirror Mitzy?' Because Bloom doesn't need her to be that level of petty right now.

When Mitzy starts begging Bloom to help her, since Bloom is 'the only one who can help' her, Bloom listens to her heightened instincts, and while out loud she is kind and compassionate to Mitzy, inside, she calls bullshit.

Bloom and the Winx move into the hall, and Bloom begins signing to her friends, who read the hand signals with ease. Tecna and Stella lag behind, while the others move downstairs to listen to the other guests as they wail to Bloom, going on about how all the glass on the pictures and mirrors broke at once.

Bloom takes charge, ordering everyone into groups, she gets them to search the cupboards for salt and iron, acting like she's preparing them for a battle against the supernatural. (Of course, Bloom bases her preparations on her 'knowledge of the supernatural' which she'd picked up from her childhood fascination with fairies, and not on her actual Alfea learned knowledge of warding.)

Mean while, Stella and Tecna have slipped 'out'.

Only when they reappear, does Bloom tell everyone to stay inside while she and her friends take a look around outside.

Through the fog they see movement, lanky figures by the tree line, Musa and Flora reach out with their powers. Getting a sense of what they are facing.

'Stilts and costumes,' Flora confirms, before Bloom gives the go ahead. Flora brings the wood of the stilts back to life, and Musa snatches up the sounds of three screams before they can go anywhere.

The costumes slip up and off the trio of human girls, leaving them looking terrified, bound from the knees down by wood, and unable to make a sound as their costumes seem to come to life, swaying in the air.

The Winx 'react' like frightened teenagers, running for the only opening the trio wouldn't have blocked off.

The three wraith costumes drift to the ground, and glide along behind them, moving in awkward swaying motions that would be impossible for any human to mimic, let alone one on stilts.

They move into the cemetery where lights float above the grave stones.

While Flora says 'we're surrounded' she adds a signed 'humans' to her warning. They'd expected as much.

When she hears the comments around them, Musa signs to Stella and Aisha.

Echoing groans begin to sound through the graveyard as the lights from the 'floating' pumpkins rise from their grinning shells, the fog thickening on the ground until no one can see their own feet.

The 'three sisters' slither into the clearing amongst the tombstones, circling around the Winx as they continue their diatribe about maggots and faces and bone white masks.

Bloom calls out to the others, telling them to be brave, they can handle this, that they defeated that demon army, and the witches, and the embodiment of evil itself, a few angry ghosts will be nothing.

Around them, the guests in on the prank are getting worried, Bloom's 'pep talk' making them realise that something is not right.

They notice how far above them the lantern lights are just as 'the fourth sister' steps into the clearing.

Bloom steps forward, while the other Winx strain to keep in character, and begins trying to negotiate with 'the fourth sister', who just moans until the other three suddenly seem to notice her presence. The turn, and swoop across the clearing, leaving trails in the thick fog that covers the ground.

'Sister' they begin chanting, swirling tighter and tighter around her, and higher and higher above. From the shadows of the forest dark creatures seem to emerge, half hidden by the fog and gloom, half seen, half imagined nightmares.

The fourth sister begins to scream, batting the others away as the girl beneath the mask realises it's not her minions beneath the sheets. The fog roils, and the others guests add their screams, as the dense vapour peels back to reveal every surface, and quite a few guests, covered in a variety of insects up to the waist.

Mitzy tears off the costume, ripping things in her haste to free herself from the confines. She takes off running for the house, her guests not far behind her.

The Winx are silent for a moment, until laughter from the air above them causes their poker faces to crack. The insects swarm back into hiding, and the monsters on the edge of sight vanish. The fog takes a little longer to ebb back into a light, atmospheric haze, but Musa shutters the sounds instantly.

The pixies ditch the heavy costumes on the ground, and Mirta and Lucy float down far enough to be seen through what remains of the mist, Kiko held securely in Mirta's arms.

Chuckling, Lucy admits that the Winx are alright, for a bunch of fairies. Mirta drops to the ground completely and thanks the girls for thinking of her. Tecna shrugs and brushes it off, saying they needed the help, and Mirta had once told them about how she and Lucy had always planned to pull of a Nightmare Prank like this, it was the only logical conclusion.

Bloom apologises for interrupting their date, but the duo brush her off, saying this was plenty of fun, and a great way to spend the night.

'It was, indeed, very amusing,' comes a monotone voice, and the group turn to find the black cat sitting on a gravestone.

Bloom asks after the cat's identity, but it merely shrugs, and says only that it is 'a passing mischief maker who happens to be a fan of the way you girls... turn tables, shall we say.'

In less than a blink the cat is gone.

In the quite that descends, Stella clicks her tongue, and asks if anyone wants to head back to the party. Lucy tries to decline, saying she and Mirta aren't dressed, but as soon as Bloom retrieves her rabbit, Stella snaps her fingers, casting an outfit changing spell.

Mirta and Lucy's clothes are changed to outfits similar to the Winx's, though Lucy sports what Bloom has told her is considered a 'witch's hat' on Earth, rather than wings like Mirta and the rest.

('what, you thought I didn't plan for them just in case? Please, I have an outfit for Diaspro too.')

On the way back to the house, Tecna does some quick research on Earth's internet (which is slow and terrible and just let her fix it! please?) and finds out that the three sisters had been real, but there had been no fourth, and the house had only swapped hands a few times, with almost no attempts at renovations.

The group makes their way up to the house where they find a bunch of scared teenagers (the trio in the costumes had been released remotely by Flora and rushed for the house alongside their co-conspirators.)

Bloom tells everyone that, Mitzy had woken the three sisters who had actually lived in the house, the trio had been aggravated by what Mitzy had done, but also infected by her version of events, and forced to play out Mitzy's falsehood.

Bloom goes on to tell everyone that the situation has been handled, and that Mitzy not need worry about those three sisters again.

'Also, two more of my friends showed up after all, that's okay right?'

Between Tecna, Stella and Musa, the party has lights and good music in no time. The Winx, Mirta, Lucy, Kiko and the unseen pixies all making themselves at home on the dance floor. Slowly, the other guests unfolded from their frightened huddle and joined the girls.

 The group manages to get a few hours of sleep back at Bloom's house, and gratefully eat breakfast cooked by Vanessa, she and her husband wishing all the girls luck on their exams before they teleport back to Alfea, Bloom promising to see her parents in a week, once exams were over and done with.

[radi0active-thoughts]

Ghost, Chapter 6 - “All These Pretty Lights”

A/N: Happy Halloween, guys! I know it was yesterday, but it’s never too late, is it? This chapter was written inspired by “All These Pretty Lights (Alternate Version)” by Andrew Belle. I hope you enjoy.

Summary: Reader understands a few things about herself and the new phase of life she’s living. It’s Halloween night and Bucky offers himself to take Aaliyah for her first “trick or treat” with reader.

Word count: 2205 words.

Warnings: a tiny bit of angst, fluff, old lady being the cutest, reader acting like a mom, existential crisis.

Three weeks later

“Let me tell you, Y/NN” my therapist began. That was my third session of therapy and I decided to take it just because I concluded something with Wanda’s help: if I wanted to raise Aaliyah properly, I should have a more stable emotional ground, which is something unstable for me. “Fortunately, you had some progress, which is great.”

“Thanks.” I said.

“I’m not finished yet.” She said.

“That was rude.” I pointed while laying on that couch. It definitely was like the movies, except it was worse – she’d ask questions that’d make me question my existence, my intelligence and even who I am.

“The thing is” She began while taking notes. “You need to come to therapy for the right reasons. The first time you came here, you told me it was because you needed to be more controlled about your actions and words.”

“That’s right.” I looked at her and she was looking at me as if I was the most oblivious person in the whole world. “Wrong?”

“Why don’t you tell me?” she asked me. “You told me about how unstable you are and told me that you wanted to improve yourself so you could be a good person for that little girl you adopted.”

“Yes, that’s what I want.” I commented. “I want to be better, for her.”

“Why don’t you try to be better for her and for yourself all at once?” She asked once again. “You told me your superior called you an emotional bomb… is that “emotional bomb” you hold within yourself something about your childhood?”

I actually don’t remember much of my childhood, except when I was with my grandmother, by my 12 years old. Before that? I can’t quite remember anything.

“I don’t think so.” I answered while forcing my mind so I could try and remember anything before I was twelve, even though I couldn’t. “I don’t remember my life before I was 12, nothing of it.”

“After that?” She asked.

“The death of my grandmother, I think.” I answered while shrugging. “She was the only family I had, she taught me a lot.”

“We have a pretty cool thing happening here.” She commented while smiling. I was about to talk when she lifted a finger for me to stop. And I did. “To Ali, the little girl you adopted, you want to be the figures, the references you haven’t had in your life; or that you can’t remember having.”

“In a brief” I began. “I want to be mother and father to her, but I don’t know how?”

“It’s not completely right, but also it’s not wrong.” She answered after nodding.

“Would you recommend me to know more about my life?” I asked. “About how my parents were?”

“Do you feel the necessity of doing that?” she asked. “I mean, after having your grandmother as a strong reference of family in your life?”

“Not at all.” I answered after thinking for a few seconds that looked more like minutes.

“Then don’t do it.” She commented. “How’s next week for you?”

“For the next session?” I asked while sitting up. She nodded. “Same day of the week, same hour, I think… I’ll let you know if I need some changes.”

“Okay, so, see you on next Thursday.” Doctor Vanessa said and I left the clinic.

 “So, how was your session?” Craig asked. “Therapy, I mean.”

“I made some progress, I think.” I answered. I was on the second round to finish my back tattoo, and Craig had just started to paint the dragon. “That’s what my therapist told me.”

“That’s good.” Craig said and left out a chuckle.

“What are you laughing at, old man?” I asked and looked back at him.

“Do you remember the conversation we had, the one about settling down?” He asked and I nodded. “You found your reason to settle down.”

“When I saw that girl in the situation she was” I began. “All I thought about was that I needed to protect her, you know? I saw myself in her.”

“She lost all she had like you did when you were 12?” He asked.

“Her father is dead.” I answered. “Her mother wasn’t found… I can’t remember anything before I was twelve. All I know about my parents is what my grandmother told me.”

“And what did she tell you?” He asked.

“That my mother chose her path.” I said and sighed. “And it didn’t include me.”

“Nothing about your father?” He asked.

“No, nothing.” I answered. And it was definitely nothing.

“So…” Craig began. “Did you already put her in school?”

“The psychologist recommended us to educate her at home.” I answered. “She needs to be prepared for the interaction with children from a different culture and she’s not yet.”

“Are you going to celebrate Halloween with her?” He asked.

“Well, I was thinking of going to take some candies with her.” I answered.

“You could go with her and Caleb, by the neighborhood.” He said.

“You tell that because your son is a little rascal.” I laughed. “How do I control that kid? Can I put a dog collar on him?”

“He’s just a kid, Y/N.” Craig laughed. “He’ll behave with you, I promise.”

“I hope so.” I said. “But I still want to put a dog collar on him.”

Craig and I laughed and he kept going with the ink on my back.

 Two days later

“It’s Halloweeeeeeeeeeeen!” Caleb shouted while running around the entire compound. He was dressed like Thor, just because he was a miniature of the Asgardian God, who was surprised about Caleb’s energy.

“Caleb” I began while doing Aaliyah’s makeup. The last month, she’d been obsessed with the famous Mexican skulls, so I was trying to do my best job on her face and hair. “You’ll rip or stain your costume, I’ll make you wear pajamas to go ‘trick-or-treating’ with us.”

I didn’t think much about my costume, so I decided to buy a long white dress and a wig, so I could be dressed as Cleopatra. Bucky offered to go with me, but I didn’t know if he had a costume to go.

“There you go, Ali.” I said and gave her my phone, so she could see herself through the selfie camera. “Do you like it?”

“I love it!” She said. Her hair was in curls and Wanda had made a flower crown with pink and white delicate flowers, so Aaliyah could put on her head. She was wearing a white dress and a pair of white slippers (her pick, not mine).

“So here we have Thor, Cleopatra and a Mexican skull.” Tony said. “Where’s Barnes?”

“Guys” Nat began. “I introduce you the one and only, Julius Caesar.”

Bucky appeared wearing a bronze chest piece, a red cape, sandals and a skirt. His hair was in a low ponytail, and he held a sword.

Magnificent would be a word that defined what was in front of my eyes.                        

“Wow.” I mumbled.

“Can I go too, Lady Y/N?” Thor asked. “I’ve never been to that Halloween thing before.”

“You were here in other parties, Thor.” Clint said. “Also, you were with my children to grab candies last year.”

“Do you have proof?” Thor asked in an arrogant way.

“Do you want me to tell Y/N about your sugar overdose and how you woke up sitting in a flamingo floater in the pool?” Wanda asked.

“Who’s ready to grab some candies?!” Bucky said after the awkward silence.

“YAY!” Aaliyah and Caleb shouted.

  “You look stunning in that Cleopatra costume, doll.” Bucky said while we left the first house in Brooklyn, where Craig lived with his family. The kids were excited and it was doing my best to watch them and control their steps.

“It’s a little effort thing, I mean” I began. His compliment disarmed me. “Just a white dress and a wig, I didn’t do much.”

“I like it simple.” He said after pulling me by my waist to his body. My left arm embraced his body, so we could walk together.

“That’s good.” I said and we watched while Aaliyah and Caleb earned their candies at the second house.

It’d be a lie if I didn’t tell that Bucky and I were a ‘thing’. It all began with touches and innocent cuddles while watching movies and after Aaliyah came around, it began to be part of a routine. The sexual innuendos began to exist three days after I came to the compound.

When I told my therapist about that, she said that I was seeking comfort with someone as fucked up as me, but that was good because we understood the conflicts we both held within ourselves.

By the 7th house, Caleb and Aaliyah were walking slower. Bucky and I went to the door with them.

“Trick or tre-AAAAAT.” Caleb yawned.

“Trick or treat?” Aaliyah said when an old lady showed up but the door, holding a basket of candies and wearing a witch hat.

“What do we have here…” She began. “We got a sweet Mexican skull and Thor, and… Julius Caesar and Cleopatra!”

She got a hand full of the candies for each children and then smiled at Bucky and I.

“Seeing parents with their kids, with costumes and all” She began. “It’s been a while.”

“We’re not their…” Bucky began but the old lady flipped him off.

“For being supportive parents, I’ll give you something, wait for me please.” She said and entered the house again. Bucky and I looked at each other while holding our laugh. The old lady came back with a chocolate bar and handed it to me.

“Thank you, ma’am” I began. “But there is- “

“No buts here, darling.” She said. “You make me remember of my sweet Ronald and I when we were young. How sweet it is to see people in love… and it’s not even Valentine’s Day!”

She closed the door, leaving Bucky and I looking at each other.

“Did you understand what just happened?” I asked him when we began to go towards Craig’s home.

“When I understand, I’ll explain you.” He said and I nodded. I already felt the goosebumps on my skin, due to a cold weather. Bucky noticed and covered my back with his cape.

“Yes, please.” His body was warm and inviting. I couldn’t say no to that.

  “Please, Y/N” Craig began. “You were never that boring, let Ali sleep here, just for tonight.”

“She has classes tomorrow, Craig.” I said.

“She can always ditch a day of classes.” Bucky shrugged while sitting on the couch.

“Thanks, Emperor.” Craig said.

“Please, Y/NN.” Aaliyah began.

“Y/NN, please.” Caleb said.

I sighed. Could I deny a pair of green eyes tearing up like The Puss in Boots from that Shrek movie? I couldn’t. “Okay, you win.”

“Yay!” Aaliyah celebrated with Caleb, who was now wide awake due to excess of sugar.

“Now go, I take from here.” Craig said and smiled while hugging me. “Thanks for tonight.”

“It was nothing, I had fun.” I said and smirked after. “I didn’t even need the dog collar.”

“You fucking asshole.” Craig whispered in my ear while laughing. I laughed too.

 Bucky and I were exhausted to say the least. Craig had given us a cold pack of Heineken beers as a reward for taking care of Caleb and giving him back without scratches or broken bones.

Now we were admiring the Brooklyn Bridge and its lights, sipping on our beers and talking about everything, when the old lady from the 7th house came to my mind. What did she mean?

“Penny for your thoughts?” Bucky asked.

“I was thinking about the lady who gave us the chocolate tonight.” I began. “She looked amused.”

“How sweet it is to see people in love… and it’s not even Valentine’s Day!” Bucky quoted her and we cracked up laughing. “It was funny, to say the least.”

“Yeah, it was.” I said and a comfortable silence began while I looked to the lights of the bridge and drinking my second beer for the night. It looked like an eternity before I broke it. “Are we?”

“What?” Bucky asked and looked at me, confused.

“Are we in love” I began and finished the bottle with a hard gulp. “For each other?”

“I don’t know” Bucky answered. “I mean, I know about me, not about you. About how you feel.”

“Would you show me how you feel if you had the chance?” I asked him and opened my third and last beer of the night.

“Will it change what we have here and now?” He asked after thinking for a while.

“Try your luck.” I answered and I could see Bucky’s eyes wandering before one of his hands reached my chin and pulled me to him, closing the space between our lips in a sweet kiss, testing the waters. I felt my skin warming up, but my body got tense.

Bucky noticed the tension and stopped the kiss. My eyes were closed, my breathing uneven and I could feel his eyes on me. I didn’t think twice before pulling him to my body and kissing him for the second time that night.

 Tags (open): @ailynalonso15 @witchymarvelspacecase @annabella789 @ladylustitia @theseldomseenkilljoy @wicket-master @purrrcrastination @coal000 @parisss-lilli @luv-what-you-do @s-killian14 @wowspideyholland @curlyhairedlolita @personwhoisntquitesureimalive @barnesdeservestheworld @cassiopeia-barrow

[pftones3482]

God, what a blast from the past. I haven’t written Phineas and Ferb fanfiction in literally almost two years (my username has become more sentiment than anything lol)

Commission for @crazyfanatic97. Halloween-esque, because who doesn’t enjoy Halloween in July? 

Consider donating to my Ko-fi if you like my writing. 

~~

Vanessa was going to kill her father when he got back.  

It wasn’t just that he had left her alone, at this Halloween party that he had insisted on throwing for the whole neighborhood for some reason. It was that he left her alone because he turned into a fucking were-cow, if Perry’s posts on Instagram were to be any kind of clue.  

She sighed and set her phone down, checking her hair one more time before grabbing her things and exiting her room. She headed down to the lobby of the building – no evil castle this time, thank god – and observed the guests for a moment from the stairwell before showing herself.  

Like before, even though her father had set it up, Vanessa had called Phineas and Ferb to double check party decorations, various lights to make sure they wouldn’t accidentally kill anyone, and the like. They were still hanging around, Phineas in a Luke Skywalker costume and Ferb in a Darth Maul one, weirdly enough. She didn’t understand the choices, but she didn’t really question it either.  

They had brought along their friends, who were bounding around in themed costumes helping guests, and Vanessa shook her head and smiled. Always the helpful kids, she supposed. She’d have to thank them for it later.

Stacy and Candace were in the far corner, Stacy dressed as Jasmine from Aladdin and Candace as the human version of Ariel. Ironically, they all kind of matched. She walked over to them first.  

“Hey guys,” she called out as she got closer.  

When they looked over at her, their jaws fell just a little, and Vanessa couldn’t help but be smug about it. “Girl,” Stacy gasped out. “You look INCREDIBLE! How did you get your hair to look like that?”  

“How did we all theme ourselves as Disney princesses without even discussing it first?” Candace wondered.  

Vanessa was decked head to toe as Belle from Beauty and the Beast, right down to the golden ball gown that she had hand sewn for months. She wasn’t why she had felt so compelled to make it; someone at school had told her that she had the complexion and the hair for the Disney princess, and after a little bit of researching, she had agreed.  

Something about the story of Beauty and the Beast had inspired her too. The way that it implied that anyone could find love, regardless of their background? It was kind of nice to think about, all things considered.  

Speaking of...

Vanessa pulled her phone out from the pockets she had stitched into the dress at the last second on a whim. She was glad for that now.  

Perry had put up another post on his private Instagram. Her father was somewhere on the south side of town, rampaging through some bushes or something. The image was a very unamused looking secret agent in the foreground, with her father passed out behind him.  

Vanessa snorted, hit the like button, and clicked her phone off again, setting it away. She looked up at Stacy and Candace, who were chatting about their homework.  

“So did you guys come here with your boyfriends?” Vanessa asked, simultaneously wanting to play good host but also genuinely curious.  

They grinned and nodded at the stage, where a group was setting up to play. Jeremy and Coltrane, both dressed as matching princes to their girlfriend’s princess, were up on stage tuning instruments, chatting together and with their other bandmates. “Phineas and Ferb got them to bring the whole band,” Stacy informed her.  

Vanessa nodded, a bit impressed. “Nice.”

“So....do you have a date?” Candace asked. Her tone held a teasing lilt to it, and her eyes sparkled in amusement as she nudged Vanessa.  

Vanessa wrinkled her nose and ducked her chin. “Not...not really, no.”  

“How do you mean?”

Vanessa could feel Stacy looking at her sympathetically; seeing as she knew the whole dilemma with Perry and Monty and Monogram, she wasn’t surprised. She didn’t look at her when she answered. “My...the guy I invited probably won’t be able to come. Our dads don’t like each other a whole lot.”

“Your dad isn’t even here,” Stacy pointed out.  

Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Trust me, everyone is grateful for that right now.”  

Her phone pinged softly, another alert from Instagram, and she hid a grin. “I’m gonna go check on the other guests for a bit, you guys have fun, okay?”  

They chorused an affirmative and Vanessa moved aside, pulling her phone out and glancing at the screen. Another check in, this time from a bit closer to the center of town, in a pumpkin patch about two miles towards the suburbs. Perry didn’t look very amused anymore, just sleepy.  

Jeremy and Coltrane started up their music, a quick, rolling number that had people scrambling for the dance floor in all assortment of costumes. Fairies, witches, wolves, vampires, snake people, Greek partyers – there was something for everyone.  

Halloween was one of Vanessa’s favorite holidays, which always made people snort upon hearing it. Of course the goth girl would like Halloween, right?  

But no, she liked it for what people could dress up as, seeing the creativity that came every year. It wasn’t like Christmas, a false sense of cheer and fake gratitude for gifts you didn’t want or need, not dealing with rude family members at dinner who ruined the festivity.  

Halloween was a small enough holiday that it didn’t require family get togethers, but large enough to have a Hallmark section in the store and a massive following online. It was the one time of year where anyone could be what they wanted and no one could judge them for it, only praise them for really cool costumes.  

Vanessa supposed she liked that sense of freedom. She wasn’t super girly in her day-to-day life, but on Halloween, she could be Belle, and no one would blink twice except maybe to ask why she hadn’t made her undead...which was definitely a thought for next years costume.

“Didn’t know if I would be able to find you here,” came a soft voice from behind her. “Though with that outfit, you’re pretty much wearing the most amazing costume here.”

Vanessa stiffened and turned slowly to find Monty standing there, a warm smile on his face and a hint of a blush on his cheeks. He was dressed in a modest vampire outfit, so simple that, had he not been wearing a cape and small fangs, Vanessa wouldn’t have noticed, it was more like a suit than anything.  

They honestly probably couldn’t have matched better, in a weird, sort of ironic way.  

“You came,” she breathed.  

Monty shrugged, a boyish grin on his lips. “Of course I did. You sent me an invitation, after all.”

“I didn’t think your dad-”

Monty laced their fingers together, cutting her off, and twirled her gently, his eyes taking in her outfit. “What my dad doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Care to dance?”

“Absolutely.”

They had taken barely two steps when the wall behind them crashed open and her dad, still a fucking cow, bolted through, mooing at passerby. People in the immediate path dove for cover and everyone else clapped and whistled, probably thinking it a stunt.  

Vanessa wasn’t about to correct them.

Perry charged through after him, wearing a fake mustache and glasses to hide his identity, and rolled his eyes at her when he saw her. Vanessa bit back a chuckle. “As much as I want to dance, I think maybe we should help Perry,” she laughed, kicking off her heels.

Monty shook his head and removed his fangs. “Couldn’t agree more.”