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kallie-den · 3 months ago

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Faithful to the Source Material

Laura and Carmen turn the tables on their homophobic bully by hypnotizing her to act like the lesbian vampire she’s dressed up as for Halloween… but will things get out of hand?

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Vicky had gone all-out with her Halloween costume. From the bottom of her heart, Laura detested the bully, but she had to hand it to her for that.

Vicky wasn’t one to half-commit. She had even dyed her hair jet black to match her gothic, lacy, corseted dress—complete with high collar, chest cut-out, and long, flowing sleeves—and the black gemstones in her earrings and on her necklace. Her makeup was just as on-point; deathly pale powder, not just on her face but all the way down her neck and across her chest, plus viciously dark, shadowy eyes, carefully accentuated cheekbone shadows, and rich, crimson lipstick. She was even wearing deep red color contacts. But the cherry on top of the cake was, of course, her fangs. Laura knew they had to be fake, but they certainly looked real enough when the way Vicky’s malevolent smirk pulled back her lips made them visible.

She really did make for a perfect vampire.

It was the best Halloween costume Laura and her girlfriend, Carmen, had seen all night. It was striking and gorgeous, and high-quality enough to almost seem real without sacrificing that fun hint of Halloween tackiness. And as much as it pained Laura to admit it, the vampire getup made Vicky look unbelievably, irresistibly hot.

It was just such a shame that Vicky was a mean, bullying, irredeemable, homophobic piece of shit.

And that she had decided to spend her Halloween ruining Laura and Carmen’s night.

“Wow,” Vicky drawled, as she stood in the doorway and regarded Laura and Carmen with a sadistic, disgusted glare. “I didn’t realize they let dykes into this party.”

Laura flinched. She loved that word, and hated the way Vicky made it sound like something shameful.

“Christ, Vicky,” Carmen groaned, a furious scowl on her face. “You know it’s not nineteen-fifty anymore, right? Just leave us alone.”

“I’d love to,” Vicky retorted. “But if someone doesn’t keep you freaks in your place, the whole sorority house is gonna end up smelling like rug-muncher. Ew.”

Laura surreptitiously tugged at Carmen’s sleeve. “Maybe we should just go?” she whispered.

Of the two of them, Carmen had always been the most inclined to actually stand up to Vicky and her bigotry. Laura wished she found it as easy to be so brave—but tonight, in particular, she’d been hoping for nothing more than a fun, relaxed, festive night with her girlfriend. Now that it had already been ruined, she couldn’t find it in herself to want to stay.

It was especially discouraging that this was exactly what Laura had worried would happen when the two of them had made up their minds to go to that year’s big sorority Halloween party. It was sure to be a blast—but Vicky was sure to be there. She was in the sorority, after all. In the end, Carmen had persuaded Lauren that the sorority house would be huge and packed, and that Vicky would have better things to do. Besides, what other time of year did you get to enjoy dressing up as creeps and ghouls?

Apparently, they wouldn’t get to enjoy it at this time of year either.

When she had accidentally locked eyes with Vicky across the room, Laura had immediately dragged Carmen upstairs to one of the private bedrooms reserved for hook-ups, hoping that Vicky would soon lose track of them and forget about them. No such luck. She’d tracked them upstairs like a bloodhound—and here they were.

“What are you two lesbos supposed to be dressed as, anyway?” Vicky snorted, stepping into the bedroom. “A nerd, and… a cartoon mom?”

“A… huh?” Carmen blinked, incredulous. “I’m a mad scientist. I figured it was pretty obvious.”

It was. Laura’s girlfriend was wearing a distinctly singed white lab coat, with big eye-protection goggles up on her forehead, her hair wild, and an assortment of measuring instruments and test tubes placed carefully throughout the costume. Personally, Laura was having a great time seeing her psychology student girlfriend really lean into the vibe.

“And I’m the bride of Frankenstein,” Laura put in. She thought she’d done pretty well with her costume—not just the dress and face paint, but the hair too.

“OK.” Vicky stared at her like she’d just told her that the sky was orange. “So… why the stupid hair?”

Laura blinked. “Like… the movie?”

Vicky just went on staring, nonplussed.

“Look,” Carmen said, standing up from the bed the two lesbians had been perched on. “Can’t you just leave us alone, Vicky? Just for one night? This is ridiculous.”

Their college was in a pretty conservative state; finding people who were bothered by Laura and Carmen’s sexualities and their relationship wasn’t all that hard. But mostly, those small-minded idiots restrained themselves to some mean looks and the silent treatment. Only Vicky had made it her business to follow the two of them wherever they went and make their lives miserable. It was as if nothing made her happier. At least this time she didn’t have her usual gaggle of followers along for the ride.

“Oh, trust me, I have plenty better things to do.” Vicky folded her arms and smirked. “But I just had to see how the two of you decided to fuck up Halloween. I guess it really is true what they say: dykes have no style.”

For some reason, the comments about their costumes were what was causing Laura’s temper to flare. “Oh yeah?” she shot back. “And what about you? A slutty vampire? Jeez, how creative!”

Vicky bristled but didn’t lose her cool. “Vampires are iconic,” she retorted smugly. “They never go out of fashion. Nobody needs to guess what I am. Vampires are peak Halloween. Peak horror. Everybody knows that.”

“Ugh. What do you know?” Laura replied furiously. She and Carmen both loved horror—and she knew perfectly well that Vicky didn’t. She was nothing more than a poser. To her, Halloween was nothing more than an excuse to dress up in a way that had the frat boys drooling over her even more than usual. “About lesbians, about Halloween, about vampires—or about anything else.”

“Vampires drink blood, they can’t go out in the sun, and they’re scared of crosses.” Vicky counted her points off on her fingers as she made them. “It’s not that hard, genius.”

“Actually,” Carmen put in. “There’s a lot more to vampires than just that. A whole lot of folklore that most people don’t know the first thing about.”

Laura threw her a look. Unusually, Carmen didn’t sound mad. She sounded like she was up to something.

“Whatever.” Vicky shrugged. “That sounds boring. This is a party, you know? I guess dykes don’t know how to have fun either.”

“It’s actually a lot more interesting than you might think,” Carmen continued. The hairs on the back of Laura’s head stood up when she recognized the tone of voice her girlfriend was slipping into. “Modern vampires are based on legends, and the roots of those legends still shape our modern perceptions. For example, you know the count from Sesame Street? His obsession with numbers is actually rooted in vampire folklore.”

“Huh.” The look on Vicky’s face was still utterly hostile but it was clear that despite herself, she was interested. It helped, of course, that Carmen’s voice was so easy to listen to.

“You see, according to folklore,” Carmen went on, “vampires feel compelled to count things. A traditional way to ward off a vampire was to scatter grains around the entrance of a house. The vampire would need to count them all before entering, and would end up burning up when the sun rose.”

“That’s stupid,” Vicky said guardedly.

“Maybe,” Carmen admitted, smiling. “But I wonder if it would work on you. After all, you’re clearly so in character.”

Vicky scoffed. “Of course it wouldn’t. That’s really stupid.”

“You’d be surprised,” Carmen told her with provocative confidence. “Take it from me, as a psych student: the urge to count is already natural and sometimes, the way we dress can deeply influence our thoughts and behaviors. I bet you wouldn’t be able to resist.”

“You bet, huh?” Vicky suddenly grinned. “Fine. OK. Sure. Let’s bet. Try out your stupid anti-vampire trick on me. If it works, I’ll give you a pass for the night. If it doesn’t, the two of you lesbos have to leave us normal people to party in peace.”

“You’re on,” Carmen was grinning too. “Should be easy for you. All you have to do is keep your head.”

“Bring it!” Vicky said savagely.

Laura wasn’t surprised she was taking the challenge. Vicky was just that arrogant. She was surprised, however, by what Carmen was trying to pull.

“Babe,” she said quietly. “You sure about this?”

Carmen just winked at her. Laura couldn’t help but find that hot.

“OK, let’s do it like this,” Carmen said to Vicky. “Both of us are going to count—you under your breath, me out loud. I’ll count the Fibonacci sequence. You count back from a hundred in threes.”

“The what sequence?” Vicky demanded impatiently.

Carmen sighed. “You know, each number the sum of the previous two? Like… zero, one, one, two, three, five?”

“More nerd shit?” Vicky sneered. “Fine. Back from a hundred in threes sounds easy. I’m a business major, you know. We do a lot with numbers. How do I win?”

“Easy,” Carmen told her. “All you have to do is make it to zero without being distracted by my count.”

Vicky’s grin widened, showing her fake fangs. “Sounds like you’re practically handing me the win! Well, I won’t complain about the chance to kick a couple of loser dykes out of my sorority house. Fine.”

“Laura,” Carmen said. “Why don’t you count us in?”

Laura was already shivering with anticipation. She knew what was happening. And she knew Carmen was going to win.

“Three,” she counted. “Two. One. Go.”

Immediately, Vicky’s lips started mouthing as she counted out: ‘a hundred, ninety-seven, ninety-four.’ She was moving fast but not rushing; pacing herself, so she didn’t make a mistake. After a moment, Carmen started counting too.

“Zero,” she said, her voice suddenly and unexpectedly soft and song-like. “One. One. Two. Three. Five. You know, the sequence always catches me out a little at first. It’s tricky to remember how it starts. Zero, then one—but one plus zero is one, so there’s another one. And then two, of course. One plus one.”

Vicky’s brow furrowed. Already, her counting was slowing down as her numbers became mixed up with the flow of Carmen’s words.

“Sorry, I’m just rambling,” Carmen assured her. “Silly of me. I’m just giving you extra time, aren’t I?”

Laura couldn’t keep the smile off her face. Vicky clearly suspected Carmen was trying to throw her off. Laura knew her girlfriend was intent on something far more fun.

Hypnotizing her.

It was one of Carmen’s passions, born out of her enduring interest in human psychology. Hypnosis had begun as her research subject and progressed to something she and Laura were exploring privately. Just thinking about some of the creative bedroom uses they’d found for hypnosis made Laura’s cheeks burn. And she knew neither of them had been able to help fantasizing about using hypnosis to give bigots like Vicky their comeuppance.

Now, Carmen was finally giving it a shot.

“Eight,” Carmen counted. Her voice was all but irresistible. Laura knew that from experience. She was struggling not to dip into a trance herself. “Thirteen. Twenty-one. Isn’t it funny, how quickly it starts ramping up? Suddenly, the simple addition is getting a little trickier. Isn’t it hard not to wonder about what comes next, Vicky?”

Vicky was slowly blinking as she fought to concentrate. It was clear that she was torn between wanting to tell Carmen to shut up and wanting to try to ignore her completely. Caught on the horns of that dilemma, Vicky was unable to stop herself from following along with Carmen’s count. From doing the very same math Carmen was distracting her with.

“Thirty-four,” Carmen went on. Her voice was perfectly, irresistibly hypnotic. “Fifty-five. Eighty-nine. A hundred and forty-four. Isn’t it crazy how it jumps up into three digits? It almost doubles in just one go. Of course, really, it’s not crazy at all. It’s just the sequence following its own simple rule. Completely predictable. Completely natural.”

Vicky was starting to lose her place. Laura could see it. She was in the seventies, but her lip movements as she counted were growing less and less certain. She couldn’t help listening to Carmen.

“Of course, your sequence isn’t like that at all,” Carmen added. “It’s nice and regular—and it goes down, instead of up. That’s important, isn’t it? Down, down, down. Not adding. Subtracting. Getting close and closer to zero, with every number you count.”

“I…” Vicky breathed, before she could stop herself. Then, she simply froze.

“Lost your place?” Carmen suggested. “That’s OK. You can find it again, right? Or maybe you can even start over from scratch. All you need to do is keep going down. Two-hundred and thirty-three. Three-hundred and seventy-seven. Isn’t that a fun pattern? What comes next, Vicky?”

Strangely, Vicky no longer seemed to be struggling to concentrate. It was like the fight had gone out of her. Her lips were still moving, but they formed nothing but weak, addled gasps that went nowhere.

“You don’t know, do you?” Carmen offered. “The numbers are getting higher and lower and longer and shorter, and you’ve lost track. Why don’t you count along with me instead? Six-hundred and ten. Nine-hundred and eighty-seven. Aren’t these numbers getting large?”

Laura couldn’t help but shiver at the way Vicky’s lips started moving purposefully again—only this time, she was following Carmen’s sequence instead of her own, long-forgotten count.

“Oops,” Carmen smirked. “Look at you. You’re going the wrong way, Vicky. You’re all turned around. All confused. Don’t you remember what you’re supposed to be doing?”

Vicky’s brow furrowed. It was like she was trying to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. She was on the verge of falling.

“Why don’t you just relax, instead?” Carmen whispered seductively. “Give up. Relax. It’s only natural, Vicky. When we get overwhelmed, we just want to relax, instead. To let the numbers fade away. To forget our silly little game and just let yourself… drop.”

She imbued that last word with a singular, forceful intonation, and it seemed to hit Vicky like a physical blow. She swayed for a moment before her shoulders slumped and her head dropped down to her chest.

Hypnotized.

“Oh my god,” Laura said in a hushed, excited voice, after a moment of disbelieving silence. “Did it work?”

“Yeah,” Carmen replied, her excitement barely constrained. “Yeah, it did.”

“She’s in a trance,” Laura stated. “We… we could do anything with her.”

“We sure could,” Carmen agreed.

They exchanged looks.

“It would be wrong,” Laura asserted quickly.

“Would it?” Carmen mused.

“Yes!” Laura told her, trying to make herself believe. “I mean… uh… consent, right? Like between us, or in your experiments, or…” She looked at Vicky again. Their bully wasn’t moving. “I… I can’t believe it was that easy.”

“Guess she’s not such a skeptic after all,” Carmen said.

“Huh?”

“Hypnosis is all about the power of belief,” Carmen explained. “Sure, there’s a bunch of psychological tricks—but at the end of the day, belief is what matters most. It’s surprisingly easy to hypnotize someone who truly believes in it.”

“Right…” Laura swallowed. “We should probably wake her up.”

“We will,” Carmen decided. “Eventually.

“Babe…” Laura warned.

“C’mon,” Carmen wheedled. “We’ll just have a little bit of fun. What’s the harm? It’ll be embarrassing for her, at the worst. Doesn’t she deserve at least that?”

Laura couldn’t find it in herself to deny it. “So… what did you have in mind?”

“I think Vicky needs some help finding her Halloween spirit,” Carmen answered a touch menacingly.

Against her better judgment, Laura giggled. “Yeah?”

Carmen took a step toward Vicky and addressed her in a firm, clear voice. “Vicky, listen to me. In a few moments, I’m going to wake you up, and until I say ‘drop’ again, you’re going to be able to think and move and act just like normal. The only difference is that you’re going to realize that, on Halloween, it’s extremely important that you’re completely in character as a vampire, and that all your behavior is perfectly faithful to the source material. Understand?”

“Yes,” Vicky replied. Laura shivered at the utter lack of emotion in her voice.

“Perfect.” Carmen licked her lips. “Then… one, two, three, wake!”

Vicky lifted her head and her eyes flickered open—and at once, she was transformed.

“Well, well, well,” she purred, with an air of menacing theatricality. “What do we have here? A couple of delicious mortals with which I can sate my thirst!”

As one, both Laura and Carmen burst into laughter.

It was, above all, the contrast. Vicky was the kind of girl who would never, ever have allowed herself to commit to the bit so earnestly. But here she was, throwing herself into the role of a silly, campy, evil vampire with shameless abandon; stalking around the sorority house bedroom and leering at the two of them with an arrogant, ravenous glare.

“You laugh,” Vicky hissed, posing and preening like a dark queen. “But soon you shall know the terror of the vampire’s bite!”

Laura’s laughter redoubled. “Oh my god, babe!” she wheezed. “She really went all the way with it, huh?”

“I didn’t realize she had it in her,” Carmen cackled.

Vicky bared her fangs and let out a much louder hiss. “I loathe to stain my fangs with your degenerate filth!” she declared, lifting her hands with her fingers spread apart like talons. “But it will be my pleasure to rid my unholy domain of your stench.”

Laura quickly stopped laughing. “Wow,” she remarked, a touch impressed. “Even as a vampire, she’s completely homophobic.”

“Why don’t we fix that?” Carmen winked at her.

“How dare you!”

Vicky rounded on Carmen and lunged toward her, mouth open, as if to sink her fake, plastic fangs into her neck. But before she could, Carmen started to speak:

“Vicky! Three, two, one… drop.”

At the word ‘drop,’ Vicky slumped once more. In an instant, all that vampiric theatricality was gone, leaving her nothing more than a blank, hypnotized vessel.

Laura hated finding Vicky attractive, in any context. But seeing her like this really was driving her crazy.

“Dropping nice and deep,” Carmen soothed. “Now, Vicky: remember what I told you about being faithful to the source material? You might not know this, but some of the earliest modern literature surrounding vampires—especially female vampires—is actually about lesbians.”

Vicky seemed to stir for a moment, brow furrowing.

“Oh yes,” Carmen lectured. “The book ‘Carmilla’, for instance. It’s a seminal text, truly. You can’t help but be inspired by it.”

“Can’t…” Vicky echoed, her voice a ghost of itself. “Help…”

“That’s right,” Carmen assured her. “You can’t help it. You need to be a lesbian vampire.”

“L… les… bi…?” Now Vicky was really stirring. Her shoulders tensed, and Laura thought for sure that she was on the cusp of waking. “N-no… that’s… ugh.”

“Just think about it,” Carmen urged softly. “It’s not that you’re a lesbian, Vicky. You’re just pretending. Just dressing up. Isn’t that what Halloween’s all about?”

“I… s’pose,” Vicky murmured—a touch suspiciously, but her stirrings were subsiding.

“Of course,” Carmen agreed. “It just makes sense to pretend on Halloween. To pretend to be whatever you’re dressed up as. And since you’re dressed up as a lesbian vampire, that’s what you’ll pretend to be.”

“Yeah…” Vicky slumped again. “Pretend. Lesbian.”

“Uh-huh.” Carmen was determined to press her advantage. “It’s acting, basically. But here’s the thing about acting, Vicky: the best kind is method acting. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. It’s when you totally embrace the role you’re playing, inside and out. It’s when you truly feel it. Right?”

“Right,” Vicky echoed slowly. Her resistance was gone. She was a prisoner of Carmen’s words.

“So,” Carmen concluded. “When I wake you up again, you’ll be a lesbian vampire inside and out. You’ll feel that way. You’ll act that way. You’ll be perfectly faithful to the ideal. Understand?”

“Yes.” Again, Vicky’s voice was devoid of all feeling.

“Perfect.” Carmen took a beat to exchange eager, excited looks with Laura. “Then: one, two, three, wake!”

This time, when Vicky looked open and opened her eyes, Laura and Carmen found themselves in the presence of a very, very different kind of vampire.

“My, my,” Vicky drawled, glancing between Laura and Carmen. “This ought to be a truly delicious night.”

This time, as she started walking around the room, she moved with a distinctly seductive gait, chest held high and hips swaying with each step. Her eyes roamed ravenously over the two lesbians’ bodies, and her voice was thick with a hunger that was as much lust as thirst.

Laura and Carmen started laughing even harder than before.

“Oh my god,” Laura howled, wiping tears from her eyes. “If she could see herself…”

“Told you this was a good idea,” Carmen cackled. She was laughing so hard, she had to rest a hand on a nearby dresser for support.

Surprisingly, Vicky laughed lightly along with them. “You two make a delectable couple,” she declared. “Such complimentary flavors… I can’t wait to savor the taste.”

She opened her mouth, brandishing her cheap, plastic fangs, and then, as she locked eyes with Laura, extended her tongue and stroked it carefully across both pointed tips.

Laura stopped laughing, and a familiar shiver raced down her spine.

She was finding this way, way too hot.

Vicky was hot. As much as Laura wanted to recoil from the thought, there was no use denying it. She had a killer body, and the flashy, gothic vampire getup she was wearing was devastatingly attuned to Laura’s tastes. Normally, the fact that she was a bigot and a bully was more than enough to put Laura off—but now that she was a lesbian vampire, she wasn’t sure she could resist her.

“Tell me, Laura.” As if sensing her weakness, Vicky advanced on her. “Have you ever yearned to be devoured?”

“I… um…” Suddenly, Laura found herself sweating bullets—and she was the one Carmen was giggling at. “That’s… n-no…”

"It sounds perplexing, no?” Vicky was alarmingly close to her now. “But let me let you in on a little secret, mortal: there’s a thrill to be had in being prey.”

The intense, menacing theatricality she poured into that last word made Laura shudder. Carmen was still giggling behind her hand, but Laura could no longer see the funny side. She was too busy wondering how Vicky had figured out that she was the bottom in the relationship.

“Ah, I can see you already feel it.” Before Laura knew what was happening, Vicky had slipped around behind her and was pressed up against her back, the hypnotized girl’s hand cradling her waist. “I can feel your heart beating, Laura. Pumping your veins full of hot, red crimson. Isn’t it intoxicating?”

“Um!” Laura squeaked. She was melting like putty, and it was deathly embarrassing. The worst part was that Vicky was right. She could feel it too. Her heart was pounding with thrilling arousal. “C-Carmen?”

“Shush now,” Vicky whispered. “Her next. We can make it a girls’ night. But you first. I can’t wait to taste every part of you.”

Hearing those words in Vicky’s voice, of all people’s, was doing a number on Laura. It was more than she could handle—especially when Vicky reached up and tipped her unresisting head to one side, and bent in until Laura could feel her breath on her neck.

“C-C-Carmen!” Laura squeaked. She couldn’t take any more of this—and she could tell Vicky wasn’t going to stop.

“OK, OK,” Carmen swiftly stepped in before Vicky’s fangs could meet Laura’s skin. “Vicky. Three, two, one, drop.”

Laura felt the hand on her waist fall away, and she was finally able to slip free of Vicky’s grasp. When she turned to look at the bully, the light in her eyes was gone. Just like before, she was hypnotized.

“O-oh my god,” Laura panted. “That was… uh… um…”

“Hot?” Carmen supplied mischievously.

“Embarrassing!” Laura corrected, blushing fiercely. “I mean, I… that was… with Vicky? No. Nuh-uh. No way.”

“I dunno.” Carmen was still smirking. “It would have been an experience, that’s for sure. And face it: you were into it.”

Laura averted her eyes. “L-let’s just wake her up, yeah? We’ve had our fun.”

“Aw.” Carmen pouted. She looked great when she did that. “No, c’mon. We’re only just getting started. Look, I admit that one got a little out of hand. How about we turn the temperature down a bit?”

“Carmen…” Laura said reprovingly, although she could already feel herself swaying.

“C’mon, babe,” Carmen pleaded. “This is once in a lifetime.”

Laura couldn’t keep the smile from her face. Saying ‘yes’ to her girlfriend was such a delight.

“Fine!” she threw up her hands. “What did you have in mind?”

“Vicky,” Carmen said, addressing the hypnotized bully. “You’re doing good. You’re doing very well, so just keep dropping for me, OK?”

Not a stir. She was completely gone. Laura was in awe of how totally Vicky had fallen under Carmen’s hypnotic power.

“Now, there’s something else you need to start thinking about,” Carmen told Vicky. “You’re a great lesbian vampire, but if you really want to be faithful to the source material, we need to start thinking about where vampires are from. Where is that, Vicky?”

“Trans… Transylvania?” Vicky supplied after a moment, in that distant, empty, trance-voice of hers.

“That’s exactly right,” Carmen agreed. “And Transylvania is in Romania. Eastern Europe. So this time, when I wake you up, you’re going to make sure you have an appropriate accent. Understand?”

“Yes,” Vicky responded.

“Uh… wait,” Laura bleated, eyes suddenly wide. “H-hold on, Carmen, that’s-“

“Oh, it’s just a bit of fun,” Carmen scoffed, before turning back to Vicky. “One, two, three, wake!”

Before Laura could figure out how to stop her, Vicky was already opening her eyes and slipping back into the haughty, preening vampire pose she’d previously been strutting around in. Only this time, when she opened her mouth, her voice was even more ridiculous than before:

“Vell, vell, vell,” Vicky drawled, in a cheesy but surprisingly close approximation of an Eastern European accent. “Vhat a pleasure it is, to zee that ze blossoms of ze new world are so ripe and so lovely.”

Immediately, Carmen bent double and started laughing so hard she almost choked. Laura couldn’t blame her. That way that Vicky, of all people, was throwing herself into the accent was beyond ridiculous. Anyone would have been laughing.

But not her. Instead, beads of sweat were forming on Laura’s forehead.

“My dears,” Vicky said, once again drawing close to Laura. “Von’t you let try a bite?”

Laura tried her very hardest not to let it show—but when Vicky slipped her hand around her waist again, the combination of her natural beauty, her unbelievable costume, and the honeyed, lilting accent pouring out of her mouth, Laura couldn’t help but let out a shrill, needy gasp.

Carmen seized upon it mercilessly.

“Oh my god, babe,” she laughed. “That does it for you?”

“It’s…” Laura whimpered. Her face was burning up. “I-I just have a thing for accents.”

“Vonderful,” Vicky cooed. Eager to torment her, she put her lips as close as she could to Laura’s ear and spoke to her in a sinister, syrupy whisper. “Then, let me speak to you of ze poetry of ze night, and have you vall into my unholy embrace.”

As cheesy as the line was, it had Laura squeezing her legs together with need. It didn’t help that Carmen was also staring at her, and the wicked, malicious look on her girlfriend’s face was equal to the one hypnotically plastered on Vicky’s.

“P-please,” Laura found herself saying, as the fetishistic allure of her situation momentarily overtook her sense of restraint.

“As you vish,” Vicky intoned mockingly.

And bit down on Laura’s neck.

Laura moaned and saw white. Until she felt Vicky’s tongue on her skin, she hadn’t realized quite how turned-on she’d become. But hypnotism, vampires, accents—she had kinks for all of them, and the intoxicating combination had gotten all the way under her skin. Above all, the fact that it was Vicky was getting to her—their homophobic, sorority girl bully, turned silly, seductive, sapphic vampire. It was too much. Even the pain felt good, when Vicky bit down on Laura as if her plastic fangs could actually pierce skin.

“Three, two, one, drop.”

Laura almost resented it, when Carmen used the hypnotic trigger to drop Vicky back into a trance. Still, as the pleasure receded, she acknowledged that it was probably a good thing Carmen had put a stop to matters before anything got truly out of hand.

Then she learned that Carmen intended exactly the opposite.

"Vicky,” Carmen began. “We’ve already established that I know much, much more about vampires than you. Haven’t we?”

“Yes,” Vicky intoned emptily.

“Carmen?” Laura whispered. Her legs were still jelly. She couldn’t move.

“Then you should listen to me about vampires, no matter how absurd what I tell you might seem, should you?” Carmen told Vicky, ignoring her girlfriend.

“Yes.”

“That’s right. And with that in mind, I have something very important to tell you about lesbian vampires. They don’t drink blood. They eat pussy.”

As Laura gasped in shock, Vicky started to twitch violently. “But… ugh… that… gross,” she whined sleepily.

“That doesn’t matter,” Carmen insisted swiftly. “Performers do all kinds of things they’d normally consider gross if it’s for a performance, don’t they?”

“I… suppose…” Vicky was clearly repulsed by the notion, but Carmen’s soft words and confident demeanor were quickly soothing her.

“This is no different,” Carmen told her. “Eating pussy is no different.”

“No…” Vicky was fighting to shake her head. “But…”

“Repeat after me,” Carmen insisted. “Lesbian vampires eat pussy.”

“Lesbian… vampires…” Vicky’s reluctance was obvious—but she was giving in. “E… eat…”

“Lesbian vampires eat pussy.”

“L… Les…” The fight went out of her. Any hint of disgust or disobedience disappeared from her voice, leaving her blank and willing once more. “Lesbian vampires eat pussy.”

“Great.” Carmen licked her lips. “One, two, three-“

“Wait!” Laura blurted out. She was still flushed and flustered beyond belief, but she had to say something. “C-Carmen, we can’t!”

“You want to,” Carmen pointed out.

“I don-“ Laura looked away. “T-that’s not the point. It’s wrong. It’s evil.”

“It’s Halloween, baby,” Carmen winked. “It’s the time of year that evil wins. How about you just sit back and enjoy it?”

Laura wasn’t sure how to convince her. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to. The grin on Carmen’s face was infectious. And when were they going to get another chance to get even with Vicky?

“One,” Carmen counted, sensing Laura’s capitulation. “Two. Three. Wake.”

When Vicky’s eyes opened once more, she had the same hungry look on her face, the same preening, arrogant bearing, and the same ridiculous accent. The only difference was that she wasn’t staring at Laura’s neck anymore.

She was staring between her legs.

“Mortal!” Vicky declared, lapping at her fangs with her tongue. “I vant to drink your cunt! And it is time for ze unholy feast to begin.”

Even Laura had to giggle at how stupid the line was. But her laughter soon turned to needy moaning when Vicky surged forward and sank to her knees, flashing Laura a saucy look before flipping up the hem of her dress and burying her face between her thighs.

When Laura felt Vicky’s tongue touch her cunt, her legs turned to jelly so completely, she had to lean back against a nearby wall for support.

Given that Vicky was completely straight, it was a little ridiculous that she was so good at this.

Perhaps it was simply her naked enthusiasm. Vicky was eating Laura out like her life depended on it. Like every single drop of wetness that touched her lips was the nectar of the gods. She was voracious. A predator tearing into her fallen quarry. Laura had never experienced anything quite like it. It was totally different from the slow, detached, teasing way Carmen usually ate her out. For a queen bitch like Vicky and for the vampire persona she was acting out, the blatant neediness was surprising.

Carmen clearly agreed.

“Three. Two. One. Drop.”

Laura whined loudly when she felt Vicky’s tongue go still.

“C-Carmen!” she complained. “N-not fair.”

“Sorry, babe,” her girlfriend giggled. “I just know how you like it, and I know you’ll enjoy this even more if you get put in your place properly.”

Laura whined louder still. “B-but,” she protested. “It’s Vicky!”

Carmen winked at her. “Exactly.”

The hot flush of shame and arousal that washed over Laura completely robbed her of her words. In the face of her silence, Carmen turned to address the hypnotized bully.

“Remember, Vicky,” Carmen encouraged. “Vampires aren’t just lesbians. Aren’t just blood- I mean, pussy-licking predators. They’re dominant. Powerful. Godlike, even.”

“Dominant,” Vicky echoed, rocking back on her knees. “Powerful. Godlike.”

“Exactly,” Carmen agreed. “Vampires are so arrogant and prideful. They’re always in charge. Even when they’re taking what they need from someone, they never let anybody forget that they’re far, far more powerful than the mere mortals they feed on.”

“More… powerful,” Vicky said slowly.

“Perfect,” Carmen whispered.

Laura swallowed nervously. They had already seen how completely Vicky took to whatever suggestions she was fed. She couldn’t quite shake the feeling that Carmen was about to create a monster.

Carmen, though, pressed on without a second thought. “One. Two. Three. Wake.”

When Vicky opened her eyes, Laura braced herself for the worst. She wasn’t disappointed. In a single, graceful motion, Vicky rose to her feet—and then disdainfully threw Laura off-balance and sent her sprawling onto the bed. Laura let out a surprised yelp but, like a mouse caught in the jaws of a cat, found herself helpless to move or resist. In an instant, Vicky was upon her, spreading her legs apart and lowering her face toward Laura’s dripping cunt with a merciless look on her face.

“Oh, babe,” Carmen giggled, from behind the hypnotized bully. “You’re in for a treat. I can just tell she’s going to ruin you.”

Laura whimpered in delicious anticipation at the tease. Vicky, though, had a very different reaction. She seemed to freeze up for a moment—and then, curiously, she started backing off. Slowly, Vicky lifted herself off the bed and turned her attention away from Laura.

To Carmen.

Carmen cocked an amused eyebrow as Vicky regarded her with a disdainful glare. That only seemed to light a fire inside her.

“Oh, I zee,” Vicky mused, in that ridiculous accent. “Perhaps you, mortal, vill be my first meal.”

“I will, huh?” Carmen could barely contain her laughter. “God. Who knew I’d have Vicky, of all people, begging to lick my cunt on Halloween?”

“Beg?” Vicky let out a humorless laugh. “No. No, I do not beg. I simply take.”

“Uh-huh,” Carmen scoffed. “And how do you propose to do that?”

From where she was lying sprawled on the bed, Laura could just about see the slow, calculating grin as it spread across Vicky’s face.

“Look,” Vicky said in a very slow, deep voice, after several long moments. “Look into my eyes. Deep into my eyes.”

Laughter erupted from Carmen. “Oh my god. Oh, you cannot be serious.”

“Oh, but I am,” Vicky warned. “You vill look into my eyes. Deep into my eyes. You cannot resist ze eyes of ze vampire.”

As she drew out each word, her accent became more ludicrous than ever. Laura wasn’t laughing, though. She was still too stunned by this turn of events—and besides, when her voice was this slow and soft, there was something oddly compelling about the way Vicky was speaking.

"Fine, fine,” Carmen said, rolling her eyes before meeting Vicky’s gaze. “I’m looking. Deep into your eyes.” She started mimicking Vicky’s accent. “I cannot resist ze eyes of ze vampire.”

“Very good,” Vicky cooed. “That’s right. You cannot resist. The eyes of ze vampire hold power over you. Look into my deep, crimson eyes. Let yourself be ensnared by ze red glow.”

She spoke with absolute confidence. It was as if there was no doubt in her mind that she would be able to hypnotize Carmen. The look of dismissive amusement on Carmen’s face remained, but she kept humoring Vicky.

“You know, those color contacts are actually pretty good,” Carmen remarked, after a moment. She was leaning in, looking carefully. “Almost real. Really rich, deep shade of red.”

Vicky looked faintly baffled by the reference to contacts, but she pressed on without comment. “Rich. Deep. Impossible to resist,” the hypnotized bully drawled. “You feel yourself fascinated by them. Drawn into them. Captivated by them.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Carmen mocked, as she held Vicky’s gaze. “Fascinated. Drawn. Captivated.”

“You cannot look away.”

“I cannot look away.”

“You veel yourself slipping into a trance for my eyes.”

“I…” Carmen twitched uncertainly. It was like she was trying to pull away—but couldn’t. “I feel myself… slipping into a trance?”

Laura’s blood suddenly ran cold.

“Zat’s right,” Vicky said, in a throaty, predatory purr. “I zee that you, mortal, are skilled in ze art of mesmerism. But your foolish mind games are nothing compared to ze vampire’s might. Your knowledge will only be your undoing.”

Laura recalled what Carmen had told her earlier. The more you believed in hypnosis, the more effective it was. And Carmen most certainly believed.

Oh no.

“Falling into my eyes,” Vicky menaced. “Lost forever in my eyes.

“Falling…” Carmen echoed. “Lost…”

The look of bemused disbelief on Carmen’s face had relaxed into a vacant, slack-jawed, captivated grin. Laura had never seen anything like it. Carmen was usually always so focused. So dominant. Seeing her like this was terrifying.

Even if it was also extremely, wildly hot.

“C-Carmen!” Laura called out. She needed to put a stop to this. She needed to make sure Vicky didn’t get any further out of hand. “Wake u-“

“Quiet, girl!” Vicky hissed. Her voice was like the crack of a whip. Still light-headed and weak from her earlier treatment, Laura found herself instinctively lapsing into silence. She couldn’t quite bring herself to disobey Vicky.

“L-Laura…” Carmen blinked slowly. “I was… what was I… were you…?”

“Hush now,” Vicky soothed, slipping back effortlessly into her seductive, hypnotic patter. “Remember. Looking only at me. Only into my eyes. Into ze vampire’s eyes. Letting ze vampire’s eyes consume you.”

“I…” A shiver raced down Laura’s spine as she saw her girlfriend try to look over at her—and fail. “But you’re… not… uh…” Carmen made one last effort to rally herself. “Vicky. Three… two…”

“Shush,” Vicky said swiftly. She reached out and placed one of her fingertips on Carmen’s lips. That was all it took to silence her. “None of that, now. So hard to speak. So easy to look into my eyes instead.”

“So…” Carmen bleated. Her resistance was gone. There was nothing in her eyes. “Hard… easy…”

“Zat’s right,” Vicky purred. “And you should not call me like that, from now on. You shall address me as Victoria.” She licked her lips. “Mistress Victoria.”

“Yes… Mistress Victoria,” Carmen replied mindlessly.

Laura’s entire body throbbed. This was so wrong. This was so hot. It was completely out of control. They had created a monster, and Carmen was no longer capable of putting on the brakes.

“Very good,” Vicky told her. “Now, my thrall. On ze bed. With your beloved. Present yourself to me. I wish to feast.”

“Yes, Mistress Victoria.”

Slowly, robotically, Carmen clambered onto the bed next to Laura and reclined into her back. With Laura still powerless to intervene, Carmen obediently reached down and unbuttoned her slacks, shucking out of her pants and her boxers to expose her pussy to the air. Vicky’s eyes widened, and she licked her lips once more.

“Delicious,” she purred, mounting the bed and lowering her head between Vicky’s thighs. Before she began to eat her out, she turned her head to glance at Laura. “You vill be next,” the hypnotized bully vowed. “And zen ze rest of the pretty young mortals in this sorority house. And then… who knows.”

Laura was left stunned and dizzy as she contemplated that, and then increasingly shocked and aroused as Vicky started licking and lapping at Carmen’s cunt. Carmen had always been the dominant partner in their relationship. A giver, not a receiver. But not anymore. For Vicky, she was nothing more than a weak, prone, mewling submissive.

It was one of the hottest things Laura had ever seen.

She couldn’t help but anticipate her turn with a certain growing eagerness. Laura wasn’t sure when Vicky might come to her senses, if ever, and she wasn’t sure what would happen when Vicky tried to seduce some of the other girls at the Halloween party. It could go badly, although Laura couldn’t shake the feeling that, somehow, Vicky would manage to pull it off. That would be quite something.

And above all, she found herself thinking: no matter how events played out, Vicky was much, much better this way than she had ever been before.

---

I would like to express my gratitude for the generosity of all those who support me on Patreon, and to give a special thanks to the following patrons in particular for their exceptional support:

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jhilsara · 2 months ago

Text

Of Bookstore, Coffees, and Late Nights pt. 4

Sunshine!Reader/Southern!Reader/Plus Sized!Reader

Pairing: Fem!reader x Spencer Reid

Summary: Welcome to the holiday special! Set during season 8 you spend Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with Spencer.

Word Count: 8k

Warnings: Canon typical BAU themes, sick family members, holiday family fighting, (no Maeve...this is my fanfic and I say Spencer's had enough trauma)

Previous|Next

Halloween

Spencer had convinced you to go out with him, JJ, and Will. They were going to take Henry trick or treating and then go off to a bar their team frequently ventured into.

Spencer and his team had recently landed from a case and Spencer was grinning from ear to ear. Apparently, Henry had not wanted to go out on Halloween, but something changed his mind. Spencer refused to tell you what Henry’s costume was, declaring it a surprise.

Spencer had picked you up and you two were in your own costumes. You dressed as Katniss Everdeen from the new Hunger Games movie. You had dragged Spencer to go see it after you had him read it during one of their earlier book exchanges. Spencer was dressed as Doctor Frankenstein. Large white lab coat and ridiculous googles.

“Are you sure this is okay? I mean, I don’t know them that well.” You asked nervously.

Spencer just laughed and nodded. “I’m more than sure. JJ and Garcia have been hounding me to make time for you to hang out with them.”

“Because they like me or because they want to profile me?” You asked skeptically.

Spencer shrugged, “Honestly, could be either, both, or none of the above. But, JJ knows you helped Will from bleeding out so, you’re solid in her book.”

“I thought we agreed to not ever talk about the bank again?” You mumbled.

“I know I know; I won’t bring it up again.” he said with a grin.

You rolled your eyes, knowing well it wouldn’t be the last time.

Once they arrive at JJ and Will’s house Henry answers the door and immediately you melt at the sight. Little Henry was dressed as Spencer, badge and all, and you had to bite your tongue from almost crying.

JJ popped up behind Henry and smiled at the two. “Nice costumes.” she said looking them over.

“Uncle Spencer, do I look like you?” Henry asked excitedly spinning in a circle.

Spencer leans down to pick up Henry, “You look just like me! I think I’m looking in a mirror Henry.”

The blonde boy giggled and hugged his uncle.

“Come on in, we’re almost ready to go. Will’s just finishing the dishes.” JJ said, ushering them in.

Will come’s around the corner with a rag in his hand as he looks for the source of noise, “I thought I heard y'all.” He said smiling.

Will comes up to you arms open for a hug, “Hey.”

you immediately hugged him, “Hey Will.”

You smiled when he pulled away. Will raised his hand to Spencer, who was still holding Henry.

“Can you watch him so we can go change real quick?” Will asked.

Spencer nodded, “Absolutely, go don’t worry about it.”

“Promise we’ll be quick; our costumes are easy.” JJ said with a grin.

The two hurry off to their bedroom and Spencer sets down Henry.

“Are you excited to go trick or treating bud?” Spencer asked softly.

Henry nodded in excitement. “Mommy and Daddy are going to be my back up.”

You just smiled as you watched Spencer interact with Henry. He easily kept him entertained and was overall, just great with the kid. you almost think you should have Spencer do some magic at the shop for the kids during the day sometime. He just easily knows what to do. It’s charming.

JJ and Will come around the corner and are in all black suits and sunglasses. You gave a loud guffaw of a laugh, having to cover your mouth.

“Oh, now this is just a stereotype.” Spencer said, trying to look upset, but his smile gave him away.

“What? We can’t poke fun at ourselves?” JJ said with a small spin in her fake FBI suit. A massive plastic badge hanging from her hip.

Spencer just shook his head.

“I feel spiffy, this isn’t a bad suit for a costume.” Will said looking over his sunglasses.

JJ laughed and then clapped her hands together looking at her son, “You ready Henry?”

Henry bounced in excitement and ran up to his parents.

“Wait, wait, before we go let me get pictures of you guys. It’s so cute.” You said, fishing out your phone.

Will, JJ, and Henry pose. Will and JJ make a Mr. And Mrs. Smith pose back-to-back that has you giggling.

“Perfect.” she smiled as she finished snapping a few pictures.

JJ moves to open the front door and ushered everyone out, “Come one we’re burning the night away!”

Henry had about an hour and a half of trick or treating in him before he started dragging his feet.

“You tired big guy?” Will asked his son as he picked him up.

Henry nodded slowly, fighting to keep his eyes open.

“It’s bedtime for this one.” JJ said kissing the crown of Henry’s head.

Will adjusts Henry in his arms. “We’ll go put him to bed, we’ll meet everyone at the bar.”

Spencer and you nod, waving them off.

“He’s the cutest kid I’ve ever seen.” You coo watching them walk off.

Spencer nodded, “He absolutely is.”

“You’re so good with him.” you crossed your arms. “Maybe you should lead a reading time or do a magic show at the bookstore.”

Spencer looks down at you, “Now you’re just extorting me for labor.”

You giggled, “I give you plenty of free coffee to warrant asking you for story time with the kids in the bookstore.”

Spencer makes a face. “Definitely extorting me.”

“I’d say it’s more a barter and trade system.” you said with a grin.

“Whatever, come on.” He laughed, grabbing your hand to lead you off to go to the bar.

You feel your face heat up from Spencer holding your hand, you go quiet and just let him lead you.

Once at the bar, Derek and Penelope are already seated in a back booth. Penelope spots the two first and she stands waving them over.

Penelope immediately grabs you from Spencer. “We need shots!” she declared as she dragged you with her to the bar.

Derek just laughed watching them leave.

“How many drinks has she had?” Spencer asked with a laugh.

“None. She was waiting.” Derek responded with a chuckle.

Penelope and you stand at the bar waiting to order shots. While they wait for the bar tender Penelope takes this time to chat you up.

“I can’t believe Spencer hasn’t brought you out until now! I mean- there was the wedding, but I’ve been begging him to let me hang out with you!” Penelope pouts.

You laughed, “Well, my schedules a little crazy. I’m always working at night so I can’t really go out like this all the time.” you told her.

Penelope nodded, “Right, you run a late-night cafe and bookstore, right?”

You hummed in agreement. “Yeah, I do. It’s a lot of fun and the inside is super comfortable. If you ever want to drop by, feel free to! I’d love for you to come by.” You told the blonde.

Penelope’s face bursts into a big grin. “That sounds great. I’ll make sure to take you up on that.”

Finally, the bartender makes his way over to them.

Over at the booth, JJ and Will finally made it in. The group is chattering amongst themselves, waiting for Penelope to come back with you.

JJ looked over to spot them at the bar, and she took an opportunity.

“So, Spence...” she started with a conspiratorial tone.

Spencer immediately froze and gives JJ a knowing look. “Why do I already not like where this is going?”

“It’s nothing serious just...” her eyes avert over to the bar, “Do you like her?” she whispered loudly across the table.

Derek started to laugh, looking at JJ with a raised brow. “Are we really about to press pretty boy on his love life right now?”

Spencer’s face is tinted pink as his eyes widen. “JJ...” he sighed.

“Spence.” She replied with a deadpan stare.

His eyes flickered over to try to see if Penelope and you were coming back. Hoping he could escape this grilling.

“I’m not gonna let this go, so you can answer here or at work with Rossi and Hotch in the room.” She said with a smirk.

Spencer sighed and looked down at his hands on the table. “She’s wonderful, and when she was a hostage, it really hit me in that moment that she’s important to me.” he murmured.

“She’s too sweet though...and I’m, me.” He said quietly.

Derek and JJ make a face. They didn’t believe that for a second. Before they could reply though, Penelope bounced back with you in tow.

“This conversation isn’t over Spence.” JJ murmured.

“Oh, everyone’s here!” Penelope shouts, moving to hug JJ in excitement.

Penelope shoots a playful glare at Spencer, “You better move boy genius because my spot is next to big man.”

Spencer rolled his eyes but slid over to get up. Penelope shot him a dazzling smile and moves to saddle herself next to Derek. Spencer gets back in the booth, and you slide next to him. With everyone in the booth, they’re basically brushing against each other. Your leg is pressed against his and you feel like you’re burning up. It could be the alcohol or your nerves, you’re unsure.

The night goes on and you drink far more than you probably should have. You're a light weight and Penelope Garcia just kept ordering shots for her, you, and JJ.

The three women are standing outside in the cold air chattering away while they wait for the others to close out their tabs.

You’re swaying on your feet humming a mindless tune and Penelope’s leaning against you.

“You’re so sweet- I understand why our boy wonder would keep you to himself.” Penelope giggled.

You shook your head, “No no, it’s not like that.” you giggled.

“Oh please,” JJ rolled her eyes her own smirk on her face. “You two were giving each other eyes all night.”

You gasped, “No we were not! He’s my best friend.”

JJ and Penelope give each other matching looks before humming in acknowledgement.

“I’m serious! I know what a sarcastic mmhmm means, I invented it.” You said with a frown.

The doors open and the three, much more sober, men come out.

“Come on baby girl, time to say goodbye. You need your bed.” Derek said pulling Penelope off you.

“Oh, my bed sounds fantastic!” she said excitedly, letting Derek lead her off.

“We better get going too, your momma can’t stay all night.” Will mentions to JJ.

“Bye Spence, bye Y/N!” JJ waved goodbye.

Spencer turned to look at you, and you’re still swaying a bit. Spencer wraps an arm around your waist to keep you steady and starts to lead you back toward the subway.

“Come on, let’s get you home.”

You immediately leaned your head on his shoulder wrapping your own arm around him to keep yourself balanced.

“You’re my favorite person Spencer.” you murmured as they walked down the street.

He chuckled softly, “You’re mine too.”

“No, no, I’m serious.” you said your words a bit slurred.

“I know.” he said softly.

You looked up at him, your eyes furrowed, “No, you don’t.” you said it a bit more seriously. “You’ve done more for me than I can explain.” you whispered.

Spencer paused and gently moved his free hand to press you closer to him, petting your head. “I think it’s the other way around.” He murmured into your hair.

The two stand there, your face pressed into Spencer’s shoulder for a while. It takes a cold breeze to make the two of you separate.

“Let’s get you home before you catch a cold.” he whispered, gently moving you forward again.

You just nodded, looking at your feet as they walked, trying to hide your flushed face.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was always awkward. You only remember Thanksgiving being fun when you were between five and ten. After your mother cheated, Thanksgiving had been... rough. To put it politely.

Even after your parents' divorce, they would still try to get together for Thanksgiving, but something tends to always go wrong.

There was the year you refused to come out of your room because you didn’t want to see your mother. So, Bridget tried to feed you under the bedroom door. Then there was the year that Bridget got food poisoning because their mom didn’t cook the chicken breast for Bridget all the way through. That one was rough. She was eleven and violently puking for three days straight. Or the year that Lauren brought her new boyfriend over. He had tried to make Bridget and you call him dad while Big Joe was sitting right there.

Thanksgiving has just not been their Holiday.

This year you had invited Spencer. He wasn’t going to Vegas to see his mother until Christmas, and he was just going to spend it alone. You offered for him to just spend it with you and Big Joe, it was always just the two of them recently. So, it wasn’t a big deal. Just a chill lunch, watch the parade on the tv, and send Spencer off with leftovers.

At least, that was your plan.

You're in the kitchen with Spencer, cutting veggies for the stuffing when the doorbell rings. You stand straight looking at Spencer in surprise.

“I’ll get it!” You shout to your dad, walking briskly to the door.

Upon opening the door, you see your baby sister. It’s such a shock it takes you a second to register what’s happening.

“Birdie?” You blinked in confusion and rubbed your eyes trying to see if you were seeing things.

“Happy Thanksgiving!” Bridget’s boyfriend, Jamie, says excitedly and leans in to give a hug.

“Oh!” Jamie wraps you in a massive hug, squeezing you tightly. “I’m so happy to finally meet you and Bridget’s dad!”

You looked at him a little puzzled before turning to Bridget. “I thought,” You sighed trying to even your breathing. “I thought you were spending the holidays with Lauren again?”

Bridget just shrugged, “Changed my mind. Now can we go in, it’s freezing out here.”

You step aside to let them in and are bewildered that your sister even showed up. You make your way through the living room and stand next to your dad in his wheelchair. His eyes were half closed, a light snore as the television played the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“Daddy, daddy wake up. Birdie’s home.” You whispered.

Big Joe jolts a bit and grumbles, “I wasn’t asleep.”

“Sure, you weren’t daddy.” You patted your dad’s shoulder. “Anyway, Birdie’s here with her boyfriend Jamie.” You said making Big Joe look over at the two standing awkwardly in the doorway.

His face breaks into a grin, “Well, come in Pidgeon, no need to be shy.” He struggles to sit up a little straighter in his chair.

You look over at your sister and Jamie. Her boyfriend is all smiles, you swore if he had a tail, it would be wagging. Jamie walks over to shake your dad’s hand and introduce himself.

Bridget on the other hand, has her feet planted firmly to the floor. Unmoving. You watched her closely and saw just how pale Bridget was as she looked at their dad. She hadn’t seen their dad in a long time. She mostly just called, if that, but this was the first time in maybe two years that Bridget was standing in the same room as her father.

You look back at Jamie and her dad as they chatter. You see how thin her dad’s gotten. It’s not news to you, nothing about his health was. They were already on borrowed time, your dad truly beating the odds. As you look over at your baby sister, you realize that the last time Bridget saw their dad he could still walk easily. He only barely needed the wheelchair for bad days.

Bridget was in shock.

“Y/N! I need some help back here!” Spencer comes around the corner from the kitchen, covered in flour. He’s holding his hands up like he’s innocent.

“Oh, good god, Spencer, bless your heart. I’m coming!” you told him shooing him off back to the kitchen.

You go to Bridget and nudge her, “Birdie you and Jamie can keep daddy entertained right? I’m still cooking.”

Bridget just nodded slowly making her way over to the couch.

You sighed and went back into the kitchen.

“Spencer, I said to add a little flour to make a rue... not a half cup.” you laughed looking at him.

Spencer cleaned his hands with a small rag and looked over at you with a displeased frown.

“I need exact measurements, not... your southern shorthand.” He murmured.

You rolled your eyes and looked at the pot that was supposed to be your rue for the macaroni and cheese. You see the powder in the pot and shake your head.

“Southern shorthand’s about to make the best food you’ve ever eaten.” you told him with a raised brow.

“Grab me a clean one please. This one can go in the sink.” you point over to under the counter.

Spencer easily does that and moves to cutting and peeling potatoes.

“Was that your sister?” he asked.

You hummed in acknowledgement. “Yup.” you said with a pop of the P.

“Isn’t it a good thing she’s here?” he asked tentatively.

You sighed, “I mean,” you leaned back on your heels biting the inside of your cheek. “Yes. It is good. I just...” you turned to face him.

“Spencer, you didn’t see her face. It was like she didn’t recognize him.” you hissed in a whisper.

Spencer paused on peeling the potatoes and gave you a deadpan look. “Because she didn’t. When was the last time she really saw him?”

You paused, “When daddy could still walk on his own... She's only seen him in the chair once.” you sighed heavily.

Spencer moved closer to you and held your arms in reassurance, “She’s in shock. Just, give her some time.” He offered.

You nodded and rolled your sleeves up, “I’m just gonna focus on cooking right now.”

By the time you and Spencer finish everything the parade is over, and your sister has set up the small dining table. You and Spencer slowly bring out the food and your dad rolls himself up to the head of the table.

“What do you want to eat dad?” You asked him after everything was placed on the table.

“Everything, it’s Thanksgiving! I could eat a horse.” he said with a hearty laugh.

You shook your head at your dad but filled his plate. After you set his plate in front of him, everyone else builds a plate for themselves.

“Magpie, you still make homemade cranberry sauce?” Bridget asked, eying the small plate.

You nodded, “Yeah, you never liked the canned stuff.” you replied like it was obvious you’d make it the way she liked.

“I haven’t had Thanksgiving with y’all in years...” Bridget said.

You just shrugged. “It’s not that hard; besides, I’ve gotten so used to making it.”

Bridget bit her tongue. You and her dad hate cranberry sauce. Bridget was the only one who ate it. You don’t have to tell her you made it every year with the hope she’d come.

“Well, it’s the first time I have both my girls here, so let me say grace just this once.” Big Joe said with a smile.

Everyone nodded and closed their eyes.

“Dear lord, thank you for this meal. Thank you for blessin’ me with daughters who care so much. Thank you for providin’ them with such kind folk who care for them like I do. Please bless us today with the kindness and health to go on another year, amen.”

Big Joe smiles at his daughters and motions for them to eat. “C’mon let’s not let this go to waste.”

Their family meal was awkward.

You and Bridget flank the sides of their dad and Spencer and Jamie sit across from each other. The men trying to keep polite conversation while you and Bridget just stare at each other.

“This meals good Magpie, better than mom ever makes.” Bridget complimented.

“Well mom barely ever really cooks. I’m sure she just catered.” You bite back.

Spencer moves his hand to grip yours under the table. You sighed, “Thanks though, I try.”

Bridget turned to her boyfriend giving him a look that said, ‘I told you so.’

Jamie coughs, “So, you run a bookstore?” he asked.

You nod, “Yeah, I co-own it with a friend of mine. Part bookstore part cafe.”

“It’s a great shop, my favorite in town.” Spencer added.

You snorted, “You just say that cause I give you free coffee.”

“Oh, is that where you two meet? That’s romantic, a warm cozy book nook.” Jamie asked leaning forward.

Your and Spencer’s faces both burn deep burgundy colors.

“No no-”

“It’s not like that-”

“We’re not dating-”

“He’s my best friend we’re not-”

You start talking over each other going back and forth. Finally, they both just shut up.

“We’re friends. He’s not my boyfriend.” You finally said, avoiding Spencer’s eyes.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, we just assumed-” Bridget slammed her elbow into her boyfriend's side.

“Sorry.”

It’s an awkward meal.

After everyone eats Spencer and Jamie clean the table, rinsing off the dishes and loading them in the dishwasher. You and Bridget bring the leftovers into the kitchen, placing them on the counter.

“Can we talk?” Bridget asked with a nervous look.

You nod, unsure of what your sister wants to discuss. Bridget coughed looking at the two men, “Alone .”

“Ohhhhhhhhh.” Jamie and Spencer quickly make themselves scarce to leave the sisters alone.

Bridget moves to start packing up the leftover food. A nervous habit she picked up from their mother, she had to do something with her hands. You go to help her, trying to make whatever conversation this turns into less awkward.

“We need to talk about daddy.” Bridget whispered.

“We or you?” You asked with a raised brow.

Bridget sighed and looked at you, “I’m trying to have a serious conversation here.”

“Really? Because as I remember it, I’ve been trying to have a serious conversation with you about this for a while. The last time we discussed this you told me ‘Fuck you.’” you replied with a fake smile.

Bridget sighed and stared holes into the food she was packing into the glass Tupperware.

“I was scared ! No one wants to think about their dad dying!” She tried to say with a strained voice, her movement becoming more aggressive.

You slam your hands on the counter, “And you don’t think I’m scared Bridget?! I’m fucking terrified everyday I’m gonna wake up and find that he didn’t!”

You're breathing heavily, trying to stop the burning you feel at the corners of your eyes, you know yelling isn’t helpful right now, but it feels right.

“You chose to take care of him, he’d be better off with a full-time team! You are such a miserable bitch sometimes!” Bridget yelled right back.

Bridget’s anger has always been fierce and loud. While yours has always been passive. You can’t stand her trying to lecture you right now.

“I’d rather be a miserable bitch than a fucking coward who can’t even look daddy in the eyes.” You bite back.

Bridget throws her hands up, “You know what? Have a great fucking Thanksgiving. I’m not doing this right now.”

You crossed her arms, “Run away, like always.” you murmured under your breath glaring at the floor.

Bridget took a deep breath before turning toward her older sister, “I am trying. It might not be when or how you wanted, but I am trying.”

You didn’t respond expect for a flinch when you heard the front door slam behind her sister.

You stood alone in the kitchen and leaned over the sink.

“Magpie...”

You sigh, your dad’s tone tells you something's weighing on his heart, and you know it’s about Bridget.

You take a deep breath and try not to break into a sob. “Daddy-” your voice shook.

“Don’t hate her, Bridget isn’t like you.” Big Joe tells you, his voice gentle.

You are very aware that the walls are thin, and your dad heard you argue with Bridget., hell, everyone heard your argument with Bridget. That doesn’t make it any less hurtful or true.

“I don’t hate her; I just hate how she ignored you for so long and just-” you paused looking up. “It’s not fair.”

“What’s not fair?” Big Joe rolled closer. He was using his soft dad voice, and it was the straw that broke your back.

Your lower lip started to shake, and you could feel the hot tears running down your face.

“All of it! None of it is fair, why... why did you have to be the one who’s sick?” you sobbed.

He grabbed your hands and held them tightly. “Magpie, the world’s not fair. No one made me sick, it just, it happens.”

“You’re my dad... I’m not ready to give you up.” you hiccupped through your tears.

Big Joe moves to stand on his shaky legs, he wraps you in a tight hug. You can feel how much smaller he’s gotten. The muscle deteriorating in his body.

He pressed a kiss to the crown of your head, “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. Okay? I’ve been beating the odds, right? I can keep going.” He told you.

He pulled back to brush away your tears, “Don’t be mad at your sister... When I do go, you’ll have each other, you should take care.” he said.

“Bridget’s not cut me out of her life Magpie, she calls me every day when I’m in the doctor’s office.” He reassured you.

Your eyes widen, “She does?” You’re surprised.

Big Joe nods. “We don’t talk about the doctor’s visits or anything, but she calls every day, and we catch up. I know too much about Jamie by the way; he’s a chatty Cathy...”

“I didn’t know that.” you said with a frown.

Your dad shrugged, “I didn’t think it was important. It obviously was, you’ve been holding too much in Magpie.” he said softly.

You looked down a bit embarrassed. “You don’t have to bear the weight of the world on your shoulders... you’ve been doin’ that since you were thirteen. It’s not your job; your job is to live your life.”

You nodded, rubbing your face to dry the tears.

“Why don’t you go out with that nice friend of yours? I’ll be just fine right here.” He said referring to Spencer in the living room.

“Oh god, Spencer.” you sighed covering your face, “I look awful...”

Her dad chuckled, “He won’t mind. Now go on and get.” He grumbled.

You give a soft laugh, “You just want to watch the game in peace.” you said knowingly.

“Hell yeah, I do, you never liked football. I don’t know who raised you.” he joked, wheeling himself into the living room.

You follow behind him and into the living room. Spencer’s pacing circles in front of the couch. He only stops when he hears them come in.

“We’ve been kicked out.” you joked. You grab your coat and your purse, “Dad wants to watch the football game, and I have no interest in that.” you told him seeing Spencer’s confused face.

He nodded and grabbed his own coat, “Happy Thanksgiving Joe.”

Your dad nodded, “That’s Big Joe to you boy.” He teased Spencer.

You rolled your eyes and walked out with Spencer following behind. Outside the front door you felt Spencer gently grab your arm.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly.

You swallowed hard, “I’ve been better...” you murmured. “but I should probably apologize to Birdie for grilling her like that." You bite your cheek in thought.

Spencer shrugged, “You don’t have too immediately. It takes two to fight.”

You snort, “You’re the best, you know that?” you said moving to wrap your arm around him as they walked.

Spencer easily slides his own arm around your waist, “I’ve been told a time or two.” he responded smugly.

You rolled your eyes, “Okay okay, remind me to not boost your ego again.”

Spencer looked down at you and smiled softly. Your eyes were still rimmed red from crying, but you looked better than when you had come out of the kitchen. Spencer could hear the argument between the two sisters vividly. The walls of the apartment where thin and the animosity between the two women had been brewing all afternoon. They were bound to explode.

He rubs soothing circles into your back. He knows you’ll work it out. You're too bright to be dimmed so easily.

Christmas

Christmas morning was always fun. The past couple of years it’s been hard. It’s just been you and Big Joe, and honestly it just reminded you how lonely you were. Thanksgiving was always awkward, but Christmas has always been fun. Even when your mother was visiting, you still found some joy at Christmas. Now? You just longed for one where it wasn’t just the two of them.

There was going to be a Christmas that would just be you... you weren’t ready for that.

You missed baking cookies, trying to make gingerbread houses with Bridget, and curling in front of the fireplace wrapped in a million blankets watching those 70’s claymation holiday specials. You and Bridget’s giggles filling the living room as you slept in a fort made from couch cushions and sheets.

You missed being a family.

You sighed and turned the oven on, getting ready to make a small turkey for you and Big Joe. You had other food to still prep, and you were ready to just give up and order a pizza.

Halfway through boiling the eggs you heard a loud knock.

“Magpie were you expectin’ that friend of yours?” Her dad shouted.

You wipe your hands off and pokes your head into the living room, “No... I think he went to Vegas to visit his momma.” you said, walking toward the door.

“Surely to god it’s not a solicitor on Christmas?” you asked.

You open the door and see Bridget and Jamie. You stand there a little surprised. You hadn’t talked to her since Thanksgiving when they had a massive blow out argument.

“Y/N! Merry Christmas!” Jamie exclaimed holding what looked to be a pie in his hands. His smile was genuine as it reached his eyes.

“Merry Christmas Jamie...” you said in surprise.

Jamie walked past her but not before making a face at Bridget.

“Merry Christmas Big Joe!” Jamie’s voice carried off into the room.

Bridget’s holding a bag and looks embarrassed to be standing in front of you.

“I brought a peace offering...” Bridget said passing the bag over to you.

You raised your brow in question but opened the bag anyway.

Inside were two gingerbread house kits and a champagne bottle.

“I thought we could, maybe, try to bring back an old tradition...” She murmured looking at you hopefully.

“Birdie-” You started but she cuts you off.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to freak out at Thanksgiving...I just... I’ve been trying so hard to think that daddy was gonna be just fine.” Bridget’s voice cracks.

“I- I can’t picture that the strongest person I know has to be rolled around in a chair, ya know?” she said, her voice watery as she tried to blink back her tears.

“Daddy’s sick Bridget. He’s already lasted longer than most, but...” you took a deep shaky breath of your own. “We only have a little time left with him.” you whispered.

“I know.” Bridget said firmly. “I’m gonna show up.” she promised.

You look down at the gingerbread houses and back at your baby sister. You pulled Birdie into a tight hug.

“Better late than never.” You whispered.

“I missed this.” Bridget said holding onto her sister.

“I missed you Birdie.”

The two sisters walk into the apartment together. You set the bag down under the tree.

“I’m cooking if you want to help?” You asked her.

“Ohhhhhh no. I don’t cook. I’m awful- you want Jamie.” Bridget said pointing to her boyfriend.

Jamie stands and mock salutes you, “Sous chef reporting for duty!”

You rolled your eyes and motions for him to follow you.

While Jamie’s in the kitchen, it makes the task so much faster for you. Faster than even when Spencer helped her. Jamie clearly knew how to cook and obviously made meals for your sister. The two busted out the mashed potatoes and deviled eggs easily. What would have taken you half of the morning and afternoon took you and Jamie just the morning to finish. It was great to have an extra pair of hands that knew what they were doing.

When you put the rolls in the oven to bake, you notice Jamie’s hand fidgeting in his pocket.

Now that you thought of it, his hand was constantly shooting down to check that he still had whatever it was in his pocket.

“If ya got a ring in there for Birdie, I’d suggest being less obvious.” you joked with a light laugh.

Jamie freezes and his face erupts into a bright red shade, “How... how did you know?” He stuttered out.

Your brows shoot up as you whip around to face Jamie. You look between him and the doorway and don’t hear anything to suggest Bridget heard them.

“I was joking!” you hissed out. “You’re serious?”

“Of course I’m serious! I love Bridget.” he whispered to you. “I wanted to propose with her family there, but it was either you guys or Lauren, and Bridget is fighting with her right now.”

“They’re fighting?” You asked in quiet surprise.

Jamie nodded, “Bridget called her after Thanksgiving and I don’t know much, but it was a screaming match over the phone.”

You make a face. “Sounds like mom.”

Jamie nodded in agreement.

“Well, let me see it!” you demanded, holding your hand out.

Jamie rolled his eyes but fished out the small box and handed it to you. You excitedly opened the box, and your eyes lit up. You passed the small velvet box back to Jamie.

“I think she’ll love it.” you said with a genuine smile. “So, are you proposing today?”

He nodded. Your face beams. “I’m so excited for you guys. Truly.”

“Just gotta find the right time.” He said holding the box tightly.

“There’s never a perfect time... just maybe do it before me and Birdie start building gingerbread houses.” You suggested.

“Why?” Jamie tilted his head in confusion.

“Because she brought champagne and we’re light weights.” you patted Jamie’s arm.

“Go on in the living room, I’ll finish up and get ready to serve soon.” You offered.

Jamie nodded and smiled, “You’re a good sister.”

You shrugged, “Not really, but appreciate the sentiment.” you teased.

Dinner goes wonderfully. Much better than Thanksgiving. You serve everyone their food and the conversations are lively and exciting.

“Your momma called me,” Big Joe said turning to Bridget.

Bridget freezes, like she used to as a kid who was caught, and she looks up at her dad.

“What about?” she asked.

Her dad gave her a pointed look, “You’re fightin’?”

Bridget rolled her eyes. “I got into it with her, it doesn’t matter.”

“She said you were fightin’ about me.” She sighed and looked at her dad.

“Well, what she neglected to tell you daddy, was she was trying to tell me how to take care of you. As if she knows anything more than Magpie does.” Bridget said stabbing her turkey aggressively.

Their dad nodded, “She did not tell me that part.”

“Sounds like Lauren...” You murmured shoving potatoes into your mouth.

Bridget gives you a pointed look, “Please, I don’t want to argue over mom right now.”

You put your hands up in surrender. “I won’t. My lips are sealed.”

After dinner they transferred to the living room and finally do a gift exchange. There weren’t a lot of presents, just a handful for each other. Plus, the gifts you made for your friends.

You already got your gift from Bridget, but you gave her a present. It was homemade cookies that were Bridget’s favorite as a kid. You got Josie to bake them for her.

“This is my apology for Thanksgiving...I shouldn’t have cornered you.” You said softly.

You smiled at your sister and Bridget went to wrap you in a hug.

Bridget and you both had a few presents from your dad, all of which were cute and sentimental.

Finally, Jamie gets ready to give Bridget his present. He hands Bridget her gift and it’s a beautiful print of the night sky and stars the day they met. While Bridget’s too busy looking at the print and getting teary eyes, Jamie drops to his knee.

He doesn’t even get the words out before Bridget immediately breaks into a sob.

Jamie gives a soft laugh, “Bridget Daniels, will you marry me?”

Bridget nods aggressively and throws herself at Jamie. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. “I had a whole speech prepared but then you started crying.” He chuckled into her neck.

“You know I’m a crier!” she blubbered, fat tears rolling down her face.

Jamie just laughed and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

You were filming the whole time on your phone the second Jamie gave Bridget her first gift.

“Congratulations!”

“Well, what a good excuse to pop open the champagne you brought!” You teased pulling the bottle from the gift bag.

Bridget gasped, “Oh yes! Grab it!”

A few hours later you are three glasses deep in champagne and are trying to delicately place gumdrops strategically on the roof of your gingerbread house.

Bridget’s also three glasses in and keeps giggling as she looks down at her hand.

“Biiiiiiiiiirdie!” You drawl out looking over at your sister and her half-built house.

“Stop gigglin’ about your mushy love life and build! I don’t want to win because you half assed it!” You pout, sending a playful glare at your sister.

Bridget stuck her tongue out at you, “Magpie don’t be ugly. I’m two sheets to the wind and you know it!” Bridget said her accent seeping out of every syllable.

You just laughed loudly, snorting, “We’re both two sheets to the wind!”

The two are rolling on the floor filled with giggles. Jamie is sitting on the couch next to Big Joe in his chair just smiling at his fiancé.

“I haven’t seen them this giddy since they were only up to my knee.” Big Joe said with a gruff chortle.

“I told her to just apologize... Bridget’s so stubborn. She won’t ever admit that she looks up to her sister, but she spends a lot of time talking about her. Especially after that bank robbery she was in...”

Big Joe nodded; a scowl crosses his face at the memory of the bank robbery. “That was the worst day of my life.”

Big Joe turned to look at Jamie, “Did you know that boy from Thanksgiving is an FBI agent? He saved her.”

Jamie’s eyes grow big as saucers. “What?”

Big Joe nodded, “He saved my baby girl. I’ll always remember that.”

Jamie grows quiet thinking it over, “...and they aren’t dating?”

“Nope.”

You and Bridget are back to working on the gingerbread houses, with deadly focus as they build. Your hands are shaking as you pipe icing for decoration on your house. Bridget is holding her breath as she places small colored candy pieces as fake lights.

“Are you decorating the yard?” You asked her. You're looking at the cardboard base with laser focus.

“I want to make a snow man, so yes.” Bridget replied.

You sighed. “Fine I guess I’ll do something...” you pause biting your cheek in thought.

You ruffled through the bag of candy and came across the Sour Patch Kids. You gasp in excitement and start putting the small child shaped gummies all over the base.

Bridget looked over and pouted, “Hey! Those were for us to eat not decorate!” she whined.

You rolled your eyes, “Birdie don’t get your panties in a twist- here I only grabbed three!” you said, handing over the bag to your sister.

Bridget frowned, “Liar you used like, ten.” She said flipping you off.

“I’ll eat them! It’s my share.” You exclaimed with a sigh.

Bridget shoved the candy in her mouth, “You better, these are expensive.” She mumbled with her mouth full.

Before you can respond there’s a knock on the door. You bolt up and go to answer. Still tipsy you wobbled a bit before standing straight. You open the door, and your eyes widen as you see Spencer on the doorstep.

Your face is flushed from the champagne, and you’ve thrown a garland around yourself like a scarf, you looked a little ridiculous. Not to mention the remains of broken candy and frosting on you.

“Merry Christmas.” He said, Spencer’s eyes slowly roam your form, and an amused smile formed on his face.

You tried to wipe off whatever remains of the gingerbread house were on you, “Merry Christmas Spencer. I didn’t know you were coming by?” you said flustered.

Spencer shrugged, “I couldn’t make it out to see my mom this year, I’m not staying long though.” He said turning to pull something from his satchel.

You stand in the doorway wringing your hands and tilt your head in curiosity.

“Here!” he exclaimed, finding what he was looking for, he handed over a small, wrapped gift to you.

You gently grabbed the present from him, “I have yours inside- I can go grab it real quick.” you offered.

Spencer shakes his head, “No it’s okay. Open yours first.”

You can see how eager he is, so you do as he requested. You gently peel the wrapping paper off and it’s a jewelry box. You opened it and gasped seeing inside.

“Oh wow... Spencer...” you whispered, the breath knocked out of you as you looked at the gift.

It could be the champagne, or it could be that you are quick to cry, but your eyes well up with tears brimming and ready to fall.

“You don’t like it-” He whispered as he moved to grab the box.

You pull back away from him. You cradled your gift close, “No, Spencer this is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever got me.” your voice cracked as you looked up at him, your tears falling.

You tried to wipe them away, “Sorry-” you hiccupped, “I’m a little drunk.”

Spencer just smiled at you.

“God, now your present sucks in comparison.” you murmured looking at the beautiful necklace he gave you.

Spencer snorts, “It’s not a contest.”

You rolled your eyes and grabbed the necklace, turning your back to him.

“Will you help me put it on?” you asked quietly.

Spencer comes up behind you and his hands gently grab the silver chain. His hands are warm in comparison to the cold metal touching your skin. His touch is feather light as he focuses on clipping your necklace. His breath tickles the nape of your neck, and it sends a shiver through your body.

“Sorry, it’s been out in the cold.” Spencer said, thinking your full body shiver was from the metal.

You don’t reply, not trusting yourself. He fumbles for a moment, but the necklace is on. A beautiful magpie feather pendant rests against your collarbone.

You turned back to him and tilted your head. “How... where did you even get this?” you asked holding the pendant in your hand.

“It’s a long story, but I've been looking for a magpie present for a while.” You looked down at the ground with a shy smile.

“I mean, that’s what your family calls you right? Magpie.” He whispered.

You smiled, “It’s special...for me and Birdie.” she murmured quietly.

“I thought so.” He replied softly, “I finally saw that in a store a while ago and it just, it made sense to me.” He said softly.

You looked up at him and gave a tiny smile, “Thank you Spencer, this was really sweet.” you pushed up on your tip toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Wait right here, let me grab your gift.” you told him.

You don’t see how red Spencer’s face is.

You quickly rush inside and grab Spencer’s gift from under the tree. Bridget and Jamie are nowhere to be found but you can hear idle chatter in the kitchen.

“Magpie,” You turned to see your dad looking at you expectantly.

You tilted your head, “What is it daddy?”

“That boy, the one at my front door,” He started.

Spencer. Big Joe was talking about Spencer. You bite your lip. There’s too much alcohol in you right now to have whatever conversation this is. Not to mention Spencer’s probably freezing.

“Spencer?” You asked for clarification.

“Yes! Him... Magpie, are you in love with him?” He asked.

You almost choke. You start coughing and look at your dad with wide eyes.

“Where did that come from?!” you exclaimed.

“Now, I ain’t stupid. I might be sick, but I got perfectly working eyes.” he said with a frown.

You sputter for a second, “What makes you think that? He’s my best friend.” you cross your arms defensively.

“Y/N.” Big Joe said sternly, giving his daughter a firm look. “I’ve seen how you look at that boy.”

“Daddy,” you sighed. “I don’t have time to date- I have the store and you-”

“Don’t use me as an excuse to not live your life, Magpie.” he said softly. Her dad reached out to hold your hand.

You took a shaky breath, “Daddy- I can’t, I have to go give him this present. I can’t do this right now.”

“I’ve seen how he looks at you, friends don’t look at each other like you two do.”

You go silent and bite your lip. You look down at the gift in your hands, “I think I do... but I don’t know if I’m ready.” you whispered.

Big Joe motions for you to bend down, opening his arms for a hug. You set Spencer’s gift over to the side and wrap your arms around your dad.

“If you’re gonna fall in love with anyone, I’m glad it’s him.” He whispered as he hugged you tight.

You pulled back and gave a sniffle, trying not to cry anymore.

“I have to go, he’s probably freezing.” you told your dad, grabbing Spencer’s gift before walking back outside.

You quickly rushed back to the door, Spencer still standing there, hands in his pockets.

“Sorry, dad stopped me.” you said, handing him a box.

Spencer nodded and gently opened the box. He pulled out a small diorama that was the size of a book. It was Sherlock Holmes apartment.

“It’s for your bookshelf. It’s like a little decoration. I thought Sherlock would be perfect.” you said softly.

“This is perfect, thank you.” He whispered looking at the details.

“There are a few loose items that are still in the box. Once you set it up it’ll look great.” you added.

Spencer put his gift back in the box and looked at you with a warm fondness that took your breath away for a moment. You’re still tipsy and feel warm all over and he’s looking at you with those big hazel doe eyes that have mesmerized you.

“Stop looking at me like that...” you murmured, your hand playing with the magpie charm on your neck.

Spencer chuckled, “Like what?” he tilted his head.

You frowned, “Like, I don’t know, your big puppy eyes... like I’m doing something special.”

Spencer tilted his head and stepped closer, “You are special.”

Your face heats up in a flush, “Merry Christmas.” He pulled you into a quick hug before turning to leave.

“Merry Christmas...” you murmured watching him leave.

You lean against the door when you come back inside and cover your face.

You heard murmured whispers from the living room and giggles.

“He’s cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute.” Bridget’s voice drifts toward you in a high-pitched tone.

“What are you? Twelve?!” You groaned walking back into the living room.

“Mmmmm maybe?” Bridget said with a giggle and threw her arms around you.

You rolled your eyes and tried to stop the flush from creeping down your body.

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fanfic #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds

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quirkwizard · 6 months ago

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Pro Heroes at the Olympic Games

Well, it's been another three years and another Summer Games has rolled around. Only seems fair I'd try again with a post about what heroes would belong in what games. This can be based on anything from powers to skills to whatever I think would be the funniest to see.

Kamui Woods-Archery: I just think it'd be really cool for Kamui Woods to make a bow and arrow from his wooden body. I don't need any more reason than that.

Midnight-Rhythmic Gymnastics: I mean, a whip is pretty close to a ribbon. And it's not like the outfit she has to wear is that much different from her hero costume.

Sir Nighteye-Golf: Sir Nighteye seems like the kind of guy that would be into golfing. That's it. I just thought it'd be fitting for the guy that looks and dresses like a stoic businessman.

Hound Dog-Handball: This is a sport all about catching and throwing a ball around and keeping it away from another team. Naturally, this should be no problem for the man who is part dog.

Beast Jeanist-Diving: The need for precision and elegance would, in this event, fit great with someone like Best Jeanist. That and it's the sport with the least amount of clothing for him to cheat with.

Mount Lady-Sports Climbing: She's got mountain in her name. Of course that means she's good at climbing. Oh, who am I kidding? She'll just turn giant-sized and reach the top instantly.

Snipe-Shooting: Considering all of his shots are guaranteed hits, I would want to see how disrespectful Sniper would get with this. Like doing it with his eyes closed or even shooting other people's targets.

Miruko-Basketball: I could have chosen any leg-based sport for her, but I wanted to pick the one with some more direct competition. Plus, there is the easy reference in putting her in a Toon Squad jersey.

Present Mic-Breaking: Yeah, apparently breaking dancing is considered an Olympic sport. And look me in the eye and tell me Present Mic of all people doesn't know how to break dance.

Nezu-Table Tennis: This is just the only sport that I think could fit him. Literally. He might be too small to use or do any of the sports on the roster. Even then, he's going to have to wield the paddle like a claymore.

Wild Wild Pussycats-3x3 Basketball: Considering this is one of the few team events that requires such a small number, it only feels fitting to place Ragdoll, Mandalay, and Pixie Bob here. And what about Tora? He can be a cheerleader.

Fat Gum-Wrestling: Could you imagine someone trying to wrestle as big and plushy as Fat Gum? They're going to go in for the grapple and immediately sink right inside of him. Now the real question is whether or not it counts as a clinch or a pin.

Eraserhead-Artistic Gymnastics: I wanted to give him Rhythmic Gymnastics so badly with how well it fits him, he even has the ribbon for it, but it's a women's only sport in the games. Still, this fits well enough with his impressive acrobatic skills.

Edgeshot-Fencing: Perfect set up for a fencer. He can make himself as thin as an epee and extend himself out as his pleases. Plus, it's the only official sport that lets you wear a mask in game, which should be no issue for Edgeshot.

Endeavor-Boxing: While I could say that I think that Endeavor is smart enough to handle the sweet science of boxing, the real reason is that he is that huge. I don't even think he'd need his powers to demolish someone in the ring.

Gang Orca-Water Polo: While Gang Orca would kill in any of the water-based events, he would definitely kill it in an event where hitting something really hard is part of the goal with his strength boost. Seriously, his spike might actually kill someone.

Ectoplasm-Rowing: This sport is all about being as in sync as possible with the rest of the rowers. Why bother when you can have your hivemind of clones work perfectly together? And if any of them run out of juice, just switch out one of your clones with a fresh one, no one will notice.

Hawks-Skating: Like Sir Nighteye, Hawks just looks and acts like he would be a skater. It wouldn't surprise me if it was part of his training at the Hero Commission to appeal to a younger demographic. Now he can truly become like his heroic namesake, Tony Hawk.

#My Hero Academia #Not Quirks #Enji Todoroki #Endeavor #Keigo Takami #Hawks #Shota Aizawa #Eraserhead #Hizashi Yamada #Present Mic #Tsunagu Hakamata #Best Jeanist #Edgeshot #Shinya Kamihara

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sybaritick · 1 month ago

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Custom Plushie, Costume, and Fursuit Part Commissions: Details for 2025!

General Notes

All work is about $20/hour plus materials. This is what I've found to be the best balance between "pricing things in a range people can actually afford and will buy" and "paying myself enough to be worth it to do." Yes, I make more hourly at my day job(s), and here that money has to cover self-employment taxes and other expenses too unlike a regular job. But this is something I do because I love it.

Prices listed below are without shipping. Shipping within the US is usually $10 or less; international is usually about $25 unfortunately.

I take payment via PayPal-- I will send you an invoice!

You can contact me about a commission right here in a Tumblr message, on Discord at @\sybaritick, or via mousetoothcreations.etsy.com.

If you'd like to see reviews or testimonials there are a ton available on Etsy (hundreds!) and I have a 4.9-star average rating there (tl;dr I am not going to take your money and run.)

Standard turnaround time is four weeks. If for some reason it would be different from that (long queue, complicated project, etc), I will let you know before you pay for anything!

Plushies!

these are now newly open for commissions! yaaay! For that reason, they are cheaper than they should be. Commission me now before I have more experience and start charging more.

Humanoid plushies like Labrys (top left), Zefira (top right), and Haley (rabbit-girl in the first photoset) start at $150 (with higher prices being for more details, clothing, unusual stuff that needs customization, etc)! Ask/show the character and I will give you a quote.

Animal and creature plushies (bottom row, dragon and cow in the first photoset) are a wider range. A simple beanie plush, like the handsy mouse or the beanie babirusa, starts at about $100, while something more complex like the pig or cow would run you $150, more similar to the humanoids. Something wild like the giant dragon (which is about 5 and a half feet long!! it's awesome) would be about $300, would be totally willing to do it again though just ask for more details!

Fursuit Head Bases

The classic. I've done over a hundred of these commissions! Above are some of the class of 2024. Carved from upholstery foam for you to turn into your own fursuit. They are $130 for just the base itself or $150 if you would like me to do custom eyes as well. :)

Fursuit Parts and Miscellanea

Rodent tails start at $60. Simple one-color minky ones are $60, two-color fur and minky is $70, and extras like the watermelon seeds or patches will bring it to $80-100.

Fleece ear hats are $40 for simple ones (no stripes/spots/markings on them): easy to make and I do any species and color you like! More complex ones like the cat with the tabby head pattern in the middle are $60.

Fluffy hooves are $150.

Anything else you are potentially interested in, including species I haven't mentioned: ask and I will likely be open to it. I enjoy trying new things!

OK, that's all. I'll probably make this my pinned for a bit!

#cal txt #furry

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sshireens · 11 months ago

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everyone and their mother likes a tudor silhouette for the lannisters and i understand why! BUT I DISAGREE! i see your sleeves (which are BEAUTIFUL i will never argue that) and your skirts and i raise you:

insane elizabethan gaudiness. skirts that force the riff raff to Keep Their Distance! ruffs god the RUFFS! embroidered and beaded until moving becomes a workout. stiff busks and small waists (looking even smaller next to that TENT of a skirt). ribbons and pearls and lace and rubies (RUBIES! DID SOMEONE SAY RUBIES? CERSEI I HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU!) are these dresses not Dripping in luxury and finery? the silhouette is just slightly absurd enough to Stand Out okay you KNOW what era this, therefore the people of westeros KNOWWWWWWW who these people are the second they see that right angle waist. plus added benefit: those bodices are probably stiff enough to stop a blade. not that i dont literally gain years on my life every time i see cersei’s cunty chest plate.

i mean (yes these are closer to costume than recreation BUT YOU GET IT OKAY YOU UNDERSTAND) its theatric its dramatic it has me looking at paintings going What is the point?????? and then i remember the point is to stop the show and draw attention and really leave a mark and is that not the lannister way? now i am known to also be a pre-tudor Plantagenet era slim silhouette yards of fabric Typical Medieval Dress fan for cersei BUT CERSEI TRANSCENDS FASHION OKAY. this is her at casterly rock. this is THE WESTERLANDS. this is who she REALLY IS. i can see it in my mind like this is a vision i KNOW it to be true

i mean come on. guys its too easy. i can see her plotting scheming in a giant skirt and a beautiful ruff. she’s analyzing the minuscule beadwork of other court dresses trying to figure out what message she’s being sent (she is not being sent one). she orders EVERY detail of her own gowns to make sure she’s communicating properly back. ladies in waiting carry their own secret messages in beads and lace and decoration and cersei feels SOOO smart because they dont even know it. she wears gold and jewels in a pattern to mimic a maesters chain because at this point she deserves one. think also how easy it is to hide poison in this shit. so many stones that could be hollow. so many layers and folds. and listen when they’re kids and she and jaime trade clothes to pretend to be each other its EVEN EASIER cause nobody knows what you actually look like in this anyway

the wedding look went crazy okay. ruffs and the fucking. peacock head thing i can’t remember the name of. embroidered lions shimmering with ruby eyes and gold thread, dress tinkling with every move because its dripping in pearls and gold and emeralds. alright this fabric is Stiff with beading and stitching and Layers. you can’t look at cersei directly because the torchlight gleams off of her like some demented early stage psychosis medieval disco ball. golden haired golden dressed golden skinned Gold Gold Gold she exudes richness and beauty and fashion. this is fucking crazy to a baratheon court. she upstages the new king. she upstages the memory of rhaella. everyone sees now that she should have been a targaryen queen. DO YOU SEE IT. like i am such a zealot for this like this is SERIOUS TO ME. red and yellow and black and red and red and yellow and GOLD and in her insane mind these are snide allusions to rhaegar and elia and robert to everyone who can see her. and to jaime. this is a lannister woman marrying in lannister colors and she fucked her twin brother That Morning. okay that is also a silly little reference she’s making. THIS WOMAN IS CRAZY SHE DESERVES THE GAUDIEST FASHION HISTORICAL RECREATIONS CAN PROVIDE!

also if it were real (it is real. im grrm.) the allusion to elizabeth i the virgin queen sole female ruler… that just makes me giggle in and of itself.

i rest my case!

#asoiaf #asoiaf fashion #got #cersei lannister #queen cersei #house lannister #cersei baratheon #jaime lannister #robert baratheon #elizabethan fashion #elizabethan #AND COME ON #joffrey would ROCK a ruff #are you telling me he wouldnt?#because youd be wrong #joffrey lannister #joffrey baratheon #clothes #costumes

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intimacyequalsdeath · 1 year ago

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Will you be my Valentine? Sugar day 3 Charles Lee Ray

Welcome everyone to day 3! This if you can't tell was a very last minute event decision for me to make but none the less I hope you all are enjoying it! As usual a master list for easy access will be posted when the even is over.

Notes: Minors DNI, SFW, No specific descriptions of reader or pronouns are used, Y/N isn't used either. If pronouns do have to be used then the reader will go by they/them. This fic doesn't really follow canon with the timeline of when Chucky became the doll to make it work so just keep that in mind.

"So like, Do you need to eat still?"

"What?"

"I mean you're like a doll and all now, do you still need to eat?"

"Look babe, I've only been at this whole doll thing for like a week now don't ask me stupid shit"

"Have you tried to eat?"

Chucky sighs, a long, hard, overexaggerated sigh and pressing his small doll fingers to the bridge of the rubber nose on his new found face. He's propped up on a few phone books in your living room that help him to see the tv better from the couch.

"No. I haven't. Just cause I'm a doll now doesn't mean shit. I'm still The Lakeshore Strangler"

"Well maybe you should then. Valentine's day is coming up and I swear Chuck if you don't eat the dinner I make you for the THIRD year in a row."

"Hey I've only missed it the last two years cause I had to lay low from the cops."

"And who's fault is that? Maybe you should've been more careful"

"Well if you could actually know how to fuckin' drive. I would've been able to have you as the getaway driver"

You gasped in faux shock and placed a hand on your chest as you stared at him. A sly grin overtook the doll's face and he stared right back at you, ripping his eyes away from the television.

"I can drive!"

"Yeah, drive us off the fuckin road. Look babe not everyone is meant to drive"

"Charles Lee Ray! How dare you insinuate that I can't drive. Don't make me remind you of that time you almost ran us into a tree while you were running from the cops"

"Oh please that was ONE time. Plus we didn't actually hit the damn thing did we?"

"We almost did though, and that's enough for me"

"Yeah yeah, whatever"

He turned back to old school movie that was playing on his tv, it was a murder mystery go figure and you were almost 100 percent certain it was one of his favorites from when he was alive, well as a human that is.

"Can I dress you up for Valentine's day?" you asked after a few beats of silence.

"Can you do fuckin what?"

"Dress you up, ya know like in those costumes they have the teddy bears wear"

He shot you a deadpanned look, clearly unimpressed.

"No, stay the fuck away from me with any teddy bear dress up bullshit"

"But if you can't wear an actual suit for dinner why not wear a teddy bear one?"

"Who said I'm going to dress up at all?"

"It's Valentine's day! You have to dress up!"

"No the fuck I don't"

"Sure Chuck"

You remarked, standing up from the couch and heading towards the hallway to go to bed. You heard shuffling behind you as Chucky got down off his phonebooks to follow you.

"Your not puttin me in a fucking costume" He muttered from behind you.

"Mmhmm"

You opened the bedroom door and made your way to the attached bathroom to do your usual nighttime routine. Once you were done you made your way over to the bed that Chucky had already made himself comfortable in and laid down next to him.

"What color do you want your costume to be?"

Chucky sighed and swore under his breath.

"Do. Not. Get. Me. A. Costume."

"No Chucky, of course not Chucky"

Soon the two of you were lulled into sleep, or at least whatever semblance of sleep a possessed doll could achieve. When Chucky woke up the next day there were two things he noticed.

One you were obviously not in bed next to him and two was in your place on your pillow there was a dress suit. A suit that just happened to be about the size of a teddy bear.

#slasher x reader #slasher fandom #valentines day #charles lee ray x reader #childs play #seed of chucky #curse of chucky #chucky x reader

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thenightfolknetwork · 1 year ago

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Back when I was in school, I thought it'd be great fun to create an urban legend or local cryptid. I got some friends together, managed up some costumes, snuck out at night, wandered around looking creepy. And it was; great fun, that is. Sure we were all tired the next day whenever we did that, had weird scrapes and bruises from stumbling around in the dark, and at most we ever heard someone mention that they thought they saw "an animal" out where we were lurking; but we were out with friends, doing something we probably weren't supposed to do, we were young, it was wonderful.

We grew up, as tends to happen. We found more interesting things to do late at night. A bunch of us moved away, including myself. Gradually, we mostly lost touch with each other. I mean I could probably still contact all of them if I really needed to, it would just be awkward. I never mentioned those "adventures" to anyone, because as I got older, it just seemed more and more embarrassing, plus -- as I came to realize -- INCREDIBLY insensitive to the creature community. For the last few years, I've been trying to forget all about it.

Until recently. I was chatting with my mother on the phone, and she mentioned that in the past few weeks, there have been Sightings in the area. She'd never shared it before now, because it was just some minor local gossip, except she'd seen it herself the day before; just a glimpse, but what she described, it matched how we'd dressed up, how we'd moved, even the places we'd done "appearances" in.

My first rational thought was that maybe she'd known the whole time -- as a kid, you're a lot worse at being sneaky than you think you are -- and this was just a very time-delayed prank on me. But I looked into it, and it's not just her telling this to me; I won't bore you with the details, but if this is her prank on me, it's better planned and coordinated than most military operations.

There's three explanations I can think of. The first is that one of my friends has decided to start it up again, after all these years, for whatever reason; or they'd shared it with someone who decided to do the same. On the face of it, this would be easy to check, but that's not taking into account the crippling awkwardness that doing so would entail, plus I know for a fact that the person who'd be my best suspect for doing this, doesn't live within easy travel of the place any more. There's other reasons that make this option seem unlikely to me, but they involve personal details I'm not going to share.

The other possible explanations I can think of, are more up your alley. That either somehow a bunch of dumb kids managed to close-enough replicate what an actual being, that actually exists, is like, and now one of them is there, maybe as a coincidence, or maybe to find the "other one" (which never actually existed, because it was just us). Or that somehow, that same bunch of dumb kids managed to accidentally CREATE a being. To put it in the silliest possible way that my brain keeps repeating on endless loop, accidental catfishing or accidental parenthood.

Should I look into this further? Do I need to swallow the awkwardness and talk to the others? Come clean in public with what we'd done? (I don't think any of it was technically illegal, plus we were children at the time, but it would still be even more awkward than my current benchmark for 'extremely awkward'.) Is it none of my business? Should I start actively hiding any involvement? I go back there about once a year, to visit my parents, and it's a few months still before I'd be expected, so I have time, but I'd need to have a plan in place first.

First of all, reader, I'm glad to hear you have since come to understand how incredibly inappropriate and insensitive your actions were when you were a teenager. I hope young sapios today are a little better educated on the matter of treating liminal cultures and identities with respect, but I confess, it is not a particularly robust hope.

I hear your concerns that you and your friends may have participated in some kind of accidental manifestation. I think I can put those fears to bed. Bringing forth an entity through the power of imagination alone is an astonishingly difficult feat, and one which requires a great deal of concentration, dedication and, frankly, natural magical talent. It would be unusual to the point of near impossibility for a group of teenage pranksters to stumble their way through such a working without knowing it, and even more unlikely that the effects of that working should remain hidden for so long.

I think it equally unlikely that you somehow happened upon an accurate representation of an existing, but as yet unknown, genus. The creature community is vast and varied, and the chances of you managing to cobble together anything like an accurate representation of a genus you've never seen before seems highly unlikely.

However, there is always the possibility of… let us call it “suggestion”. When you think back to that period, is there anything you can remember that motivated you to design the costume as you did? If you can trace your inspiration directly to, say, a particular book or a certain film, then we can set this aside as a possibility.

But if at any point you felt your decisions were driven by something less tangible – if it felt as if “inspiration” had struck, and you moved by shared instinct, all seeming to strive for the same end without communicating that end to one another – then we might start to consider the possibility of external influence.

This could also explain why these sightings have started again. Rather than being a living creature suddenly coming out of hiding, this sudden apparition seems more likely to be another group of young sapios, subject to the same external influence as you and your friends were all those years ago, compelled to don the same costumes and cavort in the same places.

Quite why anyone or anything would be exerting psychic/phasmic influence to this end, I can't guess. There doesn't seem to be any harm in it, apart from inducing sapio teens into insensitive behaviour – and let's be honest, it's even odds they would have done that anyway. And in any case, I think this explanation falls firmly in the “none of your business” side of things.

I say, draw a line under the affair, and move on. Someone in your town may be playing silly buggers, but as an erstwhile silly bugger yourself, I'm sure you can allow them their bit of fun.

[For more creaturely advice, check out Monstrous Agonies on your podcast platform of choice, or visit monstrousproductions.org for more info]

#answered #the nightfolk network #monstrous agonies

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keldae · 16 days ago

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So Kel needs opinions for this year's cosplay project.

Option One: Darth Keldae, working title "Occy". Another custom Sith that will be made for The Dark Empire costuming club. I have most of the fabric already, but I wound up stealing the purple I was going to use for her outer robe for Gale last year (ooops), so I'll need to go fabric shopping again. Otherwise, a cheaper option since I already have the wig, the saberstaff, and most of the fabric! (will need leather though) Completely custom Sith design from my own drawings, loosely inspired by SWTOR Inquisitor aesthetics. May or may not involve LED lights and light armour. Will mostly involve sewing (easy enough), maybe embroidery (if I hate myself), maybe some leatherwork (ugh). Considering the base layer dress has been sitting cut out in a bag for a year, it's teeeechnically already started?

Option Two: Neve Gallus from Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Have I finished the game? Nope. Am I CLOSE to finishing the game? HAHAHAHAHA (I haven't met any of the male companions besides Varric yet...). And her costume scares me with the amount of detail she has, plus her prosthetic, and it will require ALL the fabric shopping and pattern drafting. But if I can get this done for the local comic expo in April, I'll be riding the hype train for DATV and might actually get recognised! (which never happens when I'm in my Sith... my inner attention whore really likes being recognised dammit. Part of why I love wearing Gale so much!) And Neve is such a hottie... I gotta emulate!

(Other potential options include the X-wing pilot that's sitting in my garage, or maybe building a Shadowheart costume, or redoing Morrigan from Dragon Age Origins.)

Cast your votes, Tumblr!

(side note, I can't wear Gale atm since I've lost weight and his belt is too big. =D This is good news! Except this means I need to get and install new leather snaps on his belt... uuuuuugh.)

#polls #kel cosplays #kinda #cast your votes!#Sith Inquisitor #Neve Gallus #help Kel make up her mind

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stoopid-turtle · 2 years ago

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Consuming Candies Pt 2: DD ❤️ GG and GG ❤️ DD

ALL FAKE. I'M MAKING SHIT UP FOR FUN. DON'T BELIEVE ME.

Intro post for this series

Once I convinced myself that DD and GG are some variety of gay, the rest is honestly not hard to conceive of. Two gay guys filming a BL adaption on a set that was open to same-sex relationships who got on really well...it's not hard to believe they'd "get together".

3. DD and GG had "a thing" around the time of the TU production. This could include the time period during filming and through the promo period. Actual timelines and details of the nature of the relationship are secondary.

If an actor and an actress hit it off as well as DD and GG did, it'd be easy for people to see that they were an item. For some reason, people struggle more to see that with two men (okay, I know the reasons, but I'm not getting into that here).

By the time I'd established 1 and 2, I'd seen enough bts and other footage to buy in to 3, as well, but here's the list of moments/candies that just nail it for me. It would be impossible for me to list out all the moments that simply scream "They're in a relationship!!!" because there's, just, a lot. So here's the short list, again, in order of most inarguable to more open to interpretation.

a) Old cow eats young grass.

That's it. That's the clip. There is no het explanation for that. I guess you could maybe claim DD was referring to GG liking younger women, but that doesn't flow with the rest of the conversation they're having. Especially with GG's comment about paying for new brake pads,

They did the gay together. More than just casually. They were an item at this time. Hands down. Case closed.

(Again, I'll get to the argument that this is all fabricated fanservice at another point)

b) The bts of DD getting into costume where he's quizzing the costume-jiejie about what GG said about him in an interview.

This is straight-up, cliche, 'shows up in freaking romance novels' behavior when you have a crush. Nobody's that concerned about what their friend is saying about them in interviews. You only care that much when you're trying to get a feel as to their feelings for you.

Also, the costume-jiejie is hilarious about it. Asking him about his response in an interview and then teasing him about not remembering what GG said about DD. She clearly has served as a sounding board for DD about his crush before, and she's amused and encouraging and teasing, all at the same time. Hats off, costume-jiejie.

c) Happy Camp moments: jealous!GG and the necklace.

I don't usually put much stock in the jealous GG/DD stories, but the instance with GG going grimdark as DD wriggled through the hole with another guy is just...again, I'm struggling to think of a context that would make sense that isn't "they are together and GG is jealous".

(I don't find jealousy cute, tbh, so I'm not jazzed about the moment. I don't know what was going on between them that led to that, but I'm glad they seemed to clear it up).

This leads to the other Happy Camp moment, seen only in fancams. The ox-head necklace that DD had been wearing scratched up his neck during the game. GG's stunned reaction to DD's injuries and his concern, plus clearly telling DD to take it off...none of this makes sense unless GG gave DD the jewelry.

Like, okay. I have a necklace my bff gave me, and I wear it a lot. It's really meaningful and sentimental. But if it were scratching up my neck, I'd take it off. If she were there while it was scratching up my neck, she'd joke about it and agree that I should take it off. She wouldn't look distraught.

My wife, on the other hand...

c) DDU's 11th anniversary episode

There's no way to describe this episode except that it really felt as if DD was having his new partner meet his fam. The fact that DDU stopped throwing women at DD after that speaks volumes.

From a), it's clear that their relationship was pretty serious (and extended after the end of filming), and having GG meet DD's DDU brothers is another indication of where their relationship was at. That's not a trivial thing.

d) GG's lack of chill during promo interviews.

I get the vibe that if they were in a relationship, GG was a lot more scared/nervous about it than DD was. He also had less experience with interviews and such. There are numerous moments where GG misunderstands, overreacts, or just acts weirdly during interviews that are hard to explain away.

- The "It's been a year" video, where DD points out that the camera is recording and GG balks at whatever he'd been saying. Cue the nervous laughter and whispered conversation between them. - The backwards pants interview question. - An interviewer asking him if being in a relationship means the end of his career (right after asking about his marriage plans--a question that made dd mad). - His weird denial of DD's waterfall story

In each case, something startles GG into a panicked silence. Then DD usually intervenes and so then GG has some nervous laughter.

Plainly, there's something he's afraid of being revealed in interviews. So much that he's seeing danger, even when it doesn't exist. Given the nature of the questions, we can see that the "thing" he's afraid of is

- him being in a relationship - something involving DD and him and a waterfall - and accidentally wearing someone else's clothes.

All involve DD. In all, DD is the one who relieves the panic and calms him down while smoothing over the interview.

It's not a leap to guess that he's in a relationship with DD that he's afraid people will find out. Sure, he'd want to hide a het relationship too, that makes sense. But then there's the pants question and the waterfall question. And the only way GG and DD's reaction to the question of whether being in a relationship would be the end of GG's career is if...GG and DD were in a relationship.

e) Hot pot.

Okay, this is where I start sounding crazy if I discuss this without prefacing with everything above ^^^. But the fact that their tastes in hot pot shifted over time to more align with each other is significant. I've read about the regional differences and how DD's sudden taste for spiciness could only really be attributable to GG, who's from an area with spicy hot pot.

This resonates with me, especially, because I was a hella picky eater when I met my wife. Like, embarrassingly picky. But then I met my wife, and she cooks and is a foodie and eventually, my palate just expanded. Now I'm a freaking foodie (and a vegetarian, like her), and our eating habits are pretty closely aligned.

Merging is real in longterm relationships. It looks like this. In my case, my wife demystified food for me with her cooking and likewise, it seems as if GG taught DD how to handle spicy stuff.

This wouldn't be significant on its own, but in conjunction with everything else *waves hands*...well, it's convincing to me.

In summary, it is blindingly obvious to me that they were a committed couple at some point after TU filmed and aired (when that commitment started is unclear, but I'm not gonna get into that here). Even after 227, it's clear that they're romantically together. I'm 100% convinced of this. Since I started drafting this, I've come across older mentions of (now gone) bts that just...there's no doubt. They weren't hiding it on set. They were just out there, exhausting everybody around them with their chaotic flirting/mating dances. It's insane and I love it.

4. DD and GG are still together.

Me: So I've been watching behind the scenes for The Untamed, and I think the two actors maybe had a thing? There's just...a lot going on there. My wife: Sounds gay. Me: I mean, some people seem convinced that they're still together because of shoes or something. That gets real out-there. But I definitely wouldn't be surprised if they had a thing during filming. My wife: (who only watched the show) I could see it. They had that chemistry.

(2 weeks later)

Me: Honey, I swear I sound crazy but I'm not. These two guys were totally together and I think they might still be together. My wife: Because of shoes? Me: I SWEAR I'M NOT CRAZY, HONEY, JUST BELIEVE ME My wife: Yes, dear. Their shoes make them gay. Me: *sobs*

When I first started dipping into things, I felt a great sadness watching older videos of them, because I'd heard that they weren't allowed to interact in public, that they probably didn't even talk to each other anymore, etc etc. YouTube's full of this, and the fans who say they're still together look, well, crazy.

It's easy to conclude they're not together anymore given that so much early evidence of their relationship is based on videos/audios. The bts, joint interviews, fan meetings, etc. We were spoiled with up-front and personal visuals of their dynamic. It's not a surprise that in the absence of that, most people just assume they don't talk or interact much anymore.

Not to mention, wandering in some years later, you get a massive dopamine hit with the bts and the promos and then there's a drop when you try to look for more recent stuff. When we could see it, their relationship seemed to alive. So real. So undeniable. But in the absence of that, the immediate instinct is to assume that lack of visibility = lack of existence.

But we have only ever seen a small slice of their lives, most of which has been selectively shown to us by them or by production companies. Both DD and GG have full lives when we're not around to see them. They each have their own career trajectories. They have vastly different hobbies and both of them have their own friend groups. We only get a glimpse of all of that, but that doesn't mean that's all there is. Especially now, when they're sharing fewer personal posts and China is cracking down on the entertainment industry.

No doubt, we only know the tiniest, most tailored portion of their personal lives these days. But back in 2019-2021, they were clearly together. Their relationship was clearly serious. They joke about shared financial decisions, get introduced to each other's on-screen and off-screen family, visit each other's set. Both of them seemed in it for the long haul.

Given that, I don't see why we should assume they have broken up just because we're years later and we don't get the joy of seeing them together anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think a break-up is impossible. Couples break up. Even couples that have been together for a while. Even couples who adore each other and try to make things work. It happens.

But there's no reason to assume that they're broken up just because we haven't seen them together recently.

I do have a couple "reasons", but this evidence won't convince anybody who doesn't believe they were ever a couple. It's only when you accept that, yeah, these 2 BL actors are actually gay and in a long-term relationship, that this seems reasonable.

a) The bone necklace.

I'm pretty well certain that the ox-head necklace was a gift from GG. The timing of the bone necklace's appearance, plus DD's attachment to it (similar to his attachment to the ox-head necklace), makes it a decent guess that the bone necklace was also a gift from GG.

We can kinda guess at the meaning. I've only seen one clip where GG has called DD gouzaizai, so I don't know if that's an actual "thing" between them. (though it's not outside the realm of possibility that they are influenced by bjyx fandom).

In any case, the bone necklace is still around. Still being worn. That's notable to me.

b) They could end this ship if they wanted to.

They have both had other pairings shut down. The fandom wars between turtles and solos is intense and causes disruption, something neither of them need. The solo fanbases are huge and it'd be a no-brainer to jettison the CPFs if you want to cut down on the type of fandom upset that gets unwanted government attention.

But they haven't.

They could have the supertopics shut down. DD could avoid being anywhere near the number 3. They could both dive into a bush rather than be around the color yellow or a turtle. DD could take a video of himself melting down the bone necklace or giving it to a pretty woman. They could starve the fandom.

But they haven't.

They keep around their gay CP, despite not publicly interacting with each other in years. They take down articles about them breaking up, pull down hot searches about them with actresses, and continue to feed the fandom with candy.

Most recently, GG went to work late on the days DD was out sick. That's not even an intentionally thrown candy. That's just us noticing a couple taking care of each other. If they weren't together, then GG, whose team certainly knows about DD being sick, could have avoided doing anything that would make it seem like he was involved with DD during that time.

But he didn't. Either their teams don't care about turtles, which seems difficult to believe given the conflicts that have arisen within the fandoms, or the teams (notably, gg and dd) want to keep turtles around. At this point, years past the point the show is out, years past the time the two have even been seen together, there's no rational business reason to hold on to the turtles.

That's not neutral. They're not keeping turtles engaged for economic reasons. They're not keeping turtles engaged just for shits and grins (the joke has run a little long for that). They're keeping turtles around because they're getting something of value from having us around.

Honestly, I think having a huge contingent of cpf cheerleaders is probably comforting when they aren't allowed to express their feelings for each other publicly. It's probably weird and sometimes probably intrusive, like most stuff with fans, but they still have millions of people who embrace them as a couple when they live in a country that is hostile to their relationship. Who in that situation wouldn't want to keep that?

In sum, I had to get past the "too good to be true" hurdle. The automatic dismissal of BL fangirl fantasies. I mean, BLs often market to those fantasies, so a healthy dose of skepticism seems reasonable. I don't honestly blame people for dismissing it when they only have a passing familiarity with the whole thing.

It took a lot for me to see past that, and to see that this is the one case (that I'm aware of) where the fantasy is real. I think it's notable that this "fantasy" doesn't actually look like the fanservice fantasy often served up in BLs. I mean, ggdd have their moments, but they're also snippy, jealous, possessive, lewd, awkward, and just plain weird sometimes. They're real and that's messy and that makes it even more real.

In the next part of this little series, I'll talk more about the fanservice question, plus fanfic, and The Timeline. That post requires more editing, so it probably won't go out until next week.

Just remember it's all fake and nothing I say is true.

#bjyx #yizhan #still clowning #24/7 apparently

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kobedivision · 3 months ago

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Happy Halloween from Lovesick

“Wow, Max, you look great! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, you’re a wolf in everything but name, haha..”

“Thanks…you…look nice…Hunter…seems to…approve…”

“Oh, well, uh, I’m glad I could meet his expectations, hey, have you seen Kaiji lately?”

“Hm?…No…I haven’t…not since…this morning…”

“Huh, maybe I should call him, he’s probably got caught up with stre-“

“I’m heeeeeeere~!”

“Wha-“

“…”

“Soooo~? What do you think? I look suuuper cute, yeah? Took me a while to get the paws right but I think I did a good enough job!”

“…”

“Kaiji…”

“Yeah? Let me guess, I’m so cute that you guys are literally speechless, it’s okay~ I get it, it’s not easy to process all this cuteness~”

“It’s..not really that-“

“What…the hell..are…you wearing…”

“Uh, is it not obvious? I’m a werewolf! Just like you guys! It’s what we planned on going as for our group costume? Which, I’m still not happy about by the way.”

“We can see that, Kaiji but Max won the draw fair and square, plus, we already gave you a costume to wear, where is it?”

“Hello? I’m wearing it! I just…modified it a little, sorry RenRen but the costumes you picked out were so boringgggg! I need pizazz! I need glitter! I don’t see what the problem is, I’m still following the theme!”

“It’s too…bright…can’t see…stay…away...you used…way…too much…flower…smelling…stuff…”

“Oh god, well, it could be worse…”

“Panther…someone’s coming…”

“Eh? Oh! Well hello there, my dear, a very happy halloween to you, fufu. Would you like a treat? Or perhaps you’re naughty enough to ask for a trick?”

“Good fucking grief, it’s like a switch has been flipped, just give them their fucking treat, Ren.”

“Fine, fine, here you go, little imp, stay cautious out there~”

You received a treat!

Chocolate Paws. Exactly what it sounds like, solid milk chocolate bites in the shape of a wolf’s paw, the ‘nails’ are made out of white chocolate and the toe beans are strawberry flavored.

“Hi hi~! Happy Halloween, cutie! Do you like my costume? It’s way better than theirs, right? Of course it is, anyways, take this! Bye bye now!”

You received a treat!

Candy Collars. A collar made entirely out of candy held together by licorice, you can show off your sweet fashion taste before eating it.

“…Here…”

You received a treat!

“Dog” Treats. Sweet, cinnamon flavored graham crackers in the shape of bones. Don’t let its appearance fool you, it’s completely edible and safe for human consumption.

#hypmic oc #hypmic #hypnosis mic #hypnosis mic oc #hypnosis microphone #ren nakashima #max soukoku #kaiji sano #lovesick #happy halloween #halloween event #halloween event 2024 #hypmic halloween 2024

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little1too1dramatic · 4 months ago

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2nd Week; 5 movies for Lolitas

Hiii (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ You know, I´m something of a movie buff. However, this time I didn´t go for the best, or even the ones I enjoyed most (even if I liked all of the entries, of course) or even the objectivelly (critically) best ones. I think that those are good films for lolitas for various reasons. And spoiler - you won´t find Kamikaze Girls nor Marie Antoinette there. 1. Gypsy 83 Gypsy 83 is actually a goth film, but I feel like everyone who is a part of some subculture should see it. It´s about two friends, one who is struggling as a gay goth kid from a conservative town and one who is a plus size woman (with a lot of mommy issues) and their way to New York for Stevie Nicks night. Speaking of quality in road trip genre, it´s not another Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, but it´s about being true to yourself, even if your surroundings continue to let you down. Also, I love the soundtrack and wardrobes of our main characters! Honestly, maybe just skip it and watch Priscilla, Queen of the Desert? Less goths, but more drag queens. 2. Devil Wears Prada What does beggining of worst era for style and setting in a fashion magazine in common with EGL? Honest love for fashion. Everyone who likes to watch out for trends, or likes their history, should watch this movie about people willing to do everything for fashion. Also, Meryl Streep is really chic here. Everyone feeling too old to dress nicely should watch her.

3. Angelika Even though this might look a bit rough, the story is set in baroque and magnificent French castles. Gothic and baroque - the most lolita-sque of all historical styles. If beautiful set isn´t enough, you will still love costumes! Angelika has a big wardrobe, so everyone will find something.If you don´t know this series of films, you should read about it first. It´s quite explicit, so you might prepare for it. 4. Adéla ještě nevečeřela/Ádela Has Not Had Her Supper Yet Czech film, a period detective sci-fi comedy. We made a lot of them, it was hard to film something contemporary (and even harder to make it any good) during socialism. The influence of Edwardian era on lolita shouldn´t be underplayed, which is why I recommend Downton Abbey, but this feels closer to me. Adéla is a very funny detective comedy with great stylization, which makes it cool to watch even if you don´t enjoy the costumes. Fun fact: Robert Redford was supposed to play main character.

Honorable mention goes to Titanic. 5. Amadeus I heard it´s one of the best films around? Well, it´s not my favourite, even if I adore Miloš Forman, but it´s gorgeous. From costumes, to pre-revolution Prague (don´t let them fool you, Vienna wouldn´t be so fabulour in 1988). Since it´s about the one and only Mozart, a lot of scenes are in opera, which is fabulous. And the mascarade scene? Roccoco i sone of my favourite eras, and it´s depicted beautifully here. Dear god. Theodore Pištěk won Academy Award for this and it´s easy to see why.

#egl #egl diary #egl community #lolita fashion #movie recommendation

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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 6 months ago

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The Most Powerful Waitress

Chapter six Will post the last one here tomorrow. It's already complete on AO3

Chapter one: School's out

Chapter two: I'd hire me

Chapter three: No cure for me

Chapter four: Rinse and repeat

Chapter five: Patience

Chapter seven (final chapter): No one knows

@whatwouldvalerydo

I don't know

A Snyde never gave up, so the next morning Merula pushed herself to get up early, slung a bag over her should and went back to Hogsmeade. Losing her patience yesterday wasn’t her fault, it was all on that guy. She’d been doing great before he came along and she’d fucking prove it to anyone who’d hire her. And hire her they would!

Luckily, Zonko’s had a note in the window saying they were looking for help. Selling some kids joke items couldn’t be worse than anything else she’d tried so far. Plus with how annoying kids could be they’d be a great way to practice her patience some more and she doubted any kid would be dumb enough to behave like the guy from yesterday.

The bright coloured store smelled like dungbombs and Merula wondered why Bilton didn’t have any spells in place to cover that smell up. But knowing him, he might like the smell. He stood behind the counter, grinning at a couple of kids who were arguing whether dungbombs or nose-biting teacups were better. The one arguing for the teacups was right: all the fun, none of the smell.

She walked over with a confident grin and put her hands on the counter. ‘I’m the help you need and I can start right now.’

Bilton frowned at her. ‘I don’t know about that. I heard what happened last night-’

‘Then you know it wasn’t my fault.’ Merula cut him off, because she would not start her day with another rejection. She would practice her patience and she’d practice it here! ‘I can sell stuff to some kids. Look!’ She walked over to the arguing kids. ‘Obviously the teacup is the better choice. You want to smell like dungbombs for the next week? Everyone will know it’s you.’ The kids shared a look and took a step backwards, but Merula pressed on. ‘Just buy the teacup. You’ll thank me later.’

She looked at them expectantly and the kids shuffled away to put the dungbombs back on the shelf. Bilton rung them up with his jovial laughter, while the kids looked over their shoulders a few times.

‘So, I’m hired, right?’ Merula asked when the kids left.

‘I don’t know.’

‘Didn’t you see what I did there? I’m a natural.’

They stared at each other. What was he thinking questioning her! All because of that absolute fucking twat from yesterday? That wasn’t her fault and she wouldn’t let Bilton deny her the chance to prove it.

‘I guess you can try out today and we’ll see how it goes.’

‘Good.’

Only a day, but whatever. It would be enough. Bilton let her behind the counter and showed her the cash till. Basically she would be the cashier, so her job would be to calculate. Bilton would go around the shop, joking with the kids and taking stock of everything. Easy.

The morning went about in slow fashion. Merula rang up purchases and even wrapped a few. Bilton kept his eye on her, but she made sure to put on her best Madam Rosmerta face and after a while he seemed to relax. The kids in the store were better than the costumers at the Three Broomsticks. They were loud, but some of their pranking plans were unexpectedly quite funny. The smell seemed not as bad after a while, though she figured she needed a long bath to get rid of it when her shift ended.

‘Why don’t you take a little break?’ Bilton said after Merula rang up another group of kids. ‘There’s an owl for you in the break room.’

Curious, Merula left her spot. The break room was Bilton’s own kitchen, a simple white painted wooden kitchen, located directly behind the stock room. Even with the window open and a pot of tea damping on the table this room stank of dungbombs too. She fed the owl a piece of a biscuit, untied the letter and tore it open. Ismelda’s familiar writing greeted her.

Merula,

We’ve settled into an apartment in New York. The city is huge, with lots of flickering lights. I hate it and have bought the thickest curtains I could find. The apartment is so dark now that we have candles everywhere.

Ben’s been busy with his job. It’s different than he expected. The muggles here are used to seeing weird things and most of it is chalked up to aliens. No really. Lots of talk about aliens here. Most of the times he’s needed for people pranking muggles, or when someone lets some creature escape or shapeshifts in the middle of the street. People are so dumb, it happens quite a lot. Somehow he still likes it and I guess his stories are kind of funny.

My job is good. I barely talk to anyone and when I do it’s all about history. I have my own room where I can research and date artefacts. They also let me work on my own research. I’ve been looking into the relations between the muggles and the native magical community here to help with dating. It’s quite gruesome.

To be honest I’m happy. It’s a weird feeling, but I think I could get used to this.

Hope you’re doing well,

Ismelda

PS: You owe me five galleons.

Merula rolled her eyes. Typical Ismelda to take something said in a fight so serious. But whatever, she’d pay. She read the letter again. Good for her for being happy. With her perfect apartment, perfect boyfriend and perfect career. How the fuck was she supposed to respond to that?

Glad you’re doing well. I’ve been fired from five jobs this week. Oh and Quinn moved out the day ‘the retreat’ was over and I hate it?

Yeah that would make for a nice letter. She chucked the thing in her bag, she could answer later. The letter and possible responses kept running through her mind while she counted some more and rung up some more kids. It was a slow day and most of her time was spent staring ahead. She almost missed the whiny costumers at the Three Broomsticks, at least that hadn’t been boring. If she’d known today would be this boring she’d have brought a book. The store even emptied out and Bilton came up to her, twisting his moustache.

‘I have to run a little errand. If you want, I could close the shop, that way you could have a long lunch break.’

Merula narrowed her eyes, she saw right through his offer. ‘I’m fine.’

‘It’s only your first day. I could understand if you didn’t want to be alone yet.’

‘I can handle the store by myself for a few minutes. I’ve been doing great so far, haven’t I?’

‘That’s true.’ Bilton admitted with a laugh, but it didn’t fill the room like his usual laughter did. ‘Okay, I’ll let you to it. It’s a quiet day after all. Just close the shop if you feel the need to, alright? I won’t mind.’

‘I will.’ She wouldn’t, because there was nothing that could happen that could make her need to close the shop. Except lunch.

‘I’ll be off then. I’ll see you in a bit.’

How hard did he think this fucking job was? That would make a nice addition to her response for Ismelda.

I’m working at Zonko’s now where Bilton doesn’t seem to think I can handle counting some coins by myself. What does he think I’ll do? Steal? Like I need the money.

After lunch she opened the store again. The sign had only turned back for a few minutes when a horrid clanging sound filled the room. Quinn walked towards her, looking as surprised to see her as Merula felt. For a tiny moment she thought today would get better. They’d have a nice conversation where Quinn would be all enthusiastic about her job, her home and seeing Merula later. Then she would gush over her and tell her how amazing she was. Just the cheering up she needed right now. But to her even bigger surprise Quinn held the source of the clanging: a toy monkey banging its cymbals together.

‘Can’t you turn that off?’ Merula shouted over the noise.

Quinn shook her head. ‘I wanted to ask Bilton for help with this. Is he around?’

‘Bilton?! What the fuck?! You think I can’t help you with it?’

‘No, of course. You can help-’

‘Merula? Quinn Lee?’ Tulip walked up to them, with her toad Dennis on her shoulder. ‘What’s that?’

‘It’s from work.’

‘Your work just gave you that? That’s brilliant!’

‘They did, but how are you, I haven’t seen you in ages?’ Quinn asked with a smile.

‘Dennis and I no longer conform to the construct of time. As far as I’m concerned, we all exist in a blank space of creativity and ambition. It’s the best way to work on my inventions and that monkey of yours is giving me all new ideas.’

‘You’re an inventor?’ Tulip grinned at Quinn as an answer and Quinn returned the look. ‘You did it! That’s amazing. I’m so happy it’s working out for you.’

Look at Quinn being all sweet and gushy. Perfect Tulip with her perfect job doing so much better than Merula. Tulip did what she wanted, Ismelda did what she wanted and she’d heard Quinn’s friends yesterday. They all did what they wanted. Haywood the potioneer, Egwu the fashion expert, Tonks the auror and Murphy the quidditch commentator. Copper had his fun obliviating muggles and Ismelda even said she was happy. Happy! She hated being happy!

‘Brilliant! Does everyone have a fantastic career except me?!’

‘Merula, calm down.’ Quinn pleaded.

‘Shut up!’ Without thinking, or looking back, Merula stomped off.

Let Quinn date Tulip if she was so amazing! Or one of her other friends. She kept going, internally cursing everything and everyone. Another terrible job and to top it off she had practically begged Bilton for it. When she could do so much better! How had she managed to sink this low? Thoughts kept running through her head as she stomped on, until she realised she had walked all the way out of Hogsmeade. All around her were trees and grass, no building in sight.

She needed to calm down, find something relaxing for a moment. It took her only a few moments to think of what she wanted. She apparated to a spot just outside of the Hogwarts grounds and hurried over to creature care. Professor Kettleburn had insisted that she was welcome to visit the creatures whenever she wanted.

The puffskeins lived in a large grass enclosure with lots of hideouts and holes. Throughout the enclosure stood various objects. Some were for the puffies to play with on their own, others for people to play with the puffies. Most puffskeins were wandering about, humming a little. The humming became louder when she greeted them and entered their enclosure. It had been over a month since she last saw them, but the puffies always remembered her. She had been visiting them sometimes multiple times a week when she was still in school and had been doing so since third year. Throwing puffies around was one of the best ways to calm down.

She sat in front of the puffskein-sized quidditch hoops and the poffle ran up to her, climbing in her lap, all eager to be thrown around. The moment her fingers closed around one of the soft little furballs some tension left her body. One by one she threw them through the hoops, their happy humming grew louder and soon they had Merula making her own happy sounds. Puffskeins were the absolute best.

They flew about as she tried to throw away her feelings of anger and guilt. She’d gotten herself fired again. Bilton would rightfully be pissed when he found out what she did. So much for being the Most Patient Witch. Her arms grew tired and she laid down. The poffle got on top of her, because one thing they liked almost as much as being thrown around were cuddles on a warm pillow. She ran her fingers through their fur, letting her body relax.

It didn’t seem fair. Life after Hogwarts should be great! All she’d wanted was a good job, a great career, something that would make people look up to her. Make them forget about her name, who her family was and say nice things like what Quinn said to Tulip.

Quinn!

She shot up, making the puffskeins fall to her side. How long had she been here? She was supposed to come see her apartment for the first time today. If Quinn even wanted to see her after she yelled at her. Fuck. What a lovely girlfriend had she been. This would certainly go a long way in proving Quinn made the right choice by staying with her.

She made sure the puffies stayed in their enclosure and hurried towards Quinn’s apartment. It took a moment to find Quinn’s building, because all buildings looked alike in the side street to Diagon Alley. But its name was etched into the wood above the door, so she knew she had the right one. Quinn’s apartment was easier to find, the one with the fox doormat, but no one answered when she knocked and knocked again. Could she still be out? Or maybe she’d gone to look for her. That meant she’d probably be waiting for her to get home. Yes, that had to be it.

Except it wasn’t. Her own home was as empty as Quinn’s seemed to be. Her mind began to race. She’d messed up. She’d messed up again and this was the last straw. Why would Quinn even want to be near her? She’d probably fled to a friend and would never speak to her again.

Calm down you idiot. She’s not like that and you know it.

No, that’s right. At the very least she’d write a letter. So there had to be a letter. She scoured her whole home, even the rooms she only ever entered to clear some dust when she remembered to, but no letter anywhere. Her bag had somehow made it back to her home, but nothing in there either. Had Quinn been here, or had Bilton send it over when he realised she left? Fuck, she owed him an apology too, but that would have come later. First Quinn. Had to find Quinn. If she wasn’t here, or at her own place and hadn’t left a letter then what happened? Had something happened?!

She had to track her down. Return to the place she’d last seen her. Thankfully Zonko’s was closed now, because that gave her an excuse not to come over and apologize just yet. To find Quinn she painted a clear picture of her in her mind. She pictured her bright smile, fiery red curls and freckled skin and let the desire to find her overrule every other thought and feeling when she cast what she hoped to be the best tracking spell for the situation.

Against her expectations the spell showed that Quinn hadn’t apparated, but rather walked from Zonko’s. That made this part a bit easier. Merula hoped it stayed like this when she followed the footsteps out of Hogsmeade, in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. The large forest stretched out way beyond both Hogwarts and Hogsmeade and when both were a good distance away the footsteps led her inside.

A few feet into the forest almost all light disappeared, even from the pathway, and she had to light her wand to keep going. After a while the track led her off the pathway and that’s when she heard the clanging again. She quickened her steps, hoping that Quinn hadn’t abandoned the thing here. But no, in a small clearing, just big enough to let in some light from the grey sky, stood Quinn. That terrible monkey sat a few feet away from her. Next to her floated some books, parchment and a quill.

‘Quinn!’ The books dipped for a moment when Quinn heard her. ‘What are you doing? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!’ Merula still had to be loud to be heard over the monkey.

‘I’m sorry, I forgot about the time, I didn’t mean to worry you.’

‘No, it’s fine.’ Merula wrapped her arms tight around her and buried her face in her neck, inhaling her scent. Quinn hugged her back, trying to say some more apologies, but Merula cut her off. ‘It’s alright, love. It’s alright. I’m glad I found you and-’

She hated this part, especially because there should’ve been no more need for it now, but she messed up again. Being close now she saw the bags under her eyes and noticed that Quinn wore the same clothes as yesterday. She remembered the little disappearance of her smile and how she’d literally asked for help earlier. Some girlfriend she had been. She had to make this right. Do better.

‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry for yelling at you and storming off.’

‘It’s okay, I know you’ve had a rough week.’

‘Unlike you, you want to say?’ She gestured at the horrid clanging monster. ‘Can I help you with that thing?’

‘I don’t know. I’ve tried so much already.’

Quinn stepped back to let the parchment float in front of Merula. It turned out to be a long, long list of crossed out spells. Most of them were aimed to destroy the monkey, others focused on stopping the noise. Nothing helpful came to her after seeing that list.

‘Then let’s sit and ignore the thing, you look like you could use a break.’ To her relief Quinn didn’t protest and she guided her towards the nearest tree, where she invited her to curl up against her. ‘Want to tell me about the monkey?’

‘It’s my first work assignment and it’s cursed to keep following whoever gets it around and keep clanging forever.’

‘It follows you?’

Quinn nodded against her. ‘My neighbours are already mad at me, because it doesn’t let itself be dampened in any way. I’ve been trying since I got it yesterday to get it to shut up or destroy it, but nothing works.’

Realization dawned on Merula and she swallowed to keep her questions inside. Instead, she stroked Quinn’s back. She knew why Quinn didn’t come to her last night and her actions today had done nothing to make Quinn feel like she could come if there was a next time.

‘I’m sorry I made you feel like you couldn’t come to me.’

‘At least you got a good night’s sleep now.’

‘I don’t want that. I want to be there for you. I’m sorry for yelling and walking away from you earlier today.’

‘What was that about anyway?’

Quinn looked up at her, her green eyes curious. No judgement. Merula’s chest tightened and she snuggled closer against Quinn, hiding her face in her curls.

‘I thought everything would be better now. We defeated R, got everyone behind bars. Now we would just get to live. And I thought it’d be easy, but it’s not. I thought nothing could mess my life up anymore,’ her voice cracked, ‘but I’m the one messing up my life. Got myself fired six times in one week, while everyone has these big careers. I yelled at you when I could’ve been there for you. I messed everything up. I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t even know what I want.’

‘You could take a break, you don’t need to work.’

‘I can’t just be jobless!’

‘Why not?’

‘Because-’

What if people thought she was lazy? Incapable? Or worse, what if it proved what they thought about her? That someone with her background wasn’t fit for society.

The Most Powerful Witch should have a career that lived up to her title, not whatever she did now. No job meant no recognition, but on the other hand, this situation made her look like a failure. What she did today would get her no favours. Who would hire a her knowing she would storm off when things didn’t go her way? Besides, doing stupid jobs for the fuck of it wouldn’t help her figure things out.

‘I don’t know.’ She paused for a moment. ‘What about you? Do you even like your job so far?’

‘No. I have a nice coworker, but my boss hates me because Moody and Dumbledore forced me on him. He gave me this monkey to spite me and won’t tell me how to solve it. But I know he knows, because he said a lot of agents have gotten this case. He also said if I don’t solve it that he’ll fire me.’ Quinn sighed deeply. ‘You’re right, life after Hogwarts is not easy.’

Merula almost suggested for Quinn to let herself get fired, but she knew better. Quinn could be as stubborn as she was when trying to prove herself. Instead she thought of something to cheer her up.

‘I liked the first month.’

‘Me too.’

‘Maybe we could do something like that soon, it doesn’t have to be a month, a weekend is good too.’

‘I’d like that.’ Quinn turned to give her a kiss. Then her eyes widened. ‘It stopped.’

It took Merula a moment to get what she said. Quinn had already gotten up and grabbed the monkey.

‘It stopped.’ She repeated and turned the monkey around.

‘So this whole thing exists to annoy people and when it can’t, it stops?’

‘I guess so.’

‘I hate that thing and whoever created it.’

‘Me too.’ Quinn tossed it aside and came back to cuddle her. ‘But I love you and I don’t know if I’d have figured it out without you. Thank you.’

‘I’m glad I could help and I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you before. Maybe you could’ve slept last night.’

‘It’s okay and it’s over now. I suppose I’ll have to go drop it off at work.’

‘How about I pick up curry from that place you love and we meet at your place?’ It was well beyond dinner time, but since the sky hadn’t darkened yet Merula figured that the place would still be open.

‘Can we meet at yours? I like your place better. It’s more like a home.’

Her words made Merula feel all kinds of soppy and all she could do in response was nod and hug Quinn tighter. At least things were good between them. Even though she still had no idea what she wanted, or how to fix her problems, Merula felt a lot lighter once they let go.

#the most powerful waitress #merula snyde #merula x mc #quinn lee #merula x quinn #hogwarts mystery #quirula #nymphadora tonks #penny haywood

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