#this was fun but i had no clue what to put

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Eddie decided to pull out all the stops to ask Steve out. He borrowed heavily from the Labyrinth, including making himself an outfit and affectionately 'kidnapping' Dustin with a scavenger hunt for Steve to follow. . .

"I'm not doing it, Robin," Steve said, slouching back against his couch and crossing his arms. "I'm not playing his games. If he wants to ask me out, he can come to me."

"Yeah, sure, but what about Dustin?" Robin asked.

"Eddie's not going to hurt him," Steve rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but he might pump him full of sugar," Robin pointed out.

"Goddamnit. . .okay, show me the first clue," Steve said, and Robin handed it to him.

"Green, green envelopes the man and hugs him tight as much as I wish I can. Given to him by the pox ridden sloth who despises him unjustly, this is the place with the boxes full of visions and where the man made of stars is wrongfully imprisoned. . .a prison I fight every day to free him from. . .my next note lies where the sloth never looks. . .," Robin read. "He's certainly theatrical."

"I know," Steve said, smiling and biting his lip. "Family Video!"

"I'm sure that Keith would appreciate being called a pox ridden sloth," Robin said. "Alright, let's go."

"You're coming with?" He asked.

"Vickie's out of town. There's nothing on TV. . .entertain me, peasant!" Robin exclaimed.

"You and Eddie. . .both theatrical," Steve said.

"Says the drama queen himself," Robin replied. "After you, your bitchiness."

Steve and Robin went to Family Video. They went in, brushing by a disgruntled looking Keith arguing with a customer, and went straight for their hidden candy stash in the storage closet. Tucked under the box was another clue. They took the clue and walked out, quickly moving past Keith getting put in a headlock by a small elderly woman. They opened the clue in the car.

"This is the spot where I turned you away. Regretfully, I did, not knowing of the magic you buried deep inside. Sent by the enemy, I thought you were. . .oh, if I could turn back the hands of time and awaken the fool that I was, trapped in the grave of my own making. . .if I had said yes, then. . .awaiting in the stacks is my eternal regret and the very next clue. . .," Robin read. "Okay, what the hell is he talking about?"

"Hawkins' Public Library," Steve muttered, blushing.

"I feel like I'm missing some critical information here, Steven," Robin said.

"Uh, freshman year, I wanted to do something different. . .you know, in addition to basketball and the swim team. I thought Hellfire sounded like fun, but when I approached Eddie in the library. . .," he trailed off.

"He thought you were fucking with him," she realized.

"Yeah, he said that me and my stupid hair have better things to do than to fuck with him, like beg Daddy for money," Steve said.

"Jesus," Robin said and paused. "I'm starting to think that maybe it's not just asshole jocks who are judgemental. I mean, now that I'm thinking about it. . .how could you possibly know everyone in the school. . .how can I call you asshole for that, especially when I made myself unapproachable? I made a snap judgment."

"Everyone does, Robin," Steve said. "You decided not to stick to it. Some people aren't smart enough to do that."

Robin beamed at him and squished his cheeks before placing a kiss on his nose.

"My dingus," she whispered.

"My Robin," he smiled.

"Let's go get your fool of a man," Robin said.

Steve and Robin went to the library and walked in, awkwardly waving at the librarian who had a one night stand with Hopper. They quickly scurried past.

"We don't know for sure that actually happened, Robin," Steve whispered.

"According to Erica, Hopper was a bit of. . .," Robin whispered.

"Making snap judgments again, Robin," Steve teased.

"So, I don't suppose you remember which aisle he rejected you in, do you?" Robin asked.

"I actually do," he blushed. "It's right over here. . ."

"Oh my god! The romance section?!" Robin giggled. "Oh, it was definitely meant to be."

"Look, here it is," Steve said and grabbed it before handing it to Robin.

They quickly moved out of the library and back into Steve’s car.

"Beauty within and beauty without, he makes this games appealing to me. A warrior, glistening and shining like the stars he's made of. . .the cloth he wears hides almost nothing. . .this place he fights and plays to win but also for the love of the people. . .my heart, it's him, the gladiator that he is, and this is his arena, where the next clue awaits. . . Does my dear sweet gladiator fight his fate?" Robin read.

"The basketball court," Steve said, snapping his fingers.

When they showed up to the entrance to the gym, it was blocked by Jeff and Doug. They were sitting in chairs, reading. When they caught sight of Steve, they tossed their books aside and quickly stood up.

"Finally!" Doug exclaimed.

"Well, I wasn't going to play along, but I got curious," Steve said.

"I told you," Doug said to Jeff, who rolled his eyes. "Why isn't Gareth doing this?"

"Because he's hanging out with Will again," Jeff said and nudged him in the side. "Come on, man, play along."

"Fine."

"Oh, sweet Steve, you have arrived, and now you have a choice to make, this door of mine or this door of his?" Jeff asked.

"One door leads to your utter doom," Doug said.

"And the other leads to your destiny," Jeff said.

"Trick question," Steve said before they could finish, his hands on his hips. "Both doors. He's both my destiny and my doom."

Jeff and Doug bowed low before stepping aside. As Steve and Robin went inside, they heard them whisper.

"Dustin wasn't kidding. Steve really is a genius at figuring out Eddie's next move," Doug said.

"Yeah," Jeff said. "It just means it's true love. . .that's also why Steve doesn't play D&D. He tends to call Eddie out on it."

Steve and Robin moved further into the gym. In the middle, there was a long plastic table. On it was a pink dress, much like Sarah's dress from Labyrinth except that it wasn't quite so big. It looked handmade, so whoever made it worked with what they had, and Steve thought they did a wonderful job. Anyone else would look down on it, but Steve could see the love and the care that went into it. To Steve, it was perfect. Pink, Steve thought, one of his favorite colors.

"Ooh, there's a note. . .oh, thank God, I don't have to put it on," Robin said and pressed it into Steve’s hand.

"My dear sweet gladiator, in order to prepare for battle, one must wear armor. You are in your arena. . .meet me in mine," Steve said, and he smiled. "Oh my god, what a fucking dork."

"There's a bag under the table," Robin said.

Steve pulled it out and unzipped it. Inside was a pair of heals, makeup. . . And his bat!

"Hey! I was wondering where that went," Steve said.

"You know you don't have to wear any of this," she said in amusement.

"Please, Robin," Steve scoffed. "You know I'm going to."

He stripped down in the middle of the gym, replacing his clothes with the other garments. He eagerly put on the makeup Eddie provided and then slid on the heals. He didn't need any help walking in them.

"This isn't your first time wearing a dress or heals is it?" Robin asked.

"Of course not," Steve said.

"Like I should automatically know this about you when you haven't told me?" Robin asked.

"I have a couple in my closet," he said.

"I thought those were trophies," she said.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Steve asked. "I just like dressing up sometimes. . .my dad never let me join theater."

"Do you feel like a woman sometimes?" She asked.

"Sometimes. . .but other times, I feel like a man like even when I'm wearing pants or dresses," Steve said, and then his eyes widened. "Hold on. . .are you saying like I'm bisexual. . .I could be bi. . .gender?"

"Yeah, I guess, if that's what feels right to you," Robin grinned.

"Awesome," Steve beamed, and she grabbed the bat from Robin.

"Nothing like a pretty girl who could also kill you. . .and I still mean that platonically," Robin said. "By the way, that's faster than when you realized you're bisexual."

"I'm learning," she replied.

"So, not only was this a road to love, it was also a road to self-discovery while I, Robin Buckley, also continue to learn more about my platonic soulmate - ,"

"Robin, stop narrating, and let's get to the drama room!" Steve yelled.

As they moved down the hallway, they ran into Jonathan and Nancy.

"What are you doing here?" Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Robin asked at the same time.

"I asked you first," they said again.

"They found my favorite sweater in the journalism classroom," Nancy said.

"And then we can say we're done with this school for good," Jonathan said. "More importantly, what are you doing?"

"Oh, Eddie kidnapped Dustin. I'm rescuing him," Steve replied.

"I have more questions," Jonathan said. "Why are you wearing a dress?"

"You've never seen him in a dress?" Nancy asked.

"No, have you?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah, tons of times," Nancy said and then turned to Steve. "Your boobs look fantastic in that dress."

"Don't they?" Steve agreed, scrunching up her nose. "Eddie made the dress. . .Robin!"

Steve gasped as her hands disappeared into the dress.

"What?" Robin asked.

"They have pockets!" Steve squealed and twirled around.

"We'll let you get back to it, I guess. Good luck rescuing Dustin," Jonathan said.

"Thanks," Steve beamed.

Steve ran past them, pulling up the dress of her skirt so she could run better.

"Jesus, you can run in those heels?!" Robin shrieked. "How?!"

Steve ignored her and continued on to the drama room. She burst into the room, her heart pounding with adrenaline. It was completely dark. Steve jumped when music started playing, and a spotlight flickered on. The light was over Eddie's old throne, the throne that now belonged to Dustin. Eddie was sprawled out on it, one leg over the arm of the chair. He was wearing skin-tight leather black pants and a gray vest. His hair was even wilder than usual, and he wore eyeliner that made his eyes pop. Steve bit her lip. God, she wanted to fuck him right there in the chair. If only Robin and Dustin weren't there. Oh, right, Dustin. He was sitting in a plastic chair, reading, and drinking Yoo-hoo. He was also wearing stripped pajamas, almost similar to the ones the baby wore in the movie. Boy, Eddie really was going all out with this.

"My dear sweet gladiator, you made it to the final act," Eddie said, standing. "Are you ready to face your final test?"

"Depends on what the test is, my little hairy butt," Steve said, her hands on her hip.

"It's supposed to be a cute nickname!" Eddie shrieked.

"Wait, does Eddie really have a hairy - "

"You're supposed to be kidnapped, Henderson!"

"Right."

Eddie grinned and moved closer to Steve. He held out his hand.

"A fight. . .to the death," Eddie said.

Steve grinned and took his hand. Eddie pulled him into his arms, his other arm wrapping around her waist. Steve heard the music stop and then someone changing the tapes. As the World Falls Down by David Bowie started playing.

"This feels a lot like dancing," Steve teased, and Eddie shushed her.

"There's such a sad love. . .Deep in your eyes a kind of pale jewel. . .Open and closed. . .Within your eyes. . .I'll place the sky. . .Within your eyes. . .There's such a fooled heart. . .Beatin' so fast. . .In search of new dreams. . .A love that will last. . .Within your heart. . .I'll place the moon. . .Within your heart," Eddie sang.

"This is nice," Steve whispered and pressed her cheek to his as they slow danced.

"Do you feel properly seduced?" Eddie asked.

"Absolutely taken," Steve giggled. "So why Labyrinth. . .I know how much you love it, but. . .I feel like there's more to it."

"When we went to go see it together, it was just us. . .no kids, no Robin, no exes. . .," Eddie said and paused. "I realized that it felt like a date, and I wanted it to be, I wished so badly that it was."

"So. . .you want things to change?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"No more casual sex?"

"No more casual sex. . .I just wanted to prove to you how much you mean to me," Eddie said. ". . .how much I want you."

"Proven," Steve said and paused. "How much would it mean to you if I told you that sometimes I'm a woman?"

"What?" Eddie asked.

"I like wearing dresses and make up, I feel like a woman, but even when I'm wearing what's considered man clothes, I feel like a woman, just like sometimes when I wear skirts or dresses, I feel like a man who likes go wear dresses. . .so it's not the clothes that make me feel this way but it's an added bonus," Steve said. "With Robin's help and yours with the dress, I realized that I might be, I don't know if that's the word, but. . bigender?"

"I never knew you liked dresses," he said softly.

"Skirts, too, I never told Robin either," Steve said.

"Just when I thought you couldn't make me more in awe of you. . .you did it, babe. So fucking metal," Eddie whispered and she laughed.

"So, would you gladly call me your girlfriend right now?" Steve asked.

"Fuck yeah," Eddie sighed.

Eddie spun Steve around in and dipped her before kissing her deeply. Steve sighed against his lips, her fingers curling into his hair. They broke apart when Robin cleared her throat, and they turned around. She was flipping through Dustin's book as she sat next to him while Dustin snoozed on her shoulder.

"The baby's finished his bottle, and now he's down for a nap. . .if you want any more of my services, I charge by the minute," Robin said. "I add on extra if you want me to get him out of here so he doesn't have to hear mummy and daddy fornicate."

"How much sugar did you give him, Eddie?" Steve asked, frowning.

"Not much," Eddie shrugged.

"He's in a sugar coma, Edward," Robin said.

"You love me, right?" Eddie asked Steve as he smiled innocently.

"Yeah. . .as long as you explain this to Claudia," Steve scoffed, and her face softened. "This was amazing, Eddie. I loved it. I love you. . .I fucking love the dress. . .God, I want to blow you so hard for adding the pockets."

"Gah! Take me home!" Robin yelled and then smiled softly at them. "Happy for you two dinguses but I don't want to witness anything."

"We should get the kid to Claudia, anyway," Eddie grinned.

Steve smiled as she walked out of the school with her best friend, the boy she thought of like a brother, and her new boyfriend. This was the best day ever, and she was glad that she had decided to do this. . .she also loved how many people were willing to help out. . .hold on, were Jonathan and Nancy here for her sweater?

"Oh, hey, look! It's Hop!" Dustin exclaimed.

Sure enough, Hopper's police car was in the parking lot. . .curious, they met him halfway.

"Well, we got reports that Dustin was kidnapped," Hopper said, squinting his eyes at them. "I'm guessing that's not the case."

"Nope!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Goddamnit. . ."

Steve shared a grin with Eddie. They were definitely having a better do than he was. Steve gripped the bat in her hand, ready to face whatever came their way.

"Shit," Eddie muttered. "I knew I forgot to tell someone about the plan. . ."

[bettystonewell]

What Happened Last Night? - Part 1

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: After burning the Book of the Damned and escaping the Styne’s, you all have a night of harmless celebrations back at the bunker. At least, it was harmless until Charlie suggested a game of Never Have I Ever, and the rest of your night became a blur. Friends to Lovers 18+ only

Word Count: 3,300

Warnings: Language, Dubious Consent (implied drunk sex), SMUT in part two

Or read it on AO3 here

A/N: Hey 👋 This is my first time posting a fanfic on Tumblr. The names’s Beth (Aussie/Dean-girl/tired mum). I’ve been on AO3 (and Wattpad) for over a year now and thought it was about time I put my big girl pants on and join the community here because it looks fun (though the social media side of this scares my close-to-midlife-crisis-ass). So, yeah, newbie in terms of everything here - please be kind. If you recognise me from the other sites, please say hi 😊 This is a cross post - there are two chapters total. Let’s see how this goes!

in vino, veritas

in wine, there is truth

Five bodies sat around the mess room table that night, drinking their troubles away and eating their fill. 

You, Dean, Sam, Charlie, and Cas at the end, sitting on a wooden chair he’d brought in from the library to make more space for those of you who did eat.

"This won't work," you said to the other four, though it was technically directed at Charlie. Your tone was as condescending as you could make it under the influence of the alcohol you’d already consumed. 

Three beers and two sneaky sips of Charlie’s Harvey Wallbanger you’d taken while she wasn’t looking.

It was one less ounce of bounce in her step for your at-the-time more than tipsy gal pal and well deserved. Especially now she’d revealed her true intentions on why she’d encouraged you to partake in drinking in the first place.

In her overly enthusiastic state, she’d suggested a game to get “The Party Started.” A phrase she’d attempted to sing in vain as only you seemed to understand its reference. 

Though Sam might have had a clue. His mouth had turned up around the lip of his bottle he’d conveniently sipped during the rendition of the Black Eyed Pea's early noughties banger.

Dean was one hundred per cent clueless, of course. Nothing past the eighties was decent to him. Nothing except that one Taylor Swift song you’d caught him listening to when he thought no one was watching. 

He had sulked then and had been sulking on and off again since last night. Brooding over the fact he’d lost his one chance to remove the mark. Unbeknownst that Sam had not burnt the Book of the Damned like he, Charlie and Cas thought, but in a better mood thanks to the booze and pizza he’d brought home.

You knew better.

Both about his demeanour and what had really happened with the ancient text. 

You’d seen Sam swap it with a replacement and you’d promised him you’d keep your mouth shut. Something you were hating your past self for.

Past you was a fucking idiot.

A fucking idiot who was about to get drunk from a game of Never Have I Ever like Charlie had suggested, and at risk of spilling more than one can of beans if you didn’t think of something fast to stop it. 

Charlie, the conniving little… She knew way too much about you after the last time you’d had a few with her and the glint in her eyes that you’d seen when she suggested the damn game was enough for you to know that what she was planning was dangerous.

A drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts. Or something like that.  

And she was almost there. 

“What do you mean, it won’t work?” she said with far too loud a pitch that made even Cas uncomfortable. 

Well, more uncomfortable than normal.

“Umm. The angel, for starters.” You directed your gaze at Cas, realising too late that you were going to give him a complex. “I think most of our everyday human experiences are going to be a never for him. And whatever he did in heaven will be the same for us. It’s unbalanced.”

“You’re thinking too much. He’ll get drunk. We’ll get drunk. That’s the point of the game,” Charlie said.

But her grin left her when a gruff, “I won’t,” interjected itself into the conversation. 

Hah. Won’t. It was as if you’d sucked the happiness out of Charlie and taken it all for yourself to then rub it back in her face. “See. Cas doesn’t want to play. And Sam and Dean clearly don’t want to play either.” They'd said nothing against the suggestion and nothing against you now.

“Actually, you don’t have enough liquor here to get me drunk,” Cas added.

Don’t have enough… “Seriously?” You looked at him again and he nodded. An apologetic look on his face.

Which brought a ‘challenge accepted’ one into Charlie’s.

Looking around the room for support from the guys, you noticed Sam hiding a silent chuckle behind the bottle in his hand. 

While Dean, who had been quiet since Charlie had burst out in song, locked eyes with yours. “Well, if there aren’t any more arguments from you, sweetheart, let’s play.”

And you thought Cas’ claim that there wasn’t enough booze for him was a surprise.

Fuck. Your head was pounding.

Your mouth was drier than a desert with a chalky sensation in your throat and lips that felt like they had cracked. 

Yup. Cracked alright. They stung as you splayed your tongue over them, attempting to nourish the skin with what little wetness you had left in your mouth. A fat lot of good that did, though.

They weren’t the only part of your body feeling uncomfortable. Pins and needles from where you’d slept funny on your arm tingled from your funny bone to your wrist.

‘Ow. Fuck.’ Well, that hurt.

You were hung without a doubt, and just all over feeling seedy.

At least you’d slept some of the alcohol off and were no longer drunk. You thought.

The strands of hair that had made their way into your mouth and the saliva you strung along with it as you pulled it out would say otherwise. Urgh. Gross.

Had you been drooling? No wonder your throat was dry.

You groaned and forced your eyes open. Yes, you had. There was a wet patch on the white pillowcase below you.

Odd. You didn’t own white sheets. 

You’d decorated your room in the bunker with as much colour as you could. What with the hunting life full of black, brown, denim and blood, you didn’t need any of that spreading into your personal space. 

Of course, white was colour(ish), but again, you didn’t own white sheets, and your room didn’t have a solid wall where you were facing. Curiouser and curiouser. Your door was supposed to be right there. 

You were at the correct end of the bed for it. A headboard behind you and a pillow underneath you, meaning you were lying on the right side. Yet all you saw was more bricks, a tall boy in some kind of brown and clothes that weren’t yours scattered on the surrounding floor. 

Amongst them, a pair of jeans - okay, they might be yours. But the flannel? One plaid with various browns and greens. The very same Dean had been wearing last night?

Fuck.

Dean’s clothes. Dean’s room.

This was Dean’s room? 

This was Dean’s room. 

Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck. 

What were you doing here? The last thing you remember was… Fuck.

Those lips. Dean’s lips, plump and whiskey-tainted, had peppered kisses on you in more than one place. Over your mouth, your cheek and your neck. Lower... 

You’d learnt the spot at the base of your ear above your lower jaw was quite sensitive. Dean had learnt that, too. He’d also learnt a few other things if your tainted memory served you correctly, and you, the same about him.

The way his muscles contracted around his chest and back. Every little ridge, taut and firm, continued even down his arm and into his hands. Those talented fingers had a way of placing pressure in just the right places to make you blush. They’d found their way under your shirt and bra and…

Oh… Oh…

Had you slept with him and not remembered the main event? Was that possible with Dean? Your friend. The guy you’d wanted to be more than for the longest of time.

You've fallen for him the day you’d met. With that charming smile and those dazzling green eyes. 

And that was before you’d gotten to know him.

Now you knew the man behind the shit-eating grin. The playful, sometimes scary nerd (who refused to admit it) was loyal to those he cared about. A self-righteous martyr, who could be a bit of a dick sometimes and followed it too when the time was appropriate. 

Not that he’d done it so much lately. 

Except, maybe now.

You were screwed and without asking him, there weren’t too many ways to check if indeed you had been by him.

You turned your head slowly to find an empty bed next to you. 

Thank fuck. There was plenty of time to ask, but his bed was not the place.

You stretched your legs out, noting they felt normal. Stiff if anything, but not in a way you’d expect if you’d partaken in good sex.

Of course, that meant nothing. Maybe the rumours you’d heard about Dean were untrue?

Yeah right. 

You’d seen the satisfied faces from all of his past hook-ups as they fled his motel room the next morning. Possibly one in every state. He had brought none of them to the bunker though, meaning you were the first to sleep in his room. In his bed.

Go you... That was something to be proud of, not. 

You’d hightailed it out of his room after all that. Slinking off down the hall to your own to get changed out of the clothes you’d been wearing the night before. You hadn’t been wearing them when you’d woken up, of course. Oh, no. You’d been wearing one of his henleys, braless underneath, and your underwear surprisingly still on. 

While you’d think that would be a comfort for you, you knew that meant nothing. Though everything felt normal down there, so maybe it did. 

You weren’t sticky when you had a shower, but you noticed the love bites above your breasts when you looked in the bathroom mirror after it. There were bruises on your hips too. Ones shaped like fingerprints that fingers had pressed into you on either side. 

Hmm.

There was only one way to find out what had happened and once you’d primed and prepped yourself, wearing clothes that covered you from your neck to your toes, you made your way to the same room where everything had gone down the night before.

Stupid Charlie and her stupid fucking game. 

“Hey, Charlie,” you greeted when she saw you enter. Her eyebrows raised, along with her grin. “Where’s everyone else?” 

In other words - Where’s Dean?

Only Charlie sat at the table. The rest of the room was clear. There were no more pizza boxes, no more alcohol bottles and no one in the kitchenette. Not even someone’s head in the fridge. 

Just Charlie, with the smell of bacon and freshly ground coffee lingering in the air around her.

Coffee. You needed some of that.

“Sam’s got his head in the books again. Can you believe he was up before eight?”

Actually, you could and you hummed in response as you took your fresh cup of steaming goodness up to your lips to sip.

“I think Cas has left the building. We may have gotten him drunker than we thought.” She smirked. “And I figured you knew where Dean was.”

Your mouth spluttered over the rim of your cup. Coffee now dripped down your shirt and a few of the drops had landed on the floor. 

You flicked your eyes to your friend as you placed the cup on the table opposite her. Towels. You needed towels.

“Don’t give me that look. I saw you two after I left. And I checked on you this morning when I first got up. You weren’t in your room,” she said.

There was a knowing look on her face as you made your way between the pantry and back again that you ignored. Stooping down low to wipe the spill you’d made on the tiled floor below, only joining her once you’d discarded the paper towel in the bin along with your dignity.

Your hands went straight back to your cup, sipping on the rim and avoiding Charlie’s prying eyes.

“Come on. Let me live vicariously. What happened between you two?”

“I don’t know,” you whispered.

“You don’t know? I set this all up for you and him and you don’t know?”

“Ssshhh.” Your shoulders slouched, and you reached across the table to grab her arm. “I don’t remember, okay? I woke up in his bed but…”

“Did you two?” She made a crude gesture with her hands.

“I. Don’t. Know.” Your eyes were open wide as you enunciated every syllable to get your point across. 

“How do you not know?” Charlie blinked a couple of times. 

Drawing in a long breath, your mouth agape and ready to sigh it all out, you looked back at your friend and trembled your head in a quick shake. “I remember fooling around a bit but I don’t remember much more than that.”

“So you just woke up in his bed and don’t know how you got there?” she asked.

“I mean, I know how I got in his room, I remember that much, I think, but I don’t remember lying down or, you know.” The look you gave her was enough. You didn’t need to elaborate and even if you had wanted to, a heavy thud of boots echoed through the corridor outside.

Sure, it was possibly Sam, but that distinct gap between steps could only have been made by one bow-legged Winchester. And when Charlie’s face lit up opposite you and you heard the sound abruptly stop from somewhere near the door, you knew it to be true.

“Morning Dean,” she said. The chirpiness in her voice made you want to slap her silly but as you only had access to the hand that still held yours in the moment, you dug your fingernails into the skin below them instead. “Ow. You want some breakfast? There’s bacon still in the pan.”

Dean grunted and you felt eyes boring into the back of your head.

You refused to look behind you to where you knew he was pouring his own coffee by the sounds of it and released Charlie’s hand to pick up your cup. You took slow sips, keeping both your mouth and the rest of your body occupied while your elbows rested on the table, defending yourself from Charlie and her quips.

“How did you sleep?” she asked this time. Her eyes flicked between you both.

Could she be any more obvious?

“Fine,” he grumbled. “You got any more questions, or are you gonna leave us in peace to sort our own shit out?” 

Fuck.

You looked over at Charlie with a pleading look that said ‘Please don’t go.’ My how things had changed. But she grinned back at you and wagged her eyes, before standing and leaving the room in haste. Damn traitor.

As her footsteps trailed off down the hall, the room grew uncomfortably silent. Making your sips the loudest thing to have ever existed in the world. 

Your coffee was more bitter than it had been and you needed sugar pronto if you ever wanted to finish it.

You brought your cup down and placed it on the table before you to let your fingers fidget over the thin porcelain. Paying attention to each sharp angle between the curves and painted decorations. More so than was ever necessary.

Your eyes fixated on it, even as Dean took Charlie’s place across from you, watching you with caution. “So,” he cleared his throat. “How’d you sleep?”

Seriously? Taking Charlie’s line was how he wanted to start this. Well alrighty then. “Um. Fine, I guess. You?” You braved a glance at him, noting he was more serious in his disposition than usual.

“Like a log,” he said before silence filled the room again.

Right. You weren’t sure what you should say next. There was that big question on your mind, but you wanted, no, needed to approach it carefully. You didn’t want him to know you didn’t remember what if anything had happened between you. 

Not for his ego, but for yours.

You took another glance at him and saw his tongue run along the inside of his cheek, making it stick out under the five o’clock shadow he was yet to get rid of. He always looked his best like that. 

“I uh, I was surprised you weren’t there when I came back to my room just now.”

Wait. He was? “You were?” 

“Yeah.” There was a defensive twang in his tone. It was subtle, but it was there. “I only went to take a shower and then I found you’d bolted… I thought…” He shook his head.

He thought. Thought what?

You looked him up and down. It wasn’t just his tone that was unusual. The way he held his shoulders and the way he gripped his coffee cup before him was odd. In anyone else, you’d say they were lacking in confidence, but Dean wasn’t like this.  

The last time you’d seen him in such a way was after he’d killed Randy and the thugs in Pontiac and had come home dishevelled and broken over what he’d done.

“What did you think?” you asked, stretching your arm out to brush his hand across the table. Hoping that by doing so it might relieve whatever tension he was feeling.

There was a warmth there, that spread under your fingertips as your skin touched his and brought flashbacks to your mind of you touching other places on his body. 

You’d seen him with his shirt off last night. Been up close and personal with his tattoo and the scars that adorned his chest. You’d felt the dip in his spine and the pressure of his waistband pressing into your thumbs when you’d hooked them under the denim that sat around his waist.

Had you gotten into those jeans last night?

“Last night,” he said, watching your hand with interest. “After what we talked about.”

What we talked about? You’d stayed up well into the night with him. Long after Sam and Charlie had gone to bed and Cas had disappeared to do whatever Cas does. But just like your memories of what took place in his room were drawing blank, so too were whatever words you’d exchanged with him. 

All you could see were the grins and smirks he threw your way, and you nodded your head to stall. It didn’t do you any favours. 

He was looking at you with a scrutinising gaze and just as your cheeks had burned when he found that spot under your ear, they did the exact same to you now and gave everything away. “You. You don’t remember? Do you?”

You bit your lip and shook your head. “I ah. I’m drawing blanks. Some of it, I remember, but I couldn’t tell you what we talked about after the others left. And…” You hesitated.

“What?” His eyes locked onto yours and while they made you nervous, you couldn’t pull away. 

“Dean. Did we…” 

He seemed almost disappointed. But rather than wait for you to finish your question, or answer it even though it was as obvious as Charlie had been, he stood up, scraping the chair along the floor as he did so to storm off.

‘What the fuck just happened?’

You had drunk a lot and been drunk because of it. You’d spent time with Dean alone after the others had gone to bed and had talked with him about something. 

Something that led you to his room and into his bed. 

There’d been action. Kisses and touches. A bit of groping and clothes being removed. Small flashes of that continued to form in your mind. But while marks had been left on your skin and you’d stayed the night in his bed, you couldn’t remember the physical act of him being inside of you. Or you giving him a happy ending either for that matter. 

And now, he was disappointed.

Could it be that he felt the same way you did? 

————————————————————Thank you for reading! I’ll try posting part two same time next week - or you can read it now on AO3 here. In the meantime, I’ll be trying to work this site out (and finishing my WIPs whose updates are overdue… 🙃

[water-you-doing-bro]

Look, I just think that Percy having mortal Christian or Jewish or Muslim or otherwise monotheistic friends is just a well of untapped potential, okay? Like, obviously Percy just draws in the most eclectic group of friends, right? And idk at lunch or smth they're talking about some assignment they got in history class and it comes up that they all have different beliefs/religions and Percy, being Percy, decides to try and bond with them about it by asking if they have a favorite myth/bible/torah/quran/etc story and at first half of them are like uh dude are you making fun of me? and they're just super confused and ofc Percy is all oh shit no sorry dude I just, y'know, I'm pagan and idk I have a favorite greek myth and stuff and I thought maybe you guys had a favorite story from your faith, idk is that not how it works? was it rude of me to ask? oh gods, I'm so sorry guys

And then they're all like oh okay no that makes sense actually, it's just not smth people ask usually, not cause it's taboo or anything, it's just . . . not smth many people think of, I guess.

And then they go around sharing stories from their respective faiths and percy is ofc respectful and listens intently and sometimes he may ask questions and stuff but he never dismisses them or makes fun of them or their beliefs [bc like, if the greeks, romans, egyptians, and norse are out there, who's to say that there aren't more? who's to say that they're not all out there, yknow?], even if he is a little weird about them sometimes but that's all just because he doesn't understand lmao

I just, idk, I think Sally probably raised Percy mostly atheist yknow? and its not like he's entirely unaware of Christianity and Judaism and Islam and all that, he just doesn't have any clue how those religions are practiced/worshipped and stuff. His only real exposure to that kind of thing is what he's seen on tv and then his own experiences with how they 'worship' and interact with the gods at camp.

So he just thinks of deities as being mostly Just Some Guy who happens to have powers and a superiority complex. He thinks of 'higher powers' as, like, idk if personable is the right word, but I mean, he thinks of gods as just people. He doesn't understand the whole reverent worship and devotion and like, detachment from God attitude that like, Christianity has and stuff like that.

So Percy will just say the wildest shit sometimes, like, 'oh yeah, Zeus is a horny bastard and an absolute asshole, but he's the king of the gods so if we don't give him proper respect or tribute or whatever he gets pissy. What about your God? Does He get grumpy if you don't like, go to church on Sunday or smth?' or 'do you think you could get me in contact with Jesus? because Zeus put Dionysus in sobriety time out and he's all cranky about it bc he can't conjure wine ig but like, if your guy did it for him it might get past thunderbutt's restrictions and then grapehead might be less cranky?'

Idk but like I said, I just think this is an untapped well of hilarious potential!

[atleastpleasetelephone]

Gentle on My Mind - Chapter 9

Initially set in 1967 when Elvis is filming Clambake. Feeling miserable and trapped after the Colonel banishes Larry and the spiritual texts, Elvis invites Gloria to keep him company through the last five days of filming. Gloria is an aspiring movie editor and more importantly she's a lot of fun. Will she be what Elvis needs to get him out of the depressive funk he's in?

Catch up with the other parts here.

Many thanks to @sissylittlefeather being my beta reader on this one.

A/N: We're up to 1972, and just to flag the triggers on this one, still some dark topics being handled here.

Pairing: Elvis x OC - Gloria, a budding film editor.

Word count: 5.2K

TWs: Infidelity, angst, angry!Elvis, panty-sniffing!Elvis, some reference to domestic abuse (Elvis is not involved), reference to Elvis' bad health, dirty talk, phone sex, size kink, 70s views about women, crying, body shame, body worship, drug use.

Elvis thinks of Gloria often, wondering what she’s doing, how she’s feeling. Whether she’s going to turn up without warning to any of his concerts. After what she said about the postcards he resists the temptation to contact her. Jerry had found her address and phone number for him and he’s had to hide them from himself so as to avoid calling her whenever he wants to hear her voice. He runs their conversation through over and over again in his head, looking for clues. There was something off about the way she’d behaved, even accounting for tiredness, but he can’t quite put his finger on it. He frowns and thinks it through one more time, and then pulls her panties out of his pocket. He seems to be carrying them everywhere he goes. 

***

“It’s over, Elvis. I want a divorce.”

Elvis doesn’t think this is the way he should be spending Christmas. Alone, crying in his bedroom. He desperately wants to call Gloria. He digs out the number from the giant pile of papers he’d hidden it in months ago and stares at the digits. It’s the middle of the day. Fuck it. 

“Hello?”

He recognises her voice immediately, and sighs with relief. “Glory.”

Gloria’s entire body goes cold. And then hot. She starts to feel dizzy and sits down. 

“Elvis,” she whispers. “You can’t call me here!”

“Cilla wants a divorce.”

“Roger doesn’t,” she snaps, irritated that he’d call her here with no regard for the consequences. 

Roger had lost interest in her lately. She’s pretty sure he’s fucking the maid, not that she can work out when he’d have the time to do it. She’d struggled to lose any of the weight she’d put on after Jackie, and if anything she’d probably put a little more on since. People kept asking her when she was due. It was embarrassing, but she didn’t seem to be able to do anything about it. The only benefit was that Roger thought it was disgusting, her being so heavy, the bags under her eyes, the spit up on her shoulder. So he didn’t touch her any more. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He had the habit of dragging her around roughly by her arm and occasionally he slapped her when she said something he didn’t like. Just once, he’d pulled her into the kitchen by her hair. But he certainly didn’t touch her intimately anymore.

There’s a dead silence on the end of the line, then the click of Elvis hanging up. Gloria stares at the receiver in shock and then slowly puts it down. She spends the rest of the day torn between relief that Roger can’t walk in on her talking to him, and a desperate need to hear his voice again. 

Elvis grabs the phone and throws it at the wall, shaking with rage. How dare she? How dare she speak to him like that?

***

Elvis spends the next few months trying to put Gloria out of his mind. Once Cilla tells him she’s shacked up with Mike Stone he tries to put all women out of his mind. Goes through a brief period of being convinced that celibacy is the option, reading the bible every day and praying to God that eventually he’ll stop feeling like this. So lost and alone. 

***

Despite the fact that he hung up on her, Gloria wants to see Elvis. She just writes that whole phone call off as a dead loss and pretends it didn’t happen. She plans a trip to Vegas with two of her old friends and her sister, to catch the end of his residency there. Gets Roger on a good day and is surprised when he agrees that she can spend the weekend somewhere other than their house. Her prison. That’s how she’s started thinking of it lately, imagining bars on the windows. 

One day when he’s at work she digs around in the purse she’d taken with her when she went to see Elvis play Cow Palace. Eventually finds what she’s looking for - the little scrap of paper he’d hastily given her when they parted, with a private phone number scrawled there. 

“Hello?”

“Hello, it’s um… it’s Gloria. Is…”

The voice on the other end of the phone interrupts her. “Just wait a minute.”

Her stomach flip-flops as she sits there, tapping her foot on the floor impatiently. She hadn’t been sure he’d want to talk to her, but the way the person who picked up the phone reacted she’s starting to think she was wrong. And then she sits there, and waits for ten minutes. Then another ten minutes. The pretence that had been holding up so well up until this point starts to fall apart. Maybe the phone call did mean something. Maybe she shouldn’t have snapped. Maybe this is some kind of elaborate punishment. Should she put the phone down this time? 

“Glory?” His voice sounds muffled, and like he’s slightly out of breath.

“I thought you were never coming to the phone.”

“Sorry… sorry… baby. I’m sorry about the last time too…” he trails off. His head hurts, his stomach hurts, everything hurts right now. He’d had to drag himself out of bed when Charlie had told him who was on the phone. It had taken far too long, but he’d kept blacking out. 

“Elvis, are you okay?” 

“Hmmm. Mmmm. Belly’s a little sore, Glory.”

“Have you seen a doctor?”

Elvis bursts into a peel of laughter at the question, and it hangs in the air somehow, even though they’re on the phone. All he does is see the doctor. Doctors.

“Yeah. I’ve seen a doctor.” He finally replies. 

“Okay. Um… I was planning on coming to Vegas in the summer… if you wanted to see me…”

“Of course I want to see you, baby. When are you coming? I’ll get one of the boys to pick you up from the airport and bring you here.” 

They discuss the details for a while, and Gloria thinks Elvis is starting to sound a little more like his old self. Then she starts to suggest hotels she might stay in and he cuts her off. 

“Don’t waste your money on a hotel room. Stay with me.” 

“Oh, Elvis. I don’t know… I mean I thought I might spend some time with my friends…”

Elvis grunts in frustration. “So you don’t really want to see me, then?”

Gloria rubs her face with her hand and sighs, exasperated. What is she supposed to say now?

“I want to see you more than anything.”

“Then stay in my suite.”

She groans. “Can you just let me at least have my own hotel room? Even if I don’t stay in it? I just want somewhere to go back to if I need it.”

She’s starting to feel decidedly like there’s two disagreeable men in her life now.

“Fine,” he replies, sullenly. 

There’s a long silence. 

“Mr. Presley…” she drawls, deciding this is how to break it. 

“Hmmm?” 

“You still got those panties?”

She can hear the smile in his voice when he replies. “I sure do. Though they don’t smell as good as they used to.”

Her eyes flick around the room quickly, somehow feeling like she has to check for other people before she does anything this bold. 

“What’ve you been doing with them?”

Elvis swallows, hard. He’d been annoyed just a minute ago, frustrated with her and feeling like no women wanted to spend time with him any more. But suddenly the tone of her voice and those words have transported him back in time to that trailer on the set of Clambake. 

“They help me think about ya when I…” he trails off, awkwardly, feeling his cheeks start to colour. 

“When you what? Stroke that big dick of yours?” 

Her heart is pounding as she says it, she hasn’t said anything like this in so long. She feels a tingling between her legs and moves her hand there, over her panties. 

“Oh,” he says, quietly. “Is that what ya wanna know about?”

“Please,” she breathes, softly. “It’s what I think about when I touch myself. Wishing you were here.”

Her fingers rub circles on her clit as she talks. 

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It’s what I’m doing now.”

Elvis groans quietly, feeling his erection getting uncomfortable, even in his loose pyjamas. 

“It’s what I um… I-I think about ya a lot, Glory.”

Gloria giggles. She can imagine his red face, see his eyes darting around the place, feel his awkwardness. 

“Are you touching yourself?”

“N-n-no.”

“Why not?”

He doesn’t know what to say. He’s never done this before. “Y-y-y-you want me to?” He finally stutters out. 

“Are you hard?”

“Yes,” a strangled whisper.

“Then I want you to.”

He unties his robe and reaches into his pyjama bottoms to free his dick. Slowly pumping it up and down he can’t help but moan. Gloria bites her lip and slips her hand into her panties, sliding her fingers through her arousal and spreading it around her clit. She breathes hard into the receiver. 

“I wish you were here right now,” Elvis mumbles.

“What would you do if I was?”

“Fuck ya senseless, princess.”

It’s Gloria’s turn to moan now, overwhelmed by his words. “I’d love that,” she whispers. 

“Would ya?” He starts to feel his orgasm growing inside him, confidence building with it. “Is that what you want? To be fucked with this big dick?”

She whimpers. “Please, Daddy. Fill me up.”

He grunts as his hand moves faster and faster, making his words come out in a series of pants. “I’ll… fuck ya… stupid…”

“Please…” she begs again, her fingers moving more and more quickly on her clit, racing towards her orgasm. She starts babbling. “I can’t wait to see you. I want to be with you all the time. I don’t have to get a hotel room. I just want you… ohhhh.”

Hearing her climax, he only has to stroke himself one or two more times before he joins her. His moans sending shivers down her spine too. 

“Shit,” he mutters, looking at the mess he’s just made. 

Gloria giggles. “Did you enjoy that?” 

He can’t help sniggering back. “Maybe a little too much.”

She bites her lip, trying to picture him. Enjoying the mental image. Then she thinks back to what she said when she was just about to come.

“I meant it. I’ll stay with you in your suite. I don’t need a room.” She feels desperate for him now, wanting him to hold her now she’s done.

“No, honey. I’ll pay for a room for ya. Then you can decide how much time ya wanna spend in it. I shouldna snapped before. My belly’s been hurtin’ and… it’s been a rough few months. I’ve missed ya.”

“I’ve missed you too. Still miss you now. Wish you were here, holding me,” she sniffs, somehow unable to keep any of her feelings in. 

“I wish I was too, honey. I’ll see ya in September. Ya need me, call.”

***

“Listen. It’s none of my business what’s going on with you and Roger, or what you’ve done with Elvis,” Patricia begins, as they drive to the airport together. “I just want to know if we’ll see you at all on this vacation.”

Gloria smiles. She’s grateful that her sister is about as interested in what’s going on with her as she is in figuring out other people’s motives. She’d barely said a thing after the Cow Palace concert, only checking if Gloria was alright and making sure they had a story for Roger as to why they were back so late. 

“I don’t know, Pat. I want to spend time with the girls but Elvis wants to spend time with me too.”

“Do you want to spend time with him?” Patricia asks, gently. 

Gloria nods quickly. “Of course. It’s not every day I get to see him, is it?” Or even every year, she thinks. 

“It’s not every day you get to see Sandra and Carol either.”

“Well they never come and see me, it’s not like they live far.”

“You never go and see them.” 

Gloria sighs deeply. This is far more intrusion than she’s used to from her sister. 

“Roger doesn’t like it.”

“Doesn’t like what?” 

“Me seeing them. So I don’t. It’s just easier that way.”

Patricia frowns, but she doesn’t push it any further. She supposes Roger has a right to decide what his wife does, to a certain extent. Not that her husband was like that at all. But she never did anything he disagreed with, and Gloria could be quite a tearaway. Or certainly had been in the past. Roger probably thought she needed a little discipline. 

***

Gloria is overwhelmed with joy to see her friends again. They drink cocktails on the plane and laugh and talk about old times. Then they talk about Elvis a little. They both know something has happened from the look on Gloria’s face when they say his name, so they question her about it in hushed tones. Neither of them are entirely convinced, though, until they see the limousine pull up for them outside of the airport. Elvis has spared no expense, there are bottles of champagne inside and he’s left instructions with the driver to take them to all the most exclusive boutiques, telling them to charge his account with whatever they want. Gloria finds he’s left her something else too - a beautiful glittering evening dress at the first store they pull up to. 

She takes it to the fitting room to try on and almost cries. It’s far too small. This is for a pre-pregnancy Gloria. A Gloria who delighted in running about in the skimpiest of clothes, who loved being naked whenever she could. She sniffs. She supposes Elvis didn’t really notice the additional weight too much, when she saw him last. She’d tried to dress cleverly to disguise it and he’d been very occupied teasing her. Besides, she wasn’t at her heaviest then anyway. She’d really started eating junk that Christmas and not stopped since. 

She wipes her face and tries to put on a smile for the shop assistant. 

“I’m… I’m really sorry but it’s too small…” her voice comes out more quietly than she expects, but she’s just greeted with a broad smile. 

“Oh don’t worry, you can exchange it for a bigger size,” the assistant tells her, leading her over to the rack. 

The dress she pulls on is two sizes bigger than the one he’d picked, but it does look good. It’s just about sparkly enough to distract from her extra weight, and luckily it’s not skin tight. She walks out to show Carol and Sandra, and they gasp when they turn around and see her in it. They were a little shocked at how she looked when they first saw her after so long, and tried their best not to say anything. Having two small kids is tough, lord knows they’d both struggled. But the dress was such a contrast. She’d pulled her hair out of her usual messy bun and it tumbled over her shoulders like strands of gold. The combination of that and the dazzling sequins made her look like a movie star. 

“Oh my God! You look incredible! He is going to fall at your feet in that, Gloria.”

Gloria can’t help grinning in response. “Oh, thanks! He’s got such good taste,” she replies, twirling around and looking at her reflection in the long mirror. 

“He certainly does.”

The limo driver explains that Elvis has more plans for them, and takes them to get their nails and their makeup done and their hair styled, and then finally to their hotel. He waits outside for them to check in, get changed and leave their bags, and then drives them to the Hilton. 

Gloria doesn’t think she’s ever been this dolled up in her life, and she loves it. They’re ushered to Elvis’ private box just in time for the music to start and the curtain to come up. She watches him walk on stage with her heart in her mouth. He looks just as gorgeous as ever, although a little different from the last time she saw him. He’s in a beautiful powder blue suit and it sparkles in the light. She can’t help but feel that he picked her outfit to match him, and imagines them standing side by side. As he starts to sing and move about onstage her daydream develops. Suddenly this is her wedding dress and her and Elvis are taking their vows, dressed like this. And then they welcome people into their house afterwards, into Graceland, her arm in his, both of them glittering like the sun. 

***

Elvis is eagerly introducing Gloria to everyone in the suite. She can’t believe how much space he has, there’s a lounge with a piano and several bedrooms, as well as at least one enormous bathroom with a jacuzzi bath. But all the space is filled with people. She enjoys it at first, and then rapidly starts to get tired. She used to be such an extravert but after so long with only her kids for company she’s forgotten how to talk to people. And it’s so late. They only arrived in time for the midnight show and it’s already 3am. She’s used to an early bedtime, and she keeps having to cover up her yawns. Elvis can’t take his eyes off her though. He keeps her at his side the whole time, showing her off to anyone who’ll listen. 

Gloria leans her head on his shoulder and closes her eyes. I’ll just rest them for a second, she thinks. Elvis goes to get up to get involved in yet another round of singing around the piano, but as he does he realises the weight on his shoulder is strangely heavy. He looks down at her, eyes closed, peacefully sleeping against him. Oh Glory, he thinks, wondering if he can pick her up and move her without her waking. Then she stirs and her eyes open slowly. 

“Oh… sorry…” she mumbles, rubbing her eyes and smudging her make-up a little.

“Shhh. Why dontcha go to my bedroom? I’ll get rid of everyone else.”

She nods and gets up slowly, kicking her shoes off and then padding over to the main bedroom. He smiles as he watches her go. Her ass looks damn good in that dress. 

Gloria makes a cursory attempt at washing her makeup off and then strips, looking around for something to wear in bed. Unable to see anything straight away she gets in naked, thinking she’ll figure it out in the morning. There’s no way she can stay awake long enough to do anything with Elvis tonight, maybe by tomorrow she’ll find a nightie or something she can wear to cover herself up a little. 

It takes Elvis a while to chat to everyone as they leave, he hadn’t wanted to just chuck them out unceremoniously, but he starts to regret that as soon as he walks into the bedroom and sees Gloria in bed, fast asleep. 

He gets changed into pyjamas and slips into the bed beside her, swallowing down his pills. Stroking her hair gently, he thinks how glad he is that she’s here, slipping off to a dreamless sleep almost immediately. 

***

Gloria wakes at 7am as usual, sees the time and immediately closes her eyes again. Not. Enough. Sleep. She tosses and turns for a bit and then finally manages a couple more hours. When she wakes again she knows there’s no point in trying to sleep any more. Groaning, she turns over and looks at Elvis. He’s fast asleep and shows no signs of waking any time soon. She gets up and rummages about in his drawers, finding some pyjamas and putting them on, rolling up the legs and arms since they’re far too long for her. Since he’s still dead to the world, she makes her way out of the room in search of coffee. 

It’s quiet in the suite too, but she finds the kitchen and in it is a tall handsome-looking man with longish dark hair. 

“Hi,” he says, warmly, holding out a hand. “I’m Jerry.”

“Hi. Gloria.” She pauses, looking around. “Any coffee?”

He nods, picking up the jug on the hotplate and pouring her a cup. “Cream and sugar?”

She shakes her head. “Black is fine.” She doesn’t usually take her coffee black, but suddenly she’s thinking she should’ve spent less time over the months leading up to this having so much cream and sugar. 

“Elvis ok?” He asks. 

She frowns a little. “He’s still asleep.”

Jerry shuffles awkwardly from foot to foot for a moment and then decides he should just tell her. 

“Usually someone keeps an eye on him.”

“Well, presumably not since his wife left him. Or do you guys go in there? Is that one of your little jobs?”

Jerry snorts. “No. But I mean… usually there’s someone with him.”

Gloria takes a sip of coffee and winces at the bitterness. Then she realises what he means. 

“Oh, you mean some other girl.”

He nods and grimaces a little. “Sorry…”

“No need to apologise. It’s not you. Besides, I’ve got no claim on the man. Haven’t seen him in just about two years,” she shrugs. “And I have a husband. So I’m in no position to judge.”

She doesn’t say it, but it does sting a little. Knowing he’s had other women, even if they were just one night stands. 

Jerry looks at her and smiles. “He’s sweet on you though. I haven’t seen him like this for anyone else.”

Gloria raises both eyebrows. “Oh, really?”

His smile broadens. There’s something lovely about watching her face light up when he says it. As if she hasn’t had a compliment in a while. 

“Had us running around like mad men trying to get everything ready for you. The way he talks about you, I think it’s you he should’ve…” he pulls himself up short, realising what he’s about to say. “I-I mean… it’s none of my business but… well he was virtually a recluse at the start of the year, but he told us all that if you called we had to tell him. You’re the only girl he wanted to speak to.”

Gloria pauses for a moment to take all this in. “It took him 20 minutes to get to the phone,” she says quietly, at last.

“Probably the effects of the pills. Or…” he trails off again. “I shouldn’t be telling you this stuff, he wouldn’t like it.”

Gloria smiles again. “It’s okay. You think I should go back in there though? To watch him?”

Jerry nods. “Check he’s still breathing, hasn’t choked on…” he trails off again. Something about Gloria makes him want to tell her everything, but he knows Elvis would be pissed if he knew. 

Gloria guesses what he was about to say. She just nods. “I’m a mom. I can look after people.”

They look at one another for a moment and then both smile. Gloria had always doubted the integrity of the guys around Elvis, doubted their utility as well really, but she likes Jerry. He seems genuine. 

“You want breakfast? I can order you something from room service and bring it in, if you’re not going to go back to sleep.”

“Oh, that would be great. Just some poached eggs on toast please. I should be watching my figure.” She rolls her eyes. 

“Sure, I’ll knock when they’re here.”

Gloria thanks him and as she walks away Jerry thinks she’s not the only one watching her figure right now. Then he shakes his head quickly. It doesn’t do any use to start lusting after Elvis’ girls. That only leads to bad things. 

***

Gloria spends the next few hours drinking coffee and watching Elvis sleep. At some point Jerry brings her the eggs and she eats them sitting on the bed too, somehow completely captivated by the man lying next to her. He’s not even doing anything, she thinks. How can I just be sitting here, watching him, when he’s not even doing anything? She wonders about the snippets of information she got from Jerry, and then resolves not to ask Elvis about them. She only has this weekend with him, and then God only knows when she’ll see him again. She doesn’t want to waste precious time talking about things neither of them will enjoy. Not unless he brings it up. 

Eventually he wakes up, groggily, and his squinting eyes finally see her in the semi-darkness. She hasn’t even really wondered about the blacked-out windows, but they do make it pretty dark even though it’s past midday. 

“Glory,” he whispers. “What time is it, baby?”

“Time you woke up,” she teases, reaching down to stroke his cheek. “I’ve been all lonely here without you.”

He lets out a snort and then slowly tries to make his way to a seated position. His hair is sticking up everywhere and Gloria can’t help laughing. She tries to smooth it down. 

“Big boy, your hair is out of control.”

His face lights up at the pet name and he splays his legs out, patting his lap for her to get on. She frowns a little. 

“C’mon baby. What’sa matter? Thought ya were lonely without me?”

“I um… I’ve put on a little weight, Elvis. I don’t wanna crush you.”

He pulls a face. “You? Crush me? Don’t be silly.” Without warning he leans forward and grabs her by the hips, manhandling her into his lap. She is a little heavier than he remembered but she’s still easy enough for him to move around. 

Resting her forearms on his shoulders she looks at him almost shyly. “I guess you’re pretty strong.”

His hands pull her against him, splaying over her back and making her almost feel small again. “Strong as an ox, Glory. And you’re looking good.” One of his hands moves to her ass and grabs a handful. “This ass in that dress last night…” he whistles. “Hard to keep my hands off it.”

She finds herself giggling and blushing a little. It’s been so long since someone complimented her like this. She’d almost jumped Jerry in the kitchen when he was the tiniest bit kind to her earlier.

“Oh is that so?”

“It is. Made me think how much I can’t wait to have ya from behind…” he chuckles naughtily, raising an eyebrow. 

Gloria can’t help smiling back, but she knows she has to tell him how she feels. 

“I um… I feel a bit self-conscious about my belly though… I should’ve… dieted or something before I came here…” looking around awkwardly. 

Elvis shakes his head, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. “Nothin’ to be self-conscious about baby.”

Gloria grumbles slightly as his hands slide up and down her back reassuringly. 

“Ya mind if I touch it?” He asks, sweetly. 

“Oh, um… I’m not sure…” she protests, weakly. 

“Mmm. C’mere,” kissing her and letting one hand drift under her pyjama top. “I’ll be gentle.”

He keeps kissing her, melting her, his fingers slowly moving under her top. He can feel her tremble as his hand moves over the squidgy flesh of her belly, fingers lingering where she hates to even look. He slowly unbuttons the top and then both of his hands are all over her, feeling her, her breasts, her collarbones, her abdomen. He pulls back to admire her flushed face and her naked body, eyes roaming all over her. She quickly tries to pull her pyjama top back together again, blushing harder, the spell momentarily broken. 

“Nuh-uh,” he tells her, gently picking her up and rolling her onto her back, with him on top. Kissing her lips until he feels her relax again, and then making his way down her throat, between her breasts and over the curve of her belly. Paying particular attention to the flesh there, kissing as he moves it around with his hands. 

Gloria feels drunk on all the kisses and she doesn’t want to fight him anymore. Tears prick her eyes as he carries on with his feather-light kisses, loving on her. 

“Baby, you are so beautiful,” he tells her, looking up at her. “I don’t wanna ever hear you say anything negative about yourself again, y’hear?”

She nods dumbly, swallowing hard and trying not to let the tears out. He moves back up her body, kissing her lips again. 

“What happened to my filthy-mouthed little girl, hm?”

The tears she was trying to hold in suddenly spill out, and she’s crying again. Every time she sees him now, she cries. So much for not wasting the precious time she has with him. 

“I shouldn’t have married him!” She sobs. 

Elvis rolls off her onto his side, pulling her with him and into a tight embrace, shushing her and stroking her hair. 

“What’s he done?” He asks, when he feels her sobbing start to subside. “You need me to hurt him? Glory I’ll kill him if he’s laid a finger on you.”

“N-no,” she stutters, “he hasn’t hurt me. Not like that.” Well, he had. But was that really worth mentioning now?

“What has he done?” Elvis is insistent now, pulling back so that he can see her face. 

“I just… he doesn’t want me anymore. Now I’m done making babies for him, he’s not interested anymore. I’m sure he’s fucking the maid.”

Elvis looks furious. “Fucking someone else when he has you.”

It briefly crosses Gloria’s mind that that’s exactly what Elvis is doing, but she knows better than to mention that right now. She doesn’t want to get Jerry fired. 

“Hmmm.”

“Why don’t you leave him? Come and live with me? Cilla and I… well you know she left me.”

Gloria knows. She remembers the phone call. She remembers seeing it in the papers. She knows that’s why she’s here, on some level. But it’s not as simple as all that. This is Elvis Presley. 

“My kids, Elvis. I can’t just… up and move them. And he’ll fight me for custody, I know he will. How will it look, me fucking a rockstar? I hardly seem like mom of the year right now…”

Elvis huffs. “But you’re mine. You should be mine. You should be here, with me.”

Gloria frowns a little. “I am here with you, big boy. I wish I could be with you all the time, but it’s not just me I have to consider…”

“Your kids would love it in Memphis. They’d have little Yisa to play with too.”

She sighs a little. “Yeah, I’m sure they would. But I have to get a divorce soon, and you know how long that might take…”

He snorts with annoyance. “Damn divorce. Damn money. Damn woman.”

Gloria frowns again, feeling like he’s not making the most sense right now. Then she thinks of something. 

“You want breakfast?”

He suddenly snaps back into the room, after angrily staring into space thinking about his divorce. 

“Shit. Yes. I’m starving.”

She smiles. Maybe that was it. Maybe he’s just hungry. That’s what she’ll tell herself.

***

Taglist:

Please let me know if you want to be added or removed:

@vintagepresley @arg-xoxo @from-memphis-with-love @msamarican @blursedblegh @returntopresley @eapep @everythingelvispresley @i-r-i-n-a-a @sissylittlefeather @arrolyn1114 @jhoneybees @cattcb @polksaladava @lookingforrainbows @jkdaddy01 @ccab @epthedream69 @lustnhim @elvisslut @pomtherine @that-hotdog @ladelinee @angschrof @fairybloodsucker @deltafalax @makethemorning @elviswhore69 @ilovequeen978 @wildhorseinkansas @pocketfulofpresley @dkayfixates @iloveelvisss @kxnnxy @argangelbornxoxo

[cartersblogabtnothing]

i didn’t think about adding babs or steph because i know they aren’t technically batkids, but i shall do it now for fun!

7)

stephanie has not a fucking clue how she got where she is, wherever… that… is…

it looks like new york, sounds like new york, smells like new york… but… there’s something different about it that she can’t put her finger down on.

the last thing she remembers happening in gotham is taking a bite of a burger from Batburger. it was a good burger. probably because she hadn’t spent any of her own money on it.

but, just as soon as her teeth sunk into the burger, a weird light bulb blew and then the next thing she knew she was sitting in a different restaurant. she felt different too, like her insides had been rearranged.

she was very uncomfortable.

steph wandered around for a while, her eyes darting around the city aimlessly as she tried to find something as an identifier. she came up empty handed outside of some news channel complaining about some… spider… guy.

she wasn’t really paying attention in all honesty. she was more concerned with where she was.

steph let out a sigh, shaking her head. she felt a little hopeless, walking around aimlessly in an unfamiliar city in god-knows-where. she tried thinking about what bruce would do, but the thought made her angry so she ignored it completely.

she took a left, and suddenly she was face-to-face with the spider guy from the news channel. she blinked a handful of times, making sure she wasn’t going mad.

the person was climbing a wall like it was the most normal thing in the world, their lean build making climbing easy and efficient. she considered, just for a second, to try and do that herself whenever she got home.

“what the fuck,” she lets out suddenly, staring.

the person’s head whips around and they stare with a blank expression on their mask. they tilt their head, staring.

“you’re not from new york,” they said simply, and steph rolls her eyes. “you’re not from here, are you?” they ask and she stiffens.

“how did you know that? did you send me here? if i could —“ she starts and the person shakes their head.

“no. i didn’t, but i can help bring you home.” they sigh and hop down, landing on the tips of their toes with practiced grace.

and they did just that, after eating mexican food with steph on the rooftop of their apartment building. they talked for a while, mainly about their shady parents and even shadier parental figures. they really did bond, and steph actually really liked peter. even if their… strange… spidery tendencies scared her. she liked them.

she liked them so much that she even offered them to come with her after the weird contraption had been built, but they declined. she left their world feeling both a little lighter, and a little empty.

8)

barbara had been considering quitting for years, after getting shot and almost killed by the joker really put a damper on her second life. even if she loved batgirl, she couldn’t continue putting her health at risk.

…which is what she told herself before she jumped at the first opportunity to go on patrol with bruce again. she really should’ve said no, especially considering the new magic user in gotham city.

which is why she’s in the situation she is, now. he had blasted her with… some sort of… ray from his fingertips. it was weird, it felt violating, and she felt sick afterwards.

well, she felt sick after she hit the hardwood floor of someone’s apartment.

someone who… curiously enough… had jumped up and stuck to a wall, and stared at her with wide eyes. they looked nervous, scared, and protective.

they reminded her a lot of tim. it made her smile.

and then gag.

where was she??

she stood slowly, brushing the dust off her suit before placing her hands on her hips.

“where am i?” barbara asks, tilting her head.

“my apartment.” the person huffs before they hop off the wall, landing gracefully.

“i assumed.” barbara huffs back, crossing her arms over her chest. “and where is that?”

“queens, new york.” the person mutters, standing in a defensive position - but their limbs remained loose and pliable. it was a talent that only dick could master, and she was immediately impressed.

“new york…” she murmurs, nodding her head. “i’m not from new york.” she sighs.

“i can tell.” the person hums, nodding their head. “jersey? you sound like it.” they mutter, and she smiles softly, nodding.

“yeah — uh — but… i feel weird. like… my insides are twisted.” barbara mumbles, holding her stomach.

the person’s eyes widen slightly before nodding tiredly, and they walk away. barbara didn’t even have a chance to call out before they came back in with some device.

“do you know how many people i’ve had crash into my apartment after being teleported across dimensions?” they ask as they ready the device up. “four people. it’s concerning.”

barbara laughs, and the two talk for a while as the person — peter, she learns — fixes the device up to help her get home. she learns that peter’s a vigilante too, named spider-man, and they were bit by a radioactive spider. which she thought was cool. she also learned their favorite things, their interests, and she realized they were more like than she thought.

she had offered to show them where she comes from, but they told her it was a one way trip. barbara felt like she was losing an old friend, which was strange, but she moves on anyway. brace face and all.

she goes back to gotham and tells a million stories of peter and her adventures, and she wishes she could be back in his shabby apartment laughing over goldfish and protective fathers.

i’m sure we’ve all read at least one or two “peter parker in gotham” fanfics. they’re a personal favorite, especially when they’re done well. and i do get why peter is always in gotham, but…

…why not put one of the batkids in peter’s new york? i think it’d be interesting.

my personal favorite is tim drake, but i do think any of the batkids would be absolute comedic gold. here’s why:

1)

dick would’ve 100% “fallen” into some portal during a fight and ended up in new york. at first he thought it was just that, the portal teleported him into new york. whatever. that’s like a regular tuesday for him.

but then he saw some news program (“The Daily Bugle”) talking about some… Spider-man guy that dick’s never seen! never heard of! who the fuck was this guy and where is dick!?

he momentarily freaks the fuck out before giving himself a mission; find out where the fuck he is and then get back home. easy enough. he’s been stranded before. it should be easy for him to get back home.

at least he thinks so, until he bumps into the aforementioned Spider-man guy, who is surprisingly friendly despite the strange way they move. guess the spider thing was fr.

they bond over acrobatics while peter is attempting to figure out how to build a teleporter (he figures it out quicker than expected and spends far too much time styling it)

2)

jason was on a mission with the outlaws, and one thing led to another and now he and the rest of his team had been teleported to different locations.

he had assumed that bullshit ray gun was some dollar general version of the big stuff until he walks head first into a humongous spiderweb that sticks to his helmet.

jason fucking hates spiders.

he freaks out (duh) and yanks his helmet off and stumbles away, staring at the way it just… hangs there… and suddenly he knew for a fact he wasn’t supposed to be there.

he looks around for a while after that, helmet-less and confused as all fuck. he thinks distantly that maybe he could just restart here. no joker, no batman, no nightwing, no responsibilities. he could make it work.

on his walk, he comes across a mugging. he attempts to get in there, of course, but he’s completely outgunned by some soft-looking fuck in red spandex.

red spandex! what the fuck!

the red-spandex person cleans the mugging up swiftly, and then they turn around to see jason there. they freeze, their mask scrunching up.

jason tries to shoot at them, but his hands get webbed to the wall before he could even reach into his pants.

he’s mildly impressed.

3)

tim is completely whelmed when he just… disappears on his walk back to the manor after school. there’s no portal, no laser beam, no spell… he just… trips once and then falls through the sidewalk. it was so fucking weird.

he’s caught off guard as he’s spit back up from the other side, coughing and heaving breath after breath into his lungs as he takes in his surroundings. he’s in some bad smelling alleyway, and he could feel at least three other people near him.

he’s in a loud, busy city with tall buildings and aggressive crowds. it’s too bright to be Gotham and too gloomy to be Metropolis.

where is he?

he stands shakily, brushing himself off before looking around again. more focused this time, though. he focuses on his location.

he turns to see a homeless man staring, and before he could even open his mouth, the man screams before hissing at him and running the opposite way.

what the fuck?

he tosses his hands in the air before getting cut off by a snort, and he whips around to see a lean, thin, soft-looking person in red and blue spandex. their face is covered by a mask, but even then their mask is so animated that tim feels immediately impressed.

“you scared jimmy.” the person says simply, tilting their head.

“you scared me.” tim responds, tilting his head slightly to mirror them. they laugh, their white eyes narrowing.

“you’re not from around here,” the person says slowly, leaning forward slightly. “let me guess… jersey?”

“huh, how’d you know?” tim snorts, shaking his head.

“accent.” the person shrugs.

the two bond quickly, over everything and nothing at the same time; and they simultaneously figure out that tim is in an alternate dimension and they work together to figure out how to get him home.

by the time tim returns to gotham, he’s picked up more of peter’s spider-like attributes than he’d ever like to admit.

4)

damian doesn’t want to admit that he went head first into a villain’s trap, but… he did.

in his defense, his father did nothing to stop him from doing it. truly, it’s his father’s fault. not his.

he blinks awake to find himself in a puddle, and theres cold rainwater falling onto him and soaking into his suit. it’s uncomfortable, cold, and he feels like curling into a ball and hiding.

but he can’t. he can tell he isn’t in gotham. what if he was somewhere unsafe? he needed to stay vigilant and aware.

he sits up, and immediately feels eyes on him. he looks around, paranoid and on guard.

before he can really understand what’s happening, he sees a person dressed in red spandex hop off what looks like a human sized spider web, landing on their feet with perfect, practiced elegance.

“you’re too young to be dressed like that,” the person begins as they walk closer. “too young to be what you are.”

damian scoffs and stands slowly, hiding a wince as he leans on his left foot. something’s sprained.

“hardly.” damian shakes his head, and the person tilts theirs in response.

“i had a feeling, but i had hoped i was wrong.” the person says softly before walking closer.

the last thing damian remembers before waking up in a warm bed was a warm hand grabbing his arm gently.

the person in red spandex reveals themselves, and they talk. for a while. damian ends up really liking them, especially after they tell damian all about the spider that bit them.

he almost doesn’t want to leave.

5)

while shadow traveling (like in pjo?), duke goes a little too far. he knows he should’ve gone back, but he’s never gone this far and he was so curious it ached.

so he kept going until he walked out the other side, into a very busy alleyway. it smelled of garbage and weed, which didn’t necessarily bother duke but it did tickle his nose slightly.

he decided to figure out where he was first, and then worry about getting back. if he found out a way to get from one timeline to another, then bruce would be extremely grateful to have duke’s abilities on his side.

right?

duke could only hope so.

he walks around for a while, ending up on a very busy sidewalk. he sighs and steps next to a hot dog cart, to which the man stares at him strangely before shrugging and preparing a hot dog. duke goes to refuse, but hears… something in the distance.

he didn’t have time to react before the hot dog cart’s owner held the hot dog out to the street, and a person dressed in red spandex swung past and snatched it up. then, a few seconds later, a five dollar bill was… webbed to the side of the hot dog cart.

duke stared in awe, his eyes wide as he watches the scene. he immediately searches for a library, and immediately begins looking up who this person in red is.

does he forget that he isn’t dressed like a normal civilian half way through? yes. does he fix that? no.

he tracks spider-man down pretty easily, and asks them a million questions all at the same time, to which his mouth gets webbed for. spider-man snorts and answers every single one of his questions.

duke feels so heard it hurts his heart.

he shows spider-man how he did it, bids them farewell after letting spider-man take a picture and several notes of duke’s powers.

duke goes back to gotham feeling light and warm, a smile on his face.

6)

cassandra woke up on a rooftop, feeling sick and tired. she assumed it was some sort of alternate dimensional travel, considering she had been in a space ship beforehand and now she wasn’t.

she uses context clues as well.

the loud bustling streets, the tall but modern buildings, the laughing, the music — none of it is gotham. she knew that very well, but she was still rather confused.

if she wasn’t in space, if she wasn’t in gotham, where was she?

she lets out a silent grunt before slowly sitting, and then standing up. everything hurt. she guessed her spaceship had crashed into some sort of… cosmic ray or portal and she fell out of it. made the most sense.

she looks around slowly, taking in her surroundings like she was taught. she sighs softly when she turns up empty handed, back at square one.

one thing she does notice is the obvious eyes on her. the person isn’t trying to hide, which means she probably in their terf. that isn’t good. not good at all.

cassandra barely turns her head before she feels something pulling at her wrist. looking down, she finds her wrist being tugged by a synthetic spiderweb. it was sticky, silky, and had far too much pull to it.

she twists her arm and pulls on the webs, and then the person comes forward with a heavy step. shiny red and blue spandex fits this person’s body like a glove, and the mask they wear is far too animated to be authentic. must be a function.

the two fight, and as they do cassandra watches the person’s spider-like tendencies. they move with suck fluidity that she feels inferior for the first time in a long time. she’s left in awe, almost.

eventually, she forfeits. she knows when she’s about to lose a fight, when it’s better to stop and give up then die fighting. even if this spider person doesn’t seem hostile, just protective.

“i’m not from here.” she states simply as she’s allowed to stand.

“i know.” the person responds, and cassandra feels more at ease than she did beforehand.

the person - peter takes care of her during her time in new york. gives her a bed, hot food, and even a fake identity for the time being. it works, and eventually she’s back home.

sometimes she tries to mimic peter’s fighting style, but without his abilities, she comes up short.

but the memories are warm and fuzzy and she likes to dream about it.

[eva-does-its-best]

can you shut the fuck up youre making all trans guys look bad so fucking annoying. insane that u cant handle any fucking criticism whatsoever lol holy shit. whole ass fucking paragraph. gotta put that evil mean trans woman in her place right. god forbid someone gets frustrated at being consistently shit on by people in her community. im gonna be so real rn and say that as trans guys / tme people we have it so much easier its actually insane (coming from someone whos been thru corrective rape when i was 12 after i came out as a trans guy btw! theres my fucking pound of flesh. jesus.) not even rly trying to convince u but u just piss me the fuck off annoying as fuck

First off: So sorry about what happened to you, my most sincere condolences. It's the only thing I can really give, hope your life gives you enough peace and happyness to allow you to live with such an event.

Second:

You're making all trans guys look bad

I'm not a trans guy, I'm a transmasc, very different, a difference you should if not care about at least keep in mind if you want to respect less binary forms of masculinity. I don't speak as nor speak for trans guys, because I am not one, maybe if you actually read what I write you would know.

Insane that you can't handle any fucking criticism

Criticism where? Let me be absolutely blunt and sincere: All I see in the posts I replied to is tired, scared and hurt people who cope with said feelings by turning their vents into everyone else's problems.

I vent a fucking lot, everyone can see that, but when I vent I am sincere and point the source of my pain, how I feel, why I feel that way, and which people I believe reinforce it. What I don't do is go out of my way to involve people who have nothing to do with it or with how I feel.

Trust me I know how they feel, and the way they are dealing with it is incredibly self-destructive and I want nothing more than for them to get out of that shitty mental state that hurts them so they can feel better and have a slightly better life and emotional responses to the world.

Whole ass fucking paragraph

Yeah, that is how one transmits ideas. Shocking.

Gotta put that evil mean trans woman in her place right

I've replied to a couple posts so I don't know which one you're talking about, but I've no clue about the gender of the people who I replied to, I simply replied to shitty ideas, don't care who's behind them.

Pretty lame that you try to make this a gender war, don't you think?

God forbid someone gets frustrated at being consistently shit on by people in her community

"her" ok so this is you personally defending someone you know, I can tell.

Statement goes both ways don't you think? You think this is just for fun?? Yeah let's start a conflict that is affecting the lives of real people for fun!

We are fucking tired of the mockery, the disrespect, and the extreme policing of transmasc and trans men's language and experiences by people who have no say in them.

Do you care about that too or are you a hypocrite? Because when I reply to people's shit-ass posts I do in fact care about them otherwise I'd ignore em and let em keep hurting themselves.

"Oh but these ones attacked this person" I. Don't. Give. A. Fuck. There are shitheads everywhere, in every opinion and side of any conflict. There are gonna be shitheads who use this as an excuse to attack people of a certain particular gender they already had something against, it is irrelevant to the ideas exposed. Let's not act like there isn't a whole plethora of posts about killing transmasc please, you SHOULD care avout that too.

As transmascs/tme people we have it so much easier

You're free to have an opinion about your own experiences and I have no horse in that race. HOWEVER:

•You're not the only transmasc in the world and your opinion is very clearly not a universal truth, so don't you dare spit on everyone else's experiences by deciding what's true and what's not without counting with them.

• In your dumbass dychotomy of "tma/tme" transmasc are not the only ones put on the "tme" label and the same way I cannot talk about YOUR experiences you have no fucking right to talk about everyone else's experiences specially the ones from other identities and lives that you did not get to be or experience.

•Without dipping my toes in your opinion or your experiences I profoundly disagree with you.

• Lastly, WHO THE FUCK CARES WHO HAS IT WORSE?! WE'RE ALL FUCKING HURT AND BROKEN WE'RE LITERALLY KILLED IN THIS WORLD FOR JUST EXISTING, YOU WANT A COMPETITION??? GO FIGHT FOR TRANS PEOPLE'S RIGHTS TO COMPETE IN SPORTS INSTEAD OF CREATING OPRESSION OLYMPICS. GET YOUR COMFY ASS OUT OF YOUR INTERNET ARMCHAIR AND GO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE WORLD FFS.

There's my fucking pound of flesh. jesus.

Again so sorry you had to go through that, but you realize the whole point of this is to be able to have words for those specific forms of opression and awful events right?? To have experiences like that respected and treated with the seriousness they deserve right??? That is what we want.

You experienced transandrophobia, and the people you're defending right now don't want you to have a word for it, or allow only words picked by them as if they had any right to speak for you. Respect yourself more, man.

Not even rly trying to convince u but u just piss me the fuck off annoying as fuck

Hey at least you're honest, good. I don't give a fuck though, if you wanna keep hating me I have good news for you: I don't plan to ever shut the fuck up, enjoy.

The one person you hate is not me anyway, that is plain obvious... but that's a you thing to try and work on.

Sayonara dude👋🏻

[mars-ipan]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ONE VERY SPECIAL HAJIME HINATA !!!!!! new year's kisses for the birthday boy :)

[pancakessart]

don't really know what to title this, something something being put on for show instead of living free

reblogs appreciated!!!! i wanna hear people's thoughts on this piece since it's a bit out of my usual zone ALSO my ko-fi is here if yall wanna check that out ;3

[alongtidesoflight]

so here's my honest thoughts on dragon age: the veilguard, after ~40 hours of playing. i finished the main quest after having finished all companion quests and major faction quests. just to clear up what content i saw, i played as an elven transmasc rook who is a member of the lords of fortune. he romanced lucanis (although after finishing the game i'm now leaning towards taash). i don't know what's happening in playthroughs that have a different race, gender identity, romance or faction going on.

full spoilers ahead, i mean it. don't read further if you want to avoid them. i don't want complaining about it in my asks.

oh and also, if you're worried because of a few negative reviews online i can comfort you by saying don't give a fuck about a certain big name youtuber who is very much tied to bethesda franchises giving this a negative review. i'll explain why.

i'm starting off with the things i liked

the game looks really pretty. i was worried it wouldn't feel like thedas anymore (with them trying to "focus on northern thedas only" i thought they'd make a clear cut in environmental design. they do and they don't. it's complicated. i'll elaborate on it when talking about the negative stuff). anyway it does. minrathous feels like kirkwall. treviso enchanted me like the winter palace did. the hossberg wetlands reminded me of the hinterlands and a couple other inquisition maps. arlathan looked like... arlathan. the crossroads were different, but familiar. overall i like the way it looks and feels. it's thedas, with a twist. it's a good one, and gives everything a solid but unique feel.

combat is top tier. if you're a hardcore dragon age player you WILL miss the tactical aspect of it for a bit, but i promise you, once you're used to the way the combat works, you will be lapping that shit up. and once you get to ability combos you'll mourn the control you used to have over your companions in battle a bit less

the MAIN quest and its story. i expected worse, way worse. and for a while the game even had me tricked (harr harr you'll get it in a second) it is Really That Much Worse. but holy shit was it good. i walked away satisfied ngl.

your choices have SOLID weight. there's consequences, good AND bad. i got minrathous blighted, ruled over by venatori, and the leader of the shadow dragons ultimately died because of my decisions. i made those at the beginning and throughout the game. he died at the end. DAVRIN died because i didn't expect what i was saying to have that much weight. i thought i was in the clear. he had hero status. well turns out, your choices can still get your companions killed even if you do everything right. i fucking love him. he shouldn't have made that sacrifice just because i told him to do everything it takes once.

the inquisitor, morrigan and dorian being there, surprisingly. there's also negatives to this though, see below.

speaking of companions dying and the inquisitor playing a bigger role: the final quest feels like me2's suicide mission. i was blown away by it and the fact that i got to see the results of all my efforts playing out in front of me.

bioware are NOT trying to redeem solas. they love him as a character yes, but i wasn't forced to see any good in him. he betrays you. he fucked my rook over twice. he fucked him over right back, for good this time (the veil wasn't torn down, i anchored it by binding him to it, he's doomed to uphold it). but solas really lives up to his name as the trickster elven god. rip to all the people who grew really attached to him over the years.

varric died. if you like him that's probably as hard reading it as it was watching it. varric died and the game lies about it until the very end. when the realisation hits, it hurts. but in the very best way.

the amount of care they put into gender expression and trans identities this time around. (i'll add onto this with negative points as well too).

rook feels very much ingrained in the world of thedas. he doesn't ask questions that expose the player to lore through dialogue as if he's stepped foot into thedas for the first time. those conversations feel very solid and good. i hope other faction players got as much joy out of this as i did.

and the things i didn't like and boy there's a lot unfortunately

the music. let's just get that out of the way holy shit. it doesn't feel like it belongs in this universe. it gets so incredibly sci-fi-y at times you'd think it's taken straight from mass effect andromeda. there's not a single song unique to veilguard that i really enjoyed. it broke my immersion, real bad. hearing a busker play the tavern songs from inquisition on a lute right after i killed some venatori with wobbly bass songs playing in the background is just odd. weird tonal shift. don't like it. it's made for people who like flashy light-weight cinema.

tevinter nights is required reading. the podcasts are required listening exercises. the game is so fast paced, especially at the start, that there's no time to introduce you to characters and how much weight their names carry in-game. i would not have known who half these people are if i hadn't skimmed over tevinter nights. i'd care even less about them than i already did. there is no time to get properly attached to them. people will act as if you're talking to a legend personified and you'll be thinking man goddamn which chapter of tevinter night were they in again and what did they do???

there's a weird mismatch with the animations. you'll have beautifully fluid ones, like emmrich casting spells. and then you'll have rook's face animating in the most unnatural manner that's sorta reminiscent of mass effect andromeda's "my face is tired" addison, when their emotions SHOULD be landing with the player rn instead.

i'm not vibing with the art style. sometimes it works. most of the time it doesn't. at points i felt like i was watching tangled.

that also brings me to some of the dialogue. same issue. i am watching frozen. i am watching tangled. someone on the writer's team really likes the adorkable trope. bellara is its victim.

for all the talk about identity, bioware sure doesn't like theirs. the grey warden armor got a redesign again and it just makes them look like a generic army. i hate it lol

in general, i don't like the armor design. the wardrobe/appearances system is fine, but it's just not helping if all the armors are just... kinda bland or downight bad looking? and don't get me started on the lords of fortune armor. that is orientalism personified.

the world states should have been carried over, full stop. i know they said they didn't because they want to separate what happens in the north from what happens in the south, which... i could have lived with that. but the inquisitor sends you letters that keep you up to date on... the south of thedas. you learn that there's a blight again, that people are standing strong but it's difficult, denerim's fallen, the rulers are taking care of it, orlais is fighting and they're successful for a while, etc etc. what's good bioware. i thought we don't care about the south this time around. why are you feeding me so much boring generic information. if you're not gonna show any of it and just write letters, then carrying the world state over should not have been an issue. i have a game dev background. those few lines of code would not have broken your budget or pushed your engine's limits. fuck right off.

this gripe of mine carries over to all the cameos. as a lord of fortune you have to deal with isabela a lot. it's fun. i missed her. you get to go drinking with her and taash and bellara! also my hawke romanced her. she's not mentioned once. they had the opportunity to put a sentence or two about her in there with not a lot of effort, trust me.

when varric dies, all she has is a single line about it. for gold, for fortune, for varric. she only says it if you interact with her on your way to the final push. that's not mandatory.

morrigan is there. kieran isn't. the old god soul that mythal and then solas absorbed? who cares at this point, the gods are dead now and solas is locked away for eternity. i suppose? why is morrigan there. she feels unneeded. i wish they'd just left her down south, at least that way i wouldn't have had to witness her god awful redesign.

dorian at least feels as if he belongs in this story. the shadow dragons are a crucial part to protecting minrathous. he's also weirdly underutilised. isabela and morrigan had more lines than him in my playthrough.

on the topic of romance: bro that was underwhelming. no, genuinely. you know when romance picked up a bit? after the point of no return. i heard maybe two lines of companion banter about it before that. maybe i missed something which i honestly doubt, but romance did not play much of a role in lucanis's storyline. i saved his grandmother as he wished me to (and if you read tevinter nights you know she was rather abusive and their relationship not the healthiest) and told him to focus on his family. a reunified family my rook wasn't even introduced to as a partner at the end of all that.

really, do not buy this game if you're only in it for the romances. others might be better, lucanis's basically gave me nothing. except for an outing (the second coffee date i had with him, it was getting repetitive) all of it played out once i committed to the final quest. the sex scene was a fade to black. annoyingly right after davrin died. if you're looking for well paced and good spice, pick up something else. the sweet talk and the final goodbye were nice though.

for all the good the ever-presence of gender identity does, it is brought up in such a disruptive manner too. it doesn't even play out naturally if you CHOOSE the lines that are meant to be said. hearing the words trans and non-binary in this setting doesn't feel right, and i'm saying this as a trans guy. i think it could have been handled more gracefully. the amount of times my rook went "i'm a MAN" as if he's about to start drumming on his chest and roaring any second now got super nerve-grating. "i'm so glad you're into me... the me who is trans. remember?" just. tell me one trans person who'd talk like that to a person they've grown close with and are trying to romance. this game doesn't handle sexuality well, so all this hey my body might not look like the way you're expecting it to look talk amounts to nothing anyway. i feel about this the way i feel about krem: this is partial exposition to trans experiences... packaged up for cis consumption. the ONLY exception to that is interacting with taash. holy shit was all of that heartwarming and bro did it feel good and natural to talk to them about theirs and rook's gender.

rivain and nevarra are new locations added by veilguard. they're also incredibly underwhelming, small and constricted maps. rivain is a coastline with a few ruins. the hall of valor is a partial ruin nestled into a cave on a beach, with a fighting pit. isabela is there in her skimpy outfit commentating your pit fights. that's it. i'm sorry if you were looking for a bustling pirate cove or whatever. you're not gonna get it. the nevarran crypts btw are a long ass dungeon crawl. that's it.

speaking of maps. i thought people were being dramatic when they said you're gonna be fighting the same enemies on them again and again. i thought they were figure of speeching it. they're not. you WILL fight the same amount of enemies. in the same spot. every time you reload the map. best to stay on a map and clear out the enemies and do as much questing on that map as you can before leaving, because you WILL have to do it all over again once you return.

the three choices i made for my inquisitor didn't matter lol she didn't have to face solas and therefore couldn't stop him at any cost as she had sworn (maybe because my rook tricked solas into binding himself to the veil, there was also an option to fight him. would she have stepped in? who knows). blackwall wasn't mentioned. and either her using a small amount of her forces in the final fight was the reason the civilians of minrathous fared so well..... or it just didn't matter. ultimately i think she had very little impact on anything

[infiniteseriesofhalfways]

also here's two terrible photos of what ive been knitting this week:

there's too many stitches so i cant stretch it out properly, and the construction makes it hard to really show it off. also im in bed so it's the best i can do right now.

anyhow this is clue 1 of Stephen West's Go Go Dynamo MKAL, which im two weeks behind on but it's fine. it's been fun so far, minus the 'bubbles', which are the bane of my existence.

[merlindotpdf]

hello to the world little lola pin

[oifaaa]

I love how you wrote “crying” in the latest baby jason art, the y and g look like they have little fishes there hehe. Sorry this is so random,,,also I love your baby jason uwu

I need to stop drawing baby jason he's literally all I've been drawing for two days now I need to draw other things

[lydiacatfish]

was toying around with writing a 5e module sort of thing where a party is hired by a queen to protect her from her evil husband trying to assassinate her, only to learn that they were hired as a cover for her trying to assassinate him

and i was like, that's good, but it's cliche. it needs a second twist.

and then i got it: the king and queen are BOTH trying to kill each other. they throw huge parties and hire rival adventuring parties and set up rival assassins to try to get the other. it's their foreplay. they keep having to reach deeper and deeper into neighboring countries for parties that aren't completely done with their shit, which is why your party has been called from so far away

anyway idk how i'd write that but i know my group would have a blast with it

[unproduciblesmackdown]

pinning to the workshop corkboard: you've heard of winston "i'm cassandra" billions clairvoyance concepts for fun & profit, hear also of winston billions sphinx concepts (you must be This understanding of what he means to proceed)

[truly-quirkless]

Fun fact! Fin's first nickname that I gave them was 'Cowboy', simply because my southern accent can get really thick when I'm tired, and I'd found a piece of art of Yagi wearing a t-shirt that said 'I only kiss hot cowboys' and it made me snicker to think of him wearing it while on a date with Fin.

Nowadays, I definitely prefer the nickname a friend came up with (Hazelnut) over Cowboy, but Cowboy just kinda makes me snicker. I don't really use it in RPs anymore, though.

[pebblezone]

this Tylenol ain’t shit w