#v | humanity in a bottle ( human mary. ) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

liriostigre · 3 years

Note

hey! I wanted to ask what your favorite poetry books are? I have a few but I want to read new and interesting stuff, and I trust your taste :D

hiii ♡

tbh i only started reading poetry collections like,, last year. i'm subscribed to poetryfoundation's newsletter (poem of the day) so i usually just read random poems

anyway, i'm not sure my recs could be considered new (cause i'm gonna start with Mary Oliver ♡) but feel free to message me if you want to know the themes, style, feeling (vibes, if you will) or anything you want to know about these collections. for now, i'm linking my favorite poems in each collection, i hope this helps you choose! ♡

here you go:

Dream Work —Mary Oliver (“Wild Geese.” “Dogfish.”)

Red Bird —Mary Oliver (“Summer Morning.” “Love Sorrow.”)

Blue Horses —Mary Oliver (“To Be Human Is to Sing Your Own Song.” “Loneliness.” “Little Crazy Love Song.”)

The Wild Iris —Louise Glück (“Sunset.” “Retreating Light.”)

Haruko/Love Poems —June Jordan (“On a New Year’s Eve.” “Mendocino Memory.” “Toward a City That Sings.” *under the cut)

Extracting the Stone of Madness —Alejandra Pizarnik (“Primitive Eyes.” “Summer Goodbyes.” *under the cut)

Ariel —Sylvia Plath (“Tulips.” “The Rival.”)

Prelude to Bruise —Saeed Jones (“Postapocalyptic Heartbeat.” *under the cut)

Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth —Alice Walker (“Coming Back from Seeing Your People.” *under the cut)

I Must Be Living Twice —Eileen Myles (“Edward the Confessor.” *under the cut)

Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth —Warsan Shire (“Conversations About Home (at the Deportation Centre.”)

The Black Unicorn —Audre Lorde (“Hanging Fire.” “Sister Outsider.”)

Bright Dead Things —Ada Limón (“The Riveter.” “Glow.”)

Night Sky With Exit Wounds —Ocean Vuong (“Thanksgiving 2006.” “Logophobia.”)

Postcolonial Love Poem —Natalie Diaz (“Manhattan Is a Lenape Word.”)

Crush —Richard Siken (“Litany in Which Certain Things Are Crossed Out.”)

Once —Alice Walker (“So We've Come at Last to Freud.”)

“Toward a City That Sings” by June Jordan

Into the topaz the crystalline signals of Manhattan the nightplane lowers my body scintillate with longing to lie positive beside the electric waters of your flesh and I will never tell you the meaning of this poem: Just say, ‘She wrote it and I recognize the reference.’ Please let it go at that. Although it is all the willingness you lend the world as when you picked it up the garbage scattering the cool formalities of Madison Avenue after midnight (where we walked for miles as though we knew the woods well enough to ignore the darkness) although it is all the willingness you lend the world that makes me want to clean up everything in sight (myself included)

for your possible discovery

“Primitive Eyes” by Alejandra Pizarnik

Where fear neither speaks in stories or poems, nor gives shape to terrors or triumphs.

My name, my pronoun — a grey void.

I’m familiar with the full range of fear. I know what it’s like to start singing and to set off slowly through the narrow mountain pass that leads back to the stranger in me, to my own emigrant.

I write to ward off fear and the clawing wind that lodges in my throat.

And in the morning, when you are afraid of finding yourself dead (of there being no more images): the silence of compression, the silence of existence itself. This is how the years fly by. This is how we lost that beautiful animal happiness.

“Summer Goodbyes” by Alejandra Pizarnik

The soft rumor of spreading weeds. The sound of things ruined by the wind. They come to me as if I were the heart of all that exists. I would like to be dead, and also to go inside another heart.

“Postapocalyptic Heartbeat” by Saeed Jones

I. Drugged, I dreamed you a plume of ash, great rush of wrecked air through the towns of my stupor. And when the ocean in your blood went toxic, I thought fire was what we needed: serrated light through the skin, grenade in the chest—pulled linchpin. I saw us breathing on the other side of after. But a blackout is not night; orange-bottled dreams are not sleep. II. I was a cross-legged boy in the third lifetime, empire of blocks in my lap while you walked through the door of your silence, hunting knife in one hand, flask in the other. I waited for you until I forgot to breathe, my want turning me colors only tongues of amaryllis could answer for. It owned me, that hunger, tendriled its way into my name for you. III. In a city made of rain each door, a silence; each lock, a mouth, I walked daily through the spit-slick streets, harbingers on my hands in henna: there will be no after Black-and-blue-garbed strangers, they called me Cassandra. (I had such a body then.) Umbrellas in hand, they listened while they unlistened. there will be no no. after

the world will end no.

you are the reason it no. ends

you no. IV. I didn’t exactly mean to survive myself. Half this life I’ve spent falling out of fourth-story windows. Pigeons for hair, wind for feet. Sometimes I sing “Stormy Weather” on the way down. Today, “Strange Fruit.” Each time, strangers find me drawing my own chalk outline on the sidewalk, cursing with a mouth full of iron, furious at my pulse. V. After ruin, after shards of glass like misplaced stars, after dredge, after the black bite of frost: you are the after, you are the first hour in a life without clocks; the name of whatever falls from the clouds now is you (it is not rain), a song in a dead language, an unlit earth, a coast broken— how was I to know every word was your name?

“Coming Back from Seeing Your People” by Alice Walker

Coming back From seeing your people You were So wonderfully Full Of yourself.

But now You have supped With vampires They have fed Feasted On you.

They arise Bright-eyed Fit.

You alone have lost Not only Your sleep But also Your glow The luster of Affection Heart welcome Your people Sent home With you.

Beloved You must learn To walk alone To hold The precious Silence To bring home And keep the precious Little That is left Of yourself.

“Edward the Confessor” by Eileen Myles

I have a confession to make I wish there were some role in society I could fulfill I could be a confessor I have a confession to make I have this way when I step into the bakery on 2nd Ave. of wanting to be the only really nice person in the store so the harried sales woman with several toned hair will like me. I do this in all kinds of stores, coffee shops xerox shops, everywhere I go. And invariably I leave my keys, xeroxing, my coffee from the last place I am being so nice. I try so hard to make a great impression on these neutral strangers right down to the perfect warm smile I get entirely lost and stagger back out onto the street, bereft of something major. It’s really leaning too hard on the everyday. My mother was the kind of woman who dragging us into stores always seemed to charm the pants off the cashier. She was such a great person, so human though at home she was such a bitch, I mean really distant. I imitate her and I don’t do it well. She didn’t leave her wallet or us in a store. I’m just a pale imitation it is simply not my style to open the hearts of strangers to my true personhood. I hope you accept this tiny confession of what I am currently going through. And if you are experiencing something of a similar nature tell someone, not me, but tell someone. It’s the new human program to be in. It would be nice for at least these final moments if we could sigh with the relief of being in the same program with all the other humans whispering in school. I can’t quite locate the terror, but I am trying to be my mother or Edward the Confessor smiling down on you with up-praying hands. I am looking down at the tips of my boots as I step across the balcony of the church excited to be allowed to say these things. Outside my church is a relationship. On 11th street this guy and this woman are selling the woman so they can get more dope. All their things are there, rags and loaves of bread and make-up. And there was— this was incredible. Two men lying by the door of the church giving each other blow-jobs. They were sort of street guys, one black one white. I said hey you can’t do that here. They jumped up, one spit come out of his mouth. If you don’t get out of here I’ll call the cops. Don’t call the cops we’ll go, we’ll leave. That was a shock. That was more than I expected to see in a day. Something about seeing the guy spit come out of his mouth. He didn’t have to do that. I guess I scared him. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was scared too.

#btw!!!! i'm sorry!!! SO SORRY it took me weeks to reply 🤕#hope you're having good days <3 #💌

366 notes · View notes

starr-fall-knight-rise · 4 years

Text

HASO “The Best Outcome.”

Just wrapping up a few loose ends from the past few months stories. I hope you all like it. And feel free to give me some ideas on what you want to see, or who you want to see more of. I will try to do my best :)

Breaking News tonight from the Apollo 11 memorial landing site as Admiral Adam Vr and Captains Warren Richarards and Mary Chavez were rescued from the Pacific Ocean following a journey that was supposed to be historical, turned harrowing. Amy Grey comes to us this morning with the story.

Thank you Julie, it was only a week ago here on the historic Cape Canaveral launch site, that the reconstructed Saturn V rocket was launched by the UNSC International Space and Aeronautics Division on the two thousand and fifty first anniversary of the original Apollo 11 mission. On board The reconstructed rocket were astronauts Fleet Admiral Adam Vir head of the UNSC deep space exploration division, Captain Warren Richards five year veteran and historical aeronautics expert, and Mary Chavez six year shuttle pilot veteran, and communications specialist.

The reconstructed Saturn V rocket took off thirty minutes behind schedule at 10:03 GMTJuly 16 after delays attributed to engineering standbys. However, reports by UNSC investigation early this morning indicate that the delays were called for by engineering head Jade Clein who noticed something strange during her final checks of the Saturn V recreated rocket. In an interview early today, flight director, Aaliyah Seif of the Apollo re-creation mission informed outlets that there was evidence of attempted tampering on the hull of the Saturn V rocket. The tampering case in the shape of these small silver tape strips covering loosened bolts along one of the Saturn V side panels. Engineers stated that the tape was not heat resistant and would have burned off in time to rattle the bolts loose and, likely, cause a devastating spin that would destroy the rocket.

While this attempted tampering was thwarted, the mission would only become more dire. A sudden and shocking report by Mericanda News 5 showed an uncut image of an unknown alien hybrid woman claiming that the UN President had ordered th attempted assassination of Admiral Vir, in conjuncton with an audio recording by Admiral Colter Massie, Head of the Galactic intelligence division an known isolationist, that admitted to the attempted assasination of Admiral Vir, and the acquisition of twenty thunderhawks which were used to harry the Satern V on it’s way to the moon. Admiral Kelly, long time friend of Admiral Vir, corroborated the story, saying she caught General Massie just after he ordered the deployment of the twenty thunderhawks. During their conversion he attempted to kill her before being detained by two members of Admiral Vir’s crew, and was later seen being escorted into custody by Military Police.

Indeed footage has been captured from the hull of the Saturn V showing approximately twenty thunderhawks attempting to destroy the rocket while Rundi remote piloted drones and an unknown group of what appear to be racing jets, fought back to delay the attack while word was sent to the UNSC to deploy F-90 darkfire pilots to assist. This all after communications between Houston and the rocket were sabotaged shortly after leaving orbit. The F-90 darkfire pilots were able to arrive on time to rescue the rocket, though a hole was reportedly torn in the hull sucking Admiral Vir out into space, though he was later recovered and returned to his ship without any injuries. Patch teams were then able to repair the torn hull and the astronauts completed their mission landing to crowds on the moon and returning to earth on time on time landing in the Pacific ocean only nine miles away from the waiting ship.

All three astronauts were recovered and are reported to be in good health.

The investigation into the UN president’s involvement is still ongoing at this time, however preliminary reports from the Global Bureau of Investigation suggest evidence is both staggering and damning to the current UN president, who earlier today, attempted to cut all ties to the sabotage efforts saying she was framed. Political experts report that, even assuming her innocence, she will likely not last to the end of her term.

International News Network was able to interview Admiral Vir shortly after his landing while still on board the rescuing ship UNSS Victory.

Here is what the Admiral had to say.

“I find it…. Really very disheartening that someone we all trusted, and someone that we all should have looked up to could do something like this. It really is a heinous demonstration of what political corruption can lead people to do.”

“And how do you feel, personally about all of this.”

“Personally, I…. well to be honest I am hurt and appalled. Not to mention that I fear for the safety of my family and my friends. Every day I wonder if my involvement with them is going to get someone I love killed…. The thought haunts me, but I hope after all of this is over I… and all of us can breathe a little easier.”

“Were you scared?”

“I don’t think that even needs to be a question. Of course I was scared, getting sucked out of your spaceship isn’t ideal.”

“What do you hope will happen now?”

“I hope that justice can be upheld to those who deserve it.”

“What do you have to say to the UN president.”

…

“I have nothing to say. Wouldn’t want to waste the air.

****

What followed would be one of the largest scandals in recent political history. At some point an unknown number of classified government documents was leaked onto the internet, and after that it was all over for the Presidency. Thousands of enterprising humans, and aliens alike, viewed the documents to discover all the underhanded and dirty things which had been going on in the UN governmental body over the past few years. Forensic accounting experts (mostly Tesrtaki) uncovered plenty of fiscal tampering which shed light on plenty of isolationist related projects and bank accounts. There was even evidence that they had something to do with the original assassination attempt against Admiral Vir so many months ago. The drama had even managed to capture the attention of Rundi political experts and Vrul computer science geniuses, and together they unearthed a world of unfathomable, but not unexpected corruption. The process to remove the UN president from office was probably one of the fastest movements of human government ever seen by UN congressional leaders, who were likely trying their very best tro distance themselves from association with the president, who despite not being the only one involved, had become the political scapegoat for everyone else that had a supposed link with isolationism.

Even the VP fell under suspicion and was watched closely for the rest of his term.

Admiral Massie and the UN President were placed under arrest and set up for court dates in the nearing future, though everyone saw a long and arduous litigation process ahead. Even Ramirez’s family had filed for damages against the government after the news came to light confirming that their son had been shot as collateral in one of the UN presidents plans to assassinate Admiral Vir. They settled out of court to the tune of an unknown, but impressive sum of money.

No one really knew how much, but a couple months later Ramirez’s younger sister was seen training at one of the most prestigious olympic academies on earth.

Ramirez himself was suddenly able to afford housing on the moon in a condo just next door to his best friend, though no one else inquired further.

The Rundi chairwoman came forward with her own investigation admitting to being suspicious for a long time though she feared accusations without proper proof. Admiral Vir was seen having lunch with her not so many months after the events took place, suggesting that the trust between the two of them had not been completely dissolved. With much of the isolationist element gone from government, public policy began to lean heavily towards integration with the alliance. The occasional isolationist demonstration or protest was held, but none of them managed to gain traction.

Admiral Vir was finding himself more important than ever, though it was to his chagrin that his ship was grounded for the intervening months while the investigation continued.

No one was entirely sure what the future held.

***

Admiral Vir stepped into Admiral Kelly’s office. The last time he had actually visited her here had been over a few years ago before his promotion to captain of the Harbinger. It seemed so distant now, and he never expected to walk into her office with a star on his shoulder. She stood as he entered, and the two of them shook hands, ignoring all the stuffy formalities that usually come with the meeting of two military officers.

The wall behind her was decorated with a myriad of metals and awards she had received over her career, and he couldn't help but note the slight tinge of grey he could see forming in her hair. He knew that feeling, he was going prematurely white much to his chagrin. She stood and the two of them shook hands.

“Vir.”

“Kelly.”

She motioned him to sit and he sat sighing lightly as he had been on his feet all day consulting with political figures and other members of the UNSC.

“A strange couple months wouldn’t you say.”

“Tell me about it.”{

Kelly reached under her desk and withdrew an amber bottle which she placed between them, “I always forget; Do you drink?”

“On occasion.”

“Well consider this an occasion.” She said popping off the top and pouring two glasses for them. She handed his across the desk and he leaned back in his seat cupping the cool glass in both hands.

She swirled the amber liquid around in her glass, “So what are your plans after all this.”

He took a sip of water warmed by the burning liquid, “Hoping things will go back to normal and I can go back to traveling the galaxy.”

Kelly grunted, “A simple man with simple motivations.”

He laughed , “Sometimes I think a stupid man with simple motivations.”

She chuckled then grew serious, “A lot of people make the mistake of assuming simple people don’[t have the intelligence to match. Some people assume that trusting means gullible means dumb. Just because we are trusting and expect others to do the right thing is not necessarily a fault. I believe there is a kind of beauty in assuming the fundamental goodness of humanity.”

\Admiral Vir shook his head, “How can you after seeing what we have seen.”

“How can you not?” She shrugged, “We always knew that politicians were corrupt, but think about everything else we have seen.”

Admiral Vir nodded slowly, “The enthusiasm for the Apollo 11 recreation mission, the people who flew up to help us. All of those people who went digging through years of information just to uncover the truth.”

SHe raised her glass, “Precisely. Goodness in humanity is all around us, but we tend to overlook the good in favor of the bad.” She placed her hat on the desk and sighed, “It is up to good people to keep their goodness going even when it might seem easier to give into the bad. I I have and will always believe in the fundamental good of humanity. Some may call it naeve, or even stupid. Others have said I have a romanticized view of a species that is fundamentally broken.” She turned her head to look out the window a contemplative expression on her face before turning back to look at Adam.

“You understand me, I think.”

He nodded slowly.

“People need to be believed in. You tell someone for long enough that they are fundamentally bad at their core and they will begin to believe you. For thousands of years pessimists have gotten it into our heads that we are no better than animals, worse even since animals don’t fight in wars. But I believe that is wrong, I have seen people, I have met people, and I have interacted with people who prove to me that humanity cannot just be fundamentally bad or else these people wouldn’t exist.” She tapped her nails against the glass, “I think it is easier to corrupt purity than wash away a stain,”

He listened quietly as she continued.

“Humans are born good, Adam, and life stains us. We aren’t born stained while some of us are wiped clean. “ She shook her head, “Doesn't make sense to me.” She caught him with a look pinning him to the spot with her intense stare, “People like you convince me of this every day.”

“Me….”

She held up a hand. “Adam Vir, I am convinced that the best outcome this universe ever had, was when a happy go lucky science fiction freak was lucky enough to be the first man to meet aliens. Any other way things would have gone horribly wrong.” She leaned across her desk, “The universe needs men and women like you, and not only that but the universe needs people who are going to support men and women like you.” She sat back, “Which is why I have made a decision.”

He raised an eyebrow in curiosity not entirely sure where this could be going.

She smiled, “I have decided to run for President.”

He nearly spit his mouthful of expensive scotch onto the table but managed to choke it mostly down.

Eyes wide he set his glass down, “Are you serious.”

She smiled, “Seriously serious.”

“Well shit, you have my vote for sure.” He raised his glass to her, “I couldn’t think of a better outcome.”

209 notes · View notes

wiypt-writes · 4 years

Text

Riding On

Ch23: Unnamed, Generic Baked Item

Summary: Fliss picks her wedding dress, whilst Frank has some great inspiration about a birthday present for his future wife…

Warnings: Bad language, 18+, Smut (NSFW 18+)

Pairing: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

A/N: This is totally dedicated to @sweater-daddiesdumbdork . But it’s still a f**kin’ biscuit!

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding On Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 22

“Mary, enough!” Frank’s voice rose and Mary glared at him, folding her arms.

“This is so unfair!” She exclaimed and Frank took a deep breath as he fed Alex another spoonful of porridge.

“You know what? You might think that, and I’m not even digging into the reasons why you’re wrong, but Fliss is already nervous enough about today and you kicking up a fuss over it is not going to help,” Frank levelled her with a look, “so get it out of your system right now, because if you’re still moaning when she comes down the stairs, you and me are going to fall out. Big time.”

Mary blinked, and then frowned. “What’s she nervous about? She’s only picking a dress.”

“Because it’s her wedding dress. It’s a big deal.”

“Which is why I wanna go!”

“And it’s also why you’re not!” Frank shot back, turning and feeding Alex some more as the baby had started to protest due to his dad’s attention being elsewhere. “Stack, you got bored within twenty minutes when they took you for your bridesmaid dress last week, so no, you’re staying here.”

“But-“

“It’s not open for debate,” Frank’s voice dropped even further, the warning tone unmistakable, “but feel free to carry on, see where it gets you.”

Mary was saved the trouble of responding as, at that point, Alex gave a loud yell and the bowl of porridge Frank had been feeding him from was knocked from his hands and landed all over the leg of his jeans. There was a pause, as Frank glanced down at the slop spreading over his thigh before he looked at Alex whose eyes were watering and seconds later a loud wail of frustration at the lack of food burst from his son’s mouth.

“For fffff sake, why?” Frank groaned, cutting the swear word short as he ran his hand through his messy hair, shaking his head.

“You know, I’m not much of one for all that fate and philosophy stuff,” his mother spoke as she walked into the kitchen, “but this, Frank, really does feel like straight up karma.”

Frank glared at her as he stood up and took the tea towel from the side and wiped at his jeans. “Fuck my life,” he muttered under his breath as Thor happily trotted over to the spilt porridge on the floor, cleaning it up with laps of his large tongue, Fred also hopping down off the seat at the breakfast bar to investigate the coveted, spilt human food.

“Karma for what?” Mary asked, from where she’d successfully manage to distract Alex from his tears by waving his little stuffed lion at him, the baby making grabbing gestures towards it.

“His own spectacular ability to misbehave.” Evelyn looked at Mary as she handed Alex the toy. “You know, he once sat down in the middle of a supermarket and refused to leave because I told him that it was Wednesday and Wednesday does not begin with the letter S”

Mary roared with laughter as Frank tossed the dirty towel into the sink before reaching into the cupboard for another jar of baby porridge.

“Look, that big yellow feathered bastard on Sesame Street told me that day was brought to me by the letter S.” He looked at Evelyn, then to Mary who was still howling with laughter, Alex now joining in, all tears forgotten. “He lied.”

“That was a particularly furious melt down, Francis.” Evelyn grinned and Frank rolled his eyes as he got the replacement porridge ready.

“What did you do?” Mary asked.

“It was your Grandfather that sorted him out, darling. He threw Frank over his shoulder and carried him straight out of the shop. I don’t know what he said or did, but by the time I got back to the car Frank was quiet as a mouse.”

“I think he threatened to feed me to said big yellow feathered bastard.” Frank chuckled as he sat back down and offered Alex another spoon of porridge which the baby eagerly took, making little appreciative noises as he did so. “Did you not notice I never watched another episode?”

“Another episode of what?” Fliss asked, and Frank looked up smiling at her as she crossed the room, Alex’s noises getting more excited as he looked at his momma.

“Sesame Street.” Evelyn supplied as Frank gave Alex another spoon of his breakfast, as Fliss dropped a kiss first on Mary’s head, then Alex’s, before finally pressing one to Frank’s cheek

“I’m not even gonna ask.” She snorted, moving to pour herself a coffee.

“Probably wise.” Mary nodded and at that Frank laughed.

“First sensible thing you’ve said all morning.” He teased, drawing another glare from the ten year old.

“Shut up.”

“Erm, enough.” Fliss looked at her, then to Frank. “The pair of you are worse than he is.” She nodded to Alex and then turned to Evelyn, waving the coffee pot in a silent question.

“Oh, no thanks. I had a tea before.” Evelyn smiled.

At that point, Thor gave a little woof and ran to the utility room, as Verity’s voice rang out in greeting.

“Nanny V!” Mary ran to her, giving her a huge hug as Verity smiled, bending down to give her a hug.

“Hey Pudding!” She beamed, standing up, before she glanced around the room, smiling. “Oh, where’s my little man?”

“I suspect at home on the sofa.” Frank quipped, earning him a light slap round the head as Verity leaned down to give Alex’s head a soft kiss, the baby laughing and grabbing at her hair. Frank hastily un-fisted Alex’s fingers from his Nanna’s auburn locks and handed him the spoon to play with instead.

“You ready?” Verity asked, looking at Fliss. She nodded, taking a large gulp of coffee before setting the mug down on the side.

“I’ll just go grab my purse.”

As Fliss left the room, Frank looked at Verity. “She’s nervous. A little overwhelmed I think.”

“Yeah, well it’s getting nearer and this is a big deal to most girls.” Verity smiled. “Plus, we all know she didn’t get to choose her last one so…”

“Well, let’s do what my mother did to me.” Evelyn smiled, as she looked up from where she’d been examining her lipstick in a pocket mirror. “Ply her with enough champagne and make it fun. She’ll be fine.”

Verity smiled and Frank rolled his eyes. “The last time you two plied her with champagne she barfed all over the bedroom.”

“Well,” Verity smirked, “that’s your problem now, not mine. Lord knows I’ve cleaned up enough of her and Steve’s drunken messes in my lifetime.”

“Thanks V.” Frank nodded seriously. “Thanks, a lot.”

*****

Fliss took a deep breath, zoning out as she rifled through a rack at the back of the room. Verity, Evelyn, Bonnie and Sian were all chatting away behind her but it was merely background noise as she scanned dress after dress, nothing catching her eye.

“Have you any idea on what you want?” A soft voice behind her made her jump and she turned to see the assistant, a slight, grey haired woman called Sofia who had been assigned to help them today.

“Nope.” Fliss sighed. “I’m sorry, I’m totally useless.”

Sofia laughed and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it Miss Gallagher, a lot of women come in with either no ideas at all or tonne of ideas that don’t work out. If you don’t know what you want, do you know what you don’t want?”

“Yeah, that’s easy.” Fliss nodded. “I don’t want anything huge, or full of tulle or, you know-” she held her arms out to the side. “-princess bride like. Did that last time, hated it.”

“In that case we can completely ignore these two racks!” Sofia smiled and Fliss grinned as she allowed the woman to lead her a little further round the room. “And that’s half the battle. So, have you been anywhere else before here?”

“Two other boutiques.” Fliss nodded. “And I found nothing.”

“You know, most people think it’s all easy and fun hunting for dresses but, well, I know when I was looking it was so stressful!”

“You’re not wrong.” Fliss stopped at one dress which had caught her attention. It was a plain, off white colour with a simple skirt and bodice with a little beaded detail and chunky straps. “I kinda like the cut of this one.”

“Ah, a trumpet cut.” Sofia supplied, nodding.

“But I don’t know about the neckline, it’s a little…”

“Boring.” Sofia smiled as Fliss snorted. “But, we’ll take it for reference.” The woman lifted it off the rack, placing it onto the rail she’d wheeled alongside them. “So where are you getting married?”

“St Pete’s Public Access.” Fliss smiled. “Which is another reason I don’t want a huge dress. I’ll melt.”

Sofia laughed. “Not to mention the sand getting stuck in it.” She grinned. “Okay, what about this one?”

She lifted a similar cut dress off the rail, this one with a slightly more detailed neckline and Fliss nodded. “Yeah, I quite like that.”

“And this one.”

As Sofia held up the third dress, Fliss paused, tilting her head to one side. “I love the back of this.” Sofia gushed, turning it round. “It’s so detailed.”

“It’s beautiful.” Fliss smiled, her hand reaching out to brush the detailed lace as she studied the garment in front of her.

“Oh, wow!” She heard her mum say and she turned to look at her, then Bonnie who held up the bottle of champagne, Fliss handing over her now empty glass. “Lissy, that’s stunning!”

“It’s gorgeous isn’t it?” Fliss beamed, taking the refilled glass off Bonnie with a thanks.

“The detailing.” Evelyn mused, before she looked at Sofia. “Is that a Nicolle Miller by any chance?”

“Yes.” Sofia looked at Evelyn, frowning, and Fliss turned her head to look at her future mother-in-law, raising an eyebrow.

“She’s from Massachusetts.” Evelyn smiled. “I’ve seen a few of her dresses from time to time, they’re quite recognisable if you know what you’re looking for.”

“My fiancé’s from Boston.” Fliss informed, and Sofia’s mouth made a little O of understanding before she smiled.

“Well, if that isn’t a sign then I don’t know what is.” She beamed. “Would you like to see it on?”

Fliss bit her lip, before she looked at her mum her gave her a huge smile. With a grin on her face, and for the first time that day, a feeling of excitement in her stomach she nodded. Handing her champagne over to Bonnie, she followed Sofia into the changing room at the back, and was soon out of her denim shorts and t-shirt, stepping into the dress. Sofia came in to help her do it up, and it wasn’t even half way fastened before Fliss simply knew this was what she wanted, not even caring it was the first one she’d tried on. Nothing was going to come close to this.

“It’s a little big, around the bust so just give me a second.” Sofia moved to the back of the cubicle and picked up a few clothes pegs, tugging the dress around so it fit right and Fliss smiled, smoothing her hands down over her stomach as she stood, admiring it.

It was hard to guess at the actual shape as its bottom dabbled somewhere between a trumpet and mermaid cut. Her hips were accentuated by the firm fitting cream colored, hand stitched floral lace sewn into a nude overlay. Her back and side panels were completely different. The creamy lace design covered her back and sides with just her soft and delicate skin underneath, the nude underlay that covered her breasts and behind a near match to her skin. It hugged her curves perfectly, the lace covered her shoulders and down her chest in a two finger width and came together in a beautiful heart shape neckline, showing off her delicate décolletage shoulders. It kissed her skin, allowing enough cleavage but much to the imagination as it elegantly, and yet still incredibly sexy, covered her body.

It was something Fliss would never have dreamed of getting married in before but now, well, it felt right. It felt like her.

She took a shaky breath, her vision swimming with tears before she locked eyes with Sofia in the mirror, the older woman giving an appreciative nod. “It looks gorgeous, Honey!” She then handed Fliss a tissue and Fliss took it, giving a little shake of her head.

“I’m sorry, I-“

“Don’t apologise,” Sofia waved her away, “it’s a big thing. Now, you ready to go show the rest of them?”

Fliss nodded and Sofia gathered up the train of the dress, and Fliss stepped out of the little room and into the main area of the boutique. As she moved into the room, the other four women turned to face her and Verity’s hand immediately flew to her mouth.

“What do you think?” Fliss asked, shyly. “I know it’s the first one I’ve tried on but I don’t think I want to bother with anymore, I love it.”

Bonnie raised her eyebrows, her mouth falling open. “Oh my God, Fliss.” She gasped. “It’s…”

“Stunning.” Evelyn nodded in agreement, as Sian gave a hum.

“Liss, you’ll knock him dead.”

Fliss gave a smile and then looked at Verity. “Mum?”

Verity’s hand was shaking as she moved it down, and she opened her mouth, before she closed it again, taking a deep and shuddering breath, Sian curling her arm round her shoulder.

“Oh, Lissy…” Verity sniffed, her face creasing up as the tears began to slide down her cheeks. Immediately, more tissues were offered as Fliss also felt her eyes watering at the sight of her mum crying in front of her.

“Mum, don’t!” She gave a little laugh and Verity shook her head, dabbing at her eye.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart but I never thought I’d be here with you, trying on dresses as last time…” She stopped herself as Sian gave her a squeeze. “And now seeing you there with that look on your face, in that dress, ready to marry a man you deserve to be with, well, this is all I ever wanted for you.”

By the time Verity had finished there wasn’t a dry eye in the room, even Sofia had shed a tear. Verity stepped forward and carefully pulled her daughter into a hug, before she stepped back, kissing her forehead.

“I love you, my baby girl.” She sniffed. “God, your dad is going to bawl his eyes out when he sees this!”

Fliss smiled, and Sofia then directed her onto a little box before she called over to another woman who headed across the room with a tape measure. As they took a few measurements for the alterations, Fliss was vaguely aware that her Mum and Bonnie were both taking a photo, but in all honesty her eyes were glued to her reflection in the mirror in front of her. And she wasn’t looking at her dress. She was fixated on the huge smile that was on her face, a smile that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop.

****** “Hey, Stack, how about we go outside for a little while?” Frank opened the door to the den. “Alex has gone down for his nap so it’s just us.”

“In a minute, I’m just looking at something.” She replied, her eyes still on her laptop as she lounged on her beanbag, Heartland playing on the TV in the background.

“Come on, you’ve been sat in here for hours.”

“Yeah but this is really cool.” She looked up. “I’ve been tracing Monty’s lineage again for my collage, and then I got looking at Heidi’s and dug into all this cool info on her and the other horses that she was bred from.”

Frank obliged as Mary gestured to him, taking a seat next to her on the floor as she moved the laptop so he could see it.

“So, this is Heidi, ‘Sandybrook Hideaway’.” Mary’s fingers pointed to the box at the left of the screen. “And this is Heidi’s dad, ‘Louella Inschello’ and this is her mom, ‘Tremontano Esmerelda’. I can go even further back and find like her grandparents and great grandparents all the way into the seventies.”

“How come Heidi had the name Sandybrook?” Frank asked. “And not Louella or Tremontano or whatever?”

“It doesn’t work like with humans.” Mary shrugged. “You can’t use people’s prefixes that don’t belong to you when you’re naming a horse. Fliss said that the people who bred Heidi made the prefix Sandybrook because of their farm being near the beach in England, and there was a brook running alongside the fields. That’s what all their horses then became called, Heidi being the first, look…”

She moved the screen along a little, and Frank traced the little line that ran from Heidi’s name to another box. “’Sandybrook Typhoon’, sire- Renkum Renogade, dam- Sandybrook Hideaway…” he trailed off before he looked at Mary. “Heidi had a baby?”

“Yup.” Mary nodded. “Fliss showed me photos of him on their website. He’s huge. And real pretty. He was a big, fancy dressage horse that one her friends used to compete and they kept him at the stud farm to breed from because he was that pretty, but he died three years ago. He broke his leg and couldn’t get better.”

“Ouch.” Frank grimaced.

Mary nodded. “I know. This was his last foal, look. ‘Sandybrook Cleopatra’. She was born in 2017, and check out her mom’s name.”

“Sandybrook Dirty Diana.” Frank smiled, and let out a chuckle as Mary smiled at him as she clicked on a small link which opened up to show a beautiful bay filly with four white socks and a white blaze. Her face markings instantly struck Frank as being very similar to Heidi’s even if she was a different colour.

“So this would mean that this one is Heidi’s granddaughter?” Frank asked.

“Yup.” Mary nodded.

“That’s pretty cool, Stack.”

“Mom thought so too.” Mary grinned. “She showed me how to do it as I wanted to check out Monty’s history. I asked her about Heidi’s and she showed me this and she was like, really smiling when she saw Cleo, she didn’t know they’d had a foal from Typhoon the year he died. And there’s lots of photos of Heidi as a baby too on their history page, and she has a really cool profile.” She took a pause for breath and Frank gently dropped his hand to the back of her head, smiling at her enthusiasm. “They added a bit last week to say she’d died and it’s kinda sad but also kinda nice. They thanked Fliss her for giving her a wonderful home and said there was no one better on the Earth for your horse to be sold to than an Olympic Gold Medal winner.”

“How did they know she’d died?” Frank asked. “Did Fliss call them?”

“She emailed them. She said she had also asked them about Cleopatra.”

“Asked about her? You mean to buy?”

“I think so.” Mary nodded. “She sold Bronson the other month and now Heidi is gone she only has Cap left.”

“Yeah, I know. She mentioned maybe getting another but I didn’t know she’d been looking.”

“I don’t think she has, it’s just because she saw Cleopatra. I mean, it would be cool if she did buy her.” Mary shrugged. “She’s a part of Heidi in a way isn’t she?”

“Yeah, suppose she is.” Frank mused. “So, was Fliss not sure about her then or…”

“She said she liked her.” Mary shrugged. “But she’s not for sale on the website so I don’t know what they said. They might have said no, or maybe it’s because she’s busy. You know what she’s like.”

Frank did, only too well. When it came to buying things for herself to enjoy, Fliss was actually very reserved. She didn’t think twice about buying stuff for the house, or for the family, or her work, but her own, personal things, she seemed to have a real reticence to simply splurge on, and he had a feeling that went back to when she’d been married previously.

As his eyes flicked over the details on the screen, an idea flashed in his head. And it was a crazy one but…

“What do you think she would do if we bought her one for her birthday?” He turned to Mary.

“What, bought her a horse?”

“Yeah.”

“This horse?” Mary pointed at the screen to the picture of the bay mare and Frank nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Probably call you a crazy asshole, start crying and say it’s the best present ever.” Mary looked at him and Frank chuckled.

“I can live with that.”

“You know, you better hurry up if you’re gonna do it. Mom’s birthday is like, weeks away!”

“It’s not until the end of July.” Frank replied. “We got nearly two months. Do you not think that will be enough time?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never shipped a horse over here from England!” Mary scoffed, before they shared a look, almost identical expressions of realisation crossing their faces as they instantly realised they both knew someone who had. “Poppa Bill!” Mary stated excitedly. “He’ll help!”

“Sure he will.” Frank nodded. “Right, you better get me the email address, Stack. And not a word of this to Mom okay? This is top secret.”

“What do you take me for?” Mary looked at him indignantly and Frank looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

“You really want me to answer that?”

Mary pondered for a moment before she snorted. “Not really.”

******

“So, did you have a nice time today?” Frank asked as they lay in bed later that night.

“Yeah.” Fliss smiled, snuggling further into his chest as his hand gently ran up and down her arm, his fingers softly tickling her skin. “I did.”

“Good.” He kissed her head. “I’m glad. You were so worried about it all.”

“That obvious, huh?” She sighed and Frank chuckled.

“To me, yeah.” He shifted a little to look down at her. “But that’s only because I know you so well.”

“I didn’t know what to expect.” She shrugged. “I was just a little overwhelmed at the thought, you know, of having to make the decision but when we got to the first shop, I dunno, I kinda realised that I’ve been making decisions about our wedding all along. And, when it came down to it, it wasn’t really that much different to when we picked your suit.”

Frank chuckled. “To be fair, Sweetheart, we’d been in the shop all of five minutes before you spotted the one you liked.”

“Hey, it wasn’t just me.” She protested, tilting her head to look at him. “You liked it too.”

“I do.” Frank agreed. “But I saw the look on your face when you saw it which is what completely sold it to me.”

A lightweight wool three piece suit dyed a stunning steel blue shade had fit Frank expertly. It made his eyes pop and the crisp white button down underneath offered a nice contrast. But what made Fliss fall for the ensemble was the tie. The flash of burgundy, sand, white and grey stood out against the white dress shirt with the stripes of blue pulling in the blue of the three piece. The tailor suggested a printed silk pocket swath with polka dots and paisley printed against a deep blue background.

Frank caught Fliss’ eye in the mirror as the tailor straightened the back of his jacket and arched his brow. She hastily released her lip from between his teeth and gave him a little sheepish look, and he bit back the snort at the fact he’d just caught her looking at him in the way she usually did when she was feeling a little bit ‘frisky’ for want of a better word.

“But I’m clean.” Frank joked, causing the tailor to look up a little, puzzled expression on his face and Fliss laughed.

“Yeah, well this is clearly your Professor look, not the dirty boat daddy one.”

At that the tailor scooted off, Frank watching him go before he turned to Fliss and shook his head. “You’re terrible, you know that?”

She shrugged and smiled as she looked him up and down appraisingly, stepping forward and smoothing her hands up the lapels of the jacket. “You look incredibly handsome, babe.”

Frank gave her a smile and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “You almost sound surprised.”

“Not at all.” Fliss shook her head.

A cough from the tailor interrupted them as he had returned with a shoe box and Frank gave him a nod as Fliss stepped back. Once he had laced up the shiny, burnt brown oxfords, Frank moved again to take in the final, finished look and took a deep breath, smiling.

He liked it. A lot.

“So basically, you picked the first suit you tried on and I picked the first dress I tried on.” Fliss snorted and Frank shrugged. “We’re getting married on the beach, having what is basically a barn dance with food trucks…are we taking any of this seriously?”

“Nope.” Frank shook his head and Fliss laughed again as he moved, rolling her a little so she was on her back and he was hovering over her. “But, I think both of us have taken life far too seriously for far too long enough, time for a little fun.”

“Well that fills me full of confidence since we’re writing our own declarations.” She teased and Frank arched his brow.

“You’re talking to an ex Philosophy Professor-”

“Assistant-“

“Whatever, the point is, I’m very good with words.” Frank smirked and Fliss scoffed. “I got you to go on a date with me, didn’t I?”

“That wasn’t down to your words.” Fliss shook her head.

“No? Was it my devastating good looks?”

“That and the fact you’re basically the best man I’ve ever met.” Fliss smiled. “Well, apart from my dad. And Steve. So you’re definitely in the top three best men I’ve ever met.”

Frank laughed and took a deep breath, before he moved, propping himself up a little on his elbow, brushing Fliss’ hair back off her face. “Joking aside, marrying you is something I’m taking very seriously. I can’t wait to say ‘I do,’ get that ring on your finger and finally call you my wife as well as the mother of my kids. But the minute that bit is done then, all bets are off. No stuffy formalities, no pointless, boring traditions, well, apart from the ones we decide we wanna uphold and absolutely no vowing to obey,” he looked at her as she took a breath, “which is a relief because, frankly, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life being bossed around.”

Fliss smiled, knowing full well what he was saying. That vow had been one that John had insisted on, and whilst she had never raised the issue to Frank directly, because in all honestly she didn’t feel she needed to, the fact he’d picked up on the way she’d subtly opted for the other vows when they’d had to pick them for the official, made her heart swell in her chest.

“So, I err, I also had another off the wall idea.” Fliss looked at him.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I know we said we weren’t gonna give each other presents and stuff for the wedding, but, I thought…actually, forget it.”

“No, come on tell me.”

“No, it’s…”

“Liss!” He said, looking at her and she sighed, her eyes moving away from his, scanning the inked words just below his collar bone.

“Tatoos.” She whispered, looking back at him. “I thought, well, that we could get one each. Not matching as such, but you know, for each other.” Frank blinked and she snorted. “See it’s a dumb idea, I just really want another and well, that was another thing I was never allowed, and-”

“I didn’t say it was dumb.” Frank cut her off, shaking his head. “I think it’s a great idea.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, I do.” He nodded. “I’ve been thinking about getting another for a couple of months now, I want one for Alex, so having one for you too, well then I’ve got a full set.”

She smiled, her fingers reaching up and tracing the Taurus on his bicep, Mary’s star sign. “What you thinking of getting for Bean?”

“The time of his birth, and the date underneath all in Roman numerals. On my other arm.”

Fliss beamed. “I love that.” She pondered. “I thought about one for the kids too, maybe on my wrist but I don’t know what yet.”

“Well, l can speak to Jake.” Frank kissed her nose. “He’s fucking sweet at art, tell him what we want he’ll draw us a couple of designs and then we can go to the place I got my last one done and book in.” He paused. “So, where you gonna get the one for me?”

“Well, I errr think, I mean if-” She paused, looking at Frank as he waited for her answer and she realised that for a split second she’d been about to ask his permission. But as he simply looked at her, she licked her lips and smiled. She didn’t need to ask, she could just tell him. “I know exactly where I’m going to have it.”

“Show me.”

“So bossy.” She smirked, pushing on his shoulders and making him sit up. Biting her lip she lifted her cami top up a little, her hand pushing up her left breast and she traced the area underneath, just along her rib cage. “Only you will really see it then, well, other than when I’m in a bikini, I suppose.” She stopped talking as she spotted the familiar darkening in Frank’s eyes as he took her in, his eyes sliding up her frame to meet hers. She bit her lip, smiling as he crawled back over her, pushing her back onto the bed a little, her top still hitched up.

“You know,” his hands gently slid up her side, fingers tracing the spot she was talking about, “that area is supposedly quite sensitive.”

“Really?” She whispered, her eyes closing.

“Hmmhmmm.” He hummed, dropping his head, placing a soft kiss just there, and her breath hitched, before she emitted a soft little squeak as Frank’s lips were replaced by his teeth when he gave a soft nip. “Oh, yeah, definitely sensitive. You’re gonna need someone to hold your hand.”

“Luckily I know just the guy.” She sighed, his mouth now trailing a path across her body to her sternum.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’ll take Steve.”

“You really want your brother there when someone’s tattooing under your boob?” At that she stilled and looked down at him. He paused, his chin resting in between her breasts and he gave her a quizzical look. “What?”

“Are you okay with that?”

“With what? Your brother being-“

“No, idiot!” She slapped his head lightly and he gave an ow of protest. “I mean with me having it there? I mean, if it means the guy there’s gonna see-“

“Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Then, yeah, I don’t give a shit.” He shrugged, his lips returning to her skin. “Now, can you shut up and let me give you an orgasm?”

“Just one?” Her voice was a breathy whisper as his lips traced their way up her neck and he gave a little growl, nipping at her jaw.

“Greedy bitch.” He mumbled, causing her to chuckle a little, before his lips met hers in a heated kiss. Her hands snaked into the back of his short hair, nails scratching his scalp a little as his tongue curled against hers in dominating swipes, a rumble in the back of his throat flowing into her mouth.

His hands curled around her hips, before they slid upwards and grasped at the top she was wearing which was bunched unevenly up around her chest. He pulled back and Fliss sat up a little to allow him to yank it off and he tossed it carelessly behind him, where it dropped somewhere onto the bedroom floor. His lips crashed back to hers with an urgency she met back movement for movement. Frank shifted, nudging her legs further apart with his knees, so he could settle in between them, his lips moving back to her jaw, down her neck, moving himself downwards, taking his time and lavishing affection all the way down her body. His hands curled round her knees as his nose skimmed below her bellybutton and he placed a soft kiss onto her tummy before he felt her tugging on his hair.

“Frankie, I want you.”

He peeked up at her, and arched a brow. “I thought you wanted more than one?”

“Changed my mind.”

“Fickle.” He muttered, as he sat up, pulling down her sleep shorts before he discarded his boxers, kicking them down his legs. He gently nipped at the inside of her thigh before he brushed his cheek and beard up her leg, smirking as he heard a tiny mewl from above. With a pace that was agonisingly slow he moved back upwards, his hands moving up the side of her body as he went, gently moving across, thumbs brushing over each of her nipples which were pebbled in anticipation. Fliss arched her back, inhaling sharply as her groin bumped against his, dragging a low grumble from his throat as she twitched underneath him, pressed up against where she needed him most. Taking her hands in his, his thumbs skated over her knuckles before he interlocked their fingers and pressed her hands down on the pillow next to her head.

“God, you’re beautiful." He mumbled leaning down and running his nose alongside hers before kissing her deeply. Fliss gave a little preen of delight at his praise, and he broke the kiss, his lips remaining on hers. “My perfect, Lissy.”

She responded by kissing him hard, a kiss which was broken when he slowly pushing inside her in a gentle, fluid moment, eliciting a moan from them both. He drew back a little and then thrust forward deeply, before he kissed her again, his hips finding a languid, rocking rhythm, his bottom lip nibbling on hers. Fliss rolled her body up taking him deeper, moans and gasps slipping freely into each other’s mouths as he slowly built up his rhythm, his fingers curling around hers tightly as he watched her, felt her shudder as he hit her spot again and again with every rut of his hips until she was writhing underneath him, begging him not to stop.

And he didn’t, not until he’d dragged two orgasms from her, and he’d almost managed a third when he knew he couldn’t fight off his own release any longer. With a whimper that was almost pathetic, he slowed down, his hand dropping between them to stroke at her sensitive nub, and with a hoarse sob she bucked violently as she came again, her walls tightening around him and with a choked cry of her name he let go, his release coating her walls and he throbbed inside of her as she pulsed around him. His elbows gave way and he pitched forward, his sweaty brow pressing into the crook of her neck as his chest heaved, both of them completely spent.

Fliss happily welcomed his weight on top of her as he caught his breath, both of them trembling in the afterglow. She flexed her fingers and he let go of her hands, and she slid her arms round him, fingers dancing up his spine. Frank gave a soft hum of contentment as he lazily raised his head, catching her mouth in a soft kiss before his nose bumped against hers.

He was in no rush to move, which suited Frank fine as he lay there, on top of her, slow kisses being traded before eventually he pulled back and she gave him a soft smile, which lit up her entire face.

“Was that enough for you?” He asked cheekily and she laughed, swatting at his back with her hand.

*****

The next week or so passed in a whirl of work and overseeing the construction at the yard. Frank was still mad busy, but he’d pushed his nagging feelings about his job to the back of his mind. He and Fliss had talked about it at length and he’d decided to wait until the wedding was done before he made a final decision. Whilst Fliss had told him she’d support him either way, he didn’t want to throw his career into turmoil whilst they had so much going on.

The yard expansion was progressing to schedule, despite a pretty nasty storm which had initially set them back a day or so, but Frank had to hand it to the guys Bill had recommended, they’d pulled the lost time back. And, to top it all off, he’d even managed to finish the final mechanical works to his boat, which meant now all he had to do was the cosmetic work. For that, he was happy to let Bill help, his future father-in-law very eager to lend a hand on Friday evenings, especially when the job came with a steady supply of beer.

It was win-win as far as Frank was concerned. Fliss and her mum would sit in the garden, drinking wine, dipping in and out of the pool whilst Mary was at Roberta’s, the four adults taking dinner together, which he always enjoyed, and it also meant he could rope Bill into his master plan for Fliss’ birthday. When he’d first told him his idea, Bill had grown a little emotional, admitting to Frank that seeing him care so much that he want to do something as thoughtful as that for his baby-girl was something he appreciated beyond belief. Frank also consulted Joanne, and between the three of them they now had a pretty watertight plan. Bill was lending Frank the money, for which Frank was grateful for as, whilst Joanne had helped him to the negotiating on the price for the animal, the transportation and associated veterinary fees were more expensive than the damned horse herself. Should the overall amount it was going to cost him go missing from their savings, Fliss was going to start asking questions and he wanted it to be a total surprise.

All in all, Frank was as settled and happy as he had felt in months. Life was good, and as the middle of June rolled round, the feeling in the Adler-Gallagher household was as relaxed and as happy as it had ever been.

“Awww you want a biscuit, Baby?” Fliss looked at Alex who was making grabby hands at the one she had in her hand. “Okay, here…”

She snapped the cookie into two and handed him a half. Alex looked at it for a second before he shoved it in his mouth, turning to look at Frank as he walked into the kitchen. The little boy raised his hands making cooing noises before jamming his precious treat back into his mouth.

“Hey, you got a cookie, buddy?” Frank smiled as Alex made a little noise of delight at the taste, and Fliss cleared her throat.

“He has a biscuit.”

Frank looked at Fliss, rolling his eyes before he moved and picked up the packet, pointing to the label.

“They’re cookies, Fliss.”

Fliss groaned. “Cookies are a specific type of biscuit. What he has there is not a cookie!”

“Look, Lissy, you’re gonna confuse the boy.” Frank looked at her. “Poor kid’ll be going to a restaurant and askin’ for a biscuit, expecting cookies, and then they bring him like biscuits and gravy and-“

“Don’t even get me started on those, Francis.” Fliss narrowed her eyes, pointing at him. “They’re not biscuits, they are scones.”

“The hell they are!”

“Oh piss off, Frank!”

Frank gave a loud laugh. “Hang on, are we actually arguing about this right now? Over what we call a certain baked treat?”

Fliss bit into one of the offending items and smirked. “Get it right and we won’t be.”

“You are such a fucking brat at times!” Frank shook his head as Fliss grinned and shrugged.

“So?”

“Just stating a fact, Sweetheart.”

“So am I. They’re biscuits”

“Oh for the love of-look,” Frank once again nudged the packet on the island, “they’re cookies and nothing you say or do is gonna make me call them anything else!”

“Nothing?” Fliss raised her eyebrows.

“Nope.” Frank folded his arms.

“Hmmm.” Fliss took a step towards him, her hands wrapping round his arms, pulling them away from his chest before her palms flattened on his pecs, smoothing up to his shoulders. “Call them biscuits, Sailor, and I’ll go down on you so fast you can’t even remember your own name.”

“They’re biscuits.” Frank replied immediately, the second she played that card, he didn’t give a shit what the hell they were called.

Fliss laughed, her hands sliding up round his neck. “Like I said, brains are in your dick.”

“Yeah, and now my dick’s gonna be in your mouth, Cowgirl.” Frank shot back, causing Fliss to snort. “Better get to it, I need to go pick Mary up in ten.”

“Hmmm, yeah, I didn’t specify when.” Fliss patted his chest and stepped back as Frank blinked, before he shot her a playful glare.

“You fight dirty.”

“Oh, Sailor.” Fliss tossed her hair over her shoulder as she moved back to the kitchen to move their used breakfast dishes from the sink to the dishwasher. “You should know this by now.”

“So, you basically expect me to drive down to St Pete’s now with a semi hard-on?”

Fliss looked at him. “It’s your own fault?”

“How is it my fault?” Frank laughed, incredulously.

“If you’d have just agreed I was right in the first place, then you wouldn’t have a problem.”

Frank blinked before he shook his head, turning to Alex. “Your momma’s logic blows my mind, Bean.”

“That’s the only thing that’s getting blown, Fliss quipped and at that Frank let out a loud laugh, “for now.”

She shot him another look over her shoulder and Frank groaned, knowing full well that if he didn’t leave he was going to end up pounding her over the kitchen island. And, as tempting as that was, he had places to be.

“Come on, Son.” Frank unclipped Alex from the seat. “Let’s go get your sister.” He reached over and grabbed a cookie from the packet. “Here, have another unnamed, generic baked item for the trip.”

**** Chapter 24

#riding on #frank adler #frank adler x ofc #frank adler x original female character #frank adler smut #frank adler fic #frank adler fanfiction #gifted #gifted fan fic #chris evans #chris evans characters

125 notes · View notes

deathonyourtongue · 4 years

Text

Taste of Your Love

Summary: At his welcome home party, Ray realizes the best thing about the last ten years has been her. Pairing: Ray Merrimen x Yvonne Levoux Word Count: 4K Warnings: Smut, smut, smut, smut, but also FEEEEELINGGGGSSS. A/N : This was commissioned by the amazing @livinglifeformemyselfandi, and I can only hope I did justice to what she had in mind! Also, before you ask...Yes, there’s a sequel in the works. ;)

Send me a PM me if you’d like to be added/removed from the tag list!

@fumbling-fanfics @skiesfallithurts @pinkpenguin7 @madmedusa178 @fangoria @bluestarego @my--own--personal--paradise @tastingmellow @honeychicanawrites @angelicapriscilla @swiftyhowlz @schreiberpablo @pinkwatchblueshoes @kirasmomsstuff @prettypascal @nardahsb @playbucky @queen-of-the-kastle @cajunpeach @godlikeentity @captainsamwlsn @lilac-tea-time @katerka88 @melaninmimii @alienor-romanova @downtowndk @redhairedmoiraandtheliferuiners @safiras @agniavateira @henryfanfics101 @fatefuldestinies @iloveyouyen @justaboringadult@xxxxxerrorxxxxx @bloodyinspiredfuck @peakygroupie @stxphmxlls @trippedmetaldetector @radaofrivia @speakerforthedead0 @oddsnendsfanfics @snowbellexx @leilabeaux @cavillunraveled @woofgocows @andahugaroundtheneck @sofiebstar @kmhappybunny @mary-ann84 @cappot @cheyentjj @cavillhavoc @sleepy-moon-girl@princess-of-riviaa @peakyrogers @hell1129-blog @thethirstyarchive @worldicreate @c-a-v-a-l-r-y @henry-cavill-obsessed @rmtndew @elena-lawley @bichibibi @penwieldingdreamer @scoopitypoopbloop @flightofthefantasies @justrae9903 @raspberrydreamclouds @minton131 @hollydaisy23 @mizzzpink @omgkatinka @rn7rocks @elenas-fanficrecs @ohjules @writernerd23 @whatawildone @toss-some-coffee-to-your-witcher @modernscarlett @jasmindaughteroftheworld @badoopwoop @onlyhenrys @moderapoppins @flouncingxtart @ffreadings @captaingothgirl1996 @schmidten17 @alexakeyloveloki @asylummara @dearlybelovedluke @pinkzsugar @valkyrhys @ntlmundy @livingonmywishes @thotti3evans @whitewolfandthefox @madbaddic7ed @sausagefest1996 @foxyjwls007 @fuckoffbard @bethabear12 @lovieebby @marswritings @mooniiieee @traceyaudette @pumpkinglory @keiva1000 @my-rosegold-soul @geralt-of-baevia @luna-aestas @thereisa8ella

She was the only one who’d written him while he was in. The only one who’d call just to shoot the shit. For all the emphasis he always placed on him and the boys being family, she was the one that showed up, time and time again. Yvonne may have been the younger of the Levoux siblings, but compared to Enson, she’d always been better at cultivating a true sense of family, even among those who weren’t blood.

It was no surprise then, that when Ray walked into the cookout thrown in his honor, Yvonne was the first to reach him for a hug. In his time at Victorville, he’d watched her go from a shy, book-smart college kid, to a thriving psychiatrist with a Cornell doctorate under her belt and all the confidence in the world. Though Enson had done their folks proud by becoming a MARSOC specialist, Ray had no doubt that Yvonne was the crown jewel of the family with her success.

“Welcome home, big guy,” Yvonne whispered as she squeezed him tight, Ray holding on a little longer than he meant to, grateful to simply have human contact once again...And maybe just a little entranced by the scent of her perfume.

“Good to be home, finally. Did you fly out just to visit everyone?” He asked as Yvonne led him over to the cooler, Ray noticing how graceful she was as she pulled two beers from the ice and popped the cap on both with ease.

“Something like that,” she smiled, her answer purposely coy so as to not give away her surprise.

Raising her bottle, Yvonne’s eyes told Ray to look around, and for the first time since arriving, he realized that everyone he considered family was there, the small crowd all smiles as they waited for him to call the toast.

He thought about it for a moment before raising his own bottle, Ray taking a deep breath and clearing his throat, knowing he’d have to speak a little louder than usual.

“To freedom and to family. Thank you all for being here.”

“Music’s definitely changed. And the dancing. Christ,” Ray observed as Enson settled on the lounge chair beside his, two plates in hand. Passing one to Ray, Enson could only nod, his grin ear to ear.

“Yeah, man. Can’t say I mind though,” Enson chuckled before digging into his food, his shoulders moving in time with the music even as he ate.

Ray’s own head bobbed along to the hip-hop that was so different--yet just as catchy--as the stuff he’d grown up with. As he ate, he let his mind wander to all the things that had passed him by during his time on the inside. More than anything, Ray knew his chance at any meaningful relationship with a woman had long ago bit the dust. He had a few women he knew he could call at any time, who’d be ready and willing, but it wasn’t the same as someone to come home to.

Before he could think too much harder on it, his and Enson’s sunlit views were cut by two figures standing in front of them. Looking up, he couldn’t help but smile as he saw Yvonne and Jasmine standing there, both of them looking down expectantly.

“Hello, ladies,” he said, one eyebrow raised in distrust, as both Yvonne and her sister-in-law looked like they were up to something.

“Before y’all fall asleep, we figured we’d get y’all moving.” Jasmine explained, earning an immediate groan from Enson, his head shaking even before his wife could reach his hand.

“C’mon, baby!” She begged, her hips swaying in time with the music. “Ray’ll get up, just you watch.” She challenged, Enson continuing to shake his head at the mere thought of having to dance.

Ray laughed warmly, his gaze turning to Yvonne. Something about the smile on her face made it clear she wouldn’t take no for an answer and so, setting his plate aside, he got up with a groan, looking over his shoulder at Enson as he took Yvonne’s hand.

“C’mon, bro. Let’s go.” Grinning, he couldn’t help but chuckle at Enson’s narrow-eyed gaze.

“Don’t be touchin’ on my baby sister, man,” Enson warned with a smile, though Ray knew full well that if he so much as looked at Yvonne the wrong way, he’d have to contend with Enson and the rest of their crew, but both his and Enson’s eyebrows went up in surprise when Yvonne spoke up.

“Your sister’s not a baby anymore, E.” Her gaze tender but confident, it was clear she was setting a boundary for her brother, one he knew better than to try and cross. As tough as he was, Enson was no dummy and knew full well his sister could, and would, kick his ass if necessary.

Leading Yvonne to the area of the backyard where everyone was dancing, Ray felt nervous for the first time ages.

“I appreciate you writing all those years. Helped me feel less alone,” he spoke softly as they began to dance to the slow, rhythmic song. Holding her close, he could smell her perfume again, the scent just as intoxicating the second time around.

“I knew my brother and your other friends wouldn’t do it, ‘cause it might make things...complicated for them, and you’ve always been...Well, you’re family, so it was a no-brainer.” It was the first time he’d ever heard her sound flustered, and Ray couldn’t help but find it cute. Without thinking, he reached out and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. The smile he got in return, a mixture of giddy and shy, was worth any flack he’d catch from Enson.

“You still went out of your way. Pretty sure I know why, but nevertheless, it made a huge difference.”

“You know what, exactly?” She asked, playing coy, even though deep down Yvonne was nervous that he’d let her down gently, given how long they’d been family.

“That you’ve had a crush on me since you were in, what, high school? God, I’m old,” he chuckled, shaking his head at the realization that he’d known her far longer than just his time in Victorville.

Looking down, he could see Yvonne’s shock, her eyes showing just how ruffled she was, despite her attempts to keep it cool and return his gaze.

“E told you, I take it?”

“Yeah, long time ago,” he assured her, Ray giving her a gentle squeeze, making it clear it wasn’t something that bothered him.

“And?” Yvonne asked after taking a deep breath, lifting her chin and squaring her shoulders, ready for whatever answer Ray might give.

“And, well...You’re stunning. Smart as hell and you’ve got a heart of gold. Any guy with half a brain would be an idiot to not see how amazing you are.” Leaning down, he continued, Ray’s words whispered against the shell of her ear, “I’d be lying if I said the feeling wasn’t mutual.”

He felt the shiver run through her, and couldn’t help but smile, Ray certain in that moment that her crush hadn’t ever gone away. What he wasn’t ready for, was to be tugged off the dance floor and towards Yvonne’s purse.

“Where are we going?” He asked softly, Ray’s eyes glancing around, trying to spot Enson or anyone else who might give them grief.

“My place. The things I wanna do to you? Aren’t meant for public consumption,” Yvonne replied, her smile mischievous and confident. Licking his lips, Ray did his best to keep his expression neutral, knowing that if he looked too excited, he’d call more attention onto them both.

“Meet me out front in five,” she whispered as she walked past him, Yvonne pretending like she was saying goodbye to him before making her rounds to the rest of their group.

Waiting just a few minutes so that anyone listening for her car wouldn’t think she was sitting idle, Ray took a different route, going through the back door of Enson’s place before heading right out the front door. As close to the bathroom as it was, anyone looking for him would--at least initially--think he was merely using the facilities.

Impressed by Yvonne’s choice of car, Ray got in and buckled up just in time to brace himself as she peeled the Audi away from the curb.

“Not a bad ride for a year one therapist,” he smirked, smoothing a hand over the leather dash, his expression making it clear he approved of her choice.

“She may be used, but she’s still better than Bosco’s Mustang,” Yvonne grinned, having heard all about the grief the other man got when he showed up to Enson’s place in his new ride. Ray laughed from deep in his gut, remembering when she’d told him the news.

The drive was short but scenic, the silence punctuated by their held hands, Ray kissing the back of Yvonne’s whenever they stopped at a light. He couldn’t help but give her slender fingers a squeeze when she put the car in park in the driveway of a small but well-kempt ranch style home, shock coloring his expression.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you were thinking of putting down roots down. Why didn’t tell me you’d moved back?” Ray asked, a little flabbergasted that she’d already settled in so quickly.

“I wanted it to be a bit of a surprise. Do you like it?” Yvonne asked, her smile giddy.

“It’s really nice. Away from the industrial part of town, so you won’t have to deal with all the air brakes and shit. I’m assuming close to anything you might need, and hopefully close to where you’re practicing out of. You did really well, Evie,” he nodded, Ray slipping his hand across the back of her neck and kissing her temple, proud of what she’d accomplished in his time away.

“Thanks,” She murmured, her eyes soft and appreciative of the genuine reaction he’d given. Their gazes met for a moment, and with a gentle squeeze of her neck, Ray brought her close once more, this time kissing her properly, his free hand finding her cheek as their lips met.

It was a kiss for the ages, one both were sure they’d never forget. Yvonne felt fireworks in her stomach, and was reaching for Ray even as they both came up for air, needing more of that connection.

“We should probably...go...inside…” Ray smiled into the kisses he peppered her lips with, the elation they both felt strong enough to shake the earth if they let it.

Nodding in agreement, Yvonne reluctantly let go, grabbing her purse and making quick work of hopping out, smiling when she found Ray already at her side of the car. Unable to help it, Ray pulled her close once more, giving her a far deeper kiss now that he wasn’t so cramped in the passenger seat.

“Your brother’s gonna kill meeee,” he joked as Yvonne pulled away from the kiss, intent on getting them inside. Hugging her from behind, Ray didn’t dare slow her steps, as eager as she was for the freedom that lay behind closed doors.

“He’ll have to get through me first, big boy,” Yvonne grinned, locking the door behind Ray before kicking off her shoes and stepping backwards into her living room. Ray’s Chucks made a home next to Yvonne’s sandals as he followed her into her space, admiring the fact that she’d already started decorating.

“You move quick when you know what you want, huh?” He grinned, gesturing around to the framed prints and subtle touches that added a classic, yet lived-in feel to the home.

“Why bother waiting when you know you want it?” She replied, her eyebrow quirked as she began to take off her dress, revealing a sheer matching set beneath. Ray’s eyes went wide, momentarily stunned by how gorgeous she was.

“I didn’t plan on swimming,” she grinned, knowing full well that with the pool in the backyard, Ray was probably expecting a bikini.

“Clearly,” Ray quipped, smiling ear to ear as he stepped forward, taking his shirt off as he went.

Pulling her close yet again, Ray kissed her passionately, his hands slipping down the arch of her back to cup her ass and bring her flush against him. Yvonne moaned softly into his mouth as she felt his arousal clear as day; Any thoughts of him not liking her back dissolved in a flash, his kiss speaking volumes and putting her mind at ease.

Yvonne held onto Ray’s neck as she felt his hand slide under the thin material of her thong, his other hand sliding up her back to undo her bra one-handed. Prison hadn’t rusted his skills, and she couldn’t help the shiver that ran through her, the anticipation growing with every passing second.

Panting, Ray grinned as she pushed him back just far enough to find his belt, Yvonne letting her lingerie slip off as she worked to get him in the same state of nudity. With his fly undone, she let her eyes move to where her hands held the waistband of his jeans and boxer briefs, Yvonne’s tongue inadvertently sticking out as she slowly revealed him.

Her moan was instinctual when Ray’s cock sprang out, Yvonne pushing the fabric down just far enough for it to slide off his legs, knowing he’d take care of the rest while she focused on what she wanted. Taking him in both hands, Yvonne gave him a gentle squeeze, biting her lower lip when she found him hard as rock for her.

Their lips crashed together again as they blindly moved towards the couch, wandering hands finding all the right spots with every step. When her calves hit the cushions, Yvonne smiled as she felt Ray lower her down.

“Confession time,” Ray murmured against the shell of her ear before his kisses moved down her neck, carving a path down towards what he wanted most. “I may or may not have…” he looked up at her with intent, hoping she understood his meaning, “with the beach picture you sent me back in ‘09.”

“Is that so?” She giggled, Yvonne’s hand smoothing over his buzz cut as she watched his mouth get closer and closer to where she was already a sopping mess.

Nodding, Ray met her gaze as his lips finally kissed over her bare mound, his mouth opening to lick teasingly over her clit. Seeing the reaction he wanted, Ray let his own eyes close as he began to work her, slipping her legs over his shoulders as he did so.

“Oh, Ray,” Yvonne’s voice was breathy and needy as she watched him eat her out, her legs splaying as she felt his wet tongue sluice through her folds.

“This all for me?” Ray murmured against her pussy, his eyes flicking up to her once more before his tongue pushed inside her, lapping up all her juices.

“Uh huh,” she keened, Yvonne’s mouth falling open as she indulged in the sensations Ray was bringing her.

“So wet, baby. Can’t wait to slide inside,” he growled, Ray pulling her hips up higher before sucking hard on her clit and making her squeak out a higher-pitched sound. Plunging his tongue back inside her, Ray groaned happily as he focused on her g-spot, wanting to feel that jolt shoot up her spine.

“Fuck, Ray, that feels so fucking good!” Yvonne panted, hips swirling to meet his tongue. In all the years she’d fantasized about him, him eating her out had never crossed her mind, but reality was far better than any dream she could have had and Yvonne felt herself getting close to the edge far faster than she expected.

“Need you inside me, Ray, please!” She whimpered, her hips starting to move of their own volition as his tongue worked all the right spots, Ray licking and sucking as though his life depended on it.

It took a moment for him to realize that she was asking him to move past foreplay, Ray lost in his own pleasure between her legs, indulging in every little jolt of her thighs, every clench of her pussy, every lick that coated his tongue in her juices. He was a man possessed and had her tone not snapped him out of it, Ray was certain Yvonne would have had to tug his ears to get him to stop. Smiling breathlessly at her, Ray kissed up her stomach, finding her lips again as he let his cock slide through the mess of spit and slick he’d made.

“C’mere, beautiful,” Ray whispered, pulling her up and shifting their positions so that she was straddling his lap. Hands slipping over every inch of skin they could, Ray kissed Yvonne passionately as he lined himself up at her entrance. Knowing his size was a lot for most women, he took hold of her hand, his other moving to her hip to steady her.

“Nice and slow,” he coached, Ray’s gaze never once leaving Yvonne’s as she sunk down on him. “That’s it, fuck, you’re so tight, baby,” he said softly, watching her expression as it went from lust-filled to utterly shocked the lower she went.

Yvonne gasped as Ray began to take up every bit of room she had to offer, her walls stretching well past what they were used to with her toys as, inch by inch, he filled her up.

“Fuck, Ray, it’s so big. Holy shit! Oh fuck!” She panted, hips jerking upward every once in a while when she went too far, too fast.

“Don’t rush, baby. We’ve got all night. I’m yours,” Ray murmured, smiling when he felt her hand squeeze his, his free hand stroking her back gently as she worked her all the way down.

When she was finally flush, Yvonne couldn’t help but sag a little in his arms, her head resting on Ray’s muscular shoulder as she took in how full and stretched she felt. There was no doubt he was going to make her see stars, and though she might be waddling come morning, Yvonne didn’t want it any other way.

Pressing soft, desperate kisses along the column of his neck, Yvonne moaned as she felt his hands slide over her ass, knowing he was getting ready to move. What she wasn’t prepared for was for him to stand up and start a slow, deep stroke that had her jaw on the floor in seconds.

“Where’s your room, baby? Don’t wanna break your couch,” Ray murmured before his mouth found one of her nipples, sucking and nipping gently, a series of soft moans escaping him as he took a moment to enjoy how deep inside her he was.

“Holy fuck, Ray! End of the hall!” Yvonne cried out, pointing frantically with one hand as she held onto his broad shoulders with her other. Though usually reserved in most areas of her life, Yvonne never held back when it came to being vocal with a partner, and as Ray began to walk, she couldn’t keep her moans from escaping if she tried. Each step was a thrust up with no pullout, Yvonne squeezing her legs around Ray’s hips to grind down as much as she could each time, the feeling mind-blowing.

Her moans grew louder when, after a few purposely-small steps, Ray stopped dead in his tracks and began to bounce her on his cock, his own hips meeting hers with just as much momentum. Legs shaking from the intensity, all Yvonne could do was hold on and cry out his name, having never been taken the way Ray was taking her.

By the time they reached the bed, she couldn’t have told him what day of the week it was, and it wouldn’t have mattered because time stopped. Spreading her legs wide with two sweeps of his big hands, Ray found the perfect angle and set a demanding pace. It only took a few strokes for her to move from moans to squeals as each wet thrust hit her g-spot perfectly. Heat built low in her belly as Ray continued to ram into her core, Yvonne’s eyes rolling back in her head each time he bottomed out inside her. Reaching down, she held onto his ass, silently begging him to rut even harder, lost in her arousal and only able to focus on how good he was making her feel.

“Fuck, Ray, just like that. Oh fuck, yes, yes, yes!” She called out when she finally found her words again, Yvonne’s eyes moving down to where they were joined, her desire growing even more as she watched him pump in and out of her.

Ray switched the pace, slowing down and taking long, deep strokes as he found her lips again. Both of them moaning into the kiss, it was almost guaranteed that they were going to go all night, neither having to say it out loud to know it was true. Their eyes never lost contact as they came up for air, Ray unable to help himself as he kissed and sucked on her neck, bringing her hips up so that her bottom half was practically vertical.

“You feel so fucking good, Evie. Can’t get enough,” he said through gritted teeth as he continued the same pace, Ray watching as his cock slid out wetter and wetter every time he pulled back to thrust.

“Ray, please!” Yvonne begged, feeling like she was going out of her mind from everything he was making her feel. It wasn’t just a hookup and deep down they both knew it. It was far too intense for that, far too good to be just a one-night stand.

“You close, baby? Gonna cum all over my cock?” Ray asked with a breathless grin, pulling nearly all the way out before thrusting back in hard, signaling another switch of the pace.

Nodding feverishly, Yvonne stretched her arms over her head as she splayed her legs wide, ready for the rough pace she knew was coming. Ray didn’t disappoint, changing his position and letting some of his weight press her down into the mattress. The thrusts came hard, Ray rutting into her with all his power, his heavy sac smacking wetly against her ass, the sound only adding to the heat that threatened to overpower Yvonne. She thought about how thick his load would be, how much she’d have to take, and what a delicious mess round two would be.

Gasping for air, Yvonne could only hold on tight as Ray rammed his cock against her cervix, making her see stars. Her whole body shaking, she couldn’t even find the strength to wrap her legs around him as she came.

“RAY!!” She screamed, Yvonne pressing her face into the crook of his neck, her moans and whimpers muffled against his skin as he continued to thrust through her orgasm. She could feel Ray’s smile even as he moaned out his own pleasure, the tension in his muscles making it clear he was right behind her.

“Fuck, baby, I’m gonna--” his own voice cut to silence as Ray stilled his hips then jolted them hard into her as he began to cum. Yvonne couldn’t help but squeeze him close when she noticed his own body trembling, realizing that after ten years, the experience had to be even more intense for him. Cocooning him in her arms, she crossed her ankles at his lower back and let her hands sweep up and down his spine. Involuntarily still clenching around him, she milked Ray through every pump, Yvonne sharing in the desperate, deep kisses he offered as he worked through his orgasm.

Bodies still twitching, they held each other in silence, gazing deeply into each other’s eyes. Before long, Yvonne felt her vision blur and with an embarrassed laugh, wiped her eyes. Ray’s own gaze softened as he kissed away the remnants of her tears, confused as to why she was crying.

“I thought I was never gonna see you again. Thought something bad was gonna happen while you were in there and that I’d never get to see that smile one more time,” she explained, her lower lip trembling despite her own grin.

Cupping her face, Ray blinked back his tears, realizing in that moment how much he meant to her, and how much him going away had probably hurt and scared her.

“I’m sorry. When we’re out there...We never think of the people back home, about how much we could be hurting them. I understand that now. I’m sorry, Evie.” He whispered, pressing a reverent kiss over her heart.

While Yvonne knew he meant the words, she also knew how hard it was to just step away from the life he’d chosen after coming back from war. The two sides of her mind were constantly at odds on the subject, but it was her heart that drowned out both arguments, speaking even louder now that she was in his arms.

All that mattered was that he was here, he was free, and he was with her.

#pablo schreiber #ray merrimen #ray merrimen x ofc #ray merrimen smut #fic #deathonyourtongueoriginals

110 notes · View notes

imetyouonljpodcast · 4 years

Photo

I MET YOU ON LJ: A Fandom Podcast

Episode #020: Tech A$$hole$ & Supernova Girls

Zedus lapedus! This week, Maggie and V compare and contrast two films with shockingly similar themes surrounding feminism, technology, and self-discovery: Alex Garland’s sci-fi masterpiece Ex Machina and the metallic spandex classic Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century. Also, Maggie gushes about meeting Jon Bernthal.

This Episode Covers…

fandom • ex machina • zenon: girl of the 21st century • oscar isaac • domhnall gleeson • ava • kyoko • zenon carr • nebula • gregory • tech ceo billionaire assholes • jon bernthal • fangirl experiences • maggie’s vision board • light patronization • the old guard (again) • matthias schoenaerts • mary in the black-and-white room • room (2015) • proto zoa’s frosted tips • phillip rhys • rollerblading and razor scooters • dance sequences • v’s biggest academic embarrassment • ★nsync • 21st century fashion • human autonomy • cloistered upbringings • fifth grade drama • bottle episodes • women not being believed because they’re women • character-centric scifi • kirsten storms • community 2x08 cooperative calligraphy • shadia simmons • pandemic identities and loneliness • zoom zoom zoom, make my heart go boom, boom

LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE wherever you get your podcasts!

Make sure to follow I Met You On LJ on your favorite social media:

PATREON: patreon (dot) com/imetyouonljpodcast FACEBOOK: facebook (dot) com/imetyouonljpodcast TUMBLR: @imetyouonljpodcast INSTAGRAM: @imetyouonljpodcast TWITTER: @imetyouonljpod

Show Resources Under the Cut.

Sweater-Paws Oscar Isaac in Hamlet

I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD WORK PERFECTLY.

youtube

#ex machina #zenon girl of the 21st century #zenon #zenon: girl of the 21st century #oscar isaac #oisaacedit #oiedit #zenonedit #dcomedit #dcom #disney channel #dcomsource #episode #20. tech a$$hole$ and supernova girls

20 notes · View notes

dolphin-enthusiast · 4 years

Note

My dude, can you do headcanons for The Villains(tm) having a s/o that's a theater brat that loves musicals? Like they come home to find s/o belting out "deFYING GRAVITY-" or falling off a chair and breaking their back trying to dance Mein Herr? Perhaps s/o rewatches Chicago and Hairspray over and over?

Dio:

- At first is as confused as all fuck but soon gets into it as well. He’s an old ass vampire so you’d have to explain to him all about “modern musicals”. Basically all you gotta do is tell him about the plot, characters, message etc and you’re good to go.

- After you did that, don’t even be surprised to catch him suddenly joining in and straight up screaming the lyrics alongside you as he goes crazy and stupid. Sometimes he gets so into it that he starts smashing wine bottles while fucking headbanging on the kitchen table. This mainly happens whenever he’s hyperactive during the night though, so during the day you have nothing to worry about.

- He ain’t picky with his musicals either (although I have a strong feeling that he’d LOVE The Rocky Horror Picture Show) and entirely lets you guide him through it. Whatever you’re currently watching, he’ll gladly watch as well since he wants to learn more about whatever humans are into nowadays. And besides, what’s there to lose? He absolutely loves the songs and he’ll use that as a pretext to further torture his subordinates. That being said, you better expect to receive ALOT of complaints from his poor henchmen because all that Dio does is destroy their ears with his screechy voice as he headbangs to the songs all day long.

Kars:

- EVEN more confused than Dio in the beginning since, unlike the vampire, Kars didn’t know jack shit about music culture at all because he’s more ancient than a goddamn dinosaur. But he’s the ultimate lifeform after all, so he’ll surely get the hang of it in no time as you start explaining the basics.

- Honestly musicals would really grow on him. At first he would have a little bit of difficulty getting into it since he’d find them to be a bit complicated because of “the many characters and songs” but fret not for he’d start tapping his foot to the beat in no time. Furthermore, you could try showing him historical themed musicals such as Hamilton, Les Miserables or 6 The Musical, I have a feeling he’d really like this kind.

- Don’t be surprised when, one day, you find Kars trying to get the other pillarmen into musicals. Sure it’s going to be awkward as all fuck at first, but the man would eventually corrupt his gang and get them to sing with him, there’s no doubt about it. Although you better be prepared for lots and lots of fucking wailing coming from Esidisi, the man is going to be fucking crying and obnoxiously blowing his nose at any emotional scene.

Kira:

- Probably the only one who already has a LOWKEY passion for musicals. I mean hey man he likes any kind of art, and musicals are no exception. That being said, I don’t think he’d be THAT surprised to one day find you belting out of your seat and singing your ass off to your favorite musicals.

- Now I ain’t saying he’d be opposed to watching your musicals with you, but if we are to speak of HIS favorites, that would basically be any dark/horror themed ones. Like you can’t tell me he wouldn’t l o v e shit like Sweeney Todd, Phantom of The Opera, Little Shop of Horrors, Labyrinth (don't @ me), Phantom of Paradise and so on. I wouldn’t say he’s a theatre brat per se but he’s a weird fucker who likes ArtIStiC demonstrations so yeah here’s your best fucking match.

- Hell, he’s even going to fucking break it down with you to Mein Herr. And with enough persuasion you’d surely get him to watch Chicago with you, which he would definitely end up enjoying mind you, no matter how many times he tries denying it. Sure at first he’s going to try his best at not showing too many emotions but he’d start loosening up in no time, especially as the bangers kick in and you start fucking spazzing out next to him. Even HE cannot resist such power.

Doppio/Diavolo:

- Doppio absolutely fucking loves lively/lovey dovey musicals such as Grease, Mary Poppins, The Greatest Showman, My Fair Lady and so on. If anything, you could say that he has an affinity for the classics. He’s very into musicals and they never fail to cheer him up, although he’s extremely shy and he wouldn’t tell you of his hidden passion. Not until you first open up about your own love for musicals, that is.

- After you do that and he comes home one day to find you running around the room yelling the lyrics to some musical, he’s fucking g a m e bitch. Literally he’ll make time and have tons and tons of marathons with you. Doppio will definitely watch your favorites with you no matter the genre. Although I should mention dark/horror musicals sometimes scare him but he’ll suck it up for you. Also 11/10 cries during emotional scenes then gets blushy about it.

- Diavolo on the other hand is an uncultured fucking swine when it comes to musicals but luckily he isn’t opposed to learning. He would be lowkey confused to find you spazzing out in your room one day and would ask about whatever you’re watching/singing, and only then would he realize just how fiery you get when it comes to musicals. Nonetheless, the man would be willing to sit down and watch some musicals with you since he knows they make you happy, and I have a feeling that he’d lowkey like West Side Story and Les Miserables.

#thank u for this god tier request i myself love plenty of musicals hsghgsjgjsg #kirp's musical taste is big kin btw-#JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken #Dio Brando #kars #Kira yoshikage #Vinegar Doppio #diavolo #jojo headcanons #headcanons #anon

68 notes · View notes

italianexotiicbeauty · 1 year

Text

@chvmpiiions - continued from.

SMS ⤑delivered: eeee! hi britt !

SMS ⤑delivered: 'm mary ! whatcha up to?

#chvmpiiions #v | humanity in a bottle ( human mary. )#[ *flings the tattoo artist @ britt!* ]#wque; the soundtrack of the scheduled ( scheduled post. )

25 notes · View notes

the-homicidediaries · 4 years

Text

Mary Bell

The Tyneside Strangler

TW: child death, sexual abuse, genital mutilation

•

Hello! So I’m back with another horrible story because people keep asking for them.

SO HERE WE GO

This is the story of Mary Bell, who is one of only a handful of the youngest murderers.. EVER.

Mary Bell was born to a 16 year old prostitute named Betty in Newcastle upon Tyne, England in May of 1957. (Yeah, this didn’t happen that long ago. Horrifying.)

Now, no one is entirely sure who Mary’s father is, but Betty made it very clear she wanted nothing to do with Mary from the very beginning, telling doctors, “Get that thing away from me.”

And the best thing the doctors could come up with was to continue to let Mary live with her mother.

Perfect. What could go wrong?

Well, a lot.

Things got way worse. Betty was away a lot in Glasgow for her “business trips”. When she wasn’t away, she subjected Mary to physical and mental abuse.

Betty’s sister testified that she once saw Betty try to give Mary away to a local woman who was unsuccessful in her adoption journey.

Betty’s sister also noted that Mary was very “accident prone”; i.e. “falling” down the stairs and “accidentally” overdosing sleeping pills.

After Mary’s “fall”, it was reported that Mary suffered horrible brain damage in her pre-frontal cortex, the part of the brain that deals with decision-making and voluntary movements.

(Richard Ramirez, John Wayne Gacy, Fred West, David Berkowitz, Ed Gein, Albert Fish, and several other serial killers also suffered brain injuries as they were growing up.)

(I want to mention here there is a bit of a debate amongst experts whether to Betty wanted to get rid of Mary because she wasn’t fit to be a mother OR Betty had Munchausen by Proxy, which should all know is my favorite mental illness. 😬

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP) is a mental health problem in which a caregiver makes up or causes an illness or injury in a person under his or her care, such as a child, an elderly adult, or a person who has a disability. The most famous case was Clauddinea “Dee Dee” Blancharde abusing her daughter Gypsy Rose Blancharde.)

Back to Mary.

According to family members, Betty began prostituting Mary out by the time she was four years old. (That’s hideous. That’s a year younger than Shiloh, my baby baby. I hope it isn’t true.)

I also read that by the time Mary was five, she had already had a brush with death, watching her five year old friend being run over and killed by a bus.

By the time Mary was ten, she was quiet, manipulative, and isolated herself from everyone.

In May 11, 1968, just weeks before her first murder, Mary was playing with a three year old neighbor when he was horribly injured from a fall at the top of an air raid shelter.

His parents deemed it an accident.

After this, though, a few of the neighborhood mothers came forward to the police and said Mary had tried to choke their young daughters. No charges were filed, however.

On May 25, 1968, one day before Mary Bell turned 11 years old, Mary strangled four year old Martin Brown in an abandoned house. Mary fled the scene and returned back to the body with her friend Norma Bell, (no relation), but found they had been beaten by two local boys who had been playing in the abandoned house and stumbled upon the body.

Police were baffled by what they saw. Besides a little blood and saliva on Martin’s face, there were no obvious signs of violence. There was, however, an empty bottle of painkillers on the floor near the body. This led police to believe Martin had swallowed the pain pills and his death was deemed an accident.

Mary might have gotten away with this had she not gone to Martin’s family’s house and asked his mother to see Martin. She explained to Mary that Martin was dead, and Mary said she knew, she wanted to see the dead body in the coffin.

Martin’s mother slammed the door in her face.

Shortly after, Mary and her friend Norma broke into a nursery school and vandalized it with notes taking responsibility for Martin Brown’s death and promising to kill again. Police assumed the notes were a morbid prank.

The nursery school installed an alarm system shortly after and Mary and Norma were caught at the scene of the crime but were later seen as loitering and let off the hook.

Just.. YA KNOW!? All the signs are pointing to this girl.

Mary even told her classmates she had murdered Martin Brown.

It’s aggravating as hell.

BUT I DIGRESS

On June 31, 1968, Mary Bell, now 11, strangled three year old Brian Howe to death in the same area where she strangled Martin Brown.

She later went back to the body and carved an ‘M’ onto Brian’s chest with a razor and mutilated his thighs and penis with a pair of scissors.

In a sickening twist, Mary and Norma offered to help Brian’s sister look for him when his family realized he was missing. Mary even pointed out the cinder blocks where his body was, but since Norma said it wouldn’t be there, Brian’s sister dismissed it and looked elsewhere.

Y’all. I cannot.

When the coroner’s report came back on Brian, police were shocked to find the ‘M’ carved onto his chest and the coroner reporting this death was most likely caused by a child due to the lack of force used during the attack.

MORTIFYING

Mary and Norma were not conspicuous at all; they were interviewed by the police and excited to learn new news pertaining to the case.

Mary was spotted lurking outside of Brian’s house the day of his burial. She was laughing and rubbing her hands together when she saw the coffin.

The police called Mary in to be interviewed a second time and Mary made up a story about an eight year old boy she had seen hit Brian, (police knew she and Norma had seen him the day he died), in the head and that he had a pair of broken scissors with him.

The 👏🏼 police 👏🏼 hadn’t 👏🏼 disclosed 👏🏼 anything 👏🏼 publicly 👏🏼 about 👏🏼 the 👏🏼 scissors. 👏🏼

This is where Mary done goofed. Only investigators and the murderer would have known about this clue.

Upon further questioning, Mary and Norma broke down and began blaming each other for the murders.

During the trial, which took place in December, the jury agreed that Mary had committed the murders.

Did she receive a murder charge, you may ask?

Absolutely not.

While the jury did find Mary Bell guilty, a manslaughter charge was given because Mary’s lawyer and the court psychiatrists argued Mary suffered from psychopathy, and the court agreed she was not fully responsible of her actions.

😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐

Norma Bell, however, was regarded as an unwilling accomplice and was acquitted.

Let’s look at the difference between manslaughter and murder charges and why this is so important.

man·slaugh·ter

/ˈmanˌslôdər/

noun

1. the crime of killing a human being without malice aforethought, or otherwise in circumstances not amounting to murder.

mur·der

/ˈmərdər/

noun

1. the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another.

I obviously haven’t gone to law school, but I would argue that the little neighbor boy’s “accidental fall” and the mothers coming forward about Mary choking their young daughters could be viewed as premeditated. She was trying to kill them, she just managed to kill two little boys instead.

Yes she had a brain injury, but giving her a manslaughter charge is offensive to me. Offensive for the families who lost their sons. If she has a brain injury and there were several cases documented where she was hurting other children, she should have been locked away forever. Just my opinion. I agree with medication and therapy, but anyone could relapse at any time and I don’t think that’s a risk anyone should take. Again, just my unprofessional as h*ck opinion.

(Ed Kemper went to a mental institute and tricked and lied his way into letting the psychiatrists let him leave after he had killed both of his grandparents at just 15 years old. They assumed he was rehabilitated; he just learned the right answers to their questions. He later killed eight more people, including his mother.

Just an example.)

(Another example, they medicated Richard Kuklinski after he was arrested and did not feel the need to release him even though he showed signs of improvement.)

Moving on.

The judge concluded that Mary was a dangerous person and a serious threat to other children. She was sentenced to be imprisoned “at Her Majesty’s pleasure,” a British term that basically means the powers that be would release her when they felt she had been properly rehabilitated.

Apparently, they were very impressed with Mary’s treatment and rehabilitation and felt like it was appropriate to let Mary Bell out in 1980, T W E L V E Y E A R S after Mary committed these murders.

She was put in very strict probation but was able to live amongst her community as a normal person.

The cherry on top?

Mary Bell was given a new identity to offer her a new chance at life and to be able to avoid the press.

She had to move several times because the press kept tracking her down, however.

Today, Mary Bell and her daughter are in protective custody at a secret address no one knows.

Norma Bell passed away in 1989.

Do I feel Mary Bell needs court ordered protection and should be able to hide her identity? No.

Do I think they released her far too early? Yes

Do I think Martin Brown and Brian Howe got justice? No.

Does this story anger me even though I’ve heard it and read about it fifteen million times? Yes.

Her mother should be responsible. She should be responsible instead of hiding. The victim’s families deserve better.

Below are pictures of Mary Bell aged 11, Martin Brown, Brian Howe, and Mary Bell aged 51.

#true crime

4 notes · View notes

thatgirlintheaudience · 5 years

Text

Jagged Little Pill: Our New Musical

Spoilers ahead and WARNING: review contains references to drug use and sexual violence

Act 1:

Is this the best overture of all time? Yes, yes it is. I don't care. The second it started I screamed like what a rush of energy. That harmonica, damn Alanis. And then as it began and the chorus came out, I already started crying. Just a rush of emotions in one minute. It was crazy. I love when they say “around and around” and they move their finger in a circle. I just think it’s cool and I love this choreography and ensemble so much. Like, the chorus is such a driving force in this show. I cannot praise them enough. And Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s choreography is just breathtaking. Totally unique and inventive. Nothing like I’ve seen on Broadway before. Enter the Healy family (I love them!).

All I Really Want just explains the frustration Frankie and Mary Jane feel at the world and at each other. It is crazy how perfectly Alanis’ music fits into this story and into 2020. This is a huge credit to book writer Diablo Cody who created the Healy family and this story to match with the music. Bravo! Let’s just say when each song started the man behind me said “Wow” every time. Like he realized how perfect each song went with the story/character. Just a reminder that I did see this show in its world premiere in Boston so I went in knowing certain things and may compare both productions. “I’m frustrated by your apathy” is such a good line. And they changed the lyric to “spiritual woman” and they lift up Ebony Williams as the spiritual woman. And when Frankie says, “what I wouldn’t give to find a soul mate,” MJ looked like aw I really want a soul mate for my daughter. And when Frankie says “here can you handle this?” she holds up a sign saying “fear doesn't belong in our schools.” Then when Frankie says “all I really want is a wave length” she’s sitting at the table with MJ and reaches over for her hand as if she is desperately reaching for her mother’s attention and affection. And then Frankie and MJ basically have a belt off and boy do I love it. Although I miss when MJ would stand on top of the chair and belt because that was awesome. Now she runs up to the front of the stage. And then the commotion builds and MJ takes her pills which is when the song dies out and she sighs in relief.

In Hand in My Pocket they clap and have a dance break. It’s really fun. Before Smiling we see MJ desperately trying to refill her prescription and being denied. It’s a really heartbreaking scene because she is so desperate and she says “no, I’m just a mom who got in a fender bender” like she tries to deny her addiction and pretend she is fine. Then she goes to the Connecticut Muffin and meets three snobby town moms. Shout out to Laurel Harris who plays one of the moms, the school teacher and Jo’s mom. She's perfect in every role and as a member of the chorus. Anyway these moms are totally obsessed with appearance and after this MJ meets with her drug dealer and Smiling begins which is a song that is performed backwards. Yes, backwards! It goes through MJ at the Connecticut Muffin, the grocery store, soul cycle, and ends at home when she drops her pill bottle and Steve picks it up. It is such a challenging number but it totally pays off for the look and emotion it gives. I mean, Ezra Menas jump ropes backwards! C’mon now.

In Ironic, when Frankie is reading her piece out loud all the kids are making fun of her because nothing is actually ironic and Phoenix is just fed up and sticks up for her. The spotlight is only on him when he is watching Frankie and I find it really cute. And when Frankie goes “it’s like meeting the boy of my dreams and then meeting his…” and Phoenix goes “I’m not seeing anyone.” Wow, my heart. And then their voices join together and it is like angels singing. I’m obsessed, can’t you tell? I feel like I could have used a Phoenix in some of my English classes, you feel me? SO UNSEXY. Sorry, I just love this song and Sean Allan Krill’s voice is beautiful. When Steve sings, “I can feel so unsexy to someone so beautiful” he’s at work and looks at a framed photo of MJ. Ugh. In Boston, they looked at their bodies in the mirror which I missed because I think that really justifies the song, but I’m just glad they kept it in because it’s a great song and I recommend listening to Alanis’ version as well as Alanis’ version of all these songs.

So before Perfect we have a scene between Nick and MJ. This scene as well as placing Perfect in act one was a change for Broadway and I thought it worked better. MJ is decorating their Christmas tree and has the manger scene out when she reminds Nick about how much he loved the lamb when he was little. MJ tells him how she believes he is the only thing she has done right in her life as she reiterates later in the show as well. When singing Perfect, Nick decides to go to this party and I saw it as his act of rebellion. He later states in the show something about “why does he have to be the perfect, steady person that everyone leans on and relies on?” When MJ reads his note about leaving for the party she sits on the couch and sadly looks at the lamb. :( And what a perfect (lol) song for Nick to sing and Derek just executes it with so much emotion. “Why are your cryingggggg?” Ugh!

For the party they sing So Pure. Yes! So basically, Bella, Andrew, Phoenix, Nick and Frankie show up at this party although the Healy kids and Phoenix are not party kids or that experienced with parties. In this scene we can see Bella clearly intoxicated and Andrew dragging her around and leading her off stage. Meanwhile, Phoenix and Frankie leave the party. Phoenix and Frankie sit on a swing set as they introduce their family lives to each other. Phoenix reveals he has a single mother and a very sick sister. When Frankie asks him if he could change his family, would he? He replies that he wouldn't change his family, but himself. If only he could be a better person maybe things would be different. Frankie agrees completely and they sing That I Would Be Good. Cue me shouting that this may be my favorite performance in Broadway history. I’m a huge fan of this song and to have it paired with this story and these characters is just EVERYTHING. Just gonna shout out Antonio because not only does he play Phoenix but he is also in the chorus and he sings like this! Talent! And Jo’s part in this? Don’t even get me started. We see her mom putting her in these girly clothes and when Phoenix goes “that I would be loved” Jo replies, “am I loved?” ...Did you hear my heart break? And the crack and rawness in Lauren’s voice when she goes, “even when I am oooooverwwwhelmmmmed.” Plus Jo sings “Everything is fucked when you’re not here” which I think shows how much she loves Frankie and relies on her. Then the 3 of their voices together. It's just magic. I highly recommend this show! And I just want to shout out how well I think the show represents their teen characters. All the teen characters are so multidimensional and are each going through their own set of troubles. They are seen as human beings who are just as flawed as the parents.

WAKE UP. WAKE UP. Okay, maybe this was my favorite performance? Who can say at this point? We now know Bella has been raped by Andrew and that Nick was a witness and didn’t stop it. Jo and Frankie go to Bella’s house, where Kathryn Gallagher gives a haunting rendition of the events that happened at the party leaving the audience silent. When Frankie confronts Nick, he explains how Bella was drunk and how she can be dramatic. MJ comes in and also explains to Frankie how these things happen all the time and we need to be responsible for our own actions. Cue the song. The chorus taunts Nick in this song and it is like the voices screaming in his head. They also show Bella and Andrew talking to the police. Then for Broadway they brought in these moving walls. So during this song, MJ and other characters are being pushed on these walls. Frankie also sings a part of Hands Clean in this number, another song that corresponds to Bella’s experience. It’s a number that just builds and gets chaotic and when they start singing, “get up, get outta here, enough already” and it just ends with WAKE UP. WOW. Wake up, talk about a relevant 2020 message.

Forgiven is an absolutely smashing act one finale. Elizabeth Stanley is truly giving the performance of a lifetime. Her voice is insanity. It is sad I did not know her before this show. When they are shouting “sinner” and “witch,” Bella comes in and stands in the center as the chorus surrounds her and MJ watches. There is also red lighting. This also takes place in a church. And it starts snowing and the whole cast comes out and it is just so powerful.

Act 2:

Act two starts with Hands Clean (an amazing song) and Not the Doctor as MJ and Steve go to therapy. Steve really opens up about how MJ is an amazing woman and mother. Then Phoenix and Frankie come out and both couples, but mostly Frankie and Phoenix sing Head Over Feet which is such a good song and scene. Celia and Antonio’s chemistry is amazing and they are so cute. Don’t believe me, then watch this insanely adorable music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHilyL6YfYU Also they are climbing the swing set ladder during this number and the swing set literally spins in a circle as Frankie hangs off of it living her best life. It is just a pure cute number.

So after this spoiler: Frankie and Phoenix have sex and Jo sings Your House as she walks in on them. And Your House is done acapella! Jo tells MJ and Steve leading to a huge fight between Frankie and her parents and she leaves for New York City and sings Unprodigal Daughter. Honestly, it is heartbreaking watching Jo experience Frankie’s betrayal. I believe it is at this moment that MJ and Steve have a huge fight where Steve yells, “No wonder she {Frankie} hates you.” Elizabeth and Sean are amazing together and this fight was so raw and real. Sean recently said that 95% of his performance relies and is in response to MJ/ Elizabeth which is so true. Anyway when Frankie arrives in NYC, a person comes up to her and sings “You from New York, you are so relevant.” This is a line from So Pure and I thought it was cool how they sneaked that in. I’m not sure if Alanis meant the line to be sarcastic or real but I understand both interpretations. Anyway UNPRODIGAL DAUGHTER is everything. If you have ever fought with your parents, hated your small town or wanted to run away to be with people who understood you, this. Is. your. Jam! And Frankie sells it, I mean this song was meant for her. She’s in NYC with all these cool, understanding people and they lift her up at the end like she is a queen on the throne. And the band, THE BAND, is onstage rocking out!!! The band is amazzzzing. They were having so much fun.

Bella sings Predator which is a song written for the show. This scene details Bella at the party, only Heather Lang is playing Bella as Kathryn watches it happen. Lang specifically dances as MJ and Bella. Throughout act one, she gets real close to MJ and is acting as her conscious/addiction. MJ watches this scene as Bella lays on the bed and is then replaced by MJ as we have found out that MJ was also raped in college. It is a haunting number. There is also a scene when Bella asks MJ how long it took for her to feel normal again and she fails to give her an answer.

You Oughta Know. I will say: believe the hype. But honestly believe the hype about the whole show, not just this one number. So Jo comes to get Frankie from New York and she starts this number quiet and then it builds up and the chorus and band come out. Everyone already knows how amazing this song is but Lauren really does elevate it to another level and brings a whole extra layer of emotions. Her dancing and frustration and singing with the band rocking out is just an awesome experience. There is red lighting and it is just a killer moment.

At the end of this song Frankie gets a text about her Mom and we see MJ on the couch overdosing. She sings Univinited and Heather Lang dances in this number. Elizabeth’s voice and just her movements and shaking in this scene is unbelievable. And just the backing vocals and music make it so powerful. It just sounds like a war and battle between MJ and her addiction. Bella also sings parts of this song which I found fascinating. The connection between Bella and MJ is explored more on Broadway. Also when MJ overdoses, the lights flash three times. So the lights flash and we see Steve finding MJ, then lights flash we see Nick on the phone, lights flash, there’s a doctor putting an oxygen mask on MJ. This was a new addition to Broadway I believe and I loved it. They do a similar thing in Hedwig and I just love it.

When they arrive at the hospital, Steve cannot believe the drugs MJ was on and refuses to believe she was a drug addict. He asks the doctor, “does she look like a drug addict to you?” And the doctor replies, “what do you think a drug addict looks like?” The audience felt that line. It is so true. This can happen to anyone. Mary Jane is filled with so much emotion. Steve really does love MJ and I love the backing vocals in this. Krill is amazing as Steve. “No” is powerful. Each person that sings stands in the middle and is touched by other chorus members. And all the signs are powerful and then Nick lifts his that says: Stand with Survivors. And can I belt like Kathryn? I wish. Then it ends with them standing in a line at the front of the stage and and Nick and Bella sing “it’s easy not to, so much easier not to”. Just the reprises of Wake Up in multiple songs gives me shivers. Wake Up drives so much of the show. I think before No there is a scene with the chorus members on their phones tweeting and texting nasty things about Bella and then they hold their phones out to the audience. I think this is just a reminder of how much social media and technology has changed us and how we have to remember to be nice!

Then MJ and Frankie make up during Thank U. Thank U and You Learn are just the two best songs to end a show with. They are filled with so much healing, and hope which is exactly what this show is about. And when MJ is sending the new Christmas letter she goes, “yeah I’m pretty messed up” and then she goes, “no, I’m perfectly imperfect.” We say this all the time to ourselves but we have to start believing it. No one is perfect. We are all perfectly imperfect. We all put up these appearances and try to hide our sadness from the world. There is so much human beings go through and if you are a human being you are going to love Jagged Little Pill. It is a human story. It is healing and powerful and makes you feel all the emotions. It ends with Frankie grabbing MJ’s hand. It is a beautiful show and I think very person on this planet should see it. If you wanna talk about this show (or any show) or about the stage door, feel free to message me. Thank U Jagged Little Pill and the Jagged Little Community.

#jagged little pill #Alanis Morissette #theater review #elizabeth stanley #sean allan krill #celia gooding #derek klena #lauren patten #kathryn gallagher #antonio cipriano

52 notes · View notes

steele-soulmate · 1 year

Text

Tattooed Wings, CHAPTER 362, Peter Steele & OFC, Soulmate AU

SUMMARY: Mary Claire Bradley meets her soulmate- literally- the famous Peter Steele of metal group Type O Negative. But will obstacles including trauma, stalkers, and toxic family members get in the way of their life?

WARNING: mentions of child rape (nothing graphic) PTSD, milk kink, soft smut, grinding, assault, fingering, hand jobs, blow jobs, 69, P in V sex, blood, noncon rape, blood, violence, death, vandalism, graffiti, attempted kidnapping, break-ins, wild animal attacks

WORDS: 1357

I tied my baby sister’s hair up with a hair tie before lowering myself to my knees and rubbing her back, crooning softly as morning sickness overtook her.

“I can have Peter make a run to the grocery store and grab some saltine crackers for you to nibble at whenever you start to feel urpy,” I offered her in a gentle voice, handing her a water bottle when she emerged once more, gasping for air and eyes full of annoyance and embarrassment. “Nearly every pregnant woman out there suffers from morning sickness at one point or another, it’s totally normal.”

“Baby Bradley is due on February first of next year,” she told me with a scratchy voice, rinsing out her mouth and spitting into the toilet bowl. “I really want a little girl- I’ve always wanted a mini me!”

“Sammi, you need to remember that Baby Bradley is an actual human being, with feelings and needs and dreams,” I reminded her in a stern voice. “Yes, playing dress up and shopping for baby clothes and taking adorable pictures is nice and all, but you’ll also have dirty diapers, nights of no sleep, baby temper tantrums and hungry baby tummies. Having a baby isn’t all fun and games like on TV.”

“But still…” she grumbled, wiping her mouth with a handful of toilet paper before standing and flushing. “How did you and Peter come up with Baby Tommy’s name?”

“We both really like classic names,” I shrugged, staying with her as she washed her hands. “I pitched the name Donald but Peter turned down Baby Donnie.”

“And I wonder why…” My baby sister glowered as she washed her mouth out once more. “I really like the name Meadow.”

“Well I hate it,” I bluntly told her as we both left the restrooms and made our way back up to the archers encampment to finish helping with setup. “What’s wrong with classic baby names? Why do people find such appeal in stupid baby names?”

“Some of them are creative!” Sammi argued.

“I personally think that some baby names should be vetoed right at the hospital!” I informed her, looping an arm around her. “Like, there’s this one girl in Texas who has this long ass name only because her mom wanted to break a world record. Did you hear about that story?”

“I don’t think I did actually,” she hummed as we came back up to Jackie, who was setting up a tent with help from Elizabeth and Kelly, Baby Tommy and the dollies under close supervision under Daisy.

“Hihi Jack-Jack,” I greeted her affectionately. “Where’s Peter?”

“He ran off to the Wal-Mart to grab some things,” she shrugged, opening the tent flap and making certain that everything line up fine. “He told me to tell you to text him if you need anything at all.”

“Oh?” I asked, taking my cell phone out from my bra and noticing that I had received a text message from my husband.

Do you want me to grab you anything from Wal-Mart? I’m picking up some saltine crackers for Sammi.

My heart exploded into sweet flutters at how loving her could be.

Can you grab some blueberries for me?

My cell phone buzzed a moment later.

Done.

“Hey Sam-Sam, what kind of weird cravings have you been having?” I asked, genially curious.

“Strawberries,” both younger sisters said at the same time.

And strawberries- Sammi has been craving them

I got a picture response- a little hand basket packed with three boxes of saltine crackers, one bag of blueberries and at least six or seven bags of strawberries.

Done and done sweetheart.

I smiled as my fingers typed out I love you before slipping my cell phone back into my bra.

“Did Sammi tell you the names she picked out for Baby Bradley?” Jackie asked in a dry voice.

“Meadow?” I asked as Elizabeth and Katie were busy helping some of the heavies with the Ratajczyk family tent. “Yeah, I’m not the biggest fan of that name.”

“No,” Jackie shook her head before leaning in to whispered softly into my ear.

“Fucking shit, Sammi, I swear, if you name Baby Bradley that shit, I will shave your head while you’re sleeping and post those pictures of you in the third grade!” I snarled, knowing perfectly well that she would murder whoever posted the school pictures of her doomed haircut she did all by herself. “And Baby Bradley might be a little boy.”

“But I really want a little girl!” she whined just as my husband was ambling his way in, holding four stuffed Wal-Mart bags in his hands.

“Tough luck, Sam-Sam,” I frowned at her, smiling as Peter transitioned the bags from one hand into his other arms before swooping down to press a sweet kiss to the corner of my mouth.

“Hello sweetheart,” he gently rumbled before standing and guiding me into our family tent, where all the furniture had been assembled together and dumping everything he bought out onto our marital bed.

I smiled as I picked up a box of Ondansetron tablets, setting them with the saltine crackers and strawberries before spinning into his arms.

“You are a truly good man,” I giggled as I felt him harden at my womanly touch. “I love you Peter Thomas Ratajczyk.”

“And I love you, Mary Claire Ratajczyk.” He scooped me into his strong arms and held me up as I wrapped my legs around his hips and pressed our foreheads together. “I love you sweetheart.” He growled as I humped my core into him before he scrambled to free himself and tug my undies off to the side.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH…” I gasped quietly when he impaled himself fully before beginning to pump his meaty length in and out of me, grunting softly and clashing kisses as we reached higher, and higher, and higher…

“FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK…” Peter stilled as his shafted gave out a strong pulse before releasing his manly cream deep into me, groaning as I went limp in his arms and blacked out.

When I came to next, I was laying on the bed with my husband’s face in between my thighs, slurping up our shared mixtures, lapping up as much as he possibly could.

Peter

I could feel his smile as he rubbed his thumb into the side of my knee, reassuring me that he knew I had woken back up again, working all the more harder as my delicate flower trembled violently before spilling out my womanly nectar, spilling all over his face.

“You taste fucking delicious sweetheart,” he gasped when he finished at last before pressing our lips together, where he gently nudged my lips open with his tongue and allowed me to taste our shared release from his mouth. “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you…”

I love you, my sexy silver daddy.

“I know you do sweetheart,” he murmured gently, slipping my underwear off and stuffing them into his pocket before righting me. “Now you rest up- I’ll go take care of the kids.”

TAGLISTS ARE OPEN/ ASK BOX IS OPEN/ REQUESTS ARE OPEN/ PLOT BUNNIES ARE WELCOMED

If you liked this, then please consider buying me a coffee HERE It only costs $3!!!

PETER STEELE TAGLIST

@starchild0985

#Real person fiction (RPF)#Tattooed Wings #Peter Thomas Ratajczyk #Type O Negative #Vanessa Rose Pickings/ little girl #Special needs baby #Aria Bradley #Evie Bradley #Deaf #American Sign Language (ASL)#Elizabeth Ratajczyk #Alopecia #Thomas Joseph Ratajczyk/ Baby Tommy #Autism #Katie Ratajczyk #Down's Syndrome #Matching tattoos soulmate AU

0 notes

2sunchild2 · 5 years

Text

The Remnants

Guess the show lol

Lowkey not v happy w/ it but I wanted to post something

Long ago, in a time long forgotten by mankind, magic ruled over all. Witches and wizards were seeing aiding and cursing people. Giants roamed the lands. Werewolves, vampires, ghosts and ghouls alike, haunted the night. Humans themselves were gifted with the supernatural power. But only four weld the most powerful magic of them all.

Blessed by the gods, four maidens were given a specific power, each one corresponding to a season of the year. Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Many seemed them out, to use and manipulate for their own selfish needs. They managed to kidnap one of the maidens, unaware of the chaos that soon followed. Pain and destruction washed over the world. Death loomed over every kingdom, house and family.

Upon seeing the destruction caused by the four maidens, the humans decided their magic was too strong and powerful to be contained. They had found and killed off the other three in hopes that it would rid the world of their power.

The gods were furious when the humans presented the corpses of their blessed chosens, they cursed mankind, stripping them from their magical abilities, and they promised, the four maidens’ magic will live on, impossible to erase, merely transferred from one woman to another.

The humans, upset by this turn of events, began opposing the gods in every possible way, which only angered the deities more. They wiped the world clean of living beings, disgusted by their creations and, in a beam of divine light, they left the depressing planet, leaving nothing but two moons, one of which had begun to break apart.

We are the remnants of what once was, of what will never be.

——————————————————————

Punch.

Punch punch.

“You know, you should really wrap your hands, this isn’t healthy,” Chloe leaned on the doorframe and crossed her arms, “You could seriously get hurt.”

Punch.

Punch punch.

“Oh, so we’re in a ‘Shut up Chloe I don’t feel like talking to you’ mood today?”

Punch.

Chloe tilted her head sideways and hummed, “Hmmm, I wonder what Kagami will say when she sees you punching the life out of that bag with your bare hands.”

The punching stopped. Marinette let her hands rest at her sides and took deep breaths, in a desperate attempt to regulate her breathing again. How long had she been in the gym? One look at her bruised hands and she knew the answer. Too long.

“What is it Chloe,” she asked the blonde, not bothering to look back as she grabbed her bottle and slowly drank the cool water, enjoying the feeling of it going down her throat.

Chloe sobered up and walked over to the blue-haired girl, grabbing the medical kit on her way. She sat Marinette down and began to gently work on her bruised hands. She could feel her teammate’s impassive gaze.

Chloe took a deep breath, “Fu called,” she watched her friend’s other hand twitch, “he said he’s expecting us to report on what’s happening with the winter maiden… and if she’s being targeted,” she put the now bandaged hand down and began working on the other one, “he wants us to meet with him at Dupont.”

“Is Kagami aware of this?” Her friend asked, checking the bandages on her hands. Chloe gave a nod in reply. Marinette got up and stretched her arms out, “well then, it seems Dupont is getting a visit from a few old students.”

————————————————

“Agreste,” the blonde man turned around to see his general at the door, “Are you aware of the stop we have to make at Valentino?”

Felix nodded, “The kingdom of Love is harboring the winter maiden, is that correct?”

His General nodded firmly, “You and I will be escorted to Dupont to discuss this matter with Master Fu,” at the sight of Felix’s scowl, the general continued, “he’s a respectable man, Felix, he knows what he’s doing. I’m willing to give you an hour to pack before we depart.”

“Yes, father,” Felix whispered to himself father the general left. He looked out his window, to see the breathtaking view of the snowy kingdom of Arise. He sighed and left to pack his bags, at least he will be reunited with his brother, even if it were for a brief moment.

——————————————

Adrien had been chatting with Bridgette when it happened. They were walking along the courtyard when he noticed Arise ships landing at the port of the school. He stopped talking and stared at the ship, seeing the drone-soldiers march out while being led by the general, though he was only hoping to see one face.

“Felix!”

He grabbed Bridgette by the arm and began racing towards the stiff blonde who just exited the ship, chanting his name over and over again. Saying Bridgette was confused would’ve been the understatement of the century. Who is this man? And why does Adrien know him?

They slowed down as they neared the man, “Felix!” The blonde boy yelled again, causing the other to turn his way. Adrien walked up to him, smiling like he’s been offered all the presents a fifteen-year-old boy could ask for.

“Adrien,” the man replied with a nod, “how have you been?”

Adrien beamed, “Well, I’m at the top of my class in monster theory, I’m in the top five ranks for—”

“No you dolt,” Felix whacked the boy upside his head, “I asked how you’re doing, not what ranking you are. Are you eating well? Are you getting enough sleep?” Felix led the boy towards the school entrance, questioning his brother in his well-being, if he’s enjoying his classes and if he’s made any friends.

Adrien smiled and gestured to Bridgette, who had been silently following them, “This is Bridgette! She’s the team leader!”

Bridgette jumped and tried to address the older man formally, “I… uhh…” she curtsied clumsily, almost falling over, “merry— uhhh, very! Nice to make… your… acquaintance? Sir?”

Felix raised a brow at the girl, “This is the famed leader of team Miraculous?” Bridgette sweat dropped.

“That was my aunt… uhhh, we’re team Prodigious,” Bridgette answered hesitantly. Bridgette glanced over to see Allegra waving are her and muttered a quick “excuse me” before leaving. Felix merely gave her a nod and kept walking, the drones following close behind.

That is, until one of their heads were ripped off their body and thrown on the ground.

“This is what you call a high tech super soldier?” A rough feminine voice called out, causing Felix to stop in his tracks. He turned around and glared at the woman.

“Do you know you just destroyed Arise military property?” He questioned, his voice low and dangerous, “I could have you arrested.”

The woman let out a laugh and took a swig from her flask before replying, “what are you gonna do sweetheart? Sue me? A bunch of stuck up pussies.” She laughed out loud, the two other women she came with decided to let her have her fun before they attended business.

Felix glared at the blue hard woman and unsheathed his sword, “Say one more disrespectful thing about us, and I’ll cut off your tongue,” his piercing blue eyes narrowing as she flipped her hair, showing everyone the scar on her left eye.

“Make me.”

—————————————

Adrien couldn’t believe his eyes, this woman, though beautiful he had to admit, had come out of nowhere, destroyed Arise property, challenged his brother and was now dueling with him. She had pulled out a yo-yo of all things, but then she pushed a button and it became a glowing staff.

They circled around each other for a moment, waiting to see who would strike first, and all the woman had to do was smirk for Felix to lose his temper and strike.

They had been fighting for a good two minutes already, there was a crater in the courtyard and rubble littered the stone floor. She was skilled, he had to admit, but Felix had strict military training, he should be capable of winning.

Bridgette heard the sound of an explosion in the courtyard and ran back to check if Adrien was okay. She saw him at the front of the crowd and, while struggling, she pushed through to get to him.

“What’s going on?” She asked him breathless.

“Some crazy woman came here and challenged my brother! They’re dueling as we speak.”

Bridgette gave him an odd look, “really? Who’s he fighti— OH MY GOD THAT’S MY AUNT!” Adrien gave her an incredulous look and opened his mouth to reply but Bridgette, without meaning to, interrupted him, already invested in the fight, “Kick his butt Marinette!”

Adrien huffed, “Show her some respect Felix!” He wanted to support his brother, and he wanted him to win.

Marinette stood on one end of the courtyard, the opposite side to Felix, his stance was ready to pounce, he activated his aura and a dark wisp of shadows spreads from his right hand, to the rest of his body. Marinette’s smirks, but doesn’t activate her aura. She shifts her weapon to a scythe, her eyes never leaving Felix’s and then, she stops, shiftiest the weapon back to a yo-yo and placing it back on her hip, earring a disappointed boo from the crowd.

She raises her hand and beckons Felix to come closer, in a fit of rage he does, and almost strikes her with his sword before being stopped by a very stern, “Agreste!”

“But sir, she started it,” Felix argued. The general looked at his son before settling his eyes on Marinette, who simply raised her hands up in defense.

“He’s the one to struck first, sir.”

The general’s mood did not shift, “You are here for a reason Marinette, don’t waste your time on silly games,” he turned around, but stopped, “ oh and do bring your friends with you, you’re here in business with the master,” he began walking away and let out a rough, “Agreste, come.”

Marinette wanted to let out a retort but her arm was grabbed by her niece, “Aunt Mari! You’re here! You didn’t tell me your we’re going to visit! I missed you! Did you miss me?” Her face was mere millimeters away from her face, eyes wide in excitement.

Marinette let out a smile and ruffled her hair, “No.”

Bridgette laughed as she slid down her arm to the ground and looked up at her, “ Are you staying for long?”

“I’m just here on business honey,” Marinette crouched down ruffled the girl’s hair affectionately before getting back up, “ Don't get into too much trouble okay?”

————————————

“I still can’t believe you’re allowed to listen to this sort of information,” Felix hissed, not too pleased with the fact that he just fought (and technically lost) someone in the same rank as his father.

Marinette shrugged and observed herself in the elevator mirror, “Fu needs a man on the inside, we’re the best for the job.”

Before he could retort, the elevator door opened and the duo was met with the deadpan looks of Fu, Marinette’s teammates, Marianne and General Gabriel.

This looks promising, Marinette mused.

Tag list uwu: @thyladyanput @gloriafee4 @slytherinsheashire @realrandomposts

#miraculous x rwby #marinette dupain cheng #felix agreste #ml bridgette #adrien agreste

72 notes · View notes