#thank you gray!! this was a ton of fun

[justagalwhowrites]

Stranger in a Bar - Part One

A DBF!Joel Fic

You meet a stranger in a bar, one who is fun and sexy and makes you wonder if the single life is all it's cracked up to be. But there's one big problem: you probably shouldn't be fucking your dad's best friend.

Pairing: DBF!Joel Miller x Female Reader

Warnings: This is smut, OK? Just a lot of smut. Protected P in V sex. Oral sex (m and f receiving). Age gap of 20 years. No use of Y/N. Minors DNI, 18+ only.

Length: 6.8k

AO3 | Fic Masterlist | Masterlist

A/N: So this was supposed to be a one shot and then it started getting out of hand. It's going to just be two parts for the moment, this is going to be a very little baby fic, OK? Small. Lil baby story. Also. there's a hefty age gap and it comes up because logistics but no power imbalance. Thanks for always putting up with my shit, y'all are the best ❤️

Bar None, Present day

One of your friends had just put Single Ladies on the jukebox when you saw him across the bar. Bar None, the place you’d picked for the night, had one of those stupid app-powered ones and the three girls you had kept in touch with from high school had been abusing it all night long. But the man across the bar was so distracting that you hardly noticed. His eyes were locked on you, so tight and hot that it would send a chill up your spine if it was from the wrong set of eyes. But they were his eyes. Dark and molten and set into a sculpted face with patchy scruff and shaggy curl streaked with gray. 

No, you thought, he couldn’t spark anything but desire. 

“We should do the dance!” Your friend Emily slurred, tugging your arm. “C’mon! Now that you’re a single lady again, you have to own it.” 

She flashed her empty ring finger as Beyonce sang, a cocky - if half drunk - look on her face as she did. 

You smiled at her. 

“He did put a ring on it,” you twisted the stem of your martini glass. “That’s why there was a problem when he put his dick in someone else. I think I’ll pass on the Beyonce. But thank you.” 

“Come on drunky,” your friend Dana looped her arm around Emily’s waist. “Let’s go dance.” 

“Woooo!” Emily threw her arms in the air and Dana gave you an exasperated but happy smile over her shoulder as she guided her to the dance floor. 

“Jesus, is it that late?” Parker looked at her Apple watch. You half smiled and took a small sip of your drink as she rifled through her clutch for her phone and let out a relieved sigh. “Thank God, Kevin hasn’t been texting with a ton of stupid questions. Why did I think letting a baby get totally attached to me was a good idea? The fact that she only said mama for two weeks was great at first but now that she refuses to do bedtime without me, I’m having regrets…” 

“Do you need to go?” You asked, brows raised. 

She winced.

“Would you hate me if I left you with the party animals?” 

You laughed. 

“No,” you said. “Go home, see your husband and kid. I really do appreciate the warm welcome back, you have no idea.” 

“See?” She reached across the small table and gave your arm a squeeze. “I told you, just like old times.” 

“Did you go back home at 10:30 to make sure a baby was properly put to bed when we were 18?” You teased. “I forgot that part…” 

She rolled her eyes. 

“Almost old times,” she said. “Besides, you love Bella.” 

“I do love Bella,” you said. “And I love you. Go home, I’m good.” 

“You’re sure?” 

“Positive. Text me when you get there?” 

“Of course,” she slipped off the bar stool and came around to give you a hug and kiss your cheek. “I really am glad you’re back. Even if it’s because Reid was a dumbass.” 

You just smiled a little and watched her leave, Parker pausing to wave to Dana on her way out the door. 

“This seat open?” 

The man from across the bar stood beside you, nodding to the seat Parker had just vacated. You smiled a little and nodded once. 

“You have very convenient timing.” 

“Well,” he shrugged. “Leaving a pretty girl all alone at the bar seems like a crime. Trying my damndest to stay on the right side of the law.” 

“And how’s that going for you these days?” 

He smirked a little. His cheek dimpled. 

“Well enough.” 

You looked at him, tracing the creases in his face with your eyes, the streaks of gray catching the low light of the bar. He was probably the oldest man there but damn, did he wear it well. 

“You in town for a visit?” He asked, turning his beer bottle in his fingers and nodding to your friends on the dance floor. “Seeing friends?” 

You cocked a little smile at him. 

“No, actually. Just moved back.” 

He raised his eyebrows, a look you couldn’t quite place passing over his warm features. His eyes drifted to your ring finger before he seemed to catch himself and look back at your face. You saved him the trouble, lifting your bare left hand and turning it so he could see. The indentation from your three carat engagement ring was still on your finger but your hand was empty. 

“I think we should talk, Joel.” 

Bar None, 10 years earlier 

The man across the bar had no damn business being that good looking. 

It was almost pissing you off how good looking he was. Tall, broad, with golden skin and thick, dark hair, he had the kind of face you wanted to explore intimately, in the way you could only do when someone was inside of you. The way men couldn’t control their expressions then was almost addicting. The way their eyes would roll back and their mouths would fall open, the way they stopped fucking around with pretense and just let themselves feel something - even if it was just your cunt - was beautiful and fascinating and almost elemental. It was like you could look into the very core of them for a moment, the way they always seemed to be able to look into you with just a glance. You wanted that with this man, whoever he was, this man who you caught glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. 

“Aww,” Parker pouted happily at her phone. “Kevin misses me!” 

“Misses you?” Emily snatched the phone from her grasp, gaping at the screen. “You’ve been gone like two hours!” 

“Will you just…” Parker snatched the phone back and looked at the text again. “And I think it’s sweet.” 

“You’re ditching us, aren’t you?” Emily sighed. 

“I think so,” Parker winced. “Is that OK?” 

You just smiled a little. 

“Go see the guy who’s got you all crazy,” you said. “But I’ll see you again before I leave town, yeah?” 

“Course!” She came and gave you a hug. “Good luck getting rid of me. Have fun at that thing tomorrow!” 

“Yeah,” you laughed. “I’ll try.” 

Emily rolled her eyes and judged Parker for a bit but it was less than an hour before she was leaving, too, with a man who’d asked her to dance and bought her a beer. 

“You sure you’re alright?” She asked as she went to leave. 

“Babes, I know how to be at a bar on my own. And my hotel is two doors down. I think I can figure it out.” 

She kissed your cheek. 

“Love you,” she said. “Try to have some fun!” 

You watched her go, thinking about just how long you wanted to be sitting by yourself at a bar versus in a Holiday Inn Express standard room when a voice appeared beside you. 

“This seat open?” 

The man from across the bar nodded to the seat Emily had just abandoned. You smiled a little and nodded once. 

“You have very convenient timing.” 

“Well,” he shrugged. “Leaving a pretty girl all alone at the bar seems like a crime. Trying my damndest to stay on the right side of the law.” 

“And how’s that going for you?” 

He smirked a little. His cheek dimpled. 

“Well enough.”

You smiled and introduced yourself before holding out your hand. He took it. 

“Joel,” he said. “Don’t think I’ve seen you here before.” 

“Because I’ve never been here before,” you smiled. “I’m in from out of town, my hotel is a few doors down. This was convenient and hey, the Yelp reviews weren’t the worst.” 

“What brings you to the great city of Austin, Texas?” He asked, settling in on the seat beside you. He was older than you but you kind of liked men that way now that you were in your mid 20s and exhausted by every man you’d dated in college. You liked them a little older, more established, men who knew how to cook their own damn food and give you your own damn orgasm. “Business or pleasure?” 

“Neither,” you smiled a little, taking a sip of your drink. “Family event.” 

“That’s not pleasure?” 

You laughed once.

“Not the way my family does it.” 

“That why you’re in a hotel and not stayin’ with them?” He asked, brows raised. 

“Bingo,” you replied. “I get in, I get drunk, I get out.” 

He nodded slowly. 

“Good system.” 

“Worked well enough for me over the years.” 

The two of you ended up talking about music and books and UT football until last call - far later than you’d intended to stay out. 

“Mind if I walk you back to your hotel?” Joel asked. “Not tryin’ to be a creep but… I’d sleep a lot better tonight knowin’ you got back safe. Promise it’s not a ploy.” 

“Damn, it’s not?” You asked, tucking your purse on your arm and heading for the door. “Because I was going to ask you to come up to my room if it was.” 

“Well shit,” he said, catching up with you. “Maybe it is a ploy then.” 

You found yourselves drawing out the walk back all the same, pace more of an amble than a brisk walk, but the hotel was so close that it really only added a few minutes to your walk all the same. 

“Well,” you smiled at the door to the lobby. “This is me.” 

“Yeah,” he nodded once, looking inside for a moment before looking back at you. “Look… you don’t owe me anything, alright? I’m not the kind of guy who wants to force something. I can just head on back to my truck, no hard feelings…” 

“Well maybe none for you,” you teased a little. “But I might have some. Unless you really don’t want to fuck me.” 

“Oh, I want to,” he said. “Trust me on that…” 

“Oh yeah?” 

“Yeah,” he laughed. “Been at the top of my list since you first walked in that place, baby, lemme tell you.” 

“Well then,” you jerked your head toward the door. “Why don’t we cross it off the list?” 

You took his hand in the elevator, his palm so broad, his fingers thick and long and callused in yours. You pressed your back against the wall and pulled him onto you so his hips were on yours and his nose brushed your own. His eyes ranged over your face, hungry and soft and open. 

“You sure about this?” He asked, looking down at the rest of your body for a moment before going back to your face. “Sure you don’t have something better to do than some old man?” 

“I’m sure,” you smiled at him, draping your arms over his shoulders. “Besides, I like old men. How old are you, anyway?” 

“Forty-five,” he said. “How old are you?” 

You snorted. 

“I’m not sure I should say,” you said, holding him a little closer all the same. “Since you’re all hung up on age…” 

“Not hung up on it,” he rolled his eyes. “Just… don’t need to be some youthful mistake is all. Wait, Jesus, please tell me you’re at least out of college, tell me you’re not a teenager…” 

You laughed. 

“No,” you shook your head. “Not a teenager. And I’ve been out of college a few years, I’m 25.” 

“God,” he closed his eyes and shook his head once, like he was trying to shake the idea of you loose. “Still, that’s… you’re…” 

You pressed your lips ever so slightly against his, more a quick brush than anything else, giving him every opportunity to pull back. 

He didn’t take it. 

Instead, he pressed his lips to yours, his hands going to your waist and tugging you tightly to his body while he pushed you back against the wall. Your arms got tighter to him and you opened your mouth, his tongue licking into you almost immediately. Joel didn’t need an engraved invitation, all he needed was a sign that you wanted him and fuck, you wanted him. More and more, each passing second, you wanted him. There was heat in you that was starting to flare so molten and hot that you pulled at his clothes, forgetting that you weren’t alone, not really. 

The elevator dinged and he all but sprang back from you, both of you panting for breath. 

“Fuck,” he breathed, looking you up and down, pupils blown. 

“C’mon,” you took his hand. “I’m down the hall.” 

You pulled him along behind you and fumbled to get your room key out of your bag. Joel’s wide, thick hands slipped around your waist as you did, tugging your ass back against his growing bulge and fuck, but he was huge. Thick and long and you knew his zipper had to be fucking killing him, cock that big and hard restrained by mere fabric and a slip of metal. His lips found the hinge of your jaw, your neck, down to your shoulder and you groaned a little as you clumsily forced the keycard in the door, the little beep the mechanism gave one of the best damn sounds you’d heard all night. 

The two of you practically fell into your hotel room. You dropped your purse on the first table inside the door and started stepping out of your heels as Joel turned you around to face him, manipulating your body to put you right where he wanted you and the fire in you sparked higher, brighter as he manhandled you. Every touch he gave was loaded with need, the air thick and heavy with it as he pawed at your clothes and skin, licking into your mouth at every opportunity, taking your chin firmly in his heady grip to tug you open further for him, all but forcing you to give him everything. 

You were as rough with his clothes as he was with your body, pulling so hard and fast at the buttons of his shirt that two popped free, pinging off the glass of the mass produced art that hung on the wall. 

“Shit,” you panted, looking around the dark of your room for the buttons. 

“Don’t give a fuck,” Joel replied, breathless, clutching you close and tight before you could pull away. “Didn’t really like this shirt, anyway.” 

You shoved it down and off as he tugged your dress down your body, leaving it in a pile on the floor before turning you so the backs of your legs were against the bed. He deftly unhooked your bra with one hand then, ripping the straps down your arms but almost reverently lowering the cups, panting for breath as he exposed your breasts to his gaze. Joel tossed your bra to the side before taking the soft weight of your tits in his hands, cupping them, brushing his thumbs over your hardening nipples as he looked down at you with a look of near awe on his face. You half expected him to shove you back down onto the bed after his race to get you undressed but instead, his arm went around your waist, his hand splaying wide over the smooth skin of your back and he pulled you tight against him, making you gasp. 

He moaned, deep and low, and dropped his head to your bared shoulder before trailing his nose over you to your neck, the wet heat of his breath on your skin. 

“Fuck, you’re so goddamn soft,” he groaned, almost pained, and pressed his lips to your throat, making your breath catch. You clung to the broad expanse of his back, fingertips pressing into him, trying to get at every inch of his skin that you could find. 

His mouth found yours and he gently, delicately, lowered you back onto the bed. He cradled your body against his own, keeping the firm line of him taut to you as he kissed you. Joel rested you on the mattress and you let your legs fall open so he could settle between your thighs, the heady weight of him pressing against your clit and making you moan. 

“You got a problem if I explore this pretty body of yours?” He asked, his lips still brushing yours when he spoke. “Because fuck, baby, seems like a sin to not touch every goddamn inch of you.” 

He rocked his thick, hard, still clothed cock against your core, as if to make his point, and took your responding moan as the yes it was. He trailed his lips slowly over your body, down your throat, your breast bone, your stomach, your navel. His nose brushed against you, his breath covering you in warm and needy pants. When he reached your underwear - the last thing still on your body - his fingers looped through the band before he paused, looking up at you over your stomach and between your breasts. 

“You still with me, pretty girl?” He asked, mouth so close to your skin that the wetness of his lower lip had caught on your stomach. “Still good with this?”

“Yes, Joel, please,” you were practically squirming. He was so close to precisely where you needed him it seemed like you might melt with the want of him. “Fuck, please…” 

“Fuck, you’re even prettier when you beg,” he said and started to pull your panties down over your hips. You lifted yourself up off the bed to help and it wasn’t long before you were naked below him. He knelt in front of you and took your knees in his hands, parting your thighs for him and groaning when he did. 

“Goddamn,” he breathed, so quiet you weren’t sure you were meant to hear it or if he’d meant to say it out loud at all. “Just… fuck.” 

He opened your legs enough to lay between them, settling with your thighs over his shoulders. His thumb traced a slow, tender path over your slit, brushing your clit and making you gasp when he did. 

“Swear you’ve got the prettiest fucking pussy I’ve ever seen,” he said before he pressed his lips to your leaking hole. He moaned as he did and you couldn’t help but thrust against him once. He pulled back from you just a little, his nose barely touching your clit as he did. “Needy little pussy, too, huh?” 

Your fingers knotted in the bedspread and Joel’s mouth found your clit, softly sucking the sensitive nub between his teeth to tease with his tongue. You fought the urge to rock your hips against his face, trying to remember that this man was practically a stranger, not a lover whose tastes you knew intimately. But that was hard to remember as he worked his way lower, his tongue slipping inside of you with a deep groan. 

Joel ate you like you were a delicacy he longed to savor. He started slow, tasting and teasing you open, before delving deep like he couldn’t resist it, his thick tongue exploring and finding the soft and tender places inside you. His thumbs spread you open wide to him, his nose against your clit and you couldn’t stop yourself, you rolled your hips against him. He moaned into you and you forced your hips down on the bed, trying to clear your head enough to be still. 

“Sorry,” you panted. “I didn’t mean to do that, you’re just… really fucking good at that.” 

He stopped and pulled back from you enough to look up your body again, a frown on his face, your slick glistening on his beard in the light from the parking lot outside. 

“You think I don’t want you fucking my face?” He asked. “Fuck, baby, I want nothing more than for you to take exactly what you need. Want you to make yourself come on my face, you understand?” 

You swallowed and nodded. 

“What are you going to do?” He asked, voice almost stern. 

“Make myself come on your face?” You more asked than answered. 

“Better sound more sure than that,” he said, fingers moving to your clit. You gasped and moaned at the contact. “Come on baby, what are you going to do? Say it. Own it.” 

“Come on your face,” you panted. “Fuck, Joel… I’m going to come on your face, I’m going to make myself come on your face, please…” 

“Good,” he said, going back to eating your pussy. 

It was like he’d been holding back before but had nothing stopping him now. His tongue pressed deep, his nose nestled in your slit to nudge your clit, his arms looped over the thickness of your thighs to keep you open for him while also pressing the softness of you to the sides of his head. Your orgasm built quickly, the heat in you sinking to your core, everything inside you there going taut and tense. You were just on the edge of it, whimpering below his tongue and his touch when one hand left the warmth of your thigh and moved to your slit, his finger sliding inside you alongside his tongue. He pressed into the soft, tender place inside you that seemed to elude other men, finding it with an almost practiced ease and moaning when he did, sending the sparks of your climax shooting through you. 

He groaned, needy, as he ate you through it, not letting up, not even for a second until your orgasm had subsided and your head was swimming. 

“Fuck you feel amazing,” he pulled himself from you, sucking the finger that was inside you clean before wiping your slick from his beard while his other hand traced over the smooth softness of your inner thigh. “Should’ve asked this sooner but… please tell me you’ve got a damn condom. I wasn’t exactly lookin’ for this tonight, not until I saw you, so I’m not exactly prepared.” 

“I do,” you propped yourself up on your elbows, trying to remember where the hell you left your suitcase in the dark. You spotted it on the dresser, thankfully still mostly organized since you’d arrived that afternoon. You nodded to it. “Suitcase, top zipper pouch inside the lid.”

He got one, the crinkle of foil strangely loud in the silence of the room. 

“Here,” you sat up and reached for him as he came to stand between your legs at the edge of the bed. “Let me do it…” 

He gave you the packet and you opened it before palming the condom, holding it tight in one hand while slipping the other into the open zipper of his jeans and into his underwear to find his thick, heavy cock. 

You moaned as you wrapped your fingers around his length, hard as steel wrapped in silken skin, and you stroked him, just half way up his cock at first before going from root to tip. He was dripping there, his arousal making his head slick and wet. You brushed your thumb over his leaking tip, the smooth skin making your mouth water. You looked up at him through your eyelashes as you leaned forward to lick him before taking just the very end of his cock between your lips. You suckled at him gently, lapping up his precome, Joel’s breaths getting heavier and faster as you did, before you took him into your mouth. He moaned as you sucked him, his hand going to the back of your head and holding you against him, your nose brushing against the base of his stomach. You took his head into your throat and moaned around him as you sucked him, making him hiss in pleasure, his grip on your skull tightening. 

“Fuck, woman,” he managed as you kept sucking him. “Gonna make me come if you keep doin’ that…” 

You pulled back from him slowly, his hold on you easing as you did, until he slipped from your mouth, still slick with your spit. 

“Should probably stop then,” you said, a little breathless. You took the condom - warm now from the heat of your hand - and put it over his head before rolling it over his thick shaft. You stroked him once, twice and leaned forward again, sucking his tip for a moment when it was in place and his head tipped back, staring at the ceiling as he groaned. 

“Jesus,” he panted. “Fuck, you gonna let me inside that soft little pussy of yours or make me come in your mouth?” 

You laughed once, needy and low, before pulling yourself backwards on the bed, Joel’s eyes hungry on your body as you went. He shucked his jeans and underwear off before crawling, finally naked, between your thighs. His head brushed against your sex and he took the base of his cock in his hand, trailing his tip up and down your dripping slit before spreading you open for him, your pussy swollen and tender as he did. He put his tip against your dripping entrance, pressed just the very end of him inside, barely opening you to him. His hands moved to your thighs, brushing over them to your knees before trailing back toward your center, his fingers splayed wide over you soft flesh. 

“You ready, baby?” He asked, needy. 

“Yes,” you breathed. You’d passed ready a long time ago. You were desperate now, aching and all but begging for him to take up every empty space inside your body. 

“Good,” he pressed forward until his head was fully inside your tight channel and you both moaned with it, one of your hands finding the smooth skin of your breast and squeezing it. He groaned at the sight as he started fucking just the tip of him into you, rocking in and out of you in short, sharp bursts. “Fuck, there you go baby. Just like that.” 

He started feeding you more of his cock then, driving further into you with each stroke until he fucked all the way into you, his hips flush to yours, his thick length stretching you open, the burn of him meshing with the heady pleasure of being so utterly full. 

“Goddamn,” he breathed, his cock buried inside you totally. “This pussy… fuck me.” 

One of his hands went from your thigh to over your hip coming to rest and the soft swell of the base of your stomach. He spread wide over your skin, his palm swallowing the space over where he was inside of you and pressing down, making you moan as the tight fullness inside you got more intense. His thumb stretched down toward your clit and he started working you there as he just held himself within you, making your cunt throb once around him. He groaned at the feeling. 

“That’s right,” he said. “So full of this cock ain’t you baby? Taking me so damn well…” 

He kept working your clit for a minute, not moving inside you, just pressing into your skin until you were practically writhing below his touch. He was so big, you were so full, the pleasure in your body so tight. It made your head spin. 

“Joel,” your fingers scratched at the blankets. “I need you to move, please, please, please…” 

“Please what, pretty girl?” His voice was dark, low. 

“Please fuck me,” you begged. “Please, please fuck me, please…” 

He drew back then, achingly slow at first, watching where his cock was pressing into you with a hungry look on his face, before thrusting back in, deep and firm. 

This, you thought, was why you liked fucking older men. Joel knew what he was doing. He worked your body with expert skill, grinding his cock deep inside so his head pressed against the most sensitive parts of you, the thick drag of him making your back arch and toes curl. He kept rubbing your clit with his thumb, the pressure and pace keeping your pleasure building and building but never quite cascading over the edge. 

He kept fucking into you that way until you were desperate, your whole being drawn tight and achy around his cock. He’d stopped watching where your bodies were joined and had moved to your face, his gaze drinking in your desperate little moans and the way your eyes would scrunch closed as you got so close to coming but didn’t quite make it, whimpering as your climax fell just out of reach yet again. 

“Got you so tight and needy, hm?” He said, breathless. You just nodded, trying to rock your hips up against him but held in place by his hand on your stomach. “Why don’t you tell me what you need? Tell me exactly what it is you need.” 

“To come,” you whimpered. “Fuck, I need to come, you need to let me come, please let me come…” 

“Think I’ve been keepin’ you on the edge too long?” He asked. “Think I should let this little pussy come? Let her just milk me dry?” 

“Fuck, please,” you begged, not caring if you sounded pathetic. It’s not like you’d see this man again after tonight, anyway. 

He took his thumb off your clit but before you had a chance to whimper in protest, he adjusted your legs to drive somehow deeper and leaned over you, pressing his bare skin to yours before kissing your neck, sucking and licking at the tender skin there as he fucked into you, making you whimper, your nails scrabbling over his back. His lips moved from your neck to your ear, his large hand coming to cup the crown of your head, his pace never relenting. 

“Come for me,” he whispered, low and needy. “You can come, want you to come, want to feel you come. Just let go for me, just give in to me.” 

His hips rocked against your clit, his cock buried so deep and you saw stars for a moment before you cried out, your orgasm hitting you hard after being on the edge of it for so long. It broke your whole body down, muscle clenching desperately, blood rushing, fingers clinging. You felt it everywhere, starting at your core and radiating out in hot, aching waves. 

“Goddamn, that’s it,” he fucked you through it as your core fluttered over him. “Just keep comin’ for me, just like that, feeling so damn good baby just…” 

He pressed deep as your orgasm started to fade and moaned, the sound going straight to your raw, fucked out cunt. The pulsing of his cock, in you to the root, rolled you into another orgasm, this one less intense but still making your pussy grip him close and tight as he spilled into the condom. 

He collapsed on you for a moment as both of your climaxes eased, his chest heaving. Before his weight became too much, he adjusted, rising up enough to kiss you as he slid his softening cock from your body and falling flat on his back on the bed beside you. 

“Damn,” you panted after a moment, staring up at the ceiling. 

He laughed lightly beside you. 

“Know the feelin’.” 

You lay there next to each other, listening to each other as your breaths came back into a normal, steady cadence. Goosebumps started to pebble over your skin, the air cold as you were naked without his body on yours, the air conditioner below the window humming along. 

You turned your head to look at him and he did the same. 

“Should probably go…” his voice trailed off but he sounded reluctant. Or maybe you just hoped he did.  

“You don’t have to,” you said, probably a little too quickly for a man you’d just met. Even in the dim light of the moon and the parking lot lights out your window, you could tell he raised his eyebrows. “I’m just… you can stay, if you want. It’s a big bed. Think we can manage it.” 

“Wouldn’t want to impose…” 

“You’re not,” you said. “You can leave, too, if you’d rather but… don’t feel like you have to rush out.” 

He smiled a little. 

“Then I’ll stay. I’d like to stay.” 

You smiled back, that blissed out and relaxed feeling you had after you came settling over you.

“Good.” 

The two of you settled far across the bed from each other at first but drifted quickly, until your head was on his chest and you were curved around his side as his arm wrapped around your shoulders, his fingers trailing up and down your arm until you fell asleep. 

He was somehow even more beautiful in the light of day. 

You realized it as the two of you went about the strange intimacy of getting ready for the day side by side with someone you didn’t know. He blinked sleep from his eyes when first woke up and stretched his back before getting out of bed, his curls haphazard and messy and his body soft and warm. He got dressed and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to tame it. You offered him your travel toothbrush as you got dressed and he watched you pull on your jeans as he leaned against the bathroom doorframe. 

“Been a while since I’ve done this,” he said, a little hesitant. 

“Just how long?” You asked, teasing as you pulled on your shirt. 

“Longer than I want to admit,” he said, small smile making his cheek dimple. “Long enough that I don’t remember exactly how this is supposed to work but… I’d like to take you to breakfast. If you want.” 

You smiled. 

“Sure,” you said. “I’d like that.” 

Joel walked back to the bar and picked up his truck before taking you to a diner not too far from your hotel. You laughed with him about menu typos and the questionable song choices coming from the speakers over greasy eggs and toast soaked in butter. 

“Know we just met,” he said as you were on your fourth cup of coffee and you were both avoiding the fact that you’d have to leave this table and go your separate ways soon. The remains of your hashbrowns had long gone cold, ketchup smeared across the plate and you weren’t ready to say goodbye to him yet. “And that you’re in town for some family thing but… if you’re not busy tonight, would you want to come with me to this party? Buddy of mine is throwin’ in, supposed to be nice. Think he gave me a plus one in hopes I’d actually use it.” 

“Damn,” you winced a bit. “I really wish I could but the thing I’m in town for is tonight.” 

“Damn’s right,” he smiled a little. “Think you’d be my best shot for a good time at that thing.” 

“Yeah, back at you for my thing,” you laughed.

“Here,” he pulled his phone from his pocket and unlocked it before handing it over. “Put your number in. Maybe we could still get together later…” 

You took it but hesitated, thumb tapping on the side of his phone case. 

He frowned.

“What?” 

“I live hours away,” you said. “Is this really smart?” 

He shrugged. 

“Don’t really care if it’s smart or not. Just want to see you again. If you’ll let me.” 

You smiled a little and shook your head before putting your number in his phone. 

“There,” you said, handing it back over. “Let me know when you’re done with your thing. I can think of a few more ways to get some good use out of my hotel room.” 

Two more cups of coffee later, Joel dropped you off at your hotel. You kissed him goodbye in the cabin of his truck, moaning against his mouth before pulling away. 

“Alright, go before I come back in with you,” he said playfully, reaching across you to open your door.

You laughed. 

“Don’t tempt me,” you got out and paused before closing your door, taking one last chance to look him over. “If we don’t see each other again… It was good meeting you.” 

“Good meeting you, too,” he said. “But don’t worry. I’ll see you again.” 

You went inside, looking back over your shoulder once you were in the lobby, Joel’s truck still sitting near the doors as he waited to make sure you were safely inside. 

There was an odd sense of loss in you as you got ready for your parents’ big anniversary party. You hadn’t expected to meet anyone when on your trip back to your hometown, let alone someone you liked so much. You’d been single for a while, doing things alone didn’t really bother you. But now, you felt this tug of desire to have him getting ready beside you where you could help him with his tie and he could zip you into your dress. 

But that was stupid. You knew it was stupid. Your job had taken you to Memphis and you liked it there. You weren’t in a rush to move back to your hometown. And Joel had a business here. It wasn’t going to happen. It’d be a lot easier in the long run if you just accepted that now. 

You showed up early to the party, your older sister wanting help to get things set up in the tents outside. 

“Who all is coming to this shindig anyway?” You asked as you put pictures of your parents out around a guest book near the entrance of the tent. 

“Oh, you know,” your sister waved you off. 

“Not really,” you said. She gave you a look. “What! I haven’t been home for a family party in… well, it’s been a minute.” 

“Yeah, and I’ve been the one doing all the work to help with those for a while,” she said. 

“And you’re definitely not bitter about that…” 

“Not one bit,” she teased. “But the usual people. The closest neighbors, the aunts and uncles, Mom’s book club, church people, Dad’s friends…” 

“Dad has friends?” You gaped at her. “Since when?” 

“He’s had friends for years!” 

“OK, he’s never had friends,” you said. “Where is he finding friends? Shit’s unnatural…” 

“Don’t let them catch you saying shit,” she said. “And there are a few from work, one from this basketball league he joined…” 

“Ew,” you crinkled your nose. Your sister laughed. 

“Definitely not ew,” she said. “At least not the basketball friend one, he’s weirdly hot, it’s disturbing…” 

“Well, there’s no accounting for taste, is there?” You teased. 

“You’ll eat those words when you meet the guy,” she said. “Just wait.” 

“Whatever you say,” you rolled your eyes, skeptical. You and your sister had never had the same taste in men, you didn’t see any reason for that to have changed. 

But still, you were keeping an eye out for this mysterious hot friend of your father’s as people started to arrive for the party. Or trying to, anyway. You kept getting pulled away by distant relatives you hadn’t seen since your cousin’s wedding or to do a favor for your mom as she frantically rushed around trying to take care of everyone while also trying to have fun at the party that was being thrown in her honor. 

Everything was in full swing when you heard your father call your name from across the large, increasingly full tent. He waved you over, leaning around a man he was talking to, and you worked your way around the dance floor, trying not to think about how much you’d like to have a date at this damn thing - how much you’d like to have Joel as your date at this damn thing - when you froze beside your dad. The man standing next to him was devastatingly familiar, even from behind. Tallest man in the room, broad shoulders, thick curls. Your heart beat faster. 

“Hey honey,” your dad said, tugging you closer. “Want you to meet my friend. Joel, this is my youngest that I’ve told you so much about.” 

He turned around, a beer bottle in his hand a smile on his face that fell the moment he saw you. Your dad was saying something else but you didn’t hear it, too busy staring at the man who had been inside you less than 24 hours earlier. 

The man who had you thinking about what life alongside another person would be like. 

The man who was apparently your father’s friend. 

“Hi,” he said after your dad had stopped talking. You hadn’t noticed. 

“Hi,” you said, still staring at him. 

Fuck, you were in trouble. 

Part 2

A/N: Here's whatever this is. He's unhinged, I don't know what's happening to the Joels who live in my head lately but they're just going crazy up there. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Love you!

[uno-san]

Can i request a continuation of your first fic? Stan eventually admitting the Mr. Mystery who sent the flowers wasn’t a secret admirer but infact Mr. Mystery himself?

First of all, I am so honored to have a request for a continuation! Truly one of the highest compliments. And reading back on comments before, I should have made a second part long ago! I had so much fun writing this and thanks to all who have read my work. Part 1 can be found here. There's a small recap written in this part though so reading it isn't required :) Enjoy! Mr. Pines, Part 2 (Stanley Pines x Reader)

Nearing the end of summer was always a melancholic event. In which the busiest season of the year would descend back down to hell and allow the workload to dwindle off to a manageable amount at the Mystery Shack yet leave you with a sense of grief at another amazing summer gone. It wasn’t like that before.

Ever since becoming a full-fledged adult with a life and responsibilities, the seasons and months had a way of blending together as one week after the next you were simply looking forward to the next paycheck. It was torture. Arguably not a way of living at all.

Keyword being before.

Sure, you could do without the new occupational hazard of being killed by a mecha-suit made out of feral gnomes, mind-wiping cultists, and God knows what else. Yet despite all the life-threatening danger, you’ve never been more alive! Everyday holds the potential for a new adventure and memories to make with the friends that you never thought you had.

That was the sadness about summer ending, however. Soos would remain at the shack but your other dependable co-worker, Wendy, would be off focusing on school. The same for Dipper and Mabel, who would leave Gravity Falls and Mr. Pines- Ah.

Stanley. 

You were in the middle of sweeping the trampled wood floors of the Mystery Shack when the name made you stop in your tracks. It always did. Worse yet, it’d have you chew the inside of your cheek to stop them from heating up. It made you feel juvenile. Quickly your eyes swept across the shop and back as if you chanted his name three times. When there was no puff of smoke you let out a sigh of relief.

It was the start of summer where your more challenging trails began. That being Stanley Pines, the older man who was the owner of the Mystery Shack and your boss, who had given you permission to call him by his first name. Having done so, naturally, on a day where a secret admirer, or, ‘Mr. Mystery’ (Whom Stanley says he’ll sue for stealing his title) sent you a beautiful arrangement of flowers. God, you can still remember what a pain it was to lug the large vase back home. It was a wonder how Wendy was able to do it all herself without having a car to help.

To add to the confusion already surrounding that day when Stan hadn’t confessed to being the culprit, you were disappointed. Your shoulders slumped when Wendy had reasoned it had to be someone else. Instead of wanting to know who this secret admirer was you were instead interested in knowing when in the hell you developed a crush on the graying con man that was your boss. Not that there were tons of eligible bachelors in Gravity Falls but then they’d be in your age range! Or ones with no criminal record, strong arms, jokes, a handsome face that could draw you in at any moment to share a sweet kiss with-

Fingers snap in front of your face. The sharp sound caused you to jump in response and fumble with the broom to prevent it from falling.

“Hey, kid!”

Stanley’s hoarse voice rang out from beside you; your shoulders tensed while your newfound grip on the broom handle could have splintered it. He must have noticed the panic in your face as he quickly raised his hands as if to show he wasn’t armed.

“Oh, Mr. Stans, I-”

“Huh? I…don’t know if, what-” The perplexed expression he made killed you in a thousand ways before his head shook out the unnecessary thoughts, “NEVERMIND ALL THAT. Forget it. I just wanted to ask ya to get started on restocking the bumper sticker display, alright? Last time to peddle the stuff out while we have the most out-of-town folk. Can ya do that?”

You nod, “Of course! I’ll get started on it straight away, S-Stan.”

The smile you offered didn’t appear to reassure him any as he lingered a moment. His hands were firmly planted on his hips while he actually leaned down to inspect you. Drawing close enough into your space that you had to nearly arch your spine not to bump into the man. Under his gaze all you could do was swallow the thick lump of nervousness that always choked you when Stanley was near.

Suddenly he blinked. As if Stan had just realized how the distance between your two had closed without his notice. Awkwardly Stanley stepped back and coughed into his hand. Your overactive imagination could have sworn his cheeks were tinged pink, “Just, ah…checking to see ya didn’t have a heat stroke or nothing. You don’t, so, start drinking water before you start freaking out the tourists. Got it, kid?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. Instead stomping off to wrangle some poor soul into buying poorly-produced and expensive merchandise. You watched him from where you stood still, now overcome with a flurry of emotions from that blundered interaction. If a Gnome Mech wasn’t going to kill you then Stanley Pines sure as hell was.

With a shake of your head you did your best to gain control of yourself once more while the day threatened to drag on. On the way to the storage room you passed by Wendy. Who, as always, was laid back. She nodded towards you. You returned it without reveling in the silent approval of a teenager before you disappeared in the backroom to grab the needed box. Luckily it was light and allowed you to grab another heftier box full of other items that were in need of refilling and maintenance. It didn’t hurt to put a bit more effort into your job, after all.

Returning to the main room in front of the counter you could finally begin your work. It was almost therapeutic. Nobody bothering you. No immediate death threats or wild twins to wrangle in. Just you and a box of bumper stickers being neatly tucked away into different stacks.

You would have started humming to yourself if something hadn’t felt…off.

Something behind you had begun to radiate heat. Breathing down your neck and causing a nervous drop of sweat to run down your forehead. Slowly you began to turn around until a hot breath suddenly blew across your face, your eyes meeting with another pair with barely a head turn.

“OH, JESUS!”

The shock of it had you bring your arm back to slap the stack of bumper stickers across the cheek of someone not all too unfamiliar. Who you now recognized as Thompson yelped at the contact and went to quickly shield his face with a previously unnoticed bouquet of roses, “Dude, duuuuuuude, stop!” He cried out while his eyes were skewered shut with pain, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“I- What-” You dropped the merchandise in your hand as if they alone had somehow enticed you to assault a poor teenager, “No, I mean…Shit. I’m sorry, I guess?” In the midst of your guilt it was hard to pin the blame on anyone, “What in the actual hell were you doing-”

“What in the actual hell- HECK is going on over here?” Stanley’s voice cut through the confusion. His heavy footsteps nearly rattled the walls of the Mystery Shack as he came to inspect the commotion. Stanley’s eyes fell onto the scattered merchandise that caused his frown to be deeper set, eyebrows furrowed in a conflicting mix of emotions. 

“Alright, there better be a good explanation for all this racket. You’re distracting the customers- WHAT IS THAT?” His eyes grew impossibly wide as he gestured wildly to the bouquet.

You opened your mouth to reply before the bell attached to the front door rang to grab your attention. Stepping through was Lee, the taller blonde teen that you’ve seen attached to Wendy’s friend group, miraculously holding a bundle of roses in hand.

“He’s lying to you!” Lee shouted and clutched at his heart in either a romantic gesture or a heart attack, “I’m the one who bought it for you, not HE!”

“Lee,” Thompson began to what you could only describe as stage-whisper in his friend’s direction, “I didn’t get to my part yet, I got frickin hit!” His hand moved to reveal the slightly pink mark on his cheek.

Lee lost his composure, “Aw, really? Bro, that’s fucking hilarious. But like…c’mon, bro, you gotta do your part before Nate gets here.”

“Wait, Nate?” Your confusion deepened as they ignored you in favor of having a whispered back and forth, with Lee pushing Thompson forward who nearly collided into you with the shove. The look you gave him was of someone afraid of a bomb about to go off.

Thompson wiped the sweat off his brow before offering his flowers with the same hand, “I like, fricken LIKE you, dude! Just love your whole deal,” He confessed with cheeks as hot as the son while he practically had to spit the words out. His heavy breathing began to pick up. Opening his palm you noticed that there was smudged ink on it that he was now trying to read, “T-That’s why I bought you the flowers-”

“WHAAAAAAAT???” Stanley suddenly roared to life while his hands tightened into fists. In a tantrum similar to a child he marched up, glowing down at poor Thompson who’d gone stark white.

“He’s lying to you! I’m the one who bought it for you, not HE!” Lee repeated. Stepping forward he cast a concerned glance towards the statue that was once his friend to present his own bundle of flowers to you.

The pollen made you want to sneeze. Impressively Lee managed to ignore Stanley to continue addressing you, “It’s true, I’m Mr. Mystery. And it’s even truer that I’m into older, uh…” He looked you up and down, “Into older individuals.”

Your brows drew closer together in concern, “How old do you think I am?”

Lee bit his lip and raised his brows in what he must have thought was a seductive look, “Old enough, bro.”

Thankfully you didn’t have to respond to that as Stanley’s hand shot forward to grab at Lee’s flowers, tossing them to the ground as if he was spiking a football and causing petals to fly everywhere. Lee stared at his hand in shock before having his attention drawn to Stanley who had the both of them in his sights and looking ready to strike.

“I’m not going to take any kinda lying in my house! Neither you or dweebus here bought ‘em any flowers. You two dorks don’t have the kind of cash for that sorta gesture anyway!”

“Uh, we totally could,” Lee said in an offended tone, “Flowers are like, 8 bucks at the grocery store.”

“The ones delivered weren’t from no grocery store, it was a specialized boutique!” “How’d you know that? Huh?”

“Gardening. Is. My. HOBBY.” Stanley passionately replied through gritted teeth.

“No, it’s not.” Wendy answered, bored.

This was starting to give you a headache in more ways than one. Especially in the sense that the few customers in the shop were beginning to stare you down, no doubt finding this whole spectacle the biggest mystery of the day. It made you want to shrink away and disappear into nothing! Sure, you were just lamenting the end to an exciting summer but this wasn’t the type of bang you wanted it to go out on!

Turning towards Wendy you had prayed she would be of help to wrangle in her friends while Stanley and Lee argued in the background. To your disappointment Wendy was hardly paying attention. To both you and her actual job while she busily texted on her phone. You waved your hand out in front of her.

“Please, a little help?” You were nearly begging, “Think maybe all your friends hit their heads at the same time or something. I don’t even know how they knew about the whole flower thing- WHAT, THOMPSON?”

The nervous teen had managed to shuffle past his friend and your boss. Apparently he had given up reading his hand to instead have his phone pulled out. His eyes would flicker between you and the screen before he tried shoving his remaining flowers back into your face again as opposed to your conveniently open hands.

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May-”

“NO. No. No, no, no, noooo!” Like a sheep being surrounded by wolves you staggered back. Your growing panic is now drawing the attention of Stan and Lee who managed to stop arguing long enough to see you turn tail and run, “I’m going home until whatever this is blows over!”

What you expected to be an awkward exit quickly turned to a horror show as Lee and Thompson actually pursued you.

“W-Wait! We didn’t get to the part about how there’s soooo many other bachelors after you!” One of them yelled.

“Yeah, and that waiting too long to snatch you up will result in losing your love fooooreeevveeer,” The other, for whatever reason, said this more towards Stan. “WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” You shouted off behind you while carefully dodging between both aisles and customers alike.

Seeing as you had two stalkers on your tale Stanley raised a fist, “Hey! No harassing my, uh- favorite employee! Wendy, get my crossbow!”

“No.”

If they started arguing or not after that was none of your concern as you were apparently in a struggle for your life. If your heart wasn’t going to give out on you yet then the embarrassment would definitely get you by the time you get home. God, this was all starting to feel like a fever dream. Or maybe you DID die this summer and now you were in some sick limbo?

Whatever this was, it was clearly because of one thing. The incident with the flowers you received a couple months back, to be exact. After that day there had been no further gifts. How was it connected? Especially to Wendy’s friends of all people who you had the pleasure of not interacting with much at all this summer.

Perhaps they had been the ones to send the flowers in the first place? Attempting to draw you in further with a date to pull a prank on you. Trying to film your reaction for a video that they’d laugh about for ages to come and torment you with.

But no. That couldn’t be it.

Humiliation was certainly what they were achieving right now but if that had been the goal they would have pushed for it when the flowers had first been delivered. Give you a way to contact this ‘Mr. Mystery’. But they hadn’t. So what was the point of now?

You supposed this could haunt you later instead seeing as you had two hot pursuers on your tail. Both Lee and Thompson were still flinging compliments your way while Stanley struggled to catch up between having to clean up any spills along the way as well. Whenever you were able to catch a glance of him you’d shoot an apologetic look that he’d wave off.

It was another minute of dodging the two before you were able to loop your way back around to the front of the Mystery Shack, towards the parking lot and where your car was. To safety. A part of you was even willing to mow down a rowdy teen if you had too! But fate had other plans. The door swung open and you skidded to a halt; nearly crashing into the poor unsuspecting soul who-

It was Nate.

He saw you and grinned, slowly raising a damn bouquet of roses, “Heeeeey, just who I wanted to see! Wanna take a guess at who your secret admirer is? Hint, it’s me!”

Oh, come the fuck on.

Nate must have noticed a deranged look in your eye seeing as he took an awkward step back he clearly hadn’t planned on. From behind you could hear the heavy thudding of feet as Lee and Thompson had finally caught up. Great. You looked both ways. They had an expectant expression on their faces that you couldn’t make sense of.

“Alright, alright, break it up you hormonal goblins. Get BACK, I say!”

Stanley’s voice was like the calm in the storm. It gave you something to focus and center yourself on. You hadn’t even noticed him stepping closer to you before it was too late. Two strong hands clamped around the delicate curve of your waist while thick fingers tickled into your skin. The grasp had a shiver run up your spine. Then what started as a tender embrace quickly became a vice when you were lifted off of your feet.

You actually squeaked. In a display of strength you thought only adrenaline could achieve Stanley had hoisted you above his head and out of reach from your ‘admirers’. Like the tallest kid playing ‘keep away’ in the schoolyard. From below you could see the three teen’s jaws drop at the display while a nearby customer asked if this was part of the tour.

Stan must have heard it since a blush came to his cheeks a moment after yet he refused to release you, “We’ll, uh…just go for now. Break time and whatnot…WENDY, MAN THE STORE!” He shouted while beginning to push his way back towards the employee area of the shack. It wasn't until he was passing staring customers he coughed out a reluctant, “Stop watching and we’ll have a ‘buy two, get one full price’ sale.”

That disappeared the crowd quickly who were now buzzing with excitement at the prospect of a deal. Stanley began to walk you back. With no eyes on the two of you, Stan cautiously began to lower you down. Not to your feet, however. Instead you were brought back into his chest where you had more cushion to lay against. Despite the summer heat his body warmth only drew you in. Not to even get started on how hot your face already was from blushing for the last few minutes!

Stanley meanwhile had his eyes glued to the path ahead. Afraid that taking one glance in your direction would make him regret coming to your rescue at all and depriving himself the chance of seeing you blush longer. Though it was certainly a motivator to have a couple of guys flinging compliments your way so freely as well. God. Wasn’t he too old to be getting into a pissing contest with teens at this point?

Too old in general. Both with having a silly school crush on his employee and also trying to lug you around as if he was twenty years younger. Stan made it look easy but his back pain would be coming back with a vengeance tomorrow!

With your hand resting against his chest though it was hard to deny it was worth it.

Having led you towards the back office Stanley stepped in and used his back foot to kick the door shut behind you two, blocking the light from the shop to leave you in near darkness if it wasn’t for the rare ray of light peering from behind the closed blinds. Without the stark lighting the office was almost calming in contrast. That, or you loved hearing Stanley’s steady breathing more than you realized or the soft beating of his heart if you concentrated on your hand long enough.

Stan moved for the desk. It was crowded with various papers and trinkets he’d keep around to distract himself. At first you had thought he had been in search of something in particular until his hands shifted, with one suddenly slipping just under your butt to keep you hoisted up while the now free one began to clear a space for you.

Your entire posture stiffened once consumed with the realization that your boss was, to put it crudely, grabbing your ass. In spite of how rough they looked, his hands were tender. Mindful. Which judging from his expression you doubted he noticed where he placed his hand at all while tidying up his desk. You were grateful for the distraction. That way he couldn’t see the conflict in your eyes on whether you liked the contact or not after the day you had.

“Here we go…” His rumbling voice brought you back from the brink of a new meltdown as he settled you down onto the hard surface of the desk with your legs dangling over the edge. Yet his hands didn’t leave. Instead they attached back to around your waist with a feather light touch, as if the first hint of disapproval at the contact would knock them back. You showed no such sign, so they stayed.

“You, ah…all good, then?” Stanley seemed to have trouble meeting your eye, “From the dorks. I mean, they hang around Wendy all the time and get into shit, yeah, but they’re not dangerous or nothing. But if they had hurt ya-”

“I’m fine, Stanley,” You said with a soft and assuring tone, “Traumatized, maybe, but���Thank you for saving me.”

He nearly buckled at the ice-melting smile you gave him. For just a moment his fingers tapped against your skin as if they had been tempted to clasp around you tighter. They didn’t. Instead Stanley appeared to realize how close the two of you had gotten and shuffled out of the way, taking his body heat with him as he turned his back towards you to instead fixate his attention elsewhere in the room. Anywhere but you.

Stanley nodded after what seemed an eternity, “No problem. Besides, it’d be bad for the brand to have so many ‘Mr. Mystery’ running around! It’s protected IP!”

At that you found yourself chuckling, “Is this your way of saying you’re tired of hearing about the flowers?” Not that you’d blame him considering what a hot topic it was when it had first happened.

First, Mabel couldn't ignore any degree of romantic gesture without her wanting to be involved with it. Second, this was a small town with nothing to do on the good days. Toby Determined even tried to get an interview (How word got out was beyond you) and Stanley again had to come to your rescue by chasing him off with a broom. With today’s incident you began to worry that this would be a monthly chore for Stanley.

At the suggestion of Stanley getting irritated about anything involving you nearly made him jump to correct that assumption, “NO, I could listen to it aaaall day! Just not going to just stand around and let a couple of liars waltz in to take credit for it.” He said, “I mean, c’mon, they really think those flowers were from the grocery store? Please, I- whoever has way more class than that!”

You giggled at that, which was nice considering how embarrassed you were earlier. But Stan always did put you at ease with all the jokes or lax attitude he’d have to offer no matter the situation. What others found frustrating you found endearing.

“For all the class that he has, you’d think he’d have come forward by now, don’t you think?”

He gave you a look, “What do you mean?”

“Just that it’s been all summer since it’s happened. Not a word since,” You shrug and take your turn to stare somewhere else, “Sorry. I don’t mean to sound demanding or anything. But you gotta admit it’s rude to leave someone on edge like that, you know? Just makes me think they lost interest or something.”

Stanley didn’t reply. After seemingly going out of his way to avoid looking at you, you were all he could stare at now. His lips were drawn in a tight frown that settled unnaturally on his face. You were so used to his smiles. Now your boss had an odd expression of contemplation. The way his darkened eyes bore into you made you squirm where you sat, anxiously squeezing your legs together to try and keep your blush at bay.

It was an achievement that you were able to hold a normal conversation with him at all. After the shocking realization that you were disappointed that Stanley never took credit for the original gift, your time at the Mystery Shack had gotten far more difficult outside of the daily threat to your life. Especially when Mabel was like a bloodhound when it came to romance. And when there wasn’t any to be found you could be damn sure that she’d create your own, one way or the other. She was a menace.

“Kid, listen, I-”

“I guess I should-”

Your words quickly amalgamated until the two of you stopped to give the other an apologetic glance. Then silence again. Each prompting the other to continue their dialogue with a vague hand gesture. Both of your hesitancy grew with conflicted gazes.

“I-”

“I-” Stanley slapped his hand over his face to muffle his groan, “Oh, goddammit.”

You flinched at the frustration in his words, “Sorry, sorry! I was just trying to say I should go back to work if they’re all gone.”

Preparing to hop off of the desk you were instead met with Stanley’s large hands suddenly pinning yours to the desk before you could push off. His fingers nearly interlaced with yours. They were trembling. He was towering over you again to the point you had to arch your back to make room for him. Seeing this he released one of your hands to instead place his on the small of your back, supporting your posture.

Stanley’s face was now inches from yours. What little light that came into the room reflected off of his glasses and obscured his eyes. Could he have been taking in your flushed face and wide eyes? Or perhaps he was taking notice of your parted lips. You hoped it was that.

“I…I wasn’t swearing at ya. Just frustrated that I’m not being as smooth as I wanna be,” Stanley spoke in a tone far softer than you’ve ever experienced. With his voice rumbling in his chest it was like a soothing purr. He then swallowed what must have been a lump in his throat, “Listen, it was…It was me who-”

You captured him in a kiss. It was neither passionate or loving, but something new. It was potential. In this instance it was the best kiss you’ve ever had with chapped lips. Intended to be a quick peck you could still feel Stanley’s hands grasp you tighter as his entire posture grew stiff.

A second passes and you pull back, “I’m sorry, I should have let you finish,” You laughed, both at your overexcitement and his stunned expression, “I’ve been waiting to hear you say it. Keep going, please.”

Stanley didn’t respond right away as he instead simply stared at you. It was blatantly obvious when the reality of the situation began to hit him as his signature grin stretched across his face. How could an old man be so cute?

“So, uh-” He cleared his throat, “Guess I was saying that I’m the Mr. Mystery. Both at work and as your secret admirer, though I guess not that secret if you knew…Anyways I really like ya! You’ve got spunk, looks, smarts. I mean, how was I not supposed to send any sorta flowers- You get the point!”

This time he drew you in for a kiss. His was more brash and needy as if you’d change your mind at the last second. Using his grip on you he brought you closer until your bodies were pressed against each other and he slotted between your legs to fit. So intimately close yet born from the innocent need of wanting to be near you. This kiss lasted as long as you had air in your lungs.

The both of you parted from the kiss with a dopey smile.

“I didn’t necessarily know, by the way…” You mention after catching your breath, “Just realized how much I wanted it to be you after Wendy suggested it had been sent by someone else.”

Stan hummed in amusement while his hand began to rub up and down the curve of your back, “That so? Guess all that was just your way of getting to confess, eh? Gotta admit, that’s unexpected. But sneaky. I like it!”

“What?” You tilted your head in question, “You mean what happened with all of her friends? I was just starting to think that was you.”

He shook his head. The sweet mood was paused as the both of you had a confused look while playing the strange events over in your head. Stanley snapped you out of it by giving you a squeeze; with it a reminder of your new flourishing relationship with your boss Stanley Pines. You looked back up to see his grin return and a new twinkle in his eye.

“Ehh, we can figure that out some other time, toots,” He said with a wave of his hand to push the thoughts away, “Besides, we probably have a few minutes to uh, make up for lost time, if you get what I mean.” Stanley wiggled his eyebrows at you and made you giggle.

“Depends. Does this count as my break, Stanley?”

“It absolutely does.”

“What? C’mooooon, man.”

__ Outside of the Mystery Shack, hidden amongst the trees and brush, was the sharp glare of the sun reflecting off of glass. Binoculars, to be exact. Behind them being a young girl who wore a thick sweater in spite of the heat. She was biting down on her tongue in concentration as she scanned the building from one window to the next. Where could they be?

From beside her the bushes began to rustle. The noise attracted her attention and she turned in time to capture the magnified image of Wendy’s growing teen pimples as she stepped out from the woods. Mabel chose not to comment on this.

“Status report!” Mabel said in a tone far too commanding for a young girl like her to have. Regardless of this Wendy saluted.

“Mission happened, I guess,” Wendy gave a half-assed thumbs up, “The boys kind of went crazy in there so we didn’t get the romantic confession you dreamed of exactly. But they’re alone, at least?”

“Why, they went crazy under my order, lieutenant! Their goal was to be crazy in love,” She emphasized her words with a dramatic close of her first brought close to her chest, “And nooooow I’m trying to see the romantic confession but they have the blinds closed! Could you imagine trying to hide your love?! It’s inconvenient!!”

As if paranoid something would happen without her watchful eye Mabel returned to her vigilant duty of watching a closed window. Wendy meanwhile had her gaze darted away a moment as if struggling to find what to say. Eventually she rubbed the back of her neck and coughed to get her young friend’s attention,

“You know, it’s…probably a good thing the window is closed if your plan did work, Mabel. I don’t think you’d want to see what you think you’d be seeing.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re prooobably swapping spit right now, Mabel.”

Instantly the binoculars clattered against the hard ground as Mabel nearly convulsed, “Eew, ew, EW! And that’s too much of a picture for Mabel!” Quickly she climbed out of her hiding spot in the bushes to begin following Wendy who was laughing, “I gotta go wash out my mind’s eye now!” "That's probably for the best. Let's just trust them to move that last step themselves, alright, cupid?"

Both girls were laughing now as they returned to the Mystery Shack while patting each other on the back for a job well-done.

[bonefall]

Any thoughts on Moonpaw’s design? Do you plan to make her appearance a bit more unique/utilize the chimera a bit more?

Honestly I think her canon design is pretty fantastic! I don't agree with those who're saying it's not unique lmao, like, the team's never been THIS creative before. She blows Pure Gray Cats 3, 4, and 5 out of the water.

But, boy oh BOY am I gonna have fun with this one. Last night I sketched up a possible combo for each Moonpaw from the options I presented. Whichever one gets picked I'll tweak more, but I went ahead and made a 'base' character design for each one.

Also bonus: Headshots for all of the possible parents. Note the slight update for Stormcloud, I figured out a better way to draw his cheek fluff and changed his stripe pattern a bit

Whatever designs end up not being used for Moonpaw, I'll probably tweak for another new litter. ThriftPlum and ShellFern's hypokits will slot well into the eventual ShellFern litter we (HOPEFULLY) get soon, and with a slight edit, StormCherry's can be a new Honeyfur.

PlumThrift

This one's becoming the least likely to happen I think. It could still win if it's the most fitting with the arc, supposing canon ends up writing a strained relationship between Moon and her parents, but based on the preview stuff that's not the case.

Still! I do like the Two Soccer Moms And Their Weird Child lmao.

Thrift and Plum are a downright deadly united front. They play Good Cop Bad Cop like they're practically telepathic. So I tried to get that across in their headshots.

Plumstone always looks laidback and chill. Thriftear exudes an aura of seriousness.

Their weird child inherits neither of these things. She looks like she eats bugs.

I decided to make this Moonpaw look REALLY fluffy. Plumstone inherited her grandpa Graystripe's body type, so it would be a shame if Moony didn't get it too.

FlipBay

BB!Bayshine is a DustFern descendant. He has his great-grandfather Dustpelt's plate.

The stripes come from grandfather Birchfall, who gave them to mother Duststripe.

Flipclaw is strikingly similar to his grandfather Lionblaze, back before he started balding.

While drawing this one I started trying to play around with the chimera idea more, that she's half of one cat and half of another. When the face plate came into it, it STRUCK me like lighting

It looks like phantom of the opera!!

So I started experimenting with one side being shorter-furred, and got a draft down before moving on to a waaay more in-depth design.

This was the last one I did last night before going to bed, so I'll post the evolution I made in a separate post. It's the one with the most potential thanks to the plate so it got pretty big.

ShellFern

Most Moonpaw designs are chunky, but I've always seen Shellfur as pretty slim. Definitely the slimmest in his recent family-- since Graystripe, the Dapplekin family has been thick and fluffy.

Mix that with Fernstripe, a WindClan cat, I made this Moonpaw resemble some kind of gazelle.

Fernstripe has this long, "fern-shaped" stripe on her body. Paired with Moonpaw's half-black body it looks kind of like stitches which is, imo, cool as fuck

I let her crescent-tufts add to the shape too, they curl in like horns... though, I am worried it looks too much like Curlfeather.

I'll probably give this one another pass if Moonpaw ends up being a ShellFern baby.

Also this take makes her took a bit more grumpy so she's closer in personality to her dad.

StormCherry

This is actually the first one I did

Cherryfall has a perfectly round, cherry-shaped face. She actually looks a ton like her dad, Berrynose.

I wanted to give Moonpaw that same face, because hers is simply a half-moon.

She looks like a stressed-out eevee and I kinda dig it LMAO

In color, this Moonpaw would probably lean more towards red than ginger. I see Cherry as a reddish cat.

She could also inherit Poppy's special red eyes-- she got those from being fetched away from StarClan by Jayfeather. Shadowsight also got them.

The stripe pattern is from Stormcloud. I decided recently that I'm going to try and limit thunder-shaped stripes to the Tigerkin family, something they inherit from Thunderstar himself. So Stormcloud's are now transverse across his body, with a distinct nose snip.

When I finally do decide StormCherry's kits, be that now with Moonpaw or later, I'll standardize Stormy's new stripes by giving him a new fullbody.

[somepsychopomp]

Vampire Gojo/Getou/Nanami AU!

I got a commission to write a saucy AU featuring Vampire!stsg & Vampire Hunter!Nanami. This was a ton of fun to write and a much needed breather between the bigger fics I'm actively writing right now. Thank you for the commission, anon! ♥️

Word Count: 2,300

TW: blood

Link to read this fic on Ao3

(BTW my commissions are still open. See the details here!)

+++

Nanami couldn’t say he ever envisioned himself hunting vampires for a living, especially after trying to give it up, but he kept trying to tell himself it was somehow superior to wasting his life at an office job. 

Yes, sleeping at odd hours of the day and working from sunset to sunrise most nights, embodying a cruel parody of his prey’s nocturnal lifestyle, was better than toiling away at a perpetual stream of emails and phone calls. Yes, nearly having his throat ripped out on a near-daily basis was preferable to having an overbearing boss that loved to ask Nanami to work overtime while he himself left early every Friday. No, he did not regret his change in careers, even if the pay was laughably low considering he could die on the job at any time. 

Until now. 

The higher-ups sent him to clean out a vampire nest that had established itself in an abandoned warehouse outside of Tokyo. It was the perfect location, isolated but still bearing easy access to human populations. The vampires he found were rather weak, bearing deadly fangs and preternatural strength but no additional abilities. They were more like mindless animals than the people they once were, but he’d learned not to pity the things he was sent to exterminate. Nanami made quick work of the nest once he arrived, killing the few dozen vampires in just one night. It would’ve gone by quicker, but the old warehouse was full of discarded industrial machinery, making up a labyrinth of steel.

By the end of the job, he’d run through nearly his entire supply of wooden stakes, blunting all but one in his messy, bloody endeavors. The scent of rot and gore hung in the air, though to be fair, it did already smell like that when he arrived. Nanami twirled his last stake in his hand as he did a final sweep of the warehouse. The holes in the ceiling let in the very faintest trace of gray light, hinting that dawn was soon to come. But until then, it was still too dark to see. Nanami had to navigate by his narrow flashlight beam and his own eyes, long accustomed to scanning for movement in the shadows. 

He was on the far side of the warehouse, as far from the only known exit as he could be, when he shivered. His only warning was the way the hair on the back of his neck rose as if lightning was about to strike. 

Then it was as if something did hit him, his flashlight shattering in his hand and plunging him into darkness. Nanami raised his stake without hesitation, keeping his other arm up to guard his throat. 

“Who’s there?” he called, hoping to lure the straggler to him. How annoying, that the surviving vampire had some kind of additional power. Nanami waited, but nothing burst from the shadows. However, he could tell he was being watched. He shouted, “Come out! I know you’re there!”

He expected a shriek or a low hiss. Not a coherent human voice. 

“Hey, Nanami.”

His stomach coiled into a tight knot. That playful tone… he’d heard it only once before, back when he was a young student and a novice hunter. But he could never forget it; that voice belonged to one of the two beings in their profession that spelled certain death. 

A light turned on in front of him, almost making him step back. No, it wasn’t a light. It was the glowing blue eyes of the strongest vampire lord in the entire world, Gojou Satoru. 

He appeared in front of Nanami out of thin air, just out of reach and hovering a few inches over the ground as if to add to his already staggering height. Gojou was canted forward, hands behind his back in a strangely childish pose. 

The only reason he’d ever let a hunter live was to play with and kill them another day. Nanami thought about the tedious office job and long life he willingly gave up just to wind up here, about to be bled dry like an animal for slaughter. 

Those blinding, sapphire eyes looked past Nanami’s stake and bore right into him, as easily as a fang would sever an artery. 

He refused to give up his steady composure even in the face of the greatest vampire. 

Gojou smiled, flashing his sharpened canines. “Aw, do you really think you’re going to hurt us?”

Nanami’s blood ran cold. “Us?”

To his credit, he didn’t flinch or cry out in alarm as two arms wrapped around his waist and a broad chest pressed against his back. A purring voice in his ear asked, “Oh, mister vampire hunter, please show us mercy.”

Getou Suguru, the second strongest vampire. And Gojou’s beloved. 

It was a trap, Nanami realized too late. The vampires he slayed before were just underlings, meant to die and deplete his supplies until he was all but defenseless. But why plan anything at all?

Alone or together, Gojou and Getou would be strong enough to kill him without lifting a finger. Getou was said to have an army of demons at his disposal, in addition to whatever poor humans he turned into thralls. And Gojou… he could kill with the barest effort.

“You should know…” Nanami said, keeping his voice even as much as possible, “...my guild’s higher-ups refuse to divulge their most valuable knowledge to those below them; I don’t know anything about their future plans. And another hunter will eventually rise up to take my place. You will gain no advantage in my death tonight.”

“Death?” Gojou asked, tilting his head to the side. He suddenly appeared right in front of Nanami, taking hold of his stake and crushing it to splinters, “Who ever said anything about death?”

Then they wanted to turn him. What a useless idea, they should know that most vampire hunters regularly consumed a potion that would conflict with the influence of vampirism and cause one’s demise rather than transformation. It was a rather unpleasant drink, one of its main ingredients being a copious quantity of onions, but Nanami believed death was preferable to eternal servitude. 

The voice behind him asked, “You think we’d bother to establish a nest here, and watch you slaughter our kin, only to kill you now?”

So they were watching. 

Nanami finally did flinch as he felt lips ghosting over the side of his neck. He tried to free himself, but the arms around his waist held fast. And one of his hands was now trapped in Gojou’s clutches. 

“Silly Na-na-mi,” Gojou said, drawing out his name. The corners of his eyes creased as his smile widened, “What do you think we want to do to you, hm?”

“With you, would be more accurate.” Getou said. 

Too close, Nanami thought. They were both far too close. Not just because they were his greatest enemies -arguably humanity’s greatest enemies- but because their hands on his body felt hauntingly intimate. 

He’d had an occasional fling, most of them when he was younger, but Nanami hadn’t been intimate with another person in years. He never wanted to endanger potential partners, but also never felt the urge or any kind of spark. Nothing like the burning handprints he felt on his waist and now his chest. Gojou pressed his palm flat against Nanami’s chest and hummed in curiosity 

“I can feel how fast your heart is beating, are you that excited to see us?”

Getou added, “We’ve seen how hard you work. We see the way you care for your juniors. But when was the last time anyone has ever taken care of you, Nanami?”

A creeping fog was starting to enter his mind, making it hard to think. It was vampiric compulsion, that much he knew. But he surprised even himself when he said, “I dislike off-topic questions.”

For a stifling moment, no one spoke. 

Then Gojou threw his head back and laughed. Nanami felt the chest pressed against his back tremble with the effort to not join in. 

“Satoru,” Getou said, almost admonishing but with a grinning lilt to his voice. 

“Nanami!” Gojou said, his voice teetering toward a childish whine, “Does everything have to be work-related with you? What do you like to do for fun, huh?”

“I drink,” he said. Startled, he clapped his free hand over his mouth.

Gojou Satoru’s compulsion was that strong, even with all his training?

Nanami supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised. 

Getou’s soft, mellow, sugary voice filled his head, “Is that so? We love to drink, too. Maybe you’d like to join us? You must be thirsty after such hard work.”

Against Nanami’s will, his shoulders started to relax as his hand fell away from his mouth. This was part of what made the two lords so dangerous; their hypnotic sway was beyond that of any other vampire. Gojou had his eyes that pulled the truth out of his victims and Getou’s gentle voice could sway anyone to do his bidding. 

Being in both their presence for this long… Nanami had no idea what he might say or do. If he still had his stake, he would’ve contemplated using it on himself to escape whatever dreadful fate awaited him. 

Gojou laughed softly, lowering himself until his feet touched the ground. Even then, he was still so tall that Nanami had to crane his head back to keep track of those long, sharp fangs. His head fell back against a shoulder, as if Getou was just waiting for it. 

Gojou smirked and said, “Don’t be so worried, Nanami. Here, why don’t we just show you what we're planning.”

Nanami braced himself, fully prepared to lose his jugular and return from whence he came. But Gojou reached over his shoulder, pulling Getou closer. Though Getou kept one hand on Nanami’s waist and Gojou did the same, it might’ve been possible for him to break free and run. However far he got, he could at least die knowing he tried.

But how could he leave? How could he ever look away when Gojou cradled Getou’s pale face with more tenderness than had ever graced Nanami in his life? 

He watched, starstruck, as the two vampire lords shared a kiss. Getou tilted his head back, those violet eyes fluttering shut. That intense blue light dimmed as even Gojou’s own eyes fluttered and closed into half-moons. Vampires did not need to breathe, but one of them let out the softest moan. 

Nanami saw a flash of white and watched as Gojou’s fang sliced Getou’s lower lip open. A thick trail of blackened blood snaked its way down his chin. Vampires, being undead things, needed the blood and lifeforce of others to sustain themselves. Nanami always thought of it as a sad existence. But here and now, he couldn’t deny how enticing it all looked. 

Another flash of white. Getou bit Gojou’s lip hard enough to draw blood. 

It was the sway of their compulsion that compelled him to stay and watch, surely. And not the sound of Getou moaning as Gojou lapped up his blood and made a mess between their lips. 

Nanami shuddered. He felt his whole body start to heat up despite the chill in the air. He suddenly wished he was free of his jacket and tie. 

The two vampires parted. The sight of a thin trail of viscous blood connecting their lips made Nanami swallow. His throat was suddenly very dry. He was so parched, so thirsty. 

A hand took his chin and forced him to look Getou Suguru in the eye. Those half-lidded violet irises and plump, parted lips took whatever embers of resistance he still held and blew them away. 

“Come here, hunter.”

Nanami felt his whole body flood with an aching, hungry heat, his head going fuzzy as the vampire lord kissed him. He felt the glide of those fangs but no bite. He parted his lips as a faint gasp escaped him, Getou taking that as an invitation to slip his tongue past Nanami’s teeth and force him to taste vampire blood for the first time in his life. 

It was cloying and heavy on his tongue. And so very sweet. 

It felt like pure bliss. Nanami swayed where he stood, supported by both of the arms cradling him close. Seemingly from far away, he heard Gojou chuckle and say, “My turn.”

And he was met with another set of lips, and another taste of vampire blood. Despite how much it felt like he was burning up, Nanami also felt as though he were sinking into some dark lake. His thoughts and concerns drained out of him as he was unable to imagine the sight of the sky nor the bottom of the depths. He simply was, floating yet still somehow standing. Blissed out yet still hoping for more. 

He reached out to steady himself and unknowingly leaned against Gojou’s side. 

Getou spoke, voice low and sweet, “Poor thing, must be awfully tired to fall so fast. Why don’t you take the rest of the night off and come home with us, Nanami?”

“Yes, come home with us. We’ll let you stay for as long as you like. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

Nanami opened his eyes. When did they close? Did it even concern him anymore that he’d let his guard down so easily?

No, not really. At that moment, he couldn’t imagine a life without this taste on his tongue, this heat curling low in his belly. He never wanted this moment to end. 

Only one word escaped his lips.

“Please.”

[kindlythevoid]

Jason Todd’s Reading List

(bc I got tricked deceived shown a comic list of his best appearances instead of the classics that this boy would be reading)

(And then I got carried away so now it’s organized by phase)

(Enjoy and feel free to add as I haven’t read his comics nor a ton of classics~)

Jason’s Reading List:

(this is what I imagine he read as a child; books that Sheila read to him, or if he spent time in the library during story time or checked out books; pre-Robin days)

The Secret Garden

The Three Musketeers

The Wizard of Oz

Alice in Wonderland

Sherlock Holmes

Jason Todd-Wayne’s Reading List:

(so this isn’t quite what I imagine him reading for fun as Robin, so much as what I imagine he read during his school years as Bruce Wayne’s adopted son; books that he may not have picked up on his own otherwise)

To Kill a Mockingbird

Of Mice and Men

The Great Gatsby

Old Man and The Sea

Great Expectations

The Scarlett Letter

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Tempest

Anthony and Cleopatra

The Odyssey

Gulliver’s Travels

Doctor Faustus

Robin’s Reading List:

(these are books that he definitely read in his free time, absolutely found in the Wayne Library and you cannot convince me that he and Alfred didn’t/don’t have a little book club)

Pride and Prejudice

Emma

Sense and Sensibility

Persuasion

Northanger Abbey

Mansfield Park

Jane Eyre

Romeo and Juliet

Much Ado About Nothing

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Henry V

Richard III

Red Hood’s Reading List:

(as if this man would give up his reading habit; however it is now with 250% more angst, death/revival/ghost references, and family/betrayal-related jabs)

Wuthering Heights

Frankenstein

Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The Count of Monte Cristo

Hamlet

Macbeth

Othello

King Lear

Caesar

Moby Dick

The Iliad

Catch-22

1984

Crime and Punishment

Anyway there you go!! Feel free to add or reject any of books!! And special thanks to @animal-123-crazy who mentioned wanting to see this once (1) which gave me the courage to make this!!

[foibles-fables]

Fic Author Self-Rec!

Thanks for the tag, @contrivedchaos!!!

The Rules: Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤️

Here's a list of five of my current most highly-favored pieces, in no particular order. There's some overlap with the last time I did this, but also some new pieces!

leave the horror here (ATLA, Rangshi, T) - it's always intimidating writing for a new fandom, but I ended up pleased with a bunch of separate pieces of this one. I love a good missing scene, and it felt necessary to explore more of the immediate aftermath of the final fight. These girls have my whole heart.

dream geometries (Control, Jesse/Emily, T) - my first fic for these two, and hopefully not the last! A quick and intimidating dip into the liminality and weirdness that makes this franchise so cool. I was pretty pleased with how this brief piece turned out!

rest like you belong here. (Horizon, Aloy/Talanah, T) - a missing scene from HZD in which hurt/comfort and gay subtext abound. This was my first Hawk and Thrush fic ever, and it still holds a super special place in my heart. It's fun to see how far I've come since then--and it was really rewarding to dive into Aloy's head right as she's on the precipice of allowing her own vulnerabilities to be seen and addressed.

gray areas and expectations (Horizon, Aloy/Talanah, M) - an exploration of intimate vulnerability and Aloy's character via endearingly awkward sexual content. Started as a joke post on discord, sparked itself into a concept I come back to time and time again.

carrying heat (Horizon, Aloy/Yarra, M) - listen. this ship is sooooo underrated and it was a ton of fun to write this piece from Yarra's POV. Another jokey sort of piece that turned into something more navel-gazey and exploratory. I look back on this one fondly.

Tagging: @mehoymalloy @finrays @tjerra14 @sssammich @eqt-95 and anyone else who sees this and would like to participate! just claim me as your tagger--spread the love!

[hamliet]

From some of these queer classic authors, how many have you read : Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, E.M. Forester, Djuna Barnes, Gertrude Stein, Christopher Isherwood, Virginia Woolf, Evelyn Waugh, and Langston Hughes?

Which books are your favorite from the authors above?

I've read most of them and enjoyed their works!

I love Forster. Howard's End is one of my ton ten books in existence. I also love Maurice, and I'm actually glad that critics are finally starting to appreciate it for being so ahead of its time. When it first came out the main critique was that it wasn't tragic--because Forster refused to bury his gays. Now people are seeing it as it is: a beautiful refutation of the idea that gay life, even in a homophobic society, has to be primarily defined by suffering.

I also love Oscar Wilde and I do NOT want the Netflix adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray with Dorian and Basil as siblings because my god WHY, what a bastardization. (fun fact: one of my favorite songs last year was a Kpop song that referenced Dorian Gray.)

I've also read Whitman, Woolf, Stein, Isherwood, and Hughes. I have not read Waugh or Barnes but would like to. I've seen Cabaret too, which is loosely based on Goodbye to Berlin.

Insofar as the others go, they all are very good, but I really adore Hughes' poetry. The first poem I ever memorized was by him. He uses alliteration and consonance like no one else.

Other queer literary icons I wanna recommend: WH Auden (favorite poet ever), Shakespeare (most likely), Tony Kushner, and Alice Walker. Nonexhaustive list obviously.

Oh, and while Dostoyevsky himself wasn't queer, he did write the noticeably queer Netochka Nezvanova, though it was never finished thanks to being arrested and sent to Siberia.

[itsdappleagain]

tagged by @emily-prentits THANK YOUU THIS LOOKS SO FUN

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

18!

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

141,974 words...which is a little embarassing considering jo, who tagged me, has 59 works and only about 30,000 more words. evidently i like my longfics.

3. what fandoms do you write for?

carmen sandiego 2019! 17 of those and one (1) original work that i dont mention in this post at all

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

the cardinal and the kitten - 325 kudos

say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime (let me lead you from your solitude) - 164 kudos (we call her the phantom au for short)

simple are the ways of love (simple as the touch of another's hands) - 156 kudos

Upon the Sword - 154 kudos

Everything is a Lie - 127 kudos

5. do you respond to comments?

Most of them yes!! I LOVE getting comments I screenshot and save every one I get.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hm- I guess it depends. Hellscape ends with Carmen's internal monologue just before she gets mind-wiped by VILE, but its technically no angstier than canon. they gave you life (and in return you gave them hell) is pretty angsty the whole way through and examines Carmen's trauma.

Those are both little one-shots, though- I usually end my reigns of terror within chapter fics pretty happily if I can manage it. The Phantom AU (linked above) ends in a dark place but leagues brighter than it seemed to be heading towards. It isn't a terribly neat and happy ending, and it tells a story of trauma and attempted suicide and the road to recovery from these. Let's go with that one.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

In Love Is A Locked Cell Door Chase Devineaux and Crackle happily start making out in a jail cell and live happily ever after!

Ok, being serious-

For a one-shot, simple (linked above) starts happy and ends happier.

For a chapter fic, Choice ends with Carmen, Julia, and Gray all living in a very happy polycule pardoned from the law with full emotional control of their lives which is fun :]

8. do you get hate on fics?

@emily-prentits used to leave passive aggressive comments on my wattpad and we would fight in the comments sections 💀now we're partners so make of that what you will. but anyway, no serious ones, no!

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

No, not really! I have a few "fade-to-blacks" or skip-overs without any detail. The one time I tried writing smut it was really forced and hard for me to write...doesn't help that I've never felt sexual attraction in my life so I don't know about that. Curse you asexuality for taking papertiger handcuff sex away from the world.

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

No, I'm not a fan of crossovers

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

I've had one or two...heavily referenced. Not in bad faith, but it was funny to see a lot of my plot and prose mannerisms reworded in a younger author's fic. I think they credited me as inspiration or gifted it to me both times so its not a big deal.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

I have not!

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

If FRANTIC FANFIC! counts, which it shouldn't lol. Also the polycule is working on something :3

14. what's your all time favourite ship?

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have an au where paper star and black sheep escape VILE together and go through a sort of friends to lovers to enemies deal as carmen (renamed cardinal here due to never escaping in the boat the way she does in canon), though influenced by paper star at the start, eventually finds her inevitable path of good while paper star slips into a chaos that cardinal just can't stomach

ill paste a snippet here that i wrote but its a little bit long and complex and i dont have a ton of motivation for it

16. what are your writing strengths?

ABILITY TO MAKE READERS SUFFER

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

cohesive plot...lord help me i cannot plan a fic to the end before i post chapter 1 and it bites me in the ass all the time

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

if there's a small amount of it, i usually write it as-is in the other language and use external sources or context clues to explain it. if a lot of dialogue is in another language, I'll put it in brackets and write it in english!

19. first fandom you wrote for?

carmen sandiego. still going lmfao

20. favorite fic you've written?

that's really hard- i'm going to do top three in no particular order SORRY

Love, Carmen - this was the first or one of the first fics I ever wrote. it put me on the map a little bit (wattpad..) in terms of writing and boosted upon the sword and choice when they came along. it was really fun to just be young and writing after finishing all two released seasons of the show. i still like it a lot. its just cute and simple.

the phantom au - what a labor of love. i've had other fics (evil carlotta series, cough cough) that have been long and complex but those strayed into meandering and pointless and i lost a lot of motivation. phantom combined my love of theater with my favorite show and my hunger for angst angst angst. it was super fun to write and, at the risk of sounding vain, i pulled off a very hard to pull off trope at the end and i think i did it well. i think if you read any one of mine, this highlights a lot of my strengths.

the cardinal and the kitten - this is a popular one of mine that kind of serves as an updated love, carmen. i really enjoy how i wrote carmen and julia playing off of each other and my dialogue is very strong in this one.

okay, sorry about how long that was i treated it like a professional interview. i had a lot of fun writing this instead of working on a very important school project

[onepiece-asl-lover]

Reader my au x ASL Trio

Part 5 "Out of control"

TW: BLOOD, insane, Brusis, Flashbacks, Killing, screaming, fm!reader, pain, hallucinations, angst, fluff kinda, my brother was sending me memes while I was writing this.

It's been a few days since you've been hanging out with Sabo and Ace. Like everyday Ace pick you up into a piggyback ride and always finds a way to get Luffy off his tail. The usual but now you think of it, you aren't Dadan favorite anymore as you don't help around the place anymore, but she still treats you better so a win win.

You also have been keeping an eye on your devil fruit signs this time it probably reached its peak. Your veins pop out and are a dark black color and your fangs grew, aswell you've been having headaches. You cover your veins by clothing so today you wore a white dress with long sleeves, it seems to cover up well so it good.

At the moment, you and Ace are talking to each other as Ace piggybacks you as he keeps walking.

"Ok, Y/N were going to head to Grey Terminal so I could beat some chumps up and get some cash"

You nodded. Face still dead and no expressions.

"Alright, can I help?"

,"...fine but be careful, don't want you hurting yourself"

You nodded as you guys kept walking to Gray Terminal.

When you reached Grey Terminal you and Ace saw two guys one with whiteish blonde hair and a blue and white jacket, and one with a dark green hoodie and a weird mustache and a beard. Ace leaned onto a wall and waited until he could sneak up on the chumps. You also leaned onto the wall aswell as you waited for the chumps to walk by.

When the chumps walk by you and Ace started running behind them, fast but quiet. When you catch up to them they started to run away but Ace was able to beat up the blondish guy. You punched the weird mustache dude square in the face and kicked him in his "no no" place. He fell onto the ground as you grabbed his valuables. Ace finished up beating up his guy and smiled when you were able to beat a guy on your own.

"you're getting stronger Y/N"

You nodded

"Thank you"

You turn to look at Ace and his entire face is red and he is sweating.

"Are you okay?" You asked.

"Y-yer-yes I'm fine, now let's head back to Sabo before were anymore late" He stumbled against his words as he turns away with a flushed face and a sternish tone.

You nodded as you ran with him holding his hand. One hand of your hand holding the bag of money and the other holding his hand.

You guys reached the tree, Ace sweating a bit.

"Sabo, Hey are you there?" Ace shouted at the tree.

"Oh what's up Ace and Y/N" Sabo replied

"Sorry were a little late this time" Ace apologized

"More than a little, I went out there and made a killing already" Sabo grinned

"Oh yeah well maybe we did too" Ace grinned.

You and Ace climed up the tree, Ace helping you up when you reached the top. You sat down near Ace on the thick branch as you handed the bag of money to Ace.

"Let's see!" Both Ace and Sabo shouted as they open there bag of money.

"Woah dude you guys have more than me! That's a ton of cash, What happened!" Sabo said as sweat went down his face at how much money you and Ace have got.

"Some chumps near the gate, robbed them blind and made a run for it."

"Heh well crap, guess you guys win again."

Sabo picked up the cash and started counting it as you plumed the money from both bags into the secret place for hidden treasure, which was a hole inside the tree branch that had a lid you could open and close.

"It doesn't matter if we win or lose. We got five years of pirate saving piled up. We all should be happy about that. Now we have Y/N who will be helping us all together to reach our dreams......we worked pretty hard." Ace said in a calm and netural tone.

"Eh yeah no kidding" Sabo stands up and looks out to sea. "We'll leave this dump and go places these chumps never dreamed of. This all will be worth it, just you wait. Sabo and Ace grinned.

You were looking through your guys treasure inspecting the items for fun. There was rings, bracelets, necklace and many other things as you fiddle with the objects.

Sabo sat down and looked at Ace who was looking at him.

"We better put it away now, we can't let anyone else see this." Ace said.

Sabo tossed the money that was in his hand into the treasure pile. You put away the items that you were playing with back into the treasure pile aswell.

"So how much is a ship. I want a good one but it seems like were pretty rich." Sabo spoked up.

"Yeah, could take 10 million maybe even more, shouldn't rush it" Ace replied

"It depends on the ship if you want a smaller one it might cost about 1-" you get cut off by a shout which led Sabo to smaking the treasure lid closed, and all of you to jump.

"Did you say ship! You're going to be pirates! And you got hidden treasure already! I'm going to be a pirate too!!" Luffy shouted while waving his hands and having a huge smile and giggling.

You look at Ace and Sabo and you see them face darken and they are gritting their teeths. You all look at each other as you all nod, and all rush down climbing down the tree as Sabo and Ace run towards Luffy. Ace and Sabo run towards Luffy and wack him right on the top of his head.

"Shut Up!" Sabo and Ace shouted.

You sighed as Sabo gave you some rope to tie Luffy up. You grab the rope and Luffy and started to tie him up. When you finished you sat near Ace who was standing with his hands on his hips and for some reason a sweating forehead. Sabo was also standing, crossing his arms and also had a sweaty forehead. You looked at Luffy who had a huge smile on his face, "poor boy" you sighed.

"You know what's cool, now I know where you go, I can follow you everyday" Luffy said euthisatically.

"Great" Ace said sarcastically

"Luffy huh? This was the brat you were talking to about Ace."

"Heh does that mean you tell your friends about me!"

"I was telling my friend how annoying you were"

"He also tell me your head is full of rocks"

Luffy laughed "bad rocks"

"You do realize we are messing with you right?" Sabo asked.

You sighed as they kept talking and arguing. You played with the grass, ripping it, tieing it, or just plane looking at it. You didn't really care what they were talking about, it's not like they'll will kill Luffy. You stood up and walked behind the tree where nobody was. You pulled up your sleeve and saw that your nails were SHARP and a black color, your migraines were getting worse.

You felt the need to throw up, you threw up but it wasn't normal it was a blackish color like ink. You knew..this is the final stage in matter of an hour your devil fruit will start controlling on it's own.

You wiped the black ink on the grass and pulled down your sleeve. You had to pretend everything was fine. You just couldn't bring yourself to show Ace, Sabo or Luffy. They might not want to be with anymore, Dadan might kick you out and you'll have to suffer through the pain again.

You took a deep breath before going back to where Ace, Sabo and Luffy was. Looked like they're still talking. You stood next to Ace waiting to what he has to say.

"He knows our secret, we can't trust him to keep his mouth shut, he's to stupid" Ace spoked

Luffy giggled

"We'll kill him" Ace spoke " Yep sounds good" Sobo agreed.

"Wh-" you get caught off by Luffy scream.

"NOOOOOO, DONT KILL ME"

You fell back at how sudden and loud he was as you covered your ears from all the loud noises happening around. Sabo trying to keep Luffy quiet and them arguing who should kill Luffy.

You heard some people coming you uncovered your ears and closed your eyes. You saw a group of four. Two of them are the ones you beat up with Ace today, one randomand a big dude with a sharp sword that sent chills to your stomach.

"Um.. sabo? Ace?"

"WHAT!" They both exclaimed

"People are coming from Grey Terminal to over here"

Sabo and Ace both shut up and also heard people coming.

"Damn your right, somebody heard him probably. Set him free Sabo we got to get out of here fast. If people start snooping around they'll find our treasure."

Sabo nodded as he untied Luffy as all four of you hid behind a bush, and saw 4 guys walking around to an area in front of you guys.

"Bluejam crap, how was I suppose to know they were working with him" Ace whispered.

"You robbed those guys, are you trying to get us killed or what!" Sabo whispered shouted.

"Yeah, this is not going to end well" Ace confessed.

"That sword looks sharp, though you guys probably saw that already. The guy with him is Porchemy, he's crazy, lose a fight with him and he'll scalp you alive just to hear you scream." Sabo answered.

A drop of sweat went down your cheeks at how nervous you were. Just even defining how he acts is frightening. The sharp sword he carried send shivers down your spine.

"We should just lay low until he passes by" you whispered.

Sabo and Ace nodded. Sabo turned his head to see if Luffy is still there.

"Uh oh, he's gone!" Sabo whispered shouted.

You face went white as you looked at Porchemy who was holding Luffy by the collar of his shirt.

"You're going to put me done right now!" Luffy exlamined.

"How the hell did he get caught already" you questioned yourself.

"Oh you wanna play tough, say I didn't warn ya!" Luffy shouted and wiggled in Porchemy grip trying to pry Porchemy grip off.

"This guy won't put me down. ACE! HELP! Ace why aren't you saving me! Were friend right!"

"We should've killed him now were all dead" Ace whispered.

Luffy kept screaming, you covered your ears to block the shouting Luffys was doing.

"So you know Ace do ya?" Porchemy asked.

"Ya that's right" Luffy answered.

"And If you cry do you think he'll come for ya?"

"Ya cause were friends! Except he just tried to kill me so maybe not."

You turned your head to look at Ace who was clenching his fist and gritting his teeth. You turned your head to look back at Luffy who was still in Porchemy grip.

"If he's your friend maybe you can help us. See Ace and a girl with him stole our money and if we got it back we wouldn't have to hurt anybody, you don't happen to know where they're do ya?"

"...."

"Were screwed they're going to take our money for sure" Sabo confessed.

"For once in your life please shut up" Ace pleaded in his head as he kept looking at Luffy.

"......"

"Well are you going to talk?" Porchemy asked Luffy.

Luffy made a face where you can clearly tell he is lying where he raises his eyebrows and look to a side and put his mouth in a whistle shape.

"I dont know, sorry" Luffy replied.

You face palmed yourself, he's a crappy liar so you're all screwed. The gang that Porchemy was with had evil grins and they chuckled which didn't seem good.

"Alright fine , I'm sure you just forgot, dont worry, I have ways of jogging your memory." Porchemy said as he took Luffy and walked away, Luffy still shouting.

When you saw Ace and Sabo not following Porchemy you put it on yourself to find out where Luffy was and help him. You quietly left Ace side and begin to follow Porchemy through the forest.

Porchemy reached this shack and him and his buddies went inside, Luffy included. You had to see what they were going to do to Luffy but before you could take a step, pain coursed through your body.

You held your place only wobbling a bit. You threw up again, more ink. Your brain was in agony and you fell to your knees as you grabbed your head.

Memories, bad memories, memories of you killing your family memories of your mother memories when you were taken, memories of the friends you lost over, over and over again. Memories when the "doctors" experimented you, when the Celestial dragon guards will hit you and shout.

This only made your sadness and anger rise as you dropped onto the grass and ripped it out the ground. "Take control, no no no no" you tried to stop this. "It hurts, I can't hurt anyone else" but the memories and powers had more control reminding you of all the time when you couldn't protect somone because of yourown selfishness.

The doctors never allowed you to use your powers because it was dangerous. Now your stuck not knowing what to do, this is the first time it had happened.

Your breath hitches has you feels your right eye changing as you shout in pain. Black liquid drops from eyes. You fangs sharp and claws like lion claws.

.....

You slowly stood up and look at the shack you knew Luffy was in. You didn't even think, your body completely moved on it's own towards the shack.

You burst through a open spot and saw Luffy hunged up by a rope, slightly bloody but bruised.

"Hey your the brat that with Ace, now I have two children to tell me where the treasure is."

You face darken, when you looked at Luffy it reminded you of somone you remember well. You dashed across the room.

"Hey where did she go!" Porchemy stated.

You cut the rope Luffy was on with your claws and stood in front of him to protect him.

"You will not lay another finger on him" You stated.

With Sabo

Sabo hid behind a wooden building seeing the chumps asking around.

What's going on? If they're asking around and still don't know about our tresure. Surely Luffy would have told them by now.

He heard someone speaking in a shack and it sounded like Y/N.

"You will not lay another finger on him" You stated.

"Eh! No way!" Sabo stated as he ran to inform Ace.

Back to you

You stared Porchemy in the eye as one of your eye has a dark on the outside and a white pupil, ink dripping from it.

"What the hell are you, Freak!" Porchemy shouted.

You dashed and scratched his face leaving claw marks on his face. Luffy staring in awe.

You dashed the other way kicking his back and scratching it with your claws again as he stumbled forward.

"You brat!" He shouts

He punches you as you hit a wall, debris covering you.

"Y/N!" Luffy pleads.

Porchemy grabs his sword and drags to where Luffy is crying on the floor. Porchemy raises his sword.

"Were done here brat" he says as he swing his sword at Luffy.

"Luffy!" You shout.

Before the sword can reach Luffy, Ace and Sabo barge into the room destroying a wall.

"Let Them Go!" Ace and Sabo both shout as the barge through the wall.

Ace hits a fat guy in the head with a metal pipe causing the man to get thrown back. Ace lands onto the ground as he looks at Porchemy.

"Damn it where's Y/N" Ace thought.

"Porchemy it that damn kid!"

"He's got the money, that brat!" The friend growls.

"Ace! Your here!" Luffy shouts.

Ace jumps to hit Porchemy but gets caught and Porchemy grabs Ace by the neck and holds him up.

"Thanks for showing up kid, you saved us some trouble, your friend here ain't talking, but I think you'll talk."

"Ace!" Luffy pleades.

"S-sabo do it!" Ace said.

Before Sabo could head to go get a hit on Porchemy something hit him in the head leaving slash across Porchemy face and head.

"AHHH MY FACE"

"Boss are you okay!"

Porchemy drops Ace onto the ground to hold his face. Ace looks around trying to find the thing that hit Porchemy, sweat on his brow.

Again something hits Porchemy in the chest causing him to fall back. A person stands in front of Porchemy.

Y-Y/N" Ace spoke.

You turned around and saw Ace, you had one eye that was fully black except the pupil which was white, you had weird markings on your body and your fangs and claws were sharp.

"You brat. You don't know you are messing with, you're all dead meat!" Porchemy says.

"Y/N what hap-" Sabo gets caught off.

"No time for questions! Sabo help Luffy I'll deal with this guy" Ace retorted.

"Ok be careful that big ugly guy has a sword"

You and Ace both nodded as you both started dealing with Porchemy. You punched Porchemy in the face as Sabo said he got Luffy.

"You guys go ahead" Ace replied.

"Ace let's just leave!" Sabo said.

"I dont ever run from my enemies ever, Got it!"

"And I don't go easy on my enemies" Porchemy included

"Come on these guys aren't just this they are BlueJam pirates" Sabo said.

"Yeah you got that right. I'm done playing games here, you have something that belong to us, be good and give it back. You're just a kid, I dont blame you for being stupid, but fork over the cash, or you'll regret it"

Ace hit Porchemy sword back.

"We've got better plan for the money, and it's our money now"

"Than you're dead"

Sabo came next to Ace holding his metal pipe aswell.

"You like to di-

"Sabo, Ace go take Luffy and go somewhere safe and where we can meet up, I'm going to do something, but you can get caught in the crossfire so leave"

You gripped onto your arm which started to be covered with the ink, as you twitched because it burned.

"But-"

You send a glare at both of them.

"Leave. It was not a yes or no answer, go"

Ace gritted his teeth but listened and went to take Luffy somewhere safe. Sabo nodded and picked up Luffy as all 3 of them ran away.

"Now your on your own brat, you're dead"

Pain coursed through your body as ink like substance surrounded your body as you gritted your teeth, this is the complete final stage of the devil fruit, you won't be yourself....

"Wh-what the hell are you!"

"I ate the ink ink beast fruit, a devil that alllows me to have control on ink in various ways that you will never understand."

You put your hand into a fist and pointed it at Porchemy as ink spread on your arm. You laughed as you saw the scaredness in his face.

"Scared! Of a kid! How pathetic!" You laughed

You shoot your hand up as the Ink made contact with Porchemy making him fly back. You grabbed his sword and made your ink wrap around it.

"I warned you" you grinned

You stab the sword into his stomach as he scream in pain, you pull the sword and throw it to the side. You chuckled...than you giggled..than you laughed..you internally couldn't know why you are laughing but you are.

The ink spreads all over the room as it swallows every object it could devour. You closed your eyes as you smiled..... then you heard somone call your name.

You turned around and grabbed the inked sword ready to see who it was..it was your mother. The ink that covered your eyes slowly faded away as you looked at her your eye just widen in suprised.

"M-mom?" Tears streamed down your face.

"Y/N..dear your friends are waiting for you"

More and more of the ink faded away and slowly back into your body and nails and fangs slowly shrinking.

"Dont blame yourself for what happened that day, I still love you no matter what"

More more tears streamed down your face as you ran to her. You went to hug her but you just passed through her. You turned around hoping she was just playing a trick..but no she was not there anymore.

You sighed as you looked at your hands and around the place, everything was back to normal except for the damage you've done and the dead Porchemy in the corner. She helped you hold on to life, you smiled.

"Thank you...mom"

You wiped your hands on your dress as you went back in the forest looking for Ace, Sabo, And luffy.

What will they do when you come back. Will they be relieved, happy, mad. You knew you had to confess to them about your powers you just hoped they won't get too mad.

AN:I'll be making a part 6 on Sunday so stay tuned.

[gladlypants]

Hey! I uploaded a ton of lots to the gallery today (id: gladlypants) Some were recent builds I was doing while I was waiting for GT, some I just furnished today, some I built last summer before HSY released and forgot about, and then vault Cleo’s grandparents’ house. I had a lot of fun practicing building over the last few weeks!  :) 

It’ll take me a bit to get all of these tray files up, will have to go back and take interior screenshots and all that. There are names of each and short descriptions under the cut, numbered like the screenshots, cuz I just felt like talking about em, and gallery images suck. I’ve playtested most of these at some point, except Charles E. Cheese’s, the shells, and the Batchelder house.

Lmk if you want any of these now for your new pack gameplay and I’ll shoot you a temporary dl.

1. Charles E. Cheese’s - Heavily branded for the feline version of Chuck, Charles! It’s a restaurant and I haven’t playtested it, sorryyyy, but I don’t foresee any issues. There’s a pizza vendor kiosk inside too if you want to change the lot type or have typical Dine Out problems. Intended as a kind of party space for kids. The upstairs feels a little chaotic to me but maybe not idk. ♥

2. Raymond’s Noodles - A little local noodle restaurant I built for a sim named Raymond I was playing in a recent rotation save. It’s small and cute. ♥

3. The Schneider House - a big ol’ traditional style Windenburg house. I was also playing a household on this lot, and I really loved it!

4. Batchelder Craftsman - I love the style of this house. Named for Batchelder tiles, which I am pretending this one has throughout! (reference)

5. Gray 2 Story Craftsman - The household I played the most in my rotation lived in this house and I love the layout, so it’s probably my favorite of the Craftsman shells I built, even if it is a little plain looking on the outside. It has an awesome, huge main bedroom suite! 

6. Green Family Craftsman - f*ck those rooves. This one has a a sunroom and a bedroom for grandparents/stay-overs. (reference)

7. Blue Craftsman - Built this one like a house my sister-in-law lived in here for a long time, it’s a common style and layout in older neighborhoods where I live.

8. Black Victorian Shell - It’s supposed to a small detached row house. I built it with the idea of using it for renting to roommates but you can use it however you like obviously.

9. Cleo’s Grandparents’ House - a desert mcm! Still has the camper in the yard that Cleo + Devon lived in before they got locked in the vault.

10. Single Mom House - I built this for one of my gallery households, who is a single mother and teenage daughter. It’s a little shabby, with some craftsman features and some Hispanic decor for them.

11. The LaFollette House - also built for one of my gallery families, a single military dad and his two daughters. I intended this one to be the same as the Single Mom house, but remodeled to be more modern and spacious.

12. The Gilbert House - for a gallery household, it’s a little retro inside!

13. Split Level Family Home - also for a gallery household, this one has very feminine style decor, except for one of the bedrooms for a teen, and a huge unfinished basement (just walls.) 

^^ Also this “Colorful Craftsman Shell” that I forgot about and don’t think I’ll get around to furnishing/finishing it anytime soon. It has a bonus attic room. You’ll need to move the back door, place it on a bigger lot, or lower the foundation because I didn’t leave space for steps there. 

And a big modern “apartment building” with one furnished unit and a gym and indoor pool downstairs, which is kind of unfinished but idk if I’ll get back to it.

Sorry for the wall of text, thank you if you read it all. ♥ 

[theladyofdeath]

Lady Death's Lover {VI}

Lady Death's Lover Masterlist & Summary

19th Century Period AU Nesta x Cassian Secret Affair / Enemies to Lovers / Forbidden Romance Fanfiction / Characters from Sarah J Maas / ACOTAR Based on a prompt sent in by anonymous

A/N: Oh my word...I have had the most difficult time getting this up this week! I'm sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy! Thank you to everyone who reads, comments, likes, and reblogs! x

TW: marital abuse, sexual content, language, depression, alcohol abuse

This story is for readers 18+. Mature readers only. Content should not be read by anyone under 18.

Dear Cassian,

I must admit that I am completely miserable in Adriata. It has rained all week so I cannot go to the ocean, which is the only thing worthwhile to do here. I have also found zero romantic partners which has brought the boredom to a new level of heinousness. I do not think I can stand this place for more than a fortnight. By the Cauldron, I do not think I can stand it for another day. Perhaps I will cut my trip short. 

Do have enough diabolical fun for the both of us in my absence, will you? If I know you are causing chaos, that is enough for me for now.

Your Favorite,

Mor 

P.S. Try not to attempt to philander with any more married women. It’s very ungentleman-like. 

Nesta

My gowns are lovely.

The modiste has truly outdone herself. There are four in total and each matches the other but has its own personality. The fabrics are all deep blues and grays, meant to bring out my eyes. They are the colors I am most comfortable in. In fact, most of my wardrobe consists of blues and grays but no one has complained about it thus far. 

After transferring payment, my gowns are loaded into my carriage. Before making my way back home, I take advantage of the time alone and make my way down the street to my favorite bakery. I’ve never been one for sweets but they make the best macarons in Velaris and I cannot help but buy a box whenever I visit the modiste. 

It is when I’m coming out of this bakery that I see him.

For a moment, I forget how to walk. Every elegant thought vanishes from my mind and I am suddenly all too aware of the giant box of sweets in my hands. 

I pray he doesn’t see me and for a moment I feel I will get away with it, but then he turns from where he walks across the street and halts when he catches my eye. For a moment, we both stand there, staring at one another. 

Then the world around me comes back to life.

The city streets around me resume, full of life. Carriages hurry past and people rush in and out of the shops. The sky above, recently clear and bright, opens up and the softest of rains falls down upon me and my macarons. 

He still stands just across the street, watching me, although his head has since cocked to the side and a grin has begun spreading across his lips. A sudden sense of embarrassment floods me. I must look foolish, standing here in the rain with a box of baked goods while everyone around me starts to run to safety from the turn in weather. 

Oh, gods. 

He’s coming towards me.

“Lady Nesta,” he begins when he’s halfway across the street, “your dress. You should find cover.” 

I find my voice. “Ah, Mr. Nazari. Yes, I, um…yes.” 

I go to turn on my heels but, in true Lord Cassian fashion, he steps in front of me just before I can get far. “A lady should never be caught in the rain.”

“If it were not for you blocking me I would be well on my way to shelter, my lord.” I try not to sound too demeaning, but I cannot help myself. Every now and then that tone just seeps out and there is nothing I can do to stop it. 

He finds this funny, apparently. A chuckle escapes him and he nods. “Apologies. Good day, Lady Nesta.”

Not Lady Mandray.

Lady Nesta.

I somehow like it better coming from him, like it better than the title the rest of the ton refers to me as.

Lord Cassian steps aside and I go to stroll past him, but I stop when he begins to walk behind me. Turning, I lift a brow. 

He stops and rocks back on his heels. “Do not fear, I am not following you. I walked here and now must walk home, which is this direction. That is all.”

“How far do you have to walk?” I ask, the rain picking up. I worry more for the well-being of my macarons than my hair. 

“A little more than a mile, it’s no worry,” he says, shrugging, then continues on his way.

I hesitate, knowing I shouldn’t ask what I’m about to but asking it anyway. 

“Would you care to join me?” I ask, and he freezes, his back to me. “It seems we’re going the same direction and you should not have to walk in the rain. It seems a storm is brewing. You wouldn’t want to catch a cold.” 

Lord Cassian looks up at the dark clouds, the rain falling directly onto his face as he squints. He looks back to me, his face searching mine, but then he asks, “Are you certain? I don’t mind a little rain.”

Thunder rolls and lightning strikes, and I nearly drop my macarons. I swear it’s purely for my benefit when he clears his throat and says, “It would be a pleasure to join you, Lady Nesta.” 

I nod quickly as a downpour begins and hurry to my coach up the street. By the time I throw myself inside, my dress is drenched and my hat is drooping. Lord Cassian is in no better condition as he slides onto the bench across from me, his jacket drenched and his trousers sticking to his thighs. 

My breath catches at the sight of him and I suddenly feel foolish. It should be impossible for a man to look more dashing sopping wet, but he somehow manages to. That ridiculous, shoulder-length hair of his is soaked and dripping into his cravat. I don’t realize I’m staring until I meet his eyes, and suddenly I’m all too aware of every inch of my body and his. My cheeks turn pink and I have to clasp my hands together to keep them from shaking. 

The carriage jolts as it begins its journey and it makes me jump, which makes Lord Cassian grin…although he tries to suppress it. This was a mistake. That’s what I get for trying to be nice. This very thing reminds me why I do not do nice things often. Nice things always come back to bite me in the ass.

. . . . . . . . . 

Cassian

Lady Nesta looks equally stunning and uncomfortable, although her discomfort is not the type of discomfort that causes alarm. No, it’s the type of discomfort that tells me she does not do this often.

I do not know much about this woman but I do know that she’s not exactly…personable. I’ve heard what other women of the ton think about Nesta — Mor brought the gossip to our recent Monday tea time and I have a feeling Rhys put her up to it — and it’s not good. In fact, the ladies of Velaris think Lady Nesta to be brutally honest and permanently bitter. I, however, value honesty and think a certain level of self-hatred and introverted nature can be mistaken for anger or bitterness. 

Not that it should matter.

After my last encounter with Nesta, I vowed never to be around her again. Especially alone. Yet, the second I saw her stepping out of the bakery with a box-full of what seems to be macarons, my feet decided my thoughts should be damned and acted of their own volition. Before I could fully comprehend what I was doing, I was standing in front of her.

Now, I’m alone with her yet again, stuck in a coach as it rattles down the cobblestone. Outside, it’s pouring as it often does in the spring, and all I can think about is how her eyes keep drifting to me. 

I’m trying to also be inconspicuous about where my eyes are wandering, but from the way her pale cheeks are turning pink, I don’t think I’m doing it properly. 

Her light blue dress is clinging to her skin and I can’t ignore how her breasts are even further on display behind the soaked fabric. It doesn’t help that her chest is rising and falling, rapidly, as if she’s had a difficult time catching her breath since entering the confined space that surrounds us.

“You’re having a ball soon,” I say, because I’m not sure what else to say but I know that we can’t keep sitting here in silence, me trying my best to avoid the swells of her breasts, the way I can see her peaked nipples through the wet cotton.

“I am,” she says, voice soft but firm. “Will you be in attendance?” 

I clear my throat. “Yes. Thank you for the invite.”

I neglect to mention that I originally did not plan to attend, that being in the same room as her is too tempting and I’m currently going mad, but my brothers coaxed me into going. 

She gives me a curt nod before taking a deep breath and letting her eyes wander towards the closed window. I swallow, cursing as my eyes take another dive to her chest and back up again. Once the silence becomes too heavy, allowing my thoughts to run rampant and inappropriately wild, I ask, “Do you do this often?”

Nesta’s eyes snap to mine and she blinks. “Do what?”

“Come into town on your own,” I say, and I watch as she swallows and clenches her jaw. “Not even a maid with you? Isn’t that unbecoming?”

Her eyes narrow and if it wasn’t for the quick rise and fall of her chest, the way her skin is flushed, I would think she was offended and not something else entirely. “Are you implying that I do not live my life as a lady should, my lord?” 

“I’m implying that it is simply not safe for you to be traveling alone,” I say, and she watches as I run my hands down my thighs, trying to eliminate my sweaty palms. It does not work. “You never know others’ intentions when they see a woman alone.”

“It is the middle of the day,” she says, meeting my eye once more. “And I have my driver.”

“Still.”

We stare at one another for just a moment, but that moment is filled with so much silent, skin burning tension that I feel the need to loosen my cravat, shrug off my coat, but I don’t. I let it suffocate me, let her gaze strip me bare instead. 

If I slouched in the slightest, my knees would nearly graze hers. Suddenly the space between us seems so short, too short to make any rational decisions. This was a mistake. I should have stayed on my own damn side of the street. I should have walked. 

“Is that what this is, then?” she asks, and I blink.

“Pardon?”

“Do you have poor intentions, my lord?” she asked, clasping her hands on her lap. I swear they’re trembling.

“Need I remind you that you were the one that offered me a ride in your coach?” I ask, then add, “my lady.”

Her lips part, and it’s so slight that one has to be watching them intently to have seen it, which I am.

She shifts on the bench, words seeming to have left her. It’s the silence that makes me say, only because I cannot stand silence and I’ve already seemed to have dug myself into a hole of wickedness, “Perhaps it is you that has poor intentions.” 

Her head leans to the side, which is somehow unladylike and beautifully cunning at the same time, and the smallest of smiles plays on her lips. There’s no joy in this smile, only a cruel seduction that has my trousers holding back my hardening cock. Now it’s my turn to shift, and she notes it, those dark eyes trailing down until they’ve settled on my lap. Her eyes flare before snapping back up to mine.

“I am a lady,” she says, simply. “Ladies do not have poor intentions, only charitable ones. What kind of lady would I be if I were to let a gentleman walk through a downpour?” 

“Indeed,” I say, and I cannot even help how rough my voice suddenly sounds. 

This is ridiculous. I feel like I have never been around a woman before, or like I am once again sixteen and around a woman for the very first time. Furthermore, she’s married. This is highly inappropriate, but I seem to have lost control.

No.

That’s not entirely true.

If I had lost control her dress would be torn to shreds and I’d have her lying beneath me on this bench, worshiping every inch of her body beneath. 

“I am grateful,” I add, and she nods her head politely in response. I stay in control until a wheel hits a dip in the road and our bodies jostle, and we touch.

My knee hits hers and her foot lands on mine as she tries to stop herself from toppling forward. I don’t even realize my hand is on her leg, just above her knee, until we both look down at it.

I don’t move it.

She doesn’t ask me to, nor does she move at all. All that moves is the rapid rising and falling of her chest — a chest that my eyes are in perfect line with. Mustering every ounce of self control that I have, I go to lean back, to settle myself once again on the opposite bench until this torturous ride is over, but I don’t make it far.

Just as I move, Nesta places her hand on top of mine and I freeze. She’s looking at me wildly, searching my eyes for something. I don’t think I’m breathing at all. I have no thoughts in my mind whatsoever. All I can focus on is her intent eyes, her hand on mine, my hand on her skirts, her lips that are parted and begging to be kissed.   

Neither of us says a word.

“Just—��

Whatever she’s about to say evaporates as the coach slows and when it jerks to a stop, reality steps back in.

Nesta snatches her hand from mine as if she’s been burned and I take the hint, pulling myself back just as the door opens and I’m looking at the front door of my townhouse.

Not wanting to keep the poor lad standing in the storm, I take my leave and hurry to my front door, drenching myself further. I don’t look back at Nesta. I have a feeling she doesn’t want me to.

I have a feeling that whatever she was about to say, whatever would have happened if we just kept driving, would have surely led to utter regret.

Before I shut my door behind me, I watch Nesta’s carriage roll away, gone into the storm.

Calling for my butler, I beg for a drink to calm my still pounding heart. 

[surfclangen]

Good and Bad news

Howdy guys! I don't talk to y'all one on one too much, but I want to keep you in the loop.

To start off, I am so super thankful for the support this comic has received!! This is my first real venture into comic making, I am so incredibly grateful to have such a positive reception.

Onto the bad news, y'all may have noticed my posting speed has slowed. I'm very busy in college (graduating with my AA this summer!) between a radio show, being president of the creative writing club, and keeping up with homework, which means I don't have a ton of time to work on personal projects, and when I do, I try to chase what gives me the most dopamine. This isn't super relevant, however, just a peek into my creative process.

The Bad News

Surfclan is going to go onto hiatus after the next two posts so I can work on the overarching story I want to portray. These two posts will finish Arc 1 of Surfclan, which I am happy with and have ironed out, but the draft I have for the rest of the series is kind of cobbled together and not satisfying, certainly not work I'm proud of. If I'm going to dedicate so much time to something, I want it to be work that I am proud of. As a writing student too, it's not right to put so little effort into the writing.

I went into Surfclan without a plan. I wanted a coastal set of clans to worldbuild with, but I had no idea for plot. I let the generator decide what that plot would be, which is fine! But I wasn't given much besides a clan that grew at a decently steady rate and got into occasional shenanigans. I need to put those pieces together properly and figure out how to best portray the themes I want in a respectful manner (right now, there's a heavy theme of colonialism that I just don't think I'm quite ready to handle tactfully.)

If you aren't using Surfclan, can I?

Absolutely! Please feel free to use Surfclan as background characters or cats to fill out gatherings. I am always happy to organize plots in DMs and weave it into Surfclan's eventual finalized script. As long as my babies are kept relatively in character, I have no issues with making it canon. If they aren't, no worries! It just won't be canon to Surfclan. Think of it like an AU!

When will you be back?

I'm not sure, but I'm always happy to answer DMs if you want to chit chat, and I will make a post announcing Surfclan's return when I am ready.

What's the good news then?

Surfclan was always designed to be a "for fun" project that I didn't put too much effort into, hence the scattered upload schedule and art styles, but now that I've experimented a bit, I'm ready to get into comic making more seriously. While I brainstorm ideas for Surfclan I will be shifting focus towards a new Clangen blog loosely based on marshmallow_cat3's Dark Forest challenge and @gray-thistleclan .

Cottonmouth Clan has distinct win and lose conditions and a solidified plot with mysteries to discover. I'm currently working on world building and character design that will be posted to my main blog, @antlermoss. I will have a post up there when I have my details organized with the rules for the challenge, of which you are welcome to use in your own games and comics!

I will reblog Cottonmouth's starter post here when I am ready.

I appreciate your patience and understanding, and hope you guys enjoy the new project (:

[bonefall]

Goosefeather (or Featherwhisker if you’ve drawn Goose before), if you’re still doing the sketch requests

[ID: Featherwhisker from Warrior Cats, for the Better Bones AU. He is a white, fluffy cat with a plumy tail and a pink underbelly.]

Raise your hand if you always forget canon Featherwhisker is supposed to be silver-gray 🙋

I wanted to do a different take on him than usual, his brother is Sunfall, his dad is Flamenose, his mom is a tortie, so I wanted to keep a 'warm' kinda feeling to the dude.

I swear I meant the belly to be ginger but picked a color that was too pink... but then Clumsy by Fergie came on my playlist and it was like, oh okay, the Spirit of Hunty Featherwhisker is possessing my color picker. That's what's happening here.

I had to re-draw his tail a billion times too, because the little curve kept looking like a butt. This was a very fun design.

That's how he would be btw. BB!Featherwhisker's personality is SO silly and funloving, he's a rulebreaker, he's a cheeky bastard, he's nosy, he WANTS the gossip.

Featherwhisker is the secret biodad of Frostfur.

He has a fondness for a kittypet that he visits frequently. See, Featherwhisker has a philosophy... more of a realization.

The Cleric is the most powerful role in the whole Clan. Sure, a leader has final authority, and a deputy organizes day-to-day life, but what does that matter when StarClan is supposed to be their final authority?

If you don't get caught, if you're just careful enough to be respectful... the Cleric is uncontested. And when his brother is the leader, who will stop him? Goosefeather? The one who got his own sister killed?

Yes, Goosefeather is powerful on his own right, and a fight between Clerics would be a headache, even if he would probably win thanks to his popularity... so he shrimply doesn't get caught, you see.

Or, at least, that's his perspective.

And BOY OH BOY is this influential to Spottedleaf. She wants this so bad. You can see a TON of his mindset in her.

That said......

Featherwhisker is in the Dark Forest. Not because he's a bad cat, in fact he's SAINTLY, ALWAYS there for his Clanmates when they need them

But... he's pretty picky-and-choosey with what messages from StarClan he relays. He only respects the parts of the code that make sense to him.

So he won't share a bad prophecy. He sired a child with a kittypet. He frequently channeled spirits directly instead of contacting StarClan's warriors the way he 'should'

StarClan took that as disrespect, and damned him for it.

Mind you, this is before Fire Alone.

Featherwhisker meets his end in Spottedleaf's completely gutted, reworked, reshaken, and replaced SE, Spottedleaf's Plague.

He dies of the titular plague just 1 year - 6 months before the start of TPB, catching it from Leopardfoot while treating her.

The book closes out with Spottedleaf and Tigerclaw having lost someone beloved, taking in very different ways, both of them lamenting the distance that's come between them.

I'm very fond of him. He's a super fun supporting character! Never gets a POV of his own, but means a lot to the people around him.

[where-dreamers-go]

“Believably Shy” Bridge Carson x Fem!Reader

(A/N: Requested by Anon. Hi again and thank you for your request for my favorite Power Ranger! Where Bridge has a shy girlfriend and the team doesn’t believe him even though he’s talked about them a ton!

Warnings: Fluff. Mild language. Use of (Y/N) and (Y/L/N).

Word Count: 1,556 words)

It was happening again, an opportunity to prove Bridge’s words were not repetitious ramblings. One of Bridge’s days off.

A day you and him cherished for time together. The rare occasions where your boyfriend was away from his Power Ranger duties.

You would think his team would believe him when he spoke about you being his partner.

Where did they think he went most of his days off?

Then again, they had never met you. In that regard, you took the blame. The other half was Bridge not admitting to the others that you weren’t ready to be introduced to them yet.

The team who were so close and important to Bridge. There was a weight of pressure at the thought. At least Sky knew of you and Bridge’s relationship. It would had been odd if he didn’t.

Yet your nerves and anxiety pushed you away from even visiting S.P.D. Headquarters.

You shook your head.

Bridge really wants to share and show a huge part of his life. You sighed deeply. I’ll do it.

In an instant, it was decided. You were going to be brave. You were going to both visit the Headquarters and meet the team. It wasn’t as if you would be doing it on your own.

You sat down next to Bridge on your couch.

“You’ll be with me the whole time? At S.P.D.?” You questioned tentatively. “Right? The place looks huge.”

His face brightened at your words. The realization setting in. Bridge scooted closer to you, eager and happy.

“It is huge. All cadets live there and train. I don’t think I can show you the training rooms or the lab.”

“But you’ll be with me?”

“Yes.” Bridge beamed, a grin wide enough to leave him sore later. “I can’ wait to show you around and I could show you my room. Well, it’s Sky’s room too. I have the left side.”

You exhaled slowly.

“It’ll be fun.” He wrapped an arm over your shoulders to bring you closer. “I really want you to meet my friends.”

“I know. I just….I don’t want to mess up or anything. It’s not crowded or anything…I hope.”

“We’re not going to a lecture. Then it would be crowded, but quiet. During a lecture not after.”

Leaning into Bridge’s side, you smiled, “Good.”

As long as we’re together, we’re fine.

. . .

Later in the day, once you were fully prepared, you followed Bridge into Space Patrol Delta Headquarters. All of the large windows, sleek metal, and many hallways greeted your senses. It was enormous.

“No wonder you always get your steps in,” you commented.

Bridge squeezed your hand that held one of his gloved ones. A smile still lingering on his lips from earlier.

Turning another corner led you closer to the residential areas. More shades of blue mingling with the grays. A serious atmosphere nonetheless.

“Cadet Carson.” A gruff voice cut through the quiet of the hall.

Bridge turned to a stop, facing a tall blue canine humanoid in an impressively pressed uniform.

“Commander,” Bridge stood at attention. A gloved hand firmly clasping your suddenly clammy one.

“At ease.”

Keeping your gaze low, you felt a wave of uneasiness erupt from within you.

Are visitors not allowed right now? I don’t want Bridge in trouble. He’s so good. You swallowed. What do I do?

“Cadet Carson, is this your friend who you have been talking about?”

“Yes, Commander.” Bridge looked to you happily. “This is my girlfriend (Y/N) (Y/L/N). And (Y/N), this is Commander Cruger.”

With hands that were seconds from shaking, you glanced up and waved meekly.

“Hello, sir.”

“Hello (Y/N). Welcome to the S.P.D. Headquarters. I am certain that Cadet Carson had been giving you a well-informed tour.”

“Yes, sir.” You nodded.

“Well,” Commander Cruger glanced down at yours and Bridge’s intertwined hands, “I’ll let you continue.” He nodded. “Cadet.” Then went on his way.

In moments, you found yourself able to breathe steadier. You wiped your free hand on your clothes.

“Are you alright?”

You looked to Bridge seriously and stated, “He was intimidating.”

“I guess he can be.” He tilted his head in thought. “He seemed to like you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” A voice answered behind you. “He didn’t growl.”

Growl? You peered over your shoulder. Oh crap. Them. Separate colors caught your attention. Breathe. Crap. They’re all looking.

“Hi.” Bridge greeted the small group approaching the two of you.

“Are you going to introduce us to your friend?” A young woman with dark hair asked with a smirk.

Yellow…wait… Elizabeth? No…uh.

Out of the four of them, a calm young man stepped forward. Politely, he introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Sky. It’s nice to finally meet you, (Y/N).”

“That’s (Y/N)?” A young woman wearing pink exclaimed.

“Hi.” You waved and earned a grin from your boyfriend.

“Hey, I’m Jack and you’re real?”

“Hi, uh…pretty sure.”

“Well with all the times Bridge has talked about you, we thought you were only a story.”

“Not all of us,” Sky crossed his arms over his chest.

“But we know now.” The one in yellow said. “And we’re happy to meet you. I’m Z.”

“Sydney,” the blonde smiled.

“If it makes a difference, I’ve heard a lot about all of you. Good things.” You offered a smile.

Bridge gave your hand a light squeeze encouragingly.

Gesturing with his hands, Jack questioned, “So, let me get this straight. All of those weeks of you,” he pointed to Bridge, “describing a person and dates and random stories…was all true?”

Huh?

“Why would he make me up?” You countered. “I don’t think Bridge is physically capable of lying. At all. And…,” you glanced to your boyfriend. “Didn’t you tell them about the Hanukkah present I got you?”

He nodded quickly.

The two of you holding hands, gave equally curious gazes to the others.

Why haven’t they believed Bridge?

In a second, it was as if all of you were in a classroom. No one made eye contact. Not one made a move.

At least you weren’t feeling awkward or nervous any more. Yet you were left slightly confused.

“Okay.” Bridge exhaled and suggested, “Why don’t I show you where we hang out?”

“Sure.”

Your boyfriend led you passed his friends. The sounds of their footfalls following.

“You know,” Sydney spoke up, “I didn’t entirely disbelieve Bridge.”

Sky breathed out a laugh.

“What?”

“You thought he was playing a video game.”

Grinning, you looked over your shoulder. “You thought I was a video game character?”

“Sort of.” The pink Ranger admitted.

“That’s kinda cool.” You nudged Bridge. “Like a dating story app game.”

He clasped his other hand over yours he already held. An amused pull of his lips softened his features.

“Would you pick me if I was a character?” You inquired with a teasing smile.

The question lead to Bridge’s signature thinking face. Cute and serious. Always a temptation to press a kiss to his face no matter how scrunched up he made it.

“I would pay for the in-game extras that give extra scenes. Try to encourage the creators that your character was too underrated. You’d be my favorite.”

“Underrated favorite?”

A door slid open and the both of your walked into a lounge-like area.

“Because someone has to get to know you first to know how wonderful you are.” Bridge explained quickly. “Underrated and arguably the best character option. The story would probably be a lot of fun. Kind of like a comic, but not.”

“You’re adorable, you know that?”

Slowing your pace, you and Bridge gazed at one another warmly. Sounds and activities of cadets not interrupting the moment.

“Wow. They really are dating.” Jack stated alongside the other Power Rangers.

“And really cute.” Sydney sighed.

Walking around them, Sky added in, “They’ve been dating longer than you think.”

“How long?”

“Ask them.”

It was then that the Power Rangers realized you and Bridge were no longer in front of them.

“You’re going to question them, aren’t you?” Z asked.

“Yes.” Both Sydney and Jack nodded.

“Go easy on her,” Sky urged. “She’s shy.”

. . . 

Quiet of a shared bedroom eased your muscle tension. A much needed break from so much newness.

“Do you want me to check your aura for you?”

“Nah. I’m alright.” You reached for his hands. “Thank you.”

He passed your hands, grabbed your sides, and lifted you onto his bed. With a smile, warm and loving, Bridge kissed your nose.

“Thank you for coming here with me.”

“I couldn’t tell you ‘no’ again. This is a huge part of your life.” You gestured towards the door. “They’re a huge part of your life. I really want to get to know them.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. They seem really nice.”

“They are.” He leaned onto your lap. “I hope all of you can be friends.”

“Me too.” You ran your fingers through his chestnut brown hair.

He pecked your nose with his lips again.

“But I have a question first.” You announced casually and poked his ear.

“What?”

“What’s with the toaster by your computer?”

“It has a countdown timer.”

“For perfect buttery toast?”

“Exactly.” Bridge grinned.

“You’re so cute.”

Oh, what a day with the best guy I have ever met.

~~~

Best wishes and happy reading.)

(If you love my writings and want to support me, I have a Ko-Fi where you can buy me a coffee. I would be eternally grateful.

coffee

~~~~~

DreamerDragon Tags: @

Bridge Carson Tags: @

**Let me know if you would like to be tagged in insert readers, either through replies, ask, or message.**

[evera-era]

꩜ masterlist ꩜

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thanks for stopping by, i hope you stick around. my requests are currently open.

click below to learn more!

*･｡ﾟ info, rules & about me. *･｡ﾟ

about me.

hi there, you can call me eve!

i’m 21. gray-ace. she/her. i’m also a huge fan of tlou — among other fandoms. kinda new to tumblr i guess ?? i’m still learning

info.

this blog is dedicated to ellie williams & therefore will only contain fics pertaining to her.

i’m always down to take requests but just keep that in mind. and some of my works aren’t sfw so when it comes to that, mdni. otherwise,, have fun!

personal favs.

heavy on fwb !!! also friends to lovers, mean!ellie, loser!ellie, and angst (to an extent.)

my rules.

do NOT copy or repost my works anywhere! i take the time and effort to make content for you guys to enjoy — please respect that so i can continue doing so.

i currently only write for ellie. i personally do not and will not write manipulation, cheating, or abuse/domestic violence !!

last but not least, be kind. i understand that my works won’t be for everyone. i will always have warnings up, so if you see something you dislike — just scroll. there’s tons of stuff out there that might better appease you!

[freesia-writes]

Chapter 30: Costuming

During the Clone Wars, the Bad Batch is tasked with a variety of missions across the galaxy. An unexpected addition to their team throws a wrench in the mix, particularly for Tech, who finds a particular connection with this disillusioned Padawan-turned-mechanic named Vel throughout the events in this action-adventure romance. COVER ART BY @zaana!!

Master List of Chapters

LISTEN. I am chopping and rearranging the canon timeline like nobody’s business, but I swear it all works out. ;) If you’d like more of an explanation than what I tried to convey in the story, check the notes at the end of the next chapter. It’ll be well worth it, trust me. ;) Also… I know there are tons of “wait, but what about–” kinds of points to be made with where the story goes, and I was going crazy trying to account for them all, but… just… ssshhh. Just enjoy. LOL!

—-----------------------------------------------------------

“Look at youuuu!” the grizzled old shopkeeper exclaimed, clapping Vel on the back as she faced a dirty old mirror. “It’s like it was made for you, sweetie!” The delight on the woman’s face was so pronounced that Vel couldn’t do anything but stare at her reflection, mouth slightly open in a dumbfounded stare. 

“I… ah… Thank you,” she stuttered, barely able to recognize the person looking back at her. She’d never been one for makeup, but everything had escalated quickly out of control today, and she now had dark, accentuated eyebrows, bright green eyeshadow, and peachy pink lips. Her hair had been piled on top of her head, twisting in some elaborate poof that led to a large green flower before spilling down her back. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen so much green in her entire life. On the plus side, it did compliment and contrast with her skin quite well, and it made her smile inside as she remembered Tech noticing that her eye color was not gray, as many assumed, but a dark pale green. 

“Oh honey… He is going to have trouble getting his eyes off of you!” the vendor continued, making one last adjustment to the puff sleeves as Vel awkwardly tried to pull the tight shirt back over the frilly bra cups. She’d never seen such a contraption – this “push-up” bra suddenly made her look as though she were significantly more well-endowed than she was, and with the polka-dot shirt tied snugly at the top of her stomach, the hems curved over her now-voluptuous chest and created the illusion that she was positively spilling out of it. Not only that, but the skirt, as twirly and fun as it was, had a huge slit nearly all the way up, which meant that anything more than a small step would reveal the seamed stockings and garter belt underneath. Fortunately, it was high-waisted, and accentuated with adorable gold buttons that held in the parts of her stomach she was less confident about. But other than that, it didn’t leave too much to the imagination. When the woman produced a sharp pair of black high heels to go with it, Vel couldn’t help but chuckle and shake her head.

“I don’t think I can walk in those,” she admitted, noting that even the bottom of the soles was the same flashy color as the rest of the outfit.

“That’s what his arm is for,” the woman answered, waving her off as though it were a ridiculous thing to say. “Come on, step in. Wait til you see what these do for your backside!”

After only a few ungainly wobbles, Vel stood up straight again, and the ensemble was complete. She stared at herself in the mirror, puzzled at the conflicting emotions. No matter how many times the shopkeeper reassured her that she was stunning, beautiful, and would have been a complete hit during the era these clothes were popular, there was an odd queasiness in her stomach. She wasn’t one to be “sexy”... the disaster with Jouren Terrik had cemented that. And when she’d gotten fancied up for that, with a dress that covered much more skin, Tech had said she was good bait for the unintelligent male gaze. She was much more comfortable in a mechanic's coveralls or loose-fitting tunics; things she could hide behind rather than being exposed, noticed, and found wanting. Taking a deep breath, she tried to shift her perspective… She was simply playing a role tonight. 

(LOOK!! Fanart by @mythical-illustrator that inspired this chapter! And my mental image for Tech's costume)

* * * 

The cab stopped in front of 79s, which was every bit as uproarious as Tech had made it out to be. Even more so tonight, apparently, with the contest going on. Tech had come across the advertisement for it while they were grounded on Kamino for a while. Their mission to Anaxes had led them to Skako Minor, where they discovered a clone who had been horrifically modified, imprisoned, and used for the military strategies in his mind. After his rescue, he’d decided to come with the Batch, feeling it to be a better fit than trying to return to his old squad, and they’d been summoned to Kamino for him to receive proper medical treatment and rehabilitation, as well as better-fitting cybernetics. 

So while Echo was “being upgraded”, as Tech had put it, the rest of the crew enjoyed some rest. Or tried to. Never ones to be in the same place for long, they began to get restless, each in their own way. Vel was positive that if Wrecker worked out any more, he wouldn’t fit through the Marauder door, and she hadn’t even seen Crosshair for a few days now. Tech was lost in the holonet, at least until he came up with this fantastic idea.

The delegations from Pantora and Alderaan had offered to sponsor a costume contest at 79s, “to raise morale and thank the troops”. That in and of itself wasn’t very attractive, but the considerable monetary prize promised to the winner definitely was. Since Echo was still in bacta and didn’t look as though he’d be done anytime soon, Tech had tried to convince the team to go for it. He was immediately shut down, even by Wrecker, which was a surprise. But the look on his downcast little face had tugged at Vel’s heart so much that she’d agreed to do it with him. 

When the day arrived, they’d spent the entire afternoon in various seedy parts of Coruscant, sifting through “treasures” at a variety of shops that featured all sorts of things that people had decided they didn’t want. Many of the items were old and ragged; some were intriguing in their foreign nature, being from other planets and other centuries. Vel could have sworn they’d gone through at least twenty possible costumes, but Tech had something in his mind, and he was determined to win. Maker knows they could use the credits, but Vel was starting to tire of his relentless search for… something.

His triumphant proclamation upon discovering the set of costumes they were now wearing had been music to her ears… until she saw what he was holding up. Her green ensemble had been wrapped around a dusty mannequin that Tech had picked up by the breasts, completely unaware as he was so distracted by his discovery. Along with it came a three-piece brown suit – the jacket and pants were lightly pinstriped, and the vest was a heathered beige color with the same gold buttons that adorned the high waist of Vel’s skirt. The tie and pocket square matched her outfit as well, and the final piece was a funny-shaped hat with a thin swash of fabric running around it. 

“Tech…” Vel began, but she was cut off immediately.

“I cannot believe it! If these are authentic, they are truly a piece of lost history!” he exclaimed. Vel had questions, but she knew he was far from done. “If I am not mistaken, these are standard pieces of clothing worn by humans on a planet that is long since gone. Well, not gone, but entirely desolate. Their short-sighted waste management techniques and unsustainable environmental practices led to the planet’s abandonment, but before that… There were quite a few centuries of fascinating history. This style of clothing was worn during and after their second “world war”, which is inaccurately named due to– Never mind. The point is simply that these are genuine artifacts from a time period and civilization that is long gone. Something so unique will easily set us apart and ensure our success in the contest.”

“I don’t think people will know… Or, like…” 

“Ahh! Hello, my beautiful clients! I’m so happy you found those!” the shopkeeper had appeared out of nowhere, the delight on her face mirroring Tech’s. “Those have been in my family for generations. A real piece of history! It would warm my heart to know that they are being put to good use and seeing life again.”

“I’m just not sure–”

“We would like to purchase them,” Tech interjected, and Vel covered her face with a hand. He balked upon hearing the price, and after a very thorough and nearly heated period of negotiations, the costumes were theirs, as well as a full makeover for Vel from the shopkeeper, who was apparently an expert on the fashions of other planets. 

So as she began her precarious high-heeled walk across the platform toward 79s, Vel had plenty of regrets to mutter under her breath, most of which she had tried to say earlier but had been prevented from completing. A couple of comments from passersby caught her ears, suggesting that perhaps she was the hired entertainment or possibly an “underworld dweller looking to make some money tonight”. She grimaced, walking more stiffly as she scanned the crowd for Tech. The heel of one of her shoes found a crack on the sidewalk, jerking her off balance and sending her toppling to the side with her arms flung out. A pair of strong arms caught her, lifting her back to her feet with a gentle chuckle. 

“Easy girl,” a trooper in a pilot’s uniform crooned as she steadied herself, not letting go of her arm and waist even once she was situated. “Looks like you fell into the right arms. Need some help getting around tonight?” His greasy grin and frequent glances at her outrageous cleavage did not give off good vibes, and she furrowed her brow with a snarky retort at the ready. 

“That will not be necessary,” came the pert voice she most wanted to hear, and the pilot turned to see Tech standing behind him. His outfit was similar to his casino disguise in the way it stood out like a sore thumb and also made Vel’s heart flutter. The smart brown suit and hat were slightly loose on his frame, but the wing-tipped shoes had miraculously been a perfect fit. The pilot turned back to Vel, who had jerked her arm back with a stubborn expression.

“You’re… uh… with him?” the trooper asked in disbelief.

“Damn right I am,” she snapped, lifting her chin. “And you might want to work on your game.” 

“Hey!” he squawked, holding his hands up in surrender, “I just thought you were a…”

“Do not finish that sentence,” Tech said firmly, stepping closer. His extra three inches of height came in handy as he gave the pilot a stern expression, moving past him to take Vel’s hand and wrap it around his arm. “And best wishes in your pursuit of sexual release.”

A laugh burst out of Vel before she could contain it, and the sight of the clone’s face as they disappeared into the crowd of the club was one that would bring her mirth for weeks to come. 

“What?” Tech asked, tipping his head toward her with a slight smile. 

“What do you mean, ‘what?’” she exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief. “That was brilliant.”

“It was merely a statement of fact,” he returned evenly, although she could swear she saw a glimmer in his eye. 

“You didn’t mean it as a jab?” Her tone was laced with suspicion, cheeks starting to hurt from smiling so hard.

“Hm. Perhaps it functioned in multiple ways,” he observed, eyebrows slightly raised in complete innocence. 

“Alright, clever boy,” Vel chuckled, snuggling against his side. She was eternally grateful for his steady frame and gentlemanly arm as the club doors whooshed closed behind them.

reblog artwork by @vimse!

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