#yes this is an invite to send me pictures of dresses you found on google dot com

[excessive-moisture]

Hey if i were to hypothetically draw pebbles in a dress. What kind of dress. Give me ideas.

[ladyeliot]

Show me your phone

Request: Anonymous: Hiii I adore your writing!!! I was wondering if you could write cevansxfemale reader (famous or not) where he’s on jimmy fallon playing show me you phone and your relationship is revealed? ❤️

Pairing: Chris Evans x Famous!Female Reader

Warnings: No one/Fluff

Word count: 1536

A/N: Sorry for my spelling and grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language, I am learning.

The two of you had met by chance one autumn night ten months ago. Quite unexpected, unusual and with tremendous prejudices towards each other, because of the image the media projected of you.

It was obvious that you weren’t born for each other, or at least that’s what you thought the first time you went on your first date. But then one thing led to another, and your sporadic encounters in the most unusual places made you realise that maybe it would be better to give each other a chance to erase those prejudices you had in your minds. And so it was that as the days, weeks and months went by, you began to be in a relationship without being aware of the fact. You understood each other very well, you both worked in the same sector and that allowed you to understand and accept each other in many aspects.

For the time being you kept your relationship a secret, you were afraid of breaking the magic, of the media destroying what you had created. So your life as a couple was reduced to intimacy, living together and escapes to places far from the hand of God. However, you knew that sooner or later it would be discovered, it didn’t worry you too much, but you wanted to strengthen your relationship as much as possible until that moment arrived.

That night, Chris was going to be interviewed on Jimmy Fallon’s late night show because of the recent release of the movie Avengers: Endgame. It was common on nights when Chris was on one of the late night shows for you to stay at home, cook your favourite meal and wait on the couch with Dodger to watch him on TV. Before he came on, you used to send him a text message encouraging him and a picture of you and Dodger on your couch. It was like a ritual for both of you.

In a millisecond that message reached the other side of town, where Chris was staring at the image with a slightly scandalous laugh. He was in his dressing room, minutes away from going on air, and could barely reply with “I love you both”. 

The interview was great, Chris talked about the day the cast said their goodbyes and how Antony Mackie found out that Captain America was going to give Falcon his shield. All the anecdotes that any Marvel fan would love to hear. Yet, as is well known, Jimmy Fallon’s shows bring with them a number of embarrassing moments for the interviewee, as well as the interviewer. 

That night both Chris and Jimmy were going to play ‘Show me your phone’, a game where they had to show whatever material was hidden on their mobile phones. The moment they got up from their respective seats, Chris realised that he hadn’t deleted any of your conversations, you were present in his whatsapp, his picture gallery, his social media messages, emails… in other words, his whole phone was a personal diary of your relationship.

His nervousness was present as he took a seat opposite Jimmy at the circular table. In front of them there was a red button, in the centre a mobile phone holder and next to it was an electronic panel showing all the possibilities that could come up, as if it were a wheel of fortune. There was the icon for Whatsapp, Safari, the photo gallery, Instagram, email, last calls, notes…

“Okay, do you know how this works?” asked Jimmy putting on his jacket. “Well, for those of you who don’t know, here’s how this works. Chris and I will take turns pressing the red button we have here, which will randomly select one of these icons we have on the board.” Chris began to laugh somewhat nervously. “Each icon will reveal something we need to share on our phone…”

The audience began to laugh too at the worried gestures they were both making.

“Just so you know, neither of us know what’s behind each icon.” Jimmy looks at Chris who was still laughing. “Are you ready?”

“I’m not too sure about this,” Chris shared scratching his beard. “I forgot to clean some stuff off my phone.”

“That makes two of us,” Jimmy said laughing along with him. “Alright, here we go. Since you’re the guest you press first.”

“What an honour,” Chris said wryly, which drew laughter from the audience. “Here we go!”

Chris pressed the red button and quickly the icons on the panel began to light up, and you stood expectantly contemplating the moment. On the one hand the situation was amusing, but on the other hand you were completely scared and wished that what he had said about cleaning his phone wasn’t true.

The light stopped specifically on the Safari browser icon, so that a text was displayed that said 'Show us your last Google search’. Chris frowned and looked thoughtful.

“Safari, show us your last Google search,” Jimmy repeated.

“Okay!” exclaimed Chris grabbing his phone and heading to the app. “If I’m being honest I have no idea what my last search was… Oh!" 

Chris started laughing without showing his phone, which caused everyone around him to laugh hilariously.

"Okay, okay,” Chris set the mobile down on the small platform. “I thought it was a funny idea.”

The camera pointed straight at him, checking that his last search had been 'Halloween costume ideas for your dog’. The set erupted in laughter, Jimmy clasped his hands to his chest, laughing his head off.

“This- This is so funny,” he said between guffaws. “Did you find anything interesting?”

“I did!” began Chris. “I found a really funny Mario and Luigi one, but it wasn’t too scary, you know. I’ve got to keep looking.”

“Yeah, not too much,” concluded Jimmy. “Come on! Here we go. My turn.”

The panel came back on, the light moving between icons until it stopped on the 'YouTube’ app. Jimmy frowned, and the panel informed him that it should show the history of videos watched.

“Come on, show us those videos!” exclaimed Chris encouragingly.

“I’m extremely scared,” said Jimmy with a serious and comical look on his face, reaching for his mobile phone. “I have no idea… Oh!” he began to laugh. “Okay, okay. This… I’m not good at cooking, don’t judge me.”

'How to cook oatmeal’, 'Easy oatmeal recipe’, 'Oatmeal ideas you need to try’. The audience started laughing.

“All right, all right,” Jimmy held up his hands. “I can explain. The other day was Mother’s Day, and my kids and I wanted to make my wife a special breakfast, so we had to help ourselves to YouTube.”

“That’s pretty cool man!” exclaimed Chris.

“Yes, my wife ate her breakfast,” he laughed and picked up his mobile phone. “And she’s still alive for now, so it was a triumph.”

On the other side of New York City, you were watching the show with amusement, curled up next to Dodger on the couch. You were so engrossed that you barely noticed Chris’s Whatsapp icon pop up.

“Show us the last message you sent on Whatsapp” Jimmy read out eliciting cheers from the audience. “Come on!”

Chris reddened and ran his hand over his face.

“Alright, alright,” he began to laugh nervously. “It says there the last message I sent, the person too?”

“Well, you have to put the mobile phone down,” Jimmy laughed.

“Okay,” Chris started to look up. “Last text message…” he took a breath and looked at Jimmy hesitantly.“Oh man…”

Your last conversation appeared before everyone’s eyes, showing only the last photograph you had sent him with Dodger and Chris’s reply 'I love you both’. Chris’s countenance showed an inner nervousness, hidden in a nervous laugh and flushed cheeks.

“Wait, wait,” Jimmy said looking at him and frowning “She’s Y/N Y/L/N with your dog? With Dodger?”

The audience exclaimed a sweet 'aw’ when they got a glimpse of the photograph, but Chris was scratching his beard nervously.

“This is really sweet!” said Jimmy looking at Chris, “This is really cute.” “I know, I know,” Chris commented, nodding slowly.

“Are you two-?” asked Jimmy hesitantly, to which Chris took another breath, somewhat embarrassed by the situation.

“I think so,” Chris laughed nervously. “I mean, I don’t know what’s going to happen after this.”

Jimmy laughed, accompanied by the audience.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Jimmy handed the mobile phone back to Chris. “We’ll invite Y/N over next week and let her have her revenge on you.”

Both the audience and you from your living room started to burst out laughing. Contrary to what you might have thought right now, Steve wasn’t angry at all, not even annoyed, you were even a little relieved. Your relationship had been made known to the world naturally, as if you were just another couple texting each other and telling each other how much you love each other. Now you just had to face a new day-to-day life.

Taglist Open (DM)

MAIN MASTERLIST

[encouleurdevie]

OKAY SO HEAR ME OUT. TIMOTHEE CHALAMET AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES. THE RINGS THAT HE WEARS GIVE ME A STROKE. YOU SHOULD WRITE SOMETHING INCORPORATING THOSE RINGS CAUSE... GODDAMN 🥵

Rings

a/n: …. sorry for disappearing for a while. send me ideas, i read them all, and i literally have google docs opened for all of them it’s just a matter of making myself be productive lol i love you. thank you for reading it means more than you’ll ever know

word count: 3100

“Be there in 5 minutes.” you typed as the taxi sped down the road towards a hotel that was much too fancy for your taste. But it was where Timothee was staying and you couldn’t say no to an invitation to come and take pictures of him before his big night. He was a nominee at the Golden Globes this year, and according to his previous texts, his stylists had gone all out for the occasion. One mirror selfie prompted you to pack your camera bag and hail a taxi to where he was staying. You were already drooling over how stunning his head-to-toe black outfit would look on your newest camera, which only shot in black and white.

As a photographer, you had a knack for capturing people at their best. It didn’t matter how confident they were or how camera shy they claimed to be, you had a way of making your subjects comfortable and carefree. People often told you that your photos were some of the most unique and beautiful they’d seen, which is how you had gotten to the point of photographing the enigmatic but easily recognizable faces of Hollywood. And it was going well, for the most part. Celebrities loved the attention they received after you released their photos. They loved feeling so special because of your attention to detail and poise behind the camera, and you loved the fact that they felt beautiful because of your photos. However, many of them would simply pay you for your time and then be on their way, never to speak to you again unless someone from their team of people reached out to you for another shoot. 

Timothee, however, was not one of these people. Months earlier, he had personally reached out to you online, expressing how much he liked your photos and how he’d love to do a shoot sometime. Nothing prepared you for the whirlwind of events that were to follow.

The first time you had taken his picture, you were blown away by how effortlessly attractive he was as he posed for you. The pictures turned out beautifully, but nothing could capture his essence as clearly as you could see it in person, so animated and electrifying. It would be a lie to say you weren’t smitten from the first click of your camera. As it turned out, Timothee was drawn to your passion for photography, your eclectic style, and the way your eyes looked when you stared at him carefully and told him how to pose. The second or third time you had taken his picture, a late night shoot on some of the hidden streets in LA, you had barely gotten ten pictures before he couldn’t stand it anymore and kissed you hard in an alleyway. You remembered waking up next to him, messy haired and in your underwear, the next morning. 

The photoshoots and secret rendezvous became routine, and before long you became a somewhat permanent member of his team, showing up to events and interviews and snapping photos. On the surface, you were merely his photographer, a background character in the spotlight of his life, but behind the dressing room door, he would be carefully undressing you and kissing you with a passion you didn’t know was possible. A secret affair from the public, and an erotic motivation for your art. 

As the taxi cab turned corners, you reminisced on the stolen kisses and the heat of his body moving against yours. When the hotel, in all of its high-end California glory, came into view, you shook your head in an attempt to get your mind back on the present. You thanked the cab driver and stepped out into the heat of Beverly Hills, walking quickly into the hotel lobby. 

Timothee had instructed you where to go once you were inside, so you made your way down the winding hallways until you found his room number. You knocked on the door twice, and waited. Within seconds, the door was yanked open and you were standing in front of the man who had come to be your muse. Timothee looked even better every time you saw him, and this time was no exception. The outfit looked even better in person than it had on your phone. The pristine black fabric of his shirt and pants fit his body snugly, and the small sequins that dotted his Louis Vuitton harness glinted in the light.

“Well hello, stranger,” he smiled.

“Hello, Mr. Fashion Man,” you replied, taking in the bold yet totally tasteful outfit.

He laughed his beautiful laugh and motioned for you to come into the posh hotel room which was decorated with various art deco furniture and paintings. Instead of having you set up in the indoor space, he walked across the room and out into an enclosed outdoor patio area.

“I was thinking this would be a cool spot,” he stated and looked at you for approval. You glanced around at the tall plants that bordered the small yard and admired the varying green hues of the space.

“This will be perfect,” you exclaimed, “but we need one thing.”

You dashed back into the room, and grabbed a tall metal chair that had caught your eye on the way in. You set it down in the grass, and made sure it was perfectly framed by leaves.

Timothee watched you closely, and smirked. “Always so full of ideas, aren’t you?”

You grinned at him and started unloading your camera bag onto a table just outside of the sliding glass door. You felt his eyes on you even after you looked away, making your heart beat ever so slightly faster.

“The newest addition to my collection,” you said proudly, reaching in your bag and then holding up your new camera. 

“Is that a film camera?” he stepped closer to you to see it better. And that was when you noticed them. As he reached up to try holding the camera, you noticed the small collection of rings positioned on his fingers. One on his pointer, one on his middle finger. You’d never seen him wear jewelry before and were taken aback by how good the rings looked on him. A tiny detail against the rest of his outfit, but a detail that for some reason made you lose all focus. As you gazed at his fingers, you realized you hadn’t answered his question.

“Yes. Um, yeah. I found it at an antique store last week and fixed it up.”

His eyes flicked up to you, obviously noticing the way you hesitated, and saw your eyes locked on his fingers as he held your camera. 

You brushed it off. “Anyway, I thought it would be cool to try it out. I forgot how much I love film.”

“Yeah. Okay, let’s do it.” He handed you the camera, and you noticed the way he made sure to brush his fingers against yours. This was going to be a long shoot if your mind kept wandering to other places, like it was starting to in that moment.

Timothee perched himself gently on the chair as you finished setting up the camera. When everything was ready to go, you brought the camera to your face, ready to start snapping away. The looks he was giving you could have melted iron. He knew exactly what he was doing too. As his eyes burned through the camera and he moved between poses, he began absently twisting the rings around his fingers. He moved them around, up and down his fingers, and spinning them around. 

The slight movement, paired with the fire in his eyes was making you squeeze your legs together. The rings were sexy, distracting, and clearly causing a lot of feelings to stir within you. His fingers were the only thing on your mind. You were always surprised at how he didn’t even have to say a single world. He just had to lock his big green eyes on yours and you were putty in his hands.

You pulled the camera away from your face, accidentally revealing your flushed cheeks.

“I just… um. I need to check something with the… uh… the shutter speed.” you said and it came out sounding more like a strangled whisper.

Timothee stood up instantly, and within seconds he was standing right in front of you. 

“No you don’t.” he cooed. You felt his presence so close to yours, and once again your eyes were glued to the rings on his fingers. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “You’re aching aren’t you?” 

You looked up at him, and that was the end of it. He took the camera from your shaky hands and bent down until his lips were pressed roughly on yours. If this was what getting busted for having dirty thoughts about Timothee meant, you would gladly accept the consequences. 

He started nudging you backwards into the hotel room, one hand on the small of your back the other reaching out to set the camera back in your bag. Obviously, you wouldn’t be needing that for a while. You reached up, still moving your lips messily against his, and clasped your hands behind his head, gently touching the curls that graced the back of his neck.

Timothee pulled away for a second, letting you both catch your breath. His demeanor had gone from the smiley boy who greeted you at the door, to a worked up and dominating version of himself. You could sense how worked up he was too, and how much he craved your body. Every time something like this happened between the two of you, it was like the first time. There was so much sexual tension between you and the second someone initiated anything it was like an explosion of repressed feelings. And it felt so good.

As soon as Timothee led you across the threshold of the room, he fell back onto a chair that had been pulled away from expensive-looking desk. He pulled you right on top of him so that your chests were right up against each other. You straddled his legs, causing your flowy skirt to bunch up around your thighs. Timothee’s hands followed the fabric, gently grazing the skin on your legs until he had a firm grasp on your hips underneath your skirt. As he traced his fingers along the waistband of your panties, you felt the rings against you, causing your breath to hitch. 

“I saw you looking at them, baby.” he whispered against your ear. “Thought you might like them.”

“Fuck.” you groaned against his neck. “They look so good…”

You pushed yourself closer to him, grinding your hips onto his and feeling the outline of his hardening cock beneath you. In a swift movement, he pulled one hand away from your waist and brought it back down on your ass quickly. The warmth of his hand coupled with the cool metal of the rings made you squeal in anticipation. His hands guided your body as you continued to rub your hips against his lower half.

“Stand up.” he directed, his voice coming out cool and confidently arousing. You climbed off his lap, painstakingly dragging your body away from his, despite only wanting to be touching him everywhere. You stood up on shaky legs between his knees as he looked up at you from where he continued to sit. His hands gripped the backs of your thighs, his stare filled with desire. Calmly, and still gauging your reaction, he gathered the material of your skirt in his fists and tugged downward. The light fabric fell from your body smoothly and pooled around your ankles, leaving you in your blouse and lacy underwear in front of him. His eyes hungrily raked across your body.

You really couldn’t stand not touching him for a second longer, so you bent down and caught his lips in yours. His hands cupped your jaw as you licked into his mouth, and you dropped your hands to the top of his pants. You popped the first button open and fumbled around until your fingers worked the zipper down. He pushed up against you, still kissing you hard, just enough so that he could push his black pants down to his knees. 

“Now come back here.” he mumbled against your lips. You didn’t need to be told twice. You let your body fall back open, spreading your legs so that you were straddling him again, this time only underwear between your lower halves. Your draped your arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer to you.

Timothee snaked one hand up the back of your blouse, sending a shiver up your spine, and began inching the other hand down the front of your panties. 

“I know what you want, princess.” he whispered. “I know you’ve been thinking about my fingers since you walked in the goddamn door.”

He ran a finger teasingly across your slit, and his face broke into a cocky grin as soon as he realized how wet you were for him. His eyes were locked on yours with such intensity you felt like if you broke the stare you might burst into flames. He began rubbing his fingers in slow circles around your clit, eliciting a string of moans to come tumbling from your lips, which you were biting down on to try and stifle the noise.

But your mouth quickly fell open as he slowly, slowly pushed a finger into you. His face remained calm but he knew exactly what he was doing to you, knew exactly the way he made you feel. You whimpered as you felt his ring make contact with your entrance. 

“That feel good baby?”

You didn’t reply, but merely sighed heavily in response, feeling so worked up. 

“I said does that feel good baby.”

“Fuck.. yes I-” Before you could finish speaking he was inserting a second finger, and didn’t stop until both fingers were ring-deep inside of you. You could feel every inch of his fingers sending waves of pleasure straight to your brain. He stilled for a second, still with his fingers inside of you and tilted his face up to yours. He just looked at you, his face emotionless but stern, studying you closely. He was driving you crazy, edging you on, and still giving you that stupid look. This was exactly what you craved.

“Look at me.” he said. “Look me in the eyes when I touch you.” You dragged your eyes open to meet his only inches away. He pulled his fingers down and out in one quick motion, before sliding them right back in and starting up a rhythm. In and out, scissoring you open a bit, feeling your walls, rings colliding with your entrance each time he pushed his fingers back in. You dripped onto his fingers, covering his knuckles with your juices. Moans spilled from your mouth as you bounced lightly on his fingers. You gripped his shoulders, pulling at the black fabric that was still annoyingly on his body. The way Timothee touched you radiated this dominant energy despite the fact that you were on top. He had a way of making you feel like all of you was his, no matter what position you ended up in, and it drove you wild. 

You started feeling your stomach get tighter, teetering on the edge of cumming all over his fingers. He noticed this too and began pulling his fingers out of you, not ready to let you come apart just yet.

“Clean it up.” he said putting his fingers close by your face. You took his hand in both of yours and slowly licked up the mess you made on his fingers. Your brain felt fuzzy, still grasping for the high he denied you, and as you licked yourself off his fingers your heart pounded in needy anticipation. Timothee watched you with hooded eyes and flushed cheeks. He began edging a hand down into his underwear, which were tight as his cock strained against them. You watched his jaw clench and unclench as he began pumping himself, getting harder and harder as you licked his fingers.

The sight was enough to throw you over the edge. You could not wait any longer. 

You let his hand drop from yours and you pushed yourself up and against him until the tip of his dick was right at your entrance. 

“You gonna fuck me, baby? You wanna ride my dick?” Timothee hissed.

You groaned in response and dropped your body down, letting his cock fill you all the way up until you bottomed out. A low, loud groan fell from his mouth and his hands found their way back to your hips. You allowed yourself to fixate on the feeling of him inside of you, filling you up so perfectly and sending jolts of pleasure throughout your body.

After a second of adjustment, his hands found your hips again, and began guiding you, up and down, roughly, against him. The rhythm got faster and faster, and you whimpered above him as the incredible sensations racked through your body. He groaned beneath you, loving the way your pussy felt around him and the way your nails dug into the skin on his shoulders. He leaned forward and placed open mouthed kisses along your collarbone which was peeking out over the top of your now very messed up blouse, as the two of you got closer and closer. 

You dropped your head down onto his shoulder as you felt yourself start to tighten around him. 

“I’m gonna cum, oh my god. I’m gonna cum.” you moaned into his neck, feeling his hot skin and the tight breaths coming out of him. 

“You look sooo good, Y/N,” he whined moving his hands to your ass and rocking you against him. It was like you couldn’t get close enough to each other, and your bodies moved together in hot quick motions. Timothee angled himself into you and you suddenly felt him so deeply, so electrically, so incredibly well. You felt yourself come apart around his cock, grinding your hips down into his and crying out as the pleasure flowed through your body. 

The intensity of your orgasm was enough to throw Timothee over the edge too. He fucked up into you roughly as you clenched yourself around him, still coming down from your own high. He moaned your name loudly in your ear as he came undone, cumming in hot spurts inside you, and still holding your hips tightly against him. 

His dominant aura began to disappear as he recomposed himself, and his face melted into a smile. 

“God, I’m so obsessed with you.” he said, breathing heavily.

You leaned forward and kissed him gently on the cheek. “You’re my muse, Timothee.” You peppered more kisses on his cheeks and neck.

The smile stayed plastered on his face for the rest of the evening, and through the award show he attended later, where he beamed at the rest of the cameras, thinking about how none of them could ever compare to you.

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep6: Joey Wheeler is on Fire, Yet Again

Came down with a little sickness-not the biggie, just a little sly guy. But I took some meds, I’m a little floaty, I’ve only been listening to baroque music all morning for some reason? And I hate baroque music usually? But I’ll leave it to bro to tell me if this is fluid enough.

Just so you know, these caps were kind of a hot mess for a while and some of them read like that Garfield in of hot eat the food comic until...today. So pls don’t judge me, Judge my damn DMV where no one was following Covid regulations because I’m pretty sure that’s where I got this damn cold.

We start off with Roland getting more attention than he ever has in his entire life. Like honestly, I don’t know what Roland’s job really is...but he’s got a very diverse set of very useless skills. One of which, is knowing how to announce sports games that aren’t really a sport, while those games he’s announcing slowly fall into chaos.

Anyway, Roland’s taking so long cherishing his sweet time before everything goes to hell, that he’s boring Joey, who’s kinda turned into a ball of stress in the waiting room.

A lot of this episode is us watching them watching Joey having a break down moment by moment, TBH.

(read more under the cut)

Yugi telling Joey to study his cards and straight up--what?

Like at this point they know what’s on the cards, right? Like there comes a point where even Yugioh cards have a finite amount of words and I’m just going to assume that like...Joey probably knows them all in his own deck, right?

(bro note: they have no limit on what they will put on a card)

Then again, maybe Yugi doesn’t know what “study” means?

Also, appreciate how some artist crosshatched the hell on Joey’s nose there and I zoomed out and ruined it.

Now for some reason every duelist is hanging out in the duel lodge, including our current arch-villain guy who’s brought a book. I want to know what book this guy even reads so no one could suspect he’s actually a hacker who uses computers. He’s reading romance, right? And I don’t think he’d even be into Twilight, I think he’s straight up into hard core Mom romance like a lame ass Nicholas Sparks over there reading “Dear John” for the millionth time because he is completely un-phased by anything else happening in this room.

Joey, our hero, just out there being an asshole for no reason.

After Tea is pushed into a locker or something screaming about her need for female friends (which she screamed in earshot of Rebecca again, who I figured was on friends terms with her after last episode...but I guess not) Leon hops up to remind us that we should be caring about the fact that his character exists.

And like, I love Leon’s hair color--that’s a good choice, and legit that is the color I tried to dye my hair at the beginning of the epidemic (it didn’t work PS, my hair cannot take dye for the life of it) but also like...he just kinda feels like a weak Rebecca as far as characters go. He’s young, he’s good at cards...I think he goes to a private school? That’s all I can think of about Leon.

He mostly just reminds us that the big prize of this tourney is to duel Yugi, who anyone could have dueled at any point even without the tournament.

On the way out of the...duel room? lounge? Area? Joey decides to like...make peace with Zigfried, and I gotta tell you, I kinda have to side with Zigfried, because Joey spent the last ten minutes being a freak in the dressing room/lounge/bathroom and at one point looked like he was going to hold the entire locker room in a stranglehold.

I would also want some space from Joey Wheeler, is what I’m saying.

After insulting Joey’s style (which honestly, Joey...has a style? He pops his collar, that’s his entire style.) Zigfried assures us that Joey’s gonna lose and like...

...probably, right? Just looking at the plausible direction this season will go.

Anyway, Joey is such a mess (which is the theme of the episode, that Joey needs to learn to chill in order to win at card games) that Rebecca is like “I understand if all of you leave me to go help our poor baby Joey.” And no one felt bad for her.

Mokuba comes over to tell everyone all of the Kaiba family secrets because Mokuba has no filter.

Seto has devoted himself to staring at a computer screen for the rest of this episode. I guess he’ll put their names into Google, realize that social media hasn’t been invented yet, and then just lie his head down on the desk and take a power nap until the tournament is over. Much like I did after taking Dayquil this afternoon.

I like how Seto dressed for success and then locked himself in the server room for most of this arc so far. Maybe he’s just...really tired, I dunno. I don’t really blame the guy, he’s had a hard time.

And then Yugi was like “DAMN IT MOKUBA, JUST ONCE CAN YOU NOT INVITE THE ILLUMINATI???”

And we had a weird scene where Yugi just started talking to the ghost and it was while he was talking to everyone else, and the show didn’t treat it like that’s a weird thing to do...but it was a weird thing to do.

This show does that sometimes, where I guess they imply that Yugi’s Pharaoh conversations are split second conversations but...they’re not, right?

Also this chick ain’t gone yet, and Mokuba is just failing at his entire job for not zeroing in on vibes coming off this chick like stinky cheeseman.

So listen.

Did the Kaibas make like 3 types of Blue Eyes Caboose to one up Noah? Because Noah made one choo choo dragon, and then Mokuba and Seto were like “how dare” and then made sure that everyone ride every single version of the blue eyes caboose just to see how proud of them they were.

How many months of troubleshooting was the train? Like how long in development did Seto and Mokuba spend on these? A lot right? Like most of the time?

I did not check the subs to see if Roland said Jumping or Champion but I like to believe that Roland thought it was a cool new name he gave him.

Then these guys all showed up.

Hey so...can we talk seating arrangements?

Tea decided not to sit next to Yugi after complaining about not spending time with him for like how many episodes? Or was it too awkward to sit on top of what was probably Pharaoh?

Or did Mokuba go like “please, Tea, I cannot sit next to the others because I’m pretty sure one is a mole that is about to go cray” and was Tea like “Good, I need female friends, these ones are driving me crazy!” and then was Mokuba like peering desperately over the edge of his self made dragon train prison realizing he has to listen to Tea complain about boys for the rest of his ride across molten lava?

Headcanons abound about this weird seating arrangement that the animators drew for the reasons they did...but reasons I cannot fully understand. That and the Dayquil is making me overfixate on random stuff.

And also, Tea is kind of the Kaiba’s security’s understudy. Just there to always protect Mokuba with her ass because she’s the strongest woman alive.

PS I missed the tumblr wars because at the time I was trying to like...run a proper business on blogger. When Blogger died and I jumped over here it was like a weird ruin where everyone was like “tumblr is the most toxic place alive” and...I’ve had a really nice time here, actually. Completely missed that civil war period and I have no regrets.

Now I was there for the Petz wars (warz, I guess) where people were very militant about Petz abuse (abuze?) where apparently people were using the spray bottle on their catz too much and people were very, very upset about it to the point that they were like campaigning about it on their angelfire websites with the most bizarre grassroots campaigns that I still recall, to this day because they were like...well they looked like this:

PLAPA. Not only am I 100% positive that only this one guy ever called this movement PLAPA, but I’m 100% positive that not only are Catz not real people, but also this wasn’t actually happening and we never had any proof that it was. Either way, if people knew or suspected that you hadn’t deleted the spray bottle from your game (which at the time I had no idea how to do because I was a wee child) they would basically assume you were on a one way road to being a mass murderer in real life.

In real life we were 7 years old so like...thanks?

But that’s the closest I got to toxicity and at the time I was too young to make an email account and actually converse with these people. I was just there to download their Petz hexes, and I already made a post about how wonderful and incredible Petz Hexing was.

And y’all, I heard, just now after a little deep dive into the Petz Abuse debacle (which yes, is on the wiki), that apparently, like gardening, Petz Hexing came back in a big way during the epidemic--and I have found an active Petz forum in this the year 2021. The only problem is that I no longer remember how to use old timey forums...and I think I’m locked out of seeing most of these threads (and like this forum is so old I think I have to send them a letter in the physical mail to apply). But, I’m pretty sure they’re hosting a picture contest for who’s dogz poses the best. And I’m pretty sure someone created a hexxed Pickle Rick. Or it’s a photoshop that was made to look like a hexxed Pickle Rick.

Dammit why did it have to be Pickle Rick? That’s not worth re-installing Petz and getting it to run on Windows 10...

Guys is this the Dayquil? Is this really happening? I feel like I’m losing my mind for so many reasons...

Anyway, speaking about useless hexing it’s about time that our villain did something that was actually dangerous, so Zigfried decided to install a new virus that does more than turn off the lights. (it still turns off lights)

the Spreadsheet Virus!

Confounded by the spreadsheet software, it...um...it does this:

Straight up how does Excel make a volcano erupt? Is that why I have to pay for Microsoft office now?

All this because Joey made fun of Zigfried’s naturally pink hair? Which is the most normal hair on this series outside of like...Tristan?

Hey guys...Joey’s fine, right? Like how many times has Joey been on fire? And once in an iron cage next to like...a Fire Golem?

Joey’s fine.

MAN I miss Fire Golem. He had a good mug.

And then we just kinda watch chaos go across the park, chaos that includes: Too many ghosts in the haunted mansion (which honestly--you’ll get your money’s worth, sounds great!), the Ferris wheel goes kinda fast and thus might accidentally be fun, the lights turn off at some concert stage that only had 2 people on it (so it might just be motion detector lights and not even a virus), and um...literal fire and magma are going to set Joey Wheeler on fire.

Just...one of these events does not seem like the others. In fact most of these things sound like good improvements to the park and they should just hire Zigfried at this point.

Roland puts down his microphone and jogs across the stage, about a mile through the audience bleachers, and into the staff lounge, to go and bother Seto Kaiba, who is in a room that has a hi-def classical painting copy-pasted on the wall and I can’t look away from it.

I almost did a Google search on this painting but then thought better about it. There’s like...a billion classical paintings that look exactly like this, and they wouldn’t use like a Monet, they would have to do something that’s harder to catch to avoid copyright issues (because yes, even old ass paintings have copyright issues, but no one tell NFT’s which are going to be so freakin screwed and was such a bad idea, that I can’t even start).

Anyway, I have no idea who it is and it is legitimately driving me up a wall, but I’m on too much meds to do the effort of putting it in a reverse google image search.

Plus, a reverse google image search would only pull up Seto Kaiba.

So Kaiba takes us on a little flashback to his weird ass past, a weird ass past that just...doesn’t follow any of the established timelines, but I assume was shortly after adoption but before Seto got into a phase where he wore his school outfit everywhere and tried to shove his MMO off onto his Dad as a business model.

Seto is like 8 for some reason. I don’t know why, they kinda drew him younger this season anyway, like maybe they got a lot of fan mail and realized “Hey I think we made the 16 yo boy too sexy?” And they just toned Seto the hell down. That, and it’s a different animation team, and maybe they looked at Seto’s character design and were like “we don’t get paid enough to draw this well.” So...since Seto actually looks like a teen again, I guess his 12 year old self has to look like he’s in Elementary school.

Also, I only recognized this, because at some point in S3 as I was roasting Noah Kaiba’s weird fashion:

I remember distinctly roasting that little bow tie. I don’t remember when I wrote it, I think there was a version of this outfit that was in color...but I don’t remember where.

Anyway, it’s not the same jacket...but man that’s kind of awkward, ya? Like the maid who dressed Mokuba deffo got fired?

He um.

Turned the lights off a little bit.

Guys this villain is like...

...why does he think lights are scary? Like look at little Seto here. The boy is already bored. Seto duels on the edges of cliffs...he doesn’t care about the freakin dark.

We had a guy who killed everyone on the planet last season, and this season we have a little fashion gremlin standing in the corner and flicking the light switch going  “wooooo you never catch me!” and it’s like...

...I’m starting to think this guy isn’t a witch.

Like we’re at Episode 6, there’s still time for this guy to be a witch...but I really am starting to think this guy is just...straight up not a witch. It’s everything Seto wanted, a rival who isn’t a freakin magic person...and sets Joey only fake on fire instead literally on fire like last time...

and Seto is just completely unhinged by it.

Anyway, I’m off to go drink a bowl of soup and pass out. If you’re new here, this is a link to read these in chrono order.

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[stareyedmoonchild]

@dawnwave16​ hope you don’t mind, but I had to modify the dialogue a bit to fit the scenario. I hope you enjoy it.

Marinette knew things would end like this. Don’t ask her how she knew, because she wouldn’t be able to give a good enough answer other than, “It’s Gotham,” but here she was, running from the psychotic killer clown inside an abandoned warehouse.

Pause! You must be wondering what lead up to this. Well, allow me to indulge your curiosity.

It all began when Marinette’s parents where requested to cater at the New Year Charity Gala hosted by Bruce Wayne himself. Apparently he wanted the best, and from what he could gather it was them. He even offered to pay for the airfare and suite that they would be staying at for two weeks, their own kitchen too. With all this being offered, who were they to say no? Besides, it’s Bruce fucking Wayne. You must be out of your mind to say no to a man with that influence, well, unless you're Tony Stark. Now that man has denied almost every invite from Mr. Wayne, mainly because he would try to out shine Bruce with his own gala, but that’s besides the point.

Anyways, the point is they said yes, which lead them to them flying out to Gotham. 

“Now Marinette, while we are here try not to bring too much unwanted attention to yourself. This is the world’s most dangerous city, and we don’t want anything bad to happen to you,” Her mother said, with a stern voice.

“That being said we came up with a list of Rules,” her father said, as he sat straighter in his seat looking her dead in the eye. 

“Do not talk to strangers,” Her mother began.

“Do not stay out past sunset,” her father followed. 

“Most of all if something doesn't feel right, you immediately head head back to the hotel.” 

“Try to avoid any and all confrontations”

By the time the plane landed, Marinette had more than a hundred rules to follow, and the worst thing was that she wouldn't even remember half of them.

"Maman, Papa, please, I'll be fine. Besides, how bad could the city be? It should be nothing compared to the akumas we face on a daily basis," Marinette reassured, but for some reason, she felt as if something was going to happen. Something that would go horribly wrong, and if she wasn't careful, it would be her life on the line.

If only she listened to that feeling.

Over the course of their stay, she was very diligent when it came to helping with the baking and decorating of various desserts. Her parents feeling as she deserved a break from the kitchen, told her to go outside and enjoy the city. Before she could argue, they were already pushing her out of the kitchen and out the door, saying, "be back by sunset."

With that, Marinette found her herself in the streets of Gotham. 

It was okay, she didn’t really stray too far from the building where her parents are working, and just sat outside at few tables that coffee shops set up, and drew.  However, that didn’t mean she didn’t notice the few looks and mutterings of passerby. 

“Excuse me.”

Turning her head to look behind her, she saw a boy about her age. He had this somewhat rich kid vibe, mainly because of the uniform he was wearing.

“Can I help you,” she asked, with near perfect English. 

‘Thank you for those lessons Adrien,’ she thought.

“I was wondering, could I take a picture with you,” seeing the her unsure look, he continued saying, “I know that it’s a weird question, but I feel like your going to be someone pretty soon, and I would like to one of the few who gets to say I met you before the fame. Hope that’s cool with you.”

“uh, okay,” Marinette said, still a bit unsure.

“Sweet,” He said excitedly.

He was quick about it. Wrapping a friendly arm around her shoulders, with a big grin on his face, as Marinette posed with a timid smile and peace sign. Soon enough there was a quick flash and the picture was done.

“Thanks,” he said, as he ran.

Marinette just stared at his vanishing form, and just shrugged it off. 

‘That was weird. Must be an American thing,’ she thought, going back to her drawing. If only she knew that the picture would be posted later that night, with the caption, “Possible new Wayne?” If only she knew that it would blow up. If only she knew that villains like to keep up with almost all topics about the Wayne family.

It was only on the fourth day of their stay, and Marinette wanted to get some fabrics for her families outfits for the Gala. when permission was granted she went to the nearest fabric shop, only to lose track of time. 

She’s so grounded after this. 

She turned into an alley, that Google said was a short cut. Holding the fabrics closer to her person, she began to feel as if something was following her. Something that had malicious intentions, and if she wasn’t careful, her life could very well be over. 

Marinette began to walk faster, and faster until eventually she found herself running. She didn’t even notice that she dropped her fabrics. Her heart was pounding in her ears, but when she heard it, the being that was her predator, the laugh that she only heard from countless videos from people who had close encounters with this person, it only got louder and faster. Her blood becoming ice in her veins, and by now she was running on pure adrenaline. If the sound on the video sent shivers down her spine, it was nothing compared to the real thing. 

That’s what lead her to where she is now, taking shelter in an abandoned warehouse, running from a killer clown. Fun.

‘Think brain, think,” she thought, looking round for a good place to hide so she could come up with a plan.

Her attention caught a corner were a good amount of boxes could, if arranged properly, hide her from plain sight. She got to work immediately, and by luck found a crowbar that she could use if he did by chance found her. 

Crouching within her box barricade, she slowed her breathing and gripped the crowbar so tight that her hands became white as snow. She was determined to survive this. 

Marinette listened to his footsteps, as he opened the closet on the other side of the room, and as he began to knock things over and rummage the room.

“”Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he said slowly, followed by a crazed laugh.

“I just want to make you laugh.”

He stopped in front of her barricade, and head the shift in fabric. She knew her hiding place would be compromised, so she prepared herself for to attack. Everything became slow motion then. 

Marinette burst out from within, with an upward swing to the clowns face. She didn't even give him time to recover from the first blow, she attacked head on and couldn’t stop herself even after he was down. Her mind was telling her that if she stopped for even a moment, her life would be in his mercy. It wasn’t until she felt strong arms wrap around her from behind, restraining her from attacking, the bloody beaten clown. She struggled within their grasp, ignoring the reassuring words coming from their mouth, before headbutting the the man who held her. 

Turning to face this new character, did she get a good look at what was happening around her. Two men were taking the clowns vitals, making sure he would live, the youngest informing them of police and medic’s arrival, the intimidating one in a black cowl, and the bloody crowbar still in her hands. 

Well, this was not a good picture to paint. Especial when you’re in front of four Gotham heroes. She was going to be in some deep shit when she got home. 

“Damn kid, what’s your head made of? Cement? Consider this the last time I take my helmet off as to not scare anyone further than what they are,” Red Hood asked, as he held his nose to stop the blood flow.

“Dude, you should know to use caution when dealing with someone who fight mode, rather than flight,” Nightwing said, as he and Red Robin let the medics take over.

“Yeah, yeah, but she was suppose to be the damsel in distress, right? You know harmless.”

“She was beating Joker to death with a crowbar,” Robin said.

“Still.”

Clearing her throat, Marinette caught their attention and said, “Hi. I was a damsel, I was in distress, I handled it. Have a good night.”

She threw the crowbar to the side, feeling somewhat badass. However, just before she was about to leave she realized she had no idea how to get back to the hotel.

Turning around sheepishly, she said, “Do any of you by chance know how to get to the hotel that Bruce Wayne owns on fifth street?” 

They all looked at Robin.

“Really?”

There was a moment of silence before, the boy sighed and walked toward her.

“Keep up and follow me.”

She smiled, waving goodbye to the other three heroes as she ran to catch up to the boy dressed in traffic light colors.

Bonus:

“So did you find out who she is,” Bruce asked, as Tim turned to face him.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Damian’s age, French, and has parents,” He responded, stressing the last part.

Bruce merely hummed at that bit of information before taking a sip of his coffee. So what if she had parents? It never stopped him before, just ask Barbara. Marinette will become his daughter one way or another, and when that happens, Tony will have nothing on him.

Tim stared at Bruce, knowing full well what was going through his head. Guess it’s time to warn the others of what is to come.

Send a number!

[emilyplaysotome]

One Year

I don’t know who is still active on here or who follows me, but I felt like I wanted to write something and this is what I wrote. Semi-autobiographical.

Hope you like it.

I open the door to the bar where we said we’d meet. Beyond just running late, I’m not dressed for a first date and instead wear jeans and sneakers and a t-shirt I bought for myself on a trip that has bold letters with the name of the city I was in.

To be honest, I didn’t want to go on this first date. 

It’s not because of you but because there’s too much going on. I’m about to leave again for work and I know how these things go. Even if we like each other I will quickly be forgotten. We will say things like, “This was fun, we should do this when you get back” but in the end the days will pass and we will live our lives exactly as we did without so much as a thought of this night.

Despite knowing this, I tell myself to go because I have nothing to lose and I have said I want to meet someone new. 

I argue with myself that I’ve met plenty of new people the past couple of years, and that it’s unlikely that this one is the one that will be so different but in the end I go out of obligation.

I said yes and I don’t want to go back on my word.

I open the door to the bar where we said we’d meet and I see you. 

To be honest, you take my breath away. 

You are much, much, much hotter than your pictures gave you credit for and you smile at me. I think I must be mistaken because there is no way that my jeans and sneakers and t-shirt and makeup-less face is good enough for you. I turn to see if perhaps there is someone behind me - someone taller and thinner and more objectively beautiful.

But there is not. 

You are smiling at me, and so I smile back and push down the little voice that tells me you are out of my league and join you at the bar.

I am intimidated by your looks and then I find out you are smart, kind, and empathetic.

The conversation flows easily and you reveal yourself to me rather quickly. I feel in control in this regard, as I am quite good at getting people to show themselves. The problem I have with you is that everything I pull out of you is better than the last and I continue to wonder who or what you’re looking for that can possibly meet you at your level.

I worry I am not good enough.

I drink my first drink with my climbing shoes in my tote thinking about the promise I made to my friends. I order another drink with you because you asked and I know that they will understand it if I show up late. I wonder if you’re asking me to have another drink to be polite or if you feel a fraction of what I feel for you.

You seem interested but I have a hard time believing it.

Behind the counter there is a barkeep who keeps interrupting our conversation. We are both friendly to him and in the moments when it’s just us, laugh together, wondering if he knows this is a first date and if he’s playing with us both a bit. You find a way to dazzle me with your intellect, and I feel self-conscious as I take big gulps of my beer wondering if you’ll realize how simple I am.

You speak about the intricacies of how the world works having studied the science that holds it together. I don’t know what to say as I am an artist who grapples with ability to move people with my work. 

You seem to know exactly what to say while I am left wondering if my voice is worth anything these days.

You open the door to the bar where we met and hold it for me as we exit. 

We say goodbye in the subway and I feel disappointed you don’t kiss me but I figure that I will never see you again and make peace with the suspicion I have that you were just being nice to me.

I meet up with my friends who forgive my tardiness and I climb trying not to think anything of our meeting.

That night I think about the day that my old relationship died.

I think about how I was sitting on the couch and how I closed my laptop when he came in. I think about how stunned I was by his ramblings and how I had to ask, “Are you breaking up with me?” before I fully understood what was happening.

I thought about the days that passed, where I couldn’t eat and could barely work and how quickly I lost weight as a result.

I thought about how frightened I was to go on a date on an app and how much fun I ended up having with a man I should have never met. Born on the other side of the world who crashed into my life for three passionate months before disappearing as quickly as he arrived, occasionally letting me know he missed me.

He doesn’t write me anymore.

I thought about the one that followed, who I wanted so badly and who gave me so little. I thought about how he seemed to know when it was I was finally over him and how happy I was to finally be rid of those feelings.

He doesn’t write to me either.

I thought about the man I fell for without his knowledge a few months ago, and who reminded me too much of the others. I thought about how brave I was to break things off, recognizing that he would not be able to give me what I wanted.

I never gave him the chance to write me again.

You send me a text message the next day and I find myself both skeptical and elated.

Looking back I realize how hard it was for you to carve out time for me, but back then I was just happy that you wanted to see me before I left.

I calm myself down before we meet by googling your name. I see a picture of you from a linked in and I tell myself that my memory made you hotter than you are and that you are not some untouchable human that is out of my league.

I remind myself of how far I’ve come and how I will not allow the little voice that questions my worth to ruin our date.

I ask myself what will make me feel strong and powerful and worthy and I don’t wear a t-shirt with letters on it. I put makeup on and do my hair and wear a top that shows my stomach if I raise my arms.

I like the way my stomach looks these days.

I open the door to the bar where we said we’d meet.

You’re not there, so I take a seat at the counter and I make small talk with the bartender. It’s hot and I feel sweaty and annoyed at NYC summer for making it impossible to stay cute.

When you arrive, you are sweatier than I am but you are also much hotter than the picture I found that helped me pretend you were in my league.

“Fuck.” 

I say it to myself when you go to the bathroom and I am alone at the counter with an empty beer, having ordered a second round. I like you so much and I want you to like me and I’m starting to believe that I might have a chance. The conversation this time is lighter and quicker and I can tell I’m still somewhat in control of it. We bounce around and I think, “See. I can keep up with you.” and I hope you like that I can.

At some point I discover your feet are comically wide, and I tease you as if I am a fifth grade boy.

At some point you kiss me and I realize that I actually have a chance with you.

I leave the city for ten days and you write me every single day.

What starts as short, simple texts becomes long letters back and forth. I write them after working for 10 hours each day and they take me about an hour to write, but writing them is my favorite part of the day.

In time, I will find out that they took you just as long to write and that you were talking to another girl at the same time you were talking to me. You had the chance to go out with her but decided you didn’t want to, and I will wonder how it is possible that I found someone who is as wonderful as you.

I will think about all the men I dated who spoke with and slept with and saw other women as they told me how much they liked me and think about how much better you are in every way to them.

When I return you will invite me over and I will go to your place, surprisingly unafraid despite having only seen you twice. I will wonder if we will sleep together and I am surprised when you tell me about your past.

You were married once.

I don’t care.

I was in an eight year relationship once, I tell you.

You don’t care.

We don’t sleep together, and I wonder if it’s because you like me or because you don’t like me enough.

I freak out before our fourth date.

The long messages that bring us closer together suddenly feel oppressive and I find myself scared to reply. I don’t know what to say and I change the subject entirely, trying to restart the thread, removing some of the seriousness of what’s happening.

We’re not “officially” together and yet you’re starting to feel like someone I need around.

I’ve been hurt before.

When I meet you in front of the restaurant, you are a little stiff. It takes a moment or two before we start talking like normal. You tell me that you told your friend about me, and I learn that you don’t like many people but you like me.

I want to be with you.

I invite you back to my place and we drink more. I want to hook up. We do, but nerves get in the way. 

I worry it’s not nerves, but it’s me.

I worry I’m not good enough.

A month has gone by since I met you.

I’ve returned from another job away and you spent the night. I like waking up with you, but I hide my bashfulness by teasing you about your morning routine. I roll out of bed and throw on some clothes whereas you do your hair and put on cologne, etc. etc.

I don’t want you to date anyone else.

I don’t want to date anyone else.

I think this as we walk together in the park with our coffee and I think about how I want to say this. I think about how I want to make space for you to say no because I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t want to be with me.

In the end the words “relationship”, “boyfriend, and “girlfriend” are completely unsaid and somehow the catalyst for us becoming official is my awkward muttering of, “I’m down if you’re down.”

“I’m down,” you say, taking my hand and laughing at how I’ve managed to make everything clear in the least romantic way possible.

I tease you back but it will take weeks for me to say that you are my boyfriend.

It is not because I am embarrassed.

It is because I am in disbelief that someone like you could actually like me.

Time marches on.

I discover how competitive you are when you play board games.

Your face is a little red, and you are a little drunk when you look at me and ask, “Is it too much?”

“No,” I say, realizing that I love you but not saying it. “It’s not.”

I learn that you prefer the cold and never turn the heat on in your apartment. You are always ordering new gadgets and shirts and things whereas I can’t remember the last thing I purchased.

For a month I bite my tongue, because I know that I love you but I also know that you have not loved anyone and I do not want you to feel pressure if I say it.

You say it one day before you leave to go home for the holiday.

I am so happy you did, because I know that you mean what you say.

I know that love is a big deal to you, and that you are not just being nice.

You mean it.

It has been one year since I opened that door to the bar where we said we’d meet.

I have walked to your place countless times and you to mine as we survived a pandemic together. I have seen you at your best and at your worst, and I love you more now than I did that night when I said it back the first time.

There are still moments when I’m dazzled by your intellect, and moments when I wonder if I’m enough for you.

In those moments I think about the fact that you love me.

Because I know you do.

I believe you do.

The thought makes me I hold my head up high because if you believe I am enough for you, I should be better at loving who I am too.

And as much as I love you, I think I love myself more these days and I love you for that.

[bqstqnbruin]

Wedding Chaos

I’m clearly in a wedding mood, but hey, June is bride’s month or something like that. 

This was requested FOREVER ago but it took me forever to write it, too. I have to admit this is the fourth version of this request that I’ve written, the other three just sitting in my Google Drive unfinished and untitled.

I hope you like this, sorry it took way too long (and yes I still have another request sorry I suck)!

60.  “I can’t sleep without you. I need my personal body heater and cuddles.”

____________________________________

“I now pronounce you, husband and wife!” the minister says, your best friend kissing her now husband as everyone around you cheers. 

Since you met, you always said you would be each other maid/matron of honor. You were a long way from Charlie proposing, but you knew that you would be standing up there saying ‘I do’ to him with Natalie by your side, just like you were doing for her now. 

The entire wedding, you knew you were supposed to be focused on Natalie and Domenic, but you couldn’t keep your eyes off Charlie, and he couldn’t keep his eyes off you either, making it all the more distracting. Something about the red dress Nat had picked made him unable to look away. The dress fit you perfectly, and he knew how happy you were that Natalie picked a dress that had pockets. He loved how it looked on you and how happy you were wearing it, but damn, was he excited to take it off you tonight. 

Natalie’s college roommate, Samantha, nudges you to pay attention as Natalie and Domenic start to leave, “I know your man is hot, but we’ve gotta get to pictures so we can get to our dates faster,” she jokes pushing you towards Vinny. Her boyfriend was sitting by Charlie, probably wanting to do the same thing to her that Charlie wanted to do to you. Leave it to Nat to pick the dresses that made you look so good, your boyfriends wanted them on the hotel room floor. 

You walk down the aisle arm-in-arm with Domenic’s best man, waving to Charlie as the wedding party follows so you can take pictures outside. Natalie could not look more beautiful as the two of you took pictures together. “I’m so happy for you!” you tell her, starting to cry a little.

“I can’t wait for this to be you,” she says, smiling at you as the photographer takes pictures.

“Nope. We’re not thinking about that tonight. This day, today, is all about you, babe.” 

Even though you were celebrating Nat, you couldn’t help but think of Charlie. Since he wasn’t in the wedding party, he was going to the reception alone while you went over with the rest of the bridesmaids and groomsmen, drinking so much champagne that you probably didn’t need to drink anymore at the wedding, even though you knew you were going to. At least you got to sit with Charlie to eat, thanks to your constant bothering of Natalie and convincing her and Domenic to have their own table while everyone else surrounded them. 

“Can we talk about how Payton and Charlie didn’t pay attention the entire wedding?” Samantha says, just loud enough for you to hear it. For being drunk, she was really good at the whispering thing right now. 

“I’m so glad you noticed that, too.” 

“Well, it’s not like the boys are subtle. But at least it was enjoyable,” she shrugs, sending you both into uncontrollable laughter as one of the groomsmen pours you both more champagne. 

Since taking the millions of photos and the drive to the reception in some traffic, it’s been at least an hour since the ceremony is over. You’re just hoping one of Natalie’s cousins or friends from school hasn’t tried to get to Charlie while you’re gone. He was currently hot and alone at a wedding; exactly what Natalie’s single friends would want.

‘Almost there!’ you text him, the champagne making you more excited than you should be.

‘Can’t wait! Everyone’s taking all the cheese! :0’

‘NO. Don’t let that happen!’

“Hey, Nat. Charlie told me that all the guests are eating the cheese. Don’t they know that wine and cheese is our staple girls night dinner?”

“That’s so rude! Babe, make sure no one else takes the cheese. Y/N/N and I need to get some,” she says to Domenic, clearly already drunk. 

Everyone starts laughing as you pull up to the reception venue, Domenic taking the glass away from Natalie, “Maybe you don’t drink anymore until we give a toast,” he says. The smile hasn’t left his face the entire day, since seeing Natalie walk down that aisle.

You wonder if Charlie will be the same at your wedding? That’s assuming your suspicions are right that he actually is the one. What color will the wedding party wear; will they have the royal blue that you’ve always wanted, or will Charlie want another color? Where will he want to have it, somewhere in Boston or in one of your hometowns? Why are you even thinking about this? This is your best friend’s big day. Your time will come. 

After the introductions, you finally get to sit down with Charlie, a plate at the spot next to him, you still a little drunk from the ride over. Samantha and Payton were off somewhere else, doing something else. You definitely knew what it was, but who really cares?

“What is this?” you look down at the plate filled with food.

“I made sure to get one of everything before it was gone, especially the cheese,” he says, smiling. 

“You’re cheesy,” you joke, kissing his cheek as his hand rests on your thigh. The slit in the dress was high enough that he was touching your skin, and combined with the alcohol was sending chills through your body. 

“And you’re drunk,” he whispers, his breath tickling your ear, sending you into a fit of giggles as he kisses your cheek. “You look so damn good in that dress, but I think you’d look even better with it off. You know I can’t sleep without you. I need my personal body heater and cuddles, and maybe a little more?”

“And all I can think about is you-”

“Y/N?” a familiar voice interrupts you.

You look away from Charlie to see someone that wasn’t on the guest list. “Andrew. What the fuck are you doing here?”

Andrew was Natalie’s high school boyfriend, the guy she dated right before she met Domenic. You never liked him, and he never liked you. Natalie dumped him after sophomore year of college because he was being a distant ass, but he never told any of his friends or family that they broke up until six months later, which was weird, right? You knew Natalie’s guest list inside and out; he wasn’t on it. No one you invited would have brought him. So why was he here? 

“I’m going to go get some drinks for us,” Charlie says, clearly uncomfortable by Andrew’s presence.

“This is not the time for you to leave, no!” you call as he practically runs away anyway, trying to grab him by his sleeve only to nearly fall of your chair. 

“Can we talk?” Andrew asks, taking Charlie’s seat next to you.

“You weren’t invited.” One of the biggest rules of your’s and Nat’s friendships was ‘hate the people the other hates, too.’ You hated him before she did, but now you hated him even more. 

“Uh, Joy brought me.” He runs his hand through his hair, unable to make eye contact with you. That was his tell when he was lying about something; you had picked up on it about two weeks into meeting when you were younger.

“No, she didn’t. Joy brought her girlfriend,” you point to the dancefloor where the two of them are dancing. You didn’t know Joy’s girlfriend well enough to send her her own invitation, so Joy brought her as her plus one. There was no way Natalie knew that Andrew was here. You didn’t even know he was going to be here. You try to find her in the crowd of her guests, finding her by her parents and brothers, laughing, not even noticing anything outside of their conversation. Thank god. He needed to be gone before she could notice.

“Ok, I convinced someone to bring me. But I wanted to talk to you,” he admits. You roll your eyes as Vinny gets up to give his best man toast. Thank god, because that meant you had to go stand beside him to give your toast right after. 

You find Charlie still standing by the bar, switching between giving Andrew a death stare and mentally undressing you, both of which you loved, you had to admit. You didn’t hear any of Vinny’s toast, but you were ready when it came to yours.

“I’ve been slowly crafting this speech since I met Natalie when we were, what, four? Natalie probably knows everything that I’m about to say but because she’s the greatest she’s going to roll her eyes and laugh at the appropriate times like I didn’t call her at two this morning and read this to her so I can make sure she wouldn’t kill me for what I’m about to say.

Nat, you loved me so much that you had to date me, because, as we have pointed out in many situations, Domenic is the male version of me. And now you’re spending the rest of your life with me. I mean, Dom,” you pause as everyone laughs, “No, wait, I mean me.” It was corny, sure, but that’s what Natalie loved. “But really, I’m so glad you found Domenic. He really is the perfect guy for you. And if you hurt her, I will go all Godfather on your ass.” 

Your entire speech, you could feel Andrew’s eyes on you, but you didn’t know why, you just knew you didn’t like it. You go back to your seat as Domenic starts to say something, Andrew still sitting in Charlie’s seat, you trying to ignore him until Charlie can get back from the bar without being rude. 

“I should have went with you to junior prom and started dating you, not Natalie,” Andrew blurts out as soon as Domenic is done talking, everyone starting to move around again.

“What?” you look at him, both disgusted and confused. Andrew asking Natalie to junior prom was what marked them being together as a couple. “Nope. Not doing this. You need to leave. Goodbye.” You get up and go to Charlie, still standing at the bar waiting for your drinks. “Please tell me you got me something strong.”

“Rum and coke, more rum. Who is that guy and why don’t I like him?” You follow Charlie’s eyes to see Andrew still sitting at your seat, playing with your name card. 

“Natalie’s ex who wasn’t invited. He’s being a jackass and needs to leave.” 

“Should I do something about it?” 

“No, because I don’t need you getting kicked out. I’ll handle it.” The bartender finally gives Charlie the drinks, you taking yours and downing it a lot faster than you probably should. If you had any chance of not killing Andrew for being there in the first place, you couldn’t be sober, as bad as that may be. 

Charlie orders you another drink, standing there in awe of how fast you put that back. 

You go and try to find Samantha. “Mayday,” you tell her, grabbing her arm and dragging her off the dance floor and towards your table. “Voldemort is here.” After Natalie and Andrew broke up, Samantha had suggested you call him ‘Voldemort’ since the name was now ruined for all three of you. 

You go over to your table, just praying that Andrew will actually leave. “So, you know you need to leave before she sees you, right?” you say, the two of you standing over him still sitting at your table.

“No.”

“There’s no way you could be that stupid,” Samantha says, rolling her eyes.

“I told you before that you needed to.”

“I want to talk to you. I want a chance.” You feel yourself ready to hit him across the face, unsure if the feeling is genuine anger or mixed with alcohol

“Ok, one, no. You’re my best friend ex. Two, no. I would never have dated you anyway. Three, no. I have a boyfriend. Four, no. You need to leave.” You start to walk away from him, going to find Vinny or one of the other groomsmen when you feel his hand grab your arm. “Let go of me.” 

“Then at least dance with me.” Why was he being like this? He wasn’t being aggressive, but weirdly persistent. There was no reason for this. 

“What is the point of this? No. You’re leaving.”

“You weren’t even invited. Get off of her.” Samantha tries to pry him off of you, only for him to push her away, causing her to almost fall back into the chair of another table. 

“No.” 

“If she told you that you need to leave, then I think you need to leave,” you hear Charlie’s voice from behind you. He walks right up to Andrew, towering over him as Andrew practically shrinks in front of him. “So let go of my girlfriend, and get out of her best friend’s wedding or I’m going to throw you out.”

He lets go of you, not breaking eye contact with Charlie. “You’re really dating this meathead?” 

“Excuse me?” Charlie gets in front of you. 

You grab Charlie’s collar, pulling him back so he doesn’t hit him like you knew he wanted to. “Charlie, not in here. Andrew, you need to leave before he brings you outside and actually hits you. You know he plays in the NHL, right?” 

Andrew’s eyes grow wide, “Holy shit.” 

“Yeah, so what are you going to do?” Charlie asks, getting closer to him despite your efforts to keep him away.

“Leave.” Andrew practically runs away, nearly knocking over Natalie in the process.

“Was that?” Natalie comes running towards you, confused. 

“Yep.”

“How?”

“Don’t know,” Samantha shrugs, leaving to go join Payton.

“But he’s-”

“Leaving.” Charlie interrupts.

“My hero,” you say to him, throwing yourself in his arms and acting dramatic like in those old movies. The three of you laugh and go out onto the dance floor. 

A slow dance starts and Domenic takes Natalie away, Payton and Samantha dancing together, too as Charlie wraps his arms around your waist, your arms draping on his shoulders, your foreheads pressed together as you sway to the music. “You are the most beautiful girl here,” Charlie whispers, his eyes closed. 

“I think today you’re supposed to say that about the bride,” you tell him, even though you can’t help but smile at his compliment.

“Well, I think that about you every day.” 

You look up to him as the song ends and changes to a faster song. The rest of the wedding melts away as you kiss him. The only person that mattered to you was Charlie. You could just imagine dancing like this at your own wedding to him. 

The only thing that broke you out of it was when the DJ announced that it was time to throw the boquet. You didn’t care if you actually caught it, especially since the tradition is for single women, anyway. You knew you would be with Charlie regardless of some superstition. If anyone was getting married next, it was Samantha and Payton; they already knew their wedding date, she just didn’t have the ring yet.

The two of you are in the middle of all the ladies. “Does it really matter if we catch it if we already know we’re getting married?” Samantha asks.

“If neither of us is engaged, do we know that we’re getting married?”

“I’ve been with Payton for eight years. If I don’t marry him, I’m never getting married.” 

Natalie turns around, signaling that she’s going to throw the bouquet. She throws it, all the other girls shoving each other as you just try to get your hands in the air. There was no point in you being in the group if you weren’t going to try. 

One of Natalie’s cousin’s catches it, running over to her date who looks absolutely terrified. You go back to Charlie, him pulling you onto his lap. “Welp, I guess we’re not getting married yet,” you shrug, draping your arms on his shoulders like you did when you were dancing.

“Maybe not next, but we will.” 

[charmisticdisappointment]

A Special New Year! Chapter 1 : First Meeting!

Hey! Hope you all like this story! Please be kind I wrote this story five years ago! Let me know in the comments if you liked it and how I could improve cause I just got here! Loads of love and Stay Safe <3

Also, none of the pictures I've used are mine and are all taken from Google! Credit goes to the respective artists!

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You've finally found the time to unwrap the letter your mom sent you a week ago. Yes, letter. Though email was the easier and better option, sending letters to each other was a small secret the two of you shared, even if it meant sending it across continents. It was letter inviting you to a get together in Boston at your Uncle Josh's mansion, the only place which could fit your entire family. You hated family get togethers. Meeting cousins you have no clue about, dancing and your mom, she's always overwhelmed and wants you to dress up like a princess. Just thinking about this makes you dizzy.

You turn over the letter to find out that your mother has enrolled you to dancing classes for almost two months before the get together. You quickly dart to your phone and call your mother. "Seriously. Dancing classes. Why do I need them??", you scream through the phone.

" Honey, we all know how you tripped over Uncle Josh at the last get together. And we all know about your horrible dancing history. Its going to be just fine."

I just made an international call to be embarrassed you sighed.

"Okay I'm doing this for you. You understand. You owe me big time Mom", you say and chat along for a little time.

You were glad to be finally back to Boston. You were traveling over the past two years as a part of a leadership program on behalf of your company. You were always passionate about teaching students who didn't have all the access like most of us are privileged to have, up-skilling them and making them prepared as the entered the Tech Industry. You had time till Mid - February to get back to your work which will now be completely based off Boston. Returning home was bitter sweet. You were definitely going to miss teaching, but you were glad to be back home.

You're finally on the plane but this whole dance lessons fiasco has left you worked up. Your brother's at the airport, waiting to pick you up. Once you spot him, you run up to him and he hugs you warmly, "God I've missed you" he said. As soon as you reach home, your showered with hugs and kisses. You missed the love and affection. But the very next day, your Mom's already kicking you out of the house for the dance class. You've got the address noted down and you hurry.

You check your watch and you're already 20 minutes late. You finally reach your dance lesson panting. "I'm sorry I'm late. I messed the address up", you say breathlessly.

" Not quite an issue, dear. But you are..", Mrs.Rose, apparently your dance teacher asks.

"Its y/n", you say gasping for air.

"But there is a slight problem dear. Everyone's paired up. But not to worry. There is still one more student to arrive so you could wait", Mrs.Rose says directing you to sit.

You quietly walk towards the bench, and nervously looking at all the dancers there. You suddenly hear loud footsteps approaching you, but before you could move, you clash into the running figure and down, on the floor.

"Way to go" you mutter under your breath and but rub your elbows which took a major blow.

Trying to get your head together, you look up and find Chris Evans, standing there offering you a helping hand and smiling embarrassed. Chris Evans. You just rub your eyes to make sure it's him.

" Its fine. I can get up myself", you say still in awe.

"No. I feel horrible", Chris says as he just lifts you up.

You try to process what just happened until Mrs.Rose interrupts you. "You both could pair up and join. Let's get the classes started", she said.

Chris grabs your hand and follows Mrs.Rose's instructions. "One,two,three,one,two......" Mrs.Rose goes on.

"Is your head alright?", Chris asks still having an embarrassed look.

" I'm fine. And I'm a big fan by the way" you smiled, making him a little nervous and look away.

"Is it the hit you took on your head speaking", he chuckled.

"Oh no. Absolutely not. My head's fine"

So far so good you think. And the devil heard you. You step on Chris's foot.

"I'm sorry. I'm such a terrible dancer", you say embarrassed.

" Its fine. I'm not that great too. Its because of my Mom I'm here",he sighs.

"Your Mom??".

" Yeah she thinks I'm a terrible dancer and as a matter of fact I am. She enrolled me here without even telling me. She expects me to be perfect by New Year",he said.

You just stare at him and couldn't believe it.

"Why you staring at me like that", he asks.

"For a second I thought you were telling me the reason why I was here!", you said.

"Well. Terrible dancers and surprise Moms. Guess we have a lot more in common than I imagined", he said making you blush.

"That's a good start. Isn't it?" you say playfully.

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Hope you all had a good read! Will update Chapter 2.

30 Days of Chris seemed like a good way to start sharing what I’ve written over the years! Hope you all like it <3

@jtargaryen18​

[suitofvibraniumarmor]

Yours Truly [Part Three]

Summary: As the summer continues, Chris and Sadie bond over his ex-wife’s refusal to see Layla for her birthday. Pairing: Chris Pratt x OFC, Chris Evans x OFC Word Count: 1595 Warnings: Mentions of divorce and abandonment. A/N: This fic was previously posted on my multi-fandom account; in honor of OC Appreciation Day, I figured I would queue it all up for your reading pleasure throughout the day! This was a collab with @captain-s-rogers , and I will link her chapters at the end of all of my posts! Some GIFs were difficult to find again, so if there’s no credit, they’re from Google Image Search or from the original post. 

June 12

Caroline,

My dear friend … you already sound like you’ve got it bad for this guy!! D.C. sounds amazing so definitely keep telling me about that, and the campaign, but don’t spare me on the tabloid-esque details, either!

Kidding, of course. I know you’re a professional, but don’t let that stop you from having a little fun while you’re out there — hmm, speaking of fun, no mention of Charlie in your first couple of letters. I want those details, too, missy.

Farm life has improved from that first day. Chris is warming up to me, I think, and I already can’t picture life without Layla in it. That little girl is going places, C, I’m telling you! Teaching her is more fun than work, and that’s on top of the fun we have throughout the rest of the day. I hate to break it to you, but I think I got the better deal this summer. No offense to your campaign of course ;)

Layla wants to sign her name at the bottom, as we have been practicing that. I’ve shown her pictures of you, and told her about your job. Chris and I watched the CNN bit, and Layla snuck out of bed — she can’t believe my best friend is working with the man on the TV!

I’ll send pictures of the farm and Layla with my next letter. Once little miss writes her name, we will be heading to town to get some fabric for her birthday dress — I made the mistake of telling her that my aunts used to make me dresses when I was younger and taught me how. We’ll see if I remember how to do this.

Yours truly,

Sadie

After Layla carefully etched out her name at the bottom of Sadie’s letter to Caroline, Sadie folded the page and put it in the envelope. She let Layla lick the adhesive, laughing at the girl’s nose crinkling in reaction to the bitter taste.

“Okay, letter’s in my purse, your daddy put your seat in my car … let’s see if we can find him and let him know we’re leaving,” Sadie suggested.

Chris was easy enough to find, sweaty and smiling at the girls’ presence. Just as she had told Caroline, Chris seemed to be warming up to Sadie. She figured it had been difficult to invite another woman into his home to care for his daughter, and Sadie chalked his initial attitude towards her up to that.

After looking at a few sewing patterns, Sadie found one that Layla liked, and even found one for herself. They combed through the bolts of different fabrics and, after Sadie convinced Layla that yes, flannel was so soft but not good for a summer dress, found a breathable cotton in Layla’s favorite shade of pink. Sadie took a little longer to look for her own fabric, finally settling on a creamy-colored cotton with a vintage floral design. They made their purchases, then headed over to the grocery store to get a few things for supper that evening.

“Adie, how many days till my birfday?” Layla asked on the trek back home.

Sadie mentally counted the days until July 1st. “About eighteen, sweetie. Almost three weeks.”

“That’s forever!” Layla whined.

Sadie chuckled. “It’ll go by before you know it. Besides, I’ve got to have time to make your dress.”

The child grew quiet in the backseat. Sadie hummed quietly, not daring to turn on the radio, as Layla would be talking again soon enough.

“Adie?”

She decided then and there she never wanted Layla to get her name right. “Yes?”

“Do you think my mama will come back for my birfday? She been gone a long time.”

Sadie’s heart broke. She had heeded Chris’s warning that Layla might bring up the subject of his ex-wife, but it had been a couple of weeks now, and nothing had been said. She could hear the tears in Layla’s voice, so she waited the couple of minutes until they were parked back in front of the house. She got Layla down from her seat and crouched in front of the small girl.

“Sometimes mommies and even daddies have to figure out how to be the best mommies and daddies they can be, Layla, so they go away for a while. Just like it seems like eighteen days is a long time till your birthday, I know it seems like she’s been gone forever, huh?” Layla nodded; a tear slipped down her cheek. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. Your mama is just trying to do what’s best for you.”

“What if she never comes back?” Layla cried.

Sadie couldn’t help it; she picked Layla up, resting the child’s head on her shoulder. “Then, as sad as it is, it just means that the best thing she can do for you is leave you here with your daddy.”

Layla nodded against Sadie’s shoulder but didn’t stop crying. Sadie held her until she quieted, realizing a few minutes later the child had fallen asleep. After putting Layla in her bed for an afternoon nap, she brought in the groceries and the purchases from the sewing store.  

No doubt this would break Chris’s heart too, but Sadie knew she would have to tell him about the conversation with Layla.

After supper, Sadie asked Chris to talk with her in the kitchen while Layla played with her toys in the living room and out of earshot. While she loaded the dishwasher, she quietly recounted her conversation with Layla about her mother coming back for her birthday.

“Damn it,” Chris muttered under his breath. He realized what he had said and checked to see that Layla hadn’t heard him curse. “Honestly, Sadie, she hasn’t talked to me about her mother once since you came. I don’t expect you to fix me or my daughter, but having you here has really been a blessing for us. Guess I was too hopeful about what that blessing meant.”

Sadie pushed the button to start the dishwasher before facing Chris. “I know it’s hard, for both of you, but you can’t just sweep it under the rug. Layla hasn’t talked to you about your ex-wife, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk to her about it — or at least let her know that she can talk to you about it. Maybe she needs to you to tell her that your love for her is bigger than your sadness over your wife leaving.”

Chris stared in Sadie’s direction for a few seconds before sucking on his teeth and giving a nod. Picking his mobile up from the counter, he asked Sadie to keep Layla inside for a while. He was out the front door before Sadie could answer him.

They had been playing for several minutes before they heard Chris yelling outside. Layla looked up at Sadie with wide eyes.

“Daddy’s mad.”

Sadie let out a sigh. “Go play in your room, sweetie.”

Layla did as she was told, and Sadie waited for her to disappear down the hall before stepping onto the front porch. Chris was standing at the bottom of the porch steps, shaking his head at the conversation.

“Em, it’s her birthday. She’s asking for you!” He paused, catching Sadie’s eye before quickly looking away. “I don’t need you back here for me. If you wanna run off with some big city accountant, that’s your business, but don’t leave your daughter in the dust without at least explaining to her. She’s four years old, but she’s gonna know you abandoned her!”

A couple of seconds later, he dropped the phone from his ear and kicked at the sidewalk that led up to the house.

“She hung up?” Sadie guessed.

Chris nodded. “She’s gonna be in Cancun for the first week of July. Won’t be able to come back for Layla’s birthday.”

Sadie pursed her lips and held back her anger. How could anyone leave behind a child as sweet as Layla, and not look back? Or a man as willing to work hard to love and support his family as Chris?

That last thought took her by surprise; Sadie quickly dismissed it and promised Chris that she would make sure Layla had the best birthday any five-year-old could ask for.

“I know I’m not her mom, but I can try my best.”

Chris smiled, coming up the steps. “I know you will. You’re really amazing with her, and she adores you, Sadie. I was serious when I said it was a blessing that you came to us.”

Sadie blushed and bit the inside of her cheek. He stopped two steps down, putting him right at eye level with her. “Well, you know, just doing my job. Layla’s easy to love.”

Chris opened his mouth to say something, seemed to think better of it, and shook his head instead. “We’ll find out what Layla wants for her birthday, and make it happen, the two of us. She’ll have no shortage of love that day. With any luck, she won’t even remember Emily’s gone.”

Sadie nodded, then something occurred to her. “When’s your birthday?”

Chris looked a little surprised by her question, but answered it anyway. “The twenty-first.”

“Maybe we’ll do something special for you, too,” Sadie smiled, somewhat teasing.

As she turned back in the house, she didn’t see Chris staring after her, wondering at the flutterings of his heart – not for the first time – when it came to the woman who had come to teach and care for his daughter.

Part Four

[detectiveharmony]

How I Planned My Wedding

  Hi guys! I realize this isn't normally the sort of thing I write. Usually, I write book advice that has to deal with writing, editing, publishing novels, and everything in between! But as I have recently been married, I thought I would release the secrets of dark magic I conjured in order to plan my wedding.

1. Set a Budget

   The first thing is first. Set a budget. If you ask yourself if this is really necessary, yes, it is. It is 1000% necessary. While you are setting a budget, I would also get a binder to make your wedding binder. Whether you want to or not, you are going to be purchasing a lot of things for your wedding, and it's best to keep all receipts together in case you need to return some things.

   Now, as far as setting a budget goes, I just downloaded a free spreadsheet online and printed it out. If you don't want to print one out, there are a lot of websites that have online budgeting and spreadsheets. Weddingwire.com and the Knot App were especially helpful for me because they had super helpful checklists plus budgeting, registry trackers, and online RSVP. I kept budgets on everything I made. My printed budget looked something like this:

   I didn't use all of the spaces, but it at least kept me on track. The goal is to set the absolute most you are willing (and have the ability to) spend on any certain thing. This was sort of a game for me. I'd set the amount, and see for how much cheaper I could get it, with quality, in reason. Mine and Josh's total wedding budget was around 11K. I think we actually ended up spending around 7K. A lot of our services were gifts from friends, and for that I'll be forever grateful. Which brings me to my next point:

2. Find Talented Friends Who Are Willing to Help

   I would first and foremost like to say that just because you have a photographer friend does not mean you should go up to said photographer friend and blatantly ask them to take pictures of your wedding for free. It's cheap and demeaning to them, especially if that is their only source of income, or if they work a job with low income. Even if they have plenty of money, they are not going to be willing to take 6-10 hours out of their day plus weeks in editing to take pictures of your wedding with no compensation. The same principle applies to other services. What I am meaning is to search out friends who render services, and ask them for quotes. In my experience, 9/10 times they cut us a deal or even offered the service for free as a wedding gift. If you are part of a church family, I would definitely recommend looking there first. In the spirit of the Lord, most people are more than happy to help you for free without you even asking. My church family is where my cake, sound, and officiant services came from, and they were all more than perfect. It's also worth noting that I tipped my friends anyway, even though they didn't ask to be paid, because I really appreciated their services (even though some of them returned the tips and refused any type of payment).

   The talented friend also applies to friends who have also been married before, who are good with money, or good with budgeting if you don't know where to start or how to begin.

3. Set a Guest List

   When you are setting your guest list, it's important to remember that you don't have to (and probably shouldn't) invite everyone you have known since kindergarten or on your Facebook. The more people you have at your wedding, the more expensive it's going to be. In our case, if our guest list exceeded 100 people, our security cost would double, so I tried to keep it at a minimum, only inviting close friends and family. A lot of people didn't understand this, and you'll probably make a lot of people mad in doing so, but it was important for me to cut costs wherever possible. At the time I was financing an 11k wedding by myself on a 20k salary. Long lost cousin Susie wasn't a priority on my guest list. People I hadn't seen or spoken to in years weren't a priority. I gave my husband a pen and paper and told him to invite whoever he wanted, but he also understood that we were trying to save money. Every penny saved helped, and honestly, the day went by so quickly I don't even remember a lot of the people who were there. If people truly care about you, they'll understand that married life is hard and will be eager to help you in any way they can, even if that help is not coming to the wedding. Most of my friends and family were understanding when I explained to them that we didn’t have the money to invite everyone we wanted. And at the end of the day, it's your wedding, nobody else's.

4. Do as Much as You Can Ahead of Time

   If you want to be so stressed out that you are incapacitated, then wait until the last second to book all of your services. I recommend, if you can, to book at least a year ahead of schedule. I didn't, and around four months before my wedding I was wondering how everything was going to get paid for.

  You will end up financing a lot of things, especially the more expensive things. Unless you have boat loads of cash just laying around, of course, and a lot of places will turn you down if you don't have an adequate time frame to finance. The most important of these are the wedding ring, your catering service, the venue, the cake, and your wedding dress. A lot of DJ and music services will also require you to book ahead of time. We did, but I ended up stressing anyway because our DJ canceled on us 2 weeks before the wedding.

  The process of looking for these people is pretty straightforward. I just googled the service I needed and made inquiries until I found someone within my budget. The venue will be slightly different though, as you'll want to tour venues and see which best suits your needs. It's also worth mentioning that before you choose a theme for your wedding, look at venues first. I originally planned for us to have a vintage wedding, but then we got married in a barn in Texas, so it ended up being a country fall wedding.

   The very minimum amount of time you want to have for your dress is six months, unless you are having a friend or family member make your dress. Besides it taking a long time to pick a dress out (for some of us, anyway), bridal boutiques need time to clean and do alterations on your dress. I went with David's Bridal, but I personally wouldn't recommend them. The first time I picked up my dress from cleaning, I was deathly ill, I had to wait for 3 hours after they said it would be done, and when I picked it up and drove almost two hours home, I noticed the next day that my dress had oil stains all down the front of it from the sewing machines. They eventually fixed it, and my dress turned out to be gorgeous, but I would rather not have had that stress, especially when I was running fever and lost my voice. Not to mention the arm and leg I paid for my dress. I know a few who have had similar experiences, but I also know some who have had great experiences with David's Bridal. Either way, it's up to you.

  Weddingwire.com had some great timelines to follow for booking all of your services. If you are past the month mark for booking your services, don't worry about it. I did the bulk of my planning in the last 6 months of my wedding (not recommended).

5. Wedding Shower and Wedding Registries

   I forget how early I made my registries. I think maybe 5 or 6 months in advance. Even if you are already living together and have house stuff, making wedding registries is a good idea because you can update all your stuff, or get new stuff that you've wanted for a while. People are going to buy you gifts regardless, so you may as well have lists people can shop from to avoid ending up with a bunch of duplicate gifts or useless stuff that will just sit in the garage or in the corner of the junk drawer in your kitchen for years to come.

  I registered with a variety of places. Amazon, Target, and Walmart were my top choices. I would especially recommend getting an Amazon registry because a lot of people are last seconders, and prime 1 or 2 day shipping will still give them a way to buy your gift even if it is the last second. Amazon was my most highly trafficked registry. Walmart was second, but a lot of people don't like shopping Walmart online because it can take up to two weeks for items to ship, and even if you go in store, most stores carry different products. Just because they have it online doesn't mean every Walmart (or any Walmart near you) carries it. When making your registries, don't be afraid to put anything and everything you could possibly want or need on there. I wish I had put more stuff on mine because nearly everything got purchased. I amended my registries right before the wedding, but very few gifts were purchased at that time.

   Your wedding shower is typically two months before the wedding, around the same time you send out the official invitations. A lot of people I knew didn't know what a wedding shower was, so here you go: A wedding shower is an event where people bring gifts to the new couple to usher them into their new life together, helping them settle in. No matter what you do, weddings will end up being expensive, and if you buy couples gifts, even small ones, it helps them out a great deal in the long run by helping them save money on house things they won't have to otherwise purchase.

6. Wedding Day Preparation

   Assemble a wedding day crew. Find people who are going to help you set up decorations, organize, direct, and put everything away once the event is over. It's easiest if you assign small duties to everyone who is helping you. I made lists of all my bridesmaids names, plus my grandparents, brother, parents, and aunt, who also came to help me set up. Under each name I wrote what I wanted them to do. It can be simple things like, “Decorate tables,”, “Set up head table,”, “Be in charge of handing out cake after the cake cutting,” or, “Decorate main stage.” Whatever small thing will make it easier for you, designate it to someone you can trust. My family was wonderful and helped me out more than I could ever thank them for.

   I also had a table chart everyone could reference, so when we were moving tables and chairs around, everyone had a picture of what I wanted everything to look like so they knew what I wanted without asking me. It's also important to set a wedding day timeline. Even before the ceremony starts, you want to have given time frames for any activities, including decorating, salon trips for hair and makeup, a love note exchange, or whatever else you want to do before the ceremony and during it. Unless, of course, your venue let's you decorate the night before, which ours didn’t.

7. Last Bits of Advice

   Your wedding day is going to happen one way or the other. Some things are just going to go wrong, and you have to let it happen and not worry about it. You're going to be married at the end of the day anyway.

   Do as much reading as you can on planning a wedding. Every little tip I read helped, and in the end, I think my wedding was perfect. The only thing I would have changed was shortening the ceremony a bit so we would have had more time for family pictures. The wedding itself ended earlier than I thought, but I wasn't going to complain. I was exhausted, and thankful to get to go to bed early.

   As my last piece of advice, turn your phone off on your wedding day and give everyone someone else's phone number to text or call for important questions. I designated my maid of honor for this task, but you could also use your mother or anyone else for this. Turn your phone off on your honeymoon too, or if you can't turn it off, don't answer text messages. And if you are that person who calls or texts on wedding day or honeymoon, unless it's of dire consequence, don't be that person.

Happy wedding planning!

[jasminewaliaposts-blog]

My Journey as a Maid of Honor

Since summer is approaching us, do you know what that means? Wedding Season. A whole a lot of spending your money on clothes that you will probably never wear again, OH and dealing with bridezillas.

Last year of November, my best friend surprised me and some of her other friends by popping the BIG QUESTION, “Will you be my Maid of Honor.” Obviously, I was going to say yes without realizing the amount of annoyance I was about to be faced with. With joy I accepted her box full of treats she gave as a present to me. In the box were pictures from our childhood, a PJ set, a wine bottle, a hand mirror, and a heart filled personalized card. In the card she wrote why she chose me to me the maid of honor, and the date of the wedding which was only revealed to me. Obviously, it was on the same weekend of my birthday. But oh well, it’s just a birthday, I guess…

Two weeks later, my other best friend announced that she would have her wedding 3 weeks before my other best friend (end of June), and my cousin announced that she would have her wedding the same weekend as well.

Tip: Breath and create a calendar with all the main events

So just in case you feel lost, let me draw this out for you. I am a Maid of Honor for a wedding taking place on July 20thand a bridesmaid for a wedding taking place on June 30thand on the same weekend my cousin is getting married.

Now the problem is not the actual weddings, is it the 10 events which happen leading up to the wedding. As well as the thousands of dollars that are spent on clothing, hair and makeup. Being Indian means, we have a lot of traditions and celebrations, which don’t get me wrong, are tons of fun. It involves a whole a lot of color, beautiful outfits, outrageous décor, a lot of dancing and BOOZE. The image below is an example of how décor typically looks like at an Indian wedding ceremony.

Tip: Always create a budget break-down for yourself in terms of how much you will end up spending for each event. This includes the cost of your outfit, makeup, bachelorette/bachelor party, gift(s) to the brides, etc.

As I am processing this, I just realized that I still have one more semester of school left, and this is where I start PANICKING. How am I going to handle school, whilst helping plan three important weddings? Plus, all these food festivals which I do not want to miss out on. Like how can anyone miss out on poutine festival or taco fest?

Anyways, in December my best friend approached me to ask me if I can plan the bachelorette and bridal shower for her. As a Maid of Honor, I had to say yes. Listen, I love my best friend and I would do anything for her, but this is a busy time for me since I am trying to manage school and work on all these wedding shenanigans.

To make things more complicated, she decided to invite her fiancé and his friends to the bachelorette party. So essentially it would be both a bachelorette and a bachelor party. For anyone who has ever experienced this, they would know how complicated things can get when you add a bunch of guys to the mix.

So, the first thing I did was reach out to my best friend’s sister, Bianca, and created a WhatsApp group with all the bridesmaids, and to inform them that the destination we have chosen is Vegas. Now come the outpouring suggestions and recommendations of where we should stay, and how much our budget should be blah blah.

So, complication #5393458 is that everyone in the group are of different age and have different things going on in their lives. Some were students, some are businesswomen, and some are married and have kids. So, their interests and budgets are entirely different from one another.

Some wanted to spend their money on a luxurious hotel, and some would rather spend their money at pool parties and clubs. Long story short, it took me about 3 months to decide on what hotel we should stay at. Once we finalized the hotel, I decided to get touch with the groom and his best man(s) who were planning the bachelor party and let’s just say they were not happy with the hotel we decided to stay at. At this point I told them I don’t really give a s*** about their opinion and we are going ahead with that hotel.

Tip: Create an excel sheet with a budget breakdown so people can see where their money will be going. For people who are on a tight budget, seeing a number visually will ease the process. Below is an example of how this can look like.

The next headache was coming up with an itinerary. This trip is supposed to be 3 nights and 4 days long (Friday- Monday). For Friday, the bride and groom decided that both the guys and girls should spend it together, GREAT! (rolling my eyes). Now this is where things get really COMPLICATED. I had booked all of the girls for an event where Calvin Harris was performing, and of course the best man(s) had to oppose to it, because the cost of them getting a booth there was “too expensive” (FYI: only $100 difference shared amongst 28 people). So anyways, they decided we should go to a “cheaper” event with a less interesting artist. Ok so they literally ruined our wonderful plan, but we were okay with that.

For that same day we had decided that we will get a private dining room for all the girls and guys as a surprise for both the groom and bride. At this point I had already booked a private chef, and here come along the groom’s men opposing to the idea once again. They wanted to do a $100 USD buffet. Why would anyone spend that much on a buffet? Once again, I agreed to it.

Now that the bachelorette party was somewhat coming together, it was time to plan the bridal shower. Let me tell you, this was not fun at all. The bride told us she wanted us to plan an Aladdin themed bridal shower, and once again she wanted us to surprise her so that meant we had to come up with the guest list, find a venue and a caterer, etc.

As I started planning this, I decided to use a technique I learnt when doing group work in the Master of Marketing program, and that is to DELEGATE! Instead of taking on all the responsibilities and trying to plan every single detail, I decided to come up with a list of duties and assign a task to all the bridesmaids.  I simply created a google doc and listed all the responsibilities and put a bunch of names down and shared it with everyone.

Tip: Create a Google Doc and share it with the people who will be participating in the planning process, like the one below.

The planning led all the way to April, which also meant exam time. Since there was only two weeks left till Vegas, this meant CRUNCH time.

Amidst all this, I had to deal with coordinating bridesmaid’s outfits. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TRYING TO GET 13 BRIDESMAIDS to send their correct measurements?! Anyways, once I got the measurements, I decided to order the outfits.

Tip: Ladies and Gents, whenever you are placing a bulk order for clothes, always make sure you get a sample outfit from the designer

The outfits were being made in India. It is a beautiful white skirt and crop top with gold embroidery. The cost of each outfit is $300 CAD, and each bridesmaid has to pay out of her pocket which made it more nerve wracking in terms of getting these outfits down to perfection.

Three weeks later, we received a box with all these outfits, and what happens? NONE OF THEM FIT. I called the designer and yelled at him for sending me the wrong sizes and since these are custom made, none of them are refundable nor returnable. I told the bridesmaids to re-measure themselves so I can find a seamstress to fix all of them, and turns out, they all measured themselves wrong.

Tip: Always find someone professional to get you measured

So, since it was their fault, I told them that it was their responsibility to get their own outfits fixed. Remember guys, always delegate.

Now its exam time, and I am both stressed and excited for Vegas (not really excited for my exams haha). After I finished my exams, it was crunch time for the trip, so this meant buying the decorations for our hotel and custom making our t-shirts and making any last-minute reservations. This also meant hitting the gym every single day in the hopes I would have a 6-pac for my trip.

Amidst all this chaos, I totally forgot to order outfits for my trip. So, I quickly went onto Fashion Nova, which is a famous online store for both men and women. I quickly placed an order in hopes I would get my order in time and hopefully all the outfits would fit. Fast forward a week later (I now only have 6 days left till my trip) I receive my order from Fashion Nova, AND EVERYTHING IS TOO SMALL on me. When I mean I started crying, I mean it! I called my best friend and started crying because nothing fit me and I had spent so much money on these outfits and none of it was refundable, oh and they also sent me 3 of the wrong outfits.

So, at this point my only option was to go to the mall and try to find 3 outfits for a night out, 2 for a pool party and at least 2 for a fancy dinner and lunch. So, I went to at least 3 malls, and FOUND NOTHING!

Did I mention how unnecessarily expensive stores are? I wasn’t going to spend $100 on just one dress. At this point I made a decision to go onto another online store called Pretty Little Thing. I decided to order 4 dresses, confident that they will all fit since I ordered from them before. Since I needed it expediated, I had to pay $20 USD for express shipping. 2 days later, I get my package, and as I’m furiously opening it, I try on my first out and guess what? The dresses are too big. At this point I was not even mad; I was just laughing at myself for even trying.

Tip: Never order dresses from any online shops until reading reviews on both Instagram and on Google. Try to find the exact outfit on the company’s Instagram page and see the reviews for that exact outfit. See what people say about the sizing and quality.

I come downstairs, and my mom asks me “how are the dresses?” I told her that I am just going to end up wearing my old dresses because this whole online ordering business is not working out for me. She took a look at the dresses and said that she can take me to a seamstress and just get them fixed. How genius is my mother… The same day I decide to visit my seamstress and she quotes me $50 just to get them fixed, without hesitation I gave it to her and told her I will pick them up the next day. Anyways, so that whole situation worked out somehow. I went to Post Canada to return all my Fashion Nova dresses. As we know I was already frustrated with their return policy, and then I was told I would have to pay $30 in return shipping, WHEN IT WAS NOT EVEN MY FAULT. I emailed Fashion Nova, and let’s just say I sent a very threatening message to them on both Facebook and email.

Tip: Always send customer service an email about your complaint/ experience. If you do not like their response via email, try contacting them on social media. These companies care about their reputation and the last thing they want is a bad review on their page.

Finally came the day to leave for VEGAS! Our flight departed at 9 p.m. from Toronto, so we decided to go to the airport to sit at the Air Canada Lounge to eat and drink. We then decided to stop by the duty free to pick up some alcohol since everyone who has been to Vegas knows how expensive food and alcohol can be there.

Tip: Never buy alcohol from Vegas, always get it from the airport when departing.

We all finally arrive and set-up our suite with decorations and gifts for all the bridesmaids. And let’s just say after that, the trip was a blur.

After recovering from the trip, now it was time to finalise everything for the bridal shower. This was a breeze since we hired people to decorate the venue and make all the deserts. Below is a picture of the beautiful Aladdin cake.

Today is May 26th, 2019, and within the next 3 weeks it is both my cousins and my other best friend’s bridal showers and bachelorette parties. (WISH ME LUCK)!

This story will be continued, if I make it out alive after this summer….

[angel-scythe]

Gavin900′s Week - Day 7 : Expectation VS Reality (Halloween)

Well... it’s so weird to catch up the thing lately and finishing it on time. Can I be proud?

it was also weird for me to write 7 OS. I’m not an OS person like... really not. At first, I wanted to do a story in seven chapters (like for Conniel’s week) but it was impossible with the Themes so... Tadaaaaa?

(PS: I’m working on a big story for ‘I need you’ (Day 2). The themes I used are important and I want to work with them. I know it’s hard but I think we should see it more too. But in the real essence and not just with someone eating Ice Cream and that’s it.)

And I was SO glad to finally write some Gavin900/900Reed because it’s certainly one of my favorite ship of the fandom. I looooove working with Gavin and Nines is my baby, he brought so much opportunities! (and even if I started my AU, it’s the first time I wrote some so THANK YOU FOR THE CHALLENGE!!!)

Anyway, you’re certainly not there for my stupid babbling. I let you smash the door for AO3 ( > |   °| < ) or keep reading and... look up that summary.

It’s Halloween night and Nines come at Gavin’s home to work. Well... it’s what he believes.

When you googled, it was easy to know what Halloween was, the traditions, the kind of party, the best disguise… everything. But it was another thing to actually see it. Especially when you didn’t have discovered it before.

Yes, Nines was dumbfounded when he saw all those kids in disguise, running, shouting happily and coming to the doors to ring those bells. Whenever and wherever he walked, he heard some ‘Trick or Treat!’ echoed around. And then the laughs since the kids received candies. He also saw a lot of decorations all around. You could see spider web at windows, pumpkins with candle in front of the house, bats flying around, witches trying to enter in those place. And broom all over the places.

When he arrived in front of a house in Chester Street, he came to the door and rang. As he waited, he looked around. This one looked so stern between two heavy decorated houses. One had a them Harry Potter, well if Nines referred to the typo. He couldn’t understand why there were candle floating all around and what was the point with that big tree. Didn’t get why there were a red fluffy cat, in plush of course, and an owl.

The door opened suddenly and the Android turned his head.

It was Gavin with a black leather trousers and a black top, a bit glooming, without sleeve and stopping just above his pectorals. He had mittens with pink pads drawing on them. And a hairband with cat ears moving. Was it the worst? Because he had a pinky spot on the nose and whiskers in black on his cheeks.

“Hey,” he said, a pumpkin solid bag on his hand. “I thought you were a kid!”

“What are you doing?” Nines asked, surprised by his looks.

“Dressed up as a Cat! Meow!”

“But… why?”

“It’s Halloween.”

Nines looked even more dumbfounded.

“Don’t mind. It’s just my favorite holiday. I like to dress up for the occasion. I’m glad you came,” he smiled. “Come.”

Gavin turned to enter in his home and Nines noticed a long tail was attached to the man’s pant. He really liked to dress up.

Nines came in the house and closed after him. The house was still stern but you could see a pumpkin sculpted on a furniture. That wasn’t perfect but you could see it was made with love.

“So you really enjoy this holiday?”

“Yeah. And I relax a bit. Do you like horror movie?”

“I don’t know, I don’t watch TV. I thought I was here to work. We’ve still five case opens.”

“Hm. You want some candies? I’ve some coffee flavor.”

“No, thanks. I’m not here to work?”

Gavin turned toward him. “You can chill just one day, no?”

“We have a lot of criminals to stop,” Nines pointed out.

“Okay. Let’s work,” the man said. “Come in the living room.”

Nines followed him without a word. When he arrived, he found a lot of lollipop in another pumpkin bag, they were decorated as ghost and vampire. There was a pumpkin pie, some popcorn, a red liquid that doesn’t looked like blood but almost.

“You had something planned?” Nines asked. “Why did you invite me? This had no sense.” He frowned and took a cupcake that looked bleeding with glass piece on it… but when he liked it, it was only melted sugar and food color.

“It’s nothing Nines. Let’s work, okay?”

Gavin sat in his sofa and the Android came with him. He frowned, seeing a stack of DVDs.

“You had a party planned, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“So… the Agent Chen had forget to come?”

“Oh no. She’s at a party. She’s gorgeous in Frankenstein’s Monster Wife.” Gavin took his phone and searched the picture they had done together. “Look.”

“Indeed, she’s delightful.”

“Yeah.”

“I know Frankenstein, the book. I read it, one time. Two sweet seconds.”

“You mistook the word. Weeks? Days?”

“Seconds. I downloaded it.”

Gavin had a nervous laugh. “You should try to really read it. That would be nice.”

“I keep that in mind.” Nines looked the food on the table and the DVDs. He bent and searched for one.

“There is something wrong?”

The Android found Frankenstein and he handed it to Gavin. “I guess we could use a tiny break. Can we see it?”

“Yes!”

Gavin got up, suddenly happier. He took the DVD and went to the DVD reader to install everything. Now you could just send them to your TV with an application and a mediashelves but that probably added something to look it on DVD.

“I’m not dress up,” Nines pointed out.

The Detective took out his hair band and came to him to slide it in the dark hair. “Here you are! You’re a cat too now!”

“And you?”

“It’s okay, I’m a cat without ear. You look great!”

“Thank you…” Nines was still stuffy and stiff. He couldn’t be at ease and he just turned his head toward the TV, uneasy.

  A scream echoed in the wall and Gavin jumped. He saw those movies very often and he could remember the time he used to have a big movie night with his friends. They always dressed up with movie and things to eat. Never went to party because this wasn’t their things.  However, he lost them long time ago.

“Nines?”

The Android had his hand on his mouth and Gavin looked him with a handful of popcorn in his palm.

“I’m… I’m okay. This is okay.”

Gavin frowned.

“I didn’t remember the book was so… scary.” It was hard for Nines to say that because he did way much terrifying thing in his work.

And that was on the TV! It was stupid to be afraid of that so… why he felt that way?

He was surprised when the TV switched off.

“Come here.” Gavin opened his arms.

Nines hesitated. He was a cop, an Android! But he also wanted to feel his arms around him. It wasn’t the first time he wanted some contact with his partner. If not, why coming to his house? It was stupid to feel that when he shouldn’t…

But finally, he yield to himself and came for some cuddle. Gavin caressed his hair and held him tenderly.

“Sorry about that. We can watch a movie you like. What do you like?”

“I never downloaded movie.”

“We must try that.  Maybe with your favorite book?”

“I liked Frankenstein.”

“Yeah, right… Anyway, we’ll find that. I know what is scary or not.” Well… he didn’t think that Frankenstein was scary but now he had the right level in mind.

“Sorry,” Nines said.

“That’s okay.”

“But you had planned things.”

“I…” Gavin sighed softly. “I had planned to pass a bit of times with you.”

The Android looked up to him, surprised. “What?”

“I just wanted to pass a bit of time with you. I like you, Nines. Very much. I wanted to… kiss you and stuff.” He explained.

“It seems it was pretty successful. I’m in your arms.”

Gavin laughed. “I wouldn’t think the ‘let your special one watches a horror movie to get them’ will work with you!”

“Sorry but yes. Now that you get it, what you should do?”

“Hm… kiss you? If I may?”

“Please.”

Gavin bent and kissed him softly, happy to have him in his arms, against his chest. And Nines was happy too, especially because the sound of his heart was as sweet as his lips tasting coffee.

[starlight-parkers]

Being Tony Stark’s Daughter and Dating Peter Parker Would Include (Part 2):

Summary: Just dating Peter… and being Tony’s daughter.

Authors Note: This was highly requested in the comments and I really enjoyed making the last one, so here ya  go! <3

Warning(s): swearing and deadpool (again)

Being Tony Stark’s Daughter and Dating Peter Parker Would Include (Part 2):

•y'all “tis about to get wilD

•you and peter have a stable relationship™

-y'all don’t really fight

-if you do it’s something stupid

-“I CANT BELIEVE YOU ATE THE LAST BROWNIE, THE AUDACITY, I AM DISGUSTED, YOUR BEHAVIOUR IS ATROCIOUS”

-“ I’m lactose intolerant Peter”

-“YOU ARE A TERRIBLE- wait you are?!?!”

-“HAHAHA SIKE” *cue you running away with the last brownie*

•Tony usually mediates your fights.

-he doesn’t want his spiderlings to be sad.

-not good for his representation in the ‘approving dad’ world

-“(Y/N) I suggest you give Peter back his brownie”

-“I ate it”

-*tony giving you the scolding parent look*

-“what do you want me to do? Shit it out?”

-*cap bursts through the door* “LANGUAGE (Y/N)

•peter still uses pickup lines on you

-“my Spidey sense isn’t the only thing that’s tingling”

-“peter do you know what that means?”

-“yes it means I feel all tingly and happy when I’m around you”

-“BOiIi”

-he clearly gets these from Wade

•peter going on dad dates with Tony

-“I can’t believe you remembered our anniversary”

-“I could never forget it Mr Stark”

-“um Peter…you’re dating me?”

-“This is an A B conversation (Y/N) leave”

-your dad and Peter have probably been on more dates with each other than Peter has with you.

•you and peter are always together

-the avengers freak out when you aren’t.

-“WHERE IS THE LOCATION OF BROTHER PETER?? HAS HE JOINED THE DECEASED??? I SHALL AVENGE YEE MAN OF SPIDER”

-“Thor chill… he went to the bathroom”

•Peter always has his hands on you

-whether it’s holding hands, or he’s touching your shoulder, wrapping his arms around your waist.

-he likes to know that you’re always there.

•hUgS frOm BehInD

-y'all this is the only time Peter feels like he’s the big spoon

-he’ll rest his chin on your head and your back will be pressed to his chest

-aw™

•peter using his height to his advantage

-he’ll hide your things in high places

-so you call for help

-usually ends in you standing on him to get what you want.

•HICKieS yO

-it happened when you first showed Peter your room

-Tony told you to leave the door open but y'all didn’t let that bother you ;)

-“YOU HAVE TAINTED MY YOUNG PETER HE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME”

-“ father why do you not express this concern for me”

-“it’s because you’re the devils spawn”

•finally perfecting that spiderman kiss

-“WE FINALLY DID IT”

-“HELLS YEAH”

-“how do I get down?”

- *cue peter’s web snapping*

•stealing Peter’s clothes

-old and new

-he leaves a sweater at your place?

-BAM it’s yours

-buys a new shirt?

-BaM It’s yours

-he eventually runs out of clothes

-Tony buys him a new wardrobe

•having a meme group chat with Ned

-sending memes about spiderman

-peter regrets introducing you to Ned

•going on dates to the zoo

-Peter taking pictures of you admiring things

-a passerby reports Peter to the security guard for looking like a creep

-your dad has to bail peter out

•whenever peter loses you in a large group of people he always knows how to find you.

-“yo Pete where’s your girlfriend?”

-“hold on one sec” *shakes wallet*

-“DID I HEAR MONEY?!?!”

-“found her”

•spoiling peter bc you're filthy rich and he deserves the world

-“happy birthday baby!!”

-“(Y/N) is that a car???”

-*you smiling uncontrollably*

-”(Y/N) I can’t drive’’

-’’Its a keepsake’’ 

•convincing your dad to take peter on missions.

-instantly regretting it bc peter is a soft boi who needs protection.

-“If you die on this mission, I will kill you”

-updating the suit bc you must protec™

-“I’ve added extra padding to your suit to soften any falls”

-he literally cannot breathe now

•accidentally admitting that Tom Holland is your celebrity crush.

-“but we look exactly alike??”

-“don’t be ridiculous Peter, you look nothing alike”

•dates to museums and science exhibitions

-watching peter nerd out

-v cute™

•going out with Liz and Michelle for girls nights

-peter dropping in on you as part of ‘patrol’

-almost activating ‘instant kill mode’ when a guy talks to you

•you putting on the suit just to talk to Karan

-“am I the only one that thinks Peter smells like avocado? Like does he even eat avocado?”

-“I too have detected this unusual scent Ms Stark”

•Peter freaks tf out when you get sick

-like mental break down freak out

-he googles your symptoms

-which means he always thinks your dying.

-“I DIDNT KNOW WHAT SOUP YOU LIKED SO I BROUGHT ALL OF THEM USING YOUR DADS CREDIT CARDS”

-he brought like 50 tins of soup

-will not let you leave his sight

-“Peter I need to take a dump”

-“I’ll come with you”

•Wade is always crashing your dates

-he thinks you guys are friends

-“Wade will you ever leave us alone?”

-“Of course Peetie! When (Y/N)’s father accepts my adoption papers”

-“Why would a grown ass man need adopting?”

-“It’s to fund my expensive lifestyle”

-Wade also steals Peter’s wallet so he has an excuse to come along.

-eventually getting a restraining order on Wade.

•Star Wars marathons

-you thinking Luke Skywalker is hot

-Peter getting jealous

-he dresses up like Luke the next day.

•he finds your old spiderman fan account on tumblr

-when he does he just stares at you smugly from across the room.

-“what?”

-“oh nothing” ( ͡º ͜ʖ ͡º)

-he starts texting you the ( ͡º ͜ʖ ͡º) face.

-“so you bet spiderman is one sexy specimen under that mask?" ( ͡º ͜ʖ ͡º)

-you want to die

-"I will delete you from my life”

•going to Starbucks for your anniversary dates

•peter insisting you have him on speed dial just incase anything happens

-you mostly use it to get food

-“hi”

-“(Y/N)??? Are you okay??”

-“I’ll have a double cheeseburger and fries please.”

-“(Y/N) pls”

-“what? I’m hungry”

-“may I remind you that I am  not supposed to be used for ordering take out”

-“then what the fuck are you supposed to be?”

-“your boyfriend”

-“oh yes that too”

•you wear matching outfits to school sometimes

-you are the power couple of the school

•taking Tony’s car for a joy ride

-crashing it bc peter gets nervous and webs up the windscreen

-it’s all good tho

-you use his card to buy a new one

-and blame it on Wade

•cute goodmorning texts

-“make sure to brush your teeth, you have terrible morning breath xox ~ (Y/N)

-"please brush your hair today, yesterday you looked like a yeti that had been run over and drowned in toilet water <3 Peter”

•everyone noticing how whipped Peter is for you

-except you

-peter doesn’t even know what that means he’s so outdated

•Peter has coffee mornings with Steve

-you’re never invited

•sending each other selfies

-your ugliest ones usually end up as your lock screens

-“who’s that horrendous looking creature?”

-“my fucking boyfriend bish”

•you die when peter speaks Spanish

-“pan caliente”

-“ I don’t know what you just said but please let it be the only thing you say at my funeral”

-he said hot bread

•Peter worries about your wellbeing

-he sets up daily reminders on your phone to drink water

-irl it’s just him texting you h20 puns and jokes

•you are very territorial

-if a girl so much as looks at Peter

-you will snatch the weave

-one time you actually pulled out some girls hair

-Peter thought it was hot™

-Steve and Tony did not ™

•stony are your parents tbh

•like your dad you have a lot of issues

-you’re scared peter will leave

-but he never does

-he always comes back

•arcade dates

-Peter gives you a promise ring from a vending machine

-the avengers freak out and think it’s an engagement ring.

-Steve gives you a lecture about patience and how you should wait.

-Tony on the other hand…

-“I KNEW THIS DAY WOULD COME I HAVE BEEN PLANNING THIS FOR MONTHS”

-“Uh Mr Stark, we’re 17 and it’s just a promise ring”

-“You are both disappointments and disgraces to the Stark name”

•caring for him after missions

-cuddles

-back rubs

-Peter is very clingy at this point.

•knowing exactly what calms each other down.

•Training with Peter

-having a run on the treadmill whilst he does weights.

-you trip and hit your head

-Peter drops a weight on his foot bc he’s shook.

-you both go to hospital and agree never to workout together again.

•carnival dates

-peter sees a game and insists he wins a price for you

-he loses

-3 times

-you end up having a go and you win a fish

-peter has the fish for 4 days of the week and you have him for 3

-the fish is your son™

-his name is ‘the fish™’

•stargazing and talking about a future together

•you both trust and love each other a lot

•you love peter a lot

-although you don’t say it often

-you show it though

- but he already knows it

[sasuhinasno1fan]

A trip worth of Birthday Grimlin

So I never wrote a bday fic for Pidge last year, I had no time, and I want to keep the YouTuber AU train going with the bday fics. So I was trying to think about what they’d do for their birthday, since a lot of my ideas have come from other video’s I’ve watched, and then I remembered in Japan, there’s a place called the Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku and I was able to find a video of one of their whole shows and I thought, “would Pidge make all their friends get on a plane and fly to see this show? Probably.” So I mixed together two different shows, this and this. The first link is more of what I described. Also these shows are from two different years so if by any chance you did want to go to this resturant, the show won't be spoiled because they have new shows each year I believe. I know there's was a new one last year. So here we go, please enjoy.

Pidge was scrolling through their twitter feed when they felt their brother lean on them. They looked up to see their vlogging camera attached to what looked like Lance’s selfie stick, extended just far enough to get them both in frame

“So Pidge, my amazing younger sibling, where are we?” Matt asked, looking down at Pidge, who smiled unapologetically back at them.

“At the airport.”

“Right and what’s coming up?”

“My birthday. I’ll finally be 21, so I can legally drink now. Even though I’ve already had beer before.”

“You hate beer though. Anyway, why exactly are we at the airport with your birthday so close?”

Pidge stared the camera down. “We’re going to Japan to go to the Robot Restaurant!”

“Now anyone who knows me knows I’d usually be pretty scyed to go to this but Pidge,” Matt asked, the smile on Pidge’s face turning from unapologetic to embarrassed, “what else did you do?”

“I might have misbooked the tickets I got everyone? Ok but seriously, the whole time zone thing confuses the hell out of me. I know Japan is 3 hours ahead of us but I somehow forgot that Japan is also a day ahead of us.”

“No joke, they were googling and texting Shiro like crazy and yet they still managed to mess up the tickets and the reservation for the Robot Café.”

“I thought we’d be getting in on the 2nd still.” Pidge tried to defend

“Pidge, it’s the fact that Shiro texted and called you to remind you about this. He’s from Japan and talks to his parents all the time. I’m extremely tempted to make you read the gigantic text Shiro sent you reminding you about this.” Matt said, as Pidge hide their face on his arm.

“Shh, I feel bad enough. the good thing is the Robot Show isn’t until 4 and we get to Tokyo at like 12 pm so we have time to go to the hotel, shower and change, maybe eat something, even though I want to buy things at the place.”

“Oh yeah, the original plan was to do one of the dinner shows but those end near closing and where the Restaurant is, can get really crowded. besides, Shiro was like, after the show, we should hang out maybe a bit long until like it’s 8 and then go to sleep because our bodies will still be like, jetlagged.”

“An 11 hour flight and some of us aren’t surviving so far.” Pidge told the camera, taking the selfie stick and fiddling with it a bit to extend it even more before turning and lifting it so the whole Voltron crew could be in shot. Keith and Lance were next to Matt and using each other as supports as they snored away, Shay was passed out on Hunk’s lap and Hunk looked like he was following. Allura and Shiro were still awake, no doubt used to what they had to do when they went to go visit Shiro’s parents in Japan. “Only 4 of us are left if Hunk gives in.” Hunk woke up more at the sound of his name and waved sleepily at the camera. “I think we’re losing him. Thankfully we have like half an hour left until boarding starts and we all have first class tickets so we can go on early and pass out. It might be hard for me because Grassbomb usually comes and purrs next to me when I’m trying to sleep but Matt suggested I record her and listen to it on the plane.” Pidge explained shortening the stick so they wouldn’t whack any other tired passengers. “I don’t really think I’ll be recording on the plane and – oh Coran!”

The orange haired man had gone to get coffee since he said even in first class, airplane coffee was abysmal. Pidge didn’t care, coffee was coffee.

“Yes number 5? Is that Lance’s selfie stick?”

“I stole it from his bag.” Matt said, not sounding sorry

“Don’t expect help when he comes after you or worse, sends Keith after you. But, yes Pidge?”

“You’ve been to the Robot Restaurant right?”

“Yes I have and I can promise you one thing, there isn’t any other kind of show like it.”

“Sweet. Well, we’ll see you guys in Japan.”

The Voltron crew was able to sleep most of the flight away. Recording Greenbomb, Pidge’s cat, purring helped the youngest member pass out, almost missing when Keith and Lance got in trouble for trying to share the same pod seat to sleep. Pidge also wasn’t sure how their brother managed it, but he got the flight attendant to announce it was Pidge’s birthday during the announcements to landing. It was 12 pm, April 3rd, which made filling out customs forms hard.

Borrowing Lance’s selfie stick, Pidge was able get them all in the shot so they could all announce to the camera, “We’re in Japan!”

“And we have our entire luggage so we need to go and find our hotel’s shuttle driver because we have to get to the hotel, possibly change if we have time and then get down to Shinjuku because we have a reservation to make. Let’s go!” Pidge explained while the others grabbed their stuff and headed out to hopefully find their ride.

Luck was on their side as the driver found them easily and after playing Tetris with everyone’s bags, they were off. Almost everyone had either their phones or cameras out to take footage of the passing scenery, Pidge testing her Japanese on the driver. They got to the hotel and into their rooms before being given a small tour by the staff. It killed time before they got changed and were able to get a taxi all the way to Shinjuku where Coran told them to look for the sparkly dinosaur.

“Um, I found it.” Keith said, as Lance videoed the sparkly dinosaur as well as two robotic women, which the Holt siblings immediately ran to. “This is gonna be a weird evening isn’t it?” Keith asked rhetorically

“Pidge told us that we were going to Japan for their birthday just because they wanted to come here. Trust me, nothing about this day will be normal.” Lance said, giving his boyfriend an answer anyway.

Once they got enough pictures with the moving woman robots, they headed inside the narrow hallway and went down the stairs with strange and crazy themes for each floor, the bedazzled elevator being the groups favourite. They finally reached the front desk, where Shiro got them signed in and they were directed to get their drinks before being lead into the stage area to get their seats. Pidge was willing to admit they spoiled things a bit by looking at videos but they wanted to figure out the best place to sit. They got most of the whole third row on one of the sides reserved for them and while most stayed to save the seats, others went back to where they got their drinks to get bento boxes for everyone.

“Ok, so ready?” Matt asked, Pidge’s video camera in his hands, pointing it at his younger sibling.

“The mic is on right?” the room wasn’t fully packed but it was already loud from the excitement. At Matt’s nod, Pidge focused on the camera and waved. “Hey guys, so we’re finally here at the Robot Restaurant. Getting down here was weird because of all the crazy themes they have for each of the floors, not really up my ally but I was warned that there’s no other place like this, except for maybe the Monster Café Matt wants to go to.”

“It looks so cool!” Matt said from behind the camera

“Well, we’re here for a week, so we have time. Anyway, coming here gets you a free drink and if you wanted to, you could book tickets that also get you access into restaurants who work with this place, which was the original plan, but they’re mostly for dinner shows and Shiro suggested an early night, so most of the others are getting us bento boxes so we can eat. They do have a gift shop that we’re gonna visit later because I told everyone I want them to buy me something each from there.”

“There’s 8 of us here and only about 10 items I remember from the website, you’re just getting the whole store.” Matt said, Pidge not even looking the slightest bit concerned.

Pidge and Matt had set up cameras to film the whole thing and no have to worry about constantly messing with it while they watched.

Finally the show started, first with clown hype men getting the crowd excited while the master of ceremonies welcomed everyone and explained the rules. Pidge was glad they didn’t reserve front row tickets since those in the front row had to practise leaning back to avoid any passing robots. Soon the stage was clear and Pidge could see two moving stages come onto main stage and they started bouncing in their seat as the taiko drummers started their performance, the stages lighting up and moving as the drummers got very into their performance, the separate person on drums and percussion also rocking out before they were joined by a yokai dressed guitar player.

“Having fun?” Matt asked, watching the huge smile on Pidge’s face

“This is the coolest birthday ever!”

Before they knew it the stage was filled with performers and the performance was over as all but one stage of taiko drummers went off stage before they were joined by dancing fan girls, yokai dressed warriors and ninjas, who fought as the music surrounded them before the master of ceremonies invited new floats and robots to parade in front of the audience, the floats seeming to become filled with each round they made before a large silver robot with outstretched hands joined. Pidge did notice the floats seemed to all be pushed along by men in black with strange looking hats that covered their face. They leaned around their brother to poke Shiro, who sat next to Matt.

“Who are the guys in black?”

“They’re called kuorko, servants who hid in the shadows. They’re kinda like the backstage crew that moves stuff in the dark.”

After the performance, they were once again joined by the clown hype men who danced for the audience before announcing they were giving away a free popcorn to a lucky winner. Pidge stared at the screen, hoping their seat number would be picked. They had finished their bento and half of Matt’s but they were still hungry. The winner turned out to be Shay, who poured some in her empty bento box and passed it down for the others to do the same, but it never made its way back up once Pidge got a hold of it.

“Are you going to be able to eat dinner after this?” Allura asked as the lights were dimmed and the sound of chains filled the room.

“I don’t know. I didn’t eat anything yesterday because I was editing all day.” Pidge said stuffing more popcorn in their mouth.

“Pidge!” Allura scolded, to which Pidge shrugged

“I got busy. Besides that McDonalds breakfast from wasn’t exactly filling.”

The next show was a battle royal between robots, though Pidge could tell there were just costumes, it made them even more excited to see the one that actually looked more like robots. They show wasn’t as entertaining as the others and when it ended, they were given an intermission to go to the bathroom. Matt used it as an excuse to grab food and also somehow get the master of ceremonies to know it was Pidge’s birthday.

When he got back and the master of ceremonies came back to the stage, they first made sure everyone had been given a light stick and introduced the performers. Pidge had been focused on eating that they didn’t pay much attention to the start of the happy birthday song until their name was called.

“Happy birthday Pidge!” Pidge looked up, a piece of tempura hanging from their mouth as the master of ceremonies was able to get to the stairs to get to Pidge. They looked over to see a line of vlogging cameras capturing the moment.

“What did you do?” they demanded to know, but wasn’t given an answer as they were handed one of the robot plushes from the Restaurant’s store.

Once that was over, it was announced that the last show was about to start before LED lighted people came out on skates, segways and the coolest circular motorcycle Keith ever saw.

“No you can’t get one.” Lance teased seeing the look on his boyfriend’s face.

“Screw that, I’m making one!” Pidge announced

The stage was soon filled with two DJing dressed robots as they danced along while two robots, similar to the once that Matt and Pidge darted to at the entrance came moving on with bikini clad girls cheering on them. It was like a rave on steroids. When the rave ended, the one thing Pidge had been waiting for finally walked or in some cases was rolled onto the stage, the people in the more robotic looking costumes.

“Do you think we can make this?” Pidge asked their brother as the music started and the robots started dancing as the dancers came out to join them.

“As long as mom and dad don’t find out.” Matt replied

“Don’t encourage them!” Shiro said, already seeing the plans forming in the Holt sibling’s minds.

The last part of the show involved a plane that was covered in bikini clad girls, who’d switch with the girls on the LED tank that came towards them on the opposite side, a girl on a Tron looking bike and two other girls on barrel shaped robots making their rounds around them.

It all seemed like it ended too soon for Pidge but the whole crew of dancers and performers came on the stage one last time before disappearing into the wings. With their skill of putting video equipment away quickly, the group was able to gather their things and start exiting early so the store wasn’t as crowded as it would be once everyone was out. When they were finally on the street again, Pidge sat themself’s down on the robot again so their brother could film them.

“So what can you say about the show?” Matt asked, knowing the look from Pidge’s face had to tell the audience all

“Like Coran said, can’t find a show like it. Guys, I did record this, but watching the recording and seeing it for yourself are two different things. Trust me, if you have the chance, book a ticket and get down here! Now we need to get food because I couldn’t book the dinner combo tickets without it dragging on too late. I think I might end it here. Thanks everyone for your birthday wishes I would have read by the time this video goes up. We’re getting on a train in the morning to get to a prefecture that has a dog amusement park, because why not love both cats and dogs? This is your HackingGrimlin signing off and I’ll see you later, bye!”

Pidge didn’t survive the trip back to the hotel though. For the first time since getting their cat, the rush of adrenaline knocked Pidge out without the need for purring. Matt had to piggy back them back to their room, where they slept until 1 am and had to kindly ask the front desk if they could still order room service, since no one left after that.

Pidge was right about one thing, this had been their coolest birthday ever. It did make the others just slightly concerned with what Pidge no doubt had planned for the next year.

[lalainajanes]

@cupcakemolotov tossed me “publishing house” yesterday and this teeny thing happened.

Line After Line

Caroline’s just about to start yelling (or whisper yelling – they’re at work and she’s not an animal) because Klaus’ feet are on her desk.

She was beginning to think he had a death wish.

Caroline had googled the crap out of him (and then his family) when they’d become cubicle mates. From what she’d gleaned he’d grown up in a super fancy house, had probably had etiquette lessons and a stern Nanny to correct his behavior so there was no excuse for him treating her desk like an ottoman.

Other than the fact that he seemed to take great pleasure in being the most annoying person on the planet. At least to Caroline. Other people seemed to find him perfectly charming, a couple of the girls down in marketing were forever attempting to pump Caroline for info in hopes of snagging Klaus’ attention.

Did he date often? How did he take his coffee? Did Caroline think he was the type who liked it when a woman made the first move? In the beginning she’d demurred, dodged. Eventually she’d just started making up amusing lies. At this point they thought Klaus was an avid lawn bowler who collected vintage picture frames.

She’d been tempted to offer her Great Gran’s foolproof man catching strategy – less hair, more boobs – but she figured that wouldn’t go over well. Gran had been married three times though so she had clearly been doing something right.

Plus, he might think he was subtle but Caroline had noted that Klaus’ eyes tended to dip whenever her necklines did

Caroline stands at the entrance to their workspace, fuming while Klaus pays her no mind. When she notices the manuscript in his hands, the one he’d perusing with great interest, all biting words about his appalling lack of manners die on her lips.

It’s her manuscript.

That was not meant for his eyes.

She’d been planning on slipping it into one of the to-be read piles. The publishing house received stacks upon stacks of spec stories from hopeful authors every month. She, Klaus, and a handful of others were responsible for pre-reading them and separating out the ones that had potential.

Caroline was finally ready to share hers. She’d listed a pseudonym, had told herself that there was no harm in taking a shot – maybe she’d be rejected but that wouldn’t be the end of the world. She’d just have to keep trying, improving.

She hadn’t wanted Klaus to be the first one to get to it.

He’d read way too much into the fact that her hero kind of resembled him. Mostly physically but Caroline will admit that some of the snarky-one liners were things she imagined from his distractingly full lips. And maybe her hero had a few exasperating younger siblings. But that was all. Caroline hadn’t even really done it on purpose but when there was a hot English dude in your space every day it was inevitable that the Earl in your historical romance ended up molded in his image.

That was her story and she was sticking to it.

She hastily smooths her face into a less panicked expression when Klaus glances up. No need to clue him into the fact that she didn’t want him to read what he was reading. He delighted in being contrary so there’s no way he’d willingly put it down then. Tackling him and taking it by force was obviously out of the question since she was a professional. “Do you mind?” she hisses. “You have a perfectly good desk less than three feet away. Rest your stupid hipster boots over there.”

Klaus has the gall to smirk up at her, slouching down slightly in her chair, “I thought I’d help you out. It seems like you’ve fallen behind.” He nods over the whiteboard where they keep a tally of the projects they’ve completed. Every month the loser was obligated to buy drinks and Klaus had narrowly eked out a victory two months running and was in the lead once more.

Did that kill her a little? Yes. Something Klaus clearly knew.

“I think I picked an easy one, however. It’s quite good. The dialogue flows nicely. The sex scenes need the most polishing.”

Caroline tries not to obviously bristle. “What, did you skip ahead to the dirty bits?”

Klaus would never say ‘duh’ but the look he sends her conveys it all the same.

“And what, exactly, is wrong with them?” It has come out a little sharper than Caroline had meant it to, more defensively, and Caroline hopes Klaus doesn’t notice.

“This is for print, correct? If it were eBook only it would be fine, they’re a bit more lenient about the racy elements there. “

Caroline feels her cheeks heat. That’s so not what she’d been expecting him to say. “So you’re saying it’s too graphic?” Was it too graphic? Caroline hadn’t thought so but, as much as she hated to admit it, Klaus was a good editor. She’d been dubious when he’d shown up, even more so when she’d found out that his father was kind of a big deal in the publishing world. Why he was choosing to do grunt work in New York City when he could join his older brothers in a huge offices with a view in London was still a mystery.

“Mmm,” Klaus hums in confirmation. “And it’s perhaps a bit too… imaginative for a title in this division. Authors are only allowed to sneak in bondage sparingly, as you know.”

That was true. She could maybe omit the ribbons. Perhaps have the hero instruct the heroine to hold on to the bed rails if she wanted to come? But then she’d have to rewrite the descriptions of the room. Lost in her own thoughts she barely registers Klaus saying her name. Caroline shakes herself, “What?”

His eyes narrow, “So you’ve started this one already? And here I thought I was doing a good deed.”

Yeah, and that was suspicious. “Which is confusing to me, by the way? Why would you want to help me win? Don’t you like free drinks?”

He shifts, so slightly she might not have noticed if not for the squeaky wheels of her chair. It’s intriguing since Klaus was generally pretty unflappable, she’s not certain he’s even capable of being embarrassed. The quick glance down, the way he wets his lips before continuing tells her she might be wrong. “I do. I just thought you might as well.”

“Of course I do. I have an entry level job and an insane rent payment every month. I occasionally consider accepting dinner invites from total creepers just to get a free meal.”

“And would you consider me a ‘total creeper’?”

He looks pained as he says the words and Caroline presses her lips together to keep from giggling. It takes a second for the meaning of his question to register. “What, what?” Did you just ask me out?”

“Not quite though I’ll admit that is my intent.”

“Oh my god Klaus you are way too old to be annoying me because you like me.”

“Initially it was just because it was fun,” he confesses. “And then it became a habit. Your reactions are delightful.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet anger really brings out the blue in my eyes,” Caroline quips, crossing her arms as she studies him. He seems sincere, invested in her responses.

“Is that a no, then?” Klaus asks, his expression carefully blank.

Caroline takes a second to mull it over. She has to admit that she usually has a good time with Klaus once they’re off the company premises. He is funny, even when they’re trash talking and needling each other. And he had taken a semi-terrible book by a first time author who clearly thought women were brainless morons off her hands next week when she had been painfully close to banging her head against her desk. So he wasn’t actually a terrible person hell bent on making her miserable.

And if she had to refine her sex scenes for a broader audience maybe it would be helpful to have some assistance? He’d already read them and had some ideas about how they could be improved.

He already resembled her Earl and Caroline’s bed did have a slatted wooden headboard.

They could experiment. Test out practical applications. For art.

“Tomorrow,” Caroline says. “My outfit today is so not cute enough for a date.”

Klaus eyes flit down her body taking in her fitted navy dress. “I would be happy to argue that point, love.”

“Nope,” Caroline chirps, before pointedly jerking her thumb in the direction of his desk. “You only say that because you’ve never been treated to a date dress. Now get out of my chair.”

He unfolds himself and stands and Caroline takes in a sharp breath when she realizes how close he is.

How is it that she’d never noticed that he smells really good? They work in a freaking plywood shoebox. He gives her an infuriating little smile, like he knows what she’s thinking. He’s left her manuscripts behind and Caroline snatches it up. “Wait, take this. I think it needs another opinion.”

And, while she wouldn’t say it aloud just yet, Caroline does trust Klaus’s.

He takes the pages from her hands. “I’ll bring it home with me. We can discuss it tomorrow?”

“Sure!” Caroline says, even though she begins eternally panicking. Her in a date dress, Klaus with the charm turned up to eleven, discussing her book? Diving into details about the sex scenes? That could very well be a disaster for her self-control.

Or, Caroline thought optimistically, possibly an excellent research opportunity. Car sex could totally be translatable to carriage sex, right?

[mylocalofficial]

How to Take Amazing Photos to Promote Your Local Business

How to Take Amazing Photos

Customers are judgmental, help them with some amazing photos.

In fact, we're all judgmental, it's scientifically proven. Contrary to popular belief, being judgmental is necessary. When customers look at your business they make a judgment call, automatically.

Yes, No or maybe.

It's an unpopular thing to admit that we sort people, businesses and things based on their appearance.

But it's true.

Job applicants who look the part often do better in interviews. Well-dressed people who drive nice cars are viewed as wealthy. Attractive, well-presented businesses are viewed as more successful.

This caused scientists to ask a question.

Are customers judgmental?

Absolutely.

Alex Todorov and Janine Willis, Princeton University psychologists, discovered in their research that people respond to faces instantly.

Customers form first impressions in as little as 50 to 100 milliseconds.

Customers are making judgments about you and your business before they've had a chance to think about it. This first impression is visual and based almost entirely on emotion.

That's a big problem.

We're taught to believe a lie

The lie goes like this:

"It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside, it's what's on the inside that counts."

Remember that?

When it comes to marketing this is an absolutely dangerous lie. Customers should make judgments about the organizations they do business with.

The wrong choice can be devastating.

They can lose money, time and resources. They can be hurt, humiliated or punished for making the wrong choice.

Amazing photos guide a customer's choice

Amazing photos, regardless of your industry, are important. They give customers the information they need to properly evaluate your business.

It shows customers what to expect.

Most of the time, this evaluation process operates at a subconscious level. Customers use the information they've accumulated to make instant, gut reactions. Their assessment is fuzzy, quick and imprecise.

What exactly are customers evaluating in your photos?

1. Ingroup/outgroup. Simply put, customers ask themselves the question, "Are you like me?" If the answer is yes, the conversation continues.

2. Social class. Sadly, classism is viewed by many as the last acceptable prejudice in the world today. Customers use this to vet/validate the social standing of those they associate with.

3. Ethos and values. Every group has its own culture, its own set of values and norms. Customers expect your Ethos and values to align with theirs and the ethos and values of the group to earn their business.

4. Trustworthiness. "Will you hurt me?" Customers want to know they're safe with you. They're looking to decrease risk, pain and suffering.

5. Social status. Businesses with high social status and high social capital command a considerable amount of respect and prestige. As people, we're drawn to those around us who are exceptional in some way.

Local businesses tend to neglect photos, or they'll simply post unflattering photos that position their business negatively.

Not good.

But customers are absolutely looking for more photos. How do we know that?

They tell us. And Google tells us – just look at your Google My Business Insights.

Poor imagery kills the sale

A recent study from the National Retail Federation in the USA found that 94 percent of customers felt image quality was “very” to “somewhat important” in their buying decision.

Isolate women's responses and that number climbs to 96 percent.

Look at Yelp's top restaurants of 2017 and something interesting stands out. Each of these restaurants have hundreds and thousands of positive reviews and images.

Customers want to see…

★ High quality photos

★ Demand (e.g. lots of customers if you're a service business)

★ Alternate views (e.g. different views of product/business)

★ Topic specific images (e.g. cakes, tables, interiors, etc.)

★ Color changes, where appropriate

★ True to life imagery (e.g. view on model, customer photo of food, etc.)

★ View(s) in a room

The keywords here are quality and variety.

Customers want to see your business from more than one perspective. More photos give them the ability to evaluate consistency.

You'll never be able to take the perfect photo…

If you focus your time and attention on all these specific variables. It's overwhelming and simply too much for the average business.

You still need amazing photos though.

So, what do you do?

You focus on your ideal customers, the customers you'd fight tooth and nail to keep. Then use photography to present your business in a way that wows them.

How do you do that?

You focus on their wants and needs. If you're a fine dining restaurant looking for big spending regulars you show…

★ A pristine environment

★ Influencers who frequent your restaurant

★ A high class image (e.g. dinnerware, table cloth, attire, etc.)

★ Exclusivity markers (e.g. wait list, limited seating/hours)

If you know your customers, you know this is what they expect.

What if you're the owner of a Blues and Jazz cafe, like Blues City Deli and you're looking to attract more customers? With apologies for an example from the USA but the concepts translate well to the UK.

Step #1: Know your audience

You confirm the demographics and psychographics of the customer segments who are (a.) willing to pay and (b.) able to pay.

Then you figure out what makes them tick.

Their desires, goals, fears and frustrations. Their expectations from a Blues Cafe, their reading habits, how they spend their free time etc.

I wanted to know so I referred to a study by the Jazz Audiences Initiative (JAI).

They broke listeners down into six groups:

Research for Amazing Photos

They sorted them by education level:

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By education status:

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And marital status:

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So, with less than an hour's worth of research we know our ideal customer is:

★ A member of at least one out of six groups

★ Highly educated bachelors or above

★ Works full-time (which means discretionary income) or retired

★ Married or partnered

Armed with this research you're ready to…

Step #2: Reject the wrong people

Customers judge, remember?

Your photos don't have to be Smithsonian worthy but they should convey quality. Product, ambience oriented photos aren't about showing off your photography skills, it's about sending a message.

Customers are subconsciously looking for specific cues on:

★ Ingroup/outgroup

★ Social class

★ Ethos and values

★ Trustworthiness

★ Social status

Which is exactly what Blues City Deli does.

Research for Amazing Photos

See what they did there?

The right message is easy to convey if you attract the right audience.

Do the upfront work to attract the right audience and these details mostly take care of themselves. That's the problem though. Most local businesses don't do the upfront work.

So they struggle.

They attract the wrong people who, in turn, repel the right people.

Step #3: Take amazing photos

Remember, you're not looking to win a photojournalism award. You're looking to send a message.

Which is exactly what Blues City Deli does.

They share photos about their history.

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They convey status, showing they're so good customers are willing to wait.

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They sell the ambience.

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By inviting you to listen to Live Blues with them, they're telling you they're part of your ingroup. They're one of you.

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Something interesting is happening in their photos, can you see it?

No?

Did you notice the similarities between their customers? The style of dress, the attitude, demeanour and presentation?

That's homogeneity.

Take photos of your business; post, share and promote them on your local listings and profiles.

Step #4: Get customers to willingly promote you

How?

How on earth do you get customers to willingly promote your business, product or service?

It's simple.

You make your customers the hero of the story. You share your prestige with them. It's different for every business but there are all kinds of ways this can be done.

You could…

★ Get customers to join in on Live Blues night

★ Run a contest, then promote the winner

★ Brag about specific customers in a case study or testimonial video

★ Ask customers for advice, follow it, then show them that you did

★ Remember (and act on) specific things about your customers (e.g. birthdays, the anniversary of their first visit, bad day or tragic events, etc.)

★ Surprising/random acts of kindness and generosity (done as a habit).

See the secret? It's honour.

When you honour customers you're showing that you cherish them. That the relationship is more important than just "money".

Find a way to honour customers in a way that's meaningful to them and they'll find a way to share it with everyone. It's wonderful because you've given them a way to brag without bragging.

Sure sounds good, but it will backfire

Asking customers to share photos is a terrible idea. What if you train customers to "take pictures" and you make a mistake? You've given them everything they need to hang you.

That is true if you have a bad relationship with your customers.

Mistreat your customers and they'll eagerly wait for the chance to take you down. They'll tell their whole world, anyone, who'll listen about your failure.

If customers are neutral that's far less likely to happen.

Most customers don't write reviews. They read them sure, and most base their buying decisions on them. That much is true.

But the vast majority aren't willing to share their bad experience.

If you have thousands of reviews like the local businesses we've covered they're even less likely to share (though they should). They're less likely to spill the beans on your mistake if you have a good relationship or rapport with them.

Does that mean you should count on that?

No.

But you're far less vulnerable than you've been led to believe. If you're running a wonderful business you can counteract that.

Customers are judgmental, they should be

We're all judgmental, it's a necessary, scientifically proven part of life.

Customers are making judgments about you and your business before they've had a chance to think about it. This first impression is visual and based almost entirely on emotion.

Give customers what they're looking for, meet their wants and needs, and you'll find their judgment swings in your favour.

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