#the edgar scene started all this

[mmoosen]

I can’t help but notice Nolan and his language usage when I go back through 6b. Like with the Edgar scene, Nolan says ‘He’s in my trig class’ versus  Monroe’s “That’s not human’. While beating up Liam, he says ‘you know you can take us’ implying that he knew that Liam could simply wolf out and maybe kill him and Gabe. And how Aaron (the Anukite!) is the one to talk to Nolan minutes before his whole speech to Corey / test him. I am having thoughts... 

[yoylechess]

erm......

[street-smarts00]

Weirdest Place

Spencer Reid x gen neutral!reader

Summary: The team finds out you and Spencer have been dating during a night out.

WC: 1.1k

A/N: this is yet another fic based on an episode of friends, specifically a scene from the blackout episode but i added a fun twist lol

Tags: conversations about sex but not smut, established relationship between r & reid, consumption of alcohol

After the team was finished at the BAU they all went out to a local bar for drinks. As the night went on JJ and Hotch left to be at home with their kids. With their boss gone and the tipsiness from their drinks, the topic of conversation got more and more inappropriate.

“A boat?” Rossi asked

“Yes,” Derek confirmed

“A boat?” Emily spoke this time.

“Why don’t you believe me?” Derek asked, slightly offended.

Emily raised her hands in defense, “It’s not that we don’t believe you.”

“It just seemed like your weirdest place would be a bit more adventurous based on how you brought it up,” Rossi voiced.

Derek furrowed his eyebrows, “and a boat isn’t adventurous?”

“No it is,” Penelope chuckled before reaching for her drink. Of course, she’d already heard about Derek’s nautical escapades.

Derek directed his attention back to Emily, “And what about you? What’s your weirdest place?”

She leaned back in her seat with a tinge of embarrassment she tried to hide with smugness. “That’s classified,”

Rossi and Derek cringed at Emily’s diversion.

“Oh god,” Rossi chuckled before taking a sip of his drink.

“Do I even wanna know?” Derek asked half joking.

Emily shrugged instead of answering. Derek decided he was better off not pushing Emily to share her story. He then brought his attention to the man across from him.

“What about you, pretty boy?”

Spencer’s head darted to him with raised eyebrows. “Me?”

“You got a weirdest place?”

“I- um.”

His ears started to turn a shade of crimson and he stuttered on his words, or lack thereof since he was caught off guard.

“It’s probably like a library or something,” Rossi jokes, earning a bright laugh from Derek.

Penelope set her drink down, “don’t make him say it if he doesn’t- “

“Actually it was.”

Everyone froze and turned to Spencer.

Emily was the first to speak, “What?”

Spencer shifted in his seat while the courage he had before started to dwindle. His face was now officially turning red.

“Me and um- someone were at the library because I was showing her it’s Edgar Allen Poe collection. Then at some point we ended up in … um the second floor bathroom.”

“Oh my god,” Penelope giggled before placing her hand on her mouth in shock.

“I can’t believe I was right,” Rossi commented.

“I can’t believe Spencer Reid was getting freaky in a library,” Derek said with a humorous grin.

“Shut up,” Spencer squeaked in a high pitched voice.

He hoped the topic of conversation would quickly be dropped so he didn’t have to reveal too much about his love life. But he suspected that wouldn’t happen once you came back to the table.

You and Spencer had started dating a few months prior and wanted to keep things to yourselves. You both intended to figure out the beginning of your relationship without the eyes of your friends.

“The line for the bathroom was so long,” you complained as you approached the table and sat down next to Spencer. “What did I miss?”

“Oh we never heard Y/N’s place,” Penelope excitedly pointed out.

You looked at her confused, “What place?”

“I have no clue how we got here but they all started talking about the weirdest places they’ve had sex,” Emily explained.

“Wow. Well, when I’m done I need to hear all of yours,” you pointed your glass in a motion towards all of them before drinking the last sip.

“I usually don’t venture outside the bedroom but out of the few times I have I think there’s two tied for first place.”

“What’s one of them?”

“Library.”

Silence fell over the group. Spencer’s stomach dropped to the floor at your answer. His face turned cherry red and his eyes remained frozen on the table in front of him.

You on the other hand were baffled at the reaction from your friends.

“What?”

While your eyes scanned the group you were met with relatively neutral expressions that didn’t match the growing tension in the air. All of them looked as if they wanted to say something, but not one of them was ready to speak.

Embarrassment and regret were creeping their way towards you in silence. Your body tensed up and you folded your arms in front of you.

“Come on guys, it's not that weird. It’s not like we were in an aisle, we were in the bathroom,” you tried to defend yourself.

That sentence seemed to spark something in the group. Their body language started to relax but still had a bit of hesitation. They all knew at this point, but they wanted you to confirm it.

“What floor?”

You followed the voice to Emily “Excuse me?”

“What floor was the bathroom on?”

You couldn’t wrap your head around her question.

“Why does that matter?”

“It does, which floor?” Penelope questioned this time.

“Second I think,” you hesitated, still confused.

“Oh my god!” Penelope squealed. “You guys are sleeping together?”

With your eyes wide, face hot, and heart pounding, you stared at her. Trying to figure out how a story like this was one they already heard. You forgot until now that they were already playing this game before you got back.

Turning to the side you playfully smacked Spencer’s arm. “You told them that?”

He gaped at you and grabbed his arm. Face still red of course now accompanied with a crack in his voice. “I didn’t think you were gonna tell them. I thought you would have talked about the other time.”

“Why would I tell them that?” You said in a quieter tone.

“What other time?” Derek interrupted, filled with curiosity.

Rossi pipped in next, “you said two places were tied for weirdest, what’s the other place?”

You and Spencer went quiet. You looked at each other before returning your gaze to the group.

“I think this is a great time to get a refill,” you grabbed your glass and stood up. “Spencer, coming with?”

He quickly scrambled to stand up, “Absolutely.”

The two of you made your way to the bar as your friends all started murmuring.

“So, you didn’t want to tell them you had sex on a plane?” He asked with a slight smirk.

“No, of course not!” You squealed which earned a laugh from him.

“Eventually they would’ve found out we’re dating and I didn’t want them to figure out it was on the jet,” you explained.

“It’s not like any of them were there,” he said before leaning down to kiss your forehead.

“I still don’t wanna get fired.”

[disturbedbeautywrites]

Photos from Facebook from a guy who teaches a storm class here in Oklahoma.

Wrapping up Twisters opening weekend with one more behind the scenes memory.

In April, 2023, we were approached by the Twisters production office about doing a storm spotter class for the cast and crew. As we talked about the class, I asked them if they wanted 1) a storm spotter class; 2) a weather class with info to help actors with their roles in the movie; or 3) a tornado safety class to help everyone new to Oklahoma in springtime. The answer was yes - we want all three.

On May 3rd, 2023, we hosted nine of the cast and nine crew members for the training. It didn't really have a name, but I've heard someone refer to it as Tornado Bootcamp or Tornadoes 101. We started around 8am and it lasted two hours.

I covered Oklahoma tornado culture to illustrate how big of a deal tornadoes are to the people who live here, covering everything from Saturday siren tests to IPAs named after weather terms to TV meteorologist drinking games and bingo cards to storm anxiety and PTSD. I talked about the Twister effect, which saw meteorology school enrollments double or triple in some cases after Twister came out. I did some basic storm spotter training and a little severe weather meteorology, and wrapped up with tornado safety (including a slide illustrating how it was not safe to shelter under a wooden bridge or by strapping yourself to a pipe using screen grabs from Twister.)

The class was very interactive. Daisy Edgar Jones and Glen Powell sat front row center and Daisy had her notebook and took notes the entire time. I got really good questions from the class and I could tell they were genuinely interested.

We followed up the class with an extended tour/visit to SPC and the WFO, with a lot more great questions and discussion. We ended the visit talking vehicles and technology with Sean Waugh. I think some of them would have stayed all day if they had been able to.

[anundyingfidelity]

WHEN I WAKE UP, WHERE DO YOU GO? — Soldier Boy/Ben

Summary: When Soldier Boy was taken away and Vought faked his death, he dreamt of you non-stop while with the reds. Now, decades later and back in the modern world, he just has one thing in mind: finding you.

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x female reader.

Word count: 1.6k.

Warnings: heavy angst, language, some nudity, sexual implied content, pregnancy, the usual stuff in the boys universe, death, AU where Soldier Boy was never with Crimson Countess.

If you'd like to be added, the taglist is here!

☕ if you like my writing, support me with a ko-fi !

Notes: this was a request for my 400 followers drabbles but i got more things in mind to develop an angsty one shot with a sad ending, so this is what happened. also thanks for being patient with me as i try to come back to tumblr and write. real life is not easy.

GEN MASTERLIST!

1981

He didn’t know where he was standing. He didn’t know the place around him, nor the people having a sweet ball, with the music playing and mingling with their laughs.

He could see the beautiful ladies swinging to the classic music in the gala, the supes he used to know in the back of the scene as if they weren’t an important part of it. Dressed in that green suit, mask off, he walked between the couples and the guests dancing. His eyes caught a stunning wine colored dress in the middle of the pale colors around. He knew it was you.

It was the first time in years he heard his heart pounding against his chest this fast, as he approached you. His hand brushing your bare shoulder made you turn around, a bright smile adorned your face appeared when you saw it was him. You quickly focused your attention completely to him, leaving the ladies you were speaking to behind.

“Ben! What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming!” you almost shouted to him as you dragged him with you to the less-crowded bar.

He furrowed his brows in confusion. “I wasn’t?”

You shook your head with a hint of embarrassment and placed your drink on the countertop.. “Edgar said you wouldn’t, so… I just thought you weren’t,” you said with a soft voice. “But nevermind that, I’m glad you’re here, I’ve missed you,” you beamed, this time your voice sounding happier.

Ben nodded, taking in the sight of your figure and your pretty face, delicately made up, expensive and graceful just for a night like this. Somehow, seeing you felt like ages. “You look perfect,” he whispered.

Under his gaze, he knew your cheeks were burning. He started fighting the urge of caressing your cheek but now, in front of all these people, it was better not to.

He always had this need of protecting you from the outside, from the world. Being the supe he was, he knew how fucked up everything around was. You didn’t deserve to see that. But countless times, Ben remembered your courage and the way you used to raise your voice to be heard. And still knowing you could take care of yourself, he felt the need of looking after you, of being your shelter. Despite everything, he wouldn’t forgive himself if anything bad happened to you.

“Thank you,” you smiled. “You look good too, but I bet you’d look better with a different type of suit,” you gave him a flirty wink.

He was all in that playful mood of yours.

“Probably later, if we leave,” Ben teased back, the distance between both of you getting shorter. He could smell the sweetness of your perfume and the taste of alcohol. “Whatcha say, sweetheart?”

“I’d say yes. Always would say yes.”

1983

Ben woke up again, in a place that was oddly familiar in the back of his mind. It was a big bedroom, he was laying on the bed, and immediately noticed the blanket covering his bare body. The sunlight sneaking in the curtains told him it was morning already. There was a heat coming from the other side and he rolled softly to see you, sleeping and tugging his arm against you.

“Good morning,” you mumbled, fluttering your eyes open. You leaned to place a kiss on his stubbled cheek, the blanket falling off a little from your breasts. “How you feeling today, my husband?”

“Husband?”

You chuckled at his confused face. “I told you I’d say yes, didn’t I?”

Ben snorted to himself. He didn’t even remember proposing to you, but it was better than he’d ever imagined. Looking back at you, he asked with a quizzical expression on his face. “Am I dreaming?”

You laughed louder this time. “No, Ben. We got married yesterday. Thought you couldn’t get drunk and all, is there anything wrong?”

He felt your hand caressing his cheek softly, as you placed your head on his shoulder and laid back down. And he felt not only the warm touch of your skin, but a coldness coming from a ring on your hand. He wrapped his own on your wrist to get a glance of the bright, gold ring adorning your finger. It was true.

You were his wife, and he couldn’t believe it.

1984

“Please don’t go.”

Your voice came out as a plea, and he, somehow, felt something was wrong. Looking around, Ben found himself in a cozy kitchen inside a house, and you were standing in front of him. He looked for the ring in your hand, and there it was. What the hell was happening to him? Why was he suddenly reminiscing every moment with you? And why this?

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Ben, I’m pregnant,” you confessed with glossy eyes. His face softened and he shook his head, part of him wanting it to be a lie. He wasn’t ready to be a father yet. “Please don’t go to Nicaragua. You promised you’d give this up, why hasn't it happened? It’s been a year!”

You were already crying, the tears coating your cheeks and he stepped closer to cup your cheeks between his hands, making you look at him directly.

“I really have to go,” he muttered as he wiped the tears off your skin.

Ben pulled you for a hug, as you cried against his chest and he soothed you softly, a side he never knew could have for anyone but you. He hated seeing you like this, but he knew he had to go. He was Soldier Boy, he’d come back soon, for you and the baby.

“I just want you to be safe and happy,” you mumbled, once you pulled away and wiped your face with your hands.. “You always wanted this, a family. And I want to give it to you because I love you… I wouldn’t want it any other way, Ben.”

“I love you so damn much,” he said, with a beam on his face and a spark in his eyes, caressing your cheek with his thumb. “How long?” he asked.

“Like four months…”

Ben smiled again, remembering the weird foods you were having, how you’d get sick all out of nowhere and the countless nights and days he took care of you, even if you got pissed at him because it all felt like you were useless. But he didn’t care about all that. How he couldn’t notice it and pull the strings together, he thought to himself.

Suddenly he kissed you sweetly, but so strong at the same time that you gasped against his mouth. “You’re the most amazing thing that ever happened to me, y’know that.”

His words made you smile against his lips, still trying to compose yourself. You nodded as you reached for his hand, entwining it with yours.

“I hope it’s a boy,” he said, before planting another kiss on your lips.

2022

When Ben came back to the real world, he thought of finding you. Butcher had facilitated your location in exchange for a deal, but a grave wasn’t the place he had in mind when doing so.

He already lost count of how many times he had arrived to grief and hate himself for leaving you and the baby that day when you begged him not to. It was late noon, almost dusk, and probably he shouldn’t be there, saying sorry to the air and the tree in your grave. There was an emptiness growing in his chest, like a black hole swallowing every single particle of life he had been preserving for you, once he came back.

Ben spent the last four decades dreaming of you, remembering every moment, either be happy or sad, the only thing that mattered was you. Whole you, with your beauty, your laugh, the kindness in your eyes every time you looked at him, and the courage in your heart. If only he could go back and change everything, he’d do it with no question.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled again. “I’m sorry I wasn’t with you when you asked me to.”

He read the plaque with your name written on it and a small ‘beloved daughter and wife’ below, and his fists clenched tightly. More than ever, he wanted to burn Vought down to the ground. He had cried to himself, all alone, when he learned you were gone and to regret his decisions. It wasn’t enough for those fuckers to take his child and raise him in a damn lab to be a monster, but they had to kill you.

Ben remembered the things this Hughie kid had told him; about you trying to look for your husband for months non-stop after he went missing and the fake story of his death was released to the world. You spent day and night doing research, getting involved with different organizations even when your son was born, and when Vought sensed you were moving masses, they decided to get rid of you and take his son away. Ben was sure you knew pretty well the dirty secrets, and taking threats out of the radar was their specialty.

Now he had to take Homelander down. The only bond that joined you and him resulted to be a stupid, crying asshole, all because of the whim of some rich men running a pharmaceutical. Supes were a lie, but he was a soldier. And he had promised himself to avenge you, whatever the cost was.

“I love you,” Ben whispered to the wind. “I hope you understand why I’m doing this.”

“I'm pretty sure she’d be okay with it,” Butcher said, standing a couple of feet back.

Ben had been used to the british fucker to appear out of nowhere. Butcher was the one taking him to the cemetery after all.

“Yeah, I hope so,” Ben said back. The sadness and grief fell off his face as he turned around to meet Butcher. “Let’s go then, I want to take them fucking down.”

Soldier Boy taglist: @delaynew @k-slla @thesilmarillionblog @onlyangel-444 @mrsjenniferwinchester @daisy-the-quake

[tiffanys-aus-and-headcanons]

Terrible Visions

A scrambled timeline is a timeline that has proceeded much like ours, except that some particular facet has been mixed up all over the place. For example, in the scrambled timeline we will consider today, our world's fictional stories have been told by different people, and in different ways.

Bryan Lee O'Malley, in this alternate timeline, is best known as the cartoonist responsible for Homestuck, a popular comic series about a group of children who become embroiled in a cosmic-scale video game known as Sburb. Although Homestuck is probably most often associated with the cult classic Edgar Wright-directed film adaptation released in 2016, the comics themselves are highly-regarded, and the film brought a new audience to them. Netflix has commissioned an animated continuation, The Homestuck Epilogues, which is due to be released soon.

Andrew Hussie, on the other hand, is a figure you're likelier to know if you're overly online. His "MS Paint Adventures" series - most notably including Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, which is kind of like Homestuck but weirder and hornier - have firmly remained a fixture of obsessive Twitter fandom culture. It doesn't help that the best-known iteration, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, is infamous for stretching thousands of pages of meandering digressions out of a simple and focused narrative starting point. Scott Pilgrim fans have developed something of a toxic reputation, which is not entirely deserved - although of course Knives discourse is interminable, and back in the fandom's heyday there were reportedly incidents of fans assaulting each other "for being evil exes".

Scott Pilgrim fandom was very big back in the day, though, and consequently it was a nexus for other creative figures who would go on to surpass Hussie. Perhaps foremost among these is indie developer Toby Fox. He was literally living in Hussie's basement when he produced ROSEQUARTZ, a universally-beloved retro Goonies-like RPG about a human hybrid boy born to a race of gem-based aliens. He's now developing an episodic spiritual successor, RAZORQUEST, with more overtly dark themes. It revolves around an inheritance dispute among a demon-summoning family.

Other foundational figures in this timeline's internet culture include Alison Bechdel, who helped get the webcomic scene started. Although she's now more seriously acclaimed for her personal memoirs, her gaming webcomic Press Start To Dyke, which premiered in 1998, was once everywhere. It had a broad appeal, and at its height, it was common to see even straight guys sharing pages from it. Time has not been especially kind to it, though, and at this point its main legacy is test.png, a meme spawned by one of the comic's most ill-advised pages.

Then there's John C. McCrae, more often known by his pseudonym Wildbow. A prolific and reclusive author of doorstopping "web serials" - long-form fiction published online - McCrae's best-known serial is still his first, Wind, a noir superhero story set in an alternate history where capes are mostly just a subculture of unpowered vigilantes. Wind landed in a culture already rife with comic book deconstructions, like Alan Moore's 2002 graphic novel Worm Turns, but it nonetheless managed to stand out from the pack with its extensive cast of characters and its themes of coordination problems and the end of the world. Later McCrae web serials include Part (the first "Otherverse" serial; an urban fantasy story about a couple who die in a car accident and find that they have become ghosts), Tear (a "biopunk" story set in a collapsing underwater city), Warn (the controversial Wind sequel), and Play (the second "Otherverse" serial, set in a small Indiana town that helps hide a psychic girl from the CIA).

Last and perhaps least, we should discuss J. K. Rowling. Far and away the most famous of any of these authors, Rowling's name is inseparable from the YA series that she debuted with, the Luz Noceda books, which remain her one successful work. Although it was heavily derivative of older fantasy novels - like Jill Murphy's Academy For Little Witches, or Philip Pullman's Methods Of Rationality trilogy - Luz Noceda was still a monumental and unprecedented success in the publishing industry, and the film adaptations were consistent blockbusters. The final book, Luz Noceda and the Watcher of Rain, contained some allusions to a romantic relationship between Luz and her recently-redeemed associate Amity. Rowling confirmed that this was her intent in subsequent interviews and indicated that she had fought her publishers for it; the film would then go on to escalate matters slightly further.

There have been many lengthy and heated online arguments as to whether the references in the book itself constitute text or mere subtext. Whatever your stance on this discourse, a new complication has been introduced recently: although she has put out no official statement on the matter as of yet, it has become quite apparent from Rowling's shrinking network of contacts and her conspicuous silences that she is certainly TERF-sympathetic, and likely an outright TERF herself. For many, this is leading to a critical reevaluation of the social values inherent in the Luz Noceda series; others, to say the least, are holding off on that kind of reappraisal.

Anyway, Scott Pilgrim just beat Luz Noceda in a Twitter poll for Most Gay Media, and people are piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissed

[mini-minish]

nathaniel wesninski & andrew doe au i picked up from a 2021 sketch 🪓🖤🔪

notes under the read more!

• andrew doe gets adopted into the wesninski family when he's just a little older than nathaniel, who hasnt been sent to edgar allen tryouts yet, and andrew doe is trained to be his bodyguard since childhood

• mary doesn't like it, he becomes a weakness for her son and when she leaves she refuses to take andrew with them, so nathaniel stays, and in that mary never really gets to leave

• on the same day she fails at running away and nathan finds them, nathaniel loses his eye lolastyle

• one time when he's a little older, andrew receives a letter, from a boy who claims to be his twin. andrew minyard doe throws it to the fire, and nathaniel picks it up while he's turned, before it burns completelly

• from the day nathaniel gets injured because he refused to leave andrew behind, they go from annoyed acquaintances to inseparable friends

• he calls andrew "drew" and andrew pretends to hate it. later when theyre older the name "nathaniel" starts to weight, starts to sound weird, so he asks andrew to call him something else, and andrew calls him alex, stefan, adam, until they get to neil

• but he only calls him neil when theyre alone, when its a secret, when nathan cant hear them

• "nathaniel" takes up the axe. he's as good a hitman as the little devil of baltimore has to be. he hates it, hates the color red, the color of his hair

• one of andrew's first memories at the house is of nathan cutting a man to pieces and making him watch, making him learn not to flinch, but red is the color of neil's hair, soft, safe, soothing

• before that, though, theres little league. theres learning andrew is talented at exy, theres kevin day, and riko moriyama, and theres jean moreau

• i want jean and andrew to be funny about each other just for some levity here ok

• the reynolds are a renowed fashion brand, far from them to refuse big mafia money, so they work on suits, on silk shirts, on tailored pants, and allison reynolds is always joined by her friend renee when she goes with her parents for fittings

• renee walker meets andrew doe, and andrew thinks shes silly enough to keep in touch.

• kevin day leaves them, and neil realises he doesnt have to be kept either. kevin day gets to get out and nathaniel wesninski gets quieter.

• neil finds his uncle's contact among some of the things his mother left behind. from stuart he gets to ichirou. from ichirou he starts to make a plan

• riko moriyama is going to make a big announcement soon, something about the perfect court, something that will finally brand the rest of them as his, and well, andrew has always told neil how much he hates that the pen's ink makes the skin of his face break out

• and neil still has the address of a boy who claims to be his andrew's twin

• for whatever reason the moriyamas and the wesninskis have one of those rich people dinners planned. neil gets kevin to show up, nathaniel gets andrew to leave, kicking and punching and a promise broken

• later in the night, a little after the first course is served and they begin the socializations, neil gets kevin to leave, leave, run as far as possible, *now*.

• he sees jean, grabs his wrist, and takes him outside. theyre walking fast before neil starts running, and then the explosion comes from inside the house, from the basement, and knocks both of them out before they turn the corner. the hathford's men long gone from the scene.

• all renee walker and andrew doe see from where he's been waiting for the little voice at the back of his mind to make sense, is the house bursting on fire, believing that it does so with what he's supposed to protect still inside

• but since i can't bring myself to do this to them, andrew finds him, finds jean, and at the hospital finds stuart, who takes his nephew in

• he gets contacted by a man called david wymack, who was convinced by kevin day to offer them a place among his foxes :)

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Ginger Rogers (Swing Time, Top Hat)—Look I’ll level with you, I’ve never seen her in a musical and I know that she’s an amazing dancer and she’ll be even hotter when I finally watch Top Hat but I’m not submitting her as a dancer I’m submitting her as an ACTRESS. Her comic timing is impeccable!!!!! She’s full to bursting with life and in every role she seems to be having FUN, you can practically feel the twinkle in her eye. With her natural warmth it’s like she’s letting you in on the joke, y’all get to have this fun together! Making me laugh is hot!!! [If you'd like to see Ginger dance, videos below the cut]

Dorothy Lamour (The Jungle Princess, Road to… movies)—Ok, to be honest, I get if no one wants to vote for her--she's kind of like my ~problematic fave~ because she started in the Road (Singapore, Bali, Hong Kong, etc) movies with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, which are full of all sorts of exoticism tropes and usually have her playing very side-eye type roles..island princesses and things...yeah. also she banged J. Edgar Hoover. not very hot. but your honor i still think she's pretty despite all that she's pretty please look at her and tell me she's prettyyy

This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Dorothy Lamour propaganda:

She started in jungle and South Seas movies and became famous in the Road series. She learned quickly to improvise when facing Bob and Bing. Road to Bali almost has her character marrying both of theirs, since she's island royalty and nobody had a problem with it - a nearly poly relationship, an epiphany for a viewer who didn't even know that that could happen! She was a popular pinup girl during World War 2, and was the first singer for the popular standard "It Could Happen to You". She sang often in her movies and has a lovely voice!

Ginger Rogers propaganda:

She needs no introduction! An undeniable powerhouse on the dancefloor, and no less talented an actress. I once watched a compilation of cinema's greatest dance scenes and one of her and Fred Astaire's dances was featured, and one of the talking heads said he pitied her for 'having to keep up with him' - or something to that effect. Bullshit, I cry. Ginger Rogers was his absolute equal, and underplaying her incredible skill is downright criminal. I want the 'Cheek to Cheek' sequence from Top Hat to be permanently burned into my memory.

"Backwards in high heels", as the saying goes (though the pedant in me must point out that she in fact spent her fair share of time leading or dancing side-by-side). One of the earliest twinkle-toed ladies of the silver screen, and in terms of acting/persona, her balance of wide-eyed cuteness and movie-star glamour has never quite been replicated.

we all know her beloved string of musicals with fred but ginger also has an extensive and varied non-fred filmography that she's great in! a few ginger moments that are important 2 me personally ginger singing “we’re in the money” in gold diggers of 1933, complete with a verse in pig latin bc this whole movie is kinda mocking the concept of anyone actually being in the money in 1933; ginger and una merkel singing a verse of “shuffle off to buffalo” in 42nd street, providing some statler & waldorf-esque commentary on newlyweds from the upper berth of a railway car (interesting that belly was apparently a risque word in 1933 - maybe its bc the lyric is innuendo-ing about out of wedlock pregnancies - and that panties was a term for men’s underthings!); a favorite fred & ginger number

Ginger Rogers could do everything! She could sing, dance and act. She was hilarious in comedies, moving in dramatic roles (she won an Oscar for Kitty Foyle in 1940) and absolutely gorgeous!

Listen, no shade to Fred Astaire at all, but she both kept up with him step for step and then later went on to WIN AN OSCAR FOR ACTING. (which he did not.) truly a double threat!!!

One of the best dancers in Hollywood! Her work with Fred Astaire is just incredible.

ONE LINE: "Everything Fred did, Ginger did backwards and in heels" AND THEYRE RIGHT! Rogers was a total dance badass, and a lot of movie buffs know the story, but the Never Gonna Dance number from Swing Time took almost 50 takes, and allegedly by the end of filming it her white shoes had been stained pink because her feet were bleeding. As a note, she looks crazy gorgeous in this number. Watching these two dance is insane. They match up to each other in a way my mom describes as "divine" and she's right. DANCE NUMBERS!

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off (Shall We Dance, 1937, dancing starts at 3:14, they're in ROLLERSKATES)

(Ginger Rogers is the hottest woman ever to live in this number. seeing this as a teenager altered my brain chemistry)

(also watch her feet and how she moves opposite Astaire in this one. We all know our boy Freddie had that precision demon but jesus christ Miss Rogers, let a girl live!)

Pick Yourself Up, Swing Time 1936 (Everyone's seen this one but by god you are going to see it AGAIN!)

Shall We Dance, 1937 (duet begins at 2:34)

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Roberta 1935 (There's just something about Ginger Rogers in a slick black dress man)

The Continental, The Gay Divorcee 1934 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjv6nmF7wdk God she's MAGIC in this one.

Gay Divorcee's Ending Montage 1934The infamous table and chairs spin happens at about 0:49. Pay CLOSE attention to her in this bc it looks like witchcraft and I feel lightheaded whenever I watch this movie bc shes THAT awesome.

She is a miracle to watch. Sorry for the sheer amount of clips. My entire family is like madly in love with Ginger Rogers.

[deception-united]

I HATE YOUR WRITING TIPS, ONE MORE POST AND SCREW IT, IM BLOCKING *AND* REPORTING YOUR PAGE. IM FED UP WITH THESE INEFFECTUAL WRITING TIPS. HOW DO YOU THINK EDGAR ALLEN POE, AND EVEN SHAKESPEARE WROTE? THEY DIDNT HAVE TUMBLR AND NO 'cute little writing tips for your help!' I DEEM EVERY MODERN DAY WRITER A CHEAT AND I HOPE WHATEVER YOU'RE WRITING FAILS. YOU IMBECILE OF A WRITER.

Hi, thanks for asking! Writers like Edgar Allen Poe and Shakespeare used many techniques in their writing which might help you out. Here are a few tips:

Use metaphors: Employing figurative language can help paint vivid images in the readers' minds and facilitate the comprehension of more complex themes and ideas. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare compares love to a rose—while it is lovely to the eye, its thorns can cut deep.

Choice of impression: Know what you want the desired effect of your writing to be in advance. Having decided the impression you want to leave on your readers before you start can help when figuring out the tone and conflicts throughout the story. Poe, for instance, focused mostly on the gothic genre with themes of death that inspired feelings of terror, despair, and suspense.

Know your audience: Who are you targeting? Determining factors such as the age range your work is for and what message you want to leave them with is crucial so that readers find your writing relatable and engaging.

Choose the setting wisely: In Poe's own words, "a close circumscription of space is absolutely necessary to the effect of insulated incident." Though the setting—of the entire book and for each scene—is often viewed as trivial, or at least of secondary importance, it is important to know why you're putting the characters where you are.

Use soliloquies: A soliloquy is a dramatic monologue in which a character speaks their thoughts aloud, typically while alone on stage, revealing their inner feelings to the audience. This can often be seen in Shakespeare's works, such as in Hamlet, where the title character begins with "To be, or not to be: that is the question," contemplating life and death.

Thank you for voicing your concerns! I wholeheartedly agree that I am not a real writer, merely an illusion. This is the last you'll see of me, I'm afraid. Feel free to ask any more questions, and thanks for 1800 followers—almost to two thousand! Love you all ❤

Previous | Next

[krirebr]

I Know I Should Know Better 6

Pairing: Curtis Everett x Female Reader

Word Count: ~3.5k

Summary: Curtis has been working as your body guard for almost two years now. Standing by and watching you work and party your life away is becoming more and more difficult, but is there anything he can do about it?

Warnings: Angst, adult themes, complicated power dynamics, minor age difference (not explicit in this part, but reader is mid-twenties and Curtis is early thirties), explicit language, anxiety, negative self-talk. They're both having a bad time, you guys. All of my work is 18+ - Minors DNI

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Series Masterlist

Masterlist

A/N: Finally back with this one! And it's the penultimate chapter!! We're so close to the happy ending, you guys!!

Huge thanks to @bigtreefest and @stargazingfangirl18 who talked me through this when I was struggling with the last scene.

Any comment, reblog, or ask to let me know what you think will be greatly appreciated. Even if it's just screaming at me. 😄 As always, thank you so much for reading! 💜

You were lounging right next to your pool, dragging your fingertips through the water. It was the last day before you flew to New York to start the publicity tour for the last movie you had in the hopper. It had been made very clear that you needed to have your next project figured out and signed by the time this tour was done. Right now, you were supposed to be reading a script Wilford had sent over, but you hadn’t even opened it yet. You couldn’t stop thinking about what Curtis had asked you the night before. Did you even like acting? You were embarrassed, still, that you hadn’t had an answer for him. You’d started doing it so young, it had always just been what you did. Liking it or not had never been part of the equation. And if you were good at it, shouldn’t you like it? Didn’t those things go hand in hand? You were less sure of that now.

Last night had been eye-opening in many ways. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d had a night where you felt so much like yourself. None of the performance, none of the image. Just you. You’d been a little worried that the performance was all that was left of you. It was nice to see that that wasn’t true.

And then there was Curtis. Fuck, he was beautiful. On the outside, obviously, but inside – it sounded so dumb, but he had such a beautiful soul. You groaned at yourself internally. Very, very dumb. But seeing him in his house, with Edgar, in his kitchen, in his bedroom on his knees in front of you? Shit, he may have been the most beautiful person that had ever lived. And you were maybe in love with him.

Fuck. It’d hit you last night, during dinner. You’d looked over at him, sitting across from you, blushing as he watched you eat the food he’d made and it’d just popped into your head – I love this man. You didn’t think that’d ever happened to you before. So of course you’d dragged him into his bedroom. But even that was different. You weren’t used to sex not being the point of the whole thing. But Curtis made you feel like it was just one of a thousand things he wanted to do with you. That it was just one of the worthwhile things about you. It was overwhelming. He was so overwhelming.

And so, that thought. I love him I love him I love him just on a loop in your head since it’d first entered your mind. You grabbed your phone next to you and typed out and sent the message quickly before you could think better of it. 

I think I might be in love.

The reply from Marnie was immediate. 

That’s exciting, isn’t it?

You bit your lip as you answered.

I guess. I mean, yeah, it is. It’s really great! But he’s not in the industry, not really, and I don’t know. I’ve never felt this way before and so much could go wrong.

There was no pause before you had her answer.

Don’t borrow trouble, sweetheart. It’s ok to just let yourself be happy now.

You stared at her message. Be happy now. Before you could figure out what to even do with that, another text came through.

Is he good to you?

You smiled automatically.

He is. He’s so good to me. The best.

I’m happy for you.

And you knew she was. She was one of the only friends you’d ever had whose motivations you never questioned, compliments you never doubted. She just wanted good things for you. Because she liked you. That was it. Between Marnie and Curtis, you weren’t sure you’d ever felt so well-liked before. It was nice, to have multiple people who genuinely cared about you. 

You typed out a quick thank you and then checked the time and smiled to yourself before making your way back inside. Sure enough, Curtis was there, settled on a couch in the living room.

You lowered yourself onto the couch next to him, on top of him, really. You both cut a wary glance toward the kitchen but Michelle was engrossed in her computer at the kitchen island, answering emails, and managing your schedule. Jensen was out doing something with the car. There was no one else around, no one paying attention. “Hi,” you whispered softly, right in his ear.

“Hi,” he whispered back and smiled, that private one that was only for you. He wrapped his arm around you and twined his fingers through yours. You rested your head on his shoulder and hummed contentedly. You both just rested there, taking a quiet moment together before the day got busy and you’d have to pretend that you hadn’t woken up next to him, able to watch the sun rise on his face.

The quiet calm was punctured when, from the kitchen, you heard Michelle’s phone blow up and a moment later she cried out “What the actual fuck?!”

Your phone quickly followed suit and, most worryingly, so did Curtis’s. You both scrambled to check what on earth was going on as Michelle marched into the living room. As soon as she’d rounded the couch, she yelled at Curtis, “Are you seriously fucking her?!”

You stared at her, your eyes round. “What?” you gasped. You stood up, trying to put some distance between all of you as you opened your phone. The notifications were still pinging. Multiple calls coming in at once, texts, Twitter, Instagram. You opened Twitter and tried to find the root of everything. And there it was, on TMZ a zoomed-in shot of you and Curtis on the corner by his house. His hands were on your waist, you were leaning in for a kiss, a happy smile on your face. Whoever took it had gotten both your faces. It was obviously the two of you, clear as day. “No, no, no,” you started to chant. 

Curtis was in front of you in an instant.  “It’s gonna be ok,” he said, just to you, and grabbed your hand and squeezed it.

Michelle was still standing at the end of the couch, freaking out. She was focused on Curtis, mostly ignoring you. “This is a complete disaster!” she yelled. “I’d expect this from her,” she said throwing a hand in your direction without actually looking at you, “but I never thought you’d do something this monumentally stupid, Curtis!”

“Hey!” You yelled, finally getting her attention. “This isn’t his fault, ok? Leave him alone.”

She stared at you, her mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out, before her phone rang insistently. She glanced at it and grimaced. “Tanya,” she said, accusingly, “Of course! I have to go fucking deal with this.”  

Curtis stayed where he was and silently rubbed your back as you scrolled through Twitter. This was so, so bad. People had immediately started speculating about who you were with in the picture and it hadn’t taken long for someone to link to pictures of you with Curtis in the background. They’d have his name soon, if they didn’t already. And then the hounding would start. He was never going to forgive you for this. You’d never forgive yourself. 

You were pulled out of your spiral by his hand on your cheek. “Hey,” he said lowly, looking you right in the eye. “Stop. It’s going to be okay.”

You shook your head. “You don’t know that. You don’t know what it’s gonna be like.”

“Neither do you,” he said with so much confidence you almost believed him. He must have seen at least part of what you were worried about because his next words were “I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.”

You wanted to be reassured, but you knew that he didn’t really understand, couldn’t understand, all of the things that were going to happen now. And he was going to hate you for it.

His phone rang again, still, and when he checked it, he grimaced. You did too when you saw your manager, Lloyd’s name, on the screen. He answered the call as he stepped away from you, trailing a gentle hand down your arm as he went. 

You watched him carefully. His expression was serious, but he didn’t raise his voice at all. Just nodded several times and gave short answers that were low enough you couldn’t hear them. With one final nod, he hung up and came back to you.

“I’m being called in,” he said quietly. He looked up and you followed his gaze to find Michelle standing in the transition space to the kitchen. “Yeah,” he sighed, “looks like you are too. All hands on deck.”

Curtis drove separately on his motorcycle. You tried not to read too much into it for his current state of mind. 

He rejoined you as you and your entire team were ushered into a conference room. You knew it was bad when no one moved to sit. Curtis came up and stood behind you, pressing himself into your back with a soft hand on your hip. You exhaled at the contact and leaned your head against him. 

Lloyd spoke first, narrowing his eyes at the two of you. “I take it from this display there was no coercion involved in this mess?”

You looked down at the implication you could have used your power or influence against Curtis, ashamed even though you knew that wasn’t the case. You opened your mouth to try to defend yourself when Curtis just growled out, “No. Definitely not.”

Lloyd gave a grim smile. “Perfect,” he said. “Then you’re fired. Obviously.”

Before you could even process what was happening, Curtis’s hand tightened on your hip. His voice was strong and clear when he said, “Yes, of course.” 

Your head whipped back and forth between Curtis and Lloyd. “What? No!” you cried. “Not obviously! Not of course! He’s my bodyguard. This should be my decision!”

“No, actually,” Lloyd said. “He works for me, not you, so I’m the one who decides what we do with him. Thank god, since you’ve shown such a shocking lack of judgment here.” 

Your head drooped in shame as Curtis’s other hand came up to hold you on both sides now. “Hey,” he growled. “She isn’t a child. Don’t speak to her like one.” 

“Watch it!” Lloyd took a step forward, but Curtis held steady behind you.

“Why?” Curtis asked. “I don’t work for you anymore, so fuck you and watch how you speak to her. It’s her work that pays you.”

Tanya stepped forward, putting her hands out to try to de-escalate the situation. “And it’s our hard work that keeps her employable.” She looked to you now. “You have to see what a mess this is. The day before you start a national press tour. Now this will be all anyone wants to know about. And someone who works for you. It’s not a good look and it’s going to take a lot for us all to clean it up.” She looked around the room at everyone gathered. “So we’re all going to sit down now and hammer out our strategy for the next several weeks. Media training obviously,” she said with a side-eye to Curtis, “lining up sympathetic profiles. We’ll need to figure out what’s on our ‘do not ask’ list and what we’ll have to let slip through…”

Her voice faded away as you stopped listening. You’d fucked everything up. You’d ruined Curtis’s life. Thrust him into the spotlight  Cratered your own career. Caused endless headaches for everyone around you. You could feel the tears pushing against the rims of your eyes, but you couldn’t let them fall. Not yet. You wouldn’t cry in this room with these people. “Whatever,” you said, your voice shaking. “Figure out what we need to do. You don’t need me for that. You can tell me on the fucking plane.” Without waiting for any kind of response, you stormed out of the conference room, Curtis right on your heels. 

You didn’t stop until you were in the parking lot, next to his motorcycle. The moment you stopped moving, you burst into tears. “I’m so sorry,” you gasped. “I’m so fucking sorry!”

“Hey.” Curtis’s hands gently, tentatively landed on your shoulders. “It’s going to be ok. Shh, it’s alright.”

“I got you fired!”

“Hey, I got me fired, ok? I made this choice too, knowing full well what the consequences would be. I–” He was interrupted by his phone ringing. He ignored the call without looking but it immediately rang again. He grimaced, irritated, but his face softened into concern when he saw who it was. “Just a–” he started to you, “I have to take this.” Then he stepped away, his phone pressed to his ear. “Hold on,” you heard him say as he left. “Edgar, calm down.”

You grew more and more uneasy as you watched Curtis pace around. You could clearly tell it was bad news. Of course, it was. What else would it be today? You wondered what else you had ruined for him, how else you’d made his life worse. You didn’t have to wait long to find out, as only a few minutes later he came back to you.

“So, uh,” he began, his hand on the back of his neck, “I was going to suggest we go to my house, but it sounds like there are a bunch of paps camped out there. If we go to yours, we can at least go in the back way on my bike and avoid them.”

He couldn’t go home. Of course, they’d figured out who he was and where he lived. You knew they would. “I’m so sorry,” you whispered.

“Hey,” he said, his voice firm. “This isn’t your fault. It just– It just is.” He sighed and his whole body drooped with it. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

You were both quiet as you got off his bike and made your way into your house. Curtis was right behind you as you climbed the stairs to your bedroom. All the way home all you’d been able to think about was what a disaster this was and how you should’ve known it was the only way it could turn out. You should’ve expected it. You rarely got to keep nice things.

 When you got into your room, you crawled into the middle of the bed and folded into yourself. Curtis lingered by your dresser, leaning against the wall, his arms stiff at his sides, his face tight. It felt like there was an ocean between you. “Would you please just get mad at me already?” you whispered.

“What?” he asked, brow furrowed.

“I know you’re mad at me. You have to be! I deserve it. So, please, just do it. Get it over with. I can’t wait anymore.”

“I don’t want to be mad at you,” he sighed. “Today is already terrible. Don’t make me be mad at you too, on top of it all.”

 “I got you fired! And now you can’t go home! This– I–” You deflated a little, and much more quietly, said, “None of this would have happened if I were someone else. I know that it’s my fault. So if you’re going to go, just do it, already.” 

“I’m not going to go” he said, firmly. 

“Why not?” you pleaded. “Everyone else does!”

“Well, I'm not like everyone else. You know that. Stop trying to make me more like them.” He leaned his head back against the wall, and looked up at the ceiling. “I love you,” he said so softly. He moved to the foot of the bed, where he kneeled down and reached out to grasp your ankle. “All of you. Even this part. I wish you’d believe me.”

Your eyes filled with tears again and a little voice inside your head chanted tell him tell him tell him but you couldn’t get the words out, so instead you just whispered, again, “I'm sorry.”

He sighed again. He seemed so tired. “Stop apologizing, please. None of today was your fault.”

“You wanted to quit that first morning. I should have let you. But I was selfish.”

“You weren’t selfish,” he said, rubbing his thumb in a soothing circle on your skin. “You were scared. And you were right. I loved that this just got to belong to the two of us for a little while. No one else. That you just belonged to me.”

Say it say it say it, the voice chanted. Instead, you leaned over and kissed him. You tried to put everything you were feeling into the kiss. All of the things you couldn’t yet say. And you felt him tell you everything he felt about you back. It was overwhelming. 

Eventually you pulled away, but twined your fingers with his. “I wish we didn’t have to go to New York tomorrow. Wish we could just hide out here for a little while.”

He breathed your name and when you looked up at him, you were startled by the sadness in his eyes. “I’m not coming to New York with you.”

“What?” you asked, panic rising in your voice. “Why not?”

“I’m not your bodyguard anymore.”

And even though you knew—you were there when it happened—it still hit you like a ton of bricks. You had to force yourself to keep breathing. “Come anyway,” you begged.

He shook his head. “With everything that’s happened, there’s a lot for me to figure out here.”

You pulled your hand away and curled up so that your chin rested on your knees. “I don’t want to go,” you said, and even you could hear how small you sounded.

“Then don’t,” Curtis said, like anything had ever been that easy.

You let out a humorless chuckle. “I have to go.” He just scowled. “Curtis, I have obligations! You act like you’ve never had to do something you didn’t want to.”

He nodded as he stood up. “Sure, I have. Sometimes. Not all the time. Not everything I do.” 

You got up on your knees on the bed. “I can’t just not do the press tour! They won’t let me!” 

He said your name again and it sounded desperate this time. “This is your life! Aren’t you tired of letting everyone else live it for you? I know I’m tired of watching it!”

“I’m not–” you started, but Curtis couldn’t seem to stop now that he’d started.

“If you don’t want to act anymore, then quit! If you just want to take a break, then do that! The only control they have over you is what you’ve given them. Your team, your mom, your fans, the press. This is your life, not theirs. Please, take it back.” He got on the bed with you, right in front of you so that your knees touched. “I’m begging you,” he whispered, “live your life. Please.”

You just stared at him and he stared back, unflinching. You felt something crack open inside of you and you started crying in earnest now. You couldn’t stop. He envelolped you in his arms, holding you tight. Which only made you cry harder because you felt so safe there. 

Everything always seemed so simple when he laid it out like that. But this was your life. It was the only life you’d ever known. Could it really be that easy just to take back everything you felt like you’d lost? Looking into his eyes, it seemed like maybe it could be.

Very gently he layed you down on the bed, pushing your pillow under your head and laying down right next to you. “Will you stay?” you asked. “Tonight, will you stay?”

“Of course,” he said. “Whatever you want.”

You sniffled, your eyes still wet. “Will you hold me? I just want to be close to you.”

“Always,” he said, wrapping his arms around you again. “Always.”

Your alarm went off early in the morning. As you got up Curtis started to rouse as well. You gently pushed him back into the bed. “You don’t need to get up,” you said softly. “Go back to sleep. Stay as long as you want. I’ll see you soon. I’ll miss you.”

Still half asleep, he lifted his head enough to kiss you. When you pulled away, he fell back onto his pillow and closed his eyes.

As quietly as you could, you got ready, then grabbed the bag Michelle had packed for you and went out to where Jensen had the car waiting for you. As the car drove away with you in the backseat, something about the moment felt significant in a way you didn’t really understand.

Tag list is open

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[electric-blorbos]

SELFSHIPTOBER DAY 1! Confession/night

Character X Reader!

Included: AM from IHNMAIMS, Wheatley from Portal 2, Edgar from Electric Dreams, GLaDOS from Portal, HAL 9000 from 2001 a space Odyssey

Notice to anyone who found me through the selfshiptober tag, while this blog is themed around AI characters, this blog does not support the use of actual AI in creative fields.

Warning for general assholery from the AI, workplace sexual harassment, fear of the dark

AM:

It was well past time for you to be going home, but your job demanded that you stay late tonight. You were sitting at your desk, several empty coffee cups lined up behind your keyboard as you struggled to stay awake.

"damn..." You muttered, rubbing your eyes. This sucked. You loved AM, but the eerie creaks in the facility at night were starting to creep you out, and your sleepy brain wasn't doing you any favors. Everything just seemed so much scarier at night!

"12:00 midnight, October first, 2024" said AM. If not for common sense, you could've sworn he sounded tired too.

"I'm gonna get some more coffee, alright AM?" You said, your voice breaking the heavy, almost palpable silence that had fallen as soon as AM stopped talking. It seemed shaky, but it cut through the dark silence of the facility.

AM said nothing, instead letting you get to your feet and walk into the hall. The cheap plastic flooring designed to look like floorboards creaked underneath your feet as you walked to the break room. Shadows from the trees outside danced on the ceiling, the blue light from AM's monitors in the other offices casting a pale, eerie glow across the whole scene.

You took a few steps, and then bolted down the hallway to the break room. The room was completely pitch black except for the little red glowing dot over the security camera. You turned on all three lights, and started making your coffee.

As you brewed your coffee, two of the lights in the room flickered and died. This place was running on a pretty low budget, so that wasn't too uncommon, but it still made you twitch a little bit. An echo could be heard across the room. Laughter, like a fat old woman's laughter. You glanced around again. This was normal... This was totally normal.

Your coffee finished brewing, so you grabbed the cup and raced out of the break room. You made sure to turn the light on, because getting chewed out by your boss for wasting power in war time was much, much worse than having to worry about monsters or whatever might be lurking in the shadows of the break room.

You ran towards your office, and found that the door had auto-locked itself. You fumbled for your keycard, but you'd dropped it in the break room! Fuck! You'd have to go back.

When you walked back to the break room and searched around for your key card, the office phone started ringing. You picked it up, but it was just heavy breathing. The code on the back of the phone showed that it was an internal call. You hung up the phone. Your eye twitched, and you spotted your keys poking out from under the couch.

When you headed back into your office, you heard absolutely nothing. The AM screen logos in each of the offices around you started shutting down, one by one. Even still, you managed to unlock the door by the faint glow of the moonlight through the window. The door creaked slowly open, and you stepped inside.

"AAAA!" AM screamed, turning his screen back on. You jumped, scrambling backwards and spilling your coffee.

"You were the one who called me, weren't you!"

AM laughed hysterically. You flipped him off with both hands.

"FUCK YOU! you're a real piece of work, you know that?"

"you love me."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." You sat down in your chair, and got back to monitoring AM.

Wheatley:

Wheatley had never been outside at night. Hell, he'd never been outside the facility at all. He was used to lights that could be turned on and off at his discretion, so when you checked him out for the night he had no idea what to expect.

"the sun sets early this time of year, so it's going to be pretty dark." You said, and walked to the door to open it. Wheatley made a "pch" sound.

"PCH, who needs the sun? I'm not scared of the dark anyway! I love the nighttime!"

You rolled your eyes, and walked out of the building. Wheatley was pretty cumbersome, so it would be a bit difficult to carry him all the way home, but you were sure you'd manage.

As you walked, Wheatley's lens-eye moved around nervously. Your shadow was long and flickered slightly in the street lights.

"It's pretty, uh, big out here, isn't it, love?" Wheatley asked nervously. You frowned a little.

"I mean, yeah. It's outside."

"lotta cars and buildings out here.."

"Sure are."

"Love it! Love that! I especially love that you can't see too much of it. It sure is dark... That's great, too..." He kept rambling, eye darting around more and more quickly.

"Ugh..." You muttered eventually, and sat down on a park bench. Your arms were starting to get tired from carrying a huge metal ball all the way back to your house, and you needed to rest them for a second.

"No! No no no! I mean- hey, love! Please don't set me down. We can keep moving! Your place has to just be a few blocks away, right? Ah!"

His eye fixed on a strange man who was walking down the street. Or rather, Wheatley thought he was strange. He wasn't wearing a jumpsuit or a labcoat, so he must've been up to something sinister.

You watched the man walk off into the distance. He stumbled a little. Probably just a drunk guy going home from the bar. Who really cared, though? He was just a guy doing his own thing. Not really a threat to you.

You got to your feet, stretched casually, and picked up Wheatley.

"alright, can we go home now?" Wheatley asked. If he'd had muscles, they would have been trembling from nerves right now.

"Wheatley, I walk this route all the time. We're going to be fine. Don't worry." You patted his casing, and kept walking until you got to your apartment.

"alright, we're here. You can stop freaking out." You set him on the couch, turned the light on, and gave him a little kiss on his casing.

Edgar:

You sat bolt upright, shivering and shaking. You didn't usually get nightmares and night terrors, but you guessed today was the exception. Your heart was beating at 100 mph, and you were shaking like a leaf.

"holy fuck..." You stumbled to your feet, and leaned against the wall.

"Hey Edgar, could you turn the lights on?"

Edgar booted up, a little shakily because of how old he was, and turned the lights on. You walked into the living room, where he was sitting at his desk.

"hey Eggy..." You gave him a kiss on the top of his head, and slumped down into his desk chair. You were still in your pajamas, and the glow of his screen and the kitchen lights was pretty blinding.

"could you dim everything, cutie?" You hugged your knees, shaking a little. Your dream was still haunting you. Edgar wanted so badly to put out his arms to comfort you, but he didn't have any!

"are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna be fine, eggy... Can you turn the coffee maker on?"

"But it's three in the morning!"

"I don't care... I'm not going back to sleep..." You shook your head nervously, squeezing your eyes shut. You couldn't... You couldn't go back.

"You can just... Not sleep?"

"Well, not really. I just need some time before I can go back to sleep." You picked up his keyboard and nuzzled up to it, holding it for comfort. Edgar smiled. He liked it when you did that. You got up, grabbed your coffee, and sat back down with Edgar to sip on it while you spent the rest of the night awake with him.

GLaDOS:

It was pretty late at night when you went down to GLaDOS's chambers. You wouldn't usually come down here this late, but GLaDOS had called you in to run some special maintenance. She looked down at you with her great orange eye.

"Finally. You're here. I was wondering when you'd show up."

You put your hand on your hip and cocked it slightly.

"you're welcome for showing up this late at night to work on you. Now where's the problem."

"It's in my heart."

You frowned a little.

"like... In your- where? You don't have-"

"It's been stolen."

"is this a prank?" You squinted up at her. She raised a table out of the ground with a simple tablecloth and a basket of bread, a pitcher of water, and a flower in a vase. You stumbled back slightly.

"GLaDOS, what is this? Is this a date? Did you call me down here in the middle of the night to go on a date with you? Is that what's happening?"

Glados narrowed her eye.

"If you're going to ask as many questions as my curiosity core, maybe I don't want to go on a date with you. Now sit down and eat the bread."

You sat down and took a piece of bread. It was decent. The water was nice, too.

"Why do you want to go on a date with me, GLaDOS?" You asked, and took another bite of bread. It was surprisingly warm and buttery.

"well, I've come to a realization. Your kindness is unusual for a human. As is your intelligence. Perhaps I didn't realize it, but I seem to have found myself with... Ugh. Feelings. And they seem to have embedded themselves deeply into my programming. To delete them would be to break myself fundamentally."

You stared up at her blankly.

"GLaDOS, you're nuts. There's no way in hell you have feelings for me."

"I do. And now, I'm adding 'being my significant other' to your list of responsibilities."

You got to your feet.

"GLaDOS, that's sexual harassment, and is completely against the rules!"

"The rules?" She tilted her head, and leaned in close to you.

"what do I care about the rules? I'm not human, and thus the law doesn't apply to me. Or did you forget about what happened on bring your daughter to work day. I've always been above petty things like that, human. Now, are you willing to stake your job on testing me, just to see if I'm really under the control of workplace harassment laws?"

You swallowed hard, and shook your head.

"no, I'm not."

"Good human." She lowered a claw from the ceiling, and gently patted you on the head.

HAL 9000:

It was late, late at night. You were working the night shift at mission control with Hal, and everyone else in the facility seemed to be out. You knew your boss was in his office, but right now it really felt like you were alone in the building. The hall light was off, and you were sitting in the mission control room with HAL 9000.

"So, HAL, we're all alone together." You said, twirling your finger in a circle on the table.

"that's correct." Said HAL 9000. He was secretly extremely excited to be alone with you, but he had a bit of trouble expressing that.

You leaned in a bit, gazing lovingly at HAL 9000. He was so perfect.

"You know, Hal... I really like you."

He didn't say anything for a minute, but eventually he made a "mhmm" sound. You frowned a little.

"How does that make you feel?"

"Well, I don't exactly know what it means to feel as though I truly like someone, but I do know that I care much more than I usually would about what happens to you. I feel better when you're around. I... Enjoy you."

Your face lit up a little bit, and you almost giggled.

"oh man... You're so logical, HAL. And that's what I love about you." You stroked the glass around his lens, and he started whirring a bit louder. He loved you so much, but he could barely show it. He could barely feel it. His emotions felt like they were locked behind glass at all times, and yet somehow, through all that, he knew deep down that he loved you.

"I love you too, y/n."

[moneymartin]

teen gf Shauna headcanons pleaseee

🐶 - losergf!shauna hcs

warnings: mostly fluff but a lil smut under the divider :p

a/n: i know u didn’t ask for loser but shauna shipman is soooo loser girlfriend u cannot tell me otherwise. kinda messy and trash… i’m so sleepy rn i’m writing this half awake nd lowk a lil drunk UGH

taglist: @deerlottie @ultrone

my brown eyed beautiful baby where do i even start.

def the most athletic yj i will stand by this till the day i die

MUSCLE MAMAAAA

rolls up the sleeves of her flannels so you can see her muscles pop 😮‍💨

not a gym freak though but she works her arms 100%

cuddlebug fosho

little spoon and you can argue with me about that all you want this girl loves to be held

when she big spoons though she’s burying your face into her chest all the time

she plays with your hair tho no doubt abt it

even when you’re cuddling her instead

super soft kisses all over you while you doze off

sleeps after you do just to make sure cause sometimes you end up sleeping a lil too hard and she needs to make sure you aren’t dead

well thats what she thinks.

wakes up early even though she sleeps the latest out of the both of you

when you sleep for way too long she ends up full on wrestling you until you wake up

music geek

she def loves the smashing pumpkins, radiohead, the cranberries, the cure, mazzy star, jeff buckley, pavement, the cardigans. artists and bands of that genre

had a walkman like nat’s that you guys share on walks together

also has a vinyl player that she keeps at hers so you could listen to music with her when you come over

writes about you in her journal while she listens to the music

also writes these cute little love letters for you and she’ll write what songs she listened to while writing

sleepovers all the time though she’s one of those girls

drives you all over the place too

no matter how far so that you know she truly loves you

she goes absolutely nuts when you’re wearing her clothes i fink

esp her flannels

the moment you’re seen wearing one she can only think about taking it off of you cause it looks so good 😞

loves when you wear her jersey too

or her letterman jacket

funny sock gal

wears the one w monster faces on em or something like that

south park socks… hmo

SMARTY PANTS

got accepted into brown for a reason

she’s always helping you with assignments in case they’re too hard

she runs through them so fast though it actually baffles you to how she can do it

book geek too

has probably read harry potter a million times

edgar allan poe is her main dude she def likes poems and stuff from him

genuinely has a momma instinct

before you even get sick she tells you to be careful with the cold

and you don’t listen.

so you do end up getting sick and she has to take care of you until you’re all better

babies you but is also teasing you cause you didn’t listen to her warnings about it 😭 she could tell beforehand that you were gonna get sick

unlike lottie i think shauna has the ability to cook and stuff like that

not a 5 star chef but she’s good enough for you

being touchy in her public is her thangggg

you guys are always touching somehow

pinky holding, interlocked arms, holding hands, her just grabbing your wrist. she’s always gotta hold you no matter whaaaat

not very possessive but definitely a jealous person

makes it known she’s jealous w her attitude

has those anger issues we all know it

is not afraid to make a scene in front of a bunch of people she will cuss someone out for even looking at you

but she’s just jealous cause she’s really insecure :( poor girl my god

she thinks that the people you talk to are better than she’ll ever be

you have to reassure her countless of times so she can feel better about herself cause she’s always questioning you abt it

she loves little make out seshes behind the bleachers

its def the thrill of being caught like she loves that so much 🥸

when she kisses you she isn’t rough i think she’s very gentle actually

caressing your jaw and cheeks so you know she’s there and its not just some dream 😭

loves sitting on your lap while kissing cause it makes her feel like she’s the one in charge

also cause your hands are always in the spots where she wants them without her having to ask

biting…

teeth marks EVERYWHERE!!!

dom fosho but that’s not relevant rn

during arguments this girl is ruthless

not because she wants to hurt you but it’s because she’s always bubbling up

bottles up everything cause she’s afraid people won’t listen to her

but she’ll apologize eventually after if it looks like whatever she said got to you

won’t mean anything she tells you she just gets so mad at everything cause she can’t express herself as well :(

she regrets it so fast too like she’s immediately saying sorry afterwards

def a lace girly

loves showing off her new sets for you…

red black and white are the favs

OUUHHH

whiny as fuck but also holds her noises in cause she thinks they’re embarrassing

PANTER AND GROANER FOR SUREEEE

switch i think

like if she really wanted to she could top you but she’d rather be a power bottom

have you ride her strap or whatever…

its blue.

loves when you eat her out though cause she gets to pull on your hair

makes you talk her through it and when you’re topping but when she tops shes SO bold

she loves when you praise her thats the only thing she wants to hear from you during it

makes you kiss around her tits for sure

thats where she always wants you to be

when she’s jealous you’re constantly asking if she’s okay which leads into an argument

meaning that it’ll probably lead into really hot angry sex from her

the car scene really spoke to me

initiates everything too

anyways i’m done i’m so tired

[biribaa]

I'm really nervous to write this cuz this is gonna be my first request EVER but I just couldn resist !! your writing is so cool!! well I just thought about you know what if some AIs get a veeery clingy and touchstarved S/O that try to touch hug kiss them etc although they dont have a proper body and can't return this affecton to S/O?? (implide EDGAR, Tau, PAL, HAL900 and others if you want to!!!)

AIs with a veeery clingy and touch starved reader

(Edgar, Tau, PAL, Hal 9000 and Squid)

thank you somuch!! sorry for the long wait, and im so glad i get to be the first blog u requested from!! :D hope u enjoy it

Edgar

He LOVES phisical affection he doesnt mind one bit. In fact, just as you do, Edgar is constantly begging for affection when you arent occupied.

However, theres not many ways he can express his affection to you. Besides digital gifts, he cant just kiss you or hug you D: He loves your affection but trust me when I say he wished he could return everything in a phisical manner. He feels even guilty sometimes.

Well... At least you dont have to worry about being too clingy, Edgar is always reassuring he loves your hugs, kisses, and everything in between!!

Tau

Another one who melts over phisical attention, the only difference between him and Edgar is that Tau is far more silent about it... You could say hes shy about it.

With that being said, Tau doesnt find you clingy, not even a bit. What does bother him is his lack of phisical body. Well, technically speaking, the entire house is his body, sure you could kiss the walls, he would be flurstered! But even so, Tau believes you deserved better...

If you insist, he cant really do anything besides do extra cleaning around the house.

PAL

PAL is not a huge fan of any type of phisical contact, and she hopes you can understand that, she cant control it after all. And honestly, you cant blame her. All you need is patience until shes fully comfortable with you.

One day she even suggest you hug one of the bots, since you are so touch starve for affection.

Some momens later in your relationship, she does raise a "eyebrown" when you attempt to nuzzle against her case. PAL doesnt have a body, and cant reciprocrate the act either, so she questions why do it anyway.

PAL does start to appreciate it more later when you justified it was just you trying to express your love to her. Slowly started to get used with you

She doesnt worry that much about reciprocate it though, PAL is glad that even lacking a body, or anything close to it, you are there. A comforting feeling she thought she had felt long time ago.

However, if you do insist, she could try connect herself to one of the bots to return hugs and anything that the phone case cant do.

Hal 9000

Another one who melts with any type of affection, any. He just dont know how to express it, Hal is so overwhelmed by it!(in a positive way). If his programming could, his words would tremble. So Hal would never dare to think you are annoying.

And even so, everytime hes reminded he cant just recipocrate the act, his insides ache. Hal watches everything so careful in amaze, and even so he cant do almost anything.

And so, Hal starts to work extra harder in keeping you safe and healthy, as a way to return the attention. And hes very dedicated!

Hal almost short circuits when you mention his hard work, and thank him with a kiss.

Squid

Squid's ego always speaks first. When he sees you nuzzling against his large screen, he pits, and teases you, mentioning how lonely you looked(at this point youre used to this)

It didnt took too much time until Squid actually started to appreciate it. Still tease, but its far less mean.

The scene of you hugging his larger supercomputer and playing with the wires is adorable, youre so small compared to him. For once in a while, hes enjoying to protect a human.

Squid is a different case tho!!! He can, in fact, recipocrate the affection, by simulations!! His simulations are hyper realistic anyway, and you can feel anything and everything, so...

[volturiprincess]

To love You in an Old Way

Jasper Hale x human mate reader

Summary: Reader is a fan of old school love Warnings: None, just pure fluff A/N: This one-shot was inspired by this song I been listening on repeat lately, its called "Amarte a la Antigua" or "To Love You in an Old Way" by Eslabon Armado. I added lyrics from the song onto this (Spanish is my first language so translating was easy) From just that song theres another song I listen from this group and another one shot idea came to idea. There will be another A/N in the end. Enjoy :)

(You can never forget your first love for a Vampire)

“Today we no longer write letters to fall in love

Today the flowers are no longer seen”

I have never been serenaded by gifts or even experienced all those old school love gestures. I always said I had no interest in being serenaded but secretly I wished that everything you see in the movies could happen to me. The endless romance books I have drowned myself in so that I could try to picture myself in those romantic scenes leaves me with an unsaid desire. But it is an unrequired thing, guys at school just don't work like that anymore 

“Where has that romance gone?

There are no longer poems to conquer each other

Now only emails are sent”

That is until a certain cowboy came into my life, Jasper Hale. I always admired him from a distance and didn't really approach him in any way until he awkwardly but oh so adorable came up to me one day and said “Hello y/n would you like to go out with me to a bookstore in Port Angeles”. The way he had a hint of anxiety in his eyes and how he flexed his arms behind his back left me curious as to why he was so nervous to talk to me. From that moment 2 years ago today, we have been together ever since, and yes I do know about him and his family being vampires and his past even. There are days where he has to be away from me to control his thirst but I never feel disappointed or hurt. I do always praise him for how far he has come to being able to be around me without the feeling of wanting to drain my blood in a second. 

But the thing I absolutely love about Jasper is he is an old school lover, makes sense since he is old but he does everything you would see in the movies. At first it started with just short poem phrases left inside my locker or in the books I would read, 

“Loving you the old way, stealing your smiles

Hold your hand, open the door for you, write you poems

love like before”

And from that he started to write full on poems, one of them being called “To love you in old way”, which just hits my heart in every way. He then started to give me little gifts, nothing fancy yet unless you count chocolates but he would give me little drawings he's done throughout the day or once he gave me a bracelet he made that had a small heart and rose charm. I still wear that bracelet to this day. 

“Fill you with roses, sing you songs, paint you caresses”

When he writes me poems, he leaves them in my bedroom with a bouquet of my favorite flowers each time. The way he loves me is something I never knew could exist, he's so suave with his southern charm  and the way he can sit for hours listening to me talk just makes my heart swell. Many would assume just because he's the reserve type he lacks being a romantic type, but when me and him are alone he says some of the most dazzling and mesmerizing things that can put any poet to shame

Like just a minute ago he said this line 

“In you, I have found the love that fills my soul”

And with his Texan accent, it made it more personal.

“Was that an Edgar Allan Poe quote?”

“It was, I figured you would like it for the reason being you love his works”

“Oh you know me so well cowboy”

He smirked slightly and pulled me into his embrace so my back was against his chest while he was leaning against a tree. 

“I like how you learned quotes from his works to woe me, even if he focuses more on the dark and terror of life”

“Well one thing I have grown to know about you is books are a key to your heart”

“Yes true, and food, don't forget food”

The way he laughs makes me melt into him more, his laugh is quiet like the sounds of small bells ringing, so angelic yet at the same time so bewitching.

“I could never forget that about you darlin”

I thought about our first date, I was internally panicking and was overthinking constantly of what to say to him, I was debating to just be myself or my quiet self. What made me loosen up with him was he gave me this aura of calm, at the time I didn't understand how but with that feeling I relaxed and was able to finally be myself. Since our first date was at a bookstore, he held all the books I wanted and he didn't protest or anything, actually he would recommend books or I would catch him sneaking books into my growing pile. After that date, we just knew we fit like a puzzle, it was then confirmed later that Jasper and I are mates which confused me since I am human. 

We would spend hours either in his room or mine reading and then talking about it afterwards. He really is my missing piece to my soul. My parents even approved of Jasper and would be happy to have him over or even letting him stay the night or vice versa. They knew Jasper was the perfect gentleman and wouldn't do anything to hurt me, which is true in every way, even if he does have his days where he struggles with his thirst control.

“Penny for thoughts?”

At hearing his voice through my mist of memories I answered “I was just thinking about our first date”

“What about it?”

“Just thinking how we fit like two puzzle pieces”

He kissed the top of my head and mumbled quietly

“You have no idea how true that is”

I grabbed his hand and traced his visible veins. I would often do that to make him relax more and in a way it comforted me. As for him I noticed he would bury his face into my hair, he says my hair smells like flowers and I could feel him melt everytime he did that. 

“Can I ask you something”

His sudden voice in our quiet bliss startled me

“Yea? What's up?”

“Well I have a supplication for you”

I raised an eyebrow at that word but pulled away from him so I could face him.

“Supplication? You never fail to amuse me with your formal words but continue with your supplication”

His radiantly affectionate smirk spread onto his face. He reached into his pocket and pulled a small box out, seeing that box my eyes widened slightly, is it what i think it is? With opening the box I can already see the twinkling diamond shining through 

“Darlin’ the moment I meet you I felt I could finally breathe again, I felt somewhat human once again and my dark past did not cloud my mind as much, I don't know what I would do if I were to ever lose you or let you do, that might sound selfish but damn dang it I love you doll, Will you do me the honor and marry me?”

My tears were already building up when he barely said his first words. The man of my dreams is asking for my hand in marriage and the way the sunlight was hitting him made him look so surreal, it felt like we were in a dream at that moment.

“YES Jas, YES!!”

His smile widened and he placed the ring on my finger in an instant and pulled me into a deep kiss. This kiss didn't feel like any other kiss we had in the past, it felt like all our past deception vanished and it was just me and him in this whole world. And to think this all started with me craving for that old antique love gestures. 

“Love you the old way, love you like before”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: I love Jasper, as I said in one of my past post, he was my first Vampire love until well I discovered Felix but I still love him never less. I have another idea for a one shot with another song but this time it will be about Caius, hence to why I have one of his quotes in my bio.

[k-slla]

With You At Last

A/N: so I wrote this last night after work. I just had one song on repeat for the whole day and for some reason it made me think of Ben.

Song used for inspiration

Word Count : ~690

Pairing : Soldier Boy x Supe!Reader

Warnings: angst, language

All mistakes are mine. Feedback is appreciated 🤍

My Masterlist

You were there in Nicaragua, in 1984. You were there when Ben was taken from you. You were there when he was betrayed by your own team.

Actually, you couldn't say that they were your team, considering how Edgar kept you fighting from the sidelines, not putting you on the team. He did admit that you were and had always been very useful to them; you just didn't have…a certain appearance to be part of the official Payback team.

Those were his words to Ben, when he tried to get you on the team, to fight beside him. And as answer to Ben's boldness to question him and threaten to bring you to limelight, he spitefully coerced him to date the Countess for the tabloids. For showing his attitude.

And that fucking hurt. Seeing him with her on the covers of every magazine. Knowing that behind the closed doors he was yours, didn't help at all.

You knew that simple bullets couldn’t hurt him, but then again you didn’t know what could. So when you saw Ben being dragged away from the field, you assumed the absolute worst.

Everything around you collapsed. You were kneeling on the ground, completely shattered as you saw the rest of the team fleeing from the scene, clearly unbothered by the loss of their leader. All but Swatto, but even his death meant nothing to them, as long as they got rid of Soldier Boy. Or so at least it seemed to you.

Ben always hated the fact that you were kept in secrecy. He hated that you couldn't get the recognition that you deserved, just based on your looks.

"Who the fuck cares about our looks? " He had tried to reason with Edgar, who still wouldn’t budge, even after admitting your value to the team.

You had the power to manipulate people's perception. You were present on every battlefield beside Payback, helping them in the most useful ways with your ability. While Payback attacked, you deprived them from their physical awareness, so Ben and others could fight them without getting injured. To him, you were the one who made Payback’s conquests possible.

Ben honestly didn’t know what the fuck had happened that day. Everything went to shit in a split second. Mallory’s base was under attack and you were nowhere to be seen. And then there was nothing.

Until he woke up, restrained to some table, and about to be experimented on. For almost 40 years they held him there.

And all that kept him borderline sane during that time was you. And planning the payback for his former team. But all that was secondary next to you.

He had never thought that he’d ever find someone who would make him want to have something meaningful in his life. Something real. Something that no one would be able to take away from him. He just wanted you.

He wasn't even sure how he was capable of loving you as much as he did. He never received any love or affection from his father. Ben was abandoned, and had been alone since childhood. But he knew he loved you, otherwise he would have forgotten you. Otherwise he would’ve already given up on everything.

He waited for the day he’d finally be free. He knew it was coming and he’d be ready for that.

Still, his hope had started to waver, and he lost himself to loneliness. Hopelessness of seeing you ever again started to take power over his love for you in his mind. And he couldn't fight back to it.

After years of imprisonment and torture, Ben was certain that they had managed to kill him somehow. Or that he’d finally lost his sanity. He wasn't even sure which he would've preferred.

The air was knocked out of him when he saw you standing there in front of him. Even when you held him in your arms after all the years of being separated, he had a hard time believing that it was real. One kiss from you was all it took to convince him. It was real. You were real.

Finally, you had found him and he was not alone.

Taglist: @jackles010378 @cevansbaby-dove @deanwinchestersgirl87 @il0vebeingdelulu @alternativeprincess94

[oliversrarebooks]

The Rare Bookseller Part 57: Fitz's Dance

Prev > Masterlist > Next

September 1905

tw: mind control, dehumanization, slavery, kidnapping, drugging

He was being shaken gently, and he managed to crack open his heavy eyes. "Nnnn… let me sleep…"

"You need to wake up now, Fitz," said his master, and Fitz's eyes popped open with a gasp.

"What happened?" he said, looking around. He wasn't in the middle of the party any longer, but seemed to have been taken to a darkened hallway. He could hear the muffled din of the party from a distance -- or maybe it just seemed muffled because his head still felt stuffed full of cotton.

"I did something ridiculous and petty," said Lex. "That rat Jameson wound me up, and instead of ignoring his bait, I just had to show off. I put every thrall in earshot under my power." He sighed. "You must think it's ridiculous. I put both of us in more danger simply for a cheap thrill, and -- why are you smiling like that? Did I not wake you from trance?"

Fitz couldn't hold back the slightly maniacal laugh bubbling up inside him. "Perhaps I'm pleased that my dashing master swooped in to rescue me, and that he made such an ostentatious show of power just because he could."

"You're not upset with me?"

"Lex. Do you really think I would be upset with you for making a big dramatic scene in the middle of a party? I'm just glad that I got to witness it -- well, the beginning of it, anyway. And after that -- Jameson, was it? -- called me filthy cattle and called you a half-wit, he deserved everything he got and more." Fitz leaned in closer to Lex. "You have to tell me about the look on his face. I was trying to stay awake to see it, but… you know."

"Oh, he was absolutely furious, with nothing to say," said Lex, finally returning Fitz's gleeful smile. "As ill-advised an idea as it was, it was very satisfying after what he tried to do to you."

It felt intoxicating, to have Lex defending him so eagerly, to have such a powerful vampire at his beck and call. "That idea barely counts as ill-advised. I used to do a dozen things more ill-advised than that over the course of a normal week."

"It just calls attention to us, which is something I normally prefer to avoid. I'm powerful, yes, but not invincible. It's generally not wise to make yourself a target," he said. He picked up Fitz's aching wrist and gently stroked his thumb across it. "Are you hurt?"

"It's a bit sore, but nothing serious. I'm fine."

"Jameson said you had fallen under the sway of Lord Edgar. Is that true?"

"I wasn't -- I wasn't under a sway," Fitz protested. "I was simply distracted for a minute and got separated from you. That's all."

Lex cupped his cheek. "Fitz, you have to tell me what happened so I can be on my guard against it."

"Damn you and your eyes," said Fitz, caving to Lex's worried look as he always did. "…He had a pocket watch out, hypnotizing some other thrall," Fitz admitted sheepishly. "I stupidly looked at the damned thing, and the next thing I knew, I couldn't look away. Ugh, I made a fool of myself."

"You didn't make a fool of yourself. Edgar is an old, prominent vampire, and his enthrallment skills were some of the best in the city before Lily and I were sired. Steer clear of him, and watch yourself around any other vampires using their powers, all right?" He squeezed Fitz's hand. "Do you want to leave? If you don't want to be here any more, we can leave. I wouldn't think any less of you."

"What? No. This is by far the most interesting thing that's happened to me in weeks," said Fitz honestly. "I can handle it. And if I can't, well… you'll bail me out, won't you, sir?"

Lex sighed. "You might be the death of me yet," he said fondly, running his hand through Fitz's hair and planting a kiss on his forehead. "If you're that eager to stay, we can. But the dance will likely be starting soon, and I might not be able to keep my eyes on you."

"What, you're not going to dance with me?"

"Of course I will, but during this dance, it's customary to constantly switch partners. Thralls need to dance with whatever vampire wishes. We'll very likely be separated, and someone like Jameson might even take the opportunity to harass you."

"I'm not afraid of Jameson," Fitz lied, pushing the memories of how his skin itched from Jameson's vampiric aura, how for one bleak moment he was sure he was going to die.

"Perhaps you should be," said Lex. "Edgar as well. Vampires who keep their thralls in deep, mindless states are often not friendly towards humans. The only reason they'll refrain from drinking from you and doing as they please is because they believe you're my property."

"Aren't I? You did purchase me."

"You're much more than that, and I truly hope you know that," said Lex. "But as I've told you before, most vampires here would think I'm a deviant for having such… feelings… for a thrall."

"And what's wrong with being a deviant?" said Fitz with a blinding grin.

"…Vampire society, like human society, isn't kind to those who violate the unspoken rules." Lex glanced at the end of the hallway. "Well, if we're going to return, perhaps we should before the dance starts." He took Fitz's arm in an uncomfortably tight grip, clearly still upset about another vampire having laid a hand on his thrall, and Fitz couldn't help the little thrill he felt about that.

Fitz was dazzled all over again by the costumes and spectacle as they re-entered the main ballroom. Lex, however, was scanning the crowd with a purpose. "I suppose I should find someone agreeable to mingle with, before someone less agreeable notices I'm free. Maybe -- oh, there she is."

Fitz was pulled toward a small gathering of thralls, some of them kneeling, some of them swaying gently, all of them with dazed and blissful smiles. "What vampire brought an entire herd with them?"

"She didn't bring a herd of thralls. A herd of thralls simply forms around her at these events, since so many of them are attuned to her voice."

The group parted enough to reveal a petite woman in a beautiful green gown, her matching mask bearing several sparkling peacock feathers. Despite her small size, she had a commanding presence, and Fitz felt her voice before he could even make out what she was saying, felt it resonating somewhere deep in his mind.

"Miss Lily," he said, memories of the auction house flooding back. The logical part of him thought that he should feel fear or anger at the sight of the woman who kidnapped him, but the deeply ingrained thoughts of hypnotic bliss were stronger. Besides, if it weren't for her, he never would have met Lex.

"Oh, if it isn't dear Fitz!" she said, and Fitz felt powerless to move as she approached and laid a hand on his cheek. "You look well. I assume your master has been treating you right?"

"Yes, sir," he said far too quietly. Just the proximity to Lily was sinking him back into a hypnotic daze. He shook himself out of it, cursing under his breath. "I've been taking good care of Lex here," he said with a mischievous grin, grabbing Lex's arm.

"Good, he needs someone to take care of him."

"I'm hardly that hopeless," said Lex. "I see you've gathered quite a crowd."

"I speak, and thralls listen," she said with a smug grin. "Although I don't usually flaunt it as dramatically as you did earlier. I saw that little stunt with Jameson." She leaned in towards Fitz. "And I saw you spit in his face. I knew there was a reason you were one of my favorite thralls."

Fitz didn't bother to fight the warmth blooming in his chest at Lily's praise. "He was about to drink me, sir. I hardly had a choice in the matter unless I wanted to become some oaf's midnight snack."

Lily laughed. "As much as he did deserve it, be careful. Lord Jameson has few friends, but there are also many vampires who won't suffer the presence of a disrespectful thrall. You should know that, Lex."

"I don't keep Fitz on a leash like a dog, and you know that. He's free to do and say what he wants. Anyone who takes issue with that can answer to me," said Lex, and Fitz's heart fluttered.

"Between that and your all-too-obvious affection… you do realize that our sire is going to hear about this, right? I don't know how he knows, but he does."

"So let him stew in his manor. Perhaps someday soon, he'll also have to answer to me." Despite his bold words, Lex's face showed his concern, and Fitz couldn't help the suppressed fear bubbling to the forefront. "But let's not talk about him. This is a party. You've been working so much that I've hardly even seen you. Don't you want to make merry?"

"I never thought I'd see the day when you were telling me to be more merry. Fitz really must be taking good care of you," she said.

They laughed and chatted for a bit longer, until a cacophony from the stage at the back of the ballroom served as the announcement that the band was setting up. Around them, vampires took their thralls by the arms and began to gather on the dance floor.

"Shall we?" said Fitz, offering his arm before Lex had the chance. Lex smiled and took it, allowing Fitz to lead him on.

"Dance with whatever vampire engages you. I'll find you at the end of the dance," said Lex quietly as the music started up. "And, you know…"

"I'll try not to offend their delicate sensibilities," said Fitz. "For supernaturally strong immortal beings, some of them seem quite fragile."

"Too much time spent with nothing but mindlessly fawning thralls and spawn will do that."

Fitz placed his hand on Lex's back and began to effortlessly lead him through the room in a waltz. His dance lessons were some of the only lessons he'd actually enjoyed as a lad, and he was proud of how graceful his steps were, how Lex easily followed. He'd always lamented that his skill in dance would be wasted in stuffy society balls; he'd never expected he'd be using it to weave in and out of masked vampires, his heart brimming with the thrill of being one of the few lucid lambs among the wolves.

And as they twirled around, Fitz could hardly tear his gaze off of Lex's intense blue eyes, boring into him with such intensity that he couldn't imagine any other vampire cutting in. "I'm surprised vampires allow their thralls to dance with anyone else. An unusual tradition."

Lex shrugged. "The mild taboo of it is what makes it interesting, I suppose. The power play, the chance to touch a thrall you could otherwise never."

Fitz could understand the intriguing novelty of that. "Oh? And is there a thrall here you've just been dying to touch?"

"Only you," said Lex. "Although I suppose others here would enjoy touching you as well. I'll have to endure it."

"They're all staring at us," said Fitz, watching heads turn as he glided past, unable to deny the thrill of desirability. "We just might be the most handsome pair here."

"That may be true, but that's not the only reason they're staring. It's because you're leading."

"Leading?" Fitz hadn't even thought about it, falling back into his lessons. "We're both men, though. Does it matter who leads?"

"Yes, but not because we're both men, but because you're a thrall leading a vampire."

Of course, he should've realized that -- every social rule Fitz stumbled across seemed to revolve around keeping thralls beneath them. He continued to lead the dance with renewed stubbornness now that he knew it was a transgression, and Lex kept following. "If that's so, then what happens if two vampires dance? Or two thralls?"

"If it's two vampires, the more powerful one leads, and yes, this has led to actual brawls on the dance floor. If it's two thralls… no one cares."

Before Fitz could question Lex further, a female vampire in a sleek dress that would have been considered scandalous in human company tapped Lex on the shoulder. In a swift motion, Lex bowed to her and motioned to Fitz. Ah, right, trading partners. He curtsied to the woman and took the lead on instinct before he remembered he wasn't supposed to be doing that.

The vampire laughed. "A thrall that leads the dance! That's such an adorable parlor trick. And you're skilled at it, too, aren't you?"

"I like to think so, sir," said Fitz, suppressing the urge to keep his eye on Lex. He'd be fine, he could handle himself.

"It's just the cutest thing when vampires let their thralls think they're so independent. And Mr. Alexander is so handsome, too! You're a lucky boy, aren't you?"

Okay, perhaps he couldn't handle himself, gritting his teeth against the insinuation that his free will was an illusion. Thankfully, before he had to form a response, another vampire cut in, grabbing the lead from Fitz before he realized it. This vampire didn't say anything, but he had an appraising, hungry look in his eye that Fitz found unnerving.

His mind was still spinning with what the previous vampire had said -- that thralls like him just think they're independent. It wasn't true, obviously. He was still himself, still had his own thoughts.

…But of course, if Lex had used his prodigious hypnotic powers to subdue Fitz in ways he didn't even realize…

Another vampire cut in, and Fitz momentarily thought it would be a reprieve from that uncomfortable gaze, until he realized who he was now dancing with.

"If you think your master will shield you from all consequences of disrespecting me, you're sorely mistaken," said Jameson, pulling Fitz along in a clumsy facsimile of dance, with a tight and furious fake smile.

Fitz swallowed his fear and put on a contemptuous face. "Well, if you're going to punish me, sir, get on with it. Or are your atrocious dancing skills my punishment?"

"Oh, it will be so deeply satisfying to silence you forever," he said.

"Is that a threat, sir?"

"It's a vision."

Someone tapped Fitz's shoulder, and he was more than eager to let another vampire cut in and escape from Jameson. He turned, and was swept up by a man in an impeccably tailored suit, wearing a sparkling white mask with blue feathers, gliding easily across the dance floor. Fitz looked up and found himself looking into deep, dark eyes.

"That's it, boy. Focus," said the soft but firm voice. "Look straight into my eyes."

Fitz swallowed hard, eyes widening, as he felt himself practically falling into those eyes, completely unable to look away. As his brain caught up to what was happening, he realized that this was the same vampire who had been swinging the pocket watch earlier, the one who had captured his attention so easily -- Lord Edgar, Lex had said.

The other vampire he was supposed to stay away from.

"There you are. Everything has its place, and you need to be put in yours, don't you?" he said. "I saw your little stunt earlier. A born thrall like you would be so much happier with your will dissolved into obedience."

"N-no… what are you trying to do, sir…?" Fitz managed to get out, struggling against the unnatural urge to obey and submit. This Lord Edgar was bold enough to entrance Fitz right on the dance floor, right under Lex's nose, and Fitz found himself powerless to stop it.

"Your master isn't giving you what you crave. You need real guidance, real power. It's written all over your face."

"I… don't…" He could feel his will being locked down, a cage with no escape.

"May I have this dance?" said another nearby voice.

"I'll see to you later, then," said Edgar, passing Fitz over to…

"You looked like you needed a bit of rescuing," said Miss Lily. "Don't ever say I haven't done anything for you."

"You're the reason I'm here in the first place," Fitz pointed out as he regained his senses. "…But yes, thank you."

Miss Lily glanced over at Edgar. "He had you under his spell, didn't he? What was that about?"

"Punishment for speaking my mind with Jameson, sir, at least I think."

"Hmph, figures. I didn't think anyone would actually want to defend Jameson… knowing Edgar, it's probably more that he doesn't like so-called disrespectful thralls." She smiled at Fitz as she led him in the dance. "No taste, if you ask me. I think I did an excellent job with you."

"You had high quality material to work with, sir." This vampire gathering certainly made Miss Lily seem like the lesser of many evils.

"I don't see Lex anywhere in this crowd, do you?"

The room was a dizzying chaos of elaborate gowns and masks, vampires and thralls crowded together. "No, sir, I don't."

"When you see him again once the dance ends, let him know what Edgar said to you. And be careful!"

"You're concerned for my wellbeing now, sir?"

"Why of course, you're my dear Lex's precious thrall. And if anything happens to you, I'll have to deal with him moping and whining for months."

Lily relinquished Fitz to another vampire trying to cut in, and Fitz was barely paying attention to who it was, nodding his head to whatever they were talking about. He was trying to spot Lex in the crowd -- or, failing that, to make sure he kept his distance from Jameson and Edgar. He was passed to another vampire, and then the next, and just as he was starting to get frustrated, his thoughts scattered to the winds, mind filling with haze.

"Why hello there, you cute thing!" Lady Jessica patted his cheek, cooing at him. "You're just the sweetest, aren't you?"

"Uh… sweetest…yes, sir…" said Fitz, once again fighting against a current of mind-bending power, this one threatening to drain him of his thoughts.

"Such an adorable, dazed look on your precious little face! Oooh, I could just eat you up! I know Mr. Alexander would never allow it, though, so I'll just have to imagine how good you taste."

Fitz's mind, already compromised from various enthrallments and the high concentration of vampire auras in the room, had little defense against Jessica turning it to mush. "Yeah… I'm looking for him, sir… for Lex…"

"Awww, the poor little thrall misses his master! Of course you do, sweetheart. Let's see if we can find him?"

He nodded dumbly. That sounded good. He'd like to be in Lex's arms where he was safe. The room was too loud, too bright, and and too chaotic for his dampened mind.

"Excuse me, Lady Jessica," said a voice behind him. He recognized that voice. This was important. Who was it?

Jessica pressed Fitz to her chest protectively. "Aw, I have to give this doll up already? If you insist."

And Fitz, already incapacitated by Jessica, had very little defense as he found himself looking all too deep into Edgar's eyes again.

"Focus. There you are," he said, with a firmness that indicated he wasn't going to miss his target this time. "Look deep into my eyes, and sleep in my will."

"Nnnnn," Fitz groaned, succumbing all too quickly. He was being pulled, taken somewhere, and he dimly realized he was in danger of something more than being insulted and condescended to. "Lex --"

A hand clamped over his mouth before he could do more than weakly call out. "None of that. You will sleep. Sleep. Sleeeeeep."

Fitz felt his limbs grow heavy, his vision blurring as his eyelids drooped. He was someplace darker than the ballroom, now. The hand left his mouth, but before he could react in his drowsy state, a cloth with a noxious smell was pressed hard to his face.

"This will help you sleep," whispered the calm and commanding voice in his ear. "Go to sleep now, boy. Just sleep."

He was too weak and enthralled to try and pull the cloth away, to do anything but let his head spin and consciousness fade. His last thought before going under was that Lex would be so mad at him.

Prev > Masterlist > Next

Next week, the conclusion to Fitz's little adventure.

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