#sarah magic makeup

[pedge-page]

Joel Dealing with Sarah: Super Woman, Super Wife

- - - -

Little Sarah having a blast today going to the park then meeting with friends then getting ice cream, just pure summer fun all day with Dad as her chauffeur. Until it's night time and she's in her car seat and suddenly remembers something, looks around desperately, and starts panicking:

She lost her favorite squishmellow.

Starts screaming and crying and kicking her feet, and Joel is freaking out because it's literally the only thing she sleeps with, carries around 24/7, in the mud and in the pool, to bed and to dinner, and if she lost it.... its all hell. And he knows it probably fell out of the car on the road at some point today as she got in and out of the back. The chances of finding it all torn up and squished into the asphalt are slim as is.

You get a frantic 3 calls from Joel. When you pick up, you hear uncontrolled wailing in the background.

"Joel I can't hear you! What's going on?"

"ITS ALL FUCKING HELL BREAKING LOOSE!" He shouts into the receiver, one finger plunged deep into his ear canal while pressing his phone into the other.

"Im coming home! Just wait for me!"

-

You rush through the door, a raucous of fat tears and inconsolable shrieks greeting you. Joel is literally burying Sarah in a mountain or her stuffed animals trying to calm her. He thinks youre gonna run towards them and give her a big hug and do SOMETHING Mommy Magical. Instead, you run upstairs without greeting them.

Joel keeps trying, his ears ringing, ready to just duct tape her mouth shut. Nothing is giving her any peace unless it's her one of a kind, super soft , special, best friend, s--

"SQUISHY!!!"

As Sarah reaches forward, smiling for the first time all afternoon, Joel sees you approaching excitedly, waving her pristine and glorious squishmellow. His daughter grasps it tightly and hugs it with all her might.

"How the hell did you find it?" Joel asks you. He's beyond fucking amazed. His superhuman, super hero, magician of a wife never once failing to deliver. He thinks you should write a book on your powers. "How did you get it so clean??"

As Sarah reunites with her Squishy, you take Joel upstairs to the back of your closet, in a high reach inconspicuous box labeled "for emergencies only". He always assumed it was an extra stash of bandaid, or maybe some special makeup in case you get a random case of acne.

You open the mysterious cover and reveal 10 vacuumed sealed, brand new, unopened squishmellows EXACTLY like the one Sarah has downstairs.

"You thought I just bought one the first time?" You chuckle at Joel's jaw dropped expression, probably marveling at what a fucking genius you are.

Though when you two return downstairs, your heart stops for a moment as Sarah suspiciously eyes her seemingly "rescued" plush from afar. Narrow eyes of distrust on its gleaming perfect unstained, brightly colored body, as if she can smell it's factory newness, false nose, and her scheming parents...

Thankfully, she shrugs and goes back to feeding it her dinner at the table. You and Joel let out a sigh of relief.

[acourtofthought]

I love how SJM described both Lucien and Eris. 🌳🌳🌳

She writes Autumn Court fae as being so connected to the earth.

It's so clear to see that Sarah is hinting at Lucien being the right person for Elain. Sunshine and nature, the makeup of her own mate.

It's almost like SJM flipped the Blodeuwedd fairytale on its head or at least shared it between both Elain and Lucien.

Gwydion created Blodeuwedd out of flowers to be the wife of Lleu.

And while Elain is often likened to flowers as well, SJM created her mate to have the Sun in his blood and appear crafted from the forests.

The fairytale benefitted Lleu by gifting him a spouse through magic but Sarah made Lucien the answer to what Elain most connects with (nature) and needs, "Sunshine".

[fbfh]

curiosity is a wonderful thing - ch 8

wc: 3.1k

genre: slowburn, friends to lovers, fluff

pairing: audrey x ben, mal x ben????, eventual ben x daughter of alice!reader

warnings: audrey being a lil bitch again, mind control/hypnosis magic, implanted thoughts, minor emotional manipulation from mal

summary: disappointed again by Audrey's motivations, Ben prepares for a huge tourney match. But something - or someone - becomes very distracting all of a sudden.

song recs: the king - sarah kinsley, mind control - topsecret, do it for her - steven universe soundtrack

a/n: so we took in a stray cat (orange ofc) and he literally did this to me the other day???? peak orange cat behavior tbh. not my pic if that wasn't obvious

TAGS @yesv01 @magcon7280 @hopefullhearts @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sunshineangel-reads @dustyinkpages @inejsknifes @tulipmagnoliaisme @ev3ningrain

“So, where’s bunny?” Audrey asks Ben as they head to the tourney field. She says his nickname for you with a note of venom. Even though it rarely happens, whenever someone else refers to you as bunny it always hits Ben’s ear wrong. 

“She’s probably just running late,” Ben says, “nothing out of the ordinary.” 

He says it sweetly. You three were supposed to meet up before the match today, but Ben figures you probably took a wrong turn, or got tied up in a project. Ben covers for you like that a lot. He doesn't mind at all, and since he can't go with you to Wonderland, he feels like this is the next best thing. Or the least he can do, he supposes.

“Well great, that's…” Audrey starts, trailing off as she gets distracted by a group of girls. More specifically, by how amazing their hair is. She tries to pay attention to what Ben is going on about this time, but their hair… it’s too distracting. It looks photoshopped. It looks like the hair they use in salon ads and shampoo commercials. She glares at them, her gaze venomous until she realizes her eyebrows are all scrunched up. She snaps out of it, smoothing out her face. First not just one person with better hair than her, but multiple girls with hair so much better than hers that she’s going to get wrinkles over it? What’s next, mixing patterns? Unblended eyeshadow? Orthopedic shoes?

“Do you think they actually paid for those?” She spits conspiratorially.

“D- uh, they- they might have…” Ben sputters at the sudden change of topic, following her gaze and trying to figure out what exactly has got Audrey in such a bad mood suddenly. 

“She did it to Jane’s hair too,” Audrey continues in that tone she only gets when spreading gossip. “And Fairy Godmother’s not happy about it.”

Oh. She’s talking about their hair. 

The realization dawns on Ben, and he takes a closer look at the group of girls. The girl on the left’s new color and style remind him a lot of yours. It looks good. Ben glances back at Audrey, realizing she’s this upset over someone else’s hair.

“I mean… what’s the harm?” Ben starts gently. From what you’ve told him about Mal and Evie, Mal is probably just trying to make friends with the makeup and fashion tips she’s picked up from Evie - and as far as Ben’s concerned, that’s something that should be encouraged. Before he can finish his thought, Audrey interjects, as she so often does when the conversation isn’t about her.

“It’s gateway magic!” She exclaims incredulously, as if this should be obvious to him. 

Gateway magic? That’s… not a thing… Ben thinks, wondering for a fraction of a second if Audrey might be joking. The only reason that magic is retired in the first place is because of the technology boom that came from Auradon’s alliance with Atlantis. All the new technology can do pretty much anything magic can do in people’s day to day lives. 

Aside from that, it’s also much easier to regulate and add in safety precautions. Most people have become more interested in exploring and expanding new technologies than focusing on magic and its traditions. Ben has a feeling that in the coming years, magic will eventually begin to be re-incorporated into society, but for now, it’s somewhat obsolete. Technology is easier to learn, gets more consistent results, and you don’t need to dig through ancient texts for information - one quick Doogle search and you’re good to go. 

“I mean, sure, it starts with the hair.” Audrey continues, and Ben can sense a tangent coming. “Next thing you know it’s the lips, then the legs, then the clothes, and then everybody looks so good, and…”

As he listens, Ben starts to see her point. If using magic to alter the way you look becomes common, it could have dire consequences. Adolescence is a fragile time, and if cosmetic alterations start running rampant at Auradon Prep, who knows how detrimental that could be to the student body’s self image and self esteem? The last thing Ben wants is to contribute to misogynistic, unrealistic beauty standards, give young girls even more unattainable ideologies to compare themselves to. 

He’s sure Mal is well intentioned with all this makeover stuff, and he doesn’t want to punish her for efforts to make friends - solve one problem by causing another. If he can just talk to her, have a heart to heart and explain why he’s concerned, he’s sure she’ll understand. That way they can collaborate, come up with a solution for how Mal can make friends without doing anything that could inadvertently create a negative aftermath. 

“...Then where will I be?” 

Audrey’s voice breaks Ben’s momentary, spiraling train of thought. He looks at her as she pouts, fussing with her own hair. She pulls out a compact mirror and begins inspecting her face. The realization that Audrey is only worried about herself yet again sends a flash of disappointment through him. Maybe if things were different he could talk to her about it, maybe he could get her to understand. But he still has a tourney game to get ready for, a meeting with his parents after that, and a new potential crisis to put out. 

“Listen, Audrey-”

Either she doesn’t hear him, or she doesn’t want to, and cuts him off again - something Ben starts to realize he’s growing very used to. She snaps her compact shut and looks at him vaguely, digging around her bag for her plumping lip gloss. She makes a mental note to get more, the extreme plumping kind if she wants to get ahead of all this magic beauty bullshit on the horizon.

“I will see you after my dress fitting for coronation, ‘kay?”

“O-Okay…” Ben replies, but Audrey is already bounding away.

“Bye bennyboo.” She calls out behind her, leaving Ben alone in the hall. He feels himself cringe a little at her repeated use of the nicknam, but reprimands himself. It’s well intentioned - well enough at least - so he shouldn’t be judgemental. 

Behind him in the empty hall, Mal stands, staring at the back of Ben’s head intently. She steadies herself with a breath. She’s been practicing on the birds outside her window - she even practiced on Carlos a few times - she’s been pouring over her mom’s spellbook nonstop since yesterday, she’s ready. She has to be. She takes a breath and walks forward, clearing her throat. 

“Hey bennyboo!” She says, sarcastic and saccharine. 

Ben turns around, startled by the sound of Mal’s voice, and bites back a sigh. He really wishes people would just call him Ben. Before he can greet her, Mal takes a few steps closer, locking eyes with him, and holds up a baggie of cookies that look very… homemade. 

“Do you want one?”

He looks at the cookies briefly, then smiles at Mal. It seems a little strange that she would take up something like baking when she refuses to even take an art class, but Ben is too distracted by the fact that she’s finally putting a good foot forward. She’s doing something kind, making a gesture, she’s trying.

“Oh,” he chuckles, smiling and trying to find a polite way to decline. He never eats right before a tourney match, especially dessert. 

“I uh,” he starts, fumbling for words that always come so easily. “I’ve got a big game - I don’t eat before a big game, but thank you so much!” He adds quickly, her eyes locked onto his. Have they always been that green? 

“T-thank you. Next time, next time definitely.” He concludes. He should go. He needs to go warm up or he’s going to be late. Why is he still standing there?

“No, yeah.” Mal says, pulling his thoughts back to her. If her eyes had always been so intense, such a vibrant, glowing green, Ben is sure he would have noticed before. “I completely understand.”

Mal smiles sadly. 

“Be wary of treats offered by villains…” She laughs sadly, eyes still locked on his, drawing him in. “I’m sure every kid in Auradon knows that.” 

Panic and guilt flash through him. 

“No, no, no-” He fumbles, trying to explain, but finding the words feels like trying to run through quicksand. He can feel his brain slowing down, struggling to think, growing more and more quiet. 

“No, that’s not it,” he sputters, desperately trying to correct her impression of him, that he doesn’t trust her, doesn’t like her. “I- I really do-” 

He gestures weakly toward the tourney field, eyes still locked on Mal’s, stuck in her entrancing gaze. Everything around him seems to glow with a tinge of that green, that intoxicating emerald color of her eyes. He tries to say something, but there are no words in his head to draw on. It’s like someone cut the power supply to his mind, leaving him reeling in the dark, stuck in place as Mal stares him down, inching closer to him. He can’t think, can’t blink, can’t move. All he can do is watch the shades of green emanating from Mal’s eyes, casting everything around him in emerald and lime and harlequin. He wishes he could say something, then slipping into the back of his mind like a snake, words begin to form. 

Everything you say and do makes everyone believe you’re wildly in love with me. Even yourself. 

Everything you say and do makes everyone believe you’re wildly in love with me. Even yourself.  

“No, I get it.” Mal says out loud, sounding just like the strange orders permeating Ben’s mind. “You’re cautious, that’s smart.” 

Everything you say and do makes everyone believe you’re wildly in love with me. Even yourself.

“Oh well,” Mal sighs, “more for me I guess…”

Everything you say and do makes everyone believe you’re wildly in love with me. Even yourself. 

She holds up her sugary concoction between them. 

Everything you say and do makes everyone believe you’re wildly in love with me. Even yourself. 

Ben steps forward.

Everything you say and do makes everyone believe you’re wildly in love with me. Even yourself. 

He reaches out his hand, compelled by her, then hesitates.

Everything you say and do makes everyone believe you’re wildly in love with me. Even yourself. 

“Eat the cookie, Ben.” Mal says, her melodic voice sounding just the same out loud as it does echoing around his head. 

Everything you say and do makes everyone believe you’re wildly in love with me. Even yourself. 

“Eat it!” She snaps. Ben reaches out automatically, taking a bite. The glow in Mal’s eyes softens, a glint of that green still reflected in Ben’s, and he blinks, trying to come out of this strange stupor. 

“See?” He replies hazily. “I totally trust you. Totally.” 

Mal smirks. She glances over at her friends, who Ben didn’t even notice. Mal looks back at Ben. 

“...How are they?” She asks tentatively. Her heart pounds uncontrollably in her chest. This is the moment of truth. She can feel Evie and Jay and Carlos all holding their breath, right along with her. 

“They’re good, they’re great.” Ben answers quickly. “They’re amazing! They’re, uh…”

A warm, fizzy feeling fills his mouth, trickling down his throat as he swallows. 

“I mean, they’re warm, and chewy, and-” he sputters mindlessly. That addictive, bubbling, fizzy feeling spreads from his throat to his chest, making him feel all hazy and disoriented. “And, you know, they…”

He trails off for a moment. That warm, itchy fizzing feeling begins bubbling in his stomach, spreading throughout the rest of his body. 

“Is that walnuts?” He blurts out, continuing to ramble mindlessly about the cookies. “I love walnuts.”

She knows that, comes Mal’s voice in his mind again, she must know that. That’s why she put them in there. God, she’s so beautiful, and considerate too. Always thinking about other people before herself…

“And, um, you know, the chocolate… the- the chocolate…” he sputters. “The chocolate chips are… uh…”

The earth seems to move around him, absolving him of all his duties, all his responsibilities and obligations besides pleasing her. 

“Sorry. They’re, uh… they’re warm, and soft, and sweet…” He rambles, describing the angel before him more than the cookies. His breathing gets shallow as he subconsciously steps closer, needing her like he needs air. He’s fixating on her again, aching for another hit of that intoxicating look she had trapped him in.

“Mal, have you always had those little golden flecks in your eyes?” He murmurs, voice more low and intimate as he gazes down at her. He’s looking at her differently than he had been - that much is obvious. He reaches up to take another bite of the cookie and she gasps, grabbing it from him.

“I think that’s enough for now…” She says. Ben chuckles, his gaze unwavering. She’s so considerate, always looking out for him in little ways that no one else does. His pupils dilate as he stares at her, overwhelmed by a sense of familiarity, comfort. A strange, aged brew of feelings rises up through him. It makes him think of something, remind him of someone, but he can’t put his finger on it… He’s so wrapped up in the sensation that he doesn’t even notice Jay standing behind him until he speaks, placing his hands firmly - and somewhat roughly - on Ben’s shoulders.

“How you feeling, bro?” Jay asks. There’s a knowing element, a note of some inside information shared between Jay and his friends within his words, but it goes right over Ben’s head. Everything in his mind is screaming Mal Mal Mal! You want to be around Mal as much as possible! She’s your whole world, and you’re totally obsessed with her! 

“I feel… I- I feel…” Ben murmurs, eyes still locked on Mal’s as he tries to find the words, struggling to put his finger on it. A dreamy smile crosses his face.

“I feel like singing your name-”

Mal’s eyes widen in fear and she moves forward, clamping her hand over Ben’s mouth before he can even think about actually doing it. He wasn’t going to, but he smiles into her palm as he realizes she thought he was serious. 

“Okay, well,” Mal says softly with a nervous chuckle. They’re attracting too much attention like this already, and she knows they have to move on if they want a chance at pulling this off. “Don’t do that.”

Ben takes in a deep breath, and the scent of worn, grungy leather and spray paint fumes invades his senses. There’s something else too… nail polish? It’s intoxicating coming from her skin, dizzying, and he wants more. He takes her hand in his, holding it tenderly and inspecting it closely for a moment, his eyes fixated on her bitten nails. They glint in the afternoon light, reflecting off the sparkly, cracked mixture of purple and green polish. Just like her eyes. He looks up at her so softly, and it makes her feel sick. 

“When did you do this?” He asks, glancing back at her nail polish, his thumbs tenderly grazing over her fingers and knuckles. 

“Um-” Mal starts. She’s uncomfortable. She’s not used to having this much attention unless she’s getting screamed at or is knee deep in a gang fight. She’s… unsure of what to do with Ben looking at her like that. He continues before she can try to figure out a response.

“It looks really good, it… it suits you…” He says wistfully, staring at her hand and wanting so badly to kiss it. He looks back up at Mal, and the intensity in his eyes, in his body language makes her waver for a moment. She looks over Ben’s shoulder at Jay, silently begging to bail her out. Jay bites back a laugh at the sight of big bad Mal squirming when someone shows interest in her, but he nods anyway. 

“We gotta go, we have a big tourney match to get ready for.” Jay says, playfully shaking Ben’s shoulders in hopes of snapping him out of his stupor. It doesn’t work, but he hears what Jay is saying anyway. “Right Carlos?”

Carlos blinks, walking closer to help drag Ben away. 

“Uh, right. See you later, Mal.” He says, shooting Mal a thumbs up, silently congratulating her on pulling off such a complicated, difficult spell. Ben feels his heart plummet as Jay pulls him away, Mal’s hand slipping out of his. He twists around in Jay’s grip, struggling to not let her out of his sight yet. You can’t leave her yet, you can’t! 

“You’ll- you’ll be at the tourney match, right Mal?” He asks, a distinct note of desperation reaching for her as he speaks. 

“Yup.” She answers with a performative smile, skin crawling at all the attention he’s throwing at her. “I’ll be the one in purple.”

She mutters the last part under her breath, muscle memory kicking in as she deflects her unexpected discomfort with verbal jabs. She doesn’t think anyone will hear her remark, much less acknowledge it if they do, but she flinches a little as Ben laughs loudly. “I’ll see you there.” He says, beaming at her. Mal can’t remember the last time she made someone laugh out of anything other than fear. 

“I’ll see you right after.” 

He repeats it desperately, like a prayer. Like he’s trying to convince himself that the pain of being apart from her will be over soon. A cold sweat breaks out on the back of Mal’s neck. She grabs Evie’s arm, desperate for some sense of comfort, and walks away as quick as she can without breaking out into a full blown sprint. 

Jay and Carlos attempt to drag Ben away, a little surprised at how hard he’s fighting to look back at Mal every few seconds. Eventually, after a lot of squirming at talking out loud about how great she is, how pretty her eyes are, isn’t she just the best, they manage to get Ben to the tourney field to get ready for the match. Ben stumbles through his usual routine when getting ready for a match, his head swimming the entire time. He’s completely preoccupied with thoughts of Mal. Soon it’s time to head out onto the field, and it couldn’t come sooner. 

Mal is out there, waiting for him, and he is not going to let her down. He calls out morale boosting chants with the rest of the team, psyching himself up to lead his team to victory, because Mal is going to be up in the stands watching him. He’s going to break records, play the best game of tourney in history for her. Everything he does is for her.

[juneberrie]

GET HIM BACK ! ; JJ MAYBANK

[summary] 🍒 ex!jj maybank x fem!kook!reader — i wanna make him really jealous, wanna make him feel bad. oh, i wanna get him back.

[warnings] 🎸 underage drinking, swearing, implied sex at the beginning. wc : 1.3k

EVERYONE KNEW THAT JJ MAYBANK had a reputation, to say the least.

the pogue prince was known for sleeping his way across the island, and no one was surprised when he started sleeping his way into your sheets. what they were surprised by, though, was when they realized you were more to jj than another heart to break.

that is, until he did break your heart. the breakup was brutal, but seemingly it was just another day for him. it was as if he was a vampire, sucking the life out of you while he partied the nights away at the boneyard.

it had been a few months though, and you were back, better than ever. you had gotten the amazing idea to go to the next kegger at the boneyard and fuck with jj. not like, fuck fuck him, but fuck with him. you had fished around your closet — and your friends closets — to find the perfect dress. black satin that was just long enough to constitute as a dress. you pulled it down just enough so that the top edge of your bra was visible. you slipped on some sneakers and fixed up your makeup one last time before taking a step towards the door. then, you remember your lipgloss and take a couple of steps back, picking it up and slipping it in your bra.

the second you got to the party, you picked up a red solo cup and filled it to the brim with water. if you were going to get him back, you wanted to be totally sober. you danced your way to the center of the party, where you found sarah, nursing her own cup of whatever concoction the pogues had mixed up.

"this is a bad idea, right?" you asked her, surveying the room. your eyes found jj's frame, leaning against a wall and sipping from a can of beer as he talked to pope and john b.

sarah, who'd been the first person to comfort you after the breakup and the first person you told your plan about, smiled. "yeah, it is." she nudged your shoulder.

you nodded, taking a gulp of your water. "great." your eyes kept scanning the room till you found your victim.

sarah had offered up her boyfriend as the bait, reassuring you that john b wanted you and jj back together more than anyone. still, you made sure to call him up and ask if he didn't mind going through with your plan. he had laughed and told you, "look, y/n, i'm getting tired of jj moping around the chateau complaining about how he misses you. if i have to flirt with you for a little while to get him back with you, i don't mind."

you took another sip of your water, adjusted the straps of your dress, and confidently walked over to john b, who was standing directly in front of jj, talking with him and pope.

"heyyy, john b," you giggled flirtatiously, putting a hand on his chest. you made a point of ignoring jj's piercing stare, winking at john b. he smirked back and pulled you in for a hug.

" 'sup, y/n?" he pulled away, wrapping an arm around you. jj cleared his throat, and your gaze swiveled to him.

"oh. hi, maybank," you grinned at him, meeting his blue eyes. "didn't see you there." you made a show of slipping a hand into john b's back pocket. he looked surprised for a moment but chuckled it off, playing it off as if it was natural for a kook to practically grope a pogue's ass. specifically her ex's best friend's ass.

jj stared at you, trying to school his features, but he couldn't magic away the anger in his eyes.

the rest of the night was spent practically hanging off john b, giggling loudly at everything he said. every time you giggled, jj could feel his blood boiling. it should have been his jokes you were laughing at, he thought, downing his fourth beer of the night. you swirled your red solo cup, watching the water inside spin.

when you were sure jj was looking, you slowly pulled out your lipgloss and twisted it open, making eye contact with the blonde. you swiped it on, smacking your lips together before slipping it away.

jj had had enough. he stormed over to you and grabbed your wrist, pulling you away from john b. "we need to talk," he growled. he pulled you towards.... somewhere, you didn't know. you happily followed, smiling triumphantly when you passed sarah, who snorted and saluted you, taking another sip of her drink.

jj pulled you into a small hallway closet, which was surprisingly empty, both of coats and couples.

"what the fuck are you doing?" he seethed, closing the door.

"oh, so now you wanna talk to me?" you scoffed and crossed your arms. "if all it takes for you to talk to me if to flirt with john b. then maybe i should have tried that sooner."

he glared at you, then sighed. "what do you want from me, y/n?" he whispered, looking down.

"i want to get back together," you deadpanned. you sighed, noticing his hands clenched into fists at his sides and the recognizing his tone. "that fight was stupid, j. we both said things we shouldn't have." his gaze softened and he looked back at you.

"you said you never wanted to see me again," he mumbled. his bottom lip trembled. "fuck, n/n," he laughed shakily. "did you— did you mean any of what you said?"

you shook your head, taking a careful step forward. one hand reached up to cup his face. "of course not. i was angry." his eyes fluttered shut and he leaned into your hand.

"i miss you," he whispered, taking a shaky breath. "i miss you, i love you, and i don't know how i survived two months without you." his hand reached up to cover yours.

"three months," you corrected quietly, taking yet another step closer. "three months, two weeks, and four days."

his eyes suddenly opened, blue eyes staring straight into yours. his hand trailed along your arm before pulling you closer by the waist.

"i'm sorry," he murmured. he pulled you just close enough that your hips were almost touching. "i'm sorry for what i said, i'm sorry for yelling, i'm sorry for ignoring you. you didn't deserve any of that." his voice broke as he looked down at the ground. he sniffled. "you have every right to be mad at me, i was a dick."

"jayj," you cooed. "i'm not mad. i could never be mad at you." you ran a hand through his hair. "i'm sorry for trying to make you jealous. i just— i didn't know how to get you to talk to me."

he sniffled again and buried his face in the crook of your neck, arms wrapped around your waist. "y'could've just— said something. like, hey, jj, i miss you. you're the hunkiest dude i've ever been with, please take me back."

you laughed softly and kept playing with his hair.

he looked up at you, eyes slightly puffy but still as blue as the ocean. "i never stopped loving you, y'know." he smiled softly. "i still love you. i love you."

"i love you too, jayj. you're still my pretty boy," you told him, cupping his face in your hands.

he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to your lips. "yeah.. i've always been your pretty boy," he whispered. "always."

he pressed his forehead to yours, smiling softly with his eyes closed. after a quiet moment, he spoke. "does that mean— does that mean you'll take me back?" he asked quietly.

you pressed another kiss to his lips. "of course, pretty boy. i love you."

"i love you too, sunshine."

[1d1195]

Committed III

Read Part I and Part II

One thing about me is if I can write a love confession monologue, I’m going to write it.

Don't forget to listen to this TikTok while reading.

“What is wrong with you!?” She shouted.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. The quite thrum of the club music behind the walls of the room didn’t drown out his words, fortunately. He really was sorry; he didn’t mean to upset her or her date. The guy was truly fine. There was nothing wrong with him.

Except Harry wanted to be him.

She wasn’t thinking much of the airport arrival when the plane got delayed a million hours. All she wanted was her own bed and to see her best friend in person. Her mom was supposed to be waiting for her. There was no way she wasn’t. After what seemed like ten separate delays, she knew her mom was probably hunkered down in the airport somewhere. But instead, she was there at baggage claim, alone and confused trying to figure out where her mom had gone off to. Right as she pulled her phone out to call her mom for her whereabouts, Harry’s name and picture illuminated her screen. “Hey!” She smiled. “What are you doing awake?” She asked.

“Oh...I wanted t’make sure y’got in okay,” he had a smile in his voice. “And I couldn’t wait t’see you,” he admitted shyly.

She smiled to herself resting her arm on the top of her suitcase’s pull handle. She was grinning like an idiot in the middle of the quiet airport in the dead of night, her eyes droopy, as she wished she could just teleport to Harry. Being delayed so many times by weather and poorly put together aircraft had her sleepy and longing for her bed. “M’in,” she said with a yawn. “Can’t find my mom,” she sighed. “Think I may just sleep here if I can’t find her.”

“Oh, don’t be silly, love. I wouldn’t leave y’here. I can drive y’back,” he chuckled. Her brain was sleep deprived, jet lagged, and just overall exhausted. It took her a moment to realize that it was Harry directly in front of her, phone pressed to his ear as he gazed at her. Even as he stared at her with his lopsided grin, her eyes just blinked at him, like he was dream. “Y’okay, kitten?” He asked gently.

Shaking her head, she felt tears blur her vision nearly the same way they did a year ago in the very same spot. All at once her senses finally snapped together. Harry was in front of her. In the flesh. And he was there to take her home to her warm perfect bed. “Oh my God!” She said excitedly tossing her arms around his neck and squeezing him as tightly as she could. He wrapped his arms around her waist and tucked his face against her neck and he sighed with relief.

“Don’t leave again, if y’can help it,” he mumbled into her ear.

“No way,” she sighed. “Least not without you,” she promised.

They were silent for a few moments. She was getting more tired by the second, finally feeling at ease and peace in Harry’s arms. “Can I sleep at yours?” He asked quietly. “I want t’spend the whole day with y’tomorrow,” he explained pulling from the embrace. She swiped the stray tears from her cheeks, and she nodded as Harry took the suitcase from her fingers as he grabbed her hand with the other one.

“Yeah, I’ve been dying for your waffles,” she told him.

“That was m’plan the whole time,” he chuckled at her.

“Is Sarah at Mitch’s?”

“I think,” he shrugged. “I’ll make her waffles, too. I don’t really care,” he smirked down at her. “Jus’ wanna be around m’best friend.”

Smiling, she squeezed his hand. She thought about when he came back home and the woman who commented on how devoted they appeared to one another from a stranger. Quickly she shook her head of the thought. No use in dreaming of what could never be.

Even if it felt like pure magic lacing her fingers between Harry’s.

*

She had been back for two weeks when Harry arrived at her place prior to their show. Sarah was curling her hair and playing with her makeup in front of the bathroom mirror when Harry entered. “Hey Harry,” Sarah said smiling into the mirror. “What do you think of her hair?” She asked holding the curling wand from her face.

Harry smirked at the mirror. “Y’look lovely, kitten. Gotta date?” He joked.

She felt her face warm at his joke and her eyes darted from his gaze in the reflection. “Yes!” Sarah nearly cheered. “The guy that wanted to buy her a drink a year ago. He saw her the last time we played, texted her again, asking if she’d be open to a drink tonight.”

Harry wasn’t sure what he wanted the answer to be when the question he said as a joke left his lips. Well, of course he knew—he wanted her to say something cheesy (but no less true) like, “only with you, Harry,” and he wanted to kiss her until Sarah begged them to stop. He never anticipated the guy from over a year ago to be the one she was seeing tonight. It didn’t help that he lied about how she looked. Lovely didn’t do her justice. In fact, lovely seemed downright insulting in comparison to the beauty she nearly shined.

“Oh...s’nice,” he murmured.

She was staring at him in the mirror. “I was going to tell you before the show,” she promised.

“Oh yeah,” Sarah nodded in agreement. “She was just saying she was really nervous about it,” she explained on her behalf. “A lot of jitters t’talk about it. I only found out about an hour ago,” Sarah said looking at Harry pointedly so he would stop moping.

“Nothing t’be nervous ‘bout, love,” Harry gently smiled at her. “M’sure you’ll have him wrapped around y’finger by the end of the night.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Harry. I told him last time I saw him I don’t take drinks from strangers without you around...so I’ll introduce you before the show, if you want.”

“Whatever y’want, kitten,” he nodded and left the bathroom before he cried thinking about how much he adored that beautiful girl that was getting ready for someone else.

*

Harry could see her as he peered from backstage toward the bar. She was smiling happily and sitting with the guy that Harry completely forgot about ages and ages ago. Harry hated him, naturally. He imagined him falling off his barstool and tragically hitting his head so hard he forgot why he was there and forgot all about his pretty best friend.

She laughed at whatever he said, and Harry wanted to die. He didn’t want him to be funny. Harry didn’t want him to do anything that caused a positive reaction to come from her. Sarah watched Harry with a pointed expression. “You okay, there?” She asked.

Harry jerked away from his creepy stance and turned to Sarah. She looked at him with a smirk. “What?” He grumbled and pushed past her toward the makeshift room they used to get ready.

“Do you like her?” Sarah asked.

He rolled his eyes. “Of course, I like her, Sarah. She’s my best friend.”

“That’s not what I meant, you idiot.” Harry flopped onto the couch and turned toward Sarah. He didn’t say anything. He just looked at her without a word. Harry glanced away from Sarah and it was so quiet in the room, the emotion he felt of seeing his friend with someone else made him want to throw up.

“Why would y’help her be with someone else?” He grumbled to her.

“You two are the stupidest people I know.”

Harry shook his head. “Sarah.”

“Harry.” Harry thought he would start crying any second and Sarah just continued to look at him as if she was going to will the tears out of him; any reaction to get him to do something would be useful. “Just...tell her.”

“I don’t think she feels the same way, Sarah. We’ve never—”

“Sarah, Niall’s gonna move your drums!” Mitch shouted from down the hall followed by the cackling laughter from Niall.

“Just tell her, Harry,” Sarah said and ran off to stop Niall.

*

“Hey mate, you’re really good,” he said shaking Harry’s hand. He was polite. There was nothing wrong with him. He bought all three of them a drink. He was kind and he looked at her the way she deserved: she put the air in his lungs, and she lit up the room like she was the sun even when it was dark. “It’s nice to meet you,” he smiled.

“Same,” Harry said perfunctorily. He didn’t mean it though. In fact, he would have loved if the ground opened and swallowed this man whole, never to be seen again. And he didn’t deserve Harry’s piss-poor attitude. He was very nice.

“When do you go on?”

“About an hour, I’ll probably go back there to make sure everything’s in order,” she smiled sweetly.

“That’s cool,” he said smiling at her again.

“You could come back and check it out,” she said.

“Band only,” Harry muttered.

“Pardon?” He asked.

Her head snapped toward Harry, and she looked at him as if he had suddenly gone insane. There were no rules. Anyone could technically go back there if they had permission. “Band only,” he repeated with a shrug.

“Well,” she laughed awkwardly trying to save the conversation. “Guess I won’t be going back then,” she said. “M’not in the band.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Obviously s’not what I meant.”

She plastered a fake smile on her face in Harry’s direction and he saw a flash of annoyance in her eye as she turned her attention back to her date. Her smile to him was much kinder. “Um...sorry,” she said with another breathy laugh and Harry sipped his drink before he rocked back on his heels. He felt like a jerk because he knew it was rude. “We were talking about going to this coffee shop after—the one with the late-night lattes that I like,” she explained.

“We have plans,” Harry said stiffly.

Turning back to outrightly glare at Harry she mouthed what the fuck to him and then said, “No we don’t,” again, a smile so forced Harry thought her cheeks would burst.

“We’re watching a movie tonight,” he said. “You promised.”

Her eyes were wild now. She hadn’t promised Harry anything about a movie and she wanted to kill him in that moment. Even if he didn’t like the guys she dated, he was always polite and made and effort. Usually it was the guys she had to convince that Harry wasn’t a threat. Except now he was acting like one. The only thing saving her was the crowd and music making enough noise to save the awkwardness that would have ensued in any other environment. “Harry—”

“It’s alright,” the guy said putting a hand on her back. “It’s cool, mate. You have your traditions and things, it’s fine. We can go another night,” he said sweetly and the grin he had for her was also so very kind that Harry wanted to scream. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t anyone’s fault but his own.

Harry’s eyes were glued to his hand on her body. “Don’t touch her,” he said simply.

His hand dropped from her back immediately. “O...kay.”

“Harry,” she said, not hiding her annoyance any longer. “What are you doing?” She snapped through gritted teeth.

Harry didn’t have an exit strategy. He never thought of doing anything like this in his entire life. He didn’t even feel like he had to do it right now. But all he wanted was to yank this man’s arm off his body, throw her over his shoulder, and take her as far away from this club as possible. “Y’seem like a decent guy, but we’re gonna go,” Harry said and pulled her toward him.

“Wait a second,” he said shaking his head with a surprised smirk. “Is this a joke?” He asked.

“Harry,” she said pulling herself against Harry’s grip on her hand.

“Nope,” Harry said nearly popping his lips on the syllable.

“I am so sorry,” she said in his direction and Harry pulled her again. “Harry, I swear to God,” she snapped.

“Harry, mate. M’not gonna steal her from you—”

“I’d honestly like to see you try,” he said finally with an eye roll.

“Oh my God,” she said her face turning bright red. “I will call you later,” she said and shoved Harry as hard as she could in the direction of the back where they clearly needed to have a conversation in private.

“Actually, she won’t.”

“Shut. Up.” She hissed and Harry didn’t even spare a backwards glance in his direction. He merely walked toward the back feeling the anger dissipating the further he got from the guy that was clearly good enough to steal her away from him.

*

In the privacy of the dressing room, Harry realized what he did. It was entirely out of character and his behavior was downright deplorable. “WHAT was that!?” She shouted at him slamming the door shut. “Are you that insanely protective about me you don’t think I can make smart decisions about the people in my life?” She was beyond mad. Harry hadn’t ever really seen her like that before...especially not directed at him.

He felt shame creep up further from his knotted stomach, through his heavy-felt chest, and settle on his face making him feel brighter red than he could fathom. But he didn’t regret his actions. He would do it again for her in a heartbeat. “Of course, y’can make your own decisions,” he rolled his eyes.

She looked shocked and still pissed. She started shaking her head and nearly waving her hands as she tangled her fingers in her hair trying to calm all her nerves from the interaction that just happened. “Are you sure? Because you certainly made it seem like you didn’t trust me to do so!”

She was so frustrated. Harry could see it all over her face, she was near tears and her heart was breaking and Harry never wanted to see her like this. It broke him over and over and over again. Yet, it was his fault this time. “I’m so mad at you and I’ve never been mad at you, I don’t even know what to do. I could strangle you! I can’t believe you did that! I’ve never done anything like that to any girl you’ve ever talked to or dated or...” she was fuming so badly she started to pace. She paced a lot when she didn’t know how to handle a situation and this was clearly uncharted territory. “What is wrong with you!?” She shouted.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. The quite thrum of the club music behind the walls of the room didn’t drown out his words, fortunately. He really was sorry; he didn’t mean to upset her or her date. The guy was truly fine. There was nothing wrong with him.

Except Harry wanted to be him.

“You’re sorry?!” She gasped and continued pacing. “Well then, that’s perfectly fine if you’re sorry. What the fuck, Harry,” she said covering her hand over her face. “You embarrassed me! I don’t know how I’m ever going to call him or apologize or...” Harry couldn’t do anything but look at the floor that she paced, his eyes entirely focused on her feet but thinking about everything she was saying as she ranted. “Harry, you’ve never acted like that before I don’t even know what to say or do, I’m lost—”

“I don’t want you t’date someone that isn’t me,” he said finally. He rushed it out and he watched as she stopped pacing mid-step and her breath caught in her throat as she stopped speaking, too. He slowly blinked and then looked back toward her face. Her lips parted open in shock, her head tilted at the slightest angle, and he could see the confusion all over her face.

“What...what did you say?” She asked. Her tone wasn’t as volatile as it was moments ago. Surely, she misheard him.

Harry licked his lips and looked toward the floor for a second again. He brought a hand to his lip and nipped at the skin around his thumb. Harry didn’t really get nervous. He stood on stage and sang vulnerable songs and felt vulnerable to criticism a lot as a performer. But at that moment he was. But he had never openly admitted his feelings about her to anyone. Especially not her. “M’sorry. I shouldn’t have...” he shook his head and inhaled deeply. He had to go on stage in ten minutes or less and here he was having the most terrifying conversation of his life. “He’s really nice,” Harry admitted. “And m’jealous. Because he’s nice and he made it very clear he likes you. And...I haven’t done that.”

“Jealous?” She repeated, still confused by the change in subject. The rapid change in her demeanor made her heart rate drop immensely but it was working it’s way back up to a frantic speed similar to how angry she was but now for an entirely different reason.

Harry nodded silently, looking back at the floor. “I really like you...actually...” He looked back up once more as he said his next sentence because he meant every word of it. “I think s’quite obvious I love you,” the words felt so comfortable in his mouth. He had said them a thousand times before but of course he meant it in a romantic way that made him feel warm and scared all at once. His gaze dropped back to the floor. “I shouldn’t have acted the way I did. Not seeing you for s’long. Knowing someone else wanted t’make y’happy the way I want t’make y’happy...I didn’t like it,” he explained. “So...I was an ass,” he murmured quietly avoiding her eyes until finally he had no choice to understand why she was being so silent. She stared at him silently, her eyes no longer annoyed, just utterly confused. “Kitten,” he said softly. “Please say something.”

There was another beat of silence. “I accept your apology,” she said softly.

“I...I don’t really care ‘bout that, kitten,” he swallowed the nervousness caught in his throat. If she didn’t love him back, if Sarah was wrong, he would die. He would ruin everything about their friendship, and he could not lose her; he would gladly spend forever silently pining for her as long as he could be in her life. As long as he could be there beside her—even if it wasn’t the way he wanted it to be. He was glad he wasn’t holding anything because his hands were shaking, and he had to tuck them into his pants’ pockets so she wouldn’t see. “I said a lot of other stuff that I think is a bit more pressing.”

It was silent again and he saw tears well in her eyes and Harry thought if she cried he would lose his mind. He couldn’t believe Sarah was wrong. Harry always, always hoped she felt the same way and now it was obvious she didn’t. She was going to hate Harry for ruining their friendship, for making the band have to pick sides and essentially ruining any plan they ever made all because he couldn’t keep his feelings to himself and because—

“Harry, wouldn’t you want to date someone skinnier than me or prettier than me or someone who doesn’t—I don’t know...someone who’s better than me?”

The thrum of the music outside the room seemed to stop. It was so quiet. All that existed was the sound of her breath and Harry’s.

Of all the things she could have said in that moment. “Love, what did y’say?” He asked shaking his head in surprise. “Y’said...m’sorry, what?” He surely imagined that. The words that fell from her lips were suddenly in another language.

She frowned, her eyebrows pinched together, and her cheeks turned a shade pinker. “I want more for you,” she whispered. “More than I am.”

So he didn’t hear incorrectly. The tears weren’t because Harry ruined their friendship. They were tears of inadequacy. “Kitten...” he whispered taking a few steps toward her and his heart snapped in half when she took a step back trying to distance herself from her best friend. A shield to protect herself from all the emotion that was thickly laid in the room. “You’re the only one that exists for me.”

She looked away for a moment, her lips rolled into her mouth, and she started to twist her fingers together nervously. Standing before Harry, her heart was breaking by the second. Simultaneously, she broke Harry’s heart. Anytime she put herself down, it broke him. All he wanted was to ease all her worries and make her feel like she was the best and only thing that mattered to him—because she was. She started to shake her head, refusing to believe the words that left his mouth. “Harry, you sing to hundreds and hundreds of girls. I’m not like them! They’re beautiful and they already adore you—”

Harry shook his head while she spoke, his hands dragging over his face because he didn’t want to pronounce his love for her in the back of a club with alcohol sticking to the bottoms of their shoes and the sticky floor. He wanted there to be flowers, gentle music that she liked playing quietly behind them while he told her that he always adored her, and he never wanted to see another girl as long as he lived if she wasn’t his.

Instead, it was going to be here, with tears in her eyes, the music seeming to get louder outside the room, and all the while Harry smelled like stale sweat from his sound check earlier in the day. “Love, I sing in front of hundreds and hundreds of girls. I only sing to one person,” he whispered. “Every song I write is ‘bout you. Every song I sing is dedicated to you. When you’re not here, m’still singing to you. I have loved you since the moment I saw y’get on the bus and every moment after. I loved you when y’were dating someone else and I loved you when y’were s’heartbroken you didn’t want t’get out of bed but y’did anyway. There isn’t anyone else for me. You are beautiful and intelligent. You make me laugh and you are the most loving person I know. I don’t want anyone but you. M'so committed t'being with you...nothing else matters t'me. So, no. I don’t want someone else if they’re not you. If there’s more than you, I don’t want it.” he was out of breath and he scuffed his foot against the floor as he looked up at the ceiling to keep the tears from fogging his own vision. He didn’t want to cry in front of her.

She stared at him as if she was seeing him for the first time.

She thought about the day she got on the bus with no one to sit next to. Her parents had packed their whole lives up and flew across an ocean a week before school started. She didn’t know any kids her age and she had never been to school before in her short little life. Her mom gave her a hug and encouraged her to get on the bus, but she was scared and wracked with nerves. At the ripe old age of five-year-old she thought she would go out of her mind at that moment and never go to school. Never be successful like Mommy and Daddy and never be able to do anything.

However, that moment sent her an angel as she walked up the aisle of the bus in the form of a mop of brown curly hair and green eyes that smiled at her. He patted the seat beside him. “Y’can sit here,” he told her. “M’Harry,” he told her. “S’my first day of school!” He said excitedly.

Breathlessly she sat herself down beside the kind boy and she smiled nervously at him as she introduced herself. “It’s my first day too,” she said quietly. “I’m really nervous.”

“Me too,” he admitted. “We can do it together though,” he said. “We can be nervous together!”

Her little body released a relieved breath and she nodded. “Thanks, Harry.”

“S’what best friends are for,” he said with a grin.

After that, she never thought about being scared because Harry was always by her side. Presently, she was scared. But Harry was there. So how could she even imagine being scared if he was still there telling her that he loved her, and it would all be okay?

“Harry,” she whispered softly.

He shook his head, stepping away from her this time to create more distance between them in the small room. She was going to break his heart. He ruined the whole evening, and the show would be miserable if she rejected him. She had every right to reject him; still, it didn’t matter. All he wanted was her happiness. But right now, all he wanted was to get away from her so she couldn’t break him into a thousand pieces. “Love, I swear if you’re jus’ going t’say no, we can stay friends—pretend this didn’t happen. I can’t lose you—” he choked off.

“No,” she shook her head quickly, stepping close to him so there was little space between them. “Harry,” she whispered and brought her hands to his shoulders. It felt like fire, and it was going to shatter him in the next ten seconds when she told him no and he knew that she would say it was okay, that they could stay friends. She would probably do a great job at comforting him through this heartbreak despite ruining their friendship anyway. He turned his head to the side as he closed his eyes trying to hide the tears that were threatening their way out of his eyes.

“Please kiss me,” she whispered.

His gaze whipped back to her, and she had one lip pinched between her teeth drawing his eyes to her beautiful face. Harry never thought...not in a million years...

It was like seeing her for the first time. He would never get sick of seeing her. He would never ever get over the rush he got from seeing her beautiful eyes and the way her lips and nose just looked so cute and everything about her exuded this air of prettiness that Harry wished he could bottle and keep with him just as a reminder for the moments he wasn’t at her hip.

But right now, this moment was new, the first time he saw her as something other than a best friend—but not really. The first time they considered something other than friendship between themselves. “Yes, m’love,” he hummed. Within seconds his fingers were tangled in her hair by her ears. She shivered at the feeling of Harry touching her like that. Nothing compared, however, to the way his lips felt on hers. Her arms went around his neck, and he leaned down toward her body to make it easier on her reach. Harry thought he would die if she found out he loved her. He thought he would still die for an entirely different reason now while he cradled her to his body as closely as possible. He never wanted to let her go, never wanted to stop kissing her.

Fortunately, the door banged open against the wall and the music rushed in loudly.

“Finally!” Niall sighed with an eyeroll. They pulled from their kiss awkwardly and she pressed a hand to her lips as she tried to hide her blushing smirk from Niall. Harry couldn’t have cared at all that Niall entered the room. He couldn’t stop staring at her.

“Hi Niall,” she said softly.

“I’ll stall for five but then we have to go on stage,” he said, pulling the door shut behind him.

Harry chuckled. “Thanks, Niall,” he called before gently pushing her against the door so he could tether his lips back to hers.

Harry always thought she felt like home—he thought part of him died when she left for the year. When she returned that feeling of home came back too. But nothing could have prepared him for the relaxed and easy feeling of kissing her as if he had been kissing her for all his life.

--

@tiaamberxx

[acourtofquestions]

A new day, and the final one (to put it dramatically cause I’m in the feels)

Kingdom of Ash Chapter 100 here I come… I’ll see you in some random spam mini posts (maybe — I’m mostly reading at this point non-stop lol) but there shall be some large posts after the Epilogue…

Mostly right now theories, thoughts, concerns😅: I’m pondering Aelin’s power; she hasn’t had it most of the series and doesn’t need it but we do have 1,000 Ironteeth + Maeve & Erawan on the way (currently my theory is she’s been storing her magic in Goldryn somehow and will be able to use it to unleash her power at an insane level… mostly because they keep mentioning the ruby looked like it’s sparking or her hands on it and it’s rare that SJM does that at this frequency without reason), plus Maeve is out of magic so she should be ready, & Dorian is fired up for his father against Erawan; maybe with Aelin combined they can do it. Or a classic Rowaelin Carranam. And I bet Essar can teach her the gifts in small ways.

I’m hoping Lys meets Falkan (my soul needs this). I need Gavriel & Aedion to makeup & get their oaths (Ren too), gotta get that LysAedion kiss (and no one better die). I need Dorian to go comfort Manon along with everyone else because they understand; Aelin, Elide… Terrasen’s children lost everyone. I need a Kingsflame bloomed and a coronation, I’d like to know who the heck killed Aelin’s parents and what does the damn owl mean! I want Aelin to meet Nox! I want Fleetfoot to meet Abraxos! I wanna know the Chaorene baby name😂 I want at least one scene of Empress Nesryn! Lady of the Ghost Leopards Lys! GIVE ME A MANORIAN “I LOVE YOU”. And wants/hopes that prob won’t happen but I’m saying it anyway: I know it probably won’t but I’d love if Elena got some sliver of peace. I want the white wolf and the wolf together, Aelin & Rhoe’s Shield + an Aedion reunion & an Evangeline/Fleetfoot/family hug, one moment of all of them together (again no one dies immediately after). AND THEY ALL DESERVE A SOFT EPILOGUE & future with long therapy filled lives! & a Rowaelin baby since they’ve both said they want a family together like that🥹

Mostly I’m worried over people dying… Sarah has proven that she will & can kill a lot of characters at once… I am in shock & grieving so… A little worried about about Dorian but I think he’ll be fine, a lot of worry about side characters: Murtaugh (for Ren), Ren (generally speaking which would suck cause I want to know him more), Kyllian (Aedion clearly loves him I don’t want to see that heartbreak), Ansel (because her people are gone and Manon is the Witch-Queen… I’d prefer an alliance, healing moment cause they both lost them all & maybe see if she’s got a thing going with Ilias cause the irony there👌😂👏). Hafiza (for Yrene; please don’t do another big sacrifice… I’ve already lost twelve today😭 the number is off… no…), oh and I’m pretty sure Darrow will die. Then the bigger ones: above all The Cadre have me concerned; Lorcan (cause him & Elide will always be running out of time), Fenrys (for Aelin or Lorcan), Gavriel (for his son). & otherwise: Aedion (he does not need to die for redemption Sarah DONT YOU DARE).

So, here we go… the first read of the ending of the books I’ve loved since February and will carry with me always… with a lil bit of sleep & the day complete with nothing but reading time: Beginning with Chapter 100: Aedion

P.S. I’ve got Crescent City; House of Earth & Blood on standby to read tonight (I need to pour my feelings in another book with the hope of maybe seeing Aelin again😭) I don’t care if it’s denial I don’t wanna know I just need it🤣

[baura-bear]

Circus au thoughts because I can 😈

The circus is originally run by Pulitzer (although he isn’t on the scene it’s Wiesel who is backstage “running the show”)

The Delanceys are the brawn of Wiesels show and help move equipment, handle animals (when they’re not on stage), and just basically do anything that requires muscle.

Davey does trapeze and contortion is one of the main attractions for the show. His main trapeze partner is Sarah they have like a wonder twins kind of act all their outfits are matching and they do a bunch of duo tricks.

Buttons and Romeo are tight rope walkers together (Buttons also does a lot of backstage work with costuming and such)

Stray works with the animals and trains them to do cool tricks (elephants and big cats)

Les, Albert, and Race have a clown act together. Race is the whiteface clown, Albert the Auguste, and Les the character clown. Most of their acts involve Race playing tricks on Albert, Albert getting mad, and Les playing along with either of them trying to decide which side to take. Albert’s make up is a very dramatic frown and grumpy eyebrows, Les looks kinda like a raggedy Ann with two big red circles for blush, bottom lashes and freckles drawn on with a big dimpled smile. Race is a classic friendly looking smiley clown.

Katherine does equestrian acts like riding on horses standing on them and doing handstands and stuff and like shooting bow and arrow while riding. (Toying with the idea that she’s also the ring master??)

Idk what the proper name for it is but Spot is like a miraculously strong woman and does all kinds of crazy weight lifting that wows the audience.

Jack has been hard to place. While I think it would be fun to have him doing freak show acts like sword swallowing and fire tricks and close up magic to warm the audience I think it would be more fun and more conducive to the Javey aspects of this to have him working backstage. He helps put up and bring down the circus as well as artistic aspects like planning out sets, painting and assembling. He also helps the clowns out with makeup. Between acts he does any set changes that need to happen.

Ok so those are all the acts that I have strong opinions about but obviously all the other newsies are sprinkled in there (feel free to comment if you have any strong feelings).

Basically Wiesel is running the circus and he’s obviously not kind to any of the performers and it kind of sucks. They all joined because of their love of the strange and peculiar but quickly become trapped in terrible contracts. They try to make the best of it with the friendships they create throughout performing but it’s pretty dismal at points. Because Davey and Sarah are the main event he’s particularly hard on them. They have to eat well, but not too much because he wants them slim. They have to practice and work out but not to the point that they’re too muscly and “unattractive” they have to get rest so that they perform their best but he keeps them up practicing and running new routines. They’re pretty isolated from the rest of the company because of their strict schedule and all the rules. It’s not until one day David runs into Jack backstage, maybe when he’s helping Les with makeup. David is checking up on Les like he usually does right before he goes on it’s usually a quick in and out so he’s not expecting to run into any delays. Jack has seen David perform but they’ve never spoken up close so of course Jack tries to talk to him (he’s completely enraptured) David runs off so he doesn’t miss his entrance but later that night he visits Davey in his dressing room. David is worried because of Wiesel’s strict rules he tells Jack he should leave so they don’t both get in trouble. Jack knows Wiesel is corrupt but doesn’t realize how bad it is until he starts interacting with Davey. He can tell how tired and overworked David is. He starts sneaking food to him and Sarah and they slowly become friends.

At some point Jack and David kiss and Wiesel finds out. He absolutely flips, blaming Jack for Davey’s incompetence in performance (he claims Jack is a distraction) he keeps Davey even more isolated and he basically doesn’t leave his dressing room unless his act is on.

Eventually somehow the circus ownership is transferred from Pulitzer to Roosevelt. This leads to the firing of Wiesel who is replaced by Medda (She takes over the role of ring master[or mistress I suppose?]) Overall conditions improve wildly and it becomes a light hearted experience for everyone once again. People have the chance to experiment more with their acts and what they do and of course Sarah and David become much more involved with the company.

And for you Delancey lovers I’ll say they get a little act after Wiesel leaves (whatever that is is up to you)

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (27 Oct-2 Nov 2024)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😊 The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney #3) (Claudia Gray, author; Billie Fulford-Brown, narrator) - A really enjoyable cozy mystery in this austenverse. I did genuinely want to keep reading to find out the solution. However, I'm finding the will they/won't they/miscommunication/misunderstanding BS about Juliet & Jonathan's relationship is really starting to grate, even though the reasons for all the non/miscommunications are marginally reasonable & in character. But I was still quite annoyed with it, and I think I might be over this series for it. By the end at least J&J had talked and are on the same page about their feelings - now the obstacles are external at least, which gives me a bit more patience with it? probably my annoyance will be faded by the time the next one is published & I'll be happy to pick it up again.

😍 A Year in the Life of Sarge's Person (BlueSimplicity) - 189K, incredible post-WS recovery fic - loved how Bucky-focused this was (steve doesn't even appear until like 2/3 of the way thru the fic), loved his found family and of course I loved Sarge. Instant forever fave, stayed up until 2am reading which at my age is no small thing.

🙂 Specks of Silver (vanderloo) - 82K, lightly magical Suits fic- liked the 'small magic' style of this world

🥰 King & Queen (RELIC #3) (Maz Maddox, author; Kirt Graves, narrator) - dino shifters AND drag queens!!!! dino shifters AS drag queens! so much fun!

💖💖 +108K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

an outlier that should not be counted (dadvans) - 9-1-1: bucktommy, 7K - fluffy, cute, very 🥰

Conquest (the_deep_magic) - The Eagle of the Ninth: marcus/esca, 7K - 🔥🔥🔥

Let Me Be Your Porch Light, Baby (AidaRonan) - Stranger Things: steddie, 7K - fuck yes mothman! here for all the monsterfucking!

A Dream Through Open Eyes (neapeaikea) - 9-1-1: bucktommy, 16K - cute, cute, cute!!! love a teacher!Buck AU

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Would I Lie To You? - s8, e6; s16, e5,7

Insert Name Here - s3, e4

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown - s19, e3

Decoding the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Tombstones With Dr. Nicky Nielsen - Session Session 2: Making Stelae & The Offering Formula

Spirits, Saints, and Souls: The Secret History of Halloween With Lisa Morton - Session 3: Halloween As We Know It

Seas The Day: Life Lessons From Cephalopods With Dr. Sarah McAnulty - Session 3: 300 Ways to Be a Squid: A crash course in all the lifestyles squid have carved out over their long history

The Sam Sanders Show - From Indie Videos to Hollywood Hits: Alvarez & Koenig on "English Teacher"

Handsome - Abby Wambach asks about getting back to yourself

Handsome - Pretty Little Episode #11

What We Do In The Shadows - s6, e1-3

Only Murders In The Building - s4, e9-10

D20: Misfits & Magic 2 - "Code Crimson" (s23, e6)

D20: Adventuring Party - "I'm A Good Boy" (s18, e6)

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Re: Dracula - October 27: Souls and Memories

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Spooky Week: Elmer McCurdy’s Nine Lives

Re: Dracula - October 28: Awful Straits

Off Menu - Ep 268: Jessica Hynes

The Curious History of Your Home - Sheds

Persuasion by Jane Austen - Persuasion 9. | A Surprise Engagement

The Curious History of Your Home - Baths

Re: Dracula - October 29: Something is Going Out

The Fandom Show - Special Effects Makeup

Switched on Pop - Where are all the scary songs?

NPR's Book of the Day - Al Pacino's memoir 'Sonny Boy' is a story of adventure, starting in the South Bronx

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Agatha All Along

The Allusionist - 202. Singlish Singlish

Re: Dracula - October 30: Council of War

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Spooky Week: Places That Give Us the Creeps

Morning Edition - After nearly 4 months, Shaboozey's 'A Bar Song (Tipsy)' drops from No. 1

Morning Edition - It's almost Halloween -- a good time to look at the science behind the sound of fear

⭐ 99% Invisible - How the World Ran Out of Everything

Shedunnit - Vanishing Corpses

The Curious History of Your Home - Lights

⭐ Song Exploder - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young "Our House"

Re: Dracula - October 31: Latest and Truest Thought

NPR's Book of the Day - 'American Scary' documents a cultural obsession with horror in the United States

Re: Dracula - November 1: Instinct with Resolution

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Tom Hanks' Movie Here And What's Making Us Happy

Dear Prudence - My Wife Won’t Stop Correcting My Grammar. Help!

Dear Prudence - Prudie Plus: A Celeb Died. My Friend’s Being A Ghoul.

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Spooky Week: The Story of the Mad Gasser with Colin Dickey

⭐ Wild Card - Kathryn Hahn feels more powerful than ever

Wild Card - Seth Meyers on waiting to propose and Kathryn Hahn's early career struggles

Welcome to Night Vale #257 - Traffic

Re: Dracula - November 2: Deadly Peril

Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! - Brian Jordan Alvarez

Betwixt The Sheets - What Made You Ugly In The Ancient World

Fresh Air - Alex Van Halen On Eddie, Fire & 'Feeling It'

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Presenting Gordon Lightfoot

Presenting Reba McEntire

Machines of Loving Grace Radio • Popular

The Very Best Of Patsy Cline

Halloween Salsa

Sunshine Soul

Teenage Werewolf Rock

Classic Hard Rock Workout

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of a bachelorette party

10pm, sunday, aug 6, 2023

we're officially in the period of the summer that has been planned out since months and months ago, in the lead up to some dear friends' wedding; time is telescoping in a very odd way! after traveling the past two weeks, my re-entry was good but hard; i came back from my trip thinking i'd be all revitalized and looking around me with new eyes, which in a way i did, but then i was also pretty wiped. i didn't really want to spend all week hibernating, but i guess it was good to recharge my batteries since i also had five different party/gathering-type things (three this weekend, including the aforementioned bachelorette).

reading can't forget to mention finishing carmen maria machado's in the dreamhouse, which was gripping and devastating and still beautiful somehow. the experience of reading it was so...i couldn't stop once i got started, you know? short fragmented chapters, some funny, some incredibly sad. every once in a while there would be a detail or an allusion to something i could relate to, punctuating the intense surreality / unreality used to talk about the abuse with a sudden concrete reality that was. striking. loved the device of the footnotes, pointing out where certain things are matching up with folklore tropes? as a form of foreshadowing and ironic, devastating commentary? inspired. that's just one detail, but it's one i can sum up.

abrupt tonal shift and getting back to fantasy / adventure, a.k. larkwood's the unspoken name has been very engaging this week too. part one was...fresh but in a comforting sort of vein, with a young protag escaping a bad fate under the protection of a new mysterious mentor, who then helps her get an education, martial arts training, before he sends her out on a mission--reminded me of half a dozen beloved fantasy novels, with the addition of some fun details! for example, neither is actually described in much detail, but our main character and her mentor are clearly not Human; she has grey skin and tusks (my mind went right to a dnd-style orc?) and he has mobile, elongated ears, which seem to telegraph his emotions much like those in the goblin emperor and was an *immediate* delight to envision. just about a third of the way through this one now; it feels like a locked tomb book with a slightly different magic system, and i'm really enjoying it.

watching plane movies while returning home:

the battle of the sexes (2017) -- entertaining more because i didn't know the history and always enjoy the depiction of historical women's sports and sports teams; emma stone is great but has virtually no chemistry with either of her romantic counterparts, painfully straight energy overall. i was too entertained by watching steve carell and sarah silverman in their respective period hair and makeup . kudos to whoever was the tennis stunt doubles, it was legitimately fun to try and follow the games.

banshees of inisherin (2022) -- people who talk about the overdone stereotyped blarney-filled hollywood depiction of ireland in this one are missing the fact that it's an intentional (ironic?) depiction; see, the imprecision when it comes to year/time passing / calendars and whatnot. sort of waiting for godot-y in its heightened reality / absurdity. my lukewarm take is that it was definitely meant to be a play, and would have worked a lot better that way. not sure i'll watch it again, not sure i *got* it, but it will certainly live in my brain rent-free.

finished strange world (2022) as a palate cleanser-- i wanted to support it, the box office and overall reception to this was pretty disappointing but it's fine! like it's a cute kids' movie! you know, disney's first gay character, thinly veiled climate analogy lesson, absolutely gorgeous animation and colors, what's not to love.

the first three episodes of season 1 of the white lotus . hypnotizing like a train wreck, but i'll wait until i've seen more of it to give a real write-up.

listening you ever watch a viral video and then realize you're captivated by both the cute videos of people dancing and the soundtrack? (and recognizing the background scenery, and it turns out i was right!!) anyway i went and found these two tracks courtesy of just this experience, so thanks to youtuber thoraya i guess?

UPDATE: saw hadestown live today!!! the original broadway recording didn't prepare me for how much i would love it, how dynamic and captivating the live band and incredible ensemble would be-- and of course i was crying almost immediately, and was clutching my chest during 'wait for me' both times. but then again, the performance i saw didn't include this one instrumental track i love and had on my semester playlist all spring, so here:

playing finally got the cut-scene celebrating my community center completion in stardew, hell yeah. had two great dnd sessions; one campaign successfully defeated a monstrously-oversized jaguar and decided which faction we're going to attempt to win over first, while the other group went shopping and spent some downtime at base and gathering info on some individual plots! napoleon did exist in this world and was a gnome, and our organization assassinated him apparently??, also this just feels like a good time to mention that their resume also includes '1841 – Controlled controversy riots when “Dinosaurs” suggested as a creature alongside and separate from “Dragons” ', which sent us into absolute hysterics when the DM shared that.

making it's summer, so i crowdsourced a ratatouille recipe and could not have been happier with the outcome. saving it here for posterity!

working on i was very diligent with RA work this week, since it feels like i always neglect it over the summer for absolutely no reason, especially since it like. pays me. but i also have been using it as productive procrastination since i'm actively dragging my heels in sending the last few students their essay feedback and grade breakdowns from the summer course. it means confronting my judgments and math and possible mistakes from earlier in july, and trying to either defend or amend them as necessary, and i just have been. napping rather than actually do it. which is silly, and also stupid since i have actual work to be doing! just get this over with, and you can be free!

[dubljarnasims]

Genevieve Vatore

Part of the 5th generation of my legacy, Genevieve is one of the friendliest and nicest sims around. Even Allison Volkov likes her. No CC included in the download - please see the list and links below.

Sibling(s): Julianna Vatore Partner(s): Scottsdale Dubljarna

✨ DOWNLOAD HERE (Google Drive)

Clothing/Accessories:

Earrings - Overkillsimmer | Eun earrings

Glasses - Mint-Valentine | Abby glasses

Jumpsuit - Pixelette | Marigold jumpsuit

Nails - Bobur | Round nails

Piercings - Overkillsimmer | Aisha nose ring set

Shoes - Nell | Pixicat simple boots

Hair/Makeup/Skin Details:

Blush - Northern Siberia Winds | Blush n8

Eyebags - Kismet Sims | Eyebags plus

Eyebrows - Pralinesims | N151 sam

Eyelashes - Kijiko | EA eyelash remover

Eyelids - Magic Bot | Eyelid details

Eyeliner - Pralinesims | N100 ava

Eyeshadow - Pralinesims | N09 pearly cupcake

Freckles - Ratmaze | Bonbon freckles

Hair - Liliili | Beverley hair update 1030

Lips - RemusSirion | N320 initiation

Tattoo - Overkillsimmer | Sarah right arm tattoo

Tattoo - Reevaly | Female tattoo n6

Tattoo - Sims4Satan | Bohemian rhapsody head tattoo

Teeth - Simbience | Teeth #1

Defaults:

Skin - Luumia | Vanilla skin default

Eyes - Pralinesims | Oasis v2 default

🐌 Many thanks to the CC creators! 🐌

@bobur-tsr @kijiko-sims @kismet-sims @luumia @magic-bot

@mintvalentine @nell-le @northernsiberiawinds @overkillsimmer @pixelette-cc

@pralinesims @ratmazeplays @remussirion @reevaly @simbience

@sims4satan

[stickycave]

Sharing The Magic

Summary:

When a young fan sneaks back stage all the way to the dressing rooms to find Sunny Day Jack after the show, Joseph promises to share some special Cloudy Town magic with her.

Pairings: Joseph/OC

Cw: Age difference, Underage, Mutual masturbation

Makeup smeared and blue wig stuck in place with an impossible number of hair pins, Joseph takes a suffering drag from his cigarette, almost burning his fingers. Another exhausting day, this time a special filmed in front of a live audience of kids and their parents. Which means one continuous shot and stage acting instead of TV and all the differences that comes with stage acting instead of film. The worst of which he missed most today was being able to take five between takes and drink some damn water. 

Running his fingers through the wig, he groans, not thrilled for the task ahead. Before he does that, there’s something even more uncomfortable to free himself of first. Unbuckling his belt, he reaches into his pants and takes off the easily removable dance belt used to keep his cock in place after enough moms complained about his bulge a few months back. Leaning back with a groan, his poor member aches and throbs from today's long session of restraint.

Something creaks, his eyes snap to the reflection of the door in his mirror. A small figure peeks through the crack making him quickly put out his cigarette. Painting a smile on his face, he turns to face the small girl peering in at him. Shifting back into his Sunny Day Jack voice, he addresses her. 

“Hey there, friend! You’re a long way from the showroom and stage,” he stands up and walks closer to the wide eyes watching him. He kneels down to her level. “What are you doing all the way back here?” 

She gasps and steps inside the room, holding her hands together.

“I wanted to… Find you.”

“Oh yeah? And why is that?”

“Because you’re Sunny Day Jack!” She becomes a bit more shy again after her outburst, staring at the floor and fidgeting, “and… Sarah got to help you on stage and Robbie got to hug you, but I… I wanted to see you too.”

“I see, I’m sorry I missed you then,” Joseph chuckles, “What’s your name?”

“Leah.”

Leah wears shorts and a T-shirt with some little graphic on it of a taco in sunglasses. Joseph himself is a bit startled by the twitch in his pants, but after all the pressure of being held down all day, it needs something to stretch out with…

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Leah. How about, to make it up to you, I’ll give you some special Cloudy Town magic?”

Leah’s eyes grow even wider as she looks up at him, taking a deep breath.

“Really?!”

“Of course, but we have to do a special magic ritual to make it work. Do you think you’re brave enough?” A grin tugs at the corners of his mouth as she nods excitedly. “Alright, come on then.” He stands back up, closing and locking the door. Holding her hand, he walks her over to the worn couch and sits her in his lap, her back to his chest.

“First, I need you to close your eyes.” Leah’s eyes shut tight and he chuckles. “Good job! Now do you promise to keep your eyes closed until I tell you you can open them?”

“Yes! Super duper promise!”

“Good girl.” He wraps his arms around her midsection, feeling how small and pliant she is, staring down at her. She was so quick to comply, to let him put her in his lap. To close her eyes and do potentially whatever he says. The power over the small sweet thing in his lap makes his cock stir again, more instantly this time. He’s never done this before, never even thought of it. But damn, if it wasn’t a bit of a trip. “Before I can give you some Cloudy Town clown magic, I need you to make one very important promise to me. Do you think you can do that?”

“I promise.”

“Good, because this is a super secret magic spell.” pressing his face into her hair, he closes his own eyes, smelling bubblegum shampoo. “So you can’t tell anyone what we do, okay? Super top secret magic. Can you keep this super special secret, Leah?”

“I can keep the magic secret, pinkie promise!”

He chuckles as he wraps his pinkie around her, finding her more and more adorable.

“Alright. Now i’m going to do something that might seem a little funny, but it’s so you can take all the magic, okay?” He warns her beforehand, knowing kids deal better when they have an idea beforehand of what’s about to happen. With eyes still closed, she nods and waits. She’s as easy to move around as a doll, even if she’s bigger than one. It’s easy to remove her shorts and panties. She squirms a little and he can tell she’s getting uncomfortable. 

“I know, I know it’s weird. I know that maybe your parents told you about something like this. But it’s okay, they don’t know magic like I do. I know how to make this kind of magic work, so we’re both going to be okay.” His voice is soft and soothing, coaxing her into relaxing again.

The buckle already undone, he pulls down his zipper and boxers enough to free his length, adjusting them both so she sits with his cock right in front of her and her bare little pussy, still smooth and soft. 

He palms his twitching member, ready to harden for anything so he presses it against her soft warm body. Her breath hitches as he presses his erection against her lips and he tucks the rest of it under her shirt, against her belly. He’s not stupid enough to try and enter her, knowing he’d probably only hurt the kid that way. 

“Okay, now I need you to cross your legs around the magic wand.”

With his palm still holding his cock flush against her skin through her shirt, he begins to gently thrust against her. She whimpers slightly, her little clit getting the full brunt of stimulation she’s never felt before. His other arm holds her and starts to bounce her against him.

“That’s right, good girl. It’s starting to work. Just keep your eyes closed and your legs crossed.”

Her body is his toy for the moment, a reactive one that starts to pant with him and whimpers and gasps while he groans as the pressure builds in his cock. Soft and warm flesh surrounds him, slicking with his precum as it smears down her body. He can feel her shiver as she whimpers.

“You can feel it right? The magic is starting to build up in you, all warm like a hug on the inside.”

“Mhmm! I can feel the magic!” Her small voice squeaks as she pants.

He chuckles and he can tell he’s already getting close, the pleasure after a full days discomfort combined with the taboo and dominance he feels pushing him closer to the brink. He decides not to dwell and edge himself this time, keeping her for too long could cause problems.

Laying her down, he positions the tip of his cock at her entrance, pressing just enough to make a seal.

“Leah, you’re going to feel the magic even stronger in you now, the magic of Cloudy Town filling you,” he grunts. With a few last pumps to his cock, he cums, firing seed inside her narrow entrance. One hand grips the couch cushions hard, just barely restraining himself from shoving his cock inside the warm hole on offer to him and fucking her with abandon. But he stops himself, firing strings of seed inside her with a choked groan until her small body can’t hold it all and it comes gushing out around his tip.

He pants and quickly tucks himself away, buckling his belt back up.

“Good job Leah, you did it. The magic is all inside you now. You can open your eyes now.” He gently brushes her hair back from her face, some of it having fallen from bouncing her. 

Opening her eyes, she looks up at him, legs spread, small pussy covered in and gushing cum, chest rising and falling in uneven breaths. She looks more affected by it than he’d expected.

“I- I’m all warm inside.”

He smiles gently and lays a hand on her abdomen, confident she won’t be able to get pregnant yet.

“Yes, that’s the magic. It’s inside you, now and forever. It feels good, right? Nice and warm on the inside like love and friendship.”

She nods, but squirms, rubbing her thighs together.

“Yeah but before that, I felt warm to, when the magic was building up. I’m all twisty inside my tummy. Twisty and squirmy!”

Oh.

Joseph wasn’t aware kids her age could feel properly aroused yet. Sure, even babies play with themselves to self soothe and because it feels good, but to feel truly aroused… Well, if she leaves and starts trying to satisfy herself, that could cause some problems.

“Aw, I understand. That’s just part of the magic spell. I forgot one very important part to complete it and make sure the magic stays with you forever. Here, let me help.”

Resting a hand on her thigh, his thumb smears his cum across her folds. They twitch under his touch.

“Mmm!” Leah’s legs tense.

Holding her thighs wide, he pulls apart her lips to find her small swollen clit, rubbing his cum against it as well. A sharp gasp tells him he’s doing it right for her. While one thumb presses on and massages her clit, the other circles and teases her entrance, not daring to actually dip in. 

Small whimpers and moans fill the room, her eyes watering as her hands fist in her shirt. It doesn’t take long for her to cry out, hips stuttering in the air and a small bit of his seed falls out of her. He works her gently through her first orgasm until she settles down, hips and thighs twitching lightly under the skin.

“See how good that felt? That’s the magic of Cloudy Town.”

She pants and lays limp.

“Did I pee?” The innocent confusion makes him chuckle as he continues to pet her hair.

“No, little one. That was the magic, that’s all.”

“Wow. It felt really warm and funny-weird and good. But I’m all sleepy now…”

“That’s okay. You just lay here and I’ll take care of you, okay?” He kisses her forehead, grabbing some unscented wet wipes he usually uses to wipe off his makeup, and starts cleaning her up. 

Once she’s been cleaned up and redressed, he even brushes her hair as he lets her rest and drink water. Shortly after, she seems back to normal, bouncing back fast and running around his dressing room, asking a million questions.

“Jack, Jack, what’s this? Can I have one?!” She holds up one of the many Sunny Jack plushies that sit in a pile, different variations and tests before a final design was settled on. 

“Hmm, I don’t know,” he says playfully, “Will you take good care of the little guy for me?”

“Yes! Absolutely! The bestest!” Leah hugs the toy tightly with a big grin, swaying side to side in  a way that makes Joseph laugh.

“Alright, I think it’s a good idea then. Now how about we get you and little Jack back out to the stage room? I bet your parents are looking everywhere for their little girl.”

Leah gasps.

“Oh no! Mommy’s gonna be so worried!”

“Well we can’t have that, can we? Come on you two,” Joseph scoops them up in his arms, carrying her out of the dressing room and down the hall.

In the stage room, a mother is yelling at a poor stage hand,  panicked and irate.

“Hi there! I think I found your brave little adventurer backstage.”

The mother flocks to him and latches onto Leah, both scolding her and peppering her face in kisses.

“I’m sorry mommy, I just really wanted to see Jack. Look! He let me have a toy!”

Sighing in relief as she sees her baby girl is alright, she turns teary eyed to Joseph, thanking him for finding her and bringing her back safe and sound.

“Of course, it’s no problem. Nothing more important than looking out for the little ones.”

[fenmere]

OC tag game

thanks to @the-letterbox-archives for the tag!! this is an association game, using catagories and finding connections with your oc!

Peter Niven (he/him)

We'll do a proper post for introducing Peter later, but he's the subletter for Sarah and Goreth, and boyfriend of Abigail, who brought the Ampersands home as a stray. He works as an EMT and as a persumably cis het white man, he's doing his "best". Erik gives him a pass at most. He's not the villain of the story in any way, though.

seasoning

paprika

weather

that kind of rain that feels like the vegetable sprayer at the grocery store

colour

pastel blue, actually

sky

not exactly overcast and right on the verge of a sunset

magic power

resurrection

plant

Saint John's wart

weapon

a cell phone

social media

Facebook (he's the kind of guy who lists his phone number publicly there)

makeup

uh, probably not, but... blue eye shadow? maybe

candy

candy necklace

fear

medical malpractice and prejudice

method of long distance travel

train

art style

Lego Friends sets (he's as surprised by this as you are)

mythological creature

a black lab (if you've known a black lab and you've heard Peter go up and down stairs, you'll perfectly understand this entry as a "mythological creature")

stationary

college ruled note paper

celestial body

pulsar (you can use him as a benchmark for measuring distances)

Bonus entry from last OC tag game: Peter was inspired by a boss we had, and looks just like him, too.

Tag yourself and then tag us back, please! (sorry)

[jules-has-notes]

La La Land (Unexpected Musical) — PattyCake Productions music video

The movie musical La La Land is set in the modern day, but with the aesthetics of the 1950s. The PattyCake guys decided to lean even further into the trappings of Hollywood's golden age to evoke the stars of the early 20th century in their most iconic roles, as well as the many folks behind the scenes who help make the magic happen. They didn't quite have a cast of thousands, as was often boasted by the epic films of the era, but they did gather quite the crowd of performers, mostly from among their circle of theme park friends.

Details:

title: Unexpected Musicals — La La Land (Classic Edition)

performers: Olivia Adkins (Marilyn Monroe); Rachel Copeland-Evans (Judy Garland); Monica Carlile Edwards (Audrey Hepburn); Felix Deneau (Humphrey Bogart); Erin Cline (Bette Davis); Derek Ostrem (James Dean); Colleen Ella Defeo (Gloria Swanson / Elsa Lanchester); Bebe Caliberr Mercy (Elizabeth Taylor); Elijah Babel (Charlie Chaplin); Jack Defeo (Boris Karloff); T. Robert Pigott, David Kotary, & Jacob McAlister (directors); Amy Garton (wardrobe); Hannah Laird (script supervisor); Jaimz Dillman (reporter); Greg Hernandez (lighting grip); Melanie Simpson (ingenue); Jim Harrison (camera loader); E. Michael Evans (leading man); Jonathan Shane Ferrell (makeup artist); Laura Mansoori & Alex Colvin (showgirls); Deanna Quintero (hairdresser); Brayshawna Bates (flapper starlet)

original songs / performers: "Another Day of Sun", "Someone in the Crowd", and "City of Stars" by the cast of La La Land (2016)

written by: all songs by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, & Justin Paul

arranged by: Paul Vesco, Layne Stein, & Tony Wakim

release date: 22 July 2017

My favorite bits:

that brief Flectcher cameo 🐶

Olivia's perfectly breathy Marilyn voice

the contrast of having "Another Day of Sun" mostly led by the stars while "Someone In the Crowd" is mostly the crew

the instrumentation adding more jaunty piano to accompany Chaplin's dancing

the film clip interlude that includes "Will.of.Oz" footage, then turns back into live performance

gradually building rhythmic and harmonic complexity until they reach the final unison line

Trivia:

Rachel had first worn the blue gingham dress as Dorothy Gale in PattyCake's "Will.of.Oz" music video, which was released the previous December.

Olivia was already well versed in Marilyn Monroe's mannerisms, since she is a character she'd been playing for several years at Universal Studios Orlando (and has continued playing since).

Felix often works as a Dean Martin impersonator, but stepping into Bogey's trenchcoat and fedora for the day suited him, too.

Derek is one of Tony's fellow "Beetlejuice Revue" alumni, having played both Wolfman and Dracula for the last decade of the show's run. (He's also married to Stephanie Trilli, who has played Sarah Sanderson in PattyCake's "Hocus Pocus" pieces.)

Robby was also one of the many Draculas in the "Beetlejuice Revue", and he's been playing Marlin in the Disney World "Nemo" live show for over a decade. (Among many, many theme park and theater roles.)

Makeup artist Jonathan Shane Ferrell of Makeup & Creative Arts was actually applying the Frankenstein makeup to Jack Defeo's face while also playing legendary makeup artist Jack Pierce, who worked with Karloff on the 1931 film. Jonathan had been a makeup artist for the "Beetlejuice Revue" at the end of its run.

Jack and Colleen were also already comfortable in the monster makeup, as they are yet more "Beetlejuice Revue" alumni, having played Frankenstein and the Bride in the 90s and early 2000s.

The PattyCake guys created a bit of anticipation with a social media countdown.

They were very specific about recreating several famous celebrity photos and iconic movie moments. They highlighted some of them in a series of social media posts they called "Double Takes".

[unhingedselfships]

ANIMAL: luna moth, silkie chicken

COLOURS: soil brown, canary yellow, kelly green, periwinkle

MONTH: June

SONGS: Stardust - Geoxor, Could Have Been Me - The Struts, Calm Down - Krewella, Savage Daughter - Sarah Hester Ross, I'm Only Joking - Kongos 

NUMBER: 1, 5

PLANTS: climbing roses, strawberries, dandelions, crab grass, cattails

SMELLS: fresh turned dirt, wildflowers, matcha

GEMSTONE: ammolite, japanese coral, moldavite

TIME OF DAY: late morning

SEASON: mid-spring

PLACES: Hanako-oba’s yard, Cumberland Falls, Maikoya in Kyoto, Dance Studio Native in Sapporo

FOOD: dorayaki, omurice, barbecue brisket, French onion soup

DRINKS: watermelon lemonade, strawberry-kiwi juice, strawberry-banana smoothie 

ELEMENT: earth

ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS: Gemini/Sagittarius/Libra

SEASONINGS: basil, rosemary, anise, cane vinegar

SKY: bright pink sunset with wispy clouds

WEATHER: warm and sunny with rain

MAGICAL POWER: florakinesis 

WEAPONS: wit, wile, charm

SOCIAL MEDIA: instagram, full of plant and critter pictures 

MAKEUP PRODUCT: lip stain

CANDY: sour patch watermelon 

METHOD OF LONG DISTANCE TRAVEL: plane, window seat, wide awake the whole flight

ART STYLE: Georgia O’Keeffe

FEAR: restriction

MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE: azeban

PIECE OF STATIONARY: scrap paper

THREE EMOJIS: 🐌🏃🏻‍♀️🌱

CELESTIAL BODY: meteor shower

[pinktinselmonstrosity]

ooh and before i go to sleep here are my oscar predictions

best actor: i want it to be colin farrell but my gut says brendan fraser

best actress: michelle yeoh (although i wouldn't be surprised if it was cate blanchett. disappointed, yeah, but not surprised)

best supporting actor: very optimistically saying barry keoghan (i love ke huy quan and i would have been behind him 100% until i saw the banshees of inisherin and was just floored by barry keoghan's performance!!)

best supporting actress: it would be an upset but since she's dominated all the other awards so far i'm going to have to say angela bassett

best picture: the fabelmans (brilliant movie: autobiographical AND about the magic of cinema? surely a winner)

best director: todd field (since i don't think cate blanchett will get best actress i do think tár will be awarded somewhere)

best original screenplay: if there is justice it should be martin mcdonagh for the banshees of inisherin. the actors are amazing but the script makes it for me

best adapted screenplay: i've only seen one of these and i don't think it will win so i'm going to go for kazuo ishiguro for living (i would say sarah polley for women talking but that was a much more recent release so it's unlikely to win i think?)

best international film: all quiet on the western front (again i haven't seen any of these but all quiet on the western front has been winning big at other awards so.)

aaaand i'm going to stop there bc i need to sleep BUT let me first say it is a CRIME that viola davis/gina prince-bythewood weren't nomimated for best actress/best director and that the woman king wasn't nominated for any technical awards!!!! best costume design HELLO???? best makeup and hairstyling CAN YOU HEAR ME???? what a bloody liberty

[jcbbby]

Jamie as the Goblin King in Labyrinth, my beloved. Those pants specifically. Pretty sure it lead to many sexual awakenings of boys and girls alike in it's day and continues to do so. Someone needs to write a reader insert of an AU Labyrinth where she stays with him and he sends her brother back to the parents or something as a trade, idk.

it absolutely lead to mass sexual awakenings. nothing like a tall, magical, musical, maniacal man in tight pants and makeup to make you feel things.

ugh I feel like writing that would be a huge undertaking for me to do, but SOMEONE should write this. because yes. yes I love that. instead of Sarah saying "you have no power over me" and like, breaking the curse or whatever, he gives her an ultimatum about her staying there in place of the baby (like he wants anyway. "love me, fear me, do as I say, and I will be your slave." which makes no sense, Jareth but alright lol) so she does it and becomes his Goblin Queen. and either she actually does fall in love with him, or it's like Stockholm syndrome. OR maybe eventually, she does defeat him after all, learning his weaknesses from living with him. but when she finally gets back to her life, it's like years later. idk, I need this, though!!!!!