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pl-panda · 4 years ago

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To Marry a Vigilante: Part 9

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To Marry a Vigilante: Part 9

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The Gala. The Wayne Gala. The Wayne New Year’s Gala. The Wayne Gala to celebrate the New Year.

“I can’t do it!” Marinette screamed. “What if I trip and fall on Mr. Wayne and then he will break his leg!? Or what if I accidentally babble something I’m not supposed to and make it a disaster!? Or what if Lila makes a mess and I get blamed for it in front of thousands of people!?” She started breathing heavily. “Or maybe I’ll just look awkward and people decide that I’m useless and Mr. Wayne decides that I should leave Damian to spare him the embarrassment?! I can…” Tikki slapped Marinette when she didn’t respond to any of her pleas.

“Marinette! Breathe.” The Kwami instructed her.

“Sorry Tikki. I’m really nervous. I know that making the announcement today is the best option since we’re starting school soon and the news would break anyway, but it’s just so… I’m not used to all that.”

“I know Marinette. But you must accept that your beloved lives in these circles and you must respect some of the needs. He’s changing for you, but you can’t just demand he abandon his old life.”

“I know… I really want to make this work. He… I know I can trust him like nobody else. Even… even you… I love you, but you’re not…”

“Human?”

“Yes! I’m sorry Tikki. You’re still my partner and my best friend. Don’t tell that to Chloé though.”

“My lips are sealed.” The kwami giggled. “You’re my favorite chosen too, Marinette. You have the true creation inside you.”

“Thanks, Tikki.”

“Not get on and show them what you’re made of!” The little goddess cheered.

“Yes! I’m going to rock! I’m great!” The girl said confidently and put on the purple mask with golden lines.

-------

Damian waited impatiently for his beloved to come. The guests were already filling in and his father and brothers went to greet them. Tom and Sabine, dressed in their MDC original outfits, were already on the dance floor, showing everyone that they could still move even in their forties. Cass was probably somewhere with Bourgeois, stealing cookies or something. The two seemed to bond over being the third wheel and treating Sabine like their new mother.

“Wassup Dames?” A voice startled him and Damian whirled around with a punch that stopped an inch from Jon’s nose.

“Tt. Aren’t you supposed to be downstairs? With the guests?” He grumbled.

“Nah. Mom and Dad are with your dad, going over the safe questions to ask your wi…” Jon didn’t get to finish that word because Damian lunged at him and covered his mouth.

“Tt. Shut up. The last thing I need is drama caused by your big mouth.”

*muffled sounds*

“I don’t care. Mouth shut or I’ll test the new Kryptonite dusters.”

*more muffled sounds*

“I did get them. Want me to try them out right now?” Jon shook his head. “Good. We’ve got an agreement?” A nod. “Fine.” Damian let him go.

“You’re very violent, you know that?”

“Tt. Shut up.”

“I’m just saying.”

“I told you to…” Damian’s words died in his throat. Marinette entered the scene.

“Shall we?” She asked, handing him a sleek black mask with gold details. When light reflected from it, a very subtle purple gleam could be seen.

“It’s incredible, Habibti. Just like the rest of my suit.” He was dressed in a pure-black three-piece, a white shirt underneath, and had a black tie. He screamed style and power.

-------

All in all, the trip was not yet a disaster for Lila Rossi. Her lies were slowly taking root in the people around her. Like the clerk at the Hotel. Soon, she would have them all wrapped around her fingers. Only Maribrat and Chloé seemed to be completely immune to her charms. But that girl was too goody-two-shoes for her own good and Bourgeois was hated even before she started her work.

There was also that exchange student, Grayson boy… Darren, Damien, something like that. She couldn’t believe she thought that guy was Damian Wayne when he first walked into her class. She went as far as stopping Alya from being mean to him. From her research, all Waynes were kind and helpful. Damian Wayne supposedly volunteered at an animal shelter. The press described him as ‘cute in a special way.’ Blasted Waynes and their no-pictures policy. The guy in her class looked a bit similar to Bruce Wayne, at least at first glance. Then, she noticed that his skin was darker (not just solar tan), his nose was a bit different too. And his eyes were green. It was the only constant with the Waynes. They all had dark hair and blue eyes.

As such, she dismissed him as unimportant and focused on her more important goals. Making a deal with Gabriel Agreste, or rather Hawkmoth, was risky. In the end, it worked out for her in many ways. She gained a foothold from which she made her small empire. And Agreste boy was nice arm candy for a while. Until he went all psycho on Maribrat that is.

Now if she found one of the Waynes, she could start working on worming her way in. Blasted masks! They appeared too good in the media not to have a big dirty secret to exploit. Blackmail wouldn’t be new for her.

The Gala was slowly starting when all the lights turned off. Two stage flood lights focused on the stairs leading to the second floor of the manor. Two people appeared on them. First was a young man, about her age, dressed all black. He radiated money and influence and she was sure what he wore was in fact an MDC original. But he was nothing next to his companion.

Her dark-purple dress shone in the light like a thousand diamonds. It hugged her figure perfectly and while she was most likely the same age as her companion, she still looked stunning. The high collar was embroidered with a golden thread that formed intricate patterns around her slender neck. The sleeves went down to her arms where they seamlessly merged with gloves. The line was blurred by twin bracelets that each had a symbol of a bat with flowers. A nod toward the Bats of Gotham while keeping it original. From the waist down, it opened on the side, giving her the freedom to move while still keeping the near-royal appearance. With each step, it flowed slightly, revealing the golden underlining. Her legs were also covered with the same material down to ballet shoes in a deeper shade of purple finished with golden lining.

Her blue hair reached slightly beyond her shoulders and matched her eyes perfectly. All the gold and purple served to make everyone focus on her.

Lila cursed under her breath. There was no chance anyone would notice her with someone like that parading around. Something had to be done. Lila checked her own dress. It was pretty, but when compared to that, it came plain.

All her scheming came to the halt when the pair walked over to Bruce Wayne and got him to stop speaking with Gotham’s mayor. They knew him. A realization dawned on her. It was Damian Wayne and his date. They had to be. But his eyes… they were green.

“No…” escaped the Liar’s lips. The woman she was talking to noticed and followed her gaze. Some part of Lila’s brain noticed she also checked her dress and was saddened. At least her reaction was not out of place.

Bruce Wayne walked with the two back to the stairs where the stand with a microphone was prepared before the lights were turned back on. Sensing a juicy story, all the journalists and bloggers swarmed as close as possible. Some even lost their masks.

“Can I have a moment of your attention?” The billionaire asked. His eyes swept over the crowd. “Before I start, I wanted to remind you that there is a strict no-photos policy on the gala. We’ve hired a photographer with an exclusive contract and any pictures taken not by him will be considered a breach and will be met with a lawsuit.”

The murmurs broke all around the crowd. It was a known fact that taking unsolicited photos at Wayne Galas was forbidden. There was no need to remind anyone about it unless it was a really juicy piece. The last time Bruce Wayne took time to remind everyone about this was when Jason Todd turned out to be alive and well, only slightly amnesiac.

“Now. First I wanted to welcome everyone to this year’s Gala. We’re closing another year and I thank everyone for showing up to celebrate with me and my family.” He raised a small glass of champagne. “In particular, I wanted to welcome a class from Paris that is participating in the year-long exchange program funded by the Thomas Wayne Education fund. I hope you enjoyed Gotham so far.” The journalists were frantically noting everything down. Either for publishing or just to put it in tabloids with some conspiracy theories. “Now, onto the main reason for the announcement. You know I’m not good at speeches.” He grinned and the crowd exploded into laughter. “Since my son just returned from Paris, I’m well aware that this news would break anyway when he returned to school. I ask you to respect their privacy and… well, at least try not to bother them. May I introduce Damian Wayne and his girlfriend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Everyone started to either whisper or frantically make notes and think of questions to ask. The fact that Damian Wayne, dubbed Ice Prince of Gotham, got himself a girlfriend serious enough to be introduced to everyone was already front-page news for many of them. Even just the dress she wore was front-page news. Any journalist that dabbled in celebrity fashion would recognize an MDC original by now, at least from Jagged Stone or Clara Nightingale. The two refused to even consider anything else.

“Tt. Against my better judgment, I know that teenagers are walking gossip machines so you would all learn it the moment we entered Gotham Academy.” Damian started his speech. “As such, I want to clear any and all confusion before it can start. This,” he motioned at Marinette, “ is my girlfriend. We met in Paris and clicked immediately. I expect you to show her the same respect you show my family or I will challenge you to an honor duel.”

Damian was not even trying to hide his distaste for journalists today. He could see that Marinette was uncomfortable with this attention even more than he was. He grew up used to attention while simultaneously being taught that newspapers were at best a propaganda tool and at worst trouble to be dealt with. Obviously, he disliked them, even more, when he became Damian Wayne. Usually, he tried to remain civil to the journalists unless they were irritating. Today, he didn’t bother. Not that they didn’t know he was a private person. A certain paparazzi with a blade going through his camera would attest to that.

“Angel, do you want to answer their questions or should I?” He whispered.

“Um… shouldn’t you first tell them more?”

“No. It’s better if I only answer what they want to know.”

“Um… Maybe you start.”

“Fine.” He turned back to the microphone. “I will be taking the first question.” He pointed at Clark who had his hand in the air.

“Clark Kent, Daily Planet. Could you tell us more about how you met?”

“I joined Marinette’s class for the exchange program my Father mentioned. The only free seat was next to her, so that’s where I sat. What got my attention first was her willingness to stand up to injustice and forgive those who slighted her. She was open-minded and didn’t back down even when I was… Ehm… a bit rude.” He admitted. “I managed to ask her out and she showed me the side of Paris you don’t usually see with a tour guide. We share a passion for drawing and she shared with me her favorite place in Paris. No, I won’t reveal it. After that, my respect for her only grew when she was willing to accept an apology from a girl that bullied her in the past, helping her actually change her ways. Next question?” He pointed at a different journalist. He really hoped he picked right. The masks were making it harder than he assumed. A flaw in their plan that they overlooked.

“Vicky Vale, Gotham Gazette” The woman introduced herself and Damian resisted the urge to curse. His Father’s ex was not exactly the most favorable toward them after their breakup, even if she tried to stay professional. “What more can you tell us about the mysterious girl behind the mask? So far we know she’s from Paris and likes to draw, plus some traits.”

“May I answer this?” Mari asked Damian, thinking it was high time for her to step up and help. He nodded and stepped back so she had free access to the microphone. “Hi. I'm Marinette. Mostly, I’m just a normal girl with a normal life…” She started. What followed was quite a long introduction where she gave the press enough to satisfy them while keeping private the parts she wanted.

There were many more questions. About family, plans, dreams, etc. The young couple answered some while dismissed others as too personal and rude. Finally, after over an hour they ended the event and told those who would stay to move on with the gala while several journalists were removed. In total, ten photographic devices were confiscated and Chloé got the honors of handling everything with Tim. He was there for a technical site, she was there for intimidation.

One of the particularly irritating paparazzi tried to argue, but then Chloé started to rant until he was cowering in the corner. Pretty much everyone around them was now glaring at him with a hateful gaze. After that, they mostly behaved.

-------

“Well… that was exhausting. And it’s only ten pm?” Marinette and Damian were resting next to the snacks table. They were enjoying a moment of peace once the initial wave of well-wishers passed. Jason was keeping an eye on the class to make sure they were stopped from making anything worse for themselves and everyone else. So far they were too stunned to deal with it. He was pleased to see that Alix girl was finally doing something and pointing out many flaws in their reasoning. The problem was Lila disappeared in the crowd for the moment. Chloé was on the hunt though. She was a master of dealing with a rich crowd, probably surpassing even Drake.

“Here you are!” A voice startled the couple. Marinette and Damian turned to see a group of four people. Jon was one of them. There was also a girl with blonde hair pulled into a long braid and a boy in a blue suit with medium-long black hair and blue eyes. The fourth one made Marinette’s blood run cold. Her eyes went wide and she acted before anyone caught the wind of it. A strong straight punch sent the boy looking like Adrien flying onto the ground.

Chatter around them died in an instant. Marinette tried to lunge at him, but Jon caught her. He was probably the only one strong enough to hold her back.

“Let me go! Don’t you see he is a criminal?!” She was doing her best to get out of his grip. Damian suddenly was holding the blade to the neck of the blonde boy.

“You have five seconds to speak.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not my moronic cousin. Would you please let go of me?” He asked with a thick British accent.

“Tt. Prove it.” Damian scoffed.

“Ugh. I’m really tired of dealing with everyone taking me for a criminal just because I look like him. Ask my mother!”

Indeed, a blonde woman in a gray dress was making her way through the crowd. “Felix sweetie!?” She kneeled next to him while glaring daggers at Damian and Marinette. Reluctantly, he took away the sword but didn’t put it away. Dick and Tim also arrived.

“What happened?”

“That twit attacked my Felix!”

“Tt. He shows up and looks just like a known criminal. You should’ve really chosen something other than a black mask and a black suit.” Damian frowned. He didn’t exactly feel bad about the incident, but the press would jump on that.

“It’s alright mum. I admit I’m partially at fault. I forgot the reaction Parisians have to me right now.” He bowed his head. “Please accept my apologies.” His lower lip was bleeding.

“Um… here. Let me help you.” Marinette pulled a tissue from her pocket (of course her dress had pockets) and handed it to him. Nodding, he wiped the blood.

“Tt. I’m still not convinced.”

“Damian! That’s rude. I remember Felix. He was in Paris once.” Then, she mumbled under her breath. “Caused a triple akumatization.”

“I am sorry for that…”

“Felix joined our class this year. You left the day before he came.” The blonde girl explained.

“It was all just one big misunderstanding folks. You can move on.” Dick took control of the crowd and allowed the teens some breathing space. Except that’s when the class finally decided to start speaking up.

“Yeah right! Marinette is just a big bully! I’m in her class and she was mean to Lila from the beginning. I wouldn’t be surprised if she dated Damian Wayne just for money.” Alya had to babble. The rest of the class (minus Alix) was either nodding or giving their own confessions, real or not, and always against Marinette.

So far the Waynes avoided any accusations about gold-digging. The one journalist that tried to pick up the subject (subtly at first) was silenced by Damian’s evil eye. Now more people murmured. And the number of people able to respond was greatly limited as Damian, Chloé, Jason, and Sabine had to be restrained from hurting people.

To everyone’s surprise, it was Cass who jumped on the table.

“Shut…! Up!” She shouted. Or what stood for her shouting, which was only slightly louder than normal people’s speech. Still, it got everyone’s attention. “Cousin Nettie is… kind. Good. Sel… Selfless. She is my family. Not… digger.” She glared at several people that were still muttering. “Saw her… date with Damian. She did not let him pay. Not digger!” There was a dangerous edge in her voice. That was enough to shut people up. Except for the class.

“Of course you would protect her!” Kim stared at her. “You’re probably…” He didn’t finish because Alix covered his mouth. The girl noticed that Bruce, who was restraining Jason Todd was about to let go. She wasn’t sure exactly what would happen, but she wasn’t willing to find out.

“I think it’s time for you to leave. Where is your teacher/chaperone?” Bruce asked, also glaring at them.

“Um… Madame Bustier is…”

“Madame Cheng is right there!” Mylene pointed to where Tom was doing his best to stop his wife from grabbing the Bag and cutting the class into tiny pieces.

“I… I don’t think it would be healthy for us to go with her right now. She is very emotional right now.” Alix offered. She was trying to act like the voice of reason. Something this class lacked.

The teacher was quickly located flirting with one of the musicians invited to the gala. She was completely unaware of what her charges did.

“I’m sure it was just some misunderstanding. Marinette indeed started acting out a bit this year. They probably overexaggerated a bit.”

“Tt. You mean she stopped being a doormat?” Damian huffed.

“As I said, it’s time for the kids to leave,” Bruce said in a harsh tone.

“Oh… Okay. I’m sure Sab…”

“Caline. You’re the one responsible for taking care of them. You’ll take them away when Mr. Wayne asks.” Tom then pointed at his wife, who he was holding a few inches above the ground to keep her from doing something stupid.

“Um… Of course.” The teacher sighed. “Kids. Gather your things. We must leave.”

As they were walking out, people applauded. After Alfred closed the doors behind them it was finally safe to let the more violent part of the family free. In all that mess, nobody noticed that a certain sausage-haired girl was not with them

“Now, Wayne.” The blonde started. “Want to explain why we had to learn about you having a girlfriend from a press conference?”

“Or why did Jon know her before us?” The boy added.

“I would also appreciate hearing how my bloody cousin earned your ire,” Felix added.

“Oh! Sorry.” The girl turned to Marinette. “I’m Allegra and this is Claude. You already know Jon and Felix. We’re Damian’s friends. Or the closest thing he had to such.”

“Tt. I don’t have friends.”

“Bro. Not cool.” Claude argued.

“Shut up. Claudius.” he huffed.

“You wound me.” The teen gasped and put a hand on his chest. “Dami.”

Felix and Marinette watched from the sidelines how the quartet bickered. Jon tried to help Damian sort things out.

“For what it’s worth, I am sorry,” Felix said after a moment of silence. “My cousin is a daft git.”

“That we can agree on,” Mari said absentmindedly while trying to keep the eye on Damian. She hoped he didn’t bring the kryptonite dusters tonight.

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brideofcthulhu10 · 5 years ago

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Behold another Lost Boys holiday special! It was between this and Valentine’s day, but honestly I love writing Christmas specials, its such a cozy time despite the high suicide rates, but lets not get into that. A BIG SHOUT OUT TO @imlostinsantacarla FOR HELPING ME EDIT MY FINAL DRAFT!

Fun Fact! My husband, David (yes, that is actually his name) actually does have the bah humbug hat I mention in the head canons. He’s a heavy metal goth so when I found it at the store I had to get it for him. And you just know if our David found that, he wouldn’t be able to resist it!

Christmas with the Boys

Alright, so the whole touchy, feely and mushy feelings that surround even the topic of Christmas time is not something any of the boys will ever openly admit to enjoying. After all, they see themselves as these bad ass brutal killers who thrive off of death instead of holding hands and caroling with the goodie goodies of this coastal town.

Yet, it's challenging for them not to get sucked into the glitz and glam of the holiday season. Everything is a big deal in Santa Carla. Dia De Los Muertos, Halloween, Thanksgiving- everything! But especially Christmas.

Christmas in Santa Carla dwarfs the frenzy craze of Halloween. The entirety of the boardwalk is decked out with red and green lights that are tightly wound around palm trees, red bulbous bows are wrapped tightly around street lamps, the reds and whites of velvety fabric swirl down the posts, creating the effect of candy canes. All the store windows are painted to appear frosted, or covered with painted snowmen whilst several rooftops are covered with white felt in which mimics the texture and sight of snow. Even the boats in the harbour are all extravagantly decorated in a sea of lights that parade around brightly at night in every color imaginable.

Between the dates of the 30th of November all the way to the 24th of December the city of Santa Carla hosts a plethora of wondrous events in it's annual Holiday Festival. Large green, white and red kiosks are erected, selling a wide range of baubles and treats, from delectable chocolate coated rice krispy Santa Clauses, elf candy apples caked in a plethora of dark chocolate and peppermint, to a variety of Holiday hats, masks and even hand made costumes by the many local artists. Even hand carved candles in wondrous scents of pine, mint, or spice.

Currently, David possesses a black fur Santa hat which he acquired on a night out that boasts the words "Bah Humbug" proudly sewn over the front. It's the only holiday attire he'll even humor. Last time Marko attempted to place reindeer antlers on his head, David had set them on fire roasting atop a pan of chestnuts. Now it's not to say that he's a grinch persay. Rather, the complex and intense emotions that come hand in hand with Christmas can leave him perpetually indifferent at best, disdainful at worst. The whole occasion leaves him displeased. After all, he was an orphan who had been almost eagerly abandoned by his hooker mother left to fend for himself from the beginning, and of course never met his father. Even she could not identify which of her many clients may have been responsible. Most of his mortal life he had lived as a street rat, barely making ends meet by picking the pockets of tourists and Santa Carla citizens oblivious to the true dangers of the lower side of town. The rich and uppity classes who often snubbed their entitled noses his way would never suspect as he lurks between alleyways, leaving them cornered at knife point. It was scarce that he ever did see a kind face in the sea of those who had little interest for anyone that was not themselves. Back then it was rather uncommon for anyone to step outside their own little lives, which led to most interactions, outside of the other boys, having been met with great hostility, thus he had learned to be just as equally hostile in turn. Even the mere thought of anyone suddenly dawning a false kindness due to a certain time of year simply agitated David. It rattled him to the very core in a way very few other things did. Why bother with the lies? Couldn't people just face the very basic fact that they weren't nearly as charitable as they often deemed themselves to be? I mean, the young man had seen firsthand a family having previously snubbed a dirty homeless man with appalled disdain at the sight of his muddied clothes and dirt stained skin, only to then begin volunteering at a soup kitchen to purge whatever guilt they carried on their conscience once the holiday season began. The whole ordeal was pitiful! Nevertheless, - more so for Paul and Marko's sakes than his own -, he did humor these traditions amongst the holiday's festivities. Ruining a good time just wasn't his style. Unless they started fucking singing.

Most traditions David could tolerate, some he even enjoyed slightly; although he would never be caught dead admitting something as embarrassing as that! However, he just couldn't stand Christmas carols! They were the bain to his immortal existence. The repetitive nature of these overly cheery jingles left him covering his ears lest they nest in his brain leaving him humming the same damn melody for weeks. This was the case because the dynamic duo of dumbasses were well aware of his hatred for Rudolph the Red Nosed fuckin' roadkill! Stupid red nosed abomination.

“OOOOOOH-,” Paul begins with cheerful mischief.

“Don’t. You. Fucking. Dare.” David seethes through tightly clenched teeth, eyes screwed shut in indignance.

Paul hesitates. He looks at Marko. Marko looks at Paul. Wicked grins of agreement spread wide like wildfire across their faces as their master plan comes into play. Full throttle. What’s more fun than annoying the shit out of David? One on the left, the other on the opposite side of the cave on the right. This was nothing but Divine perfection if you asked the two troublesome vampires.

“OOOOOH DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW!” Paul belted out at full volume.

“IN A ONE HORSE OPEN SLEIGH!” Marko followed in suit, the widest eerie grin plastered on his face.

“OVER THE HILLS WE GOOOO” Paul howled enthusiastically.

“I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU BOTH!” David's voice hit a whole new octave it had never in all his life so far. All the while Dwayne had opted to vacate the room lest he be caught in the middle of the escalating madness with Laddie in tow. He loved these guys, but not enough to dive head first into their fuckery.

Paul thrives during the Christmas holidays! How could he not? The food, the punk rock covers of Christmas songs, the absolute babes prancing around the town in Santa hats under mistletoe?! He loved it all! You can find him sneaking under mistletoe with many sweet honeys on a constant basis, regardless of whether or not he's acquainted with them. Most do roll their eyes or laugh it off, but every once in a blue moon the guy will get a little lovin' from a beach babe in the Yuletide mood. What else could he ask for? You can bet he’ll run into the woods December first, and quite literally RIP a pine tree out of the ground to bring home like a wee carrot being plucked from the ground. The bigger the better! He may even drag Dwayne or Marko along with him if it's too big for him to carry himself. And all the boozy drinks he can concoct up? This boy is in his element! Mulled wine, spiked eggnog, candy cane vodka, butterscotch bourbon hot chocolate?! Yes! David straight up refuses to try anything that Paul creates himself (remember the concoction he made in Max's kitchen? Those poor goldfish....) which is also another reason why he has Dwayne help him. Or rather, the other boys insist the most responsible of them monitors the blonde lest he poison them with some sickly brew. That, and the fact that Dwayne's the least likely out of all of them to blow up the damn kitchen!

Dwayne is indeed the designated cook during the holiday rush, albeit a field even he tends to struggle. Avoiding the kitchen catching aflame, perfecting his craft lest he blow up the stove, leaving only a pile of ash in its wake. As previously mentioned, ever since the dreadful chain of events that lead to the unfortunate destruction of Max's kitchen, this raven haired vampire has attempted his hand at learning to use a stove properly: Although he often finds himself forgetting ingredients either in the midst of cooking or after the final product is done and he's taken a big bite.

“Shit! I forgot the milk and eggs!” Dwayne grumbled with a mouthful of dry crumbs, a true disgrace of a cookie.

Paul always gives him crap for it of course.

“Oooh I just thought you were going for a sandy, dusty dry cookie kinda thing.”

"Yeah man, these taste like ass!" Marko would cough out in midst of choking.

"And what, like you dumbasses could do any better," Dwayne retorts with a huff. Only Star manages to have any manners when testing his failed baking endeavors.

"Well I mean, the taste isn't that bad. Just a little dry is all."

"At least Marko wouldn't be choking to death." David would mutter from the darkest corner of the room, a little late in the conversation.

In all honesty, Dwayne's biggest motivation when it came to improving his skills was obviously Laddie. The kid never got much of a Christmas whilst living with his mom, so now that he was with the boys, he wanted to ensure that Christmas's were something that Laddie would remember for all eternity. Though granted, it is quite the mess when he was helping in the kitchen. But when the mini vamp grins from ear to ear whilst coated in flour and rapidly stirring an overflowing bowl of chunky cookie dough--the sight is too freaking cute!

Since Laddie joined the boys, they participate in Secret Santa every single year, which definitely includes Paul bursting through the entrance of the hotel as Santa on Christmas day. We won't talk about the fact that each year he almost falls flat on his face and swears, ruining the surprise for the kid.

"Santa where are your reindeer," he'd question, to which Santa Paul scoffs

"Pff, reindeer, I don't need any fucki- Ow," cut off by a firm and covert kick to the shin from Star, Paul quickly changes his response. "Oh! Ho ho, well, you see little boy, Santa can fly too! On his, uh, uhm… magic motorcycle! Yeah, that!"

But it's okay because Laddie already KNEW (he figured it out a year or two ago after Paul's beard fell off not once, but three times), he just doesn't have the heart to tell any of them because, well Paul really gets into it. And he knows the others are playing along for his sake. But to be fair, Laddie would have to be pretty dumb to believe it was Santa. I mean, the beard Paul's wearing is hanging half off his face by this point! But anyway, just like Paul's style, the entirety of the goody two shoes schpiel is thrown out the window, replaced with sleeves that have been ripped off, muddy boots, spiked bracelets and his Metallica shirt in full view beneath his flared red coat. He calls this BIKER CLAUS!

Laddie is not a squasher of traditions! But there was the one time that David had to intervene when Paul and Dwayne thought it would be great to use Laddie as the star at the top of the tree. David practically had a heart attack. Well, that's impossible but it still felt like he was having one!

“Ho ho ho! Now, don’t be a bitch, little David or Santa will have to give you coal.” Paul stated mockingly to David, brows furrowed.

“Well, Santa,” David scolds, a wry smile developing on his face when setting down the eight year old now off to shake his presents beneath their behemoth of a tree. “You best be careful. You never know what's in those milk and cookies, hm?”

Each year Marko buys bird toys for the pigeons in the hotel. Well, buy is probably the wrong word. More like he liberates the stores of their stock. And then for the next six months, David has to hear the agonizing jingle of bells. David almost roasted one pigeon in particular that kept flying over him to drop the ball with a bell in it on his head. That was Paul's entertainment for the next five hours, hell, he'd try to find it if the bird lost it and give it back. Marko defends the pigeon. Between running through stores buying up surprises for his friends, he's helping Paul throw out decorations for the cave. The dollar store has some surprisingly unexpected treasures, allowing him to deck the fucking halls to the max. Tinsel here, ornaments there, tiny light up trees to hide around the caves, a butt ton of cinnamon pine cones which he ends up throwing back and forth with Paul.

And Paul often steals his gifts or goes dumpster diving for any hidden gems. He forgets to take the tags off of them the majority of the time, which is always an indicator whether or not its new. Any time Star asks where he got them from he refuses to answer. Just gets up and walks away. But for David's gift? Well this lucky bastard has found coal in the dumpster and chucks it to David when he's not looking and he sighs deeply in disappointment because this is the third year Paul has done this.

"Huh? What? Who did that? Wasn't me. Somebody's throwing stuff."

Other than that he'll find a fat bag of charcoal and just tape the name David on it. David is certainly not amused. Dwayne will actually try to figure out what the others want, and has the sense to save the money taken from their previous meals. After all, they're dead, they wouldn't have much use for it anyway. He's not about to waste his hypnosis on some poor cashier. That would be a waste of time in his eyes.

When Christmas did arrive the tree was piled with mysterious boxes crudely mashed and taped together with bows and ribbons underneath it. It's obvious which ones are from Star since those gifts are wrapped in neatly pressed paper, wound tight beneath curled ribbons that remind the boys of her hair. Marko often goes on a food run rather than allow them all to be subjected to a potentially charred turkey, no offense to Dwayne of course. So, with a table covered from end to end with copious bowls of gravy, potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, a beast of a turkey in the center packed to the brim with cornbread stuffing, the boys cram into their chairs knocking back beers and spiked cider. Keeping to their own traditions, after fattening up, they gather around the tree and play card games, just as they had over eighty years ago on that frigid night. David still slays them in poker, and Marko is an utter dark horse when it comes to blackjack. Paul insists they try Go Fish. No one ever wants to play Go Fish. Closer towards the end of the night Dwayne will slip away to Jasper's shrine and bring him a fresh glass of rum as well as unwrapping what he got him that year. While Dwayne is there, the other boys will join him - omitting Star and Laddie left unaware of the Lost Boy they'd never met - in celebrating the last hour or so of the Holiday season with their fallen comrade.

Although Christmas time is often about uncomfortable mushy moments and emotions that create deep, unfamiliar times for David. The entire ordeal becomes that for everyone of the boys and Star. But God forbid anyone who even mentions it! I mean, it's kinda obvious though considering he's spending it with the people he always called family, knee deep in traditions that are sentimental to himself and the boys. There's a fluster of emotions running rampant during this particular Holiday Season, and although the blonde brooding vampire decides to squint at it with skepticism he savors these moments, knowing like Jasper, it could all be swept away with a single ray of light or the foolish hand of a hunter. So as they sit, drunk, full, and laughing beside Jasper's grave he can't help but smile at the sentimentality of it all. Christmas is a pain in the ass, but… it's a pain he'll gladly sit through for his brothers.

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rosesisupposes · 6 years ago

Note

If you're craving prompts, might I humbly request DLAMP, "we keep doing everything out of order."

…this took much longer than I planned, and is far longer than I planned. Also, much fluffier. But I hope you like it, dearest @potestessemagishomosexualitatis 💗💗

Last To Know

Pairing: (hurtling towards) DLAMP

Warnings: immigration, marriage of convenience, mild swearing? I think that’s it

Word count: 3,135

Tag list: @residentanchor @royally-anxious @bewarethegrammarpolice @jemthebookworm @arandompasserby @sparkly-rainbow-salt @astral-eclipse @thelowlysatsuma @adorably-angsty @max-is-tired @almostoveranalyzed @hawthornshadow @mariniacipher

read on ao3

There was a very reasonable explanation for all of this. It had been purely a logistical decision. Four acquaintances of Logan’s needed a place to live in his city; Logan had four vacancies in the house he owned and rented. He always kept the top floor for himself, making new tenants a risk, but he at least knew of the others through a combination of mutual friends, shared classes back in undergrad, and generally living in the same area.

They’d settled in fairly easily, right up until Roman confessed his visa was running out and he would likely have to leave the country. Patton had immediately started crying and hugging Roman and insisting they’d find a way to keep him there. Logan was unaware of when Patton had started caring so much. But even Virgil looked distressed, and Damien started wondering aloud how well they could hide him in the house so that he didn’t have to leave.

“Why can’t you apply for a new visa?” Logan asked.

“I’m no longer a student, and I’d need a more regular job for them to sponsor me for a full green card…” Roman said, facing Logan with some difficult thanks to Patton still being twined around him.

Dee’s dark eyes alit. “I know! You should marry one of us! Spouse visa! And then you can work on citizenship!”

“Isn’t that a bit extreme-” Logan started, but he was interrupted by Patton and Virgil both raising their hands as volunteers and Dee cackling in delight.

“But how to choose,” Roman said mournfully. “All my best friends in the world, how could I possibly marry only one of you!”

Virgil suddenly smirked, and Logan looked over curiously. “You know…” the dark-clad man said thoughtfully. “If you’re marrying someone for a visa, it really should be someone responsible and trustworthy. Someone who could believably support you.”

Logan had no idea what he was talking about, but suddenly all heads were turned towards him, and there was a more-than-a-little disturbing resemblance in the mischievous grins on each of his housemates’ faces.

Roman gently dropped Patton back onto the couch, and strode over to Logan wearing his “pompous prince” face (as coined by Virgil, of course). Stopping a foot away, he bowed elegantly.

“Dearest Logan, generous landlord, resident nerd, first stop for endearing space trivia and Sherlock obsessions, would you do me the great honor of giving me your hand in transactional matrimony?”

Logan blinked once. Then twice. Then attempted to speak but only achieved opening his mouth like a particularly stunned fish.

“Is that a yes?” Patton whispered to Dee in the background.

“I think it’s just gay panic,” Dee whispered back, looping an arm around the smaller man’s waist.

“…me?” Logan finally got out.

“Yes, my textually-charged academic,” Roman purred, taking Logan’s hand in his. “I need a man to support me in this foreign land of haw-yees and rednecks, you are the only one I trust to protect me.”

“Hey, we’d protect you too!” Virgil objected, sitting down on top of the couch. “But if you were in trouble, Patton would cry, I’d probably end up punching someone by accident, and Dee’s plan would either end in flames or crimes or both.”

“…isn’t this proposal also Dee’s plan?” Logan asked weakly.

“Yes, but this one is wonderful,” Roman said, kissing Logan’s hand in a way that was not distracting at all, thank you. “Plus, this way you don’t need to find a new lodger midway through the year!”

“I suppose that is a perk,” Logan admitted. “And the immigration process is so convoluted, this would likely be easier…”

“That’s the spirit! Almost!” Patton cheered. “Logan, you own a tux, right?!”

“Yes, why?”

“For the wedding, silly!”

~~~~

Logan really should have thought this through more. But the house had dived into preparations before he could properly object. Dee had made a Pinterest board and “ironically” sent Logan post after post of nerdy wedding aesthetics. Patton kept sneaking up on Logan and Roman with cake samples to try. Virgil popped his head into Logan’s room on a regular basis with out of the blue questions like “Black Parade could be a reception song, right?” and “How many volts of fairy lights could we run without fucking over the electric bill?”

And Roman just kept… being Roman. Flirting outrageously in that way that clearly meant so little to him but was starting to mean something to Logan himself. He’d taken to kissing his hand a lot and greeting him as “my darling fiancé,” and sitting next to or practically on top of him whenever the group was in the same room. Logan found himself agitated by how easily he was blushing now, all the time.

Roman had apparently opened the floodgates, because everyone was being far too affectionate now. Yes, Patton had always been a hugger, but now he kept planting kisses on Logan’s cheek, and holding hands with Dee, and sitting on Virgil or Roman’s lap and sometimes both at once. Dee flirted with, Logan was quite sure, every single person he laid his eyes on ever. But now he kept upping the ante and using fantastical phrases and wordplay tailored to the object of his attention. Logan had had no idea that being called ‘starlight’ would be quite so jarring and endearing and infuriating all in a moment. And Virgil had entirely betrayed him. They used to be the two reasonable ones, or so he thought. But no, Virgil was willingly participating with all of this madness, and had an amazing irritating habit of rubbing the nape of his neck when he was stressed so that all his muscles went involuntarily fluid and relaxed.

Logan arrived home one day to see their small backyard decked in lights, all the lawn furniture moved to the side so that the patio was clear. Patton greeted him at the gate with a hug and yet another cheek kiss as he said, “Lolo! Thank goodness you’re home, you need to get changed!”

“Whatever for?”

“Silly, it’s the 15th! The wedding!”

Logan stopped in his tracks. “I thought we weren’t going to the courthouse until next week?”

“Yes, but the semester will be over and all our friends still in undergrad won’t be able to make it. So we’re having the reception part tonight. We had this whole conversation after the movie last week, don’t you remember?”

But Logan did not. He didn’t even remember which movie it had been. Because Virgil had been slowly stroking his hairline, right at the back of his neck, and Patton had been lying across his lap so that he was across all three of Roman, Logan, and Virgil, and Roman had been giggling and leaning into his side in a way that it only made sense for him to lift his arm and drape it around him, and Dee had been telling Virgil how lovely his eyes were and… Logan had absolutely no memory of any other conversation that may or may not have happened.

But apparently that meant they had a party tonight.

Virgil convinced him to wear the tux still, and Patton blocked off the kitchen to finish the cake in secret. Dee kept making cracks about helping him change, but Roman was mysteriously absent all afternoon. Logan definitely didn’t miss him. It had only been a couple of hours! That would be silly and ridiculous and not what a highly logical person would do.

As 5pm arrived, Logan was in his well-tailored midnight-blue tuxedo. Dee, grinning in a tux with a bright yellow tie and matching gloves, arrived at his bedroom door to ‘escort the groom to the festivities.’ Somewhere on the walk down the stairs, Virgil joined them in a plain but nice-looking suit in black with a purple vest.

They walked out into the yard, filled with friends from the city and university they’d all attended. Everyone was in various forms of ‘their best’ from sundresses to cocktail dresses to gowns, from suspenders to jackets to tuxes, and some wonderful mixes of the two. Patton, glorious in a blue dress, had a microphone (where had they found a mic?) and greeted all his housemates happily and loudly.

“And now that the whole gang’s here, we can welcome the star of our hearts and the show! Roman, come on out for your first dance!”

Logan was pushed into the middle of the patio and Virgil held his shoulders facing away from the house. He could hear the door opening behind him and some “awws” and gasps from the crowd. Logan turned to look but Virgil held him, grinning. “Patience,” Virgil said teasingly.

Finally, the arms released him and Logan turned. Roman was only a couple of feet away, and he looked… stunning. He was wearing a gorgeous fluffy gown of red and gold and sequins, and matching makeup. Logan reached out a hand without thinking, and Roman took it with a smile. Music began to pour out of the speakers.

“It’s a beautiful night/We’re looking for something dumb to do/Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you”

Logan snorted. “A little on the nose, perhaps?” he murmured.

“I wanted to be precise,” Roman said back, lacing their fingers together and placing his free hand on Logan’s waist. With Roman taking the lead, they started to dance around the small dance floor of the patio. Virgil had done an amazing job with the fairy lights, rigging them to create a ceiling of sparkles that cast them all into a warm golden glow.

Roman suddenly smiled wide, and spun Logan around, letting his hand go free. Before Logan could catch himself, Dee caught his hands instead. Now Logan and Dee were waltzing around the floor in parallel to Roman, who was now dancing with Virgil. Their height difference made it a little awkward for Virgil to reach Roman’s shoulders, but then he lifted Roman by the waist to spin him through the air. The watching crowd whooped, and Roman laughed out loud, and Logan accidentally stepped on Dee’s foot because he forgot to watch where he was going. He stumbled, but was caught by something soft and blue. He looked down into huge blue eyes and a freckle-dappled smile.

“Thank you, Patton,” he said. “I’ve not quite got the hang of this dancing thing.”

“Maybe I can help!” Patton replied, pulling Logan close and guiding them into a simple waltz. “One-two-three, one-two-three,” he counted softly, and Logan followed the count, watching his feet.

He kept looking up slightly and then down again. Something about how bright Patton’s smile was, and how the lights reflected in his glasses and eyes, he just couldn’t look too long. But he did note that Dee and Roman were dancing now, some complicated dance that Logan felt himself mentally tripping just watching. But the two biggest drama queens of their house were in perfect sync, moving with fluid precision and both grinning hugely.

A tap on his shoulder pulled Logan’s attention to his side. Virgil smiled comfortingly. “Can I cut in, Lo?”

“Of course, Virge!” Pat said, stepping back. Logan was going to object to yet more dancing, he was, but Virgil had dressed up for this, and he was just self-conscious in front of crowds, so it would just be more polite to not turn him down. Virgil guided Logan’s hand to his hip, and Logan most definitely did not blush to be able to feel the shorter man’s muscles even through his formal outfit. And Patton had swirled off to dance with Ro, something much less regimented but with plenty of twirls and giggles. Dee kept the music going with “Can’t Keep My Eyes Off Of You,” and Logan and Virgil danced sedately, just swaying and turning.

“Virgil, why isn’t anyone else dancing?” Logan asked. “I thought after the first dance, the guests joined in?”

“Well, that is how it works for traditional weddings, yeah,” Virgil said in his familiar rumble. “But what about this is traditional?”

Logan chuckled at that, and let himself relax into the dance. Roman parted from Patton to change the music as Dee and Patton started to swing dance. Virgil and Logan both grinned watching them. Clearly all those old movie marathons had paid off.

Finally, Patton broke off and grabbed Virgil away from Logan. As the shortest members of the household, they were matched perfectly, and Virgil was willing to twirl and lift Patton to make the other man wriggle and laugh. Roman took the opportunity to pull Logan into his arms once more, and the crowd finally started to fill out the dance floor.

“Have I told you how good you look tonight, Logan?”

Blushing would absolutely be his cause of death. He hoped there wasn’t an afterlife, otherwise he would never live it down.

“I… thank you. Your dress is very dramatic and a little ridiculous but it’s so you.”

“They told me I couldn’t have a quinceñara,” he replied with a sniff. “So what better way to celebrate now?” They spun in relative quiet for a moment, when Roman smiled softly. “So, are you enjoying our wedding so far, Lolo?”

“You know, I rather am,” Logan admitted. “My feet are starting to get a bit tired, though.”

Roman swept Logan up off his feet and into his arms. “Is that better?”

Logan blushed hotly, muttering, “I meant I needed to sit down.”

“But is it better?” Roman wheedled. “No lying to your almost-husband, dear nerd.”

“…yes,” Logan admitted, and Roman laughed. The world was fairy-lights and glittering gowns, Logan was surrounded by his favorite people in the world, and later there would be five-tier cake and Crofter’s. It wasn’t something he’d ever expected, but he wasn’t such a stick-in-the-mud that he wouldn’t admit that it was magical.

~~~~

The flourescent lights of the courthouse were a far cry from the dreamlike lights of their reception, but today was the day and they were getting legally married. Logan was still a bit unsure about how they had reached this point, but found he cared less and less.

The whole house had come, of course, Patton linking Virgil’s and Dee’s arms around his own as he bounced in excitement. They waited through the decently-sized line until they finally reached the desk.

“Good morning, we would like a marriage license, please,” Logan said.

The clerk grinned just a bit bigger. “Congratulations! And what date would you like it made out for?”

“Today, please,” Roman said happily, linking his arm with Logan’s and squeezing. Patton make a sound of delight behind them.

The clerk nodded, and typed on the computer until they were interrupted by a question. “Do you know if it’s possible to enter a legal partnership with more than one person in this municipality?” The seemingly-idle question was in Dee’s unmistakeable drawl.

“Oh, yes, certainly! Marriage, domestic partnerships, and adoption can all be amended to have any number of partners. I think we need special permission at ten or more, but even that is still possible, just a longer process.”

Roman squeezed Logan’s arm tighter. “Lo? Is that okay?”

Logan looked back in confusion. “This is for you, Roman. Whatever you’re most comfortable with.”

Patton squealed again, and hugged them both from behind. “Form for five, please!”

Logan supposed that was all right. That would make it more believable, right? If Roman was equally committed to all his housemates, that would be more reason to let him stay in the country. And it made Patton so happy.

He felt slightly divorced from his body as he went through the motions of showing his ID, and signing the forms, but suddenly they were finished, and Roman had his arm looped around him on one side and Dee was on the other. Pat and Virge were on the outside, both snickering as the group tried to walk down the hallway without detaching with varying levels of success.

They were married. All five of them. And Roman would get to stay.

As they got home again, they all ended up sprawling across the couches. They fell into their most comfortable configuration, with Logan the only one sitting normally. Patton was taking full advantage of being the small one to sit across their laps. Dee was lying on the back of the couch up against the wall, fingers intertwined with Roman’s where he lounged diagonally with Pat’s head in his lap. Virgil was upside-down from the back of the couch, curled oddly so his head was on Logan’s thigh but Pat could still hold his hand.

Logan sighed contentedly.

“Whatcha thinkin’, Lolo?” Dee asked, a little sleepily.

“I was just reflecting on how comfortable I feel with you all. Even though we started as mere acquaintances, I do think of you all as very much like my family, now. And it’s rather nice that we’re legally a family now, for however long.”

Logan didn’t see the glances exchanged around and over him, but did hear Roman’s question. “How long would you like us to be, Logan?”

“Well, as long as it takes for your citizenship, of course.”

“What about after that, L?” Virgil asked.

“I… I don’t know. Divorce is rather a process, I suppose we could stay in this arrangement until a large enough inconvenience comes along to justify it.”

“So… you would like to stay married to us all?” Patton asked. Logan couldn’t tell what his tone meant, but there were hints of… curiosity.

Logan answered slowly. “I believe… yes. I would. I am… rather fond of you all, and always appreciate the time we spend together, for whatever reason.”

Roman smiled softly, and reached out to pat his face. “We love you too, Logan.”

Logan blinked. “Love? In which sense of the word?”

“Romantic, you dummy,” Dee muttered, practically falling asleep on the back of the couch.

“…wait, you… all? Romantic? Love?” Logan stuttered.

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Yeah, man. Normally that’s what marriage means. Plus our first dances? Of the people in love?”

“Hey, don’t make fun of Lolo, he’s not that good at his own feelings,” Patton chided. “Yes, cupcake, we all love you. We thought you knew.”

“Oh,” Logan said, blushing. “I… apologize for being the last to know. I suppose it’s a good thing that I’ve fallen in love with you all, too. We keep doing everything out of order, don’t we?”

“Nah, ‘s just you,” Dee said, snuggling into the blanket Roman had just passed him, seconds from sleep.

“But we all got here in the end,” Virgil said, a comfortable rumble on Logan’s left.

Logan ran a hand through Patton’s soft hair, and smiled at Roman, who’d started it all. “Here’s to arriving, then. I look forward to being your collective husband.”

“We love you too, Lolo.”

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cosplayinamerica · 5 years ago

Photo

GARRETT

I’ve enjoyed costumes for as long as I can remember. As a kid, Halloween was always an excuse to make costumes. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I became a more serious cosplayer. While I was in school, the original Star Wars Battlefront came out and I fell in love with the Stormtrooper and Clonetrooper armors. After searching the internet and reading all kinds of websites about the armors, I eventually bought a kit and started costuming in earnest. This was back in 2006 and I’ve been building, buying and modifying props and costumes ever since.

Vash the Stampede was the first cosplay that was completely homemade. He also was constantly evolving and being modified. We killed 3 sewing machines making the first duster coat because the heavy duty vinyl would jam up constantly. The gloves and boots were constantly being changed because I wanted to add different details or found a better way to make it. This was back in ‘09 I think, so I don’t remember exactly how things went, but there was plenty of good feedback and folks liked what I did..

One good memory I have of him was when Trigun Badlands Rumble came out. There was a special screening at a convention, AnimeFest I think, and I got up front and posed for people yelling “Love and Peace” and hyping people up. Totally improvised and nobody threw me out so I’d call that a win!

Vash is definitely not a summer costume, let alone a TEXAS summer costume. That said, I wore it plenty of times in the heat. Both coats I have were made to open quickly so I could get air, but basically I’d just sweat and deal with it.

Once upon a time I was a member of the 501st Legion, a Star Wars charity group. I’m no longer a member anymore only because life is so busy and I haven’t the time, but I did a few events with them. The one that sticks out in my mind was a Christmas parade benefiting Children’s Medical Center. I participated in full Stormtrooper armor in the cold while having a broken shoulder. Earlier in the year I had fallen and busted my shoulder but stuck with my commitment to the event. I marched the whole time focused on getting to the end, the cheers were my motivation.

The Dark Knight trilogy, in particular the second movie, The Dark Knight, are still my favorite Batman stories. I grew up on Adam West’s Batman and the animated series from the 90s, but the Dark Knight made Batman feel real. I’d tried so many times to get a good batsuit put together but always was dissatisfied. Eventually I broke down and got my hands on the UD Replicas suit I’m wearing in this book. The cape and cowl were individual purchases from Etsy. So really I didn’t make anything on this one but I had a blast wearing it despite all the sweat!! Folks always love Batman and having an opportunity to make smiles is great fun.

Cosplay is a great hobby and I love it for the creative process, but more so I love it for the interactions with people. It’s an opportunity to talk with someone who loves the same things, and the ‘play’ we put on is like a handshake between friends.

(Top : 2009 / Bottom: 2018)

#cosplayinamericaV3

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yuzusorbet · 6 years ago

Photo

Fantasy On Ice, Sendai, May 31 (Fri) to June 2 (Sun) 2019 ~my account~

[wrote it for myself, to remember all the little details]

When I heard that Sendai was one of the places for Fantasy On Ice 2019, I immediately knew I had to get tickets. I made my first trip to Sendai in April 2018 for Yuzuru Hanyu’s Olympic victory parade and I fell in love with Yuzu’s hometown. FaOI Sendai would be the perfect occasion to visit again! I quickly asked some friends for help and, miraculously, they managed to get tickets for all 3 shows from the official ticket draws. I’m eternally grateful! At that time, Yuzu’s participation was not yet announced but we knew he would be there. Even if he couldn’t do jumps yet, he would definitely make an appearance in his hometown. Weeks later, it was announced that he would be in the shows in all 4 locations. Fans were delirious with joy! Besides the thought of seeing him, it also meant he was recovering well!

This would be my 4th Yuzu-ice show. 2015 I went to FaOI Kobe; 2017 Niigata; 2018 Shizuoka. So glad Sendai is an FaOI location this year; it’s the first time!

I flew into Tokyo Haneda Airport and took the shinkansen to Sendai. My hotel is very near the main station. The show venue is Sekisui Heim Super Arena, in a small town called Rifu, north of Sendai, in Miyagi Prefecture. It is not easily accessible, so there were special shuttle buses to take us there from Sendai Station. We had to buy the bus tickets from a vending machine in 7-11 in advance. Cost for a 2-way ticket was 2500 yen, half-price for one-way.

Day 1, Friday (show time: 5pm)

At about 3pm, I followed signs that pointed to ‘FaOI shuttle bus’, which basically meant following the crowd. (The long queue was to the right of this photo.)

Boarding the bus in an orderly manner. Each bus moved off once it was full.

On the bus, I looked around me and wanted to laugh.... everyone’s phone screen or wallpaper was Yuzu’s face! hahaha...... it was surreal. xD

It was a long bus ride, about 45 minutes. We finally reached and I saw many stalls selling food outside the arena. But the sky was grey and rainy, and suddenly the drizzle became very heavy rain. I quickly lined up to go into the arena. Thank goodness I had my waterproof parka. Much better than an umbrella!

When I got to my seat, I had a nice surprise. The people sitting next to me were Taiwanese fans that I had met during Yuzu’s parade last year! So happy to see them again!

Besides the great company, my seat position was really good too. Right in the centre of one long side (East) and not far from the rink for an ‘A’ seat! (First row is Premium, then Arena, SS, S, A, B.)

While waiting for the show to start, we chatted and exchanged gifts. One of them gave me a little drawstring bag with a single feather embroidered on it. A simple design that is so beautiful, especially for us Yuzu-fans. I was so touched. I only had snacks from my country to offer. :P

Then the show started. When Yuzu came out for the opening, we all screamed!!!! He danced with so much energy and happiness pouring out of him and his jump was awesome! It was a 4T with a high kick, and then, as he danced in front of the whole group of skaters, he did a “I can’t hear you, c'mon” kind of gesture to the audience. (You can see it HERE.) OMG he was so cool!!! I don’t know how the people sitting on the short side, right in front of him, survived.

2nd part of the opening: Yuzu skated in with Jeff, Javi and Luca, and they were joined by 4 ladies. His pair dance with ice dancer Anna Cappellini was so cute! And he was so smooth and confident!

Individual performances: so many wonderful performances…. I will mention some of them at the end.

When singer ToshI came onto the stage, he said, “Sendai is figure skating and we have 2 Olympic gold medalists here… Arakawa Shizuka (loud cheers) and Hanyu Yuzuru!!!!!!” (loud screams) Then he did the Yuzu-call......

ToshI: YUZU!! (points mike to audience) Audience: YUZU!!! ToshI: YUZU!! Audience: YUZU!!! ToshI: YUZU!! Audience: YUZU!!! ToshI: But he’s not coming out yet. (hahaha…..) (Next was Stephane Lambiel.)

Yuzu’s performance was last, as usual. 'Masquerade’ was so passionate and intense that my heart was thumping like crazy and I had to scream at many parts (and I heard others’ screaming as well). The music plus ToshI’s singing was very loud and drowned out our screams, thank goodness. When Yuzu threw down his glove at the end, we all jumped to our feet and screamed and clapped. MASQUERADE WAS ELECTRIFYING!!! Video here.

Finale: Yuzu came out in the finale costume (black and white with frilly sleeves). So handsome! After the group number, he disappeared backstage while the others did their jump or spin battles. He appeared again wearing the FaOI tee, wiping his face with a towel and sipping from a water bottle. Then he went to stand next to Plushenko. He tried the quad lutz, popped first time, then 2nd time he stepped out a bit. When all the skaters started to go back in, one by one in a line, he did the 'high ten’ with each of them, some hugged him, he twirled Anna, and then Luca twirled him! haha…. that was so cute! Then as always, he stepped out of the rink, and from the side of the stage, he shouted “arigato gozaimashita!!!” He bowed, walked backwards while waving, and before he disappeared through the curtains, he blew us a kiss!! I think I died……

The show ended at about 8.30pm. Rainy, dark, and took forever to get onto one of the shuttle buses that took us back to Sendai Station. But head is totally filled with Yuzu and Masquerade, and heart is totally happy. :)

Day 2, Saturday (show time: 2pm)

On Day 2, I did not take the shuttle bus. My friend Ella came to watch the Saturday and Sunday shows. Her Japanese friend rented a car and drove us there. (5 of us in the car made the shared cost much cheaper than the shuttle bus ticket.)

It was a sunny day and I was very excited about the food (which I did not try on Day One due to rain). From afar, I saw the tentage.....

When I got there, the whole place was like a carnival! As I wandered around, someone suddenly tapped my arm. It was my fan-friend K-chan! How amazing that she spotted me among the crowds! The last time we met was one year ago at FaOI Shizuoka! So happy to see her, even if it’s only for a minute. xD

The stalls were awesome. I have never seen food at previous ice shows! The food sold here were specialties of Sendai and the regions nearby, and there were long queues at every stall. There was nama biru (draft beer), miso ramen, yakisoba, gyu-tan (grilled beef tongue), croquette with bits of gyu-tan inside, skewers of Yonezawa beef (famous beef from Yamagata), and zunda soft serve ice-cream (zunda = sweet edamame bean paste).

Above: my Zunda ice-cream.... so yummy.

Above: Gyutan. Below: Croquette and Yonezawa beef.

I wish I could eat everything! But I only had time to try these 4 things over Sat and Sunday. They tasted SO GOOD. (Thanks to Ella for her recommendations!) There were many benches near the stalls and people were sitting there enjoying the food under the blazing sun.

It felt like a festival to celebrate Yuzu being there. :)) Besides the official merchandise, there were also booths selling Sendai snacks in beautiful FaOI packaging and music boxes of Ballade No.1 and SEIMEI. There was even a photo booth with staff helping fans to take photos! xD

And when you got into the ice arena, every seat had a plastic bag with some promotional material and a pack of FaOI Sendai wet wipes! haha….. so you could wipe your sticky hands and mouth if you brought food in to eat!

Sendai, you really are the best! :D (So, I have 3 of these wet wipes from the 3 days but I can’t even bear to open one of them to use!)

For Day 2, I was on the other long side (West) and a bit off-centre nearer the short side. So I had a totally different angle of the show and my row was nearer the rink than yesterday -- fantastic! The person next to me was also Ella’s friend and she offered me some lovely sweets. Yuzu-fans are really sweet! :)

Opening: Yuzu fell on his opening 4T, so when he came out again with the other 3 guys (Jeff, Luca and Javi), he did a beautiful 4T before doing the usual steps with the others. Hahaha, I was laughing inside, that is so HIM!

In the middle of show: ToshI’s YUZU-call this time was even longer than Day 1! Felt like we were at a rock concert! He made each side of the rink call out “Yuzu!” 3 times, like a battle to see which side was louder. So it was one long side first, then the short side (in the video below, you can hear it’s a bit softer cos short side has less people), then the other long side. Toshl says in his blog that this is the “やりすぎ編😅 ”, meaning the “too much (or overdone) version”. Haha…. I like Toshl. (Didn’t know him before this.) We were all so high shouting “YUZU!!!” with all our lung power! xD Video of Day 2 Yuzu-call (ToshI’s blog)

Something comical: During the flying acrobatic skaters’ performance, I could see 4 or 5 men at one corner outside the rink pulling the rope to raise the skaters into the air. They were running to and fro holding the rope and they were so funny! End of performance, when the 2 skaters bowed, the men also bowed in their corner and waved as they marched off in a line! Haha........ (this could only be seen from seats on the West side.)

Intermission: In previous FaOI’s, during intermission, 2 of the skaters (but never Yuzu) came out in zambonis and shot little presents to the audience, like signed FaOI tees. So I waited a while but there was nothing happening... (same for all 3 days). So I went for a walk to stretch my legs. Went to put my fan letter into the gift box for Yuzu. It’s just a simple postcard from my country. :)

Last performance: Yuzu’s ‘Crystal Memories’ –- so beautiful I think I forgot to breathe. The Y-spiral was near my side of the rink. His right leg raised up high was slowly lowered in a beautiful line with his body and it was just so heavenly to watch from where I was. So many other exquisite moments...... words won’t do justice. Watching live, costumes always sparkle and glitter 100 times more than what we see on screen. Yuzu was so sparkly he looked like an angel of light, sent from heaven to bring beauty and love to our world. Video of 'Crystal Memories’

Finale: As the skaters skated around the rink waving, Yuzu skated slowly, looking up at the audience. I think he was trying to see as many fan-banners as he could. Like yesterday, he went backstage to change out of the finale costume and wore the FaOI tee to do the quad challenge. The 4Lutz today was a step-out/hand-down. The staff were putting some chairs onto the ice near the stage. When Yuzu realised it’s group photo time, he dashed backstage and came out very quickly in the black-and-white finale costume again, and he was grinning away. Haha, it was a really quick change! I wonder who the lucky person was, helping him backstage. xD

At the very end: He shouted 'arigato-gozaimashita!’ and we shouted back 'arigato-gozaimashita!’ Then, just before he disappeared into the curtains, he did the phantom 'take-off-the-mask’ gesture. And we SCREEEEEEEEAMED!!! xD

I floated on cloud nine to the car park..... Soon we were on our way back to Sendai Station area. In the car journeys to and fro, the music was excellent, thanks to a friend who has a Yuzu-playlist in her phone which she connected to the car stereo. All the music that he has skated to, from novice til now.... SP, FP, exhibitions..... ahhhh what great music..... it was really the GREATEST selection!

As we reached Sendai Station area, a funny thing happened. Our friend drove onto the wrong road and we found ourselves on a highway going off to a different area! She frantically looked for an exit but there were none. We just had to keep going on this highway, further and further away from Sendai Station! Then I saw a sign saying we’re heading for「泉中央」...... hey, isn’t that the area of Ice Rink Sendai? We’re heading for Yuzu’s home? Our friend kept apologising for going the wrong way but we told her IT’S OKAY!!!! We’re going to Yuzu’s home!!! Hahaha..... the wrong road suddenly felt so right! xD

The sun was setting..... We became quiet.... gazing at the golden colours of Yuzu’s hometown while his music serenaded our senses.

(Glad these photos I took with my iphone in a moving car turned out well.) After driving for some time, our friend found the way back towards Sendai Station. We were late in joining a group of fans for dinner but what a nice little detour we had! Very grateful to our Japanese friend who did all the hard work while we just soaked in the sights and sounds!

Day 3, Sunday (show time: 1pm)

For Day 3, I bought a one-way shuttle bus ticket as I would return by rental car. Like Day 2, I lined up for food before the show. The lines were very long and there were staff holding signs that said “end of line (food name)” for each stall so that people would know exactly where to queue. Moving slowly in line, I used the time to admire the Yuzu-world around me. Almost everyone was wearing or carrying things that showed their love, like Ciontu tees, Pooh keychains and Irene bags. I myself was wearing the Phiten mirror ball necklace. Some things were so beautiful and unique and I took photos. (edit: separate post made on this; link is below.)

After eating, I walked around and spotted Yuzu’s signature near the arena office! It was from year 2010! At that time, the wing in his signature was very distinct. So cute. :)

Close to 1pm, I went into the arena to look for my seat. I had an ’S’ ticket and I was excited about being much nearer the rink than the previous 2 days with 'A’ tickets. But when I got to my seat, I saw that I was only just in front of my row yesterday! Realised that my 'A’ seat yesterday was the FIRST row of all the 'A’ seats and my S seat today was the LAST row of all the S seats. Hahaha…….. I was a bit disappointed but then I was really lucky for the A seats! (Seat order: Premium, Arena, SS, S, A, B)

The good thing is, I was on the West side again and nearer the stage this time. I would be able to see Yuzu going in and out very clearly! And I had my concert binoculars! I bought it just the night before, from a budget shop near my hotel. Sometimes the shows provide rental of binoculars but this one didn’t. I usually use it for the finale, when the skaters are just having fun, so I can see Yuzu’s cute expressions. :)

I was also extra happy as I would be sitting next to Ella who came into the arena soon after me. 2 Japanese fans behind us heard us talking and knew we were not Japanese. They showed us a huge folder with many Yuzu clear files and pamphlets, and asked us if we already have them. We said no and they took out some to give to us! Omg..... what super nice fans!! They said they would be going for Kobe FaOI and Toyama FaOI as well! They were at Worlds in Saitama too! (Wow, I wish I could say the same!) How lucky we were to sit in front of them!

Opening: Wonderful like the other days and Yuzu did a beautiful 4T. After the group performance, as he walked towards the backstage curtains, he took off his outer mesh top and swung it around, just before he disappeared thru the curtains. Haha.... how cute can he be…… xD

Middle of show: ToshI said he talked too much yesterday so today he would say less. The audience protested a bit with an “Ehhhhhh??” But there was no Yuzu-call today. :(

During Masquerade, Yuzu fell on both his jumps. For us fans, it did not matter at all, but we knew he would feel terrible about it. I wondered if the temperature was affecting him as the venue was very warm. Day 1 was OK but it was warmer on Day 2, and on Day 3 I was actually sweating a bit in the middle of the show. And I wasn’t the only one feeling it cos I saw people fanning themselves. Literally a very hot FaOI.

Finale: After the group number, Yuzu disappeared backstage to change into the FaOI tee while the others did jump/spin battles. Came out with towel and water bottle. Wiped sweat, drank water. Then he did some stretching, and sat on steps at the side of the stage and massaged his legs for quite a long time. (So glad I was seated that side and I saw him so clearly.) I guessed he was getting ready for the quad lutz ….. because he fell on both his jumps during Masquerade, he really wanted to do a good jump for us. He tried 3 times - popped twice and fell on the last one. And decided it was enough. Thank God! I was getting worried because he had only just recovered. My heart was in pain watching him try so hard. Yuzu, we know you always want to give your best. But please take good care of yourself! (One week later, he did a beautiful 4Lz in Kobe Day 3! YES!!!!!!!!)

At the end, instead of the usual deep bow towards all the skaters and artists, he knelt down and bowed with his head on the ice.... orz. He looked so cute and funny doing that and we all laughed, but our hearts were aching cos we knew he was feeling truly apologetic and extremely ‘kuyashii’....

For the final skating around the rink to wave to the audience, he went to Plushenko and pushed him to the start of the line, then Plush and Yuzu 'circled around each other’ trying to make each other first in line, haha….. it was so sweet. Video (from Plushenko’s IG)

At the very end, at the side of the stage, he took the mike and said a few words. I cannot remember what he said except for this: - Actually this is not Sendai…. (it’s actually Rifu, just outside Sendai) - He wishes FaOI will come here again. (what else did he say…….. sigh, my head must have been too overwhelmed by this time.)

After shouting arigato-gozaimashita (without the mike), he walked backwards towards the curtained doorway, and just before he disappeared, he bowed deeply and said 'arigato-gozaimashita’ again (with the mike). My heart deeply and sincerely also says, “Yuzu, arigato-gozaimashita!” Thank you for everything you do!

At past FaOI’s, I always bought one tee and one towel. (I think they only had one design each.) This year, they had 2 designs each and it was so hard to choose and Yuzu wore both tees and I love both colours of the towel..... so I bought everything (goodbye my money). And the FaOI book of course; the cover and photos inside are so beautiful.

I felt this was the best FaOI I’ve ever attended. I will mention briefly some performances that I love a lot.

~Shizuka Arakawa: so beautiful and elegant; love her skating, esp her spiral and layback ina bauer. Love her costumes too. One was white and sparkly, the other had a Japanese style. Both performances were excellent. ~Nobunari Oda: Music from the movie 'Ghost' - his skating was so sad, I almost had tears. Then 'Mission Impossible' was so funny!!! Really love Nobu-kun! ~Stephane Lambiel: Love both numbers, especially the one with ToshI singing the sad and beautiful Japanese song 'I Love You'. ~’Akai Sweet Pea', sung by ToshI, skating by Johnny Weir. I love this song! Originally sung by Seiko Matsuda. ~'Monochrome' by Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte: So amazing!!! Everything looked like a black-and-white movie! The colour on their skin must have taken a lot of time and effort. Their performance was superb! ~Rika Kihira: So energetic and strong! Love the choreo. ~Satoko Miyahara: skated her new SP on Day 1 and her new FP on Day 2 and 3. I like both a lot! ~Javier Fernandez: the flamenco performance was so fun!

Plus all the other performances, I enjoyed them all! Thank you to all skaters and artists and staff!

On Sunday, once the show ended, Ella rushed out of the arena with her huge bag. There was a taxi waiting to take her to Sendai Airport to catch her flight home. I was a bit worried she would miss her flight but she made it, phew! And she saw some skaters at the airport! Jeff, Scott, Rika and Satoko! Wow, they are fast! :D

A big thank you to Ella and all the Yuzu-fans I met. I received so much love and so many gifts..... really grateful to all you wonderful people!

The little pouch with a feather was perfect for my new binoculars. Will be bringing them along for future events. :)

So many beautiful things and memories added to my treasure chest..... Dear Yuzu-kun and Yuzu-fans, til we meet again, take care and God bless!

(Next, I will write about the other places in Sendai that I visited on this trip.)

*All photos are taken by me. (some faces are blurred for people’s privacy.) *If my memory is not so accurate for some details of the show, my apologies. :)

Added later:

Part 2: Yuzu-world

Part 3: home rink and Olympic monuments

Part 4: Nanakita Park and schools

Part 5: An unexpected journey

Part 6: yuzu and zunda

Part 7: other Yuzu sightings

#fantasy on ice #FaOI Sendai #Yuzuru Hanyu #this is so late cos I was so busy #glad i finally finished it #faoi 2019

138 notes · View notes

ladyhistorypod · 4 years ago

Text

Episode 6: Ask Santa to Bring a Vote for Mother

Sources:

Mabel Ping-Hua Lee

National Parks Service

National Women’s History Museum

Further Reading: Women’s Vote 100, 18 Million Rising

Delilah Beasley

California State University Northridge (CSUN)

New York Times

Huntington Library

Ohio History

KQED

Ida B. Wells

History Channel

National Women’s History Museum

National Parks Service

Black Past

New York Times

Chicago History Encyclopedia

Washington Post (Alana definitely did NOT cry while reading it)

Further Reading on race and suffrage: NPR

Attributions:

Dooley’s Address

“Your mother’s gone away to join the army”

Cheering Crowd

Click below for a full transcript of the episode!

Lexi: I started my internship at the Air and Space museum,

Haley: Woohoo!

Lexi: and the first day I am there, we have a live chat with a WASP expert who talks about Jackie Cochran and how Jackie Cochran might have been a racist. And I was like, there’s new layers to this story. And I know it sounds weird but I'm thrilled that this person might have been a racist but I'm just always interested to learn new things about people that I have known things about.

Haley: No I love when these stories come out and people are adding like the actual history part of it.

Lexi: the context, the history, the actual person’s views because we often just like glorify a figure.

Haley: And that’s a lot with the suffragists. This topic has it.

Lexi: But it's just so interesting because we often glorify these people. We can't accept that she did really awesome things by getting women into the Air Force but also did really shitty things by making sure Black women didn't get into the Air Force. So.

Haley: Yes. Exactly.

Lexi: But she did let in Asian women. There were apparently two Chinese American WASPs. I also learned that.

Haley: On a side note, can we– if we get reviews can we like read the reviews?

Alana: You wanna do a segment where we read reviews?

Haley: Like every week being like– because we can do that as like our banter if we can't– and be like “our weekly review is…”

Lexi: Listener shout out. Here’s a review.

Haley: This person.

Lexi: Yeah.

Haley: Yeah

[INTRO MUSIC]

Alana: Hello and welcome to Lady History, the good the bad and the ugly ladies you missed in history class. Coming to you virtually from my closet turned podcasting studio is Lexi. Lexi, if you were a single issue voter, what issue would that be?

Lexi: Probably bird– bird care, bird health, bird ability to exist, bird ownership.

Alana: Are you a birds’ rights activist?

Lexi: I am a bird rights activist.

Alana: And her face is partially hidden by my clothes but Haley, aka a Sprinklebear McPuss-n-Boots, is here too. Sprinklebear McPuss-n-Boots, it’s been two weeks since we last recorded and we already did one episode tonight, did ya think I’d forget?

Haley: I really was hoping you would forget. I did. I kind of– I keep forgetting it’s Sprinkle McPuss-n-Boots. I keep thinking it’s Sparkle or something. But like once in a while that’ll creep into my mind.

Alana (laughing): Lexi is losing her shit.

Lexi: Please contact us and direct your message to Haley using this title, please.

Alana: To Sprinklebear McPuss-n-Boots. And I’m Alana and please, god, register to vote.

Haley: My registering to vote has not happened yet because of the god damn DMV. And it makes me so mad.

Alana: I'm still registered in California. I haven’t switched.

Haley: I’m registered in New York.

Alana: But I might be moving in January, so…

Haley: Back to California?

Alana: No, in with Lexi. Hopefully. We haven’t talked about that.

Lexi: We’ll see.

Alana: We’ll see.

Lexi (stammering): GW?

Alana: That’s the dream.

Lexi: But, um…

Alana: GW has to let me into school first.

Lexi: Yeah.

Alana: Okay, who's going first that's not me?

Lexi: Mabel Ping-Hua Lee was born in Guangzhou, China on October 7, 1897 so shout outs to her upcoming one hundred and twenty third birthday. Can we get some happy birthdays for my girl?

Alana: Happy birthday in the chat.

Haley: Happy birthday.

Lexi: Happy birthdaaay. I don't know how to say Happy Birthday in Chinese because, as is a common theme on this show, none of us speak Chinese, as you may know, as you may have knowledge of. But anyway. When Mabel was four, her father, a pastor, moved to the United States to work as a missionary and Mabel stayed with her mother in China. At the age of nine, Mabel earned a special scholarship which was called the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship. I'm unsure why it is called that. That scholarship she received, and it allowed her to obtain a visa and move to the United States, to go to school in the United States. And in 1905 her entire family relocated to New York City's Chinatown so that Mabel could pursue her education in America. There is no direct record of how Mabel got involved in the suffrage movement, but it is clear that through being a young, educated woman living in New York City, she was able to participate in activities being led by local suffragists. And then, Mabel was beginning to become a leader in the movement in her own right. In 1912, Mabel helped manage a parade for suffrage and she rode horseback; she helped direct the marchers from the parade starting point at Greenwich Village. Historical accounts suggest at least ten thousand spectators witnessed the parade which she led. Her participation in the suffrage movement led to another accomplishment: she was featured in the New York Tribune and The New York Times as a teen activist and icon of New York’s suffrage movement. That same year, Mabel started school at Barnard College, a women's school founded because Colombia was a men's only university at the time. She decided to major in history and philosophy. In college, Mabel joined the Chinese American student association and wrote for the Chinese students’ monthly paper. Her essays, such as “The Meaning of Woman Suffrage,” supported her fight for women's rights. In 1915, Mabel gave a speech for the Women's Political Union and was again featured in The New York Times her speech was called “The Submerged Half” and focused on the gender divide in the Chinese American community. She urged Chinese Americans to educate their daughters and allow women to participate in civic life. In 1917, women in New York earned the right to vote in their state. In 1920, some women were given the federal right to vote with the passing of the 19th amendment, but many women, including Mabel, still could not vote. Mabel, like many other Chinese Americans, longed for citizenship and voting rights, but they could not obtain either. They were restricted from gaining citizenship through the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. Mabel would have to keep fighting in order to obtain her right to vote. After finishing her undergraduate degree, Mabel earned her MA from Columbia's Teachers’ College and she later earned her PhD in economics, also from Columbia. She was the first Chinese woman to earn a PhD in economics. She also published her thesis “The Economic History of China.” Shortly after Mabel finished her doctorate, her father passed away. Mabel decided to take over his role as a church leader, becoming the director of the first Chinese Baptist Church of New York City. She also founded New York City's Chinese Christian Community Center, which offered courses in English and vocational skills to newly immigrated Chinese Americans. The center also provided health care and child care to the Chinese community. The Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed December 17, 1943, sixty one years after it was first enacted. The repeal of this act meant Chinese Americans could become citizens, and in doing so, earn the right to vote. Mabel passed away in 1966. No record of Mabel becoming a US citizen or exercising her right to vote exists. Scholars remain unsure if the girl who fought to retain the right to vote for so many other women ever even voted herself.

Haley: Wow. I love her. I know her from…

Alana: That’s really interesting.

Haley: I know her… Where do I know her from? Oh! A history book in high school. She was like briefly mentioned. And I get into this kind of like my background and women's suffragists that she's mentioned, then never again. And that that happened so many times in high school to so many different women. They just plop their name in, but not give like a history? Like I only knew Susan B. Anthony, and I thought Susan B. Anthony in my head did everything of the suffragist, or suffrage movement, as it was explained.

Lexi: I actually think it's really amazing your high school book mentioned her because currently, as of 2020, no K-12 education standard in the United States mentions an Asian American woman by name. So...

Haley: So let me… maybe it wasn't a book– let me rephrase this. My junior year American history high school class I remember her name coming up.

Lexi: That’s just pretty impressive that your teacher included something that was off of the course standards because–

Haley: She was a rad lady.

HALEY’S STORY STARTS

Alana: Alright Haley, go for it.

Haley: So my gal today is Delilah Beasley. So born in Cincinnati, Ohio on September 9, 1876. She was mainly the kind of known as an Oakland gal. Shout out to the American Bookbinders Museum in San Francisco. That was my summer internship. I'm finishing, actually my internship up right now and she's one of the people I had to research for our exhibit that's online now but will be in like our gallery hall. And it's celebrating “Celebrating the 19th Amendment, Suffragists in Print” because it’s a printing museum. She’s from Ohio, but she's known in like the Oakland, Bay Area so she's a local gal, for our museum. And I loved like researching the local gals knowing that I wouldn't be in San Francisco all that long. But also it was really cool if you guys look on the actual exhibit– go, again, plug– the American Bookbinders Museum “Celebrating the 19th Amendment,” we have like maps of San Francisco and where all like the printing presses from like the suffragist movement were at and like I've been to that street! Like I know exactly that building, I've been at the like Jamba Juice or the Starbucks or the Gap that’s right there. So that's very super cool. So back to Delilah. She is known as a writer, columnist, activist, suffragist, and just overall an incredible human being. Before I want to highlight that, being a Black woman, Delilah Beasley is often overlooked when discussing women's right to vote and the suffragist movement. In her early life, she attended a segregated Cincinnati public school and by the age of twelve she had begun to write and publish short social notices in the local Black newspapers and some White newspapers such as the Cleveland Gazette and Cincinnati Enquirer. She continued to write at the young age, published in high school, and spent time learning about journalism by working for the Colored Catholic Tribune. In the 1880s– so again she was a teenager– her parents died and her siblings were separated. She had to leave her life of journalism and to be employed as a maid. As a maid, she also held so many different jobs and I couldn't figure out if she specifically was a maid and then left the job, or just had three jobs at one time. I wouldn't be surprised if she had three, four– as many jobs as she needed to sustain herself and her sibling. But some of those jobs included her being a hairdresser, hydrotherapy, medical gymnastics, massage therapy, nursing– and she never let go of that ideal dream of being in journalism. In her spare time, she would be researching Black history and becoming part of the thriving women's movement, especially within Black women and social groups. Some years later, she enrolled in history courses and began training herself in historical researching by visiting various libraries, diving into those archives that us as museum gals know and love, and conducting oral interviews with older Black residents and I believe there was one, but it could have been many– this article that I read noted one in particular about their personal experiences as a Black person growing up and living in the United States. And again this is late 1800s, early 1900s. She spent several years examining California newspapers between the 1840s and 1910s, both Black and White, at UC Berkeley's Bancroft Library. I believe that's still the university library today. She soon began lecturing on Black history and eventually published articles in the Oakland Tribune and the Oakland Sunshine. After nine years of intense research on Black history, Beasley published “The Negro Trail Blazers of California” which was all about Black pioneers who had largely been left out of history books, and the stories dated back to the early Spanish exploration of the United States. And honestly I did not hear about this book in history class. So, yes this is fantastic that this was published and was circulated, but our school system needs to do better and actually incorporate this rather than gloss over it. I’m gonna just say it; I'm gonna put it out there. In 1923, she started her own column “Activities Among Negroes” in the Oakland Tribune. She wanted to use her voice to highlight the achievements of Black Americans, support Black dignity and rights, raise awareness, and overall encourage forward movements towards building space for equality to blossom. And let's just put on another note: we still need to do a lot of work. Black lives matter. She would also travel to different newspapers and– major ones and small ones, the gambit– in the peak of newspapers and the suffragist movement to try to convince the editors to stop using racial language. And honestly I can just imagine her walking in with her own column and her own work being like “I did it, look at this. We don't use bad words. We aren’t offensive. If I can do it, you can do it. Let's all try.” Like she was very encouraging of… this is not saying this is wrong which, it is wrong, let's be clear about that, but more showing the right way to do it; putting it into a more positive perspective which, honestly, it's negative. Don't use that harmful language in your writing. Bottom line. Over the next two decades, Beasley would also serve as an active member of the NAACP, the Alameda County League of Women Voters, the National Association of Colored Women, and just so many different active groups for suffragists, women's education, Black women movement, Black lives, just in general. She's also the president of the Far Western Inter-Radical Committee at the Oakland Museum, which side note, this is a very inclusive museum. Like snaps to them; they are just amazing at getting their community as Oakland involved, just the community as the Bay Area involved, trying to be as diverse as possible. It's definitely on the bucket list of Bay Area museums and I was supposed to go the week after it closed for Covid, which is really depressing because I had two free tickets from one of my classes. We just got them from like a speaker. She came in with vouchers and was like “here are vouchers that I have” and I was like “I want that.” Anyway, I digress. Delilah Beasley continued writing her column “Activities Among Negroes” until her death in 1934. She's buried in Oakland, and I even did like the find my grave so that's available out there. Be respectful if you look it up and go. And I just want to leave you all with something she wrote which I think resonates with what we've been talking about as suffragist movement, recent months with Black Lives Matter, just like Delilah Beasley in general, truly just please go Google her; such an inspiring human. ““My life plus others make a peer to move the world. I, therefore, pledge my life to the living world of brotherhood and mutual understanding between the races.” Like, so simple. That's what I really kind of admired of her, and everything I had to write about her for the exhibit and just own research for this podcast going back. She was never a person– and this is seen in the suffragist movement– of you're wrong, I'm right.

Lexi: When I worked at the Smithsonian Libraries and was working on an American women's history project, she was on our short list of women who were being considered to be featured, but unfortunately didn't make the final cut.

Haley: There's a New York Times, I believe for my– look at the show notes everyone, don't quote me because I don't have my notes in front.

Alana: Lady history pod dot tumblr dot com.

Alana: So there is like– I'm looking at my notes, there is a New York Times I used, the Huntington Library and Art Museum. But for just even I usually type in Delilah Beasley museum. I do that for all my women. I see where they came up in museums. That also connects you to like history sources. National Park Service, libraries… and like I couldn't find like bios about her. It was more they were showcasing specifically Black women and suffragist movement or women's rights. Which is not bad.

Lexi: Well the library– the library was going to consider her because they had some of copies of the stuff she wrote. So–

Haley: Oh, that’s amazing.

Lexi: I think she comes up a lot in like how you found about her from a print type–

Haley: Yeah.

Lexi: I think she comes up in like books and writing based places.

Haley: That is definitely one hundred percent true.

Alana: Okay, so, I will be talking about Ida Bell Wells, or Ida B. Wells, her middle name and her last name rhyme and when she gets married actually which is really interesting is she doesn't change her last name she doesn't take her husband's last name. Which if your middle name and your last name rhymed, I would not… I would not change my last name either. Her name is Ida Bell Wells. So she was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi on July 16, 1862 into slavery, right at the height of the Civil War. She's the oldest of eight children and then after the war her parents became very politically active, like in Reconstruction Era, especially her father helps start Rust College which is a historically Black college in Holly Springs, it's still around today. And that is where Ida went for early schooling. And eventually she was may be expelled? I couldn't find anything to back that up but somewhere was like oh she got kicked out for starting some shit with the dean or something and I was like I don't see this anywhere else but interesting, okay? In 1878, she is sixteen years old and her parents and her youngest brother died of Yellow Fever. So she lied about her age to take a teaching job. She convinced the school in Holly Springs that she was eighteen and so she could teach and that's how she is supporting her… her siblings, was by teaching. And just like, becoming a parent essentially. And then in the 1880s she finds another teaching job in Memphis, Tennessee and she moves up to there. Fun anecdote: in 1887, she bought a first class train ticket but was removed because she's Black and segregation and so they wanted to like force her into the smoking car and she refused because she was like “hello, I bought a first class ticket you're gonna put me in the first class car. That's what I paid for. Capitalism.” So when she refused, she was kicked off. She might have bitten someone. She might have bit the guy who removed her. Maybe. I hope she did.

Lexi: People were doing it long before Rosa Parks, I’m just saying. Before buses existed.

Alana: Before buses existed and we were biting people. (laughing) Rosa Parks up your game, maybe bite someone. (more laughing)

Haley: We don’t condone biting–

Alana: We don’t condone biting.

Haley: –on this podcast. Please, do not–

Lexi: I personally condone biting racists, but okay.

Haley: Okay like bite racists.

Alana: Biting racists is fine, but also keep your mask on so maybe not right now for the biting racists?

Lexi: Actually yeah. Right now no biting.

Haley: Also, when you bite people, like why do you want their skin…

Lexi: You don’t want their germs.

Haley: ...on you. Just don't bite people. Punch them maybe? Like if they're being bad bad people like don't go, don't–

Lexi: But the human jaw is a powerful tool.

Alana: It’s true!

(Lexi laughing)

Alana: Anyway, (laughing), so, regardless of whether or not she bit someone, which is my favorite thing in the whole world, she sued the railroad for making her leave, essentially.

Lexi: Even better than the biting. Sue the racists.

Alana: Even better than that: she won. Haley’s face is just like “what?” And I’m like yeah! She won. She won five hundred dollars, and I didn't really feel like doing that conversion from 1887 money to 2020 money but it's probably a lot. Unfortunately, later the Supreme Court overturned it. Like the railroad– it appealed, and appealed and appealed and the Supreme Court overturned it and Ida was forced to pay court fees, so I guess that's where the five hundred dollars went. But that's really– something that's really cool.

Lexi: Wait I just checked. It's thirteen thousand dollars.

Alana: It's thirteen thousand dollars? That's so much money. Okay. It's not that much money but it's so much money.

Haley: I would gladly take thirteen thousand dollars. That's a lot of money.

Alana: After being a teacher for a while, she's starting to publish articles about race issues under the name Iola I-O-L-A in Black newspapers and periodicals. Especially like as a teacher she talks a lot about segregation in schools and how this is like not good for the kiddos. This separate but equal that's bullshit everything sucks. And this launches her journalism career. She ends up owning shares of the Memphis Free Speech and Headlight and Memphis Free Speech, which are Black owned kind of newspapers in Memphis at the time. In 1892, she turns her attention to covering lynchings after her friend Tom Moss and his business partners were murdered because their grocery store was taking customers away from the White grocery store. And so she publishes this pamphlet called “Southern Horrors.” And that's all I'm gonna say about her investigations of lynchings because this is a fun podcast, and that's a little dark, and I think only one trigger warning episode per ten episodes, and we just about a couple weeks ago. So no. After she's calling all this attention to lynchings, she had to– she's run out of Memphis. She has to leave. And she moves to Chicago, and from Chicago, after fleeing Memphis she writes: “If this work can contribute in any way towards proving this, and at the same time arouse the conscience of the American people to demand for justice to every citizen and punishment by law for the lawless, I shall feel I have done my race a service. Other considerations are minor.” Which I just think is very poignant that like, yes you ran me out of my home but if this is what fixes it, so be it. After moving to Chicago, this is where she begins to gain international notoriety, and found some organizations. She travels around the world talking to the suffragists and criticizing them for not talking about lynchings and just being like, “Hi. This is cool, what are you doing for Black women? What are you doing for people of color? What's your deal? Tell me. Why aren't you thinking about this?” And in 1894, she establishes the British Anti-Lynching Society and comes back and settled back in Chicago. This is just like all of her really cool organizations that she's founded. In 1896, she becomes a founding member of the National Association of Colored Women. She brought her anti-lynching campaign to the White House in 1898 to President McKinley and demanded reforms. I don't think anything happened, but she did go to the White House to demand reforms so that's cool. In 1909, she was at the first meeting of an organization that would later become the NAACP, but she's not listed officially as a founding member possibly because they weren't like action based enough for her at the beginning. She wanted like real action in their mission statements and they didn't say anything about that. So on January thirtieth, and I'm only bringing up the exact date do you guys wanna guess why the date January thirtieth might be important to me.

Lexi: Because it's your birthday.

Alana: It is my birthday, you win as friends. So January 30, 1913 she founds the Alpha Suffrage Club, and they play a pivotal role as soon as that June when they get on the Illinois Equal Suffrage Act passed. They play a pivotal role in 1915 in getting Chicago's first Black alderman elected and his name is Oscar DePriest. Ida and several of her Alpha Suffrage Club members are invited to the 1913 Suffrage Parade in Washington DC, but the organizers were worried about offending the Southerners and so they make the Black women and the women of color march at the back. And Ida is pissed, and she won't march with them until the White contingent is past her and then she joins the parade. Which, cool? But also you're still marching at the back? I don't really understand what point that you were trying to prove? I don't know. But okay, cool. Just a little bit of the boring stuff, this is actually the most boring part about her is I'm talk about her husband and her children. Super boring. In 1895, after returning from England she married a man named Ferdinand Barnett who was an attorney and a fellow activist and they had four children. And Ida did not take his name, which was extremely odd for the time, and still not like as big a thing in 2020. It's gaining traction, but it's not like the norm. Another interesting thing about their relationship is that he did the cooking and the cleaning and made dinner for their children almost every night.

Lexi: You said this was gonna be boring! I’m not bored I’m interested!

Alana: This is how cool this lady is– is that even the most boring shit about her is super interesting. His activism and his law career kind of took a backseat while he was raising these children and she was going out and just being a political activist and all around badass. I mean– and he's like at home with their kids, which I think is really cool. In her final years, she was kind of fading from popularity and influence but she still worked on urban reform, especially mass incarceration was something that she was really involved in and– and actively… like that was her cause. She switched from– once women like got the right to vote she was like okay cool, sort of, for now. Let's talk about mass incarceration.

Lexi: We're still talking about it today.

Alana: We're still talking about it today. Nothing changes. Nothing changes. That's a bad– I'm going last, that's a bad note to end this podca– this episode on but… nothing changes.

Haley: Change is gradual and slow.

Alana: Change is gradual and slow. That's true. So the last few years of her life she actually becomes a probation officer and works like with these people who have been mass incarcerated and like rehabilitating them sort of. In 1930, she ran for Illinois State Senate and lost horribly, but she still ran. That's pretty cool, like she is not… Women running for office is not new, which I think is really interesting. At the age of sixty eight in 1931, she died of kidney disease. And I just feel like she was doing so much good all the way until the end, that it's very moving. There is now a– we all lived in DC for a while– there is a mosaic of her at Union Station in DC. And the mosaic is made of other suffragists and their posters and their propaganda… and no comment as to whether or not I cried reading The Washington Post article about it. No comment. I will not be taking questions at this time.

Lexi: One of my coworkers, her friend worked on the exhibition and she was able to get a poster of the pos– of the floor and it's in her house now.

Alana: That's so cool. I– I did cry. If that wasn’t obvious, I was reading about it and I cried.

Haley: Go vote. Please. Do everything in your power to vote in this pandemic.

Lexi: Visit vote dot org. Register yourself, to vote, get voting information. Go check out how to vote locally, use a mail-in ballot if you are in an area where you don't think it is safe for you to go to the polls. If you can get to the polls, get to them. Wear a mask to vote. Be safe!

Alana: There are also areas that you can sign up to be a poll worker.

Haley: Yes.

Lexi: Yes!!!

Alana: Which is what I'm doing. I have signed up for that because–

Haley: I love that.

Alana: –a lot of them are paid, and I have no money. Despite being a professional podcaster I have no money. And it's just like a way to do good in your community, especially in like underserved communities.

Lexi: So yes, get to the polls. Help your friends get to the polls.

Alana: Make sure your friends are registered to vote. Register to vote.Vote early.

Haley: Also just raise awareness. If voting is something difficult for you, like for me I might not even be able to get like a write in ballot because I will be moving and then in quarantine to go vote. It is still unknown. DMV is not handling it well for me. But like I’m still spreading the awareness of voting. Spread the history of how women, Black people, other people of color, other countries, even, getting their right to vote. It's helpful knowledge as a U. S. citizen.

Lexi: And remember some people in America who even are citizens cannot vote, so…

Haley: Exactly.

Lexi: Use your right to vote so you can do it for them who can't.

Alana: So the two websites that you should go to in addition to our show notes are power to the polls dot org– I think it’s dot org– and vote dot org to check your registration.

Lexi: And if neither of those work for you, dude, there are so many other websites out there. Find the one that works for you, get the information you need, figure out how your state and your local community handles all this.

Alana: People I feel like are like “it's a right to vote.” And yes it's a right to vote, but also it's your responsibility. I think if you can it's your responsibility.

Haley: And voting matters. Like your vote matters. I know a lot of people will even say recently that your vote doesn't count– absentee ballot doesn't like matter. No, it matters. Come on. Our electoral college is very screwy and needs a lot of work. Just our whole system needs a lot of work, but regardless, voting is important.

Lexi: Okay.

Alana: And we have to vote out the fascist. Lexi, you can decide whether or not to keep that in. But vote out the fascist. It’s the last chance we have.

Lexi: I am sure people can already assess our political opinions based on the topic of our podcast.

Alana: People can guess.

Speaker 1: And the fact that we’re archaeologists. And out of work.

Lexi: You can find this podcast on Twitter and Instagram at LadyHistoryPod. Our show notes and a transcript of this episode will be on lady history pod dot tumblr dot com. If you like the show, leave us a review or tell your friends, and if you don't like the show keep yourself.

Alana: Our logo is by Alexia Ibarra, you can find her on Instagram and Twitter at LexiBDraws. Our theme music is by me, GarageBand, and Amelia Earhart. Lexi is doing the editing. You will not see us, and we will not see you, but you will hear us, Next time, on Lady History. Go fucking vote.

[OUTRO MUSIC]

Haley: Next week on lady history it'll be raining men. Psych. I'll be reining in my urge to sing and we will be talking about some fabulous queens.

1 note · View note

rebelminxy · 6 years ago

Text

Once a King, Always a King- Sunday

Pairing: KingBacchus!Jensen x PlusSize!Reader

Word Count: 6960

Square Filled: Dirty Talk

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Warnings: Explicit Content, NSFW, 18+, Oral (Male Receiving), Some drama, Smut, Unprotected Sex

Summary: Jensen is heading to New Orleans to participate in Mardi Gras as the King of Bacchus. But there is one girl he wants to celebrate the fun filled weekend with. Now that he has the chance to show her how he really feels, while being in her hometown and having some fun together, will their relationship blossom to more than just friends?

A/N: So, first off, I have total respect for the Ackles family. I adore their family dynamic and this fic isn’t meant to offend them in any way whatsoever. This is purely written for fun and I send the Ackles family all the best positive vibes I have hoping they continue to be as happy as always. For this fic, Jensen is single. I got the idea after seeing a few videos of his time down here for Mardi Gras and seeing him dressed as the King of Bacchus at the parade. This is my fifteenth square filled for @spnkinkbingo. Feedback is welcomed and hope y’all enjoy it!

A/N 2: I honestly don’t have Jensen’s entire schedule that he had while he was here, so I will mention the ones we know about from social media and add a few things here and there that he could possibly have done while in the city.

SERIES MASTERLIST

SPNKinkBingo

Masterlist

“Are you sure we have everything?”

(Y/N) stared at Jensen like he was crazy, grabbing him by the hands the moment she saw the worried look in his eyes. She pulled him close and looked into his eyes.

“Everything is set. The outfit fits you perfectly and all will go well, ok?”

“What if I fall off the float? What if I get too tired to stand up the entire time?”

(Y/N) leaned in and gave Jensen a soft kiss on the lips. That simple kiss helped calm his nerves just a bit. He placed his forehead on hers and they both kept their eyes closed as she whispered for him to breathe along with her. Once Jensen felt his nerves calm down more, he opened his eyes to see her looking at him.

“You will be great. If you do get tired there is nothing wrong with you sitting down.”

“Wish you were up there with me.”

“Trust me bud, wishing the same right now. But keep in mind, if you get nervous, remember I am waiting for you at the convention center, and I can’t wait to see your float ride in.”

Jensen took in a deep breath and smiled as he let it go. He placed a kiss on her forehead and pulled her into a hug. As he heard his name being called out, he looked down at (Y/N) and nodded his head, letting her know he was going to be alright. She smiled back at him and let him go, waving at him as he climbed into the bus that would take him to the beginning of the parade route.

That morning had been a hectic one. (Y/N) distracting him the best she could, making them stay in the hotel room until it was time to leave for Jensen to get into his king costume. And even after her distractions and calming words, he still felt nervous about this. Luckily his friends would be riding the float he was on, but they would be wearing masks. The bus ride to the start of the route was loud and rowdy, he and his friends making a toast with the champagne they were provided, but Jensen couldn’t drink more than one glass from fear of getting too tipsy.

When the bus arrived at the spot where all the floats were waiting, Jensen’s mouth dropped to see all the people sitting along the street, waiting for the float. An officer that was guiding Jensen and his friends to the float he was riding smiled at him.

“Just so you know, the majority of these folks have been out here since six this morning. The tourists and locals alike take their parade spots seriously.”

Jensen could only look on with wide eyes as he watched people all around, some eating and other barbecuing.

“And this is only the start. Wait til y’all get on St. Charles,” the officer continued as the group finally reached their destination.

Reporters were surrounding the float and once they saw Jensen arrive, they flocked around him.

“Happy Mardi Gras everybody!” Jensen exclaimed at the reporters, pulling on his megawatt smile for the cameras.

“What are you looking forward to tonight?” asked one reporter.

“What am I looking forward to?” Jensen asked back, debating his answer. “Umm, getting on that throne, looking around. I think, its that turn on Napoleon, right?” he asked the Captain of Bacchus who was next to him. “Coming ‘round Napoleon, seeing that crowd, that’s what I’m looking forward to. I’ve heard about it, just talked to Andy Garcia about it. He’s like ‘stay tethered, my friend. Stay tethered,’ so that’s what I plan to do.”

A few more reporters asked some questions, but the Captain told them that it was time for Jensen to get on the float. The reporters were moved out the way as Jensen and his friends made their way to the float.

“Yo, J! You got a text message!”

Jensen turned to his best friend who was holding his cell phone for safe keeping. He grabbed the phone from his friend and looked to see a text from (Y/N). He unlocked his phone to open the message and what she wrote to him had him wanting to blush.

‘Can’t wait to see you riding that float when you get into the convention center. Seeing you in that king costume and crown, makes me want to kneel at your feet and service you like a slave would to her King. You, sitting on a throne as I suck you off. Good luck!’

Jensen quickly turned his phone off, doing his best to get the visuals out of his head after that. He handed his phone to his friend and followed the Captain. He was sure after that text message, he wasn’t just nervous, but turned on as hell. But, he did his best to control himself and got up to his seat on the float. He was locked into his harness and was told to hold on to the posts next to him at any turn made so he won’t fly off the side. He was given bags of beads and told not to throw so often so as not to run out. He also had bags of coins. If he ran out, he was to make a sign at one of the riders so they can lift another bag by him.

It was all easy to remember, and they even placed a few bottles of water behind him if he got thirsty. He was told that there would be two spots where they would stop at and he would be presented with a glass of champagne to cheer on the parade, which made Jensen glad he only had that one glass. Once the Captain was done explaining all he had to, he climbed off and left Jensen at his spot on the throne. Jensen took in a deep breath when they alerted everyone the parade was beginning and he kept in mind (Y/N)’s words before they left the hotel.

‘You got this and remember to enjoy the ride. This is a once in a lifetime thing so enjoy it as much as possible. Plus, you got tons of fans out there waiting to see you, so smile and be your lovable self. Just view this as a con, and this is your solo panel. You gonna rock it, J.’

====================

Once Jensen spotted the convention center, he smiled to himself as he grabbed some beads to throw over to the crowd. It was a long ride, already dark out by the time his float reached Canal Street. And cold. He couldn’t believe how many people were out on the street in this cold, many who rode out the heavy rain that poured in between the parades. Even in his costume, he still felt the wind chill.

But the entire ride was exciting. The moment the parade began to roll, Jensen forgot about his nerves and his excitement level grew as the crowd began growing wild. He threw coins and beads out, smiling and happy to see a few fans out there. He heard people scream his name and camera’s flashing or recording him. It was all welcoming and not once did he worry about getting too tired or falling off. He felt more at ease as the ride went on. Once they reached the final stop on Canal, he was greeted by Mario Lopez and Harry Connick Jr. in front of the Marriot hotel. They thanked him for being King of Bacchus and welcomed him to the roster of kings.

This would be one of the greatest nights of his entire life.

His float rode into the convention center where crowds of people waited for them to roll in. He scanned the crowd, trying to see if he could spot (Y/N) as he threw out the rest of his beads and coins. He couldn’t see her, but he had hoped to see her at the area where the float would stop at so everyone could climb off. And when they arrived there, his eyes fell upon the beauty standing below, waiting with a bright smile and waving up at him.

(Y/N) had gone back to the hotel to get changed it since on his way to the parade route, she wore her AKF t-shirt and a pair of washed out jeans. But here she stood in a black and cream satin and lace dress. The skirt was short in the front, barely hitting the middle of her thighs, and long in the back hitting right at the top of her calves. She wore a black leather jacket, black heels, and giant black hoop earrings. Her makeup was to par, all glam with a black smokey eye and her hair loose in waves around her face.

Jensen couldn’t stop staring at her as he climbed down, his friends already surrounding her. Once he joined them, he noticed she was handing out sunglasses with plastic around them. She looked at Jensen and smiled at him, handing him a pair.

“They are glow up glasses. They all change color gives more of a party or rave feel. They are giving them out to everyone here but grabbed a few for y’all just in case.”

“Man, (Y/N), you are the best!” one of Jensen’s friends exclaimed, giving her a high five.

“Plus look how pretty she is looking tonight. Jensen, you lucky dog!”

Everyone laughed at the comment, Jensen wrapping an arm around (Y/N)’s waist to pull her close to him. Once his friends dispersed to the big party room, Jensen pulled (Y/N) to a dark corner and pushed her up against the wall.

“What was with that text message before the parade?” he asked huskily.

“Just wanted to help with the nerves,” she groaned back as Jensen’s hands grazed along her curves. “Did it help?”

“Just gave me something to look forward to for later.”

“Yo! Jensen! They need you for reporters!”

Jensen groaned in complaint, wishing he could just leave with (Y/N) back to the hotel so they could spend the night together.

“Time for you to play the role of King, J.”

“Wanna join me with them? Don’t have to say a word, just keep me company.”

“Ooo, be the king’s personal handmaiden as he is being interviewed by his subjects?”

“Don’t give more ideas sweetheart.”

“OK, ok I will behave. But let’s go before they really come looking for ya.”

===========================

Turned out the interviews had to wait. The Captain wanted him ready to welcome in the crowd once the last float had arrived. As Jensen stood on the stage, waiting to talk, (Y/N) stood behind the curtain, giving Jensen a bit of relief, he wasn’t on stage so alone. The Captain began his introduction of Jensen.

“I would like to introduce, our wonderful King of Bacchus fifty-one, Jensen Ackles!”

As the Captain passed Jensen the mic, the crowd went wild with cheers and applause. Jensen smiled at the crowd and thanked the Captain for the introduction.

“Thank you, Clark, and thank you to all of you that showed up here today on what turned out to be an unbelievable Sunday afternoon for Mardi Gras. I want to give a special thanks to the Brennan family, I want to thank the Bacchus crew. I want to thank the city of New Orleans, I want to thank each and every one of you. This has been an absolute thrill of a lifetime for not only me but my family and my friends. And as I was saying earlier, I can’t imagine doing this once every ten years. These guys do it every twelve months, you guys are crazy,” Jensen said as he turned to look at the Captain who was smiling back. “But then I realized that on doing a little bit of research about Bacchus, that he’s not only the god of wine and fertility, he is also the god of ritual madness.

After looking at the crowd, Jensen turned back to the Captain and continued.

“Which I see you have accomplished here this evening. And it is also said about Bacchus that if you partake in his powers, and in his mysteries, then you become possessed with the god himself. So let’s get some ritual madness up in here tonight and let’s get possessed with the spirit of Bacchus! You guys are unbelievable! Thank you so much!”

Jensen handed the mic to the Captain and shook his hand. He smiled at the man and then turned to the crowd. As the Captain beckoned everyone to have a great night, Jensen bowed before the crowd, hearing people scream his name as the applause rang through the building. Jensen was then guided off stage and was greeted by (Y/N) with a hug and a smile.

“You were great out there, J!”

“Just like a panel, right?”

“Yeah, just like a panel,” she giggled back as she wrapped an arm around his waist, guiding him towards the reporters.

Once they reached the area of reporters, Jensen casually answered their every question, introducing (Y/N) as a close friend and co-worker whenever they asked who she was. He held her hand the entire time, glad to keep her by his side. No one asked anything personal, only about his ride and how he felt about the parade. When he reached the section of a local station, he was asked of (Y/N) could stay out of this shot, keeping it only to him. (Y/N) smiled and let go of his hand, pulling out her powder puff to powder his face lightly.

“Bright lights gotta make sure not one wrinkle can be seen.”

Once she was done, she moved to stand behind the camera and smiled at Jensen, giving him a thumbs up while they gave him a mic and set of headphones. Because of the headphones, he had to remove his crown, which he handed to (Y/N) to hold for him. Once the cameraman let them know he was ready, they began their interview.

“Well, this is the way to end a show, the rendezvous, we have Bacchus fifty-one!”

“Yes we do!” exclaimed the female reporter dressed in a red formal dress. “Jensen Ackles and we should say Happy Birthday! It’s your birthday weekend, right?”

“Well yeah,” Jensen responded. “My birthday was on Friday, March 1st so…”

“Awesome!” the reporter exclaimed.

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate a birthday. In fact, now I should stop having them.”

The two reporters laughed at his little joke.

“This was a good one. And you well known for being a fan of the Big Easy and the Saints. You said in one interview that you have a close friend from New Orleans,” the reporter stated.

“Yeah, being from Texas, I have always traveled here to the city for some relaxation and fun. And my friend, (Y/N) (Y/L) here,” Jensen pointed at (Y/N) as he smiled at her. “She was born and raised here in New Orleans and has told me many things about the city that I have yet to discover. She was the one that gave me the idea to even be in the parade in the first place, talking all about Mardi Gras. I mean, this has been the highlight of a lifetime for sure.”

“As you were talking on stage with the Captain,” interjected the male reporter in a tux. “About doing this every year, I mean this is a lot to do. You said, ‘I couldn’t do this every ten years, much less every twelve months.’

“Yeah, no, I mean looking around me, and when we came into this convention hall on the float. First of all, the trip through downtown New Orleans on that float is unlike anything anyone has ever experienced. If you ever have the chance to ride in a Mardi Gras parade, do yourself a favor and it will change your life.”

Jensen turned to the camera slightly, then back at the reporters. On a small screen, they had videos of him on the float throwing beads out to the crowd. It was one thing to do what he just did that evening, another to see it on a screen.

“But doing that and then ending it in here, with all these incredibly beautiful people and this wonderful band, I mean you can’t write this stuff.”

“But, Jensen,” began the reporter. “There’s one thing riding in the parade, and there is another being Bacchus or king. It’s good to be the king!”

“It is GREAT to be the king!” Jensen emphasized with a smile. “I will say, being up on that throne, I was worried about, ‘Well, what happens if I have to go to the bathroom? What happens if I get tired? What happens if I get hungry? Thirsty?’ None of that happened after five hours. It was all adrenaline for the entire time. I never sat down and I never wanted to. It was incredible.”

“And it’s an adrenaline weekend, is it?” the male reporter asked. “It starts at Children’s Hospital and it runs all the way through.”

“I kept hearing that it’s not a sprint it’s a marathon. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. And I think it’s a super marathon. I think it's one of those hundred-mile marathons. So, oh there I am!”

Jensen looked back at the small screen in front of them to see himself throwing out coins at the Children’s Hospital days earlier.

“That was so cool, meeting with the kids, meeting with the staff there, they’re doing really, really good things. It’s a brand-new facility, that was one of my highlights as well, just being there.”

“And, not to feed your ego, but one of the guys from Bacchus was saying they never had the kind of response online that they had when you became Bacchus.”

“Well, that’s just because of my mother,” Jensen said, causing the reporters to laugh. “She, umm, she spends a lot of time online, making sure that they don’t say anything bad about me.”

“Your mother and a ton of other women!” exclaimed the female reporter. “Let’s talk about this, is this your first Mardi Gras?”

“It’s my first Mardi Gras,” Jensen responded.

“Ok, that’s insane!” she continued. “So now your perspective is as king, I don’t know how you will come down from that.”

“I don’t know,” Jensen responded. “Well I had a little conversation with Andy Garcia just a moment ago and he said, ‘Now you gotta come back and you gotta wear a mask and be incognito.’ It’s a whole different experience, so I plan on doing that soon.”

“What was the biggest surprise for you from this experience?”

“Ummm,” Jensen thought on that question for a moment before responding. “You know what the biggest surprise was the amount of people and it was as far as the eye can see. And because I’m the first float, their all looking at me waiting for me to come down the road, and I’m just hearing like, ‘THROW ME A BEAD!’. So. I’m trying to get them out as fast as I can, I mean, I think I got a couple of bloody fingernails now.”

“Did you talk to other stars who had been Bacchus to get some advice on, like, ‘Geez, what is this like,’?” the male reporter questioned.

“Well, yeah, I had a few people tell me some things. And like I said, I talked to Andy both before and after the parade. And I,” Jensen began to laugh to himself, thinking back on Andy’s words of wisdom. “I actually went up to him before we got on the float and I said, ‘Andy, c’mon. One piece of advice?’ and he just goes like, ‘Ohhoho, no.’ “

“And he is one of the guys that comes every year,” added the male reporter.

“And he got it right!” continued Jensen. “He came up to me after and gave me a big hug and said, ‘Am I right? You can’t explain that you can’t put that into words,’ and he’s right. And I said, ‘There is nothing in Hollywood that does it this big. There’s nothing that I can think of that goes this big, to this extent, and puts on this much of a show and it’s truly one of a kind.”

“And you know what? You know you’re a big star when even the rain stops for Jensen Ackles.”

“Well as apparently Charlton Heston once said, ‘It will not rain on Bacchus,’ and it looks like he’s still pulling some strings upstairs.”

“Well Jensen, thank you and congratulations. You’ve made a great Bacchus!”

“Thank you very much, it’s been an honor,” Jensen said, and he bowed his head to the reporters.

Once the cameraman gave signal they were done, Jensen removed his headphones and handed the cameraman the mic. He shook hands with both reporters and thanked them again. He noticed that they were the last batch to talk to him, so he quickly grabbed (Y/N) by the hand and pulled her down to the party area, happy that he was finally able to have fun.

“Gosh, that was a lot of talking.”

“But you were great, J. It all went smoothly and now all that’s left is to party the night away. But first, food for you since you haven’t eaten since the room service we ordered around lunchtime.”

Jensen laughed as he felt his stomach grumble at the mention of food.

“Yeah, I am dying for something to eat.”

“Then let’s get that belly full and happy so we can have fun!”

==============================

“Go Jensen! Go Jensen!”

Jensen was dancing beside the DJ as everyone cheered him on. After the song ended, he made his way back down, laughing with his friends as they hugged and patted him on the back. He was having so much fun and knew he would miss all this coming morning. As he made his way through the crowd, he found (Y/N) talking to some folks he didn’t know at their table. He couldn’t help but watch her smile and laugh along with them, his heart bursting with joy. Once he reached her, he put his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward, placing a kiss on her ear.

“Mind introducing me?”

(Y/N) turned and gave him her megawatt smile that he adored and began introducing the three people with her. They were old friends that still live in the city catching up with her. They greeted Jensen with open arms and before he knew it, they were sharing stories of their time growing up with (Y/N). They told the embarrassing stories of when they were in middle school and how (Y/N) was such a shy bookworm to their crazy days in high school of skipping class and still getting good grades.

“Oh, did you know Chris is here?” one of (Y/N) asked while they finished talking about the exes.

Jensen noticed how (Y/N) stopped laughing and her eyes grew wide. She stuttered out that she didn’t know and started looking around.

“Who’s Chris?” asked Jensen.

“He was the last guy (Y/N) dated,” her other friend said with a look of annoyance on her face. “He was the asshole that…”

“Shut up.”

Jensen looked back to (Y/N) who was looking down, avoiding everyone’s gaze. The way she twirled her fingers between each other and her bouncing leg, it seemed like this was someone she didn’t want to see.

“And speak of the freaking devil.”

Jensen looked up to see this tall guy walking towards them with a smile on his face. He greeted the trio happily, but when his eyes fell on (Y/N), they started to shine.

“Hey, (Y/N). Long time no see.”

(Y/N) nodded her head without looking up at the guy. Jensen felt the green monster rise from inside as he watched how this guy got closer to (Y/N), kneeling beside her.

“How have you been?” the guy asked as he tried to get her to look at him. “Ya know, I’ve missed you ever since you left for Vancouver.”

“Yeah right,” she mumbled, her body leaning closer to Jensen’s.

“Why do you think I would lie to you?” he asked so smoothly.

Jensen looked over at the trio, expecting them to say something. But the friend that looked very annoyed leaned over to him and whispered in his ear.

“This is every single time they see each other after a breakup. Been this way since high school. Wins her over with a few words and back to square one. I hope she doesn’t fall back again, she deserves better.”

“So, this is the asshole that made her mistrust?” asked Jensen.

“Not just mistrust, but he made her feel like she could never be independent, make her own choices. That’s why we convinced her to take the job in Vancouver. Far from him, easier to heal and hopefully forget him.”

Jensen went on high alert once he saw Chris grab hold of (Y/N)’s hand mumbling something to her.

“No, Chris,” she responded to him, which made him laugh.

“C’mon, babe, you know you always come back to me.”

Jensen immediately wrapped his arm around (Y/N) and pulled her closer, facing the guy as he reached over to pull her hand out of his.

“Sorry bud, but (Y/N) is with me tonight and we really need to get going,” Jensen said with a fake smile plastered on his face. He put a finger under (Y/N)’s chin and made her look up at him, her eyes wide in fear. “Ready to go? We got that flight to catch back to Vancouver in the morning.”

(Y/N) nodded her head, turning to say goodbye to the trio. They all hugged her and wished her a safe trip as Jensen walked over to Chris. Jensen gave him a glare and blocked his path towards (Y/N), staring him down.

“Now, Chris, right?” Jensen began. “I suggest you keep away from my girl because I wouldn’t be too happy with you trying to hurt her.”

“She isn’t your girl, she will always…”

“She isn’t yet, but I know a few other guys that care for her like a little sister that would love to have a go at you for making her suffer and struggle for so many years.”

Jensen grabbed Chris by the collar and pulled him close, their faces inches apart.

“I hear that you get near her, I will make sure you regret that choice, you hear me boy?”

“J, please.”

Jensen turned to see (Y/N) standing there, her arms wrapped around her as her eyes begged him to stop. Jensen let Chris go and gave (Y/N) his full attention, pulling her into his arms as they made their way out the convention hall. Jensen texted his friends that he was leaving as they made their way to the exit, when (Y/N) pulled Jensen by the hand. She guided him towards an elevator and pulled him in with her once the doors opened. Jensen was confused by the sudden change in directions and before he could ask what was going on, she only whispered to him to just follow her.

They made it to the third floor and (Y/N) guided him down the dark hall towards a restroom. She got them both inside and locked the door behind her. As Jensen looked around, he turned to ask her what was going on. But instead, he got her arms wrapped around his neck and (Y/N) pulling him into a kiss. It was sloppy and wild, but Jensen didn’t hesitate as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

They moaned into each other’s mouths, (Y/N)’s tongue exploring his mouth as if it were the first time. She pushed Jensen towards the wall at the other end and tried to climb onto him. She rubbed her body against his, making his cock grow harder with each push. But even with the perfect distraction, Jensen fought to break free from her. He finally shoved her away and caught his breath, watching her as she stared down to the floor.

“Not like this,” he whispered. “I won’t have sex with you if you aren’t in a clear mental state.”

(Y/N) laughed, looking up to the ceiling as she walked over to the sink. She leaned on it and looked at herself in the mirror.

“Why do you have to be so proper and respectful at a time like this?”

“Because I am not an asshole that takes advantage of a woman, no matter how much I want to right now with you.”

“At least you’re honest, J.”

“What’s wrong?”

(Y/N) raked her fingers through her hair, taking in a deep breath. She kept silent for a couple of minutes, Jensen patiently waiting for her response. He kept his distance though, not wanting to give in if she made a move again.

“I swear, I thought if I ever saw him again I would be able to fight back,” she began, her voice low. “Yet he had me all caught up again.”

“Do you still love him?”

“God, no! I hate the asshole after the last time.”

Jensen felt a moment of relief at how quick she answered.

“It’s just, something about him makes me lose, power. Like he knows what buttons to press to make me feel like I HAVE to go along with everything. That I have no say in things. Hell, he asked me if he could hold my hand and even though I said no, I still didn’t fight him when he took it.”

Jensen could see the tears begin to slide down her cheek as she continued.

“It’s like, I become weak again and I hate it. I never want to be that weak woman that accepted every single thing he did just to keep him. He never loved me, he just wanted someone who would do everything he asked without question. I let him walk all over me and I hate myself for it.”

“Hey, no, don’t knock yourself down like that,” Jensen whispered as he moved to stand behind her. “Yes, you were like that before, but because of that horrible experience, you became the woman you are now.”

“Yeah, a great woman that lets her ex walk over her the moment he sees her.”

“(Y/N), look up.”

(Y/N) looked up at him through the mirror, his face stern.

“Do you see what I see?” he asked, getting a no from her. “I see such a strong, beautiful woman that runs by her own rules and strives to be the best in her passion. You fight for what you believe is right and any man would be proud to say that you are his.”

“Even with how tubby I am?”

“You are not tubby, you have such a beautiful body with perfect curves. Any man that doesn’t appreciate it deserves a slap in the face.”

(Y/N) giggled, her tears no longer falling. Jensen smiled at her as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to lean against him.

“You deserve a man that walks beside you, not in front. Someone that loves you and shows it to you every single day. That he worships the ground you walk on and respects you for every choice you make. Loves you for you.”

(Y/N) smiled at him, her hands rubbing his as she watched him through the mirror. Jensen placed a soft kiss on the top of her head before turning her to face him. He wiped away the tears that fell and kissed the tip of her nose.

“You deserve all that and more, (Y/N). Any man would feel lucky to be by your side, to know that they have the best woman on this planet.”

“What about you, Jensen? Do you feel lucky to have me right now even if it’s just for the weekend?”

“Yes, I surely do.”

Jensen leaned in and kiss her gently, treating her like she was made of porcelain. He enjoyed the soft plumpness of her lips as she leaned into his body, her moans vibrating against his mouth. He slid a hand into her hair, grabbing the back of her head as he held her close. His erection grew back again, enjoying the feel of her body against his. Their tongues clashed for dominance, Jensen eventually letting her take control of the kiss. They finally broke free for some air after such a long, passionate kiss. Jensen looked down at (Y/N) through his hooded eyes, her eyes blown and dark from lust.

“I want you right here, right now,” he whispered, gaining a smile from her.

“Then take me, I am all yours, my King.”

Jensen moved in and began to ravish her mouth, kissing her like his life depended on it. Jensen didn’t know how long they had before getting caught, so he knew they had to be fast. He moved his hands to his pants and began to unzip himself free, pulling out his length to rub against her stomach. She groaned out at the feel of his length, rubbing her body against him. Jensen broke their kiss and leaned into her ear.

“I want you to suck my cock, show your King exactly what that little mouth can do.”

Without hesitation, (Y/N) slide down his body to her knees, her face inches away from his pulsing cock. She grabbed him with both hands and licked the tip carefully, teasing him as she licked his length. Jensen grabbed hold of the edge of the sink, getting a hold of his balance. She hadn’t taken him into her mouth and he was already struggling to hold back. But the moment she wrapped her lips around his cock, he let out a shaky breath.

“That’s right, baby, suck it like you love it.”

He felt the groan the reverberated from the back of her throat as she sucked him, her tongue licking right under the head of his cock. Jensen looked down to watch her head bob up and down his length, stroking him as she sucked him greedily. Jensen grabbed the back of her head and began guiding her, groaning out his pleasure.

“Just like that baby, take it all. You know you want this cock.”

He felt her other hand cup his balls and she began to squeeze and stroke them, toying with them in the palm of her hand. Jensen grunted, pushing her head faster against him as he felt himself lose control.

“That’s right fuck just like that. Fuck baby, I’m about to cum…”

Jensen came all inside her mouth. He felt her swallow his load as she sucked him clean once he finished. But that wasn’t enough for him, as he was still hard and pulsing. He pulled her head away and made her stand up, kissing her as he tasted himself. He turned her, so she was facing the mirror and bunched her skirt up to her waist. She lifted a knee to place it on top of the sink, so her legs were open to him. His chest rumbled from his deep laugh, noticing she wasn’t wearing any underwear. He slid a finger along her slit, rolling his eyes as he felt how soaked she was.

“Looks like someone was expecting something tonight.”

“I couldn’t help myself,” she moaned out as Jensen stroked the tip of his cock against her pussy.

“Tell me how much you want this cock, baby. I wanna hear you say it.”

“I want it so much, please, My King,” she begged as she pushed her ass against him.

“You want his cock, baby? Want me inside you, fucking you?”

“Yes…,” she gasped out as he lined himself up with her soaked folds.

“Then here you go baby,” he responded with a growl as he pushed his cock inside her with one swift motion.

The moment she was fully wrapped around him, he groaned out his pleasure. He could hear the whimper that escaped her lips as he stretched her. He stood still for a moment, loving the feel of her silk wetness surrounding him. He knew he would never get tired of this feeling, wanting to stay inside her for the rest of his life. But in the back of his head, he knew they were in a possible chance of getting caught if a guard came around here. So, he wasted no time in pulling out and ramming himself right back into her. There was nothing slow and gentle, just fast paced and rough fucking.

The slapping of skin echoed in the bathroom as their groans and moans of pleasure joined the music of their fucking. Jensen rammed into her without stopping, gripping her waist tightly. She used the mirror to stay balanced, her palms flat on it with her leg still on the sink keeping her wide open. He felt how her pussy clenched him, making him want to cum even faster.

“Fuck, you feel so good, baby. Gonna fucking cum in this tight pussy,” Jensen rasped out as he pumped into her.

“Fuck, yes, fuck me!” she screamed out as her body jerked with his bucking.

Jensen felt her pussy tighten around his length, knowing that she was almost at the edge.

“Yes, cum all over me baby. I wanna feel you cum.”

(Y/N) screamed out in pleasure from how quickly she came all over him, her slick bathing his cock and slipping down her thigh and he continued to fuck her. He felt how her pussy spasmed and squeeze his length. Jensen felt himself get closer to his release as she rode out her high.

“Tell me you want all my cum inside you.”

“I want it all inside me, J! Give it to me!”

Jensen’s body went stiff when he came, spilling himself inside her as his hips jerked against her ass. As Jensen came back down from his high, he grunted and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on the back of her head as he slowly pulled out, a whimper coming from her once he was completely out.

Jensen grabbed some paper towel and cleaned himself before tucking his already softening cock back into his pants. (Y/N) had gotten back onto her two feet and used the sink to balance herself form her shaky legs. Jensen got some more clean paper towels and used the sink behind her to wet them a bit, using them to clean her up before straightening out her skirt. Once he threw the towels away, he turned to see her smiling at him.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she giggled as she moved towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down so his ear was near her lips. “Just loved it when you talked dirty to me.”

Jensen smiled and turned his face to catch her lips in a kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her close. She giggled against his lips as she felt him get hard, rubbing her body against his.

“Thank you for helping me back there and being respectful. Don’t know what I would have done without you there, J.”

“You know I got you, sweetheart.”

“Now, let’s get out of here before the guard comes up.”

Jensen laughed as (Y/N) moved away from his grasp and ran out of the bathroom. He followed her, walking a few paced behind as he watched her sway her hips as she strutted towards the elevator. He couldn’t help hearing her sing as they made their way towards the elevator.

“One and two and a three and four. Come on let me know if you want some more. You know what I like, now get it right. Boy talk that talk to me all night,” (Y/N) sung as she turned to face Jensen, pointing a finger at him. She motioned for him to follow her as she danced along with her singing. “Yeah boy I like it, yeah boy I like it! Love it when you talk that talk to me yeah. Yeah that talk to me yeah. Love it when you talk that talk to me, yeah.”

Jensen laughed as he jogged over to her as the elevator opened at her pressing the button. Once in the elevator, he pulled her into his arms as she danced against him, grinding against his length, causing him to get harder.

“God, you are insatiable,” he groaned against her ear, gaining a giggle.

“Well, we still got the rest of the night to fix that issue,” she responded as the elevator doors opened.

She guided him out the convention center and they walked back to the hotel which was only a couple of blocks away. They laughed and enjoyed each other’s company, holding hands the entire way. They arrived at the hotel and made their way up to their room. On the elevator ride up, Jensen kept her in his arms, kissing her at every chance he had. Their walk to the room took longer than normal, their hands memorizing each other as they made out. Jensen wanted to remember this night, make it last as long as possible.

Reaching their door and unlocking it, he made a promise to himself that he would not leave New Orleans without letting her know exactly how he felt. She might think this was a weekend only thing, but he wanted to make it clear to her that he wanted more than just this weekend.

But for now, as they undressed and made their way to the bed, he would take all night to show her what he was going to say come morning.

Tags:

@coffee-obsessed-writer @holylulusworld @janicho88

#supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fic #spn fanfic #spnkinkbingo #supernatural rpf #rpf fanfic #Jensen Ackles #king of bacchus!jensen #jensen ackles x reader #jensen x reader

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uk-news-talking-politics · 5 years ago

Text

2019 was the year we lost hope – but it’s still all we have

By Jonathan Lis

In the 1985 tragicomic classic ‘Clockwise’, John Cleese plays a serious but transformative headmaster who has been invited to deliver the most prestigious speech of his life, which represents the crowning achievement of his school. But he misses the train. Things then escalate. At the film’s pivotal moment, the now fully broken man sits in exhaustion on a country lane in robes he has stolen from a monastery and declares to his student companion, ‘It’s not the despair, Laura, I can stand the despair. It’s the hope.’

And so to the review of 2019.

Hope truly is the most dangerous of the gateway drugs, and Remainers have spent two years getting high on their own supply.

For the first year after the referendum, it was different: everything seemed hopeless. The country felt gripped by a kind of steroid nationalism that quickly lurched out of control. Theresa May lambasted the ‘citizens of nowhere’. The Daily Mail paraded the ‘enemies of the people’. And Brexit was to mean whatever the prime minister damn well said. It was as though the entire country had been press-ganged into someone else’s joke.

But then came the 2017 election, and things changed. The Conservatives had lost their majority. The government was at the mercy of the most independent-minded parliament in generations. By the end of that year the prime minister had signed up to the backstop, which seemed to guarantee a softer Brexit. Things then got even worse for her. By the end of 2018, May looked close to total defeat and Brexit itself seemed in doubt. The People’s Vote movement was now mainstream and, even to many sceptics, a referendum appeared the only way to resolve the impasse.

The first few months of 2019 unfolded in a similar vein. May’s deal was defeated three times in parliament. MPs gained confidence. Brexit was extended, twice. After all the government’s protestations, we participated in the European elections – a crucial psychological milestone which had previously seemed inconceivable. And Jeremy Corbyn finally reached the end of his agonising Brexit journey with a commitment to a new referendum, with an option to Remain, which would have exceeded the wildest dreams of many Remainers in the immediate aftermath of the 2016 vote. And then May suffered her last defeat. After one misstep too many, her riven party finally forced her resignation. It was a miserable end to a miserable premiership. But, unbeknown to us, it also marked the end of the Remain movement. The swift ascent of Boris Johnson didn’t just represent the triumph of one man’s ego in all its sociopath glitz, but the triumph of a new political culture.

Funnily enough, that didn’t kill the hope. For several months it actually intensified it. Johnson lost his first seven parliamentary votes. He lost his majority. He alienated the opposition and mainstream Tories alike. He seemed comically unsuited to the task ahead of him. And, for once, the other parties began to think strategically. Over the summer the leaders of Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP and others coalesced to block no-deal – and succeeded. Meanwhile the Supreme Court ruling on Johnson’s obscene prorogation of parliament exposed his destabilising hubris to the world.

And then came the deal. It was the deal Remainers said couldn’t be done, or if it could, the deal the Tories wouldn’t accept. We were wrong. Johnson not only threw the Democratic Unionists under the bus, but the Conservative and Unionist Party cheered him on while he did. His only challenger on the Brexit wing, Nigel Farage, fell silent. And the existential pledge of departure on 31st October was entirely forgotten. Corbyn may never have stood a chance against the Tory machine, but after that our only hope was that the opposition parties wouldn’t lose too drastically. Three weeks ago we lost that hope too.

And so we begin the 2020s with no shortage of new despair. Brexit is going to happen. In just over four weeks we will wrench apart 47 years of connections. We will become smaller in every way. And Johnson will match his power with ambition. The summer of law-breaking and convention-smashing was merely the hors d’oeuvre. Consider what the prime minister attempted while stymied by a hung parliament. Now imagine what he will try propelled by an 80-strong majority of sycophant backbenchers. The man who said he would be world king can, and will, do whatever he wants.

Of course we still hold out hope. But much of that seems to spring from the idea that things will go wrong for Johnson – which means things going wrong for people’s jobs, lives and communities. The Labour Party is still reeling from its electoral clobbering and may take years to recover, if it ever does. There is absolutely nothing we can do. Progressives missed the train, and things have escalated.

The decade has ended, as it began, in the embers of decline. 2010 marked the turbocharging of austerity – an entirely voluntary and wilfully destructive ideology – and perhaps the terminal collapse of trust in our politicians and politics. In 2015, voters took fright at the prospect of chaos with Ed Miliband and opted instead for the five most turbulent years in our peacetime modern history. The close of the 2010s finds us more angry and divided than we could ever have imagined at the start.

And yet, for all that, there is something poignantly truthful in John Cleese’s headmaster. Despair can be easy and familiar. Hope can be difficult and, in the end, devastating. But as humans we cling to it. No matter how forlorn it seems, we need to believe things will get better. So we support our allies. We do not lose our sense of humour. We never stop speaking out or working for the society we want to live in. And each day we get up, talk to one another and be decent. It may ultimately come to nothing – but it is our only way to get through and it is all we have.

#brexit

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callmeblake · 6 years ago

Photo

Kerrang Issue #1761

Magazine Release Date: February 20th, 2019

Issue Label: February 23rd, 2019

Photo Credit: Jen Rosenstein

Illustrations: Brian Ewing

Partial Transcription (from pressreader.com) below:

Kerrang! (UK)

20 Feb 2019

words: emily carter illustrations: brian ewing

“MAKING MUSIC IS MORE FUN THESE DAYS…”

BREAKS HIS SILENCE

Since he was a kid, GERARD WAY has sought solitude in the world of graphic novels – first as a reader, and later, with the weight of the rock world on his shoulders, as a creator. But now, he explains exclusively to Kerrang!, working on the Netflix adaptation of his THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY series helped him reconnect with his love for making music, too…

Gerard Way keeps track of his personal goals using what he calls “the grown-up list”. One at a time, the 41-year-old will tick off these life objectives by means of self-care – a concept he’ll admit he hasn’t kept on top of lately.

“On the grown-up list are all these things that I have to do to start participating in life again,” he explains in a gentle, endearing New Jersey accent, dissecting a mysteriously methodical approach to his return to the public eye – though, it has to be said, still sounding very much like a big kid at heart.

For the past “two, three” years, Gerard feels as though he hasn’t been looking after himself while under the strain of his demanding career as a comic-book writer. And while his workload certainly isn’t slowing down any time soon – if anything, it’s on the increase with the reintroduction of music now, too – he is at least making his own positive changes little by little, “piece by piece”.

“Enough time goes by and you’re tired of feeling tired, and tired of feeling unhealthy, and tired of doing unhealthy things to yourself,” he admits. “I hit a point where I was like, ‘Enough’s enough. I gotta move my body and find a doctor.’ I hadn’t had a physical in I can’t remember how long. It was just time, you know?”

Undertaking this new journey, Gerard first started off by giving up smoking. He afforded himself just two weeks to ditch the cigarettes, before moving on to the next task. “You can’t do it all at once,” he explains thoughtfully. “I quit smoking before doing anything else – like change diet or going to see a doctor. I just take these things in steps. Even if I did have all the time in the world to attack the grown-up list, you have to take any major life change slowly and gradually.”

Had Gerard felt so inclined as to keep a similar grown-up list for professional targets when he first emerged as My Chemical Romance’s awe-inspiring leader in 2001, its trajectory would have accelerated significantly. Darting into the spotlight in 2004 with their astounding second record Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, the frontman quickly became uncomfortable with the intrusive – and borderline paralysing – nature of their fame. It’s no wonder that, between 2006’s triple-platinum The Black Parade, and the festival-headlining status that came with fourth and final studio album Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys, Gerard recently labelled the group’s journey as “uncontrollable”. The band’s explosion was just as dramatic as their eventual breakup almost six years ago, and it took Gerard just over a year to then return into view. An excellent Britpop-inflected solo LP, Hesitant Alien, followed in September 2014, and even landed at spot number four in Kerrang!’s top 50 records of that year. No grown-up list – no matter how fool-proof – could accurately record or predict those kind of whirlwind peaks and troughs.

In his life as a comic-book writer, though, Gerard’s accomplishments have kept up a steadier, but no less impressive, incline. As a graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts and a former intern at Cartoon Network, his imagination and visual creativity was harnessed long before his audio talents came to light. While his comic-book debut in 1993, On Raven’s Wings, was cancelled after just two issues, Gerard’s near 100 (and counting) writing credits have just about surpassed his contributions in music; he even ran his own imprint under the legendary DC Comics banner for two years, Young Animal. And while its status is currently listed as ‘inactive’, Gerard has emphasised that it’s “not the end” of that venture. Now, his prominence as a fullyfledged award-winning comic-book writer is a marvel (no, not that kind).

“The thing about doing comics is nobody asks you about your personal life, they don’t ask you about the drugs you used to take, they don’t ask you if you’re breaking up,” he told Kerrang! while still with My Chemical Romance in 2010, openly battling with the allure of a life buried in books. “They talk about the work. I wish people would talk about the work in music. In music, people want to know what makes you tick – in comics, people don’t care.”

Given the appeal of a more serene existence, it’s clear Gerard’s current primary occupation perfectly suits him. Just as he helped change the face of rock 15 years ago, however, he’s beginning to make similar strides in comics. Once again, he’s got the big guns knocking on his artistic doorstep.

“If anybody ever asks me for advice about being creative, it’s always just to make the things you want to see,” he shrugs, either oblivious to his skills or just strikingly modest. “Make something that doesn’t exist, that you wish existed – that you wanna read, or see, or listen to. That’s the one thing that I’ve applied to everything I’ve done: all the art I’ve made and the music I’ve made.”

Following this surprisingly simple mantra, Gerard now has a tremendous feat on his hands: his apocalyptic comic-book series, The Umbrella Academy, has snowballed into a 10-episode live-action show of the same name, and hit Netflix last Friday. By now, you’ll probably have already watched the lot. For the programme’s main brain, though, while he may have spent release day just ticking off another box on the grown-up list (“I had a physical that day with a doctor, so…”), this marks the beginning of his “participation” in life again. Gerard Way is back.

Gerard Way is obsessed with comics. Across the span of our interview with the author-turned-musicianturned-author again, he says the word “comic” no fewer than 28 times – each utterance more passionate than the last. Yet it wasn’t until 2008, while still active with My Chemical Romance, that he began to feel the effects of his written works’ potential. And not just in the field of comics, either; he was suddenly struck with the realisation that he could make this his full-time work instead. When he and illustrator Gabriel Bá – a man Gerard credits constantly and with great

“I’VE ALWAYS AIMED TO MAKE SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T EXIST, THAT I WISH EXISTED” GERARD WAY

respect when discussing the project – were awarded a prestigious Eisner Award for The Umbrella Academy’s first mini-series, it shook him to the core.

“It was scary at the time,” he mentioned in a Kerrang! cover feature at a later date, “because it was another thing that said to me, ‘Hey, you could go and do this. You won’t have a huge career, but you could make a living. There was a part of me thinking, ‘I don’t have to be a singer anymore.’”

Just days after receiving their Eisner, Gerard and Gabriel’s graphic novel was optioned by Universal Pictures. Plans for a potential movie were in development “for quite a while”, until it eventually fizzled out and came back to Umbrella Academy’s publisher, Dark Horse Comics. Then, the idea for a TV show was conceived – and Gerard was instantly sold. Not that it was ever something he’d ever considered when first penning his comics all those years prior.

“You know, I tend to be a visual thinker,” he begins. “When I was first starting out, I was told to embrace the medium of comics: just make a great comic. I think that that’s a common mistake that people make – they see a comic as a film, and they’ll just present it as a film. And there’s a lot of things you can do in comics, and it would almost short-change that. You need to embrace what a comic can do, and then you’ll make a really fantastic one. If you’re just trying to present it as a film, it doesn’t work as well, in my opinion. I still follow that advice to this day.”

Gerard loved the idea of giving his painstaking and deeply intricate world a new long-form narrative, and a way of going deeper into the story’s characters (all of whom are either a reflection of people he knows, or himself). Before taking various meetings – including with Netflix – both he and Gabriel sat down with Universal Cable Productions executive vice president of development, Dawn Olmstead, and discussed their aims.

“My goal was to give those guys the material to make a really great show,” Gerard explains. “That way, if they made a show and it’s successful, they always have material to go back to. That’s always been my goal: to tell a really good story that I have control over.”

Nine years later after its original plans fell through, it was eventually settled that Netflix would be the way to go. Joining forces with a company that had both “the highest production value” and that was also “artist-friendly” made the most sense to all involved. “We knew they would let the show be what it needed to be,” Gerard nods.

By this point, the series’ creator had slipped away from the limelight to create a 20-page blueprint for show-runner Steve Blackman. The Umbrella Academy thus far has three volumes – Apocalypse Suite, Dallas and Hotel Oblivion – but Gerard will eventually complete the story through eight graphic novels in total, many of which are still to be finished (“I have it all planned out, and I’ve just got to kind of write it now…”). In advance of the show’s development stages, though, he needed to let his new colleagues know the whole plot.

“There were talks early on about how much of my involvement there would be – if I wanted to be a co-show-runner, if I wanted to write scripts,” remembers Gerard. “And I really put the emphasis on making the source material and making the comics, so I had to let go of certain things. I weighed in on a lot of them, but ultimately it was Steve’s call to make. I liked letting go, though, because it allowed me to keep moving forward in the ways that I wanted to, which is with the comics or anything else I want to do.”

Working with Netflix became a daily job. From set pieces to wardrobe choices, both Gerard and Gabriel would give extensive notes in the 18 months it took to produce The Umbrella Academy, ensuring a happy climate was reached between their individual artistic palettes. It’s not a giant leap to compare the birth of Gerard’s latest project to My Chemical Romance’s studio swansong, Danger Days. While still in the throes of The Black Parade’s overwhelming success, the frontman had moved to LA from New Jersey in 2008 and was focused on comics – not just The Umbrella Academy, but also a bold, bright new sci-fi spectacular: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys, a story of the aftermath of a battle against a tyrannical corporation. Having written and subsequently scrapped The Black Parade’s original follow-up, the frontman was then struck with inspiration on a family retreat in the wilderness, wracking his brains with what to do next.

“I had an epiphany, I had a vision,” he told Kerrang! back in October 2010, of how this new comic informed what would become My Chem’s fourth full-length. “I was writing all these crazy lyrics and they were fearless and fucking reckless. I had this vision in my head, and everything I had been working on in the comic – the masks, the laser guns, the cars, everything – started to swirl around in my head.”

So how does the creation of a comicinspired album measure up against bringing The Umbrella Academy to life on TV?

“You know, they’re both intense and stressful in their own ways,” Gerard smiles. “But one of the things I’ve learned as I get older is that being in the studio and making music isn’t nearly as stressful – it’s a lot more fun these days. Having said that, although things are a little more high-stakes on a film set, we had a lot of fun with that, too.”

Early last year, The Umbrella Academy’s primary architects headed to Toronto to oversee the first week of filming. They were there to “answer any questions and give a little direction”. Though their focus was undeniably on creating the best comic-to-screen transition

“AS I GET OLDER, MAKING MUSIC ISN’T NEARLY AS STRESSFUL – IT’S A LOT MORE FUN THESE DAYS” GERARD WAY

“I DON’T LIKE TO DWELL ON THINGS. I LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD” GERARD WAY

possible, Gerard also remembers the weather; it was snowing, a sight he hadn’t seen since touring Hesitant Alien three and a half years prior. Once more, his two worlds briefly reacquainted themselves.

While in Canada, he and Gabriel reviewed “dailies”. “It hit a point where it was like, ‘Alright, this train is going, they know what they’re doing,’ and I could divert my attention back to the comic,” Gerard says. “Then I was able to work on it remotely – most of the work from my end was done through email or phone conversations, so I could be anywhere in the world and I was still able to watch the footage on my laptop, or whatever computer I was at.”

Once that week was over, Gerard kept a distant watchful eye over filming, which carried on until July. Elsewhere, his time was split between writing more comics, drinking copious amounts of coffee, collecting vintage T-shirts and miniature painted figures, and watching his wife of 11 years, Lindsey – bassist of Mindless Self Indulgence – feed birds and squirrels at their family home.

Rather ironically, his days weren’t spent watching a great deal of television. Even now, he’ll partake in an episode or two of a binge-worthy programme if Lindsey wants him to check it out – but he’ll never consume the lot in one go. “I think that makes my opinion on what we’re making with Umbrella Academy, in a way, even more valid,” he suggests, “because I don’t watch all this stuff. I read a lot of books.”

Most exciting of all, though, is that almost every Friday, Gerard Way began to create music again.

Around 54 minutes into The Umbrella Academy’s fifth episode, there’s a mind-bending shoot-out featuring, among others, Mary J. Blige. While the action unfolds, a familiar voice quietly hits the eardrums. ‘ Imagine me and you, I do / I think about you day and night, it’s only right…’ croons Gerard Way alongside former My Chemical Romance bandmate and guitarist extraordinaire Ray Toro, in a cover of The Turtles’ hit Happy Together – both rich in personality, but also similarly honouring the original. It’s not the first time Gerard and Ray have teamed up in such a manner: last month, they unveiled another joint effort in the form of Hazy Shade Of Winter, originally by Simon & Garfunkel, for The Umbrella Academy’s official trailer. But this is arguably Gerard’s most epic comics-meets-music crossover yet.

Steve Blackman, says Gerard, “thought it would be really nice for the fans – both for fans of my work as a musician, and my work as a comic writer. He thought it would be really cool, and I thought it would be cool, too. It would be silly to not do a song for the show! We ended up doing a couple, which was really great. And I’m sure there will be more in the future.”

The music Gerard made each week last year wasn’t just for The Umbrella Academy – it was also for himself. Possibly over-ambitiously, the musician hoped to release these new sounds once a month, though his workload soon put paid to that. He does, however, now boast “quite the collection of demos”.

“Right now it’s just a stand-alone thing,” Gerard says, “but I think at some point – maybe for a vinyl or something – it would be nice to collect all these songs, just as a body of work for something that I did. With all the work and the show coming, it has been harder to try and do a song a month. And I knew that that would kind of happen back when I first mentioned the goal of trying to do that, just because of all the extra work that was coming. But we’re still making music every week.”

Gerard has enjoyed the process of juggling his own music and songs for Netflix enormously. His recent solo tracks – Baby You’re A Haunted House, Getting Down The Germs and a touching Christmas number featuring Lydia Night of The Regrettes called Dasher – have deliberately not been “overthought”, though music for The Umbrella Academy can be a little more laborious.

“It’s a bit more work, because it’s for something cinematic,” he explains. “It’s not that it has to reach a higher level, it’s just that it’s a different level. The solo stuff is just kind of up to me, and what I want that to convey, or what nature it has. Whereas with the show, everybody has to really be blown away by it. So maybe, in a way, it’s more a little bit of what Ray [Toro] and I and the guys in My Chem used to do; we apply a little bit more of that to what we do in these cover songs for Umbrella Academy.”

Is it a strange feeling to revisit that kind of creative process?

“It makes it really fresh and exciting,” Gerard grins. “It’s actually really nice to go back and do something like you once did it, because you have more experience and wisdom and knowledge. As you get older you bring all these things the way you used to do. It’s refreshing at times – especially if you’re doing a bunch of experimental things. It’s refreshing to go back to your core, and your roots, of what you used to do, and apply your new knowledge to that.”

Gerard Way’s musical future for now, then, will remain both blissfully free and totally spontaneous – a far-cry from his MCR days. But he couldn’t be happier about it.

“I like to move forward a lot,” he enthuses. “I don’t like to dwell on things very much. I don’t usually like to revisit them, either. I like to keep moving forward and putting out new things. I like to try new things and experiment.” Gerard repeats himself once more. “I really like doing that.” K!

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY IS AVAILABLE TO WATCH NOW ON NETFLIX

#gerard way #K!1761 #kerrang #february 2019 #2019 #patch jacket #smithsonian institute shirt #jen rosenstein #kerrang art print

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thewoildis-yaerster · 6 years ago

Text

Abusus Non Tollit Usum

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five: Cats

Description: We get a closer look at the theatre nerds and Medda finds out about the plan.

Warnings: Mentions of fighting, swearing.

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“Who is Miss Medda, may I ask?” David questioned as the large group of students sped to a building that was disconnected from the high school. It was decently large, but it wasn’t as big as the school building.

“Spottie and I’s foster mom. Also, the drama teacher.” Jack answered.

“Call me ‘Spottie’ again and you won’t see tomorrow.” Spot spat out an empty threat.

“Ah, you love me.” They all skidded to a stop when they reached the doors. Jack tried to open them, but they were locked. He dug around in his pockets, only to pull them out empty-handed. “Hey, uh, Spot? Do you have your key?”

Said boy groaned and softly pushed Jack out of the way. “After that, you better be glad it’s more than just you and me. If it was just us, you’d be going in through the roof.” He pulled a key on a necklace out from under his shirt and unlocked a door, then held it open for everyone.

“It was just a joke!” Jack chuckled, his voice echoing through the large auditorium.

“’Thank you, Spot. Love you, Spot. You’re the best brother in the world, Spot. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Spot.’” Spot grumbled under his breath.

“Thank you, Spot. Love you, Spot. You’re the best boyfriend in the world, Spot. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Spot.” Race repeated Spot’s words and gave him a quick peck on the lips before following the line into the auditorium.

David hadn’t been in a theatre or an auditorium in such a long time. He did a few plays when he was younger, but he always got background roles because he couldn’t grasp the concept of acting. He always enjoyed it, though. He made so many friends and they were always like a huge family, but then his family had to move away and he never got back into it.

Everyone put their bags down in the back of the auditorium and moved to sit up front. After a few seconds, Buttons and Race jumped up at nearly the same time and dashed toward the stage. Buttons jumped and flipped onstage, whereas Race cartwheeled onstage. Romeo took off after them but disappeared backstage instead of staying up front. A few moments later, he came out brandishing a sword.

“Guys, look! It’s the sword I used in Romeo & Juliet in freshman year!” He shouted, pretending to stab Race with it. It was very reassuring to see them all in a better mood, but David knew the mood was going to be brought back down as soon as they told this “Miss Medda” the news.

Buttons gasped and ran backstage, then came back out wearing tap shoes. He also had a pair in his left hand and another in his right. “Tommy Boy! Specs! Mine still fit!”

Tommy Boy and Specs raced up to the stage and took the tap shoes, immediately shucking the ones on their feet and putting the others on. They began to perform a tap number in the middle of the stage, while Race and Romeo had a sword battle around them.

“Theatre nerds?” David leaned back and asked Katherine.

“Big time. Specs and Tommy Boy aren’t, though. They mainly participate in dance-centric shows. That number they’re doing right now is from Cats.” She responded with a smile on her face.

“You guys put on Cats?”

“Barely. We were in it when we were in middle school because hardly anyone in the high school wanted to do it. I played so many roles that it took me hours to scrub off all of the layers of paint they slapped on me in between songs. I know that dance, too, but my shoes probably don’t fit anymore.” She laughed.

“Oh gosh, wow.” David laughed as well. “Buttons seems to be really into Cats.”

“Oh, yeah. He’s always been into Cats. No one knows why, though. He won’t tell anyone. All he says is that it means a lot to him. He was begging Medda to let him audition long before she turned to the middle school students. He was ecstatic when she let him, but he cried when he got the part of Mr. Mistoffelees. That’s always been his dream role.”

“Who did you and the others play?” David had seen Cats once or twice in his lifetime.

“Ah, man, let’s see. I was Grizabella, Jennyanydots, and Skimbleshanks. Like I said, we were low on casting. Tommy Boy was Rumpelteazer. It was before he came out, but he enjoyed playing the role. Specs was Munkustrap. Race had multiple roles like me. He was Rum Tum Tugger, Mungojerrie, Rumpus Cat, and Macavity. I still don’t see how he pulled it off.”

“I’m just like Mungojerrie, Kath! A quick-change comedian!” Race shouted as he and Romeo fought across the rows of seats.

“You kids haven’t changed a bit!” A cheerful voice rang out through the auditorium.

“Miss Medda!” The theatre nerds (plus Jack, Spot, Specs, and Tommy Boy) exclaimed. They all dropped what they were doing and ran to her, hugging her at the same time.

“I’ve missed you all so much!” She hugged them all back and kissed them all on their foreheads.

“You see me and Jack every day, Mama Medda.” Spot had a genuine smile on his face.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t miss you during the day! Now, as much as I enjoy seeing all of you, I don’t recall posting auditions yet, so there has to be a reason all of you are here. Is Snyder after you all again?” Her smile fell and she put her hands on her hips.

“Not this time, surprisingly. It’s Pulitzer.” Jack answered.

“Pulitzer is after you?”

“Not…necessarily. We tried to get him to let us have a GSA.”

“It didn’t go well, I take it.”

“He called us disgusting, vile, and sickening, then threatened to give us detention if we didn’t leave.” Albert got out of his seat and joined the others.

Medda gasped. “He can’t say that!”

“That’s what I said!” Finch exclaimed.

“Do I need to march up there right now and give him a piece of my mind? Because I will.” Medda didn’t wait for an answer. She started walking toward the doors, but the group of kids held her back.

“No, Ma, don’t. We have a plan.” Jack’s mischievous smile spread across his face. Medda smirked and raised an eyebrow in response, a look that told Jack to explain. “The leader of our little revolution can explain it better. Davey, c’mere.”

“Okay, whoa. I wouldn’t call myself the leader. I’d consider myself the Hamilton to your Washington, except I wouldn’t cheat on my partner.” David rose from his seat and walked up to the group.

“Ma, this is Davey. He’s the one I told you I met over the summer.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, David! Jack’s told me so much about you.”

“Ma,” Jack whined.

“All good things, I hope. It’s nice to meet you, too, Miss Medda.”

“Oh, definitely. Almost all he did over the summer was talk about you.”

“Ma, please, stop.” Jack crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. David could’ve sworn he saw a light blush on his cheeks.

“Alright, alright. What’s the plan?” Medda laughed, then went dead serious in a matter of seconds. David outlined the plan and soon the entire group was gathered around Medda. “I believe you kids could pull it off, I do, but are you sure you’re all up for the task? We all know there are risks.” They all looked at each other, then back at Medda and nodded. “Well, you have my full support then. You know, I don’t think I have any pride items here, but there might be a rainbow-colored thing or two in the prop room.” They all gasped and took off backstage, but Medda made two of them stay behind. “Race, baby, you stay right there. Jack and I will be right back.” They exited the auditorium and stood outside. “Jack, do you like David?”

“…Yeah? He’s a pretty cool guy.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I…”

“You do, don’t you!?” Medda smiled brightly.

“I might! I don’t know!”

“Jack, you always get the goofiest grin on your face when you talk about him and let’s not pretend you don’t say his name in your sleep.”

“Oh my god, Ma. I’m going back inside.”

“Hey, we’ll talk about this more later. I’m not letting this go.”

“La, la, la, la, la. I’m not listening!”

“Send Racetrack out here!”

A few seconds later, Race came out of the back door with fear in his eyes. Before Medda could say anything, he began to ramble. “Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me? Is Spot mad at me? Did I accidentally say something wrong? Did I-”

“Honey, no. You didn’t do anything wrong. Here, sit down.” She sat down on the back doorsteps and patted the spot beside her. He sat down and waited for her to speak this time. “Now, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, but I’m a bit worried. I’ve known you for a long enough time to know that something is wrong when you aren’t wearing eyeliner.”

“I didn’t get any sleep last night. I…I was worried about what Pulitzer would say.” He looked down and fiddled with his fingers in his lap.

“Are you sure?”

Race looked up at her and shook his head, his eyes glazed over with tears. Medda smiled sympathetically and held her arms open. He nearly threw himself into her arms and broke down. She rocked him back and forth and rubbed his back.

“They fought all night again, Miss Medda. It w-was bad. When I came out of my room, m-my Mama was gone and s-so was all of her stuff. My dad went off on a business trip today and he won’t be back until n-next week. I don’t know what I’m g-gonna do, Miss Medda. I don’t want to be alone.”

***

When the final bell rang, they all exited the prop room looking like a miniature pride parade. Romeo had gotten ahold of a rainbow boa, Elmer got her hands on fake rainbow eyelashes, and Crutchie had gotten into the glitter from the looks of himself and everyone else. Medda and Race came in from outside and he immediately ran to his boyfriend.

“Do you mind if I stay with you for a few days? Medda said I could, but I just want to make sure I’m not-”

“Of course you can stay with us, babe. You’re always welcome at Chateau Larkin.” Spot chuckled, then frowned. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, just, uh…family issues. I’ll tell you later.”

“Alright. Hey, Jack! Race is staying with us!”

“Just don’t moan too loud! Sound from your room echoes in mine and I really don’t need to hear that!” Jack laughed while trying to pick a piece of glitter off of David’s face that was dangerously close to his eye. Spot laughed mockingly in response and started to leave the auditorium with Race.

“If you aren’t at the truck within five minutes after I get there, I’m leaving without you. I have shit to do.”

“You wouldn’t.” Jack gasped.

“Oh, I would,” Spot called over his shoulder.

“Would he?” David questioned.

“He would. He’s done it before. I’ve done it to him, too, though, so it’s alright.” Jack finally got the glitter away from David’s eye.

“If you don’t make it, I could drive you. I just have to pick my little brother up first.” David offered.

“Ah, I wouldn’t want to-”

“Nonsense. I already know what you’re going to say. If Spot’s gone, you’re riding with me. No ‘buts.’”

“Alright, jeez. You know, I’m kind of excited to meet your little brother. From what you’ve said about him, he sounds like a cool little guy.”

“You two are just alike, believe me. You’ll get along perfectly.”

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buckychristwrites · 6 years ago

Text

Two Wrongs Make It Right | OS | p.p.

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: Peter's used to being the one doing the saving, but on what he assumed would be one of the hardest nights of his life, the rescuing of a stranger makes the whole thing worth it.

Word Count: 4.4k

Warnings: So fluffy

A/N: Hey! Been a while since I’ve written for my favorite Petey boy. This is for @upsidedownparker‘s 5K Writing Challenge! Thank you to Kath for letting me participate. The prompt I wrote for is Fake Dating!AU! Let me know what you think! :)

Masterlist

In hindsight, Peter had no one to blame for being in this situation except himself.

He mailed in the RSVP. He bought the gift. He rented the suit. And then, for reasons beyond even his understanding, he showed up at the wedding.

And now he was sitting on the bride’s side, waiting for the ceremony to start while trying to hide the fact that he could not for the life of him stop fidgeting. He still couldn’t figure out why he listened to Tony when he told him to come to the wedding out of spite. It seemed like good advice at the time, but now it just seemed silly. Who’s really being spited when you actually accept the pity invite from your ex-girlfriend of almost four years who cheated on you with the man she’s marrying?

The little chapel was packed, Peter noticed as he scanned the room. If he had to take a guess as to how many people were in attendance, he’d say about sixty people, seventy-five maximum. Which isn’t a terrible number. Although, with the help of Tony, he could’ve gotten around two hundred or more people there. Hell, he could’ve invited no one except his coworkers, who happen to be the Avengers by the way, and it would’ve still been cooler than anything the actual groom dished out. Not that Peter was bitter or anything like that. He had a good life, being on his way to getting a masters in biomechanics and engineering. That, on top of being an Avenger, who had time for long term relationships?

Nope, not bitter at all.

“I wish they served alcohol at these things.” The voice spooked him, causing him to jump. Turning quickly, he found you sitting next to him. From the look on your face, he could tell that you were just as uninterested in being there as he was. Your head rolled to the side to look at him. “I mean, the ceremony is just a pregame to the reception right? And pregaming generally involves drinking.” He chuckled.

“Y-yeah, that would definitely make this more tolerable,” He admitted. You huffed slightly, before extending your hand towards him and introducing yourself. He stared blankly at your hand for a second, forgetting everything he knew about talking to another human being.

“Peter. Peter Parker,” He told you as he took your hand in his and shook it. As soon as you pulled your hand away, you looked around the room for a few seconds. Peter looked up at the front again, although after a short amount of time had passed, his eyes trailed over to look at you out of the corner of his eye.

“You here for the bride?” You asked him, although he knew you were just trying to start conversation. You knew the answer by his seat in the room.

“Yeah,” He said, sounding more sullen than he had meant to. The way you rose an eyebrow and tilted your head confirmed you had noticed. “Ex-girlfriend.” You nodded once in understanding.

“Harsh,” You said simply. “But I get it. I’m an ex too.” His eyebrows furrowed together, as he looked around to make sure that he hadn’t messed up and sat on the wrong side of the room.

“Of the bride?” He asked, turning to face you again.

“The groom,” You told him. “I just sat on the bride’s side because I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of being on his.” The corners of his lips twitched. Peter knew there was more to the story, but just before curiosity got the better of him, the music changed to signal the beginning of the ceremony.

A large lump formed in his throat as he turned to watch the wedding party parade down the aisle, immediately facing forward again once they all had lined up at the front. He stood along with everyone else when the bridal song began, but he didn’t turn to face her. When she came into view, Peter swallowed down a gasp.

MJ looked beautiful, although he had expected her to, as she walked down the aisle. The closer she got to the front of the alter, the harder it was for Peter to breathe. The whole ceremony went by in a blur, as Peter had a hard time focusing on it.

It wasn’t that he was still in love with MJ, because that went out the window a long time ago. It was the fact that he thought that he would be doing better. She played him, fucked him over in a way that no one deserved. He gave her everything and she threw it away. From what people told him, karma would catch up with her in time. But it’s now been two years, and it seemed like things were only getting better for her while things were just the same as they had been for him.

“Do you, Michelle Jones, take Eugene Thompson to be your lawfully wedded husband?” The minister asked.

“I do,” She said earnestly. Flash looked way too satisfied at her answer as he turned to scan the crowd. Peter side eyed his neighbor, and chuckled as you scrolled through your phone, not even bothering with the events taking place in front of you.

“And do you, Eugene Thompson, take Michelle Jones to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do!” Flash said eagerly. He looked through the crowd again, until his eyes landed on you, and then jumped to Peter. They narrowed, and Peter looked away from him.

He zoned out, missing the rest of the ceremony and only being brought back when the crowd began to cheer and applaud. He couldn’t help but glance over at you as you stuffed your phone in your bra and lazily clapped along with the rest of the guests. The newlyweds did the traditional running out of the room while everyone cheered, but Peter was thankful that the reception was in the party center room next door, and that there was no need to move to a secondary location. Or to go outside.

The crowd began to shuffle out of the chapel. When Peter turned to where you were sitting, he found that you were already gone. He suddenly felt slightly lonely as he stood and sauntered out of the chapel with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his dress pants.

The music was loud and boisterous as he entered the reception room, the bass making the floors vibrate beneath Peter’s feet as he walked to his table. The chair tipped backwards slightly as he flopped down. The music changed as the bride and groom were introduced, but Peter ignored them, staring down at the table instead. He thought about all of the things he could be doing instead of being at this wedding. Studying. Watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Playing video games with Ned. Sleeping. Staring at a wall. Literally anything other than this.

“PENIS PARKER!”

The voice was so loud that Peter thought for a second that it was yelled over the microphone. He slowly turned to see Flash making his way towards him while being scolded by MJ, who was hanging off his arm. But Flash didn’t seem all that concerned.

“Hey, Flash,” Peter said, trying hard to hide his complete discontempt, though his monotone voice made it very unconvincing. He swallowed hard. “MJ.”

“How are you, Peter?” MJ asked in a delicate voice. He shrugged.

“Fine,” He said simply, not bothering to return the question.

“Why’d you come alone, Parker?” Flash said in a mocking tone. Peter began to think of high school, and was now really wondering why he didn’t think this would happen. “You know, the whole point of us giving you a plus one is so you can actually bring someone to the party, not look sad and pathetic when you don’t use it-”

“Why would he need a plus one when his date was also invited?” A cold voice asked. Peter spun to see you standing right behind him, two drinks in your hands as you walked over to the seat next to him and sat down. When Peter looked back up, for the first time in his entire life, he found Flash looking stunned, his mouth hanging open while no words came out. As you scooted your chair so it was pressed against Peter’s and looped your arm through his, Flash stammered in obvious frustration.

“You’re here with him?” He finally blurred out. You stared at him, with a face that read slight annoyance and confusion at the question.

“Was that not obvious?” You asked him. “I know you saw us sitting together at the ceremony, did you think that was a coincidence?” Peter had to give you a lot of credit, because with the way your stories were rolling off your tongue with such ease, he found himself almost believing them.

“Wh-how long have the two of you been together?” MJ asked, fighting to mask the shock of her own. Peter, taking the hint from you when you squeezed his bicep, spoke up.

“About a year and a half now, I believe?” He asked, turning to you. “Right, babe?”

“Two years in September,” You added, as if you were in sync with him. When Peter looked up at Flash, satisfaction filled him as he noticed the color had left his face. Flash leaned down towards you, leaving MJ with an annoyed look on her face.

“Can we talk?” Flash said so quietly that if Peter didn’t have super hearing, he wouldn’t have heard it. Without missing a beat, you looked at Peter.

“No,” You said simply, a bright smile filling your cheeks. It was obvious you were enjoying this way too much. Taken aback, Flash stood up straight again. As he put his arm around MJ’s waist, he didn’t appear to notice the glare she was shooting him.

“Thank you both for coming,” MJ said before grabbing his hand and pulling Flash away. You laughed as you watched them before turning back to Peter.

“Sorry about that,” You said as you took a sip of your drink. “You looked like you could use a bit of rescuing.” Peter shook his head as he took a large gulp of the drink you brought him. Rum and coke. Not a bad choice.

“No, thank you,” He said genuinely. “I’ve never seen Flash act like that before in all the years I’ve known him. Made this whole thing worth it.” You laughed before taking another sip of your drink. A long amount of time had passed before Peter realized he was staring at you. “So I have to ask. What’s the story between the two of you?” Rolling your eyes, you finished your drink before turning to him.

“I dated Flash in college,” You paused to laugh slightly. “For not quite five months.” Peter’s eyebrows met his hairline. He had thought, by Flash’s behavior, that it had been a lot longer than that. You laughed again when you saw his expression. “Yeah, not the longest time but long enough for me to be embarrassed by it.” You folded your hands on the table. “It was in my junior year. I had just gotten out of a bad relationship and really only wanted someone to fool around with. But he wanted more, and I figured what the hell?” You shrugged. “He was crazy clingy and a huge douchebag. I was getting ready to break up with him when he told me he was in love with me.” You shuttered. “That was a rough day. And now every time I see him, he hints that he’ll drop anyone and everyone if I said the word. So the goal for this evening is to not be alone with him at any point ever.” Peter nodded.

“Fair enough,” He said. In the back of his head, he noted to remember to call Ned later to tell him everything he had found out about the man who was the biggest bully in school, once upon a time. You leaned on the table, bringing your hands up to rest your chin on.

“And now I have a date,” You pointed out. “Which makes it even harder for him to corner me alone.” There was a hint of flirtatiousness in your voice that made Peter blush and look away. While you were a complete stranger and he knew nothing about you, there was a sort of comfort in knowing that he wouldn’t have to spend the reception by himself. And he found you incredibly attractive, which didn’t hurt either.

You sat back slightly in your seat, eyes narrowed at Peter.

“So let me guess,” You started, tilting your head. “High school sweethearts. Thought you were going to be together forever.” Peter felt his chest deflate. “And then one day you came home from a long day of work to find the love of your life screwing the biggest asshole on the planet in your bed.” Peter visibly flinched, and you softened a little bit. “Shit. That’s horrible. I’m so sorry it went down like that.” When Peter caught your eye again, he smiled slightly.

“It’s been years. It’s fine,” He said, shrugging. “Besides, you weren’t completely right.” His smile got wider. “I was coming home from class, not work.” For whatever reason, he felt his heart skip a beat when you smiled back at him.

The two of you whispered throughout all of the emotional parent and wedding party speeches, receiving glares from the people sharing the table as well as surrounding tables. But neither Peter nor you cared. It was the only way either of you could get through the never ending compliments of Flash and MJ as a couple.

Soon after the speeches were over, the newlyweds were brought to the dance floor for their first dance. Perfect by Ed Sheeran began to play, and Peter scoffed. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, you turned to him.

“I bet you anything she only picked this song because he turned down all of the other songs she would’ve much rather picked,” You said as you watched them, an amused smile on your face. Peter laughed a little louder than he intended.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” He told you.

The DJ invited everyone else to join them, and he turned to you.

“Wanna dance?” He asked, holding out his hand. You stared at it, and he could see the wheels turning in your mind before you smiled.

“I’d love to,” You said before slipping your fingers through his and letting him lead you to the dance floor.

As you and him got into a groove together, Peter couldn’t help but notice the looks the two of you were receiving from both MJ and Flash, and for a quick second he felt slightly guilty. He didn’t come to the wedding in an attempt to make MJ jealous, and he didn’t go along with your plot to piss off Flash. The last thing he would want to do was ruin their day, even after everything they did to him.

“God, can you stop with the guilty looks please?” You moaned, and the smile on your face let Peter know you weren’t trying to be hostile. “You should be offended and angry. They clearly have an issue with you having a good time, when they fucked you over so bad.” Peter looked away from you. There was no doubting how right you were. The looks on the newlyweds’ faces read confusion and discontempt. It was obvious that they were letting the newfound information of Peter’s relationship status affect their moods. And despite the fact that it was a very elaborate lie, he was still quite pleased by the whole thing.

Your body was pressed against Peter’s and he was painfully aware of it. He knew that you were just trying to make it look realistic to your audience. It would definitely look odd if the two of you danced like a couple of eighth grader’s at the school dance when you were claiming to be a couple of two years. But there was something different about it. Obviously MJ wasn’t the last person he had been intimate with, but this was a level of intimacy that he hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

When the song ended, you planted a kiss on Peter’s cheek before pulling from his grasp, and for a quick second, he felt a sort of void from it.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” You told him, your dress twirling as you spun around and walked away. He watched the way it looked like you were gliding, losing himself for a quick second. The sound of a throat clearing from behind him brought him back to Earth.

“Hey, Peter,” A voice said, and he turned to find MJ smiling at him. He could practically feel his heart fall from his chest.

“H-hey MJ,” He said in the best excited voice that he could muster. Through her kind smile, he could see the discomfort in her face. “Beautiful wedding.” She looked around, nodding in agreement.

“Thank you,” She said distantly before turning back to him. “And thank you so much for coming. It’s...it’s really nice to see you. I wasn’t sure if you were actually going to come.” Peter took this time to look around the room himself. Everything about this conversation was making him uncomfortable.

“I wasn’t either,” He said truthfully, turning back to her with a blank face. She swallowed hard.

“Look, Peter. I just wanna say-” She began, but he didn’t let her finish.

“Don’t,” He said, shaking his head. She opened her mouth to speak again, which only made him shake his head harder. “Really. Don’t.” He knew all she wanted to do was apologize, and he wasn’t really in a position to want to lie and tell her it was all okay and forgiven. While he was over it, for the most part, there was still no part of him that had any interest in forgiving her or reconnecting. He just didn’t have the stomach for it.

She nodded, biting her lip and looking down at the floor. When she looked back up, Peter couldn’t deny the tears in her eyes.

“You look good, Peter,” She told him in a whisper. There was a moment where he just stared at her, his mind running blank, until one face popped into his mind.

“I- my girlfriend. She’s in the bathroom,” He said suddenly, referring to you as he pointed in the direction he had just seen you heading in moments ago. “I should probably go look for her.” Without hesitation, he turned and all but ran towards the bathrooms.

He turned down the hallway just as you were walking out, a look of surprise and confusion on your face. You opened your mouth to speak, but something changed in your face that Peter couldn’t quite understand. Suddenly, you were on him, shoving him against the wall.

“Just go with it,” You said quickly before your mouth crashed into his. His eyes were wide as he stared at you, but then he melted into your kiss. His hands found your hips and his eyes closed once your fingers entangled themselves in his hair. Something ignited in Peter as he deepened the kiss, bringing one of his hands up to hold the side of your head.

“Oh come the fuck on.”

The two of you jumped away from each other as Flash stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

“The only person who’s allowed to get any sort of action at this wedding is me,” He snapped before storming passed you and Peter and throwing the men’s bathroom door open. When the door swung shut again, you turned to Peter and smiled.

“I heard him coming, thought we could give him a show,” You said coyly. “Not bad, Parker.” He was speechless for a minute, his mouth opening and closing a couple of times as he tried to come up with what to say.

“How about we get out of here?” He blurted out accidentally. But when the look on your face was happily surprised and not angry or disgusted, he felt the embarrassment from it wash away. “I could buy you dinner, and we could actually have a fun night and not be surrounded by people we hate.” Considering it, you nodded.

“You know, I think I’d love that,” You told him. “Being petty and pissing Flash off on his wedding day is a great time, but it’s not worth it.” Peter held out his hand, and you took it without an ounce of reluctancy before the two of you walked back through the reception hall. Though he tried his best not to, he couldn’t help but notice MJ sitting at the wedding party table with her chin resting on the palm of her hand, looking around the room in complete uninterest. He thought about letting her know he was leaving, but then decided he didn’t care.

The evening air hit the two of you once you walked out of the wedding hall. Deep purples, pinks, orange and blues painted the sky as the sun was setting. While you walked, the two of you were silent. Peter looked over to find you admiring the sky above, your face awestruck. He couldn’t help but think of what he would’ve missed out on had he decided to skip the wedding. Sure, he wouldn’t have had to relive what MJ and Flash had put him through, but he also wouldn’t have had the chance to meet you, which made it worth it.

“Where do you wanna go?” He asked you, seeing the contemplation in your eyes as you mulled the question over.

“We should just walk for a while and see what we come across,” You told him. There was a long pause before you spoke again. “I almost didn’t come to the wedding, but I’m really glad I did.” You looked up at him. “I’m really glad we had the chance to meet.” Peter sighed in relief.

“I was just thinking the same exact thing,” He told you. The whole night he felt like your thoughts were in sync with his. Which made the experience with you all the better.

“We should get faked married and invite them, see how they react to that,” You said with a mischievous look in your eyes. “That really might push them to divorce.”

“Maybe one day we’ll get really married,” He said before he could stop it, instantly cursing himself. The thought had crossed his mind, but he didn’t mean to say it outloud. That was one fault Peter knew about himself. His filter didn’t always work. The tension that rose in his muscles relaxed the second you laughed.

“We’ll see how this dinner goes first,” You told him. Internally, he thanked every possible spiritual being in the universe that you didn’t punch him or run away instantly.

Within minutes, the sky was dark. Peter found himself growing protective, slipping his coat over your shoulders and pulling you slightly closer to him. Tony had engraved these habits into him, and now he couldn’t stop himself.

“So,” You said, drawing out the word as you looked around at the city surrounding you. Peter looked around with you, as it was obvious you were looking for people. But it was just the two of you for as far as he could see. When you looked back at him, you smiled slyly. “Are we just going to keep walking around, or are you going to stop pretending that you don’t have your web shooter on you right now?” Peter felt his entire body go cold.

“I- I don’t- my what? How- I don’t know what you’re talking about,” He stuttered out, shaking his head and breaking eye contact with you. Gently, you grabbed his sleeve and rolled it up to reveal the bracelet that Stark had made him, the one that turned into his web shooter as soon as he touched it. He stared at it for a few seconds before his eyes looked up to you.

“How the hell did you know?” He asked, slightly afraid. Lifting your hands, you reached for a button on his shirt, and when he looked down he saw that it was unbuttoned and showing the red Iron Spider armor he wore under his shirts. You were gentle as you rebuttoned it closed, tapping it with your fingertips before pulling away.

“Besides, Peter,” You said, your smile growing. “You’re not the only one with secrets here.” As you turned away, Peter swore he saw your eyes turn a piercing red color, but they were normal when you looked back at him. “So are we flying or not?”

Peter thought long and hard for a moment. You were a stranger, who evidently knew one of his biggest secrets. And while he should’ve taken that as sign to run away, there was something about you that told him not to. If you were a threat, you would’ve acted on it already now that the two of you were alone. But the smile on your face was too kind, and the way your eyes glowed in the moonlight made him take a chance. He always loved a good risk.

Before he could think about it for any longer, he activated his web shooter, before grabbing you and pulling you closer.

“Hold tight,” He said. Nodding, you jumped onto his back and wrapped your arms and legs tightly around him. With his free hand under your thigh, he took a deep breath and began to sprint, shooting up a web that sent the two of you soaring through the air. The quiet evening air was filled with the sound of your laughter bouncing off the buildings, which elevated his heart to a level he couldn’t recall it being in a long time. As he shot out another web, a bird began flying towards the two of you. He was about to swerve out of the way, but there was a flash of red and suddenly the bird had moved a few yards to the left. His mouth formed into an O shape as he whipped his head to look at you, but you were looking at the sky, smiling and pretending to not notice. As he faced forward again, he couldn’t hide a smile of his own, despite his best efforts.

It was clear that he was definitely not the only one with secrets here.

And he couldn’t wait to learn all of them.

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