#sleeping beauty 1958

[imaginerhetoric]

This art keeps popping up in my feed and taking me breath away. The poses and expressions are just 😭😭😭.

the queen's quarters.

[silver-screen-divas]

Pre-Code Hollywood Actresses. HELEN TWELVETREES

Helen Twelvetrees (December 25, 1908 – February 13, 1958) was an American theater and film actress, considered a first star in the beginnings of sound cinema. Prototype of "Sad Beauty". The movie Her Man marked the course of Helen's career and she was always asked to play suffering women fighting for the wrong man. She later acted alongside Spencer Tracy in Now I'll Tell (aka When New York Sleeps), 1934, based on a novel by 'Mrs. Arnold Robinson'; alongside Donald Cook in The Spanish Cape Mystery and later she co-starred for Paramount Pictures A Bedtime Story (The Innocent Bachelor), with Maurice Chevalier.

[clownboymcchucklefuck]

🌹Eternally Your's And Mine 🥀- Chapter One

Ayo let's good Corpse Husband Zachary AU. It's taken me a while to get this written out but I'm liking how it comes out so far. ♥️

Word count: 2k, holy shi-

Fic starts under cut:

Just how lucky did you get? After getting in an argument with your ex you had decided to finally pack your things and leave even if it was a bit….difficult to do so. You spent your time sleeping in hotels for about 2 weeks as you searched online for a place to stay that was preferably not close to your old place.

Your efforts finally paid off when you found an old victorian house for a surprisingly cheap price. The pictures you had seen looked like the house would need just a little bit of work but also appeared to have kept itself together and tidy all throughout the years. It was quite a drive but you would take anything to get out of this town.

Your thoughts of the house were interrupted by the sound of the radio, it was some radio show and the two hosts were discussing some paranormal activity in the past “So, Crybaby Lane is up next on the list! Those who visit the spot of the wreckage claim to smell burning woods and hear voices. One may also see a shadow guarding the entrance to the trail. Look closely and you'll see rubble from the former orphanage. This all due to an incident back in 1958 when-”

The voices were put to a stop when you reached down and changed the radio station. “Dumbasses….” You muttered to yourself as he kept your eyes on the road. It was so stupid how easily people would fall for some myth made to keep kids from doing stupid shit. Even if it wasn’t, it was probably because of the high electromagnetic field making people paranoid and seeing things. Everything had an explanation after all.

Your hands would clench tightly before unclutching around the wheel to keep your body moving somewhat, driving for almost 7 hours straight probably wasn’t a good idea…. But it paid off when you finally entered the neighborhood you had seen in the pictures. The neighborhood had good reviews from what research you had done with all the neighbors being nice, you had seen there had been an incident back in 1884 but with that being almost 200 years ago there was no bothering to dig deep into it.

There was a slight change as you pulled up into the driveway while driving over the gravel. You sighed softly once the car was finally parked. You rubbed your eyes before glancing up at the house and to put it short….it was way more beautiful than what you had seen in the photos.

It was a beautiful victorian house, the decor and the style seemed to be a mix of dark blue and red with gold. It had at least 3 floors from what you could tell, the website had also mentioned a basement too. Walking around the yard of the house to admire it, you walked into the back yard and your breath was taken away by a beautiful rose garden. Most of the roses had been wilted however. Oh well, you knew there would probably be some work to be done anyways.

After a few minutes of walking around the house and finding the key, in a pot next to the door like the landlord had told you, who oddly wasn’t here to give you a tour of the house or anything. You shrugged it off and put the key into the lock of the door before pushing it open. You took a few moments to let your eyes adjust to the lighting of the house as your hand felt the wall until it turned on the lightswitch. Well that was good, for such an old house it had modern electricity. Wouldn’t have to worry about wasting money to have somebody come in and do a little bit of wiring for a fortune.

You took a few minutes to look around the area, the decor seemed to have a theme of blue and gold and it was quite pretty. There was an old record player with some vinyls on the shelf under it, and a grand piano in the corner of the corridor. Most of the furniture was what you expected with it being old fashioned and fancy. You were surprised at how clean and tidy it had been kept after supposedly being left alone for almost 200 years. But eh, less work for you. You would have to do some more exploring after getting everything settled.

Sighing softly, you walked back out of the doorway and towards your car and started to start taking in boxes of things, the sun was setting and so it was better to just go ahead and get this all over with so you could go lay down after driving for so long. It was going alright as you just brought your bags of clothes in first and set them down in a guest room you found that was suitable to sleep in for tonight until you got fully settled. The problems came as you started to bring in the boxes of heavy things, you had already been pretty tired from driving. Grabbing a box of books, you stumbled as your arms threatened to accidentally let go.

You just about did when there was the sudden feeling of another pair of arms on the other side of the box, helping you lift it up before you dropped it.

Surprised, you jumped and stepped away from the box immediately out of fear that it might be somebody possibly trying to steal all your shit, you hadn’t really thought that would happen since this was a nice neighborhood but maybe this was the opportunity to let out some anger if this mf was actually trying to take your stuff. Your thoughts of beating a bitch up were interrupted by the person clearing their throat quietly before speaking up, his voice soft and mellow.

“H-Hello, Y…Y-You’re the….uhm… new t-tenant here, right?” He stuttered between his words and appeared very nervous but also had a soft and kind demeanor at the same time. His hazel eyes that were averted away to the ground seemed to glow slightly with the way the sun shined down on them as he spoke. He had dark green hair and was wearing a light green shirt with some comfy looking tan pants.

You raised your eyebrow in slight suspicion, why the hell was he asking this as if he hadn’t just spawned out of nowhere? The man seemed to notice the look on your face and he quickly tried to explain. “S-Sorry- I forgot to….introduce m-myself, I-I’m Simon, I uhm….I live in t-the house b…beside you. I’ll be y-your neighbor.” Simon explained softly as he gestured over to the house right beside your new one. It was a nice cozy looking one and you could see many plants growing around and inside the house.

You calmed down a bit as you realized the situation and nodded your head. “Name’s [MC], nice to meet you, Simon.” You responded while you started taking the rest of the boxes out of the trunk and setting them down on the ground so they would be easier to pick up later “Say….You wouldn’t happen to know where the landlord is right? They were supposed to give me a tour, or…at least I thought they would.”

Simon perked up a little, he seemed like the type of person that just liked to help people but had been walked over by a lot of people. “O-Oh, uhm….I-It’s a bit w-weird I guess, they'll p-probably be here a-around uhm….n-nighttime? I don’t t-think I’ve seen them in the d-daytime at all….B-But! They’re r-really kind s-so you w-won’t have any p-problems!” Simon assured as he adjusted his grip around the box in his arms. You nodded and gave him a kind smile, picking up another box off the ground, you two started to bring the boxes inside and into the room you had picked.

You two had just finished bringing all the boxes at last and you flopped down on the fancy couch in the living room. Fortunately for you, Simon had brought some pastries and some homemade lemonade as a housewarming gift so luckily you didn’t have to worry about making food or anything.

“Gonna be honest with you Simon, I can’t cook for shit so you can be expecting me to be coming over more often for some food.” Simon looked a bit surprised at your words before he smiled shyly and glanced down to the floor. He seemed a bit…nervous to be in the house almost?

“I-I’m glad you e-enjoy it…..” Simon responded quietly as he rubbed his arm in a nervous manner. “Have….Have you h-heard a-any of the…uhm….rumours before you moved in?

You raised your eyebrow at that. Rumors? You hadn’t seen anything and if there was anything about it you were too focused on getting out 0f your past situation to care about any dumb old rumors. It would probably stay that way too.

“light on. After saying your goodbyes to each other, Simon walked back towards his house right beside your new one. Rumors? No…? Should I have? I’m not the superstitious type really.” You responded as you took another sip of the lemonade. Simon shifted his weight from one leg to the other nervously before finally speaking up again.

“Back in about…the late 1800s there was a man that lived here….I-I haven’t h-heard exactly what h-happened but there was an incident with a camera and it ended up killing his partner and he died in the hospital later that day. There’s rumors that say you can see him in the upper stairs windows or the uhm…rose garden….The most popular one is that if you take a picture of the house then your camera will explode too just like what happened to him…” Simon explained with a solemn look on his face as he spoke. “I-I’m not s-sure how true i-it is….I keep seeing him stare at me through the window when I go out.....B-But I j-just wanted to let you know.”

You couldn’t help but let out a laugh at his words. Simon’s face instantly went from solemn and worried to confused as he looked up and his eyes darted onto your laughing face. You quickly stifled your laughter before trying to explain. “Sorry, but like I said, I’m not the superstitious type and I don’t believe in all that. I mean….I’ve been interested in it back when I was little and had my own encounters but all of those ended up having reasonable explanations. I appreciate you for telling me but I think I’ll be fine.” You assured him with a smile.

Simon looked surprised but he nodded his head nonetheless at your words. “O-Okay….Y-You’re very b-brave, [MC]. N-Not that t-there’s anything t-to be a-afraid of, like y-you said!” Simon responded as his nervous smile came back on his face and he twidled with his thumbs as he spoke. You stood up and set your cup down on the table before walking over to Simon and putting your hand on his shoulder. He slightly tensed up for a second at the sudden touch as he looked up at you. It was about 9pm at this point so it was already dark.

“Thanks Simon, and also thanks for the food and helping me with my boxes. I think I’m going to be heading to bed though soon. I had a really long drive here.” You explained to him as the two of you started to walk back out onto the porch where you had already flipped the porch Once he was finally gone you let out a loud sigh as you closed your eyes and leaned against the door for a minute to collect yourself. It had taken a lot out of you to just hold that conversation for that long especially with everything you’ve been through in the past month overall.

You walked back into the bedroom down the hallway where boxes had accumulated in the corner of the room. Scouring through the boxes for a few minutes until you found your bag and changed into something a bit more comfortable so you could lay down. You got underneath the rose imprinted quilt and sighed softly, pulling the covers up to your chin because of the chill in the house. You’d have to bring that up to the landlord when you met them. You reached over and turn off the light from the lamp before closing your eyes for the night.

………………

“What a shame…” He thinks as he looks at the figure laying in the bedroom from the end of the hallway. Don’t worry, my love. You’ll meet me very soon.

____________________

Zachary and Simon belong to: @clrdgaze

[male-body-swap-lover]

Time Travel Christmas

My name is Roger Braddock the 3rd. It sounds fancier than it is. You are all probably thinking I look fancy too. It’s 2023, but I’ve always enjoyed everything from the 1950’s, at least the positive things. With a name like Roger, it was bound to happen. I love the fashion, the music, the movies. I hate the social injustices. It is especially hard because I am gay, but the decade is just alluring to me. Yes, I do smoke occasionally too. I know it’s bad, but it is a guilty pleasure. It’s Christmas Eve and tomorrow I am getting together with my family, including my grandfather, who’s prime was the 1950’s and 1960’s. Grandma is gone, but he is still trucking along. It would have been nice to know him when he was younger. I’d get to spend more time with the man I admire, and get to enjoy the 50’s. Well, time travel isn’t real, so that’s not going to happen. I’ll just enjoy time with him now.

The next morning, I woke up and I was in a chair for some reason. I know I went to sleep in my bed last night. That’s strange. Wait, why do I have clothes on. As I looked around, I realized this wasn’t my bedroom. It looked like something right out of a Sears catalog from the 1950’s. Am I dreaming? I walked to the full-length mirror and suddenly stopped, with a look of shock.

This wasn’t my body. These weren’t my clothes. I started freaking out and looked over to the dresser and saw a calendar. It said 1958. I ran to the window and looked outside. It looked like a scene right out of the movies from the 1950’s. There were Christmas decorations up too. Did I somehow end up back in time on Christmas 1958? I walked back to the mirror and examined my body closer. I was handsome. I was tall. I had nice bone structure. There is something familiar about the face. I turned and looked at this man’s wedding photo which was also on the dresser. Then it hit me. I was my grandfather when he was younger. I’m Roger Braddock the 1st!

Holy Shit!

Somehow my wish came true. I will be able to get to know my grandfather when he was younger in a time period I love. Just I am now my grandfather. How is this even possible?

“Honey, are you almost ready. My family is arriving.”

That’s my grandmother! Wait a minute, that’s my wife! I look at the window and see that some family is arriving. We must be hosting Christmas. I scramble and grab a tie and put it on. Guess it’s showtime.

I go downstairs. It’s my grandparents house, or I guess my house now. It looks so much nicer. There’s my wife. She is so beautiful. I feel my dick get hard just looking at her. Guess I am straight, or at least this body is straight.

“Daddy, Daddy!”

My god, it’s my aunt Carol and Aunt Alice. They’re so young. My grandmother looks so young. This is crazy. I start to greet the relatives and we start opening gifts. I light up a cigarette. I guess this will be more acceptable now. My new wife hands me a baby to hold. Oh my god! It’s my father! That’s right, he was born in 1958. This must be his first Christmas. This is crazy.

“Roger, pose with the girls so I can take your photo,” my wife says. We pose and she takes the photo. There I am with my two daughters and my son, who is named after me.

I guess I am stuck here living my grandfather’s life. My wish came true. I hope I can pull this off. I wonder if I will ever return to my old life. Here’s hoping I don’t mess up the future too much!

[thatbanditqueen]

Basic Training Chapter 5

Summary: Bess has plans to spend the evening having a picnic dinner with Elvis on post, and tries to juggle her family and keeping her relationship with Elvis a secret as her father presses her about her future.

Warnings: Some very heavy petting, dry humping, female orgasm (gasp), and discussions of mental illness, the Holocaust and Cold War operations. And all the usual typos.

WC: 6K

A (very very late) response to the prompt "Hey, quit splashin' me."

Many thanks to my lovely sister wives @whositmcwhatsit, @be-my-ally @vintageshanny @missmaywemeetagain @from-memphis-with-love @ellie-24 who helped me write this.

If you need to catch up, you can read the previous chapters of this fic about Elvis at Fort Hood in 1958 here

Notes:

This one got more into Bess family life, but it won't always be this top heavy in the future.

Maus and spatz are german terms of endearment. Illsa is a German nickname for Elizabeth.

Schatzeleh, bubeleh, mamaleh, these are all Yiddish terms of endearment. The Yiddish phrase "shayna maidel" means beautiful girl.

Deutsch ist die Muttersprache - German is the mother tongue.

INCOMS - abbreviation for Army Intelligence

The USIA was really a wacky Cold War PR agency for the U.S. government that set up a radio system to blast US music and news into other countries, and promote art and performers and entertainers around the world, along with other stiff. What every fic needs, more Cold War history ;)

Wednesday, April 9, 1958

Schwartz Residence, Killeen TX

6:45 a.m.

Bess hovered over her sister’s shoulder and grabbed a piece of toast off her plate, scooping up some scrambled eggs and chewing as she dodged Kay’s swats to pour a cup of coffee.

“Curlers again? Jeeze, Bess, that’s the third day in a row you’ve worn curlers to sleep.”

Bess hit the back of her sister’s head with her elbow.

Their father’s eyes did not leave his newspaper as Kay yelped and Bess stuck her tongue out.

“Elizabeth, you are not a nomad. Sit and eat.”

“I gotta finish getting ready, Papa.”

“Is there anything special going on today, maus?” Her father raised his eyebrows as Kay giggled.

“Or maybe someone speci - ouch!” Kay got a pinch at her back.

“Oh, no, nothing special, just wanted to look nice, I told Emily we’d go shopping after work today, Papa.”

Papa folded his newspaper, crisping the edges at Bess' expectant eyes.

“Well?”

Kay grinned into her juice.

“I was just wondering if it was ok to take my own car in again, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Ja, fine. Do you anticipate driving separately all week?”

Bess nodded, slowly, swallowing more coffee as her father’s eyes went from one daughter to the other.

“Hmm, sure are getting dolled up to go shopping with Emily OWfff.”

Kay got another swift pinch to her shoulder before Bess washed out her coffee cup and left to fix her hair.  Just as she got to the kitchen door, she heard the piano in the living room and looked back at her father.

“Did Mama wake up and go right back to work on the piano?”

“No.” Her Papa’s face went back to the newspaper.

Kay’s eyes met Bess’. “She’s been in there all night.”

“All night?”

Papa calmly set down his paper. “Your mother is fine, you know how she is. Once she starts a project, she becomes very focused. You both would benefit from such discipline. You just need to let her get it out of her system.”

Bess shook her head and ran to the living room to find her mother at the upright piano, hair wild as she wiped sweat from her brow. Mama had been hunched over sorting through a pile of tuning instruments, but her face lit up with excited energy at Bess.

“Oh Bessie, you’re doing your hair fancy again today, huh? Oh my sweet shayna maidel. Brains and beauty.” Mama stroked Bess’ cheek, then went back to hitting a key on the piano. “Ughh, hear that? Can’t get the D flat right.”

Bess tugged on her mothers house dress, the same one she had been wearing yesterday.

“C’mon, Mama, it will be easier if you rest the ole noggin, come back after you get some sleep.”

Her mother brushed off her hand.

“No, Bess, can’t you hear it? It’s all gooey, everything is gooey, when it should be tight. I can’t possible leave the plunkers gooey, it makes the whole room go orange, bubeleh.”

Bess rubbed her mother’s shoulders as she leaned her chin into Mama’s neck.

“You know the bedroom upstairs is all light and yellow, Mama, it will help you center yourself.”

Mama shook her head, and Bess sighed as she returned to the kitchen and mixed some of the thalidomide barbiturates hidden above the spice cabinet into a glass of milk.

Kay paused washing the dishes.

“Papa left.”

“Of course he did. A one star General who strikes fear into the Army Intelligence training officers, but won’t deal with his own wife.”

“That is not fair, Bess, Mama has been better since the treatment. Papa said she was great on the trip, she just needs to get back to routine and get the jitters out of her system.”

“Jitters, jitters is bupkis and you know it. Did you know Aunt Rachel came down to babysit Mama when they were in D.C.?"

Bess sighed and finished stirring the milk, and was finally able to coax Mama upstairs where she undressed her and tucked her into bed with a kiss.

“Oh Bessie, you have a yellow halo around your head schatzeleh, good things await you today, my pretty girl. “

“Thanks mamaleh, get some sleep.”

The black pumps were the last thing Bess slipped on before heading off to work, dropping Kay at school on the way. It was not far to Killeen High School, an easy 10 minute walk for Kay in her saddle shoes, but Bess wanted to talk with her.

“Can you come straight home after school? Keep an eye on Mama, maybe try to get her some sun gardening or going for a walk.

Kay nodded, tightening the scarf around her ponytail, “Sure Bess, she’s ok. I 'm telling you, she just needs rest after goin’ to DC and New York for two weeks.”

“Mmmmhmmm.”

A car of high school boys pulled up next to them, their radio blasted as they made their way to the student parking lot. The boys looked over, whistling and laughing at Bess and Kay.

“Ugh, high school boys.” Kay moaned, fluffing her hair.

“Speaking of which, my dear sister. I thought we had a deal, ixnay on the elvisay or I’ll spill the beans on how often you sneak out with Dickey and tell Papa and Mama you’re spending the night at Gloria’s.”

“Aww, heck, Bess, you know I am not doing anything wrong, not since you scared me half to death about getting pregnant and having to get a back alley abortion.”

“I wasn't trying to scare you, Kay. I just want to make sure you take precautions. And that you understand it, are sure about it, ya know, when you are ready. Sex isn’t bad,it can just have consequences. You know you can always talk to me about that stuff.”

Kay rolled her eyes and hit Bess before getting out of the car.

******************************************************************

5:15 p.m. Fort Hood Front Office

“She’s cooking brisket, and singing along with the radio.”

Bess held the phone receiver to her ear, she could hear her mother’s voice in the background along with Doris Day's. Guilt had been tugging at her heartstrings all afternoon, telling her what a selfish daughter she was to make plans with Elvis instead of going home to check on her mother. She kept listening to her sister talk as Dori come out of her father’s office and waved the CO on, telling him to bring the car around front.

“You sure everything’s okay?”

“Yes, Bess, jeeze, go already. Have fun with Emily.” Bess grimaced momentarily at Kay’s sarcasm then remembered she was trying to smile back at Dori.

Mabel was typing along, making no sign that she registered any human life in the office. Hanging up the phone, Bess began to cover her type writer.

“So y’all really don’t think I should go walk my lil ole self round about his barracks?”

The clacks from Mabel’s typewriter paused as she exhaled a deep huff of smoke, meeting Bess’s eyes for a split second before returning to her paperwork.

“Uh, no, Dori, you don’t want to be another girl chasing after Elvis Presley.”

Bess mused that quite a few members of Fort Hood’s female workforce seemed to have business near the 37th’s barracks lately. She avoided Mabel’s stoic, knowing stare as she explained that she had not seen Elvis since the night of the dance.

“He is a world famous entertainer, Doreen, adjusting to the first phase of basic training, the hardest phase. Women are probably the last thing on his mind.”

This elicited an eyebrow raise from Mabel behind Dori’s back, as the blonde conceded with a sigh that Bess was probably right and skulked out of the Command’s Front Office, flinging her handbag around in disappointment.

“The most eligible Southern bachelor in the world is at my base, even takes me on a date, but has to live in a shack with forty other men and no phone while doing drills all day.” She stomped her foot. “Jus’ isn’t fair.”

Bess stopped watching Dori walk down the hallway and pulled out her compact, giving her lipstick one last check.

“I am just glad the Executive Officer has three male children.”

“Mabel, I don’t know what you mean.”

“Like hell you don’t, that boy is gonna start world war three at this command, getting involved with two generals’ daughters. And, by the way, you need to come up with a better cover, one that doesn’t involve anyone on post.”

Flicking her cigarette, Mabel looked Bess directly in the eyes.

“General Schwartz was asking me about Emily in the switchboard office while you were at lunch.”

Bess swallowed, putting her compact away and rolling her feet back into her heels.

“Huh. Maybe I don’t give the old man enough credit?”

Mabel’s eyes were back on her typewriter. “You should go, before your father returns from his meeting and finds what is waiting for you at the bottom of the stairwell.”

Bess hesitated before she left. “I, um, I mean it, thanks, you know, for -”

“Git already, before I beat you down there and steal him for myself.”

Bess smiled as she tried very very hard to walk with calm composure down the hall and into the back stairs. Just the thought of Elvis’ touch made her tingle and Bess had to use her hands to try and keep her dress from blowing up as she danced down the stairs, heels clicking like Ginger Rogers. Heart in her throat, she nearly did a two-step on the landing mid-flight when she caught sight of a light green cap below. The cap tilted slightly, revealing lips, lips that curled into a welcome reprieve as Bess bounded down to meet him. The beat of her heart matched the sound of her breath as she launched herself onto Elvis’ mouth. He was a cushion and Bess threw herself into him unabashedly, feeling her body lift off the ground as Elvis twirled her around. It was exhilarating.

His light chuckle tickled her forehead and hands pulled her forward. “Happy to see me?”

“I guess.” Bess murmured into his clavicle. “You think too highly of yourself, Tupelo, just happy to be done with work, mostly. I actually forgot you were meeting me.”

He pulled her chin up and Bess heard her voice falter as his eyes melted her nervous system into a giddy mess.

“That why you are runnin' down these stairs like ya got a burr in ya saddle? Maybe I should check.”

His voice became slower as his hands moved from her waist to her bottom, pulling on her skirt as if to inspect it.

“Leave my saddle be, dirty boy.”

Bess cheeks flushed red swatting off Elvis’ hands and he grinned, fingers returning to their deliberate pace at her waist. Just their slow movement heated her belly, a sensation intensified by the warm air from Elvis nostrils as he nudged her eyelid. Bess was happy to see him, happy to have his arms around her, happy to have his fingers pushing the fabric of her dress back and forth over her skin. Those insistent, needy thumbs took her away from all her turmoil and into the comfort of his arms.

“So you aren't excited to see me? Go on then, tell me, tell me why you got ya hair all done up and ya lips all painted up, huh? Meeting someone else?”

Bess traced the top of his lip with her index finger, she was so close to him she could smell the faint hints of cologne, sweat and gun powder on his neck.

“I’m not meeting anyone else.” She looked up, not sure how she was summoning the strength to form words. “I just want to be here. With you.”

“Me too baby, me too.” He ran his finger over her nose. “Got lucky, boy, did I get lucky, that night I caught you stealing - ”

“ - reallocating Army resources.”

“Imma reallocate some Army resources.” He kissed her forehead, right between her eyebrows. “Right here.” She closed her eyes at the way his arms tightened around her. “Right now. For important morale operations.”

Bess’ nodded her forehead sideways into his nose and let her hands roll up his shoulders, the heat between them buzzed up her body. She sucked her bottom lip and the sound of air clicking from her mouth seemed louder in the still concrete stairwell. Bess kissed him gently at first and then with her entire being, grinding up as he thrust back into her and his hands moved to cup her face while his hips becoming sharper and more desperate. A moan escaped her mouth and Elvis stepped back, chuckling as he wiped the lipstick from his mouth.

“Let’s get out of here, huh?” Bess murmured, grasping at his waist to steady herself.

Bess tripped into him as they walked to her car, her head rotating from side-to-side, wondering if any one saw them and could tell how intimately Elvis gripped her hand. He didn’t seem to care, popping open her car door and sliding across the leather as if it were his own. His fingers were instantly over her shoulder, always pursuing physical contact, and he whistled at basket of food on the back seat.

“Watcha cook up for me, lil girl?”

“Um, just, ya, uh know, meatloaf sandwiches, potato salad, some pop.”

“Mmhmm, sounds real good, yessir boberino, real good.” Elvis growled and nibbled into Bess’ shoulder and she suddenly found driving very challenging.

Her struggle to hold the steering wheel only got worse as Elvis mumbled into her cheek while his fingers smoothed the small of her back. She tried, unsuccessfully, to elbow him away as he smirked at her breathy response. It was very clear to Bess that Elvis knew exactly what his fingers did to her as she drove them to a park at the back of Fort Hood’s residential area. Elvis lips trailed up and down her cheek in a way that made Bess not want to get out of the car, made her forget that she was hungry, made her forget her own name.  Grinning, he pulled back and pinched her side.

“Les eat, I’m so hooonnngry I could eat the north bound end of a south bound polecat.”

Elvis carried the basket of food with one hand, the other in Bess’ as she led them to a picnic table near a very small man made pond. She clucked at him to help even out the table cloth, and he grinned at the way Bess set out plates, cups and food methodically. Elvis caught her wrist as she moved to sit across from him, and guided her on to his lap.

“Where you goin’ baby? Don’t want you to get any splinters in that fine caboose.”

“Ha, ha, ha. How chivalrous.”

Bess pushed a spoon of potato salad into his mouth to shut him up as she set out the sandwiches for them, and opened the red cream soda with a bottle opener. Elvis took his pop, sucking it down.

“Just for future reference darlin, I like Pepsi.”

Bess grabbed the drink out of his hand with a playful sniff.

“This is the best cream soda this side of Little Rock, you can use it to make punch, jello, dye dresses red and clean your carburetor. And if you don’t like it, you can get your own drinks.”

Elvis pulled it back, stuffing meatloaf sandwich in his mouth before talking through his chews and taking another swig.

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it, now, no need to get sore.” He slapped her bottom, making her bounce up as she chewed some sandwich. “Jus’ sayin’ I like Pepsi best. ‘Sides, Dori said you were from New York, how come -”  He paused to take another gulp, “How come you like this local fizz so much?”

Bess took the bottle of Big Red from him, letting her mouth linger down and back up over the top as she sipped it, enjoying the way he raised his eyebrows while he chewed.

“Well, Private, I was born in New York. But I have lived in Killeen, Texas on and off since I was five years old. Papa was trained here before the war, and then we went back to Brooklyn while he was in London and then Germany - did your daddy fight?”

Elvis shook his head but offered no explanation, and Bess thought she saw a flicker of disdain or anger in his eyes for a split second, but it was gone. Then he pulled her closer with his right hand, holding up a sandwich to her mouth, lips apart in apt concentration as he guided the food into Bess' mouth and she giggled, swallowing it. He picked up the second bottle of pop and offered it to her as she wiped her mouth.

“Well, anyway, at first we went back and forth when Papa was overseas. We were in New York, and D.C., then he was given orders back here and they bought the house. Mama, Kay and I have stayed here whenever he got orders to go somewhere else: Heidelberg, Fort Hood, Berlin, then, you guessed it, Fort Hood, then DC, then back here. It’s been better for us to stay and go to school here.”

“So, uh, what, your daddy goes all ‘round teaching German?”

“Uh, well, yeah, mostly. Training Army officers to speak German has been a big part of his career.”

Elvis tilted his head for Bess to feed him more potato salad, his fingers otherwise occupied at her hips.

“How’d he get so interested in that?”

Bess licked the spoon they were sharing after feeding Elvis, looking across at the pond as twilight settled over the park.

“He, um, well, he actually grew up in Berlin. His parents sent him to New York in 1931 to live with his aunt and uncle.” She hesitated, scratching his collar, wondering how Elvis Presley felt about making out with Jewish girls. “You see, that was when his family’s synagogue was burned down, and they, um, started to, you know, worry.”

Elvis nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing. “Ah, gotcha.” His hands tightened at her waist. “Ya know, this explains why Dori looked at me funny when I told her I met you outside the base Chapel.”

“Ha! Yeah, well, I could have been there picking up dates.”

“You do that often, Moo Moo?”

“Oh, yeah, good little Christian boys are my favorite.”

He bounced her on his lap and tickled her sides.

“Huh, that right? I don’t know if I like the sound a that.”

“Yeah, well, apparently I’m no good at meeting good Christian boys. Only bad ones.”

“Oh baby, you have know idea what a good boy I can be.” He drew her close for a soft kiss on her neck, and the warmth of his lips made her shiver as he talked into her nape. “I’ve been told I’m very, very, very good at bein’ a boy.”

“Ha!” She shook her head, hands clutching the back of his hair as she looked into his attentive, gleaming bright blue eyes. They made her weak. Everywhere. “Hey, you haven’t even told me how your day was, Tupelo.”

“Oh man, honey, today was a goddamn circus, and I was the lead clown, I tell ya.”

“What happened?” She played with the soft part of his ear lobe as Elvis wiped his forehead and sighed.

“Well, we had target practice for three hours today.”

“That sounds normal, it takes three hours to kill all the paper men.”

“You have idea, baby, no idea.” He looked over his shoulder, as if to make sure no one could hear him. “Well, go on ta find out I forgot to load my gun this mornin’, I was so goddamn flustered getting ready for inspection. Looked like a grade A idiot, man, standing out there front a every one.”

Bess soothed the top of Elvis’ shoulders, all the teasing lilt from a moment ago was gone from her voice as she massaged the stiff, anxiousness there.

“Boy, got me so keyed up, had ma hands in fists all day, bout nearly bust out of my uniform I as so mad at ma self.”

Bess soothed his cheek, running her hand through his hair.

“No one will remember tomorrow, I promise.”

“Huh, I bet you million dollars they all back in their barracks, writin’ home bout how they had a good laugh at Elvis Presley, the Elmer Fudd of the army.”

“I promise, if those soldiers have anyone to write home to, and that’s betting they know how to write, they aren’t wastin’ their time tellin’ their girls about the most handsome stud in America.”

Elvis looked up.

“Most handsome, what was that, baby, stud?”

“Ugh, stop, I was just tryin’ to cheer you up.”

Bess jumped up, and started packing up the picnic, and Elvis was instantly behind her, arms tugging at her was as she popped the last spoon of potato salad greedily in her mouth. He gave her a big, sloppy kiss, then let go, distracted by the water, he wondering down to the edge of the pond where he began skipping stones. She finished folding the table cloth and followed him down to the water, squatting beside him as she selected another rock and handed it to him.

“Sorry excuse for a lake, isn’t it.” Bess said, watching as Elvis aimed the flat stone across the small body of water.

“You better take that back, Moo Moo, you’re hurtin’ this poor lil baby pond’s feelins’” Elvis bent down and threw some water at Bess’ face.

“Hey,” Bess pushed him lightly, then stood up, backing away at the mischievous look in his eyes. “Quit splashin' me! You, you rock n’ roll hoodlum!”

Elvis grinned and cupped his hand full of water, throwing it at her as she backed away.

“Ohh baby, thems fighting words, better watch out!”

Bess shrieked and ran back up to the picnic table, circling around it as Elvis chased her, matching as she changed directions. Their laughter and panting filled the air until he caught her, running his dirty pond fingers through her hair with gusto as she made a face while he slapped her on the butt. Elvis quelled her protests with a kiss and brought her into his side and grabbed the food basket with his other hand. They walked  back to the car sweaty and out of breath like two giddy teenagers.

“Any lakes round here?”

Bess settled back into the car and smoothed her dress down while Elvis’ hands did their best to ruffle it back up, starting with the area over her right knee.

“There’s a reservoir, Lake Belton, bout 30 minutes away. You can go swimming, boating, horseback riding. Why?”

“This weekend phase 1 is over and I can start going off post on the weekend. Planning to see my friend Lamar, maybe some more of my guys, and I wanna take them somewhere fun Sunday. Somewheres maybe like this Lake.”

Bess tried to contain her disappointment that Elvis’ first thought wasn’t to spend the time with her. But she reminded herself that they weren’t serious, they were having a fling and besides, he saw her everyday. He sensed her mood change anyway as she sat up stiff and straight to start the car, and his hand became more attentive to her knee.

“I want you there, Bess, you’re coming out with me this weekend. Right after drills end at 1700 hours Saturday.”

“When does your friend get to town?”

“He’s already here. Lamar, he grumbles and fusses, but he is loyal and true. From Texas, too.”

“Where’s he staying?”

“At the Star Motel.” Elvis looked over at Bess, then down at where his long, thin fingers were on the inside of her knee, then back up to her eyes. “He, uh, he went and got a few a rooms so we can have a party Saturday night.” His voice became softer as he murmured. “Reckon it would be nice to have some time, just to be alone with with you, Bessie baby. Somewhere that ain’t a picnic bench. Or a car. Somewhere we could be alone and just talk.”

Bess parked behind the armory buildings near Elvis' barracks and turned to him, blushing.

“Um, yes, I guess I would like that too. To be able to just be somewhere, just talk.”

A wave of shyness suddenly overwhelmed Bess as she thought about being alone in a motel room with Elvis. What she thought he might really be asking her.  She wasn’t sure how far she wanted to go with him this soon, though she could feel desire pulsing up through her rib cage and knew that if Elvis even looked at her sideways she would throw all abandon out of the window. But she had the impression, from just the few weeks she had known him, that Elvis was more old fashioned then she would have thought. She wasn’t sure where his boundary was, as far as respecting girls who went to bed with him. But his invitation definitely seemed like a proposition and the prospect of sleeping with him was at once exciting and terrifying.

Bess began to fiddle with her hands where they lay in her lap and Elvis picked up her left hand, bringing it to his cheek and kissing her palm delicately.

“Hey there, lil Moo Moo, you’re so pretty. How’d I catch the prettiest lil moo cow in the field, hmmm?”

The words rumbled out of Elvis mouth in a low babyish voice and his eyelids drooped down in time with his bottom lip. Bess’ chest tightened, and it felt like the world tilted sides when she pulled him in and he kissed her down into the leather seat. They pawed at each other there, exploring how their noses fit together as their tongues played tug of war for control. It sent a jolt straight to Bess’ core when she felt his excitement stiffen against her thigh and she smiled into his goofy bedroom eyes.

“Hey, wait, are you calling me a cow, Elvis Presley?”

Elvis shook his head, his face focused on where his right fingers brushed over her breast, savoring Bess’ shiver, as his knuckles trailed back down over the hills and valleys of her skirt. Her blood rushed between her legs and she took a deep breath.

His fingers were back at her bosom, setting her skin on aflame with the way his finger tips trailed back and forth circling her breast.

“Mmmmhmm, not jus any cow, baby, you the prettiest little milk cow, bet you have the sweetest.” He bite his lip as he circled the cloth around her nipple again. “Cream.”

Bess exhaled out with a gasp, curling her left fingers at his wrist as he spoke.

“Makin' me want dessert.”

Elvis’ hand stayed at her side where she held it, his fingers brushing against her dress, but it was his eyes that knocked the wind from her lungs as they moved downward to settle on the apex between her legs. Elvis bit his lips and Bess felt a desperate flame tingle out from her core. No one had ever done what he was hinting at, and it scared her. Suddenly she didn’t consider herself as experienced as she had before. She had slept with what, twenty men? And no one had ever kissed her there. That was something she needed to prepare for, perhaps double the talcum powder she applied. Coughing, Bess slide out from him to sit upright and straighten her dress. Elvis’ hands were back on her hips, pulling her over to straddle his lap.

“You know, Moo Moo, I’d never do nothin’ you don wanna.”

Elvis kissed her neck as she nodded.

“I bet you taste sweet, though.”

Bess swatted him playfully, then gripped his shoulder as he nibbled her ear. Playtime was over. A feverish yearning took over and she met his hips as they rocked up into her. Bess’ heart was racing, Elvis slow and deliberate movements made him different from any man she had ever been with. He halted mid thrust to savor the moment, and his eyes looked deep into hers with a longing and and an eagerness to please. They were an invitation and a command that he followed with his fingers, trailing them softly over the curve of her breasts. She could feel his cock twitch when he noticed her shudder, or felt her nipples harden, and she knew what made Elvis different. Her pleasure turned him on.

So she chased it, moving in tandem to the rhythm of his thighs while she pushed her lips on top of his, feeling his tongue meet hers once more. She felt his bulge and sought the friction of it between her legs. His movements became more urgent, and Bess’ grasped for anything she could find to hold on to as the car filled with sound of heaving, gulping, loud moans. Her orgasm erupted suddenly with a litany of “oh Gods,” and Elvis thumbs stroked her cheeks as he shushed the fear and hesitancy from her.

“I gotcha, I gotcha, sshhhhh baby, don worry. Jus ride it out. That’s a good lil girl.”

Bess’ chest heaved up as she remembered how to breathe. This was the most intimate experience she had ever had, and all of her clothes were still on. She half chuckled as she steadied herself, meeting Elvis triumphant, satisfied eyes.

“Wow.”

“You ok, honey? Make me think you ain’t never tussled with a boy before.”

“Not like that.”

His mouth curled into a big crooked grin, and she laughed up into the ceiling.

“Huh, well, that’s true, Bess, and you won’t never find someone like me again, neither. I got moves you ain't never seen, honey." He smirked. "Stick with me, I told you, I’m a very good boy.”

“Good at being bad.”

Laughing, she shifted and noticed his erection still lingered in his pants and so she moved her hand to rub over it but he stilled her.

“Don’t you want me to take care of you, Tupelo?” She kissed his cheek, lips moving down his neck. “ Make you feel good? I  - I can, you know -”

Elvis patted her hand back into her lap and kissed the words out of her mouth.

“You were perfect tonight, Bess, perfect. But I jus as soon keep a lid on it. You don’t make it easy, though, baby, been makin’ me crazy all night, just walking round and sittin’ on me with all that equipment in your undercarriage.”

“Guess I know one pistol you have no trouble loading.”

Elvis tilted his neck back, laughing as he squeezed her waist as they made their goodbyes over a push and pull of kisses for the next fifteen minutes.

****************************************************************

Schwartz Residence, Killeen TX

9:30 p.m.

The moon followed Bess in the clear night sky as she left post, still feeling Elvis’ hands all over her, hearing his laughter in her ears. She was giddy from the blissful release she had found on his lap, it had washed away all the tension she' 'd had carrying with her through the day. Hurrying up the stairs to her house, Bess stumbled upon her mother in the kitchen making camomile tea.The creases at the corners of Mama’s large brown eyes pinched together in a big smile.

“Oh Bessie Bess, my baby, you’re home late. Want some sleepy time tea, my shayna maidel?”

Bess strode over and put her arms around her mother’s back, leaning on her shoulder as her mother poured the kettle into the teapot, her chest filled with affection.

“Sure Mamaleh, I’d love some.”

Papa’s voice rang out from his office, so she kissed her mother’s cheek and promised to be right back.

“Aw, Elizabeth, how was your day shopping with, who, Emily, was it?”

Bess leaned against the doorway of his office, glad her father was at least making the pretense of settling down for the night in his dressing gown and pajamas. A pipe was in his hand as he read over some paperwork.

“Good, Papa, thanks for asking.”

“Gut, gut, ja.” He pushed his glasses up, and looked over his desk at his daughter, taking in her slightly disheveled hair, rumpled dress and newly applied lipstick below flushed cheeks. “You know, I thought your mother made two meatloaves for supper last night.”

“Oh, well, I took some for lunch today, Papa. I didn’t know you wanted it.”

“No, ja, I was just looking for a snack earlier, but no bother, no bother.” He put his papers down. “Are you still thinking of law school, because I saw General Brandon when we were in D.C.”

“I don’t want to go do propaganda for the U.S. government, Papa.”

“Yes, well, it’s not propaganda, spatz, it’s goodwill initiatives. This war is more about minds than mines, ja? Brandon’s information program is just making sure other countries have the opportunity to experience American art and culture. Someone with your background and expertise in foreign affairs, you’d be a good fit for a post open this fall. And they want women, smart, focused, attractive women like you. You would be perfect for this job.”

Bess tapped her fingers over her belt, she had not been thinking about her research project at all, or her law school applications for that matter. No, her head had been elsewhere, and she felt pangs of shame and guilt as she considered what her father was bringing up. Her future. Specifically, he was back at it trying to convince her to work for one of the newer programs in D.C. that his colleague in Army Intelligence had founded: the United States Information Agency. Its mission was officially “public diplomacy” overseas, but Bess knew it was essentially a PR agency for the United States.

“Is it in the Berlin office?”

“Ack, Illsa, Berlin is a coveted office, you have to work your way up to it. No. Helsinki.”

“I don’t even speak Finnish, or Swedish, and -”

“It is right there at the lion’s mouth, Ilsa, there’s a lot of action in Helsinki. All the spies from Moscow are coming through it. And the goodwill tours behind the Iron Curtain go off from there. It would be, what, two years? A stepping stone to Berlin maybe?  Besides, Deutsch ist die Muttersprache, you’d pick up Swedish and Finnish like that.” Papa snapped his fingers.

“Mmmhmm. Well, you got my attention. But what about Mama?” Bess fingers clenched in a fist. “She seems like she is backsliding.”

“She doesn’t do well when her routine is disrupted, you know that. She will be fine, give her a few days to settle.” Papa sucked on his pipe, and the sweet smell of tobacco reached Bess’ nose. “And, well, you know I expect orders to INCOMS headquarters any day. That will be my last post before retirement, and I promised Mama New York after that. In the meantime, your Aunt Rachel wants to come and live with us in D.C.”

“What about Kay? I thought she wanted to go to Baylor.”

Papa’s elbow banged down on his desk, as he rearranged his paperweights, then he kept talking as he got up and put a jazz record on.

“Katharina applied to Georgetown, Radcliffe, Smith and many, many other colleges, she will be fine. She would also be fine at Baylor if she is determined to follow her silly friends there.”

Bess nodded, thinking of the girls in Kay’s high school class whose mothers had been in Baylor’s sororities, and how they had been giggling about life together next year. She thought of her own decision to stay in Texas for college, at the time she had wanted to follow her friends to a big school in a big city like Austin. She turned on her heel to head back to the kitchen and Mama’s camomile tea, muttering into the hallway in from to her. “Helsinki, huh?”

Her father’s voice followed her, his eyes narrowed at the smudges of lipstick Elvis had kissed into the back of Bess’ neck.

“Just think about, ja? You have so much potential, maus. I hate to see you loose sight of your goals.”

**************************************************************

Click here to read Chapter Six: Guided Missiles

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[shy-girl04]

Vivian Maier, Canada, 1958

On a Train

The book I’ve been reading

rests on my knee. You sleep.

It’s beautiful out there-

fields, little lakes and winter trees

in February sunlight,

every car park a shining mosaic.

Long radiant minutes,

your hand in my hand,

still warm, still warm.

By Wendy Cope

[disneybooklist]

[valerieandherweekofwonderz]

thank you for all you do! i just got into czech(o)slovak cinema because of you and was wondering if you had any favorite films on the GD that you recommend?

Hi! ❤️ Thank you for your words! I’m glad my blog has encouraged you to start exploring CS cinema! I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed 🙂

I’ll list my favourite films from each folder but you can’t go wrong with any film that you’ll find there.

30's - 40's

Divá Bára / Wild Barbara (1949) dir. by Vladimír Čech (drama)

Eva tropí hlouposti / Eva Fools Around (1939) dir. by Martin Frič (comedy, romance)

Podobizna / The Portrait (1947) dir. by Jiří Slavíček (drama, horror, mystery)

Fairy Tales

Byl jednou jeden král… / Once Upon a Time, There Was a King… (1954) dir. by Bořivoj Zeman

Jak se budí princezny / How to Wake Up Princesses (1977) dir. by Václav Vorlíček

Perinbaba / The Feather Fairy (1985) dir. by Juraj Jakubisko

Princ a Večernice / The Prince and the Evening Star (1978) dir. by Václav Vorlíček

Princezna se zlatou hvězdou / The Princess with the Golden Star (1959) dir. by Martin Frič

Pyšná princezna / The Proud Princess (1952) dir. by Bořivoj Zeman

S čerty nejsou žerty / Give the Devil His Due (1984) dir. by Hynek Bočan

Tři oříšky pro Popelku / Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973) dir. by Václav Vorlíček

Films directed by Juraj Herz

Morgiana (1972) (horror, drama)

Panna a netvor / Beauty and the Beast (1978) (fairy tale, horror, romance)

Petrolejové lampy / The Petroleum Lamps (1971) (drama)

Spalovač mrtvol / The Cremator (1968) (drama, horror)

Films directed by Karel Kachyňa

Kočár do Vídně / A Carriage Going to Vienna (1966) (drama, war)

Malá mořská víla / The Little Mermaid (1976) (fairy tale, drama)

Ucho / The Ear (1970) (drama, thriller)

Musicals / Opera

Noc na Karlštejně / A Night at Karlstein (1973) dir. by Zdeněk Podskalský

Films directed by Karel Zeman

Baron Prášil / The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1961) (sci-fi, fantasy, adventure)

Čarodějův učeň / The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1977) (animated, horror, fairy tale)

Na kometě / On the Comet (1970) (sci-fi, fantasy, adventure)

Vynález zkázy / Invention for Destruction or The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (1958) (sci-fi, fantasy, adventure)

Other

Marketa Lazarová (1967) dir. by František Vláčil (drama, history)

Parodies / Comedies

Adéla ještě nevečeřela / Adela Has Not Had Her Supper Yet (1977) dir. by Oldřich Lipský

Dívka na koštěti / The Girl on the Broomstick (1971) dir. by Václav Vorlíček

Jak utopit Dr. Mráčka aneb Konec vodníků v Čechách / How to Drown Dr. Mracek, the Lawyer (1974) dir. by Václav Vorlíček

Jára Cimrman ležící, spící / Jára Cimrman Lying, Sleeping (1983) dir. by Ladislav Smoljak

Tajemství hradu v Karpatech / The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981) dir. by Oldřich Lipský

Recent Films

Fair Play (2014) dir. by Andrea Sedláčková (drama)

Kolja (1996) dir. by Jan Svěrák (comedy, drama)

Kytice / Wild Flowers (2000) dir. by F. A. Brabec (drama, horror, romance, poetic)

Pelíšky / Cosy Dens (1999) dir. by Jan Hřebejk (comedy, drama)

Requiem pro panenku / Requiem for a Doll (1991) dir. by Filip Renč (drama, thriller)

Želary (2003) dir. by Ondřej Trojan (drama, war, romace)

New Wave

Lásky jedné plavovlásky / Loves of a Blonde (1965) dir. by Miloš Forman (comedy, drama)

Slávnosť v botanickej záhrade / Celebration in the Botanical Garden (1969) dir. by Elo Havetta (comedy)

Slnko v sieti / The Sun in the Net (1962) dir. by Štefan Uher (drama)

Valerie a týden divů / Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970) dir. by Jaromil Jireš (fantasy, horror)

Silent Films

Erotikon (1929) dir. by Gustav Machatý (drama, romance)

TV Series

Arabela (1980) dir. by Václav Vorlíček (comedy, fairy tale, fantasy)

Návštěvníci / The Visitors (1983) dir. by Jindřich Polák (sci-fi, comedy)

Films directed by Věra Chytilová

Ovoce stromů rajských jíme / We Eat the Fruit of the Trees of Paradise (1969) (CS new wave movement)

Sedmikrásky / Daisies (1966) (comedy, CS new wave movement)

Vlčí bouda / Wolf’s Hole (1986) (horror, drama)

Enjoy❣️

[marciabrady]

i love the ron dias sleeping beauty book he illustrated in the 1980s, but i only recently realized how much of it was inspired from earlier art! there's many more elements i noticed either being directly traced or more vaguely inspired, but the below items were the most interesting to me

the first picture, of aurora's mother and merryweather, originally appeared in the official comic adaption of the film that was released in conjunction with the original theatrical debut of sleeping beauty. the inking and general art is credited to al hubbard and norm mcgary, though i will say, i have noticed certain panels that were directly ripped from sleeping beauty coloring books that were released during that time, so it's possible some of their art was traced from disney reference material. the below panel is the earliest instance i could find of this particular queen and merryweather art, though, and on the right you can see ron dias's rendition of it in the 1980s

second up, on the left is a screencap and on the right is the 1980s storybook version. dias took aurora's face from a cap just a few seconds later, but you can see the right hand, draping of the shawl, the curls, and the position of her feet are identical in both versions

the phillip picture on the left appears in an authorized edition of disney's sleeping beauty that was released by whitman in conjunction with the film's 1959 release. an interesting fun fact is that whitman released a lot of the novelizations, and even a sequel book to sleeping beauty, in 1958 in the year predating the release of the film. to the right is ron dias's art which echoes the whitman rendition

aurora and phillip on the left is from the same book that the phillip image above is traced from. it looks like it ron dias mostly just drew from the posing, though the influence is undeniable. it's charming to me how much aurora looks like mary costa in the dias iteration! dias was a great admirer of mary costa's and sent her a drawing that was inspired by this frame of sleeping beauty, which was said to be one of his favorites

[deafeningsheeppoetry]

✧HIDDEN VISION✧

HASHIRAMA X READER

Synopsis: A sudden mysterious murder brings a budding romance between a blind model and a private detective

Content warning: mentions of blood, murder, suicide, knife

Genre: romance, 1950/60 (s)

Word count:1k(ish)

Authors note: I'm back! Currently writing for hashirama because I feel like he isn't written enough unlike madara who is clearly more liked, forgive me if i made hashirama way too ooc, we barely have any screen time about him so I'm relying on what the anime gave us,the story is clearly inspired by veil but the turn of events in this story is original and are all made out by me.

October 14 , 1958

Paris

"have you heard? The girl from our agency died" Nancy spoke as she drank her hot chocolate quietly, the girl besides her dazed ,quipped in surprise as she raised a brow

"since when?" She asked, quite curious about the matter,Nancy whispered to her softly in the other girl's ear "just last night,they think it's her husband who killed her. Murdered her with a knife,i heard the husband was furious because he thought the girl was cheating with her photographer" Nancy explained quietly before pulling away

"was it Dorothy?" Celia asked, Nancy muttered a simple 'yes' from her mouth "i heard Dorothy was sleeping with the photographer for months now,William i think is his name" Celia added as she listened to the sounds of cars and people walking around the shop "though I think it's only just a rumor" she added again as she sipped her coffee in silence "Nancy buy me a bouquet of flowers will you? Give it to her mother and send my condolences as well" Nancy muttered a simple 'yes' before standing up

"I'll see you tomorrow,call me when you get back home alright?" Nancy spoke before giving her friend one last hug before leaving the shop

"excuse me" the senju spoke as he stopped the unknown woman from going inside the building "yes?" The woman asked "you're not allowed from going inside unless you're a worker, it is protocol" hashirama explained to the woman In front of him,he saw her raise her eyebrows in confusion "i work here,I am one of the models" she explained to him, hashirama looked at her in surprise before laughing awkwardly "oh forgive me..we weren't given any portfolio on who to let in" he said awkwardly before moving out of the way so she could go inside,he saw her smile slightly at him "it's fine,I'm sure that everyone is stressed right now due to the murder" she assured him "have a pleasant day" she added before going inside

'she's beautiful..' he thought to himself as he watched her walk inside the building "sir? An officer walked over to him "this will be the people who you will be questioning today" the girl handed him a portfolio full of paper "thanks" the girl nodded at him before leaving.

Maybe he'll meet that pretty model again,he thought to himself .

A/N: this has been sitting in my drafts for months now,i seriously forgot about it ,i kinda got stuck at the end lol

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

Fractured

Fandom: Elvis Presley, American Musician,

Pairing: Elvis Presley x Addison Goodwin

Characters: Elvis Presley, Addison Goodwin, Marci Cunningham, Priscilla Presley, Jessie Presley, Original Female Character, Original Male Character, Colonel Tom Parker

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 8500

Summary: Escaping the most famous man in the world is never easy.

Tags/Warnings: Heartache, Hidden Pregnancy, Angst, Elvis and Priscilla Wedding, Anger, Crying, Jealousy, Love, Single Parent, Motherhood, Single Mother, Weddings, Kissing,

Notes: Okay so this is just as angsty as the most recent chapter of Here You Come Again but I feel like I need to defend my gal and her actions

Question is would you want to see a parallel fic to this from Elvis’ POV

PART TWO // ELVIS AND ADDISON MASTER POST

August 1958

The air was still and quiet save for a few faint gurgles as the babies were disturbed in their cribs by the sound of an opening door. Addison knew she shouldn’t have been in here, that she should’ve been sleeping as the nurses had told her to, but for some reason, she couldn’t make her body rest no matter how battered and broken she was feeling. She couldn’t make herself sleep because she couldn’t stop herself from missing her daughter. She was barely six hours old and yet Addison felt as though she didn’t remember what life was like without her in it. She supposed it was because now was the first time she had been alone, truly alone. The last time she had felt like that was the first night she had spent at St Bernadette's, sobbing her heart out as she thought about the life that had been ripped from her just hours earlier, and yet even then she hadn't been alone, not really. Even if she hadn't known, she’d been with her, helping her through everything – giving her a reason to carry on when all seemed lost. Which was why she was desperate to see her. To hold her in her arms and cherish the feel of her. Addison had thought she’d known love before now and yet it seemed to pale in comparison to the love she had for her little girl.

The little girl who disturbed as she got to the side of her crib, her tiny features contorting as she plucked her from her cot before she broke into a guttural sob. Addison watched as fat tears rolled down her reddened cheeks, trying not to take it to heart as she figured she too wouldn’t have taken to being jostled awake into a world she barely knew.

‘Hey,’ Addison murmured as she moved to sit down in a rocking chair in the corner of the room, the baby bundled into her arms, ‘hey now, it’s okay. Sshh it’s okay.’

Addison held her close, hoping that her aura would be enough of a comfort as she didn’t have much more in her arsenal than cooing. But the baby didn’t settle, instead, she continued to wail making tears prick at Addison’s eyes as she floundered for something, anything, to help her.

‘It’s okay honey. Mama’s here see,’ she whispered, her hand placing soft pats on her daughter’s back as she continued, ‘oh come on. You’re gonna get us in trouble. C’mon now lil miss, can’t have the nurses scolding me on my first day on the job.’

To Addison’s surprise the baby then fell quiet, tears still on her dampened cheeks though absent from her eyes as she peered up at her mother watching her with curiosity. They were eyes she knew all too well.

As she looked down at her daughter’s cerulean gaze she took in everything else. She was the most beautiful baby Addison had ever seen and yet every inch of her was like a dagger through her chest, every feature, every expression so much like Elvis she couldn’t bear it. From the intoxicating blue eyes to her pouty lips even the tuft of sandy hair on her head was enough to make Addison want to weep.

But she pushed it back. Over the last nine months she had done enough crying to fill a goddamn river but she didn’t have time for that now, not when her daughter needed her. Not when she was watching her as if hanging on to be told whether or not to start crying again. Her little girl needed her to be brave, to be strong, and so she put on her keenest smile and whispered, ‘you like that name huh little miss?’

‘Sounds good doesn’t it? Though I suppose I can’t name you the first thing you answer to,’ Addison whispered laughing as the baby shifted, a gummy smile on her face her mother chose to believe was agreement, ‘thought not. I guess we’ll have to think of something that’ll last…any ideas? Yeah me either.’

She was settling now, the sound of Addison’s voice rumbling against her providing a lasting comfort that made her close her eyes, and though she no longer had a captivated audience Addison found her own comfort in speaking to her daughter as if she was listening anyway.

‘You know I thought once you got here I’d just know…what to call you I mean,’ she explained, her thumb swiping over a damp cheek as she did, ‘I thought once I’d seen your little face I’d be able to tell what your name should be. Whether you were a Sharon, a Susie, or a Lisa but you don’t suit any of them. In fact, can I tell you a secret?’ she asked, pausing to glance around the room. It was empty, apart from the babies, but she lowered her voice anyway as if what she was admitting was only for the two of them.

‘I’d swear I didn’t know you were a girl at first glance…you look so much like your daddy,’ Addison whispered.  At her words sadness washed over her though it somehow didn’t feel as bad as it had earlier. She didn’t know whether it was because she had her daughter in her arms or because she had been thinking about him a lot today but either way it wasn’t the gut-wrenching ache it normally was. She didn’t speak for a moment, the flash of him behind her eyes too strong to get rid of just yet. She thought about him. Tried to picture what he was doing at that very moment, contemplating if he would even be able to fathom where she was or what she was up to right then and there. She wondered if he would even think or care about her after all by now the Colonel was sure to have pumped such vitriol into his ear he probably hated her.

And yet she still loved him, heartbreakingly so.

As an errant sob escaped her, causing the baby to stir, she choked it back choosing to get back onto the process of finding a name as she said, ‘guess we can’t name you after him though huh? Can’t even give you his last name.’

She didn’t know why her next words came considering she was trying to steer her thoughts from Elvis yet as her daughter lay there in her arms she felt compelled to explain, even if she would never remember, she felt that she owed her some reasoning, some explanation as to why she had made the choices that had inevitably led them both here.

‘I would if I could you know…if there was any way I could do it differently I would but we ain’t that lucky,’ she said sadly. It wasn’t enough, it was never going to be enough of an excuse but it was all she had which is probably why she felt the need to tell her daughter, ‘he’d love you, you know. Oh, he’d be obsessed with you. Probably have already bought you an entire nursery full of stuff…he’d know what to do, what to name you,’ she said feeling the tears she had promised not to cry slipping down her cheeks as the idea of Elvis holding their baby girl played on her mind, ‘not me. I feel like I don’t know anything anymore.’

It was an honest confession, one she hadn’t even expected to come from her own lips and yet now it was here she felt better. If she was being honest with herself she didn’t feel like she knew anything. She didn’t know how she was going to raise this little girl in front of her because for the past year all she had done was put one foot in front of the other focusing on the goal and not what would happen when she finally got there. When her dad had died it had been about getting through the week. With Elvis it was till graduation. When she had found out she was pregnant all she had thought about was getting to the birth, all of that other stuff she had thought would slip into place.

And now she was stuck.

With barely anything to call her own but a little girl who was now depending on her for everything. A little girl who she couldn’t even think up a name for. If she’d had been allowed to stay it would’ve been different. Not easy but not this hard. And it wouldn’t be the real things, the things that mattered that were hard. Elvis would’ve been besotted with her she knew that. It was other stuff that would’ve taken its toll. The fans, the papers, the Colonel. She wondered how his parents would’ve taken the news. If they would’ve changed their minds about her now she had borne them a grandchild. She wanted to believe that they would, that the beautiful little girl in her arms would’ve been enough to win them back over though she doubted it. For Elvis maybe, not for anyone else.

Though the struggle in her mind was internal and her baby completely ignorant to her mother’s turmoil she felt as though she had to explain anyway, that she had to reassure the sleeping child about worries she did not have.

‘He’s still part of you. I want you to know that…even if we can’t be part of his life he always will be. You’re still his little girl,’ she said firmly receiving nothing but a yawn in return. It was true. No matter the circumstances or the turmoil nothing would ever take away that fact. Whether they could be together or not that didn’t matter because they were tethered together forever, even if he didn’t know it. Maybe that was why she was having such a hard time deciding on a name. Making any decision without him somehow seemed final, like cutting him out of their lives for good. And though he would never be able to be part of their lives having that finality was like another dagger to the chest. Which is why she wanted to pick right. If she was going to make a decision, name their daughter without his input, she wanted to make sure she chose right. If anything she wanted to give her his last name though she knew it would never be an option. So maybe something relative, something no one would know but enough to feel as though he was there, part of their little girl’s life in some form. 

She thought of his cousins and friends – none of their names feeling youthful enough for the tiny babe in her arms. She thought of his Grandmother and found Minnie to feel alien in her mouth given that Elvis had taught her at just three years old to only refer to the older lady by his affectionate moniker. And then she thought of Gladys, his best girl. If she was going to pick anything it should’ve been that after all his mother was a worthy namesake in Elvis’ eyes and yet a heartache in Addison’s. Could she spend the rest of her life looking at her daughter and seeing the eyes of the woman who felt betrayed by her? No, no she couldn’t.

She was running out of options, cursing the fact he had so many damn men in his family until her mind ran over a memory. A memory of a baby, a child, part of Elvis’ life and yet not present, never destined to be. Just like the child in her arms.

‘Jessie,’ Addison said quietly, making the child’s eyes flutter open as she stretched, clasping her hand around the finger on her cheek which made Addison chuckle as she said, ‘you like that huh?’

As a tiny hand squoze her mother’s finger Addison smiled and pressed a kiss to her daughter’s forehead before she pulled back and murmured, ‘well Jessie let me tell you something. Your daddy will always be a part of you but for now you’ve only got me. And like I said I don’t know what I’m doing but I’m going to learn. I’m gonna be whatever you need me to be okay? No matter what, you got me. Always will, okay?’

She didn’t answer, that darling girl in her arms.but the glow of her familiar blue eyes and the squeeze on her finger was enough.

June 1965

‘I should go,’ Addison panted, as his mouth continued the fervent assault down her neck, his tongue lapping at the sweet spot that always made a shiver run down her spine.

‘Mmhmm,’ he hummed against her skin causing a petite moan to fall from her lips. It made her feel heady, almost making her forget her train of thought until her eyes caught the clock on the dash showing it had just gone nine. She needed to go and yet she didn’t want to, not when he was kissing her like this.

‘Jess is probably waiting up for me,’ she said though she didn’t know who she was trying to convince with that statement.

‘Probably,’ he mumbled as lips migrated back to hers, every kiss accompanied by the feel of his hands aching to get to bare skin.

‘Nick,’ she mumbled hoping he’d hear the regret in her voice. Hoping he’d understand that it wasn’t her choice to leave either of them high and dry like this. He seemed to notice, pulling back with a disappointed yet understanding look.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said as Nick pulled back, his hand finding hers as he rested back in his seat.

‘It’s okay,’ he shrugged.

‘Honestly, I wish we had longer,’ she said.

‘I know, don’t worry about it,’ he replied offering her a reassuring smile that made her feel a little less guilty though it couldn’t snuff it out completely. She always felt guilty these days given that she was either turning him down because she was too busy or she was out with him and coming home to find Jess asleep at the top of the stairs, where she had fallen asleep waiting for her. She’d dated before of course, though nothing ever this serious. And he was a good guy, a kind and understanding man who seemed to like her despite her baggage, which was why having to peel herself away from him never felt good.

‘You know,’ he said snapping her out of her thoughts, ‘I’ve been thinking.’

‘Oh?’ she giggled wondering what scandalous thing he was going to try and talk her into before she definitely had to go inside.

‘Yeah, I was just thinking maybe next time I could have dinner here,’ he said. He watched as the smile on her face turned to shock, nerves bubbling through her as she said, ‘here? Like at my house?’

‘Well that’s kinda what I meant by here,’ he said with a teasing smile that aimed to put her at ease.

‘Oh…uh I don’t know,’ Addison said his tactics failing to make her feel settled. She didn’t know why the idea of him inside her house got her so at odds with herself. It was a natural progression and yet it still seemed a lot.

‘Why not?’ he asked.

‘Well…Jess would be there,’ she said though she didn’t think that was the entire reason for the nerves in her stomach.

‘Well that’s kinda the idea,’ he said making her wince with stupidity.

‘Oh right,’ she said. No, it wasn’t the idea of him in her house or the prospect of the pair of them meeting for the time. It was that this would be a step forward. Once Jess met him he would be part of their lives, her life, and that was something she didn’t know she was ready for.

‘I mean didn’t you think I’d want to meet her at some point?’ he asked.

‘Of course I did but isn’t it a little soon?’ she said, hoping he’d drop it.

‘It’s been six months Addie,’ he said.

‘Right,’ she muttered.

‘Is that a problem?’ he asked looking at her properly, unable to hide the hurt in his eyes at the idea she wasn’t taking this as seriously as he was.

‘No, it’s just…Jess has never been involved in this side of my life before and I don’t want her getting attached to someone and then it not working out. I just don’t want her to be devastated,’ she admitted, dropping her gaze to her lap. It was partially that but it was also the thought of how devastated she’d be if they didn’t work out.

‘I get that but,’ he said capturing her attention, ‘I guess I thought maybe this was going somewhere…’

‘Me too,’ she replied, the truth falling from her lips before she gave it permission to. And as she looked at him, handsome and understanding, she couldn’t help but want it to go somewhere. To the next step.

‘So, maybe it’s time?’ he asked with a smile as she nodded, ‘I mean we don’t have to say I’m your boyfriend or anything. We could say I’m a friend and see how it goes.’

‘Yeah maybe that’s best,’ she agreed, unable to stop her from smiling as her nerves all but disappeared. He was trying, really trying to make her and her daughter comfortable, and that was what she should want right? A guy who understood, who was patient enough with them. That was what she wanted.

‘So Saturday?’ he asked.

‘Saturday,’ she agreed.

To Addison’s surprise Jess had been completely fine about her inviting ‘a friend’ over for dinner. A fact Addison didn’t know whether to be happy or concerned about. On the one hand she didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and make Jess feel as though she’d gotten a new dad in the space of a night but on the other, she didn’t want Jess to be under the impression this was like having her aunt Marci around given it could be more than that.

But either way it seemed she needn’t have worried because Nick had been all she could’ve asked him to be. He wasn’t too friendly, trying too hard to make her daughter like him, but she could see he did care. She could see that he understood Jess was just as important to keep happy as she was. And fortunately he managed to keep Jess on his side by bringing a box of new LPs to the house. Addison didn’t even remember when she had mentioned Jess’ newfound love of the Beatles but the look on her daughter’s face when Nick had asked if she would want to check out the new album with him, pretending he hadn’t had a chance to yet, had made Addison happy she did. It was a small gesture but one that made her feel good all the same.

In fact, it had even made her feel so good she had dared to let them have a moment alone whilst she tidied up after dinner. As they’d toddled off into the living she’d stayed behind trusting they’d be okay without her. It didn’t take long to wash the dishes but when she’d pressed her ear to the door she could hear them chatting and given her daughter was normally shy when it came to strangers she’d decided not to intervene. After all, it wasn’t as though she’d be able to join in the conversation much, her penchant for music being shelved years before evidenced by the fact the only LPs in their house were that bought by Marci. Still, there was only so long she could tidy, clean and arrange before either of them got suspicious and so after a while she was forced to join the party.

They were sitting on the floor; their backs to the door as Jess rifled through the box of albums in front of her. She didn’t even seem to notice her mother had entered though Nick caught her eye for a moment, reciprocating the smile she offered as she watched them.

‘This one,’ Jess said eventually thrusting an album into Nick’s hands which made him smile.

‘Good choice,’ he said as he slipped it out of its sleeve, gesturing for Jess to help which she did eagerly, her little fingers pulling the needle up and cutting the music from the air. As Nick started to swap the records she glanced away finally noting Addison was in the room.

‘Mom guess what?’ she said climbing up from where she was sitting and pulling Addison down to the couch.

‘What?’ Addison asked, her daughter’s enthusiasm infecting her.

‘Nick saw the Beatles live!’ Jess said agog.

‘Really?’ Addison replied.

‘Isn’t that cool?’ Jess asked.

‘Pretty cool,’ Addison agreed, nudging Nick’s thigh with her toe which made him pause in his movements smirking at her as Jess continued.

‘Can we go next time?’ Jess asked hopefully.

‘Sure,’ Addison said smiling as Jess broke into a massive grin turning to her new friend as she said, ‘did you hear Nick? Mom said yes!’

‘I heard,’ Nick said as he slipped the record into place.

‘You can come too,’ Jess said.

‘Well thank you,’ Nick smiled.

Addison was going to smile too but it faded from her face as the sounds of the record player echoed out into the air bringing with it a voice she knew all too well, Elvis. She didn’t know the song and his voice sounded different, lower and smoother, yet it was unmistakably him. And it was like a punch to the gut. One that was made worse as her daughter and her boyfriend continued to chatter, unaware of it all. But Addison couldn’t push it away so she mumbled something about getting everyone a drink and left the room, fleeing to the safety of the backyard.

The air was crisp outside, causing goosebumps along her flesh as she stood in it and yet she didn’t care. If anything having to focus on not shivering was better than the thoughts flooding her brain. It wasn’t that she had eradicated him from her life, he was too famous to ever combat that, but she had learned how to compartmentalise. To put him into this box inside her brain she didn’t have to think of.

In the early days it had been hard to do, instead of tucked away in her head he wreaked havoc inside it, consuming every thought she had. But she had learned. She didn’t watch his films. If he came on the radio she tuned him out, even turning to another station if she was alone. And she steered clear of the news, keeping her reading to more serious publications rather than the trashy magazines that plastered him over their covers. And over time it had gotten easier, whether because she had more in her life to focus on than him or his dwindling popularity amongst the masses she didn’t know but it had become easier. In fact the more she thought about it the more she realised she hadn’t thought about him in a good few months, if she was being honest with herself - six months for sure. And yet now he was here again, clawing at her heart as she tried to move on with her life.

‘Why?’ she thought. Why did he have to come barrelling into her life when she was finally getting to grips with being happy? How could she have an amazing, loving and caring man sitting inside her living room at that very moment and still feel heartbroken at the thought of him? Or was it the absence of him? She’d done her best to rebuild, to put the pieces of her broken heart back together and yet one thought of him had shattered it apart again only this time into more and more fragments. It wasn’t fair.

‘Everything okay?’ she heard Nick say and when she turned around he was coming out of the sliding door, pushing it shut so that they wouldn’t be heard.

‘Fine,’ she lied, ‘where’s Jess?’

‘Bathroom,’ he said hesitating before he came towards her, ‘are you sure you’re okay?’

‘I am honestly,’ she lied once more trying to force her face into something more believable though she wasn’t sure it landed so she said, ‘I’m just getting a bit of a headache that’s all. The music must’ve kicked it off.’

‘Well we can turn it off,’ he said moving to hold her as he accepted her lies, ‘how about we watch some TV?’

‘Sounds good,’ Addison said pulling back, ‘I’ll be in a minute.’

‘Okay,’ he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead before he let her go heading back inside the house though not before he threw her one last smile which she returned albeit hers was weaker.

As he disappeared inside the house she felt a sob rattle through her, one she forced down as she tried to steady herself. She didn’t know why it had come. After all, she couldn’t have wished for Nick to be any more loving than he had been and yet it had brought no comfort. It hadn’t made her feel safe and secure as she so desperately wanted it to. Instead, she felt nothing. And that was what saddened her.

May 1967

Addison was rushing, barrelling down the sidewalk even though she knew her lateness wouldn’t bother anybody but herself. Her sentiments were confirmed as she walked into the salon to find her daughter standing happily beside her best friend handing her the tools she needed for whatever she was trying to achieve with her client's hair. It gave Addison some relief, that she wasn’t miserably waiting by the window for her mom to show up, but the guilt that it was the third time this week she’d been forced to divert her to her friend’s care instead of being able to collect her from school herself stung.

She knew Jess really didn’t mind. She knew that she understood that Addison was building a future, something more fulfilling than working for Marci. It wasn’t that she didn’t like working alongside her friend and she was immensely proud of the salon Marci had put together so well. It was just that she wanted something of her own, something she could be proud of, something she’d worked for. It was just that the work itself was encroaching on her life. She knew it would do, that having to study and work at the hospital would mean her time with Jess would be hindered but it still didn’t make her feel any better about it.

As the bell on the door jingled Marci and Jess looked towards it both of them breaking into a smile at the sight of her, bedraggled and frantic as she was.

‘Hi, hi,’ she said coming into the room and placing her bag on the counter, ‘sorry I’m late.’

‘Oh it’s alright you know I like having my lil helper here after school,’ Marci said as she continued to place rollers into the hair of the client she was standing behind.

‘Hi Mom,’ Jess said moving towards Addison and wrapping her arms around her middle as she looked up at her. Addison leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead, placing her hands on her cheeks as she pulled back.

‘Hi sweetie. How was school?’ she asked.

‘Good,’ Jess smiled.

‘You managed to catch the bus okay? I know I only managed to call your teacher late,’ Addison said trying to keep the worry out of her voice as she pictured her baby standing by kerb waiting for her mother to show.

‘Yeah she told me before I left,’ Jess said, ‘dropped me off right out front.’

‘Good, good,’ Addison said feeling her nerves ease enough that she let go of her, going to grab her things as she said, ‘you ready for home? I thought we could have pizza for dinner.’

‘Definitely!’ Jess said excitedly.

‘Actually,’ Marci said turning around to face them, ‘could you guys hang on for a minute? I need to pop to the store for some change.’

‘Well I can go if you want,’ Addison said.

‘No it’s okay,’ Marci said as she untethered her apron from around her waist. Addison’s eyes narrowed as she watched her friend. The grocery store she was referring to was only a couple of shops down and they knew Addison so it wouldn’t be any bother for her to do the job not to mention it would save Marci’s client from being left halfway through. Fortunately for Addison, she needn’t play detective much longer as her daughter, who was now sitting behind the reception desk said, ‘she wants to see the new shop boy!’

‘Jessie!’ Marci chastised making Addison roll her eyes.

‘You do!’ Jess giggled looking at her mother as she said, ‘she said he’s really cute.’

‘Oh really?’ Addison mused watching with merriment as Marci’s cheeks flamed red with denial.

‘No I did not!’ she said, ‘anyway even if I did that’s not the point. I simply need change.’

‘Mmmhmm,’ Addison teased.

‘Will you watch the shop or not?’ Marci asked poutily.

‘Of course I will,’ Addison said choosing to let the teasing go, if only for the moment. No doubt would this topic make up most of their conversation once Jess was in bed, Addison living vicariously through her friend’s romantic exploits.

‘Good,’ Marci said more securely as she noted her friend had let the matter drop. As she moved to drop her apron on the counter she pointed towards various customers in their chairs explaining the situation to Addison as if she were back in her old job and not merely making sure the shop didn’t burn to the ground in the time it took Marci to talk herself into a date with the shop boy, ‘I’ll finish Helen up when I get back but if I’m longer than five minutes can you take Sylvia out from under the dryer and take her rollers out?’

‘Sure,’ Addison said earning a nod from her friend though as she headed to the door she called, ‘say hi to shop boy for me.’

‘Me too!’ Jess giggled from her seat at the desk.

‘Oh shut up,’ Marci said with a roll of her eyes that neither of them caught before she headed out the door and out of view.

As Addison turned back she found Jess had started to read a book and so rather than disturb her she decided to make herself useful and opted to tidy up a bit.

It never failed to amaze her how Marci could be such an expertly talented beautician and leave an ugly wake of chaos behind her in everything she did. If anything when Addison had worked here the only thing she had been required to do was keep the clutter to a minimum which with her friend was quite the task. And yet after a long day of running around after patients, doctors and relatives she found that she missed this. Even if the thing she missed was putting 36 hairpins back in their correct location. In fact, she had been so enthralled in the mundane little tasks she had occupied herself with she barely noticed her five-minute timer had run over until Jess called her name and thumbed in the direction of an older woman sitting under a dryer obliviously allowing her hair to fry as she thumbed through her magazine. Addison rushed towards her, switching the instrument off at the wall which caused the woman to finally look up from.

‘Oh, hi dear,’ she said, the confusion of it not being Marci disappearing as she finally recognised Addison.

‘Hi Sylvia,’ Addison said, ‘I’m just gonna get you out from under here okay?’

‘Ooh, you’re a lifesaver!’ she smiled, ‘I’m sweating buckets under this thing.’

‘I bet,’ Addison smiled before she moved the dryer away and set to work on unfurling the plastic rollers from Sylvia’s head, wincing as she felt how hot they were.

She didn’t say anything, her focus on getting the job over as soon as she could to save the skin on her fingertips, and so Sylvia turned to the woman next to her as the two started chattering away about the magazine in hand. Addison wasn’t paying attention, only inserting herself into the conversation to ask her client to move her head this way or that so she could do the task at hand, yet she could hear snippets of a scathing piece of gossip.

‘I don’t know,’ Helen thumbing through the magazine Sylvia had entrusted to her, ‘I just don’t see it myself.’

‘Mmm, I agree. She’s plain,’ Sylvia replied.

‘Well not after all that makeup,’ Helen said scathingly, ‘it’s far too thick.’

‘You’re right. He suits a more natural-looking woman,’ Sylvia said.

‘Oh definitely!’

‘I loved him with that one, what’s her name, the redhead,’ Sylvia said.

‘Ann whats-her-face?' Helen asked earning a nod from her friend that made Addison say, ‘Sylvia!’

‘Sorry dear,’ Sylvia said moving to put her head back in position though she turned it a fraction of a second later making Addison roll her eyes.

‘I know what you mean though,’ Helen said, ignoring the debacle between her friend and Addison, ‘you’re right he looks good with a blonde. What do you think Addison?’

‘Hmm?’ Addison asked, her finger probing a particularly stubborn pin meaning she wasn’t really focused on what they were saying.

‘Elvis,’ Helen said.

That was enough to make her stop, her eyes snapping up as the pin she had been fumbling with slipped out of her grasp and onto the floor, now unnoticed. She didn’t know how the mere mention of him could still have such an effect on her, how it could make her brain go fuzzy and her tongue go numb so that she couldn’t speak. Maybe it was because it was few and far between these days. Maybe it was because she’d learned to avoid all thoughts of him so that the ache inside her wouldn’t rear its ugly head. But unlike before she recovered quicker and was able to push that ache aside almost getting her voice to its normal timbre as she said, ‘what about him?’

‘He’s married,’ Helen said as if she was absurd not to have heard yet.

‘He is?’ she asked trying to remain as normal as possible.

‘Yep, got hitched yesterday right here in Vegas,’ Helen said turning to show her the magazine article that had his face plastered all over it. He looked handsome, excruciatingly so in his dark tux, his blue eyes sparkling with happiness. And beside him, his new wife.

‘We were just saying we don’t think they’re very suited. What do you think of her?’ Sylvia explained. Addison paused. What did she think? More to the point could she honestly offer an opinion? She didn’t know the girl given that she avoided all articles about him where she could but she had to admit she was very pretty. Raven-coloured hair that matched his, blue eyes brightened by the dark eye make-up she was sporting, and skin so radiant she appeared as though she was wearing no makeup at all. If anything she looked like a perfect little doll beside him, something that could slot into his life with ease – the perfect little housewife. But she didn’t know her, she doubted she’d even know the man he was now or what he’d want. So instead of saying all that she held it inside her only offering, ‘Oh I don’t know much about her. I don’t really have time to follow the news.’

‘You guys are from Memphis thought right?’ Helen said asking with a chuckle, ‘bet you know a lot about him.’

‘Not really,’ Addison said.

After that Addison appeared to lose joining in privileges, the women favouring opinions that leant to slander and gossip rather than niceties. Addison didn’t care, she was too busy trying to focus on getting the rollers out of Sylvia’s hair as quickly as she could so she’d have an excuse to get away from their chatter which only stopped as Marci came in looking less enthusiastic than when she had left.

‘You’re back soon,’ Sylvia said as Marci stood in front of them, slipping her apron back on.

‘Jack wasn’t, I mean the store wasn’t too busy,’ Marci said, her cheeks tinged red at the slip-up. They would’ve flushed deeper if the sarcastic quip she was expecting from Addison came but it never materialised. Instead, when her friend glanced up at her she found her face unreadable, making nerves bubble inside the blonde.

‘Everything okay?’ Marci asked coming towards her but Addison simply nodded and said, ‘take over?’

She didn’t even wait for Marci to agree instead she slipped the couple of rollers she’d just removed onto the counter and fled towards the safety of the back of the shop. There wasn’t much back here apart from a small stock room and an area for Marci to have a break whenever she got the chance but it was enough, enough to be away from prying eyes. Only it wasn’t as though she was going to cry. No, to her surprise she wasn’t even all that sad about him getting married. It was bound to happen eventually. No, she wasn’t sad, she was angry.

Angry that he could move on. That he could find someone else, someone he’d share the rest of his life with when he’d promised her the world.

Angry that this girl, this beautiful girl got everything she had wanted and more. Angry that she got to be his, truly his, for all the world to see.

And most of all she was angry at Parker, though that was nothing new, but her anger flamed anew now as she thought of all he had robbed from them only to place it into the lap of a girl who looked even younger than she. What narrative had he managed to spin around that she wondered? Or did he simply use the same tactics he’d proffered to employ for them?

Or was it just that idea she didn’t fit, that she was never going to fit into his life? The loud, brash teenager, with a mouth and an attitude problem. The girl with no family, well no family left worth a damn, that Elvis, kind, sweet, charitable, Elvis had been forced to take pity on. The one girl who'd forced him to have to leave his country, his home, and his mother behind all because he’d been stupid enough to fall in love with her.

Not even now would she fit. Still that girl but now a mother, with a bastard child in tow. To even attempt to tell him about Jess now would be to turn his entire world on its head. To tell him now would mean she wasn’t just changing his life but ruining a family.

Still, her anger burned on, for the family they could’ve been.

‘Addie?’ she heard Marci say, coming into the back room and shutting the door quickly behind her as Addison straightened up, feeling the urge to wipe her face though there were no tears. She hesitated, watching her friend with pity as Addison waited for her to speak.

‘They told you huh?’ Addison asked, running her tongue along her teeth as she thought about the old dears attempting to corral Marci to be another voice for their salacious soiree.

‘Yeah,’ Marci said quietly, ‘you okay?’

‘Fine,’ Addison lied making Marci towards her until she was close enough to put her hand on her arm. Addison’s gaze fell to the floor as she tried to force her face into a neutral position. As she tried to push the anger inside of her down, anger that flared as Marci said softly, ‘Addie.’

‘What?’ she said looking up at her, her jaw clenched.

‘You don’t have to be okay you know,’ Marci said.

‘I said I’m fine,’ she said tersely, ‘so he’s married. So what? It’s fine. I mean it was going to happen eventually right?’

‘But-’

‘Mar just leave it okay? I said I’m fine,’ she said abruptly, ‘look I’m just gonna take Jess home.’

‘Okay…how about I come over tonight? Girl’s night?’ Marci said. At that Addison softened. She knew it wasn’t Marci’s fault. She knew she shouldn’t allow her anger to spill out on her or God forbid Jess. But to ensure that didn’t happen she needed to be alone.

‘Actually, I think I’m gonna have dinner and go to bed,’ Addison said moving away from her friend, ‘I’m tired.’

‘You sure?’ Marci asked.

‘Yep,’ she said offering her a small smile. It had been a while since she’d had to use this; the mask she placed on herself to keep the world at bay. The mask that ensured no one asked too many questions. And as much as she needed it, it pained her to see her friend fall for it. To see how she accepted Addison’s assurances freely as she said, ‘well call me if you need me.’

Addison didn’t say anything but she nodded and headed out into the main salon where Jess was already waiting for her, schoolbag in hand and a curious look on her face as she wondered what the hell had been going on back there. She had been told to stay put, her aunt practically barking an order at her as she’d chased after her mother. But even without that, she would’ve known something was amiss.

‘Ready to go baby?’ her mother said beckoning her forward as she nodded. Addison was heading to the door when she felt a small hand slip into her own and looked down to find Jess smiling at her. She may have had her mask on for the world but her daughter, like her father, could read her too well for any of that. And though she was angry and frustrated her heart felt a little bit better because of it.

April 1969

‘Hey,’ Addison said as she came into the living room, causing Marci to look up from the TV she was watching.

‘Hey,’ she said as Addison kicked her shoes off and dropped her bag to the floor, ‘how was work?’

‘Fine,’ Addison said dropping onto the couch with an ‘oomph’ before she said, ‘exhausting.’

‘Bad shift?’ Marci asked with a frown, watching Addison as she lay there her eyes closed and her arm across her face to aid blocking the light out.

‘Nah, it was fine just tiring you know?’ Addison yawned looking at Marci before she added, ‘And I can't remember the last time I ate.’

‘Well luckily I made dinner,’ Marci said chuckling as Addison immediately sat up, a smile on her exhausted face.

As the pair padded through to the kitchen and Marci went to retrieve dinner Addison went to the refrigerator to grab a drink, stretching as she tried to remove the aches from her weary bones, before she plopped herself down in a kitchen chair and watched Marci flit about the kitchen to fix her something to eat.

‘How was Jess?’ Addison asked as Marci pulled a plate wrapped in foil out of the oven and placed it on the side before she fished about in the drawers for cutlery.

‘Good as gold as always,’ Marci said as she discarded the foil and brought it to where Addison was sitting.

‘Good,’ she said, ‘thanks by the way.’

‘No problem,’ Marci smiled as Addison started to tuck in, ‘she did try waiting up for you though.’

‘Again?' Addison sighed, ‘I told her not to.’

‘I know but you know what she’s like,’ Marci sighed.

‘Well, it’s just till the end of the month. Then I can go back to normal shifts,’ Addison said taking a sip of her diet coke.

‘I’ve told you I can help with money,’ Marci said a frown on her pretty face.

‘Mar,’ Addison sighed.

‘I told you I would,’ Marci said making Addison close her eyes just for a moment. It wasn’t that she was ungrateful it was just that they were never going to get used to it just being the two of them if Marci was chipping in. Not to mention she already helped them out more than Addison could ever ask for hence why she was spending the night babysitting her daughter.

‘I know but you have your own place now. It’s not the same as before with you coming back every couple of months,’ Addison said.

‘I know but I can help,’ Marci said guiltily. It wasn’t that she had tons of money but it had been her decision to finally get her own place. Nearing thirty and still flitting between boyfriends and her best friend's house was getting old. And it wasn’t that the pair couldn’t afford to get their own separate places it was just that an extra wage did go a lot further when it came to raising a child.

‘We’re fine,’ Addison said firmly, ‘this is just a little extra work to cover birthdays and summer stuff. We’re not in dire straights.’

‘Promise?’ Marci said.

‘Promise,’ Addison said, ‘now can I eat my dinner?’

‘Sure,’ Marci said, her nervous expression being replaced by a smile.

It didn’t last long though. As Addison wolfed down half her mac and cheese before finally stopping to take a drink she found Marci watching her closely, her brow furrowed though it smoothed out as Addison’s eyes narrowed and she said, ‘what?’

‘Nothing,’ Marci said airly.

‘No come on,’ Addison said suspiciously, ‘I know you. There’s something else.’

‘There's nothing,’ Marci said rolling her eyes as she fiddled with the tablecloth’s edge before adding, ‘so, you’ve been busy at work huh?’

‘Yeah,’ Addison said unable to buy into the casualness of which her friend was speaking. There was something going on, she knew it.

‘So you’ve probably haven’t seen they’re opening a new hotel,’ Marci said.

‘The International? Yeah, I heard about it, why?’ Addison asked wondering why on earth some newly erected eyesore on the strip would be newsworthy dinner conversation given that it had been in construction for ages.

‘Well it’s gonna have a big showroom,’ Marci said finally looking at her.

‘And what you wanna go watch something? Or stay a night in the city when we live twenty minutes away?’ Addison asked unable to catch the thread of the conversation.

‘No,’ Marci said indignantly.

‘So?’

‘Well,’ Marci said awkwardly, ‘I was reading today that to open it they’re gonna need a show. Something to draw people in…a big name.’

It was like lightning striking, a face flashing into her mind as all the dots connected; the probing, the uncertainty of which Marci spoke, making sure she was fed and watered before she even broached it. Elvis.

‘Oh,’ was all Addison could say.

‘Yeah,’ Marci said sadly watching her friend’s face for the inevitable emotion that was going to come but it didn’t. Nothing did instead she forced a smile and shrugged before saying, ‘well good for him.’

‘Addie,’ Marci gasped.

‘What?’

‘Come on! He’s going to be here! In Vegas!’ she said incredulously.

‘So? Why do you wanna go see the show?’ Addison said, her snark in full force as she felt that familiar wave of anger, sadness and pity run through her body. Marci’s face fell into a scowl, evidently not appreciating her lack of seriousness about the subject.

‘No of course not it’s just…I mean what if you guys bump into each other,’ she asked worriedly.

‘I doubt we run in the same circles,’ Addison replied sarcastically making Marci’s scowl deepen. Addison sighed, ‘Mar look whether he’s ten miles away or a thousand it doesn’t change anything. I made my decision a long time ago and just because he’s on my doorstep now doesn’t make it any different.’

‘But it’s been ten years. Maybe it’s different now I mean maybe he could find out about Jess-’

‘Oh yeah I’m sure me and Jess will fit in right beside his new wife and kid,’ Addison said coolly.

‘You don’t know Addie,’ Marci said quietly.

‘No I don’t because I don’t want to know. Not now. Not ever,’ she replied hoping the seriousness of her tone would be enough to make her friend drop it.

She wanted her to drop it because there was no angle she hadn’t looked at it from. She tried to convince herself he’d see that once he realised she was gone he’d come looking for her, unable to believe she wouldn’t love him. She’d been broken over it, crying herself to sleep as she thought about the unfairness of it all for her and for Jess. She’d thought of how she could tell him; if she could just get a letter to him, only him, or if she could make it Memphis past his entourage, past the Colonel she could explain. She’d been angry as she’d watched him move on, something she couldn’t seem to do longer than a couple of months because letting Jess get attached to anyone felt wrong, like a betrayal. She’d thought about it every which way because she’d had to until she'd finally accepted it. This was it for her. Her work. Her friends. Her daughter. That was it. She couldn’t make herself hope for more because to do that would mean to hope. And hope was worse than giving up. Hope meant putting the fragments of her heart fully back together to potentially have them smashed back to smithereens only smaller this time, less easy to rebuild.

She could see Marci wanted to protest, that she had more to say, but Addison was too tired to do so. And so when she spoke she spoke with as much authority as she could give it, ‘Look, if Jess wants to meet him one day then fine. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there, though preferably it’ll be when I’m dead and buried, if not at the very least when she’s eighteen so it can be nothing to do with me.’

‘You don’t mean that,’ Marci said sadly.

‘Don’t I?’ Addison scoffed, ‘listen I’ve done all the thinking I’m ever going to do about it. I’ve been sad, I’ve been angry, I’ve tried to convince myself it’ll all work out but I’m done Mar. I’ve accepted this is my life and I’m fine with that. I have Jess. I have you. I don’t want anything else and I definitely don’t want anything that might ruin what I have got now. Got it?’

‘You’re sure?’ Marci said.

‘If it were meant to be now it would’ve been meant to be then,’ Addison said.

‘Maybe one day,’ Marci said hopefully.

‘I can't live on maybes Mar and maybes are no good when you’ve got a kid. I just can’t put my faith in something that’s not a certainty. I just can't.’

ELVIS TAGS 

@girlblogger2002 @sania562 @caitlin1996 @literally-just-elvis-fics @notstefaniepresley @artlesson8892 @18lkpeters​ @velvetelvis @jaqueline19997 @elvispresleyxoxo @amydarcimarie @presleyenterprise @everythingelvispresley @elvispresleywife @lillypink @richardslady121 @lettersfromvenus @louisejoy86 @ccab

[silver-screen-divas]

Pre-Code Hollywood Actresses. HELEN TWELVETREES

Helen Twelvetrees (December 25, 1908 – February 13, 1958) was an American theater and film actress, considered a first star in the beginnings of sound cinema. Prototype of "Sad Beauty". The movie Her Man marked the course of Helen's career and she was always asked to play suffering women fighting for the wrong man. She later acted alongside Spencer Tracy in Now I'll Tell (aka When New York Sleeps), 1934, based on a novel by 'Mrs. Arnold Robinson'; alongside Donald Cook in The Spanish Cape Mystery and later she co-starred for Paramount Pictures A Bedtime Story (The Innocent Bachelor), with Maurice Chevalier.

[ieatadoptmepets]

Soundtrack and timeline to my fic And It All Leads Back To You, with explanations, 1-10. Check out my other posts for more info!

You Are My Sunshine (1940)- You discover this song again in the mid 40s when steve and bucky die. This song reminds you of them because for a long time they were your only family. You cry to it many nights. It's given a new meaning when you discover that howard, jarvis, and peggy are your family as well

When you wish upon a star (1940)- two meanings. A) you are grieving for steve and bucky. You wish them to be back so long, or that it'd stop hurting. B) you're on earth and have been for almost 150 years. You love Loki. You wish to see your best friend again

Dream a little dream of me (ella fitzgerald) (1950)- you've been dating howard for a while now, and you've accepted that you can love someone new and still hold your love for Loki. Howard reminds you of everything good in the world and shows you a life you never thought you could have

Fly me to the moon (1954)- a romantic song howard plays for you to express his love, and you love it, but you can't help but take the lyrics literally and dream about taking howard above the stars and to asgard. This became your wedding song with howard

Great balls of fire (1957)- one of the sillier songs you know but a testament to time. Always gets you dancing and having a good time

Johnny b goode (1958)- if you go out somewhere upbeat dancing, this song always plays somehow. howard has his ways, and knows you like this song

Put your head on my shoulder (1959)- stands as one of your favorite old love songs. Who knows how many times this plays on a vinyl in your and howards home?

At last (1961)- a beautiful song that reminds you that after all that time of searching you've finally found the love you were looking for

Sway (dean martin) (1961)- howard loves to play this song and dance to it with you, either early morning or late at night- you never could agree on what time it was when you pulled at-home all-nighter dates together

The lion sleeps tonight (1961)- not particularly a love song like the rest but it still is one of "your songs"

[jadejedi]

Old Queer Love Letters

So, I just reread Red, White, and Royal Blue this week and was reminded of my slight obsession with historical gay love letters. I think there is something so heart-wrenchingly beautiful and devastating about these letters written between these people who so deeply love each other, even in times when they would be persecuted for that love. This is a collection of excerpts from some of my favorites, with sources included. Many of the letters written by men are from Rictor Norton’s “Dear Boy” essays, a collection of essays on love letters between men throughout history, which I highly recommend perusing if you also like to read old gay love letters (links below). All emphasis is my own. 

1779- Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens

“Cold in my professions, warm in my friendships, I wish, my Dear Laurens, it might be in my power, by actions rather than words, to convince you that I love you. I shall only tell you that ‘till I bade us Adieu, I hardly knew the value you had taught my heart to set upon you. Indeed, my friend, it was not well done. You know the opinion I entertain of mankind, and how much it is my desire to preserve myself free from particular attachments, and to keep my happiness independent on the caprice of others. You should not have taken advantage of my sensibility to steal into my affections without my consent. But as you have done it and as we are generally indulgent to those we love, I shall not scruple to pardon the fraud you have committed, on condition that for my sake, if not for your own, you will always continue to merit the partiality, which you have so artfully instilled into me.”

816- Yuan Zhen to Bo Juyi

“Other people too have friends that they love; 

But ours was a love such as few friends have known.

You were all my sustenance; it mattered more

To see you daily than to get my morning food.”

1927- Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf

“I miss you even more than I could have believed; and I was prepared to miss you a good deal. So this letter is really just a squeal of pain. It is incredible how essential to me you have become. I suppose you are accustomed to people saying these things. Damn you, spoilt creature; I shan’t make you love me any more by giving myself away like this- But oh my dear, I can’t be clever and stand-offish with you: I love you too much for that. Too truly. You have no idea how stand-offish I can be with people I don’t love. I have brought it to a fine art. But you have broken down my defenses. And I don’t really resent it.”

1958- Allen Ginsberg to Peter Orlovsky

“‘When I think on thee dear friend/ all loses are restored & sorrows end,’ came over & over in my mind- it’s the end of a Shakespeare Sonnet- he must have been happy in love too. I had never realized that before… 

Write me soon baby, I’ll write you a big long poem I feel as if you were a god that I pray to-

Love, Allen”

1933- Eleanor Roosevelt to Lorena Hickok

“I cannot go to bed tonight without a word to you. I felt a little as though a part of me was leaving tonight. You have grown so much a part of my life that it is empty without you.”

And from a different letter that same year, 

“I miss you greatly dear. The nicest time of day is when I write to you. You have a stormier time than I do but I miss you as much, I think. I couldn’t bear to think of you crying yourself to sleep. Oh! how I wanted to put my arms around you in reality instead of in spirit. I went & kissed your photograph instead & the tears were in my eyes. Please keep most of your heart in Washington as long as I’m here for most of mine is with you!”

1941- Gordon Bowsher to Gilbert Bradley

“For years I had it drummed into me that no love could last for life…

I want you darling seriously to delve into your own mind, and to look for once in to the future. 

Imagine the time when the war is over and we are living together… would it not be better to live on from now on the memory of our life together when it was at its most golden pitch.”

1917- Wilfred Owen to Siegfried Sassoon

“And you have fixed my Life- however short. You did not light me: I was always a mad comet; but you have fixed me. I spun round you a satellite for a month, but I shall swing out soon, a dark star in the orbit where you will blaze.”

Sources below the cut:

Hamilton to Laurens, from the National Archives and Rictor Norton’s My Dear Boy: Gay Love Letters through the Centuries

Yuan Zhen to Bo Juyi, from Rictor Norton’s My Dear Boy: Gay Love Letters through the Centuries

Sackville-West to Woolf, from The Marginalian

Ginsberg to Orlovsky, from Rictor Norton’s My Dear Boy: Gay Love Letters through the Centuries and The Pink News

Roosevelt to Hickok, from Autostraddle.com

Bowsher to Bradley, from the BBC

Owen to Sassoon, from Rictor Norton’s My Dear Boy: Gay Love Letters through the Centuries

[thatbanditqueen]

Basic Training

I Don't Date Soldiers

A new fic, possibly a new WIP, about Elvis' life at Fort Hood. Let me know what you think.

Summary: Bess is a smart, young secretary working for the Commander of Army Intelligence training at Fort Hood, dreaming of a life beyond the military one she has always known. That's why she doesn't date soldiers, they only break your heart, and she is looking ahead to something better. One Friday night in March, she stumbles in to the new draftee who's turned the base upside down, and in a moment of weakness, decides to try and help him sleep. Just this once.

Warnings: None, fluffy and angst combined, but innocent. For now. There are a lot of typos.

Word Count: 4.8 K

Some notes: Probably good to know the acronyms, every Army base has a chain of command, and at the top sit the Commanding Officer (CO), the Executive Officer (XO), and a bunch of other officers, of different rank denoted by their ascending O rank, from 1 to 10. WAC - Women's Army Corps, established in WWII, their was a sizeable WAC presence at Fort Hood in 1958. Oh, and Killeen is the closest city to Fort Hood and Austin, TX is about an hour away. Also I really wanted this to take place on a Friday night, but also have had Elvis at the base for two nights, so I gave myself creative license to make March 30, 1958 a Friday. Just don't look it up and we'll be fine.

This fic was inspired by the writing prompt:

Many thanks to my beautiful sister-wives-in-arms whose advice support and love make being an Elvis girl possible and fun, @be-my-ally @vintageshanny @from-memphis-with-love @ellie-24 @powerofelvis @missmaywemeetagain and @whositmcwhatsit, from whom I have stolen her trademarked description of Elvis' awkward manner of kissing half on the cheek half on the lips like a goofy weirdo who was never taught how to kiss right so he decided to make up his own style. And thanks for reading and connecting with me here, the Elvis fandom is the best and I love our community!

Friday, March 30, 1958

9 p.m. at Sal's Cafe

Bess pushed her veal marsala from one side of her plate to the other, feeling the vibrations of her fork scrape across the bottom of the plate. The place checked off all the requisite Italian restaurant requirements: checkered table cloth, candle in an old wine bottle, violin player sawing away at a classical reinterpretation of “That’s Amore.” But the brown sauce, and the meat it was congealing around, was inedible. It was the sort of food that begged the question “why not stay in and cook at home?”

“I said, don’t you think, Bess honey? You follow that stuff, dontcha?”

Bess looked up at her friend Dori’s face, realizing she had drifted off daydreaming of a future far away from Killeen, away from her job at Fort Hood, away from the Army, away from officers, like the ones sitting across from them. Away from soldiers in general.

“What, Khrushchev? Well, I think we all knew he wasn’t going to take the threat laying down.”

Dori hit Bess' shoulder lightly, smiling at their dates, two officers from Army Intelligence.

“No, y’all will havta excuse my friend here, she still thinks she’s studying political science in Austin. You’d think a year of civilian life would make her normal again, huh?”

Dori flipped her blonde hair and drawled on.

“No, silly goose, no one here is interested in that Russian stuff, we’re talking about Mike Todd. What do you think poor Elizabeth Taylor is going to do now that her husband's dead?”

Bess tried very hard not to roll her eyes. Dori was right, she read the movie gossip magazines, but her friend’s distraught, serious expression had made her think they were discussing something with a little more gravitas. The recent atomic weapons testing, or Russian political shifts, the stuff at the top of her New York Times front page everyday. But why would any one in the Army want to talk about that?

Bess smiled at her date and tried to focus on the conversation at hand. Later in the bathroom, Dori chided her while applying a fresh coat of lipstick onto Bess’ mouth.

“I wish you would try to be polite.”

“Dori, you know I am breaking my rule here with you. I don’t date soldiers. I have two goals I'm focusing on: get into law school and shake off these twenty pounds. ”

Bess rubbed her hands over her waist.

“Rules were made to be broken, Bessie Pie, and you look great, men like a girl with a jiggle, I think you look like a brunette Jayne Mansfield.”

“Hardly. You’re Mansfield and Monroe rolled into one.”

“Don't sell yourself short. I know you were fixin' to marry that boy last year, and now all you talk about is law school this, politics that. Don’t you wanna get married? We're not getting any younger.”

“I’m twenty three. Same as you.”

“Eggg zactly. Sure, it seems young now, but you're gonna blink and be thirty and single, with nothing but your degrees to keep you company. You already have a good job now. I just know you’d set this law school thing aside if you met the right guy.”

“Of course I wanna get married, someday. But not now. You’re the one in a hurry to quit your job and settle down, not me.”

“I don’t have a job.”

“See, you’re half way there, Doreen. Me, I’m not giving up my goals for Captain Smarmy out there. How did you even meet these ones?”

Dori steadied her self on Bess’ shoulder.

“Stop moving, or this lipstick won’t be straight. I met them outside the PX, I thought they were cute. Arnie knew who you were, he was the one who suggested we all go out. He really likes you, I can tell - “

“Yeah, he was just in my pop's office lobbying for an assignment, he doesn’t like me. He is using me.  There’s a difference, I shouldn’t have to tell you that.”

“So what if he was? Maybe he saw you there and couldn’t get you out of his mind. He’s good looking, smart, he’s already an O3 —”

Bess stopped her friend’s hand, and fixed her hair in the mirror, pushing up her bust and sighing at the rounder curves that had been widening at her waist since she’d graduated from college and settled into a very sedentary, very single, and currently very celibate life living back at home and working for her father. She turned to look at Dori who was waiting to blot Bess' lips with a tissue like the sweet girl she always had been. For Dori, a fresh coat of perfectly applied lipstick fixed all of life’s problems.

“Look, Captain whatever out there is only here for six months or so for training, then he's off to Heidelberg. That’s why I don’t date soldiers anymore. I’ve learned from my mistakes. I’m waiting for you to catch up.”

Bess gave her dark curls one last fluff.

“How’d you get these suckers to come out on a double date anyway? They aren’t scared of your father?”

Dori avoided eye contact as she smoothed her blonde bouffant and pursed her lips, then looked at Bess in the mirror.

“They don’t know.”

“How do they not know your father is the CO?”

Dori shrugged, then pinched Bess as they walked out of the ladies’ room.

“Don’t tell, ok? Let’s just have fun. What if you fall madly in Arnie? And he asked you to marry him and go to Germany with him?”

Bess snorted as they walked out to the men waiting for them in the restaurant lobby and Dori's eyes took on a knowing look.

“Hmm, so that’s big fat ol ‘no’ to dancing tonight, I’m guessin’?”

Bess nodded.

“Please at least tell me you aren’t going home to work on that boring research project?”

Bess smiled mischievously. “Professor Blotke agreed to help me, it’s going to be my submission sample for Georgetown. Papa took Mama to D.C. with him for his meetings, so I have the house practically to myself. It's just Kay and me, and she’s probably already asleep. I just have to grab a new typewriter back on post, I busted mine.”

Dori shook her disapproving of Bess’ plans for the night, then turned to greet their escorts with her usual vivacious pleasantries. Bess smiled at Dori's ability to interact with the men so casually and intimately, sliding her hands through both of officer's arms as they walked to the car. She considered how different she was from her girlfriend, despite the fact that they were both twenty three year old daughters of career Army officers. Every relationship she'd been in seemed to occur in spite of her inability to feel at ease or flirt with boys.

The conversation turned to recent events at Fort Hood as they walked.

“So,” Dori exhaled, squeezing herself against her date. “Has anyone seen Elvis yet?”

Bess pounded her foot a little harder into the concrete, hearing that name now provoked instant irritation.

“Ughh, no. It’s only been what, three days, and honestly I wish he’d been sent somewhere else for training. All I do is answer calls about him. It is driving me up the wall and I can’t get anything done. He’s turned the whole base upside down. Must have been a hundred cars parked outside the main gate, all scattered around the fields. It’s a security issue. I just —"

“Well, that’s not his fault Bess, and I think it's great. I wanna to meet him, don’t y’all?” Dori looked at the officers on her arms.

Arnie smiled a big dumb smile as he looked at Dori’s bouncing breasts and agreed. “I think it’s good for the Army, boy, I just - I just wish we could get the other enlisted to lay off him.”

“What do you mean?”

Bess felt the pit of her stomach tense as she thought of the thousands of green little boys running around base on edge with no external distractions for entertainment.

“Yeah, the boys’ have been giving him a hard time, shouting out when he runs during PT, or at the chow hall. There’s some concern he hasn’t been coming to eat all his meals cuz a the way they’ve been taunting him.”

Bess sighed, her irritation dissipating momentarily into sympathy as she considered how hungry and lonely Elvis Presley must be. Then she remembered that she was hungry, hungry because all the good restaurants had been filled up tonight by people trying to catch a glimpse of him. Elvis was the reason the only benefit from breaking her vow against dating a soldier, the free meal, had been a bust. She wondered if it was going to be this crazy around town for the next six months while he was here.

“I feel sorry for the poor kid, I do. But I still wish he was some other base’s problem.”

***********************************************************

Back on post, Arnie asked Bess for the fourth time if she wouldn’t like him to come help her carry the typewriter to her car. Then they could meet the others at the night club.

Beth pursed her lips with a demure smile.  “I think I can handle a typewriter, Captain, I use them all day.”

Dori chimed in with a reminder that it was Friday night and they were only young once, but Bess put them off, grinning as she heard Dori exclaim that both men would just have to dance with her all night.

“Two gorgeous officers all to myself,  what eva shall I do?”

Free at last, Bess drove her car to the supply building, and snuck in the back door carrying the type writer that she had been using at home, the big sticker along the bottom reading “Property of U.S. Army” evident as she held the machine under her arm to unlock the door. Bess slipped off her heels at the door so that they didn’t click down the dark hallways, and she easily scurried in to slip the broken machine into the repair center and help herself to a new model, grabbing a few spools of typewriter ribbon and a package of paper on the way out. Balancing everything as she locked up to leave,  Bess smiled at the cool air on her sweaty arm pits and laughed to herself for pulling this stealth operation in a tight green cocktail dress and pumps.

“A better use of this outfit anyway, I’d say.” She muttered to herself, sheathing her right foot back into her white heel with a sense of pride that she’d managed to get in, get the new machine, and would probably be home before 11 p.m. Bess had propped her self up against the building to slip her left foot into the other shoe when she heard a voice behind her call out.

“Uh, hey, need any help there?”

Startled, she almost toppled over, catching herself at the last moment by dropping everything in her hands.

“OWW fuck fuck fuck a duck!

She screamed in pain as the typewriter clanged down on her bare left foot and she almost knocked heads with the tall, gangly soldier who squatted down on front of her at the same time to try and help her retrieve her supplies.

"Oh man, I sure am sorry, listen -"

“At ease, uh Private,” she glanced briefly at the rank on his uniform while straightening up, holding her foot in pain and taking in the view below her. The paper knob at the top of the new machine had broken off completely.

“Fuck, this is what I get, I suppose,” she laughed, looking up find herself across from the shy, inquisitive face of Elvis Presley.

“Oh fuck a duuuuuck.”

Bess forgot about the typewriter, the paper spilled everywhere, the throbbing pain in the left foot she was now holding up and cradling. She didn’t even notice how she was exposing her thighs until she rubbed her foot again and dropped it with a thud, realizing she was about to flash Elvis Presley. He seemed to realize it too, and smirked as he turned his face to look away as some sort of attempt to give her privacy while she smoothed her dress down. Bess did this while clumsily trying to balance between one heeled foot and one bare foot.

Elvis found it very hard to stifle his chuckles as he watched her stiffen, and held out his hand to put her at ease.

“Uh, hey there ma’am, I’m Elvis, Elvis Presley.”

Bess shifted and smiled awkwardly, wiping her dirty, sweaty hands on her silk dress and extending her right hand out to shake his. The the same right hand, that had, moments ago, been rubbing her smelly, left foot. Honestly, it seemed like the most polite option, since she decided to act as if the last five minutes hadn’t happened. As if  sneaking out of the supply building past 10 p.m. on a Friday night with her arms full of government office supplies was perfectly normal.

“Bess Schwartz, I’m, uh, I work in the Front Office here. I’m, I’m, I'm the secretary for the Army Intelligence Commander.”

She gasped when Elvis took her hand, the hand cover in her foot sweat, and squeezed it warmly, bringing it to his lips for a chaste kiss.

“Nice ta, uh, meetcha. Imma sorry, uh, for startlin’ ya Miss Schwartz, ma’am.”

Bess shivered in the darkness as she heard herself whisper for him to call her Bess almost incoherently while she watched Elvis drop down in front of her and fit her other white pump over her left foot. She tried to remember how to breath. It was hard.  Hard because she was struggling to subdue  her visceral reaction to Elvis' thumb as it slowly smoothed over the top of her foot, which made it harder still to recover from the embarrassment of getting caught stealing a typewriter. By the most famous person in the world. Bess shut her eyes in disbelief that this was actually happening, and was disappointed when she lifted her eyelids to find that it actually was happening and Elvis was still there. He met her eyes, his finger delicately stroking her ankle.

“There, now, honey, you think you can walk?”

She pulled her leg back and nodded as she scanned the parking lot, the road along and other buildings behind it.

“Mhmm. Thank you, Private. Say, what are you doing stalking around the base right now? Lights out is at 9.”

Elvis bit his lip, looking at the ground as he stood.

“Can’t sleep.”

Bess arched her eyebrow as she started to bend, but Elvis put his hand up to stop her and stooped to gather the paper. He crushed it under his arm as he grabbed the typewriter and ink ribbons, talking slowly and deliberately.

“Well, my first night some jokers went an put shaving cream in my shoes, I ‘spose it gave em a good laugh to watch me run around like a damn fool getting ready for inspection. An well, I ain’t been able to sleep since, can’t bare to, uh, to uh - ”

His voice trailed off, but Bess knew what he meant. He was afraid of looking like poor sport or tattle tale if he complained, and a coward if he just took it. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed the bags under his eyes, calculating he must be going on 40 hours without much sleep. Or much food either, if her date was to be believed. Men. Boys, more like. Little boys amusing them selves by torturing this poor kid. This, tall, lanky, kid, who hovered above her and whose large hands made her typewriter ribbon look like a checker piece.

“Yeah, uh, they’re just scared they won’t be able to get any tail now that your here.” She smiled as best she could under the pressure of trying to talk with Elvis smoldering, lonely boy eyes piercing through her.

Bess looked at a passing car just so she could collect herself, then back at Elvis, thinking of the crowds of women lining the gates.

“The men should be thanking you, we haven’t seen this many pretty girls hanging around the base, since, well, since ever. Probably gonna be easy picking, especially for the soldiers who can leave post. Those poor girls hanging 'round outside the gates don’t know you aren’t allowed to go near ‘em for the next three or so weeks.”

“Mhmm, seems like, uh, uh, ya don’t havta go off post to meet pretty girls.”

Elvis bit his lip again, enjoying how Bess became flustered and embarrassed, smoothing the sides of her dress. She reminded herself that she hated him, as she felt the butterflies swarm through her belly and make themselves at home, flitting willy nilly up her spine. Bess also became keenly aware of how hungry she was from skipping dinner. She didn’t have time for his teasing and looked Elvis squarely in the eyes as she spoke.

“I recommend staying away from them, too. Especially the WACs. You’re definitely not supposed to fraternize with other soldiers.”

Elvis looked off at the trees that lined the road to the right. “How bought civilians? Is, um, ah, frater-a-nizin', uh, allowed?”

Bess turned, ignoring the question, though she was unable to ignore the warm, playful flirtation in Elvis’ voice as it washed over her and her chest heaved up and down at a quicker pace. Once again she told herself that she did, indeed, know how to breath. Her annoyance at his line melted away when she returned to his eyes and saw the exhaustion underneath his bravado, instantly regretting what she was about to do before she even did it. Somehow she couldn’t help herself, it was as if she was having an out-of-body experience, watching herself fumble through a simple sentence.

“Listen, I, um, I just had the worst date of my life, at the worst restaurant. Couldn’t eat a bite. You help me get another type writer, and I’ll, I’ll fix us something to eat. Then you can sleep on my couch for a few hours.”

Watching  his eyes light up, Bess felt the need to add. “But no funny business. I’m just helping out a new recruit, doesn’t mean anything.”

For the second time that night, Bess oversaw sneaking a broken typewriter into the repair shop and taking a new one, hobbling as she led Elvis to her car and directed him to put the stuff in her truck.

“Ya live on post?”

Bess patted the passenger seat of her blue Ford.

“Nope.”

“You know I ain’t supposed to leave?”

“Yup.”

“So — what’s the plan, stan?”

Bess turned to Elvis, removing his hand from her knee where it had somehow landed, and whispered with breathy excitement.

“I’m going to sneak you off.”

Elvis quirked his eyebrows as she kept talking.

“I, um, well, I share an office with the CO's secretary, Mabel. Who might actually be the most powerful person at this command. So, as long as I get you back in time for reveille, we’ll be fine. None of these guys will mess with me.” 

“I, uh, I don’ wan no special privileges, I wanna, uh, be treated like any other man, any other soldier. I reckon I better -”

Elvis trembled when Bess touched his shoulder and rubbed it gently, looking up into his face with her big brown eyes, now tender and reassuring. He looked to her like he might cry as he spoke of not being special.

“Look, I would do this for any new recruit. Boot camp, uh. Well. This is the hardest  part of being in the Army. I promise. I’m not offering because you’re famous. I actually kind of hate you, do you know how much trouble you cause my office? So, you should know I’m helping you in spite of who you are. Promise. I would - I would do it for any soldier in your predicament.”

Bess said this firmly to convince herself as much as to convince Elvis. Then she added a friendly wink and drove off, enjoying Elvis’ bemused smile and telling herself not to worry. Underneath her calm, confidence was the nagging thought that, unlike Elvis, Bess knew exactly what happened if some rule-minded officer were to find out that she had snuck Elvis off post. She had a good understanding of rule-minded officers. Like her father. Who, thankfully, was out of town.

******************************

The bacon and eggs sizzled on the stove and Bess flipped them, shyly avoiding Elvis’ gaze from where he was leaning with his back arched against the door jab, his right hip twisted up and his thumbs hanging from his belt loops as he watching her cook.

“So, uh, what’s a secretary doing taking typewriters uh, um, out late on a Friday night an a bringin' ‘em home for, huh?”

Bess shook her head into the frying pan, then met his gaze.

“I , um, I happen to have some very important work I need to do from home. For the General I work for. That’s, uh, why I have a master key.”

“Uh huh.” Elvis’ smirked, nodding his chin as he stuck his hands slowly under his armpits, and lifted one knee up to lean back further against the wall.

“Hand me your plate, dinner is ready.”

Elvis bounced off the doorway and strode slowly over to where Bess stood at the stove, his long arms dangling loosely at his side. He had become more relaxed and confident once they got to her house, after tearing up a bit in the car and telling her how much he missed his parents and home and how he didn’t have any idea what Germany would be like. He had then muttered on about how millions of guys have been through this, so he knew he’d be alright, though the tear dripping down his cheek made Bess think he believed the exact opposite. Now he was behind her, almost a different person, cocky and teasing as his strong arms snaked around her waist to steady her hands.

“Nah, see how the egg is still all jiggly wiggly, Bessie? S’not done, not nearly. Wanna get the bacon good and browned up, so’s there ain’t no more pink left.”

She flushed at the way his breath hit her neck while his words softly compelled her to make his food the way he liked it. The rumble of his voice as her nickname rolled off his tongue was an assault on her sense of decency, and she let his hands linger at her waist for another beat before lifting them off and assuring him that she understood.No jiggly wiggly, no pink. Black. That she learned, was how Elvis liked everything, and everything was what she gave him, as he ate the pound and a half of bacon om her fridge and her last six eggs.

Bess mused that sneaking a fatigued Elvis off post and filling him full of food must be what made him clingy, comfortable and forward when he put his arms around her as she led him upstairs to the guest room. Rubbing his eyes as he plopped on the bed, Elvis grabbed her wrist imploringly and begged her not to leave him all lonesome in a strange house, in a strange town, where she was the only nice 'lil gal to treat him like a real human bean. Sighing, Bess sat at the top of the bed and let Elvis lay his head in her lap, where she stroked his forehead, and, at his request, started to tell him her life story. He had passed out after five minutes, when she had barely finished detailing how her parents met at Coney Island in 1932, three years before she was born.

Elvis' eye lids fluttered closed and he mumbled, “That’s a when I was borned. Aww, Bessie boo, we musta been babies at the same time.”

Bess groaned as she couldn’t seem to pull herself away from him, and stayed there with his head in her lap for another twenty minutes, afraid if she rolled it off her lap she would wake him. She was cupping the back of his head to gently move it off her lap when he thrashed around and called out the name Satnin. This led Bess to give up and lean against the head board, reconciling herself to a night sleeping sitting up with the most famous rebellious heart throb soldier in the world calling out for his mama in her lap.

Elvis’ hands moved first at the sound of the alarm, roving over Bess tummy and breasts  before he opened his eyes to the smacks of her hand hitting him off her. Somehow she had been pulled down into his arms over the course of the night, and she jumped up, commanding him to get his boots on while she ran down stairs and made some coffee. She prayed her younger sister hadn’t heard the alarm. Still wearing the dress from the night before, Bess watched Elvis gulp down his black coffee and chomp down the bread and cheese she had thrown at him to eat in the car. Loudly. With an open mouth. Wiping the crumbs from his mouth, he put his arm around her and squeezed.

Despite sleeping in his arms, Bess felt a shock and jolted at his touch.

“Just so we’re clear,  Mister, uh, Private um Presley, uh, this was just a friendly, patriotic gesture. I wasn’t, uh um, trying to seduce you.”

Elvis arched his eyebrow, his expression one of amusement and incredulity at the idea Bess thought of her behavior seductive. The way she had hesitated spitting out the word ’seduce’ so earnestly was adorable and endearing.

“OK, honey, you’re the boss, jus do me a favor and call me Elvis, huh?”

She nodded, eyes forward in concentration as she felt him squeeze her shoulders even tighter. She left it there, and found herself relaxing and leaning back into him after a few minutes with a sigh. She couldn't help it, it was an instinctive response to the way his fingers widened and began to tap out a rhythm on the side of her arm. Everything felt good, and their two bodies melded together in the dusky morning twilight for a spell until a gate came into view and Bess jerked up to throw Elvis’ arm onto the car seat with a smack, not noticing how he, too, stiffened with trepidation.

She stopped around the block from Elvis’ barracks and met his strong, uninhibited bear hug with her body, letting him press the air out of her lungs and kiss her cheek.

“Hey, Bessie Boo, I,uh, I can’t, I don’t even, I uh, I hate to leave you, honey, I ain’t even had time to tell you what I want to say, what -”

Bess put her finger to his lips, feeling his breath as she shhhed him. His brows were furrowed and he frowned, not wanted to leave her car and return to the barracks. She rubbed her hand up his chest reassuringly.

“You only have five minutes to get into your bunk, Private Pres - Elvis.” She murmured. “Now, go be a good boy, I have an idea, for how to help you sleep in the future.”

“Hmmm, sounds fun.” A naughty expression played across his face, his jaw hung open and he waggled his eye brows.

Bess realized the insinuation and hit his arm.

“Not that.”  She cocked her head towards the road. “You better go.”

“Huh, usually girls are tryin to run after me, not run me off.” She hit him again as he teased her. “Ok, ok baaaby. I’m off like a gun.”

Elvis face twisted into a crooked grin, and Bess felt like the sun was rising in her car, the earth was suddenly brighter when Elvis’ blue eyes beamed down at her and he kissed her goodbye. It was a light, sweet kiss aimed at her mouth but somehow missing and hitting the crease of her lips.

It had been, what, a year since she had been kissed? Bess kept her eyes closed, just enjoying the soft, tingling sensation of  his mouth crushed into her face. Elvis’ hands gripped her tightly, one hand on her neck, the other at her back, and he moved as if to kiss her again. In a brief moment of clarity, Bess realized she had been fighting her attraction to Elvis all night. It had been gradual and immediate, and she felt very different being close to him then she did when she saw hm in the movies or on the TV and radio. At the back of her mind she could hear all the reasons she shouldn’t kiss him. She pushed her hand up between their lips.

“Um, hey, look. Think we could just be friends? I, uh, I have a rule. I don’t date soldiers.”

Elvis sat back, a quizzical expression softening on his face into a smile as he rubbed her shoulder.

“Sure, Bessie baby, friends. Got it.”

He clicked his tongue and grinned, shooting her a thumbs up. Bess nodded, unable to stop the flutter of her heart as she watched Elvis’ long legs carry him forward as he jogged around the corner to his bunk, pausing to look back over his shoulder at her with a goofy smile as he waved goodbye.

“Fuck a duck.” She heard herself mutter, as she put her car into gear and drove home to shower and get Elvis Presley out of her head.

***********************************************************

Chapter Two: Moo Moo & Tupelo

If you enjoyed this and want to read more, comment, reblog, and let me know what you think and if you would want to be tagged. Tagging a few of you on here who read my stuff, but DM or comment if you would rather not be ;)

@doll-elvis @richardslady121 @waiting4brucewayne2adoptme @father-of-2cats @everythingelvispresley @j-v-9-2 @eliseinmemphis @moonchild-daniella @notstefaniepresley @louisejoy86 @amydarcimarie @kingdomforapony @dkayfixates @artlover8992 @18lkpeters @literally-just-elvis-fics

[darknessawaits28]

Escape From Rapture {Bioshock Series} Part 1

Hello my lovies! Hope you are having a wonderful day! I wanted to give yall another different story that was requested. It will be based on the Bioshock universe with a little bit of a twist. It will be split into two parts, so stay tuned for Part 2 in the upcoming days! Hopefully you enjoy my lovies! Thank you all for your love and support! Stay awesome! :3 :3

The storyline was provided by @tim-ribbert-56, make sure to give them a follow! :3

Storyline:

So I got an interesting multi part story in the bioshock universe set two years before the events of the first bioshock

So set in 1958, the multi part story focuses on a woman called Susan who's been hiding ever sense raptured had fallen its been difficult for her especially trying to avoid splicers she hides in the luxury swimming area where she's been using it has a sort of make shift hide out

One day, she comes across a plasmid that she has never even heard of before the shrink plasmid it allows the user to shrink at will to any size they choose from the size of a doll to the size of a child or mouse. She's a little unsure if she wants to use it as she knows the effect plasmids have on humans, but she hasn't had her food supply, which has been low, and she's very hungry has her stomach growls so reluctantly she jabs the plasmid into herself as her body feels strange at first nothing happens but then she begins to shrink in a spurts as her swimsuit feels until she's the size of a doll buried under her swimsuit

She's amazed that the plasmid even worked and eats the now large food around her she tests to see if she can be returned to normal size, which works but the process takes time as she's now the size of a little sister still she's happy with the results

Over the next few days, she uses her shrinking abilities to her heart content as she uses it to sleep on a large pillow, wear children's clothes, and grow back if she ever has back pain however she notices she's been having nose bleeds which starts to worry her so when she reads the label sayings "warning this product has not been tested yet" which horrifies her as she just realised she inadvertently poisoned herself the label reads "Made by Dr Carol" she then heads off to find this Dr Carol and hopefully find a cure however things will gey very scary and complicated for her

Part 1: The Plan To Escape

Somewhere, beyond the sea…..somewhere….waiting….f-f-f-for m-m-meeee; The sound of music could be heard playing across the dilapidated halls, a beautiful woman with greenish hair and a bloody stained dress slowly walking forward with the utmost caution she could muster.  

“Well, well, well, look who we have here….a girly trying to get all my Adam!” A manic woman laughed as she pulled out her hooks.

“Shit!” the other woman spoke as she grabbed her pistol and began to fire at the deformed woman. Using some of her reflexes, she dodged the hooks that were being thrown at her, trying not to get hit with those ridiculously sharp things. Within minutes, she was able to take down the woman, panting heavily as a result.

“Susan, come in susan” A voice spoke through a radio that Susan had in her pouch.

“Yeah, Sam I’m here.”

“Phew, I thought you were a goner, I didn’t hear back from ya and thought that one of those bastard splicers took ya down.”

“Heh, I’m not that easy to take down Sam” She chuckled, reloading her pistol and then turning towards the direction she was previously headed.

“That’s good to know, are you headed back to your hideout?” 

“Yeah, I need to rest up and eat, I haven’t had anything to eat for hours and my stomach is growling.” 

“You know I can send you food through the pneumo if you want, but I can only send a few things, otherwise I’m going to starve.” 

“Sure, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not, I’ll send it to you right away, talk to you soon” Sam spoke softly through the radio before hanging it up to send her some food. 

The minute that Sam hung up, she entered the swimming pool area and headed towards the lounge area, a million thoughts running through her head on how she was going to escape this nightmare. She was thankful however that she managed to make the lounge area into a cozy little home for herself, something to keep her safe and secure for the time being. The swimming pool was her life and blood, when the city was booming and filled with life, she would always come here to do laps (still does), but now it was in ruin. Andrew Ryan screwed up everything the minute he asked the scientists to create Adam to rewrite our genetic code, giving us the ability to become gods in a sense. As Susan shook her head at the thought, she walked over to the round booth that was her ‘bed’ in a sense, grabbing a snack on the way there. “I guess time to hit the sack, get some rest before I go out again to find more food and see if I can get the hell out of this damn city” she yawned, slowly laying down and curling up close to the curtains, using them as blankets. 

I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man in Washington, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says the man in the Vatican, 'It belongs to God.' 'No!' says the man in Moscow, 'It belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture. A city where the artist would not fear the censor. Where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality. Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well. A man chooses……..a slave obeys……

Susan gasped as she quickly woke up, panting heavily, touching her face to feel it wet. Slowly glancing up, she saw that there was water leaking directly from above her, a low grumble escaping her lips. “Of course, everything in this city is going to shit” she sighed, rubbing her eyes gently. She then glanced over to the swimsuit she had laying on the table. “Let me go for a swim to clear my head from that….nightmare.”

Within a few minutes, Susan had slipped on her swimsuit and began to do a few laps in the pool. ‘A man chooses….a slave obeys…’ those words kept repeating inside her mind, as if it was an indication of a memory that she had forgotten. “What does that mean?” She sighed, finally finishing her laps, and getting out of the pool, using her clean towel to dry herself off until she heard scattering of feet and little laughs coming from the door that led to the swimming pool. 

With quick movements she ran into the lounge area, drying herself as fast as possible, slipping on her clothing, and then grabbing her pistol, readying herself to fight the intruders. 

“I heard some splashes, I know someone was here” The male splicer told his two other companions who nodded, trying to scan for any movement.

“Maybe they got some food, we gotta kill them!” the other male splicer growled as he began to trash the place a bit more than it already was.

“I’m going to the lounge, I need to go to the ladies room” The woman splicer laughed arrogantly as she walked towards the door and waited for it to slide up, once it did, she entered the lounge, finding it quite ‘clean.’ “Hmm, hello” she called, looking in all directions for any sign of life and movement.

Susan, hiding behind a corner, heard the woman splicer calling out for anyone who was around. Giving a quick glance, she saw the woman splicer walking towards the ladies room, a smirk appearing across Susan’s lips as she rushed towards the room. Once she entered, she snuck up behind the splicer, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

“Hmm, I am the most beautiful” The woman splicer chuckled, walking over to the mirror and checking her mutated face. 

“Gotcha!” Susan chuckled quietly, wrapping her arm around the splicer’s neck and began to choke her out.

Sounds of gagging and heavy breathing came from the woman splicer as she struggled against Susan’s strength. “Arghh!”

“Shhh that’s it, don’t worry, you’re going to a nice place now” Susan whispered, slowly going down to her knees as she set the woman splicer down. “Now to check the swimming pool.”

“Where’s Delia, she said she was going to the ladies room to freshen up and she hasn’t come back yet?”

“Well go find her and stop lollygagging!” The male splicer growled as he walked over to a bunch of old cans, trying to see if there were any unopened ones that he could possibly eat.

“Psh, fucking asshole” The other splicer growled as he turned around and headed towards the lounge but was surprised with a bullet to the head. 

“What the hell!?” the male splicer that had been looking at the cans said in shock as he straightened his posture and turned around to find a green haired woman standing by the lounge door. “You bitch!” he shouted as he grabbed his gun and began to fire at her.

Susan, quickly dodging the bullets, went behind a pillar by the swimming pool, reloading her gun once again and then moving around from cover, shooting back at him.

“Come onnnn!” the male splicer yelled as he decided to grab a rusted pipe and charged towards Susan.

“Oh my gosh!” Susan gasped as she began to run out of the swimming pool area and headed outside, finding a good spot and then shot the splicer right through the head. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she approached the downed splicer, kicking his body to make sure he was dead. “Damn…that’s just great…..my hideout is compromised” she growled angrily, putting her pistol away in her pouch and then glanced over at the pneumo, seeing that it had a package. 

Grabbing her radio, she contacted Sam, “Hello, Susan, you okay?”

“Yeah, hey Sam, wanted to send my thanks for the food you sent over in the pneumo ” she chuckled, grabbing the package and seeing the enormous amount of food he had given her.

“Oh of course, hope you enjoy it, gave you some nice delicacies in there.”

“Also uh another thing…”. 

“Uh oh, what happened?”

“My hideout has been compromised and….I know there is no other place left in this city that is safe.” “So….I am going to ask the same question I asked a million times before….did you find a functional bathysphere?”

“Damn I’m sorry about that…but um….yeah…so the….you’re uh….well…”. 

“Spit it out Sam!” Susan nearly shouted, her body already becoming tense because who knows if she was going to be able to leave the city unharmed. 

“Hey, hey, hey, take it easy.” “I’m just….trying to keep you safe….the only functional one left in this part of the city is behind rubble and water, the only way that you are going to be able to fit inside of it is to have a big daddy suit and to have a shrinking plasmid.” “As of now, both locations of those things are unknown to me.”

“Shit…” Susan pushed her back against the wall in disbelief. “Wait, wait, wait, I can ask Diana fox in the medical district, I know she goes all across the city trying to find cures for Adam poisoning, she must know where that shrinking plasmid is.” “And who knows, maybe she can lead me in the direction of the big daddy suit I can wear too.”

“I would be cautious in talking with Diana, Susan, I heard she had a few screws loosened in her brain a while back.”

“Oh Sam you’re just exaggerating, Diana and I go way back, we used to be friends.”

“Okay, whatever you say, just be careful, I’m sending you a shotgun through the pneumo, you’re going to be entering the garden district, I am sure that Diana loves to hang out there, growing who knows what.” “Good luck and stay safe Susna, signing off.” 

“Thanks Sam” she spoke back to him, putting her radio back in her pouch and then grabbed the shotgun from the pneumo. “Wow, this is nice” She chuckled, examining the beautiful craftsmanship of the weapon. “Okay, to Diana.” 

After a few runs, she finally made it to the garden district, inhaling the sweet smells that came from all directions. “Hmm Diana should be…oh wait here is an audio diary, maybe it's from her” she shrugged, grabbing it and began to play it. 

“These fucking splicers….always having to ruin my creations and…argh!” “I know that soon I will be able to grow these reverse adam plants that will stop the spread of adam poisoning.” “I come here once in a while to check on my creations. If anyone is left or sane enough to hear this diary, come find me in the growing lab; I’m just glad that Langford lended me this small lab to continue this work.” 

Once the audio diary finished, she glanced up to see the list of the areas here with arrows pointed in their correct direction. “Okay, so it should be this way” she spoke to herself, beginning to follow the arrows. 

“Argh, get away from my plants you fucking splicers!” A loud voice shouted from behind a lab door. 

“Diana!?” Susan shouted as she pulled out her shotgun and entered the lab, shocked to see her fighting a bunch of splicers who were trying to grab her Adam samples.

Diana, hiding behind her lab desk gasped at the sight of Susan, “Susan, help me fight these uglies and we can talk after, okay?”

Susan nodded to her request, quickly ducking down and then began to unload on the splicers, hitting a few of them.

Diana, doing the same with her pistol, shooting one that almost got close to her Adam sample in the head. 

Within a few minutes, the splicers were eliminated, the smell of rotting flesh beginning to waft into the air. “Fucking bastards” Diana spit on the ground by the dead splicers and then walked over to Susan.

Quickly catching her breathe, Susan stood from the ground, putting her shotgun onto her back and then smiled happily, “It’s so good to see you Diana I-”

“No, don't you start with it’s good to see you.” “You don’t send me a note, no radio call, nothing and all of a sudden you just happen to pop up in my lab?” “No, I know you want something, so what is it?” Diana crossed her arms, waiting for her to spill the beans.

“Uh….well…it is good to see you…b-but I….wanted to ask for a favor?” Susan spoke charmingly but with slight worry in her voice.

“A favor, wow, Susan B. Watson, asking for a favor after not showing her face for years” Diana chuckled, shaking her head as she walked over to her samples to check to see if they were still functional. 

“Listen you know why I had to go out Diana, I didn't mean to leave you behind.” “I just want to get out of this goddamn city!” “I can’t keep living like this, with no food, no clean water, and trying not to get killed by those damn splicers.” 

“Hmphm, just use the hypno plasmid on a Big Daddy, and they’ll protect you straight away.” 

“You know I don’t like using plasmids, those things….can really change you.”

“Trust me I know, I could have easily left in a heartbeat but I chose to stay to save what’s left of the innocents poisoned by Adam.” 

“Look I just need help in locating a shrinking plasmid and a big daddy suit.”

Diana slowly turned around ominously, not believing her ears for what Susan was asking for. “Repeat that back to me again Susan.”

“A shrinking plasmid and a big daddy suit?” 

As the lab fell silent, Diana bursted out in laughter, causing Susan to frown. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh you are full of surprises Susan, asking me for all that!” “HA!” Diana continued to laugh, slowly walking over to the fume hood she had with all of her completed samples. “Ah, well, since you have named your price, I am going to name mine.”

“Oh Diana, come on!” Susan groaned in annoyance.

“Ah, ah, ah, ah, nothing is free Susan.” “So, what I need you to do is to bring these samples to four people poisoned with Adam, and then once you complete that, I need you to turn on the water supply so that my plants here can receive their water, sounds easy enough?”

“No it doesn’t.” “I’m going to have to go through a bunch of splicers, possibly big daddy’s, and who knows what else.” 

“Yes I know sweetie, but I will be able to tell you the locations of both of those items you listed, maybe even give you a bonus.” 

“Just hand me the samples Diana” Susan extended out her hand, waiting for her to give her the samples needed to be given to the four individuals.

“One second, I can’t move too fast, I don’t want to drop these samples that took me weeks to complete” She spoke slowly, making sure that she gently put the four samples in four hypos. 

“Is this eve?” Susan questioned as she grabbed the hypo’s and put them in her pouch.

“No, I just emptied out the eve and poured my own samples in for easier transport and easier intake.” 

“Not bad,” Susan nodded as she prepared to head out. “Where are these four individuals and where can I find that water valve?”

“Let me get you the list” Diana smiled, walking over to her desk drawer and opening it, pulling out a small list with the individuals names. “So the first is Mark Hambil, he is located in Devil’s Den, you’ll see him clear as day.” “The second is Samantha Loveless, she is located in the honey alcoves, she usually is getting hopped up on honey, try her there.” “The third is Katherine Palvo, she is kind of hard to get too after all the Adam poisoning that she has been through, so you can find her wandering about the garden district here, so maybe start with her first.” “And finally, Jonathan Law, a very difficult man to find, so I would start by Minvera’s Alley, then head up past the Gatherer’s Garden, and maybe he might pop out.”

“Wait, so you’ve never found Jonathan?” Susan asked, confused.

“No I did, he was wandering around like Katherine, but after the Adam poisoning, he seems a bit….well….you could say….he can disappear in front of your eyes.”

“Did he take an invisible plasmid?” 

“Yes, I just didn’t want to alarm you that he may be potentially invisible and may touch you in places that….may….seem inappropriate, so I would steer clear and make sure that you watch all of your angles.” 

“That’s great, now I see why you didn’t want to go out and find these individuals!” 

“Don’t be like that darling Susan, you doing this is a great help for me and besides, I can continue working on more of my samples while you are away.” 

Susan shook her head in disgust, quickly stomping her way out of the lab and looked down at the list that she had forcefully ripped out of Diana’s hand out of pure anger. “Okay, let’s start with Katherine then.”

Within a couple of minutes, Susan fully entered the garden district, seeing the various wandering splicers, security cameras, one big daddy with a small little girl, and no Katherine in sight. “Jesus, this is going to be harder than I thought” she sighed deeply, grabbing her pistol at the ready and then began to push past the area, glancing in all directions to see if she could find her.

“Come on, Mr. B, time to find some angels!” The little girl spoke happily as she walked ahead of the big brute. Although some splicers had some guts to approach the little girl, trying to get her so he could fill his body up with Adam. This brought the attention of the Big daddy who growled in anger, using his drill to pierce the splicers abdomen, blood and guts going everywhere, the little girl clapping and cheering for her knight in shining armor. 

“Bleh” Susan whispered to herself as she saw what had transpired and then her ears pricked up at the sound of singing. 

“My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold, There is nothing can console me, But my jolly sailor bold” the beautiful voice sang, alluring various male splicers to the voice. 

“Boys come and check this broad out!” One of the male splicers said, rushing into this small garden with a fountain spewing clear water. 

Susan, quickly rushing towards the entryway, gasped at the sight of Katherine in the fountain, dancing and singing, her face seeming all discolored and not normal.

“Damn she’s hot” another male splicer chuckled as they listened to her singing, giving such a beautiful performance.

Although, when Katherine caught notice of all the male splicers watching her, she laughed wickedly, the whole fountain turning to ice and then she pointed out her hands in their direction, freezing them as well. “So naive~” 

When they all froze, Susan quickly entered, looking up at her in worry, “Katherine, Diana sent me, she finally found the cure to the poisoning, come on down and I’ll give you a shot.”

Katherine could only smirk at Susan, “Why should I?” “I feel so entwined with this power that I don’t want to go back to my little old self” she chuckled, stepping out of the frozen water and then stood in front of Susan.

“Katherine please, you’re making my job even harder.”

“Well then, let’s make it even harder than that then!” Katherine laughed darkly as she extended out her hand, preparing to fight Susan.

“No, no, no!” Susan gasped as she ducked out of the way of her freezing hands and hid behind a brick pillar. “Diana dammit, Katherine has gone crazy!” 

“What is she doing now?!” Diana spoke over the radio when Susan called her.

“She’s freezing everything in sight!” Susan spoke worriedly, firing her pistol at her but obviously Katherine froze the bullet before it could even reach her. 

“Oh no, the winter blast infected her rapidly, where is she now?” 

“Argh, she’s in this small garden with a fountain in the middle” Susan screamed when she felt ice coming towards her direction, so she moved to another pillar. 

“Okay, so there are three valves in that room that control the level of sun that enters that room.” “Turn all of them to the maximum level and she’ll be docile enough for you to inject her.”

“Okay on it!” Susan said through the radio, hanging up and then quickly rushing to the first valve.

“My heart is pierced by cupid” Katherine began to sing, slowly walking towards Susan as she began to turn the valve. 

Suddenly, the heat in the garden began to rise, causing Katherine to scream in pain. 

“That’s one down” Susan breathed out, quickly rushing towards the next valve in the room, trying to dodge the icicles that were being thrown in her direction. 

“I disdain all glittering gold” Katherine smirked as she extended out her hand, making a large icicle grow from the very ground, nearly piercing Susan.

“Oh my god!” Susan shouted, glad that she was able to dodge the icicle and then quickly grabbed a hold of the valve, turning it as fast as she could.

“Ahhhh!” Katherine screamed once again, feeling a blast of heat, her left hand completely losing the ability to create ice. “You’ll pay for that you bitch!” she shouted angrily, using her right hand to freeze the other valve. 

Susan, arriving at the third valve, gasped at the sight of the ice that was covered on it, “What am I going to do now!” 

“There is nothing can console me, But my jolly sailor bold~” Katherine breathed out as she watched the girl struggle to break the ice that covered the valve. “It’s okay darling, you can not stop me.” 

“Not quite” Susan chuckled as she threw a smoke bomb in her direction, grabbed a conveniently placed crow bar and hacked away at the ice. Once it was completely cleared, she finally was able to turn the valve, the room completely heating up to the point where all the ice began to melt rapidly.

“No!” Katherine shouted in anguish, completely falling onto the floor unconscious. 

Susan breathed a sigh of relief as she put the crowbar alongside her shotgun, grabbing the syringe from her pouch and approaching Katherine. “You’ll be okay now” she whispered, kneeling down beside her to inject her arm, the discoloration of her face returning to normal. 

“Oh my, what happened?” Katherine groaned as she slowly sat up.

“You were poisoned by Adam and attacked me viciously with ice.” “But I was thankfully able to subdue you enough to inject Diana’s cure into you.”

“Oh dear, please forgive me then for my actions, I never meant to hurt anyone.”

“No need to worry, I know you were under the influence of the poison.” “Are you able to stand?”

“Yes thank you Miss?” 

“Susan.”

“Miss Susan, well I truly am thankful that Diana was able to find a cure and that you were able to inject me before I went bat crazy” She chuckled, adjusting her dress and then looked around curiously. 

“Are you able to go to Diana on your own?”

“Yes I am, thank you again Susan.”

“Any time Katherine, be wary of the splicers lurking around.”

With that completed, Susan walked out of the small garden, looking at the sign beside her that read Honey Alcoves is through here. “Let’s go see Samantha then, hopefully she isn’t hopped up on honey and tries to murder me like Katherine just did.”