#double zigzag

[abirddogmoment]

It was a soggy one out there today!

[kitsunabi]

I can't tell if I was supposed to be a gremlin and climb the obv suspicious and tempting hole in the ceiling or if this is part some world quest but I do feel like the game was trying to tell me something by flashing the location name every 30 secs.....

[sketchfanda]

Chestnut Stud Across the Multiverse: Double Z Opportunity

“How in the hell did I let 18 talk me into this kind of stuff….” Krillin half asked and said to himself as he mulled over his thoughts in regards to his current situation. Trying to look anywhere but right what was in front of him at the moment as he walked a seemingly plain, random office corridor. Now why you might ask was he in such a mood and what was he trying not stare at exactly you might ask? Well to answer the latter question, he was trying not to stare at the swaying backside of the woman guiding and leading him around here, a hot, sexy mature piece of ass known as Tina Lynx. The furry babe clad in a simple casual sweater,miniskirt, sneakers and shades and carrying a tablet in hand as a sort of digital clipboard and walking with a distinct sway and shady to her thick, plump and curvy form. Her thighs rubbing together, hips striding as her ass bounced and clapped, hinting she had a thing on beneath that saucy skirt of hers. Krillin of course doing any and everything he could to be polite, a blush in his face as he rubbed the back of his head nervously, the stubble of his spiky hair felt on his palm as his usually smooth dome head was in its unshaven  period. The former question and the cause if his nervousness as well as why he was following this lynx babe? Well that answer came soon enough the shades wearing babe shit a glance at him over her shoulder, a friendly smile on her pretty face.

“Hey don’t worry about it so much handsome, feel free to look, I don’t mind. Sure who hasn’t seen what I’ve got without clothes on,right?” Tina playfully quipped, a soft giggle from her muzzle at seeing Krillin flinch and blush as if he were a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Deciding to take her advice as it occurred to him that some of the pictures snd posters on display in this corridor snd throughout the office building it occupied were, shall we say, of a very adult nature. Tina’s tone friendly and playful all at once as she continued leading the off duty cop and former monk to where ever she was leading him to.  “And don’t worry too much about it, from what your wife told us over the phone and in your e-mail application, you’re gonna be a natural. But it’s perfectly reasonable to be a bit nervous for your first time doing anything related to porn..” Reassuring him as she reminded him exactly why he was feeling the way he was. Ah yes indeed that’s right, he was at the office of Double Z studios,  a pornographic movie company and he was here for his tryout to star as a performer. 18 by chance had come across a want ad in the paper, looking up the details in their website to find out that they were looking for human males and similar non anthro males to audition for the first time. To which his hot cyborg bombshell of a wife wasted no time in filling out an application on his behalf and arranged this appointment for him, such a lovely wife he had, he thought to himself sarcastically. He knew why she’d done it of course for more than one reason. He had plenty of spare time when he wasn’t on duty protecting snd serving the public and there wasn’t any of the odd, usual galactic threats to existence happening. Not to mention it paid quite handsomely and best of all,in her mind, she’d get to watch her man doing porn!! God the sex they had just from how turned on she was at the ides of her husband going at it with drop dead gorgeous furry babes, it’d been as wild as their first time together snd their honeymoon night. Hell even the very union that had conceived Maron and it wasn’t like the thought of doing this line of work wasn’t a a turn-on. Hell Oolong and Roshi would cry tears of blood if they knew, wk during why him and not them.

“Yeah I know, pretty sure that’s going to be a regular on the job kind of thing huh?” Krillin quipped as he out on a brave front, still blushing but a half hearted smile on his face as Tina gave a soft, friendly giggle to that remark. The mature feline hottie soon stopping as they came to an office door, displaying the name Zig Zag on its glass and shutter frame. Signifying they’d arrived at the domain of the boss lady herself as Krillin steadied his nerves. This was it, no turning back now as Tina knocked on the door, the pair awaiting a response as Krillin had an idle glance at his surroundings. Posters framed and hung in the wall alongside pictures of employees/performers of the month or week, proudly displaying the body of work Double Z studios had put out. Including some of their recent non anthro male stars who had also applied for the position he was trying out for. Among them being some guy they called Red Riot and some small little Red Devil looking guy with horns and a tail. The fact said posters boldly displayed their female stars naked as the day they were born made th compact fighter blush, reminding him how 18 he’d made him watch some Double Z movies for “research” as she had called it. Particularly of the founder and owner of this very studio herself. An exotic woman and Jack of many trades when it came to porn. Writer, director, producer and of course star, the one and only Zig Zag herself, whose voice called from inside for them to enter as Tina opened the door, leading the auditioning shirt king in. Showtime, he thought to himself as he followed, the door shutting behind them.

The Office itself seemed like well any old office and there Krillin saw set nicely snug in a corner was the notorious,infamous casting couch. While sitting across nice and comfy from it in simple but stylish corporate casual wear was the one and only Zig Zag herself. Ms.Double Z who was every bit as exotic as she looked, after all how many women like her in this world were full on tiger-skunk hybrids? Her sleek,toned and curvy bombshell body rocking a big fluffy tail with snow white fur decorated with black stripes, her eyes a rich sparkling crystal blue as she wore a sensual smile on her luscious face’s muzzle. Which from the shortstack lawman’s perspective could come across as rather predatory as those azure eyes were no doubt mentally undressing him as she locked her gaze on him. “Well now,your wife sent me a picture or two but seeing you in person, you look even better than I imagined..” the TigerSkunk hottie quipped and teased playfully. Krillin blushing as he rubbed the back of his neck out of nervous reflex, taking a seat as she gestured for him to do so. Between her and Tina,who stood between the desk and the chair like some casual neutral observing 3rd party, it was tough time trying to decide who’d be the least likely to get him all riled up with arousal by staring at either one of them. As aforementioned, 18 had him conduct “homework” by watching a few double Z movies for “research purposes”. These two had featured quite extensively among the vast ocean of clips, highlight reels and then some available on just the streaming platform alone. To say nothing of the dvd and bluray digital libary, as ZigZag caught his attention by getting up from seat to move around in front of her desktop and park her glorious miniskirt clad rear on the edge. Her fluffy tail idly wagging and waving sensually as she began to speak.

“Now handsome...mind if I call you that?” Krillin blushed but shrugged,hinting he was fine with it either which way as she nodded from his confirmation and resumed her train of thought. “As you’ll have gather, you’re not just any guy trying out for work here at my little playground here,no sir. This tryout goes well you’ll be among my small growing little cast I’ve been rounding up and assembling. Not my first human but definitely first among many,or the last should this work out for you. All depends how much you pass my personal standards...” she spoke,as she gestured to Tina, who nodded and tapped away at the screen on her tablet,showing a sort of checklist to the shortstack dude. This included details such as length, girth, build, stamina, staying power to name a few. He could see she wasn’t kidding about standards. Very high ones at that from the looks of it as she moved from sitting idly on her desktop to pacing about, hips swaying and her tail wafting in the air with a rather perfume like scent. It was rather intoxicating and pheromonal in its nature and quality, made sense given how charistmatic and stunning she was. As she spoke of what she aimed for when it came to selecting her stars and especially how to apply it to the likes of him. In their hiring experience so far, size defnitely counted but only especially and particularly if you knew how to use it. As well as how long you could last and go for and no damn pretentious egos!! Small mumbling rants about horses, bulls and the like, noticing a brief shudder of...passion shared between her and Tina when he heard them refer to something or someone like scalies, or whoever this Moxxie or Eijiro guys were. Before the Siberian TigerSkunk sexbomb looked at him coyly and playfully as she gestured for him to stand up, which he did, not wanting to disoblige her.

“First thing’s first, let’s see who and what we got to work with here. Be a sweetheart and strip down to your skivvies, won’t you?” She sensually quipped, his eyes bugging a bit as he bit back any remark or retort, blushing as he began to do just that. Tina and ZigZag gluing their gaze as they purred,certainly liking what they were seeing. At 5′1′‘, he certainly wasn’t going to turn heads at an airport but he wasn’t some stubby barrel or stringbean twig boy, no sir. From the neck down, Krillin was a physical Adonis or Atlas, his body a work of muscular art crafted,sculpted and honed by years to decades of combat training in the martial arts. Arms and legs like compact tree trunks, broad shoulders and pectorals with a perfect sixpack of abs. His boxers snug and tight but keeping him modest as he blushed and sat back on the couch, watching as Zigzag strode over and began to touch and caress him. Making him shudder,his muscles twitching as her busy hands massaged his physique, definitely liking what she. Oh yes,she quite liked it a lot as she teased hovering glances and touches to the crotch of his boxers, her tail waving like a snake slithering gracefully along the ground. “Mmm I like what I’m seeing, oh yeah you’re passing a few check arms so far handsome…“the hybrid hottie purred as she pried herself off from him to stand back and admire him like some prime work of art. Sitting back atop her desk, making the vertically challenged fighter blush as her skirt lifted enough to expose she was commando under it.

Tina of course reminded him of her presence in the office as she cleared her throat politely, making him jump a bit in his seat. “Alright boss should I call her in? I’d say we’re ready to start the tryout….” She enquired as her hybrid boss nodded in affirmative, Tina fished out her cellphone as she tapped away,typing and sending a text to god only knows who. Looking at the lynx hottie with a hint of puzzlement and confusion which she noticed as she eased it. “We’re just gonna have one of our stars com in here and perform with you like doing a scene from one of our projects. Naturally it’s not enough to have the looks but also the skills. So ofmcourse we will be recording this..,”she explained as she gestured to a nearby digits, video camera in a tripod which was connected to a laptop on ZigZag’s desk. It made Krillin wonder how he’d missed sight of thst when he got in here, gulping nervously as his face blushed. That’s right,he reminds himself internally, he was auditioning for work at a porn studio which meant having to be work in front of cameras and filming crew…having sex!! That somehow made him scared and aroused all at once, scaroused! Or even scared and horny, scorny!? Was that even a word? Point being he was already feeling exposed in front of the two furry hot piece of ass and they were going to watch and film him doing it with another woman. He hadn’t felt scaroused and scorny since that whole fiasco at Videl’s bachelorette party. Let’s just say things got lewd and wild when 18 and some of the ladies got drunk, Especially the guest of honour herself. His thoughts brought back to the present as a new fsce made their presence known as they barged into the office without knocking and slammed it shut behind them.

“I swear to God, this had better be a good reason for calling me here thst doesn’t involve cleaning another mess you made. I already been busy enough just mopping and sweeping up the sets from Red Riot and that damn Imp’s scenes earlier today!!” The new arrival snarked hardly as Krillin took in her appearance. Of course at this point why wouldn’t or shouldn’t he be surprised she was another hottie, it seemed like one of those absolute rules here at Double Z. Only the most bodacious tits,the bubbliest and juiciest asses and succulent curves and tones need apply and this babe was no exception to that. A heavily dark blue to navy feline who would no doubt seem pitch black in the sort of lighting and shading. A toned curvy figure and frame with her silky fur on display thanks to her denim dungarees,a wheeled bucket with the attached mop in hand signifying she was likely a custodian or janitor if her remarks were anything to go by, a feather earring dangling as her h pretty face displayed a natural neutral. Albeit offset by the aether intense, fierce expression she wore in her face which made it clear she was plenty annoyed and pissed off. Her golden feline eyes turning their glaring gaze on him as she noticed his presence, her expression deepening. “Oooh you saucy bitch, a casting couch routine? You got God knows how many horny bitches a available and you want  me to try get this runt off? Tch,fine whatever if I’m gonna be cleaning this mess, no harm in me being the one to make it…” with that said,she nudged her miko and bucket aside into an idle corner as Tina went to go prep the camera, Zigzag’s smile growing to a mix of amusement and arousal at the pending display she was about to witness. Her tail swaying as it’s pheromones scent flowed.

“Knew I could count on you to step up babycakes. Krillin honey,this is Darke Katt, part time starlet and custodian, don’t let the attitude out you off,she’s a sweetheart when you really get to know her.” The tigerskunk porno entrepreneur quipped playfully,shooting him a wink and a while. Katt of course responded by shooting her a dirty look over her shoulder as she razzed her and flipped her the bird. Before turning her focus back to Krillin with a deadpan look, the sort of which said ‘‘Better make this worth my while or I’ll fuck you uo in the all ways that make you useless to a woman!!” It was certainly scarousing, As the shadowy feline made him big his eyes out and drop his jaw as she undid he buttons of her dungarees, letting the to fall as she began to peel off and remove it, leaving herself naked as the day she was born. Her tits perky and firm, just right enough for a man’s hands to enjoy and play with,her swaying tail connected to a glorious bubble butt just crying to be played like a bongo drum, her slit glistening with small signs of arousal as he himself felt that familiarmrush of blood. The kind that went from his brains to his loins as the feisty feline leaned close to him, draping her arms around his shoulders as he pulled his face close towards her own. Suddenly pressing her lips to his, the fur of her muzzle silky and soft as he suddenly found her tongue invading his mouth. Overwhelming his brain with a surge of pleasure as her claws scraped along the skin of his back. Making him flinch as she hinted those babies were razor sharp snd ready to cut him up if he so much as got any funny ideas or really pissed her off. Much as she seemed to hate being the one to handle the two at hand, she seemed to be getting quite into it as her fingertips and palms caressed his muscles hinting she was maybe enjoying this. This caused him to gain some confidence as he returned the passion of her kiss, their tongues dancing as his hands touched and began to massage her back. Which got a deepthroated our coaxed out of her hinting she was coming to like this, as she broke theirs liplock for some air, eyes still deadpan but sort of softening. As her hands were soon caressing his thighs and hips before making their way to cup and grope his crotch. Blinking in puzzlement and confusion as those silk boxer spatz displayed a bulging swell which she kept rubbing, tilting her head as if wondering, was she really feeling what she thought she was? She grabbed the waistband and tugged his boxers down, making him gasp as she pulled them right off, she had to see it, she had to!!

See it she most certainly did, her golden eyes widening like saucer plates, jaw dropping as did ZigZag and Tina’s own. The latter’s shades tilting askew and crooked as right then and there before her eyes, there was his cock out there in the open. Standing stiff snd proud,more erect than a flag pole and looking hard enough to smash a boulder into rubble and dust or hammer nails into solid steel. Their pussies responding to their brains going into bitch in heat mode as they felt their nectar flow and run down along their thighs as Katt shook her head and found her voice. “Fucking hell is that a dick or a weapon of mass destruction?!!” Katt remarked with a tone of shock and awe, her feline eyes locked on that length and girth that seemed just ideal to be considered a pussy pleasing piece of heaven. Kneeling on the floor as she grabbed his cock in a firm grasp, stroking it as she leaned in close to breathe in his scent. Shuddering as that musk flooded her senses. Making her brain awaken those deep, dormant primal instincts which called to her,told her this compact Adonis before was an alpha male that would take her to great heights of pleasure. Smaller but louder voices crying, begging, pleading to have him mate and breed with her as she licked the lips of her muzzle and gave his cock head a kiss and a wet flick of her tongue. Followed by another and another as she went from tip to base and vice versa, showering his shaft with lust and affection, not even leaning his smooth but heavy balls untouched. The feline hottie sucking blowing away as if she weee enjoying s delicious meal.

“My oh my handsome,your lady sent me some dick pics but seeing it in the full flesh this up close and personal is something else….a literal and figurative money maker” ZigZag quipped with playful awe, biting her lip sensually as she sneaked a hand under her skirt. Poking and prodding her her slit as she and Tina watched Katt outright facefucking herself as she attempted to deepthroat Krillin’s cock. The little man shuddering as her tongue and mouth bathed his length in the wrongness and warmth of her saliva. Tina sensually panting as she kept the camera on them, rubbing her thighs together as her own pussy lips gushed as bad as Katt’s own was. Dribbling and raining down in the office floor as she and her boss slash bestie watched the short king do more tha okay in proving his credentials for this line of work. More so when he pried Kat off of his cock,pulling her up to sit in his lap and straddle him, pressing his lips to hers as they kissed and made out, the compact love machine giving into his primal arousal and just go with the flow of the feline babe’s sensual passion. Feeling her purr into their session of heavy petting as she humped ad ground her bubble nut and her slit against his drool soaked cock. Adding a nice heavy shower of her pussy juices as their hands massaged and caressed each other’s backs, her claws teasing along his skin as his grabbed and squeezed her asscheeks. Before the shadowy stray found her body acting on the erotic momentum as she raised her crotch and plunged down in his cock. Bottoming out balls deep instantly as she threw her head back to howl with orgasmic ecstasy as the penetration of such length and girth was so intense.

Not that it stopped her from continuing on,as she began to pump and move her hips, bucking and riding that dick like she were taming a wild rodeo bull or horse. Deepthroated moans and gasps escaping her muzzle s she cupped his fsce with her hands, eyes locked with his as she found him returning her lust and desire by pistoning away into that warm,hot womb. “Fucker…you big dicked…ass clapping little..runt…how dare you be so fucking good…making me feel so…fucking hate you…so much..you’re gonna feel every bit of hate…hate,hate…drain You dry ‘til this falls off…” on and in Katt went,proclaiming all her hate towards the shortstack stud. The tiger skunk babe grinning as such words in contrast to katt’s actions were proof Krillin was passing his tryout with flying colours. It was the shadowy sex kitten’s way of showing love and affection, Something she and many who were sexually experienced with Darke Katt had dealt with before as she her lynx companion continued to look on with shameless growing arousal. Watching as the momentum of passion developing between the hairless ape of a stud and the feisty tsundere of a sex kitten shifted and transition into positions which deepened the intensity of Krillin’s penetration. The navy/onyx furred babe moaning her head off as orgasms hit her so fast and hard that there was no way for her to keep count.

From a mating press, where her legs were,pushed and bent back so far her ankles laid in either side of her head, to head singing her wild mane of hair as as she was in her hands and knees on the couch as he fucked her doggy or rather kitty style in this case. His big balls smacking her clit as her juices splashed on the lush valure seating, his length and girth making her stomach bulge as his hands squeezed and massaged her ass. Before giving her a shocking delight as he hoisted her up into the air, standing on the couch as he fucked here in a full nelson position. Her arms and legs in his grasp as he pumped and hammered his shaft, Tina making sure the camera was locked on the display of their loins connected together in their lewd,intimate embrace. ZigZag of course had gotten so horny to the point she was now stripping herself naked, licking her lips with lust as as she watched Katt’s face wear an expression that screamed her brain was flooding with raw, mind numbing pleasure. Her pussy squirting as she yowled with ecstasy. Erupting like  a geyser as she felt the short king finally blow his load. Shots of hot white cream  shooting into her womb’s warm embrace as she felt her body become limp as a ragdoll. Pouting cutely as Krillin pried her off of his juice soaked cock and gently laid on the couch, just in time as her tigerskunk boss now entered into the fray. Purring with sensual delight as she began to kiss and lick on his cock and balls, loving the taste of his jizz and katt’s pussy nectar, hands caressing his torso as she kissed up along it to start her own make out with him, stunning and surprising him as she broke their liplock, her blue eyes twinkling with mischief. “Now now handsome…let’s see how your stamina and staying power really step up. Especially with more than one partner….” She playfully treated, kissing him again as Krillin shrugged his shoulders and just decided to roll with it. Making the hybrid hottie moan as she felt him begin to grope and stroke her furry bombshell frame all over.

Tina adjusted her shades, blushing with a sensual smile as she kept the camera rolling. Biting her lip as she watched ZigZag have her own turn with their potential new hire. ZigZag was no stranger to handling big cocks but there was no doubt this short king was ina whole league all his own,as she rode him cowgirl style, massaging his abs as her booty bounced and jiggled with every impact of their loins smacking together. Passionate moans escaping her muzzle as his hands grabbed and squeezed her tits, the hybrid bombshell getting first hand experience with some of his slight skills in the art of tantric love making. Feeling him not simply fuck her body but even assault her mind,heart and soul with sensual passion. Proving there was more to him than just his godly set of loins and thst his muscles weren’t for show as he now stood on his own two feet on the ground, hoisting snd holding her up in the air as he p,anted his hands on her ass. Squeezing that juicy striped furry booty as she draped her arms and legs around his compact Herculean body,tots rubbing against his firm pecs as their tongues mashed and danced together in a sloppy game of tonsil hockey. The Lynx cutie feeling her slit gush there was no doubt she was pretty much a bitch in heat as she was soon stripping off her own clothes. Now naked as she played with herself with little to no sense of shame or inhibition as she saw her boss now getting fucked in a piledriver position. Her back and legs at 90 degree angles as her head and shoulders laid on the floor, while Krillin pumped his cock like he was working a pornographic butter churn. Zigzag loving every second of it of course but especially when the luscious moment he finally let loose and came inside of of her arrived, cumming together with him as some of his excess spunk sprayed and flowed out. Tina licking her lips as she watched the off duty cop pull his shaft out, now slicker and wetter with a mix of jizz and the pussy juices of two absolute hot pieces of ass.

“Round 3 handsome….” The lynx porno veteran quipped with sensual playfulness as she got his attention, seeing her now enter the fray in all her thicc,plump and curvy glory. Kissing him with a thirsty passion as their hands caressed and massaged each other’s bodies as she nudged him to lay back on the floor. Purring and grinning as she straddled his head, sitting on his face as she gave him a encouraging squeeze of her thick thighs. “Drink up there handsome,you must be parched….” The moment she said thst, she felt him lick and lap away at her slit, making her pussy juices pour into his mouth as he quenched his thirst while Tina rode the momentum of orgasmic ecstasy rocking her body. Falling foreard to grasp and stroke his lubed up cock as she practically made out with it. Deepthroating with abandon as she sucked and blew on thst shaft, her shades askew to expose the glowing pink hearts in her pupils which were also visible in those of zigzag and Katt as they recovered and watched Tina get her own turn becoming sexually acquainted with Krillin and his raw stud potential. Looking on as their arousal skyrocketed once more, kneeling on the floor as Katt probed her slit as zigzag made out with her, their tongues enacting a lesbian kiss as she squeezed and massaged the black cat’s furry titties as Tina rode Krillin in reverse cowgirl. The camera seeing the curvy lynx hottie’s tits bounce as Krillin couldn’t help himself from slapping thst ass like the erotic bongo drums just calling for him to play with them. It was pretty clear from just Katt alone that he’d passed his audition with flying colours butt they were just too horny to care as they last their passions drive them higher and higher into a primal dance of a passionate mating frenzy.

The red recording light on the video camera blinked away as it confused to capture the display of animalistic virility occurring in and around the casting couch tween the vertically challenged but supremely well endowed dude and the 3 furry porn stars. Tina pressing her furry tits against his shoulders as she caressed him from behind, making out with him while he fucked Zagzag doggystyle as the hybrid honey ate Katt out. The shadow furred hottie moaning as he held that mane of Snow White hair close, feeling thst sex goddess tongue lap up her nectar snd the excess flow of a Krillin’s jizz. To him fucking Tina on her hands and knees as he fingered Katt and Zigzag, 3 fingers knuckle deep into those sloppy snatches as his thumb rubbed their clits as he bucked and thrust into the lynx’s warm oven. Before he made Zigzag sit atop h his shoulders as he made out with her slit, her hands caressing his scalp as Tina and Katt made out together while they tagteamed his cock with a double blowjob. Each and any every instance he’d blow his load and was still hard, they change up positions and combinations, three or two on one or often having himself some one on one time with one of the, as the other two had some hot lesbian action together. The figurative and literal climax achieved as they knelt before him as he sat on the couch, stroking his cock and groaning as he shot them with a final shower of his seed raining on their faces and tits and into their mouths. The compact stud panting as he finally felt his bidy gave out, welcoming the rest as the trio of furry babes joined him on the couch, Tina and zigzag sandwiching him on either side as Katt laid atop his front, sleep taking them as they recovered and basked in the afterglow.

It wasn’t long after this quite enthusiastic audition that 18 would find an email in her inbox, the cyborg deadly beauty grinning sensually at seeing the subject title. ““He’s Hired!!” The blonde knew her man would succeed in his tryout and the only thing that would be as delicious as seeing him do porn with all kinds of sexy pretty hotties wss no doubt how many of them would welcome getting knocked up by her sex god of a husband. Oh yes,wild chestnut oats woild sown one way or another and the future would see a glorious army of krillin’s babies. She’d see to that and the fsct she’d get a bit of the royalties was just the delightful bonus,grinning as she forewarde the email to Bulma, Chichi, 21 and a few other lady friends and acquaintances knowing Krillin’s video of his audition was attached with it. Said video would be uploaded to Double Z’s studio streaming site of course, announcing their new hire and highlighting his prowess and skill as it made record numbers of views on day one. With many female subscribers commenting they were alresdy anticipating his feature adult film debut. 

[dandelionjack]

enemies to lovers is overdone and i hate it unless it’s well written and complex of course then i will never stop thinking about it

[pocoslip]

Two Blue, Black and Yellow Guns for Cloudcover

(I'm Not Happy with Legacy Quake and his Targetmasters for being just Repaints and I Hope Needlenose is a New Toy and is Not Made from Siege Spinister)

[beloveds-embrace]

(p2 of this poly fae 141 x human reader (different take)) cw: bittersweet

The palace breathes for you.

It bends around you like soft wind around reeds, gently guiding your dazed steps through moonlit corridors and blooming halls. Time has no anchor for you anymore. Some mornings, you wake to suns that burn blue instead of gold, moons that double and chase each other through the sky. But it doesn’t matter, because the castle knows where you are meant to be even if you don’t.

When you rise, the curtains part without a hand to touch them. They sigh open like petals, letting soft light bathe the velvet floor. Your robe- light as spider’s silk- slide from their hooks on their own, floating to wrap around your body with reverent care. Your slippers are waiting at the side of your bed when you swing your legs over. They’ve been warmed by the hearth, and when your toes slide in, the threads whisper your name back to you in tiny, enchanted stitches.

The walls pulse faintly with warmth when you pass, as if the stone itself loves you. the chandeliers above never burn too bright; their glow always softens when your gaze turns up, as though they remember you used to hate harsh light when you read.

A cluster of servants waits quietly at your chamber doors- not because they must, but because they care and they want to, and had eagerly offered to be of service when you’d requested your own chambers. Gentle-handed dryads with hair like woven moss, old pixie seamstresses who chatter softly in riddles, even a hulking troll-footman who ducks his head so low it scrapes the frame. They do not speak unless you speak first, for sometimes you forget words, and silence is a safer thing to carry.

Then, soak in a bath drawn by nymph-handmaidens who speak in ripples and laughter, though mirror clouds when you stare too long- it doesn’t want to upset you, doesn’t want you to see how much time has tried to touch you, even when magic holds your youth like a fragile glass.

Today, your steps take you toward the gardens. The floor glows faintly under your feet- not because it needs to, but because the castle thinks maybe it helps you find your way. Everything- every stone, every breath- remembers you, even when you don’t remember yourself.

Or maybe you meant to go to the library. You aren’t sure- but the will-o-wisps know.

They flit ahead of you, little balls of mischievous light usually known for luring travelers into the woods until their bones turn to moss. But not you, never you.

They hover like faithful stars orbiting the sun, bobbing through the air with a delighted hum, zigzagging ahead in slow trails so your wandering feet follow the right turns. They tinkle like laughter when you stumble near a wrong archway and dart to the correct one instead.

You find yourself in your garden, after all, where the gardeners wait. Not the usual ones- no, the Queen's Garden has been assigned only to the most trusted now. A century-old elf in gloves of woven bark, a dryad who grows her own apron from her chestnut branches, and even a silent golem of moss and marble who only speaks in scents. They have trimmed the hedges into soft spirals and arranged the blooms into delicate mosaics.

Today, they have laid out a path of starpetals- tiny, glimmering flowers that shimmer faintly under moon or sun. Once, long ago, they were your favorite.

But now-

“I don’t like those.” You murmur as you pass, staring at the trail.

The golem stills, the elf looks up sharply, and the dryad tilts her head, concerned.

Kyle, who’d been a quiet shadow just behind you from the moment you stepped out of your chambers, slows his steps. “You always used to ask for them,” he says gently. “Had us plant ‘em everywhere your shadow touched.”

You frown. “… I don’t remember that. I don’t like them.”

“It’s alright,” he says after a short pause, and offers you his arm. “We can pick new ones. Whatever you like, love.”

You nod, but you don’t take his arm. Your fingers drift toward the flowers, brushing one before you turn away again.

Later, as your thoughts begin to drift again, the flowers are gone without fanfare. By the time you return to the courtyard, it is filled with soft white ferns and wandering frost-ivy that glows faintly in the dusk.

The castle heard you. It always does.

You wander deeper into the woods near the edge of the palace, where the magic gets older, thicker- where even the bravest guards rarely step.

A warm breeze carries the scent of jasmine and crushed duskberry petals. The patient trees sing here not with voices, but with the rustle of knowing leaves, always parting to give you gentle shade or letting sunlight filter through just when you like it.

There stands a shadow that heralds the first whispers of death.

Thrain.

The phantom stag, horned and enormous. He stands between two trees gnarled by age and shaped like reaching hands, his antlers scraping the sky, mist curling around his hooves.

But for you?

He bows his head.

You smile and reach for him as if you’ve done it every day of your life- and maybe you have. Maybe there’s no need to remember if the body still knows. And he lets you pat the velvet between his antlers, lowering his massive head so you can nuzzle your cheek against him. His body radiates cold like the mountain peaks, but it doesn’t sting. It soothes. Your hands slip into the thick mist of his mane, and you close your eyes.

You nap there, nestled against the beast feared by all.

When you stir again, you’re no longer alone.

“Thought we’d find you here.” Gaz murmurs, his voice quiet like the wind between reeds. He kneels beside you, offering his usual steaming cup- tea brewed with memory-moss and lemon-pearl leaves.

You drink. You always do, when he brings it.

“You missed lunch.” Simon says gently. He’s seated on a nearby root, his mask still on, though you know his eyes soften when he looks at you.

Johnny is already braiding moonflowers into your hair, humming a fae tune that turns the leaves brighter with every note. He doesn’t say much, just keeps you close with the warmth of his touch.

You blink slowly at them, still a bit sleep-soaked. “…Thrain didn’t want me to leave.”

“Aye, well,” Johnny grins. “He’s protective, tha’s all. You’ve got everyone wrapped ‘round yer little finger, haven’t you?”

Your head droops again. The fog curls soft around your thoughts. But then- you feel it; the weight of a gaze like a promise, like a spell woven in devotion.

John.

You don’t turn, but you feel him draw near. You always do, always will. His presence thrums like a second heartbeat in your chest, steady and storm-deep. He places a warm hand on your back, the other sliding under your legs as he lifts you into his arms.

“Time for rest, love,” he murmurs into your hair, the crown of your head. “You’ve wandered far enough for today.”

Thrain snorts, mist coiling between his antlers, but does not follow. He only watches as your husband carries you back into the palace, trailed by your silent protectors and glowing will-o-wisps.

“I don’t like the starpetals,” you say again, feeling the need to inform him. “They make me sad.”

His steps falter once, but then he is gently pulling you closer, his forehead against yours. “We’ll find new flowers, then,” John whispers. “And you can love them for the first time. As many times as you need.”

And the castle sighs with peace. Its walls bend again, opening the path home.

P3

[dacrystalsim]

The Sims 3 IKEA Home Stuff

It's finally done, The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff completely converted to The Sims 3!

This pack includes 80 items, 5 wallpapers and a collection file. Everything is CASTable (See pictures below to see the CASTable channels of each item). Download: [SFS] | [MTS] Notice! One of the items (ODDA Wardrobe) requires The Sims 3 Supernatrual, don't install this object in your game if you don't have Supernatrual installed. The download includes 3 files, download only one! The download versions: IKEA Home Stuff-Merged_Supernatrual Merged file that includes the ODDA Wardrobe. IKEA Home Stuff-Merged_BaseGame Merged file that doesn't include the ODDA Wardrobe, making it base game compatible. IKEA Home Stuff-Unmerged Unmereged version, mix and match to your liking ;)

Polycount: ANES Bedframe H 2820 / M 2016 ANES Single Bedframe H 2292 / M 1722 ANES Chest of 4 Drawers H 977 / M 681

EKTORP 2 Seat Sofa H 1524 / M 1142 EKTORP 3 Seat Sofa H 1964 / M 1374 EKTORP Armchair H 956 / M 716

HEMNES Bedside Table H 432 / M 280 HEMNES Bedside Table #2 H 1524 / M 914 HEMNES Chest of 3 Drawers H 929 / M 666 HEMNES Chest of 6 Drawers H 1364 / M 1002 HEMNES Double Bed Frame H 2164 / M 1486 HEMNES Single Bed Frame H 1556 / M 1122 HEMNES Mirror H 438 / M 362

IKEA PS Cabinet H 760 / M 532 IKEA PS Clock H 370 / M 280 IKEA PS Rug H 72 IKEA PS Tealight Holder H 1328 / M 996

KARLSTAD Armchair H 1024 / M 716 KARLSTAD Sofa H 2192 / M 1752 KARLSTAD Two Seat Sofa H 1680 / M 1175

KLIPPAN Sofa H 2648 / M 1852 KLIPPAN Two Seat Sofa H 1766 / M 1324 KLIPPAN Sofa - No Pillow H 1658 / M 876 KLIPPAN Sofa - V2 Pillow H 2074 / M 1554 KLIPPAN Armchair H 966 / M 724

LACK Side Table H 128 / M 102 LACK Wall Shelf H 1228 / M 858 LACK Wall Shelf (Zigzag) H 302 / M 302 LACK Wall Shelf (Zigzag with Toy) H 849 / M 849 LACK Wall Shelf (Empty) H 48 / M 12 Minnen Groda Frog Prince H 1024 / M 1024 BARNSLIG FLODHAST Toy H 547 / M 547

MALM Chest of 2 Drawers H 286 / M 286 MALM Chest of 3 Drawers H 582 / M 540 MALM Chest of 6 Drawers H 744 / M 703 MALM Double Bed Frame H 1702 / M 1164 MALM Single Bed Frame H 1174 / M 892

BENNO CD Tower H 1502 / M 1126 BILD Doggy Dream H 204 / M 136 BILD Poster Yin and Yang H 204 / M 140 BILLY Bookcase H 1212 / M 1054 BLADET 3 Plant Pots with 1 Tray H 1046 / M 734 EXPEDIT TV Storage Unit H 2046 / M 1974 FAMNIG HJARTA Cushion H 990 / M 692 FREDRIK Workstation H 1504 / M 1054 HATTEN Side Table H 1128 / M 902 HELMER Drawer Unit on Casters H 874 / M 610 IKEA STOCKHOLM Vase H 896 / M 704 IMFORS Coffee Table H 868 / M 650 JULES Visitors Chair H 1030 / M 826 KILA Work Lamp H 734 / M 587 KRABB Mirror Long H 552 / M 404 KRABB Mirror Short H 524 / M 454 LAMPAN Table Lamp H 814 / M 696 LEKSVIK Coffee Table H 864 / M 724 MAREK Lamp H 1108 / M 830 MONGSTAD Mirror H 74 / 36 MYLONIT Table Lamp H 775 / M 573 ODDA Wardrobe H 1700 / M 1344 PJATTERYD Picture H 154 / M 98 PJATTERYD Picture Zebra H 154 / M 98 POANG Armchair H 1600 / M 1280 PREMIAR Picture Flatiron Building NY H 154 / M 98 RAKET Table Easel H 400 / M 240 REGOLIT Pendant Lamp Shade H 1098 / M 846 RIBBA Frame H 408 / M 382 RINGUM Rug H 64 SLATTHULT Decorative Sticker Poppy H 4 STORM Floor Lamp H 1044 / M 729 SVEJE Rug H 2 ULDUM Rug H 2 VANNA Mirror H 736 VASEN Vase H 973 VIKA GREVSTA Table H 740 / M 694 VIKA HYTTAN Table H 928 / M 834

BENNO TV Bench on Castors H 1268 / M 970 MANDAL Chest of 6 Drawers H 748 / M 520 NOMINELL Chair H 1510 / M 1056 SKRUVSTA Armchair H 1520 / M 1064 STRIND Side Table H 1516 / M 1135 Special thanks: @sims3tutorialhub, Mod The Sims forums and the TS3CreatorCave discord <3 @xto3conversionsfinds

[universefcb]

THUNDER, PAU CUBARSÍ.

→ Summary: Your family and his family are friends, and then decide to go on a vacation together. But it starts to rain and you are afraid, and you have no one to turn to except Cubarsí.

→ Warning: Mention of Reader. Fluff. Romance.

→ Author's note: First fic of the Pau Cubarsí marathon.

And sorry if there are mistakes, English is not my language.I hope this is what you asked for!

The Greek sky during the summer was usually clear, tinged with blue and gold, reflecting the waters that lapped the islands. But that night, as if the universe itself wanted to test one’s nerves, everything was covered in dark clouds. Lightning streaked across the sky in a zigzag pattern, and thunder made the ground vibrate subtly.

She lay in her bed, the white sheets pulled up to her chin, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. The clock on the nightstand read 1:43 a.m. The sound of the rain beating against the balcony windows was constant, and although for most it would be a relaxing sound, for her, it was enough to send chills down her spine. Ever since she was a child, storms had evoked an inexplicable fear in her—something between irrational and inevitable.

She tried to distract herself. She put on her headphones, tried to listen to a calming playlist. She read a few pages of the book she had in her suitcase. Nothing worked. And when a particularly loud thunderclap made the pictures in the room shake, she sat up in bed with her heart racing.

“Irene.” She whispered to herself. The room next door belonged to Pau Cubarsí's sister, her friend since childhood. Irene would certainly understand her, or at least offer her company until the rain stopped.

Wearing only cotton shorts and a loose T-shirt, she grabbed her room key and walked out into the hallway with silent steps. The yellow light from the wall lamps cast shadows on the closed doors. She knocked lightly on Irene's door. Once. Twice. Three times.

Nothing.

She turned the doorknob. It was locked. She tried to insist by knocking harder. “Irene… open it, please.” No answer. She sighed, frustrated and a little more scared. With each new bang, she felt her body shrink.

He thought about his parents. They were in the hotel restaurant with Pau’s parents. They had mentioned that they were having a special dinner and that they would probably be back late. It was time to enjoy it without their children, they said with a smile.

Without many options, she stood there in the hallway, her bare feet on the cold floor and her heart beating fast.

That's when he noticed the door next door.

No longer.

She hesitated. They weren’t exactly close, but they’d known each other forever. Their families were very close, and that made it all the more…inevitable. They’d spent many summers together when they were kids, and now, even as teenagers—almost adults—they still talked from time to time. They’d exchanged jokes by the pool earlier, laughed together on the boat ride. But sharing a room with him? Would that be weird?

In the silence of the hallway, she heard a muffled sound coming from inside his room. Low music. Voices—TikTok. He was awake.

He bit his lower lip, took a deep breath, and knocked gently.

Seconds later, the door opened a crack. One of Pau's eyes peered through the opening, sleepy, confused.

“Hola?” he said, his voice husky and low. (Hello?)

“Sorry… to wake you up,” she said quickly, feeling her face heat up. “I… I’m scared of the storm. I tried Irene, my parents, but no one answers or is in the room. I just… wanted to know if I could stay here with you. Just until the rain stops.”

Pau frowned for a second. But then he opened the door a little wider. He was wearing shorts, no shirt, his hair was messy and his cell phone was still in his hand, showing a paused live stream.

“Sure. Come in.”

She walked in hesitantly. The room had the same layout as hers—double bed, balcony, low lighting. The only difference was the light mess of clothes and headphones on the armchair and the woody scent that seemed to be his alone.

“Sorry again,” she mumbled, stopping next to the bed. “I know it’s weird.”

“It’s not weird.” He gave a small smile. “You’re just scared… And I get it. That thunder is creepy.”

She smiled slightly, relieved that she wouldn't be judged. Pau walked over to the bed and sat down, putting his phone aside.

“You can sit down if you want,” he said, pointing to the other side of the mattress.

She sat up carefully, her hands in her lap. The rain grew even heavier, and when another clap of thunder lit up the entire room, she let out a small sigh and pulled her knees to her chest. Pau looked at her for a moment, intently.

“You trembled,” he commented, almost in a whisper.

“It’s automatic. I hate that sound.”

Silence for a few seconds.

“Come here,” he said softly, opening his arm in a welcoming gesture. “Just until it stops, I promise.”

She stared at him. For a moment, she considered refusing. But the gesture didn’t feel intimate. It felt caring. Safe. And at that moment, she just wanted to feel protected.

Then she came closer and let herself be enveloped in his embrace. His bare chest was warm, firm, and the sound of his heartbeat gradually replaced the sound of the rain. He rested his chin on her head, slowly, and they remained silent.

“Have you always been this afraid?” he asked, in a tone that almost blended with the sound of the water outside.

“Since I was little. My grandmother said it was because I was born on a stormy night.”

“So you are a child of chaos?” he smiled against her strands of hair.

She laughed softly, the tension easing.

“Maybe just too sensitive.”

“Sensitive... is different from weak.”

His words hung in the air for a few seconds, weighing them down in a strange way. She pulled her face away slightly to look at him, her eyes meeting his in the soft light of the lamp.

"No longer…"

"Hey?"

“You are... kinder than you look.”

He smiled, embarrassed, and looked away for a second.

“You too. I always thought you avoided me, you know?”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t avoid it. I just thought you were too serious for me.”

"And now?"

“Now... I think you're more than you seem too.”

The sound of rain still filled the room, but it no longer seemed so threatening. It was almost comforting, like a background soundtrack to what was happening there—something undefined, but delicate.

She settled more comfortably into his embrace, and Pau pulled her slightly closer.

“You can sleep here,” he murmured. “Stay until you feel safe. Or until morning, if you want.”

“Thank you, Pau…”

She closed her eyes, and he placed his lips lightly on the top of her head, in a gesture that not even he could explain. He just did it.

And they fell asleep there, she nestled in his arms, feeling protected. And he took the opportunity to smell the strawberry scent coming from her hair.

Taglist: @paucubarsisimp @nngkay @meganesanchez @htpssgavi @merinottt @luvvpedri @moonvr @joaosnovia @httpsdana @ilovebarcaaaa @p4uul0vr @pedricando @barcapix @owala6789

[girlgenius1111]

with a high comes a crash.

barcelona femeni x reader

Alexia heard the sirens. Rationally, she tried to convince herself that it wasn't you. You had only left a few minutes ago, and the sirens were still pretty far. It couldn't be you.

Then the sirens got closer. And closer. And Alexia thought she was going to throw up. She couldn't decide whether to call you or not, afraid to distract you while you were riding if you were fine. She told herself that she was just driving to the dealership after you to give you a ride home. That was all.

She probably shouldn't have been driving, hands shaking as she turned the car on and pulled out of her driveway. The sirens were still loud, and she followed them; not because she was trying to, but because that was the direction she knew you'd been going.

When she turned the corner, and saw the accident scene a block down, she pulled the car over, and got out. She ran the distance towards the wreckage, slowing to a stop when she got close enough to see what was going on. Alexia surveyed the scene. First she saw a car that didn't look very damaged. There was debris on the road, though, and she followed it to find a bike on the ground. Your bike.

It looked mangled, crushed, and Alexia had to take some deep breaths, feeling like she might pass out. Once her vision cleared of black spots, she look back up, and she found you.

Well, what she assumed to be you. An obscured form on the ground, halfway across the intersection from the bike, surrounded by paramedics. The blonde was frozen for a minute, and then she wasn't, running forward at full speed, shoving past anyone who got in her way, until she was a few feet away from you. A paramedic rose from next to you, approaching her.

"Miss? You shouldn't be over here," he said somewhat firmly.

Alexia could only make a choked sound come out of her throat, eyes trained on your face. Your eyes were shut, blood covering the left side of your forehead. You looked so small, so fragile. Alexia clenched her fists, needing to keep it together.

"Miss, are you okay?" The paramedic asked, moving closer to rest a hand on Alexia's arm. She was swaying slightly, and completely pale.

"Is she okay? Is she alive?" Alexia croaked out. The paramedic looked closer at her, before his eyes widened. He did a double take, seeming to recognize you now that he knew who was standing in front of him.

"She's pretty banged up, but she's breathing." It wasn't very reassuring, but Alexia let the words wash over her, nodding her head. She forced herself to calm down, to act rationally. They were securing you to a backboard, strapping you into the neck brace. They were preparing to move you to the ambulance, and Alexia moved to follow them.

"I will go in the ambulance." She declared, and no one really bothered to argue with her, instead directing her to wait for them to get you settled, before gesturing for her to climb in with you. There was only one paramedic back there with you now, getting you attached to all sorts of machines. Alexia got her first good look at you as she sat down shakily on the bench. Her hands hovered over you, wanting to take your hand in hers, but unsure if she could without hurting you.

"You can hold her right hand," the paramedic said. She didn't really look at Alexia, but her voice was kind. Alexia wrapped your hand up in her larger one, as gently as if the the whole limb was broken, ready to crumble into a million pieces. Or maybe, that's just how Alexia felt.

A beeping sound jerked Alexia out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see your heartbeat on the monitor. She tried to figure out what it meant, what the little zigzags meant, but she was a footballer for christ sakes, and she didn't know if the little spikes were good or bad. She decided that they were good, that they meant that you were breathing, regardless of if anything else was going on.

Alexia was silent, gripping the seat under her as the ambulance weaved in and out of traffic. The paramedic seemed to be done attaching you to things, and she placed a piece of gauze on your forehead, holding it there before she looked up at your captain, and addressed her.

"She was moving around a little when we got there, so we're confident her spine is intact. Looks like both of her legs are okay. Pretty bad road rash on the left side, but nothing internal. Her ribs are a different story, the impact with the car has left a few broken. Her left arm is broken, too, probably in multiple places, from the impact with the ground. She was smart, and she had a helmet on, so while her pupils indicate a concussion, it could have been worse. It could have been a lot worse." As she spoke she pointed at different parts of you, explaining to Alexia what the bruises and cuts on you meant. Your left leg did look awful, scraped and bleeding. They'd cut your shirt off, and your abdomen was already turning a nasty shade of blue. The bleeding on your head was stopping, and you looked somewhat more comfortable. Alexia asked the question you knew you'd want her to ask.

"Her legs are okay? Really?" It seemed impossible to her, that the rest of your body could be so beaten up, but your legs were just scraped up.

The paramedic nodded, a bit of a bewildered look on her face. "Somehow, yes. There are no indications of any broken bones, and she was moving them around until she passed out. I don't... I don't know how. I've never seen an accident of this magnitude be so mild."

Alexia felt a shudder run through her at the statement; if this was mild, if this should have been worse... She shook her head. It wasn't worse. You were okay. You were okay. The paramedics studied Alexia for a few seconds before speaking again.

"I'm not supposed to say this, but you can relax a little. All indications are that she'll be alright. Banged up, yes. A few painful months in her future. But it's a miracle that she's alive, and an even bigger one that she isn't more injured."

Alexia let out a shaky breath, feeling like she could have leaned over and kissed the paramedic at her words. She appreciated the kindness she was showing her, the information she gave Alexia, that she wasn't really supposed to. The ambulance was slowing to a stop, and Alexia could hear raised voices approaching the doors.

"It's going to get pretty crazy in a second, and they won't let you in with her, but she'll be in good hands, I promise." Alexia nodded again, clearing her throat.

"Thank you. So much." She said, knowing that her words weren't enough to express her gratitude, but not really sure what else to do.

The doors opened then, and someone was helping her out of the ambulance. What felt like a million doctors and nurses were bringing you in the doors, one of them shouting for Alexia to follow them in, and find a seat in the waiting room.

Numbly, she did, sinking into the first available chair she saw. There were a lot of people she needed to call, yes. People at Barcelona. The other captains. Your teammates. Your national teammates. Her hands were trembling violently, though, and she suddenly felt dizzy again. She was in shock, she realized. How ridiculous. She was fine. Seeing you like that... it was the worst thing she'd ever laid her eyes on.

Alexia didn't make any of the calls she was supposed to. She decided that just for now, she didn't need to be a responsible captain. She could be someone that cared about you, who was terrified, and needed someone to get here and tell her that everything would be okay before she really freaked out.

She called the only person she knew wouldn't be mad at how emotionless her voice was about to sound. The only other person that she trusted to get here as fast as humanely possible, and know exactly what Alexia needed. Someone who could be in charge, just for a little bit.

-----

Mapi and Ingrid had to drive past the scene of the accident on their way to the hospital. Ingrid was driving, deciding that Mapi could call the people she needed to on the way to the hospital. The Spaniard was on the phone with Lucy when they drove by, and she got a glimpse of your bike, crumpled on the ground.

"Joder" She murmured, reaching a hand over to grab onto Ingrid's leg, anywhere she could steady herself on her girlfriend.

"What?" Ingrid asked, glancing over in concern at her girlfriend, who looked like she was about to be sick.

"What?" Lucy echoed from over the phone, sounding frantic.

"Nothing, nothing. Just worried." Mapi said, swallowing the bile rising in her throat. Neither of the other girls believed her, but they let it go.

"Okay, Mapi. I'm heading to the hospital now, Ona's with me, gonna grab Keira on the way. Call Irene. She'll decide who else needs to know."

"Okay." Mapi agreed. Lucy had never experienced such a reserved Mapi Leon before, one who followed her instructions without any jokes or comments. It scared her.

Mapi made the other phone call. Ingrid had grabbed her hand at some point, and Mapi wasn't really sure who was squeezing harder. She got through the call with Irene, who she made promise not to drive herself to the hospital, to have her wife take her.

"You're driving." Irene huffed angrily, not wanting to wait any longer to get to you, and to Alexia. Her wife wouldn't be back for 20 minutes. She needed to be at the hospital now.

"No, Ingrid is driving. Ingrid is calm in a crisis, and Ingrid is driving because my hands are shaking, so don't you dare drive. Don't you dare." Mapi's voice was thick, the horror of another accident happening washing over her. It was a ridiculous thought, but Mapi couldn't help the fear that was choking her right now. Irene agreed, a combination of Mapi's pleading voice, and the reason behind her words, convincing her.

"Okay. Just get there. Fast."

Ingrid accelerated.

-----

They practically stormed into the waiting room. It was mostly empty, an oddity for an afternoon in the city, but both girls were grateful nonetheless. They took one look at Alexia and came to the conclusion that she wouldn't really want anyone seeing her like this, let alone strangers.

"Ale?" Mapi said gently, moving forward. Alexia was sat in a chair, head in her hands. Her whole body was shaking, blonde hair falling into her face and blocking Mapi from seeing the tears that were surely falling. Alexia's head snapped up when she was addressed, and she stood, taking a frantic step towards her friend, practically collapsing into Mapi's arms.

"She was- it was so bad Mapi. The paramedic said she would probably be okay, but it was so bad. The bike was... and she was so far away from it..." Alexia's words were slightly strangled, and Ingrid regretfully pulled her captain away from her girlfriend, directing her back to her chair. Mapi sat next to her, and Ingrid instructed them both to stay put. She went to find water. Alexia was clearly in shock, and Ingrid knew that she would feel that she had to pull herself together before anyone else arrived.

'Calm in a crisis' Ingrid gave herself a minute to rest her head against the vending machine. Ale had said that the paramedic had said you'd be okay. That was all that mattered.

She returned, finding Alexia slightly better off than she'd left her. Mapi had pulled off her own sweatshirt, and yanked it down over Alexia's head. The blonde had only had on a t-shirt, and it was slightly cold in the waiting room. That probably wasn't the cause for the tremors running through Alexia's body, but regardless. Ingrid crouched in front of Alexia, uncapping the water and handing it to her, instructing her to take small sips. Alexia complied, and the couple exchanged a look. They'd never seen Alexia like this. Ever.

Alexia took several sips of water, before sitting back, and running her hands over her face. She relayed everything the paramedic had told her to the others, and they, in turn, told her the situation with the others due to be arriving soon.

After that, they sat mostly in silence, Ingrid taking a seat in the chair next to her girlfriend, knowing that the Spaniard needed her close. She needed Mapi close, too, honestly.

Lucy, Keira, and Ona arrived in a flurry of chaos. Keira was weirdly calm, Ona just looked freaked out, but Lucy was... a mess. She looked disheveled, like she'd been through a wind tunnel on the way to the hospital. She'd barely stepped in through the door before she was asking question after question, pacing back and forth, then sitting down, and then pacing again. Keira sat silently across from the other girls, while Ona hovered anxiously wherever Lucy went, not quite sure what to do.

Alexia's face had transformed completely when the others had arrived. She looked calm, expression deadly serious as she answered Lucy's questions. She was Captain Alexia again, putting her own feelings aside for the sake of the others.

She made Ona eat a granola bar when she decided that the girl looked too shaky. She made Keira come sit next to her, wrapping an arm around the Englishwoman. She finally told Lucy to stop pacing and sit down, after Lucy stood for the 18th time to go ask the receptionist for an update. Lucy listened instantly, sinking back into her chair without an argument.

Irene arrived a bit later, informing Alexia that she'd called Barca, and let the team know what was going on, but instructed them to not come to the hospital, because they didn't want to crowd the place. Only seconds after the words left her mouth, the doors were sliding open again. In came Pina, Patri, Cata, Jana, and Bruna. Irene looked at them, and sighed deeply. Her face could only be described as one of a person "considering early retirement."

To their credit, they were rather reserved, each accepting the tight hug that Alexia pulled them into, before finding chairs and quietly talking amongst themselves.

It was quite a sight to see when the doctor came out look for your family, and instead finding 11 members of the Barcelona women's squad, in various states of distress. They provided a brief update to everyone, before seemingly picking up on the energy Alexia was putting out, that if they didn't take her to see you, she would probably start throwing chairs, and allowing her and one other person to go back to see you.

Alexia followed right after the doctor, practically breathing down his neck. Mapi looked around, at Irene, and at Lucy, who both gave her a nod. You needed Alexia. And Alexia needed Mapi. Ingrid gave her a little push, and the defender walked down the hall, somewhat terrified for what was awaiting her there.

----

Getting hit by a car really fucking hurt, it turned out. Every bone in your body ached, and you were sure that if you opened your eyes, you'd find that you were just one large bruise. You were in and out for a while, not quite awake enough to open your eyes. You could hear people talking each time, though.

First, it was Alexia's voice, strong and confident, talking to the doctor. Then it was Alexia's voice, small and weak, telling you that you better wake up soon before she freaked out. If you were able to talk at that point, you would have pointed out that it seemed she was already freaking out.

Mapi's voice was there, then, telling you that, thanks, now Ingrid was NEVER going to let her get a motorcycle. Alexia laughed at that, but the laugh seemed to turn into a sob, and you could hear Mapi telling her to stop being so dramatic, because you were fine. She was using her soft voice, though, the one she used for the people she loved. (You, Ingrid, Alexia, and the cat. That was the list.)

When you finally did manage to wake up, it was dark out, and the room was slightly more occupied than it had seemed before. Mapi and Ingrid were both asleep in chairs against the wall, hands tangled together. You caught a glimpse of Lucy and Keira in the hall, on the phone with someone. Probably Sarina, you decided. Alexia was in a chair by your bed, as close as she could pull it. Her eyes were on you, absolutely staring into your soul, and you jumped a little when you realized.

"Jesus," you hissed, waves of pain washing through you.

"You're awake! She's awake. Guys, she's awake," Alexia said gleefully, turning to Ingrid and Mapi who woke up rather slowly. Alexia stood, leaning down to press a gentle kiss onto your gauze-wrapped forehead. When she sat back down, there were unmistakably tears in her eyes.

"Don't you ever, ever, do that to me again." She said seriously.

"I'll make sure to tell the car not to hit me next time." You agreed, matching her serious tone. Mapi snickered, and Alexia grimaced.

"Next time. You're never going on a motorcycle again. Or driving. I'm going to drive you everywhere, and you're going to sit in the backseat. And wear a helmet." Her tone was lighter, but you really weren't convinced that at least a part of her didn't want to do that.

You laughed, and then winced as the movement made your entire abdomen spasm with pain. Alexia's face scrunched with worry, and Ingrid and Mapi leaned forward. You didn't want the focus the be on your pain, though, so you asked a question you were dreading the answer to.

"What's wrong with me?" You asked, preparing yourself for the worst.

"Concussion, mild though. Broken ribs. Broken arm. The skin on your legs will be back one day, but no broken bones there." Alexia listed. You smiled again, delighted that your legs were okay, and a little moved at how hard Alexia was trying to make you smile, when it clearly looked like she'd had the most stressful day of her life. Which she probably had.

"When can I play again?" You asked. Alexia frowned.

"When you're all better." She said, refusing to give you a time that she knew you would latch onto, and meet, regardless of how hard it was.

"When Alexia is comfortable with you being more than 2 feet away from her." Mapi interjected, ignoring the look sent her way by both her best friend and her girlfriend.

The doors opened then, and Keira and Lucy walked in. They both lit up at the sight of you, awake and alert.

"You have to be the dumbest person on earth. Could no one have gone to buy your motorcycle from your house? You had to drive it again?" Lucy scolds.

"I like to keep things interesting." You say, smiling at both of them. They roll their eyes in response, each pressing a kiss to your cheek, before sitting in chairs on the other side of the room.

"Sarina?" You asked. They nodded. "How angry is she?"

"Her exact words were 'what the hell was she doing on a motorcycle,' and then 'I'll let Williamson deal with her. Whatever she comes up with will be far worse than anything I could manage.'" Keira tells you.

Leah would be killing you, you were sure. You turn to Alexia, who had been too quiet, and definitely not scolded you enough.

"You're making me move back in with you aren't you?" You ask, eyeing your captain warily.

"Yes." She said, daring you to argue.

You sigh. "Where am I going to park my new bike at your place?"

Alexia's face gets all red as the room falls into laughter and you smile at her triumphantly. "I will lock you in your room." She says through clenched teeth.

"I'll sneak out the window like last time," you dismiss. "Mapi showed me how."

Alexia turns to Mapi, trying to manage some anger, but she's really too grateful for everything her friend had done for her today. her expression softens when she meets Mapi's eyes, and Mapi goes from looking like she's in trouble, to softening as well.

You watch the strange interaction, and realize that today must have really been hell for Alexia. Hell for everyone, but Alexia was a worrier, and as established, she cared a lot about you.

She'll have plenty of time to fuss over you, though. The next months were sure to be painful and awful, and you were secretly glad that Alexia was moving you back in. You weren't good with pain, or sitting out, or taking care of yourself like you should. Everything felt okay, now, because you were alive, and not paralyzed. Tomorrow would be harder. As you have this thought, you reach for Alexia's hand with your one uninjured arm. She turns to you, grabbing it tightly, and sending you a reassuring smile.

Her face told you that she knew what you were thinking, and the determination there told you that she would get you through this, whatever it took. The whole team would. You relaxed slightly. You could deal with tomorrow tomorrow. Today, you focused on the joy of being alive, and joking with your teammates.

-----

hope this was worth the wait :)

not opposed to an angsty recovery part 3 but let me know your thoughts.

[melanated-writersblock]

🪮Beauty Supply Store Run w/ ATEEZ🪮

A/N: For my blacktiny that like to keep their ✨hair did✨, the idea crossed my mind a time or two and existed in my drafts as a title alone for months, so I thought I’d finally add some sort of body and post it🙂‍↕️. Not too terribly long, but I hope it’s still enjoyable nonetheless! As always, likes, comments, & reblogs are greatly appreciated!

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Hongjoong ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ You two were out running errands all morning and this was your last stop before heading home.

⟢ Hongjoong figured he’d go in with you instead of just staying in the car.

⟢ You went straight to the back and got your go to burgundy braiding hair.

⟢ Hongjoong made it his business to buy hair coloring so his hair could match your braids when they’re done.

⟢ When you made it to the register, he got offended that you even pulled out your card to pay and stared you tf down until you put it back up🥴.

⟢ “Please don’t do that again while I’m here.”

⟢ Ofc he whipped out his card and paid!

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Seonghwa ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ It got to a point where he was spending more money than you🤦🏾‍♀️.

⟢ You already had a plan of attack for what you were gonna buy, but once Hwa saw all the extra stuff the store had he kinda went off the rails.

⟢ Not even half way through the store yet and he was already toting a hand basket full of hair ties, those zigzag headbands that pull your hair back in a wave pattern, mini claw clips, skin moisturizer, eye cream, face masks, lip balm, etc.

⟢ You had to stop him from buying a children’s bonnet because it had animal crossing characters on it!

⟢ “Hwa please, you don’t need all of that!”, “But there’s stuff in here for you too! Look, you just ran out of lipgloss so I got this one and there’s shimmer in it.”

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Yunho ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ You went in to specifically get more deep conditioner and Jamaican black caster oil with a couple of other stuff for your next wash days, and asked Yunho to keep you on track with your shopping.

⟢ You tried not to stare at stuff for too long bc Yunho likes to spoil you, and it wouldn’t make any sense if you’re trying to be good in the store but he goes and gets the stuff anyway😩.

⟢ He made a joke about buying you your own beauty supply store in passing, but knowing him it wasn’t a joke I fear…

⟢ The store had a sale on crochet locs and he saw the want in your eyes, so he snuck to the back to get 8 packs and paid for it while you wondered back in one of the aisles to get the spray bottle you forgot.

⟢ “I’ll be in the car when you’re done, Love.” Yunho called to you from the register before making a discreet run for the door so you couldn’t see his surprise.

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Yeosang ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ He’s a yes man I fear…

⟢ You knew you wanted to do a protective style, BUT you hadn’t decided which style you wanted to do yet, so Yeosang proposed the idea of “letting the hair god decide”, which meant you’d think of a style while shopping…bless his heart🙂‍↔️.

⟢ He didn’t know there were levels to this shit so now y’all have been in the store for an hour looking through different types of hair.

⟢ “If I get these bundles I could do a sew-in,” “That would look so nice!” “Waaaaaiiittt, if I get another pack of double strand cuban twists I’d have enough back home to do faux locs, should I?” “Yes you should,” “I gotta do waist length box braids immediately.” “You have to, and they need to be waist length exactly!” “Or should it be a bob?” “Yes, get a bob!”.

⟢ He’s just happy to be gang forreal😭.

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ San ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ The first time San went to the supply store with you, he didn’t know what he was expecting but he was gagged.

⟢ He thought he was on top of the names of the hairstyles you would wear…

⟢ Imagine his shame when you admit you couldn’t bring yourself to tell him he was wrong several times.

⟢ You gave him a crash course on your most favorite styles right there while walking through the aisles.

⟢ San has Pinterest open and at the ready with every namedrop.

⟢ “So the goddess locs aren’t passion twists,” “Right.” “And passion twists aren’t bantu knots.” “Exactly!”

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Mingi ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ Like a kid in a candy store.

⟢ Was vibing to the radio station, and kept pointing out the wall posters with different hair models on them, “You’d look so good with this style!”

⟢ Keeps holding up different packs of braiding hair colors to the side of your face, and you can’t help but laugh “Boy, what are you doing?” “I’m doing a color evaluation on you like in those youtube videos!”

⟢ The hair store turns him into a yapper, he even started chatting up the owner.

⟢ He kept going back and forth between the aisles and the front register, and had a full conversation happening with you and with the owner…AT THE SAME DAMN TIME.

⟢ But by the time you were ready to check out, someway…somehow…you ended up with a big ass discount😝!

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Wooyoung ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ Wooyoung made it his business to accompany you to the hairstore the next time you went after you returned home with $264 worth of stuff last time.

⟢ Crazily enough, you were only in there then for a new rat-tail comb cause you broke the last one in the middle of parting your hair.

⟢ He pushed the cart while you walked the aisles, following your eyes and what they were landing on.

⟢ “Aht! Aht! Put it back.” Wooyoung scolds you, pointing at the empty spot below the wig wall. You groan before putting the honey balayage Latisha unit back on the hanging rack.

⟢ “But Latisha is always sold out when I come up here though,” “You’re here for a new hair dryer and Eco Styling Gel, and “Latisha” is not one of those two things.”

⟢ You stare at him annoyed as he blows you a kiss, “I’m leaving your ass home next time.”

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Jongho ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⟢ A PRO✨

⟢ Your Jongiebear is not new to this, he’s TRUE to this!!!

⟢ He came over to your place to spend the weekend a while back and saw you in action doing your own twists.

⟢ He was curious and wanted to know more, so you spent the evening telling him hair stories and the importance behind it and what it means for you, he’s been enlightened ever since.

⟢ He made a playlist on youtube full of tutorial videos for various hairstyles, so he can “help you with your hair” but it’s also to spend more time with you.

⟢ He has golden hands and you literally only trust him to help you install or take down your styles when you do them at home now.

⟢ He was installing your bubble braids with your leftover packs of hair, but half way through you ran out.

⟢ He initiated the trip himself, fully determined to finish the style in the span of 4 hours like the youtuber said it would be. And you walked in that store grinning from ear to ear.

⟢ He knew the brand, texture, color, and length, don’t play with him😮‍💨.

⟢ You were gonna pay but he was so in his zone, you had to let him have his moment. He paid for the packs, and the bubble braids came out 👑FLAWLESS👑!

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹ Hope you liked it! Lemme know your thoughts🫶🏾 ⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹.Masterlist.⊹ ₊ ❤︎₊ ⊹

⋆˙⟡♡₊˚⊹.Blacktiny Writers Hub.⊹˚₊♡⟡˙⋆

[vivwritescrappythings]

Unfair

no outbreak!joel miller x fem!reader

an au about Joel attending a wedding simply inspired by Pedro's slutty little fit at the SAG awards.

part 2

tw: age gap (late 20s/late 40s), fingering, oral (f receiving), p in v sex, unprotected sex, creampie, dirty talk, alcohol, she/her pronouns, reader has hair long enough to twist around her finger, Joel is probably poorly written in this, and this whole thing is a little poorly written.

word count: 7.2k

MDNI

masterlist

–

Your mom was smiling as you zipped her into her gown, the chiffon and lace dress gorgeous on her as you fastened the eyelet closed at the top of the bodice. You could feel the lens of the photographer’s camera trained on you both, the woman having been with you the entire morning to document the process of the bridal party getting ready. 

The photographer was fluttering around the room, taking candid photos of you all making small talk and toasting mimosas. The posed photos had been earlier that morning, you all wearing your matching silk robes with your names screen-printed on the back. You didn’t know how much had been spent on the whole production–but it certainly wasn’t cheap. But, to see your mom glowing and her wide smile all morning, every penny must have been more than worth it.

Before you realized, you all wore dresses and bouquets of white flowers with magnificent greenery were being thrust in your hands. The wedding planner was ushering everyone out onto the stone walkway to the barn, women finally meeting men just outside the farmhouse turned wedding venue. The best man looked vaguely familiar to you as you placed your hand in the crook of his elbow to walk down the aisle, he must have been Shawn's eldest brother.

The officiant droned: he just repeated the same platitudes of what it means to love one another and be good spouses. You tried to stay focused, your eyes inevitably wandering. The ceremony space was picturesque: southern live oaks casting shadows in the late autumn sun as they married in front of the barn. It really couldn’t get more Texas than that, especially when you counted the number of cowboy hats in the crowd. 

You could feel someone staring at you for the better part of the ceremony, making you glance out of the corner of your eye as you tried to find the source. Every fiber of you wanted to turn and look in earnest, but you knew that you’d ruin the photos as soon as your body twisted and your happy, grinning face wasn’t facing the bride and groom on the best day of their lives. 

Your grip tightened around the bouquet in your hands as your skin crawled, your focus so jarred that you almost missed your cue to walk out. The cheers and clapping woke you from your reverie before the best man had to. Grasping him by the elbow, you walked back up the aisle between the celebrating wedding guests, the feeling of being watched now fading to the background.

—

When you finally made it to the renovated barn, you were starving and in desperate need of a drink. The photos had run long, the photographers getting you all in a variety of line ups and poses. It was almost time for the plated dinner to begin, guests settling at assigned tables after a cocktail hour and the live band playing quiet music in the corner of the half-inside half-outside space that would eventually serve as the dance floor.

The orange lighting from string lights along the ceiling was soft, mismatched Edison bulbs hanging along zigzagged wires from wooden rafters. It painted the guests and decor in gold tones, making everything look sepia like an old photo.

With your double shot vodka tonic in hand, you found your name written in gold calligraphy on the seating chart. Your mom and her new husband were sitting together at a small table at the front of the room, a faux-neon sign behind them that displayed his last name. Well, their last name now. 

You were at one of the front tables, the ivory table cloth nearly brushing the shiny wooden floor as you plucked your name card off your plate and sat down. There were only a few people you knew at the wedding, neighbors from the neighborhood you grew up in and a handful of your mother’s coworkers. But, they were seated elsewhere. 

Some of the seats on the opposite side of the sprawling white and green centerpiece were occupied with strangers in flamboyant cowboy hats and boots, an obvious sign they were from out of town. You smiled politely as you sat down, taking a long sip of your drink as you checked your phone for the moment of downtime. 

“This seat taken?” A deep, twangy voice made your gaze cut away from the screen and up to the right. You were immediately dumbstruck by how handsome the man was, his umber colored eyes reminding you of the sunlight hitting the tree trunks during the ceremony. A few of his dark brown curls were falling on his tanned forehead, the rest of his hair loosely pushed back. 

You floundered for a moment, lips parting and no words coming out of your mouth. Finally you caught up, blinking a few times. The place card in front of the ornate gold and white place setting next to yours was your saving grace. “Well, uh, if you’re Joel M., the seat is all yours,” you said, looking back up at him.

God, you hoped he was Joel.

He smiled, the lines on his face becoming a bit more defined as he extended a hand toward you. “Joel Miller, nice to meet you…” he trailed off, waiting for your assistance. 

You slipped your hand into his, his calloused palm engulfing yours as he shook it politely. You introduced yourself, neck craned back so you could look him in the eye. He released your hand and sat down, setting the glass he was holding next to yours on the table cloth. 

“So how do you know the couple?” Joel asked you, his gaze dragging over you. You tried not to squirm under the weight of it, your face feeling hot as you set your phone face-down on the table. The way he looked at you made you feel like a bug caught under a microscope.

“The bride is my mom,” you said, fiddling with the elegantly folded cloth napkins for a moment. You glanced at her briefly, watching her giggle at something Shawn had said. 

Joel nodded, a huff of a laugh following. “No shit, so you’re the stepdaughter?” he asked, an eyebrow raised as a smirk lifted the corner of his lip. One of your eyebrows lifted of its own volition, his reaction catching you off guard.

“Do I have a reputation?” A sip of your drink helped wet your dry tongue, your eyes trained on him over the rim of your glass. There was a spike of anxiety in your chest, the temporary fear that he’d heard something bad about you filling your mind. You held your glass in your hand as you crossed your legs at the ankle, waiting for his response.

Joel paused to take a drink, a hand scrubbing over his beard as he looked back at you. He shook his head, waving a hand in a way that was meant to be placating. “Shawn told me about you, said you just moved back to town a few months ago.” 

“Um, yeah, actually. Moved back from Denver,” you said, bashful that the subject of you even came up. You hadn’t realized that you were important enough in Shawn’s life to mention, especially to his friends. Of course, there wasn’t animosity between the two of you, just what you assumed was limited interest. Most men didn't bother to learn too much about their adult stepchildren.

You were both leaning forward as you spoke, the music and chatter of the other guests making the barn a little too loud to hear one another clearly at a distance. He was looking down at his drink, giving you an opportunity to study his profile. Joel was easily twenty years your senior, the dark beard on his jawline threaded through with patches of silver hair. 

“So—“ Joel started, getting cut off by the shuffle of the last people to their seats and an arm thrust between the two of you. The waiters serving the plated dinner made you sit upright in your chair, the soft fabric of your dress fluttering as you put some space between Joel and yourself. 

You didn’t realize how hungry you were until you took the first bite of your food, a sigh escaping you as your eyelashes batted against your cheeks. Conversation floated around your head, you caught polite questions about Joel’s construction business and half-assed replies.

For some reason your mother had put you at a table full of Shawn’s friends, maybe in an attempt to help you get to know him better.

“So you’re a contractor?” you asked after your hunger had been satiated. You’d gotten a refill on your drink from one of the waiters, nursing a fresh vodka tonic as you looked at Joel.

He chewed his steak methodically, nodding as he turned slightly to look at you. “Been building houses for years, my brother, Tommy, works with me,” Joel said after he swallowed, taking his cloth napkin off his wide thigh to wipe the corner of his mouth. 

“Do you like it?” you asked after a moment of contemplation, tilting your head to one side as you looked at him.

There was something about him that kept you smiling, your lips curved like a bow as you sipped your drink from the straw. You studied his features while you could, his aquiline nose and his full lower lip intriguing. Way too intriguing for someone who was your stepfather’s friend.

“Pays the bills, keeps the roof over me and Sarah’s heads.” Joel finished his plate, picking up his drink and leaning back in his seat. 

Sarah? Your eyes dropped to his left hand, not seeing a ring on any of the fingers. Not even a tan line. He noticed it, making your face burn as he chuckled. “Sarah? Your…”

“Daughter,” he cut in helpfully. Daughter, he had a daughter. You exhaled, relieved. But, did he have a wife? No ring, never mentioned her. He would’ve brought her up by now. She would've attended the wedding with him. You chewed the inside of your cheek for a moment, taking a breath as you rationalized.  

Your mouth opened to ask another question when glasses were chimed and dinner was cleared away. Champagne flutes were passed around, and to your horror you realized it was time for your toast. You stood in a fluid motion, adjusting your gown and your hair before heading toward the microphone next to the table with the bride and groom.

–

You spent the rest of the night getting drunk. Champagne became cocktails and cocktails became shots–all with your mother and new stepfather and family and friends from your childhood. Tipsiness made you remove your heels, kicking them off to the side to a forgotten corner as your aching feet pressed against the polished floor. 

The dance floor was cramped, the band having transitioned partway through the night to someone’s phone with a playlist hooked up to the speakers. You watched your mom laugh as she was spun around by her new husband, making you smile as you nursed your glass of wine. 

“You lost something.” Joel approached, pointing to your strappy heels with a lazy finger. 

You grinned, your teeth digging into your lower lip for a moment as you looked up at him. “Looks like you did, too–a few things actually,” you said, nodding toward his shucked suit jacket and tie. The top few buttons of his white shirt were open, revealing just enough of his tanned chest to feel dangerous. He was more disheveled than before, a chilled beer bottle held loosely in his fingers and his cheeks flushed.

Joel chuckled, taking a step closer to you as he took a long drink from his beer. You watched his Adam’s apple bob in his throat as he swallowed, taking a sip of your red wine in tandem.

There was something about this man that had you all kinds of flustered, a giddy lightness in your chest when he focused his attention on you. “So why aren’t you out there dancing?” Joel asked, his warm eyes surveying the dance floor before returning.

You shook your head, a demure smile and a shrug. “Never was much of a dancer.” The last time you really danced was wasted at a frat party in college, the lights low and the music making the house shake. Far from a respectable barn wedding, and definitely not your mother’s respectable barn wedding. 

“That’s a shame,” Joel smiled at you, pressing just a bit closer, “a pretty girl like you should be out there.” 

You were surprised by the compliment, nearly choking on your wine as your eyebrows lifted. Joel was smirking, his whole body leaning toward yours. You were warm to the touch, your entire face burning under his attentions. It felt like you were in high school again, pining after some older boy that you assumed would never look at you twice–but here he was, looking.

“Do you always flirt with your friend’s stepdaughters?” you asked, hoping to come off as hard to get. Realistically, he already had you in the palm of his hand.

Joel pursed his lips, something mischievous flashing in his dark eyes for a moment. “Just the ones that look like you,” he said, his deep voice low. It was almost too quiet to hear over the music, making you shift forward so you could hear him better.

“Joel.” It would've been chastising if it wasn’t for your bright smile. He exuded an easy confidence that was magnetic, it had your nerves on fire as you selfishly hoped that he would do more than just flirt with you. Your gaze was on his lips for a moment, taking in the lines of his full bottom lip and tidy mustache before meeting his eyes again.

“The couple is getting ready to leave!” You both looked toward the door and watched the wedding planner usher guests out the barn doors. Sparklers were thrust in everyone’s hands, the photographer already positioned at the end of the walkway near the rented white Rolls Royce.

Joel’s hand found the small of your back, warm through the thin fabric of your dress as he guided you toward the door. The wedding planner handed him two sparklers, the long kind that wobbled under their own weight. 

The guests had divided into two lines, waiters lighting sparklers on either side of the column created. Joel handed you one as you stood at his side, your bare feet on the warm concrete. You held it out from your body, focused on the bright sizzle of the sparks as they made their way down the lines of powder.

Your mother and Shawn walked through the column of sparklers on cue, laughing and smiling while holding hands. They looked so happy. You could hardly imagine being that happy with someone.

She broke off for a moment to embrace you, making Joel thoughtfully pluck the sparkler out of your fingers so you didn’t burn her. 

Tears pushed at your eyelids, overwhelming joy for your mother finally breaking free of your chest. You whispered ‘I love you’s into one another’s ears and pressed kisses to cheeks as you clung to each other. The photographer’s camera was shuttering nearby, catching every intimate moment.

Finally you let her go, tearful and smiling as Shawn pulled her toward the car that would take them to their hotel. Joel’s large hand found the curve of your waist, bringing you to his side as you watched your mother get into the car. 

You were tipsy enough to allow it.

He was warm, smelling like cigar smoke and whiskey and cologne. You both were quiet as you watched the car pull away, your shoulders fitting in the space between his arm and torso.

“You wanna help me find my jacket? Think I left it around back when I was smoking a cigar with Shawn,” Joel murmured into your hair. His fingers pressed into your waist, his breath on your neck.

It was enough to distract you. You blinked your tears away, fingertips brushing at the corners of your eyes to make sure your makeup was still intact. “Sure,” you whispered, looking up at him after you’d composed yourself.

Your heart skipped a beat when Joel took your hand, tugging you along with him down the path on the outside of the barn. Both of you were tipsy, giggling and stumbling a bit over the paving stones that had been set in the tall grass. The lights faded behind you, the dim glow through the high windows of the barn and the solitary strand of Edison bulbs between the trees just enough to navigate by. 

It all happened so fast, you didn’t even know who initiated it. Joel’s calloused hands were cupping your cheeks and jaw, tilting your head up as your lips met his. He tasted like whiskey and the sweet wedding cake, making you sigh into the kiss as your fingers twisted in his shirt and pulled him close. 

You had to stand on your tip toes to kiss him properly, a few soft laughs escaping the both of you when the hard cartilage of your noses bumped and teeth clashed. 

He took steps forward until your shoulder blades pressed against the side of the barn. Joel crowded you in, one hand leaving your cheek to brace against the wood behind your waist as he swiped his tongue along your bottom lip. You could feel him smiling.

You always found French kissing to be weird, never knowing quite what to do with your tongue. Whenever a guy had initiated it you managed to cut it off quickly, moving on to some other method of making out to spare yourself the embarrassment of letting your tongue sit there like a dead fish.

Of course you’d seen people do it, always seeming like a lot more licking each other than kissing. Nevertheless, the second time Joel ran his tongue along the seam of your lips you found yourself parting them for him.

Suddenly, you understood. Joel’s tongue massaged over yours as he groaned softly. You wanted him to consume you, letting him take control as he explored your mouth. He tilted your head back more, leaning over you with his full height. You flicked your tongue along his, spine arching toward him in an attempt to get closer.

The horn of the hotel shuttle startled you as you broke apart, chests heaving and your lipstick smeared onto Joel’s mouth. 

“You staying at the same hotel as everyone else?” Joel asked, nosing at your hairline as his hands roamed over your dress. He bunched it in his fists, raising the hem above your calves and wrinkling the fabric.

“I am,” you breathed, twisting your fingers in his thick curls. 

Joel smiled against your earlobe, nipping at it. “Wanna continue this in my room? Got a king size bed and everything,” he drawled, pulling back to look down at you. There was a sparkle in his eyes, his smile was breathtaking.

You wiped your lipstick off his bottom lip with your thumb, suddenly feeling a bit shy. “You sure?” you asked, folding your arms over your chest in a form of protection from Joel’s possible rejection. 

He offered, but there was still a part of you that was worried.

He furrowed his brow, a smile still on his face as he looked down at you in the dark. “'Course I’m sure. Go get your shoes, baby, and I’ll see you on the shuttle.” Joel spun you toward the nearest door to the barn, lightly smacking your ass go get you moving.

You yelped, swatting at his hand with a glare. 

“Go on, before I ruin that pretty dress of yours in the dirt out here,” he told you, a smirk on his face as he nodded his chin toward the door. You rolled your eyes, acquiescing to his instructions.

—

It took Joel no time to get you down the hall from the packed elevator and to his room. He clumsily tapped his keycard against the sensor, stamping kisses along the side of your neck as you giggled in the cage of his arms.

Finally he got it to unlock, tightening an arm around your waist as he pushed the door open. Joel took wide, staggered steps on either side of your body as he ushered you inside. 

As soon as the door snapped shut he was already lifting the bottom of your dress, kisses turning into bites on the curve of your neck. “Jo-el,” you whined through giggles as you grabbed the forearm he’d locked around your waist. 

“Unfair that you’re this fucking pretty,” he mumbled, making your face heat up as you tried to protest. Joel shushed you by grabbing a handful of the meat of your thigh, groaning in your ear. 

“How’s it unfair?” you managed to ask, your head spinning from the overwhelming presence of Joel. His rough, calloused hands were groping at your soft flesh, his lips sucking marks on your neck like you were teenagers. 

The room was relatively untouched, his open suitcase on the stand near the large windows on the far side of the room. The curtains were slightly open, moonlight filtering in. “S’unfair that I didn’t meet you sooner,” Joel said, scraping his blunt teeth over the sensitive spot just under your earlobe. You shivered in his arms.

He separated from you just enough to shuck his suit jacket that he had haphazardly put on for the shuttle, tossing it on the little sofa in the room. You turned after stepping out of your heels, linking your hands behind Joel’s neck and pulling him in for another kiss. 

Joel smiled into it, his hands grabbing your waist and holding you flush against his body. “You still wanna do this?” His fingers moved to your spine and played with the zipper on the back of your dress, looking down at you as he waited for your answer. "Don't want you to feel pressured or anything."

“Wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be,” you murmured, carding your fingers in his thick curls.

Joel just groaned, pressing you flush against him as he captured you in another needy kiss. He pulled the zipper of your dress down in one fluid motion, making a shiver prickle up the length of your spine.

“Let me see ya, baby,” he said against your mouth, pulling the thick straps of your dress down your arms. 

You let the fabric pool at your feet, your sheer, skin-colored bra and panties leaving little to the imagination. A wave of insecurity flashed over you, your skin suddenly feeling stretched too tight over your body as your face and neck heated up. 

You were too aware of the parts of yourself that you didn’t like: the dimpled flesh on the outside of your thighs and the hairs you hadn’t plucked away because the wedding was the last place you thought you’d find a one night stand. A wobbly smile formed, your instinct making you bury your face in Joel’s neck to hide.

“Jesus Christ,” he mumbled, his voice so quiet you almost didn’t hear his praise. His massive hands ran down your sides, thumbing at the mesh of your bra and panties before he started moving you backwards.

Your calves hit the bed, making you squawk in an unflattering way as Joel lowered you to the mattress. “You’re so gorgeous,” he breathed, his lips trailing down your neck until he was kissing and sucking at your sternum. He nudged your knees apart with his free hand, his other forearm planted on the mattress to hold his weight off of you. He slotted himself in the space between your thighs as his tongue laved over your nipple through the mesh fabric of your bra.

The noise that came out of your throat was embarrassing. Your breath turned into a strangled moan, eyebrows pinching together. The sensation only made your arousal increase tenfold, spine already arching to press your tit against his mouth. 

Joel chuckled, soft brown eyes ticking up to look at your face. “That sensitive?” he said, more of a statement than a question. You found yourself nodding anyway. He thumbed at your other nipple, making it bud against the thin fabric and pulling another whine from your throat. He snickered.

“Don’t tease,” you huffed, wiggling your hips and lightly squeezing his sides with your knees. 

“Don’t worry, baby,” Joel muttered, a smile stretching on his lips as he rolled the pad of his thumb over your nipple again. He placed kisses along your stomach, making you suck in the soft flesh on reflex. His coarse facial hair tickled your skin, making you giggle a bit as he continued to work his way down your form.

“Just wanna taste ya, okay?” Joel asked, his broad shoulders between your spread thighs. His thick fingers hooked into your panties, manipulating your legs so he could pull them off and toss them somewhere in the room. He pressed your legs apart before you could snap them shut, a seed of worry taking root in your mind as you looked down at him.

You’d never been so self-conscious during a hook-up before, but for some reason Joel felt different. Your thoughts were preoccupied on how you looked from his vantage point, if you smelled alright and if anything looked weird.

“Been wanting to taste you all night, ever since I saw you standing up there during that damn ceremony.”

He spread you apart with his thumbs, eyes focused on your already wet pussy as a smirk stretched across his features. He just stared, making you want to crawl back into yourself. Then the feeling of his tongue on your clit makes you forget your worries, your face scrunching as you moaned. Joel hooked your leg over his shoulder, your heel pressing against his back as he pushed your thighs even further apart. 

You couldn’t remember a time when you’d been so soaked before, sticky arousal practically gushing out of you. Joel’s wide tongue licked long stripes up your cunt, careful to practically gulp down everything that he could. He was groaning as he ate you out, his big hands digging into your waist to pull you closer. The coarse hair of his beard was rough against the soft skin of your inner thighs 

“Oh–oh god, Joel,” you sighed, propping yourself up on an elbow so you could look at him. 

Your thighs were quaking, pressing against his ears as your hips twitched. Joel’s dark eyes were hazy and half lidded as he lapped over your clit, working with a focus you’d never experienced with any other man. He looked beautiful between your legs, belly-down on the mattress and still dressed in his button down shirt and slacks. 

One of his hands left your hip, snaking up your stomach to reach blindly until he cupped your breast. He pulled at the cup of your bra, revealing your peaked nipple. The bud was immediately pinched between his thumb and forefinger, making you arch your back as you let out another whine of his name.

Joel dipped down to shove his searing tongue inside of you as his nose bumped into the swollen bead of your clit. A bolt of lightning ricocheted up your spine, a gasp leaving you. It felt so good you could almost cry, your chest heaving and hips clumsily grinding toward his mouth. You were already starting to tremble, pleasure sparking in the pit of your stomach as he mouthed at you. 

And then he pulled back.

“Joel!” you yelped, starting to sit up as your gaze hardened into a glare. Your pussy clenched around nothing, neglected and empty with an interrupted orgasm.

He huffed a laugh, looking down at you as he knelt on the bed in front of you. “You’re right, baby, that’s my name,” he teased, his voice deep and smokey. 

He grabbed you roughly by the hips, pulling so you fell to your back again. “You fucker–” Joel cut you off by pressing the backs of your knees until you were bent in half, a brief show of just how strong he was. His calloused hands gripped the soft flesh of your ass, readjusting you again so the small of your back was propped up against his quads. You’d never been in this angle before, your pussy the highest point of your body as he pushed his forearms against your thighs to keep you still.

Joel’s hot breath washed over your cunt before he delved back into it, greedy as he started sucking on your clit. With the way you were contorted, you were completely helpless, any attempt to move your hips just made your thighs push uselessly against his arms. You were soaking, your arousal dripping down to your asshole as you whimpered pathetically.

He went at a leisurely pace, taking his time to tongue at you and lick long stripes from your perineum to your clit. Your hands were clenching in the white comforter on the hotel bed, your chest heaving. There was something about being completely at his mercy that made your head spin.

You wanted to be greedy, take everything he would give you; but, Joel was in no rush, languidly pressing his face into your pussy despite your best efforts to get him to speed up. 

It was overwhelming in all the right ways, your head spinning as you watched Joel lick at you like he wanted to consume every part of you. Joel cupped your breast in a hand, strumming his thumb lightly over your nipple to keep it stimulated as you gasped. 

You were delirious by the time he sunk two fingers into you, almost making you scream. Joel took a few breaths, his pink lips swollen and shiny with your arousal as he studied your expression. You could hardly think straight, strings of curses mixed with his name falling from your lips as you panted like a bitch in heat. 

The squelching sound of his fingers lazily pumping into your pussy filled the hotel room, loud enough to make your cheeks burn. You wetted your lips, trying to catch your breath beneath Joel.

“So fucking tight around my fingers,” Joel mumbled, the words muffled and wet because he didn’t pull away. It didn’t even feel like he was talking to you, communing with your pussy instead. The praise went directly to your head, making you tighten around his fingers. You threaded a hand in his hair, keeping his mouth pressed against you. “Tastes just as good as I expected.”

“Oh… oh my god,” you breathed, your climax building toward its precipice. 

Joel wrapped his lips around your clit and sucked, just barely speeding up the rhythm of his fingers fucking into you. His thumb on your nipple followed suit, matching the motion as tears filled your eyes. Your fingers threaded into his curls, your brows furrowed as you pulled on his hair. He grunted against you, not letting up as he worked you up toward the edge. 

When you came it was a whole body event. Your legs trembled, hips burning from the awkward angle Joel had bent you into. Your back arched, breath pausing in your chest. Your cunt clenched around his fingers, sucked tight and feeling every inch of them inside you. The pleasure was white-hot as it coursed through you, leaving your nerves buzzing and your ears ringing as your body went limp.

“So pretty when you come,” Joel said, his thick fingers still deep inside you.

You were almost nonverbal, your response a delirious sob as you looked up at Joel with watery eyes. He caressed your cheek, gently stroking your jaw and thumb wiping over your lower lip. You kissed the pad of it out of reflex, the motion making his expression soften for a moment.

Then he started to massage the spongy spot inside of your dripping pussy, making your eyes roll back. “Too sensitive,” you whined, grabbing onto his forearm in a weak attempt to stop him. 

“Trust me, baby, I’ve got you,” he said in that syrupy tone, gaze still locked on your face as you squirmed. He took his hand away from your cheek, holding one of your legs to keep you still as he fucked his fingers into you. “You can do one more for me, right?”

The need to please him made you nod, taking in a deep and shaky breath. You couldn’t do anything but take it, your mouth dropping open and your back arching. The overstimulation made you tremble, your whole body squirming. Breaths kept huffing out of you, your brows pinched tight as you tried to relax. It was hard to think straight, hell, it was hard to even breathe. 

Joel pulled his fingers out of you for a moment to strum over your swollen clit, only touching you with just enough pressure to drive you crazy. He continued until you were straining against him, moaning and sobbing his name. It was like he was carved from stone, hardly giving you any leeway as he kept you in place. The pressure in you built faster this time, it was almost embarrassing how quick he was able to get you to the edge. 

“Joel, Joel, Joel–ohmygod,” you gasped, reaching for purchase against his thigh. His dress pants were soft under your fingers as you squeezed, your body practically vibrating. 

“I know, baby, I know,” he murmured soothingly, pressing a wet kiss to the back of your thigh as his fingers hooked back into you. 

Joel fucked you on them at a ruthless pace as his thumb rolled over the crest of your sex, your mouth opening in a wordless cry as you fell into your second orgasm of the night. You were completely lost, your eyes squeezed shut as your muscles spasmed against the restraint of Joel’s arms. White noise filled your mind, your body melting against Joel’s thighs and the bed as your legs fell open even further. 

He rubbed along the seam of your cunt soothingly, calloused fingers working you through the aftershocks. Your eyes were completely hazed when you looked up at him, splayed on the bed like every bone had been pulled from your body. He looked positively giddy, his wet fingers smearing on your thigh as he rubbed your legs in an effort to help you come back to yourself.

Joel let you off of him, returning your spine to the mattress as he leaned over you to give you a kiss. You hummed into it, smelling and tasting your salty-sweet slick on his lips and facial hair. “Please fuck me,” you begged between presses of his mouth, desperation easy to hear in your tone.

“‘Course I will, baby,” he said, getting off the bed to quickly undress himself. You shakily sat up, unclipping your bra at your back and tossing it aside. 

Joel was impressive, his body rippled with muscles beneath a layer of fat that told you he was eating well. Your gaze dragged down him, mouth watering as you finally saw his cock. It was big, the same tanned tone of his skin with a flushed tip. It jutted from a patch of trimmed, dark hair that was accentuated by the happy trail beneath his navel. You swallowed thickly, pussy clenching at the thought of him fucking you into the mattress.

You kissed him eagerly as he got back on the bed, part of you so desperate to please him. Joel was older than you, so much more experienced, you just wanted him to like you. 

He grunted, curling a hand around the back of your neck to keep you close. His other hand traveled down your body, massaging your hip with his thumb. You were putty in his hands, your own arms in a loop around his neck.

“Lay down,” Joel mumbled against the hinge of your jaw, nipping at the bone. You whimpered, fingers digging into the broad muscle of his shoulders as you complied. Joel ran a hand over you, sliding it down the valley between your breasts and over your soft stomach. 

The backs of your thighs were pressed against his quads as he took himself in his hand, sliding the blunt head of his cock along your pussy. You clenched around nothing, desperate and wanting. “Joel, please.” 

You couldn’t take waiting anymore.

He smirked, notching himself at your entrance and obliging you. Joel pressed and pressed and pressed until his hips were completely snug against yours. He split you in half across the width of his cock, moving slow to give you some time to adjust. It felt like he’d consumed all of the extra space in your body, you even felt him in your throat. 

You breathed brokenly, back arched and hips twitching as you struggled to find a comfortable position. You weren’t a virgin–weren’t anything close to it, really–but it felt just as overwhelming as your first time.

Joel bent over you, his elbows on either side of your head carrying his weight as he ground his hips against yours. His forehead pressed into your shoulder, a heated groan rumbling from his chest. It was hard to make sense of things, rattled breaths filling your chest as your mind whirred uselessly. He peppered kisses over your face, his lips wet and warm as he showered you in affection.

Then he moved his hips, the roll of them slow and syrupy and making you nearly choke. You grabbed at his biceps, an attempt to anchor yourself to him as he started to rut his hips into yours. He made room for himself with every press of his cock, molding you to the shape of him.

Joel collected your leg with a rough hand, pushing your knee toward your chest. He let it come to rest in the curve of his elbow, palm pressed flat to the comforter as he spread you open wider. Your hips protested as he splayed you apart, the discomfort easily taking a backseat to your pleasure.

You keened, mouth falling open as he sank even deeper inside of you. Your breaths came out in little mewls, matching Joel’s grunts as you met each thrust with a weak roll of your hips. His lips were at your throat, sucking more marks into the skin and his facial hair scratching against you. “Goddamn, you’re gonna be the death of me, baby,” Joel groaned into the curve of your neck, still keeping an even rhythm

You let out a breathy laugh–you felt the same way about him. He lifted himself to get a better look at you, dark brown eyes as warm as the summer sun as his gaze drifted all the way down to where his cock was buried in you. He grunted at the sight, pupils dilating like drops of ink in water.

His free hand lifted off its elbow, his weight shifting to one side so he could wet the pad of his thumb with a lick of his tongue. You were making sounds you couldn’t control, each thrust pushing a small gasp from your throat. Then, Joel dropped his hand to your lower abdomen, gently tracing the curve of your belly down into the soft thatch of hair you hadn’t bothered to shave.

A calloused thumb found your clit, swirling over it with a confident pressure in a way that made your eyes nearly roll back in your skull. Joel was pounding into the spot that made you see stars, merciless in his pace. “Joel… oh god…”

You could feel the flutter of your orgasm starting, your legs trembled against his arm and the curve of his waist. You chanted his name like a prayer, overstimulated tears starting to squeeze out of the corners of your eyes and roll into your hairline. He just soldiered on, grinding his thumb over your clit as he worked you higher and higher toward the edge.

A rattling gasp escaped your throat as you pulsed around Joel, your brows pinching and your body stiffening beneath his. You could feel the release from the soles of your feet to the crown of your head, your nails digging into his thick biceps as the flickering pleasure turned into a full on forest fire. You leaned up to wrap your arms around his shoulders, pulling him down onto the mattress with you as you held him close.

“Fuck,” Joel moaned into your neck. His thrusts became sloppy fast, his discipline gone to the wayside now that he made you come on his cock. You felt him twitch inside you, his breath coming out in hot huffs against the curve of your shoulder. His hand grabbed your hip, pulling you down to match his frantic thrusts as he moaned your name into your skin.

You wanted to pull his head away from you so you could see how his face looked when he finished. The muscles in his abdomen clenched, his hips grinding tight to yours as he came inside of you. You moaned with him, the feeling of being filled up by him satiating a need you didn’t know you had as you dragged your blunt nails on his scalp.

Joel finally collapsed, the weight of his body pressing down on you as you combed your fingers through his hair. His hips were cradled by your legs, sweat slicking your skin wherever it was pressed together. You breathed against one another, pulling each other close as you basked in the afterglow.

You were sharing the same air, pressing loose kisses to each other's warm skin as you melted into each other for an unknown amount of time. It could have been seconds, it could have been hours.

“We should clean up,” you finally breathed, able to come back to yourself. 

Joel nodded against your neck, you felt it more than you saw it. You giggled after he didn’t move, still leaving you helpless and pinned beneath him. He seemed to make himself even more comfortable, arms constricting around you and face nuzzling closer to your throat.

“Joel,” you chastised, lightly shoving at his shoulder. It was half-hearted and meaningless–you were more than content to stay here all night if you had to.

“I like how you say that, Joel,” he said, mimicking your voice in an annoyingly high-pitched tone. It made you laugh, throwing your head back against the comforter as you shook it. 

He hissed, pulling away from you just enough to prop himself up on an elbow. “You clench around me like a fucking vise when you laugh like that, baby,” Joel muttered, swirling his fingertips over your skin. He didn’t move to pull out of you quite yet, the two of you relishing in the intimacy of your embrace.

A slow smirk crossed his face, his dark eyes flickering back up to meet yours. “Plus, what’s the point of cleaning up if I’m not done with you yet?”

–

Needless to say, you were sneaking out of his room when the dregs of sunlight started streaming through the hotel room windows, sore and exhausted, with his phone number typed into your phone and his hickeys all over your skin.

[a-major-love]

Stranger In The Night

Pairing - Maestro x Fem!Reader

Summary - Every Halloween, it was tradition in Normal Valley to break into the ole abandoned manor up on the hill. Unfortunately, it was now your turn to follow through.

Word Count - 2.8k

Warnings - no use of y/n, fem pronouns, semi proofread, use of og characters, readers friends suck, old spooky manor vibes, swearing, mentions of panic/anxiety, comfort

A/N - This was requested. (sorry for the long wait everybody!)

Howls of laughter rose above the wind, as your friends zigzagged between the trees. The moon’s silver light shined through the low lying branches, illuminating on their ghoulish Halloween masks. You peered through the dense tree line, clumsily trailing after them as the smell of decaying leaves, and damp soil invaded your nostrils. Up ahead, a single dim flashlight pierced through the pervasive blackness of the woods. You grunted, as you maneuvered your way through the unsteady terrain. 

“We’ve been walking forever,” you whined, as you caught up to the light’s source. Before you stood Stephanie, who lived a few doors down from you at the shabby apartment complex you resided in. Her long, ocean blue hair framed the sides of her mask, that was twisted into a grotesque smile and dawned a comically large clown nose. 

“It’s only been fifteen minutes,” she said, her voice muffled by the mask. 

Suddenly, a strong pair of hands descended upon your shoulder, startling you. You shrieked, and whipped around to find a pair of black holes for eyes shining at you. Damien clutched his stomach as he doubled over with laughter. The Dracula inspired mask he wore remained emotionless, despite the sounds of glee coming from him. Stephanie soon joined in, failing to conceal her own giddiness. 

You sighed. “Are you two done?”  

Damien eventually straightened up, wiping an invisible tear from his eye. “Looks like Red Riding Hood is scared of the dark,” he jested, reaching out to the toy with the edge of your cloak.

You slapped his hand back, feeling frustration bubble up the longer you stared at his stupid mask. God, why did you even agree to come out here in the first place? 

‘So I didn’t spend another Halloween alone.’

 You snorted at the thought as you glanced over your company for the evening. Perhaps you should have stayed home, and just watched Elvira re-runs. 

“Come on, it’s just a little further.” Stephanie urged, continuing her trek forward. Damien fell in line beside her, briefly lifting his mask to press a chaste kiss to her temple. 

Begrudgingly, you followed after them, feeling the night press against your back the further you walked. The woods presence cocooned you, buzzing around your cloaked form. A sudden gust of wind rustled the branches above, the sound almost deafening. 

“Where are we going?” you eventually asked. Stephanie glanced back, her eyes glinting behind the mask's eye sockets. You could already picture the slow grin of amusement most likely spreading across her face. 

Damien swiftly turned, and began walking backwards, as if he were already familiar with the trail. 

“You’ve never heard the story?” he questioned, tilting his head, as if genuinely surprised. 

You raised a brow, shaking your head. 

Damien came to a sudden halt. “How do you not know? Everyone in Normal Valley has heard about the murders.” 

You stopped, feeling a cool chill like water run down your spine. 

“Murders?” you croaked. 

Damien eagerly nodded. “Apparently – like 50 years ago – a man moved to Normal Valley, into the manor above the hill. One day, while out in town, he met a beautiful woman named Marianna, and fell in love with her at first glance. Problem is, the woman was already married to the mayor of Normal Valley.” He began walking again, his words pulling you forward. 

“So… what did he do?” you carefully asked. 

“Marianna was deeply unhappy in her marriage,” Stephanie continued. “So the two began an affair, behind the mayor’s back. He was the sweetest lover she had ever known, constantly doted on her and showered her with affection, in private of course.” 

“But, their secret didn’t last long,” Damien interrupted, linking his arm with Stephanie’s. “The mayor found out about their little rendezvous, and was righteously pissed. He stormed over to the manor, with his poor wife trailing after him, and vowed to kill the man if he didn’t leave town immediately.” 

“Jesus…” you muttered, wrapping your arms around yourself. You warily glanced up at the trees, as if the branches were threatening to descend upon your shaking form. 

“That poor Marianna,” Stephanie pouted, shaking her head. “Whilst trying to ease the tension, she wound up caught in the crossfire between the two men, and met her untimely demise. The man was so distraught that he murdered the mayor in a blind rage.”

Something rustled a nearby bush, causing you to flinch. You nervously chuckled, and pressed your hand to your chest, as if it might quell the thudding of your heart. 

“So what happened to him?”

“He killed himself,” Damien plainly stated. “A few days after the incident, he took a piece of rope and hung himself from the chandelier.” 

“Now his soul remains trapped inside the manor,” Stephanie concluded. “Forever searching for his poor beau.” 

“That’s just a silly story you made up,” you accused. 

“Is that so?” Stephanie mused, looking back at you. 

You scoffed. “Ghosts aren’t real, Steph.”

She came to a halt, shining her flashlight against a black, iron fence that had suddenly blocked the path forward.

 “Maybe it’s time we test that theory of yours, Red.” She stepped aside, and beckoned you forward.

The fence towered over you as you cautiously approached it. You gulped, and peered in-between the gaps of the fence. In the distance, you could make out a sprawling dead garden that covered the grounds. There were a few seemingly intricate carved statues shrouded in vines, their beauty concealed by nature. Beyond that stood the mansion, looming over the woods like a beast's shadow. You squinted, struggling to make out its rough exterior from a distance. 

“Ladies first,” Damien said, pointing upwards. 

“I’m not going in there!”

Stephanie groaned, throwing her head back in impatience. She lifted her mask up, a deep scowl already embedded on her face. 

“It’s a Halloween tradition,” she stated, stalking toward you. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of a dusty, old house.” 

“B-but the story –

“You’re so gullible,” Stephanie muttered, shaking her head. She fixed her mask –  though it did little to conceal her cold glare – and approached the fence. “Damien, and I will go, and you can wait for us here.” 

Your face burned as you awkwardly shifted on your feet. You debated staying put, until something small scurried past your ankle. 

You caved. “Fine! Just give me a boost.” 

Damien pressed his back against the fence, and linked his fingers together. You placed your sneaker in his palms, clumsily pushing your weight up his body as you grasped onto the iron fence. You were wary of the sharp points, but you eventually managed to swing your body over and drop off onto the other side. 

“Okay, now it’s your tu– 

“Quiet,” Stephanie hissed, whipping around to stare out into the woods. 

A beat passed. 

“What is it?” Damien asked. 

“I think I saw a cop car drive by,” she said. “Shit, we need to go now.” 

“Hey – wait! Help me back over.” You scrambled toward the bars, your heart thudding at the thought of them leaving without you. 

“We’ll be arrested if they catch us here,” Stephanie explained, grabbing onto Damien's’ arm. The two ran off, throwing one last glance over their shoulder at you. 

You gripped onto the iron bars, struggling to hoist your body up the fence, but your shoe kept sliding against the smooth surface. 

“Damnit, come back!” you shouted, watching as the night eventually swallowed their retreating figures. 

A sudden gust of wind blew against your back, as if the woods were aware. The hum of the surrounding insects crept into your head. You slowly turned, wrapping the thin cloak around yourself. Before you laid the garden, and its watchful statues that towered over your shaking frame. The house sat silently – on a slight incline – patiently awaiting your next move. 

With no other option, you drew a deep breath and began your trek toward the house. 

After all, that’s all it was. 

You approached one of the many statues, gazing up at the woman's long slender frame. A strange melancholic feeling washed over you, clouding your mind as if these emotions were your own.  A dove sat in her outstretched palm, as if it was about to take flight. The other arm – tucked into her side – was severely damaged as an entire chunk was missing. You stood there, silent in your grief, frowning up at the woman. With a heavy sigh you moved on, simultaneously feeling the weight of sorrow lift from your shoulders. 

The stone path led to a set of cracked steps, littered with dried leaves that crunched beneath your feet. You approached a balcony door, with arched windows on either side and squinted against the cloudy glass for a glimpse of the interior. The only thing you could make out was that the space was vast, and too large to be a simple living room. 

The sound of a branch snapped in the distance. You whirled around, eyes sweeping over the expansive garden… but there was nothing. 

“Get a grip, girl,” you whispered, balling your fists. You turned to face the balcony door, only to find it slightly ajar. A nervous giggle escaped your lips as you gripped onto the edges of your cloak. 

“This is stupid,” you told yourself, cautiously stepping forward. “What I am doing is stupid.” 

You peeked into the room from behind the door, only to gasp in awe. Moonlight streamed into the apparent ballroom, silver light revealing its rather lavish nature. A few, dusty couches sat at the far left, surrounding an elaborate looking fireplace. You stepped inside, gawking at the sheer size. Two crystal chandeliers gently swayed above the tiled, black and white diamond floor. Across from you was an arch that led to an abysmally dark hallway, as if it were a black hole waiting to swallow you. 

You shuddered, tearing your eyes away from it. A painting hung on the wall beside it, in an ornate frame. Well groomed figures danced across the very same diamond floor, their faces nothing but a blur. The women’s gowns were dull, however, due to the poor lighting. 

“Wow,” you whispered, slowly spinning as you took in the space. 

A snicker came from just over your shoulder, as if it were in your ear. You gasped, whipping around, to find the room empty. 

“H-hello?” you called out, drawing into yourself. 

A woman’s giggle suddenly echoed around the room, coming from nowhere and everyone all at once. Then, a chorus of voices joined in, their laughter swelling until it felt as if it were coming from inside your head. Their taunts came in a frenzy of whispers, brushing against the shell of your ear like a horrid lover. 

“Stop it!” you cried, stumbling backwards. You covered your ears, pressing so hard that pressure began to build in your head. The voices did not cease, even as you crouched down, broken pleas falling from your lips. 

“Please,” you whimpered, shutting your eyes. 

A hollow crack – like thunder – rose above the voices, immediately silencing them. You kept your eyes closed, muttering vague prayers to yourself – as if they would help. 

“God, I'll be so good,” you whispered. “I’ll be so good, if you let me survive this.” 

“Miss, are you alright?” 

Your eyes snapped open, as you peered up from your position, to find a pair of oak eyes staring down at you in concern. 

“I apologize for my friends,” he explained, sheepishly smiling. “They become a bit excitable when we have an unexpected guest.” 

You gaped up at the man, tracing over his soft, angled features. Silky, black hair framed his pale face, just slightly hanging over his shoulders. A bright, infectious smile had bloomed across his pink lip, providing a curious sense of comfort. His outfit was rather simple, consisting of a white, billowy shirt and black slacks. The man’s warm eyes never left your face, and seemed intrigued by your silence. 

You cleared your throat. “Yes, I’m fine.” The man hummed. “Well, I hope my mischievous friends didn’t frighten you too badly.”

“Your friends?”

A thought passed over the man's face, before he chuckled to himself. “I’m sorry, it’s been a terribly long time. Where are my manners?” He kindly offered you his hand, to which you took, and slowly stood up. His skin felt like porcelain, abnormally smooth and cold. 

“My name is Maestro,” he introduced. “I reside here, along with the others.”

“I thought this house was abandoned,” you mentioned, puzzled by his words. 

“What do you know of this place, exactly?” 

“That the previous owner had an affair with the mayor's wife,” you explained, “and when the mayor found out, he confronted the owner but things didn’t end…well.” 

Maestro chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. “So that's the tale kids are telling these days.” 

“These days?” 

“That’s not the first iteration I’ve heard,” he said, meandering over to the balcony door. He glanced over at you, soft smiling as if recalling a memory. “Numerous tales, involving tragedy and misfortune, have followed this house for decades. Fabricated by the townspeople to draw others away, but it seems to have had the opposite effect.”

“Are any of them true?” you asked, approaching him. 

“Depends,” he mused, eyes glinting in the moonlight. “Tragedy follows everyone, doesn't it? Who’s to say those stories didn’t hold some twisted form of the truth, for the others at least.” 

You quirked a brow at his vague answer, but decided not to push the subject. 

“The way you talk is odd,” you mentioned, feeling around for the proper words. 

Maestro craned his head to look at you, a suspected smile blooming across his face. 

“You speak as if you’re… dead.” 

He hummed, dark eyes gleaming at your words. The longer you stared, the more you saw that nothing sinister laid in wait behind those eyes. In fact, they were playful, as if you had discovered some secret. 

“Is that so?” 

You gasped at the feeling of frigid fingertips brushing against the nape of your neck. Turning around resulted in the same outcome as before, nothing aside from the peeling wallpaper. 

“You’re just messing with me,” you accused, facing Maestro. He had crossed his arms, silently amused by your alarmed expression. 

“You don't believe in ghosts, miss?” 

You opened your mouth, prepared to answer but faltered. It was almost unnoticeable, the way the silver moonlight beamed on Maestro’s pale face. Yet you could see the way it pierced through his skin, illuminating him from the inside out. Maestro seemed to fade in and out of existence, causing him to appear nearly translucent. Your hands shook, your brain rattling around for some form of explanation. 

A clock rang out around the house, echoing through the vacant halls. You were snapped out of your trance, rapidly blinking until Maestro looked as if he were flesh and bone again. 

“It’s super late,” you said, “so I should probably be on my way now.”  

Maestro must have sensed your unease, as he quietly nodded. He approached you, jutting out his arm for you to grab. 

“Perhaps you would prefer to leave through the front door,” he suggested. You gulped, and carefully entangled your arm with his. Somehow, you could feel him, but there was something…missing. 

Warmth, you thought. The heat provided by another person isn’t there. 

Maestro guided you to the front entrance, where a large intricately carved door stood. 

“Hopefully your holiday didn’t feel like such a waste.” “Strangely…no,” you said, gazing over at him. “To be honest, this was probably the most eventful Halloween I’ve had in a long time.” 

“I’m happy to hear that.” Maestro unlinked his arm from yours, and opened the front door. 

“I was half expecting it to open on its own,” you joked, feeling the tension slowly leave your shoulders. 

“Maybe next time it will,” he said, winking at you. 

“Next time, huh.”

He smiled, as if the morning sun had splashed over him. “If you are interested, of course.” 

You glanced around, at the dusty floorboards and patterned wallpaper. A long, weary history sat inside this house, eager to share its life and story with someone. 

You looked back at Maestro, and offered him a smile of your own.

“I would love to.” 

He gently took your hand, and gave a chaste kiss to your knuckles. “I’ll be awaiting your return, miss.” 

Heat creeped up your neck, as you stepped out the door. The night seemed just as abrasive as before, as if it too had waited for you. You carefully walked down the steps, cringing as they groaned beneath your wait. When you were halfway down the driveway, something compelled you to look back. A faint figure stood by one of the top floor windows, watching in amusement. 

What a strange house.

[lullabyes22-blog]

Snippet - Little Sister - Forward but Never Forget/XOXO

Here comes a new challenger...

Forward but Never Forget/XOXO

Snippet:

The Black Cat, equidistant between the Rumbler's Den and the Nymph, was a stewpot of blue lightningfire.

Jinx's hair just about stood on end; her first entrance past the doors and a peculiar sense of homecoming—or maybe its inverse?—zigzagged down her spine.

The place was a constellation of doppelgangers. Jinxettes and Jinxos, baptized-blue and crooked-fanged, all massed in under one roof. Nameless and legion: they cherished only one thing.

A heartful of chaos, and an eye on the horizon.

The music was pure champagne: spilling over in a foam of techno and crystal-cool vocals. Bassline like a sonic boom. Bodies swaying in sync. The conversation crosscutting through the cacophony was less small-talk than shout-out-loud. Words didn't travel at these decibels; the syllables got lost en route from lips to earlobe.

It was just noise. Mouths moving faster than the speed of light, punctuated by solar flares of laughter.

"...lovesdakiddelicious..."

"...gotanycigs..."

"...ILOVEUPPERS!."

And at the heart of the delirium:

Jinx.

No longer the lost girl longing to fly away, but a queen come home.

She cadged a fizzing bottle of Powerade off a crowded table—bubble-spicy and flame-blue. The swigs scalded, but in a good way, like chugging liquified marshmallows straight off the campfire. Most of the crowd were already three sheets to Shurima. Others were glowy-eyed, touchy-feely: aphrodisiacal strains of Shimmer infusing their veins.

One of them, a trippingly tall Vastayan made even taller by a coif of bright-azure braids, slunk within shouting distance.

"Your hair's soooooooo rad!"

"Thanks!"

"Wish my fur got that sheen..." With a flourish of nails like mirror shards, the Vastayan carded a hand through her tuft. Pink roots peeped through the blue. "...what dye d'ya use?"

"No dye. Just lotsa gunpowder!"

"Hah. That's a hoot."

The Vastayan, mistaking veracity for wisecrack, chortled. Jinx got a packet of wasabi crisps for her trouble; plus a little plastic square of fairydust. White with pink dots, promising a jolt of euphoria so potent it'd shame a thunderclap. Jinx palmed both, though she quickly doled out the latter to the next rando who crossed her path.

She couldn't stand nose candy; set her sinuses afire and makes her sweat bullets.

Last thing Jinx needed was for her firepower to get soggy.

At an indoor shooting-range set up in honor of Zaun's Blue Baddie, Jinx flexed her trigger-finger. The dummies, spray-painted with ultraviolet death's heads, were designed to spring backwards once hit. As Jinx squeezed shot after shot, they became her puppets: each one potted one-two-three in precise sequence, before pinwheeling into splinters.

Her marksmanship won hoots, cheers, and finally applause.

"WOOOH YEAH!"

"ALLLRIGHT, GIRLFRIEND!"

"GOT AN EYE ON YA!"

Jinx met each whoop with a fey curtsy; each toast with an extra shot; each whistle with a flying kiss. When the real crackshots, muscling their way into range, challenged her to a rematch, Jinx called for a whole fucking keg as tribute. Then proceeded to trounce each punter with a quickdraw that'd give the great Zilean himself a double-dose of vertigo.

"You," groused a man twice her age with biceps like meat melons and a gold-tipped canine tooth, "ain't human."

In reply, Jinx flipped him two birdies. He just laughed, clapping her on the shoulder.

"Eh, no hard feelings. Better a pro beatin' me than some rookie sludge-punk. Buy a round for ya?"

"Got my eye on somebody else!"

"An' is he worth waitin' on?"

"You bet my... well, Jinx's... bottom bullet!"

A hearty guffaw, and the meathead slapped her ass en route to the bar. Jinx riposted by snatching the air-gun from another player's holster and zipping off a smart ping that sent him diving for cover, while his friends at the bar erupted into laughter.

Jinx's own smile, tucked between her teeth, split wide open.

They weren't strangers, this lot. They were her own.

In the surreal glow of a back-alley gumball machine spewing rock candy, cherry cordial and gobstoppers, Jinx fed coin after coin, treating herself to the sugar-boost and deep drags of the smoky night air.

The leftovers, she divvied up among a passel of sumpsnipes loitering nearby. Her sweets vanished in seconds, crushed between sharp young jaws. As Jinx taught them how to string lollipops into a garland for a hat, she spied Billy swooping overhead, wingtips cutting black crescents over the smokestacks.

One bell to go, Jinx thought.

The sumpsnipes, cheering, scuttled off. Their little leader waved farewell before scaling a drainpipe to follow his posse up the rooftops, where refrains of Get Jinxed floated in ebbing waves. None of them had a clue their anthem's namesake was the one who'd stuffed their pockets seconds prior with loot.

And it didn't matter.

What counted was the glint in their eyes— the knowledge that tonight was theirs to keep.

A good run was shaping up. Jinx, idling back against the gritty brick wall, let the bloom of light sweat and heat radiate off her skin. She was reaching the sweet horizon of buzzdom: where inhibitions loosened and nerves jived. She needed it; nervousness had a way of curling her toes in their boots.

Soon, she thought.

From the shadowed corner, a voice drawled, "I don’t know if I should get the camera or the cuffs."

Jinx pivoted.

The speaker was a girl, roughly her own age, lounging sideways across a few crates. Her posture, languid, nearly liquid, made Jinx feel as though she'd been poured out of some abstractly sensual honeypot. Like the rest of tonight's jet-blue set, her hair and brows were tinted cobalt: tribute to the Lady of the Hour. She had a pierced lip, a hoop dangling from her right nostril, and lots of tinkly bangles around each wrist. The standard-fare Zaunite duds—tight black baby-T, patched denim hot pants, patent leather thigh-highs—completed the ensemble.

Yet something about her eyes sent a tiny chill skittering up Jinx's spine.

"Cuffs, huh?" Jinx cocked a hip, popping the last gobstopper into her mouth. "Sorry, toots. Never pegged myself for bondage gear. Pun oh-so-intended."

"No?" Those too-old eyes gave Jinx a slow once-over. "Too bad. It'd look good on you."

"Or better off me."

The tart rejoinder earned a sly smile. It was hard to look away from the girl's eyes, though Jinx couldn’t tell what it was about them that set her sonar pinging. Maybe it was the color. Dark sclera, golden irises. Her trivializing face-paint—two hearts inked under each peeper—didn't undercut their intensity.

A predator's eyes.

Jinx stared. She'd never met this broad before. Yet there was a queer familiarity, like déjà vu in reverse.

She'd felt it once before. For another broad, whose eyes were also gold, and yet not really golden at all—they just seemed to attract and reflect all the bright rays flitting through the airwaves.

Except Mel Medarda had never made Jinx's hackles rise.

This girl? A split-second under her scrutiny, and the urge to shoot was building, insuppressible.

Jinx's instinct, failsafe, whispered:

Aim straight for the skull.

Jinx kept her exterior frothy as foam. "You from around these parts? You look new."

"Far from." Another sly-lipped smile. "Maybe our paths haven't crossed because we move in different circles."

"Circles, huh? We talkin' crops? Or circuits?"

"Whichever you fancy."

"I fancy a straight answer," snapped Jinx. "And a lot less mysterio schlock."

"And I'd love to give you less of one, and more of the other." The girl unseated herself from the crates, doing a slinking side-to-side towards Jinx. "But I doubt your father would approve."

"My father?"

"The Eye." Those golden eyes danced, slitwise. "Right now, he has you running in circles. Doesn't want you coming near my particular circuit."

Jinx said nothing. The girl came forward, with steps so small, so measured, that each boot-tip barely stirred a sound. Yet her proximity was overwhelming. The not-right feeling in Jinx's spine escalated from funny to downright wrong.

Whoever this stranger was, she was a big leaguer; and not in the way of chem-royalty or cartel matriarchs: steeped in swagger and studded in bling.

This was a different breed: sharper, sleeker, deadlier.

"I think," Jinx said, dropping her smile, "that I don't much care for circus clowns clowning me for kicks."

"That's why I'm here. To get the air nice and clear between us. Because soon, you'll set your sights on horizons beyond your father's reach. And spread your wings wider than even I can gamble on."

"The only wings are the ones riding your batty ass ragged," Jinx said, flatly. "And what d'ya mean 'soon.' What's 'soon'? Couple days from now? Couple decades?"

The golden eyes shone again, full of cruel knowledge. "Oh, it's already happened."

"Yep. Batty as the belfry."

"And you're late, little sister." That sidling sway stopped just shy of intimacy. "At least... in this thread of time."

The chill in Jinx's bones spiked. It was offset by a jolt of adrenaline tracing her spine, down to the coldness of the pistol tucked into the belt at her lower-back, its shape hidden in sheaves of fabric. The pistol she carried everywhere. The pistol that went warm now. Empty chamber; live bullets. She hadn't fired it in a while.

She had no qualms firing it tonight.

"I ain't your damn sister." Puffpuff materialized in her palm; the safety disengaged with a lethally soft click. "Back up a smidge, sweetcheeks, and drop the riddle-me-this routine. Got somewhere I gotta be, so make it snappy: who're you and what're you after?"

Those odd eyes zeroed in on the pistol; the languid bearing shifted. No shock, but a secret respect. Just enough to turn that predatory prowl benign, dial down the tension from ten to five. She even added a tiny twist of smile, meant to beguile.

Jinx stood her ground.

"They know me by many names, Little Sister," the girl murmured. "Same as you. But you may call me the Wishing Star. A deal-maker. One who grants desires and paves paths."

"Neat-o manifesto," Jinx said, "for a cathouse. Zaun's got plenty, hon. Market's a mite oversaturated."

The smile twisted: amusement turned inward. "Your father would know a thing or two about that, too. Though, as a rule, it's not the sort of talk a man passes down to his daughter's ear. Or past her lips. At least not lips this pretty..."

Cool as ice, Jinx jammed the muzzle against the girl's throat. She fell still. Jinx could practically see the flutterbeats at the jugular.

"Since you've been payin' such close attention to my lips, dollface..." Jinx drawled, "take the extra trouble to read 'em in full. Keep up this charade, and it's one big boom, and a short hard splat. Our ginnels are no strangers to gunfire."

"True." The smile held. "Zaun is a city steeped in blood. Since time immemorial. Or is it time forward? I lose track sometimes."

"Yeah, well. Your time's up. Either spit out what you gotta say, or scram. Fast."

The muzzle dug deeper into flesh. Still those eyes held Jinx fast. The girl didn't flinch; didn't even blink.

"Who do you seek tonight, Little Sister?" she whispered. "And who, left to Fate's design, will you choose?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." The gun held steady. "On second thought? Who gives a rat's ass what you'd like. I've had enough of this yakkety-yak. Get to stepping, Scotch Brite. Otherwise I'll be blowing more'n birthday candles when the fireworks go off."

The girl's smile, at last, flattened. But she didn't seem afraid. More resigned.

"As you wish, Spiderweaver." The girl stepped back; the threat abated. "Our kind do nothing by halves, do they? Including keeping promises."

"Name's not Spiderweaver, and you're just about thiiiiiiiiis far—" Jinx held the forefinger and thumb of her free hand a millimeter apart, "from gettin' your brains spattered across the walls."

"It doesn't matter what I name you. What matters is that I warned you."

"Warned me of what, exactly? Besides the time-honored adage, 'Don't stick your gun in crazies'?"

"Time." Again the smile came. Just enough to send a prickle along Jinx's skin. "It is the favorite string of Fate. And it is winding itself around you, Spiderweaver. A web of webs. I advise you to watch your step. Lest the threads come tangled."

"Ugh!"

Disgust trumped Jinx's disquiet. Even the deja vu pancaked into the same sense of anti-climax as when Jinx, reeling from one too many cocktail-induced all-nighters, woke up in Viktor's workshop in the middle of a particularly steamy daydream about Ekko, only to find her guts skewered by nausea and her body propelled against its will straight into the nearest wastebin.

This whole exchange felt exactly like that. Deceptively promising on the surface; just crap underneath.

Jinx aimed: point-blank.

"See. This is the kind of tripe that comes with hanging with cultists too long. Loopy hokum, bogus prophecy and general lack of brain cells. I should know. Vik's cult of creepos get this way every Tuesday!" Her eyes slitted; blisteringly bright. "Now listen up, crazypants. One, don't ever call me that stupid name again. Two, stop pretending that fate, destiny and all that crap means anything between Jack and Squat in the grand scheme of my spare time. Three? If I catch you anywhere between my crosshairs again, your noggin gets blown to fine pink confetti. Ya get me?"

"I do." There was the barest tenor of disappointment in the girl's tone. It humanized her. Made her easier to dismiss. "I understand. Be well, Little Spider."

"Get bent, Space Cadet."

The shadows swallowed the strange girl's receding silhouette. Jinx's unease lingered.

She pushed past it. Hootenannies this hopped-up attracted all sorts: some cracked in the head, others just plain cracked. This gal had both sides of the coin covered, no question.

Jinx wondered if she was here alone, or on the clock for someone bigger. A messenger, maybe. Some shadowy threat looming behind the scenes.

Better keep on high alert tonight. If that meeting was a prelude, then trouble was sure to follow. Good thing trouble and Jinx's trigger-finger were intimately acquainted. In a city where chaos was currency, staying ahead of the game was a nonnegotiable.

And Jinx, pockets heavy with heat, kept her reflexes primed.

Distantly, the Old Hungry tolled eight o' clock. Jinx let each resonant gong dispel her funk. Tonight was not a night for carnage, however tempting the targets.

She had a different hunt in mind.

Over the rooftops, Billy spun dizzying circles. His dark wings folded sharp and sleek: he issued a single eye-splitting caw, then swooped away.

Coast Clear, he signaled.

Proceed to next stage of Operation Name-Day-Dicking-Down.

Jinx's lips curled into a smile.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Wedding Theme

Theme - (in wedding planning) an idea, concept, or mood that unites the various elements of your wedding day.

The chosen vibe of your wedding can dictate the floral bouquets, décor color schemes, and even the style of the wedding attire.

You can choose from different wedding styles or aesthetics, such as: boho, glam, eco-friendly, minimalist, or elegant.

Part of the fun of planning your wedding is that you get to choose how your wedding venue can help you accomplish your theme, and you can select wedding décor that match your ideas.

Wedding Theme Ideas

Once you decide on a theme, choose the design motifs that will make for the perfect wedding. Consider these popular wedding themes:

Art deco wedding: This is a more design-forward approach; flappers and other 1920s aesthetics may weave their way into your art deco style, which features geometric shapes, sleek artwork, and zigzag or chevron-patterned forms. You can extend the theme into wedding favors, like gold art deco matchboxes for guests.

Beach wedding: Guests may go barefoot at the waterfront ceremony for this kind of destination wedding. You might suggest pastels for décor to keep with the summery vibe or advise guests wear white or neutral-colored linen outfits to match the aesthetic. You can extend the theme to the drink menu, with specialty cocktails like Mojitos and Piña Coladas.

Bohemian wedding: You might feature found materials or DIY centerpieces as table décor for your bohemian wedding. For bohemian weddings, brides and grooms might opt for nontraditional attire, and guests can wear looser, less formal clothing. Bohemian weddings emphasize authenticity over glitz and Edison bulbs over expensive chandeliers. This wedding theme may take on an outdoorsy element, so a garden wedding can also double as a boho-chic one.

Outdoor wedding: You can transform the great outdoors into your personal wonderland. If you gather in a park or backyard or near the mountain or a lake, your outdoor wedding can offer wedding guests a less formal setting. You can opt for simple table settings and wildflowers from nearby areas as your wedding flowers. Wedding planners should have a backup plan in case of bad weather.

Modern wedding: For a modern, elegant wedding, choose simple décor and clean lines to emphasize the venue or wedding location.

Rustic wedding: The rustic wedding theme nods toward the natural world with wood and DIY flair. You might use glass jars as drinking vessels, rely on fairy lights for softer lighting, and set your wedding ceremony in a barn or other setting with elements of greenery.

Seasonal wedding: When planning a wedding, lean into the season. You have plenty to play with in terms of floral arrangements, dress colors, and even linen styles depending on if you have a spring wedding, summer wedding, fall wedding, or winter wedding. For example, your fall wedding might feature tablescapes with autumn leaves.

Traditional wedding: If you want a classic wedding theme, you will follow several traditions. For example, you might host a black-tie event where groomsmen wear tuxedos, and the bridal party wears matching dresses. Or you may have a cake topper that looks like you and your significant other in doll form. Your classic wedding can follow familiar beats: a ceremony and then cocktail hour, toasts, dinner, dancing, and the cutting of the wedding cake.

Whimsical wedding: Whimsy can certainly factor into your romantic wedding. You can choose quirky floral arrangements, dresses with funky patterns, snaking tables (as opposed to plain circular or square ones), and various types of chairs and lighting fixtures.

Vintage wedding: Upcycled and reclaimed goods can make for a glamorous wedding. You can tie the theme together and give your guests a memorable experience with vintage dresses, silverware, glassware, and other materials.

Wedding Theme Tips

When fashioning your wedding theme, consider these tips from celebrity wedding planner Mindy Weiss:

Borrow décor items and flatware. Themes often require particular décor items, like wooden slabs for a rustic reception, rattan chargers for a tropical event, or mismatched china for a romantic affair. “You can borrow furniture,” Mindy says. “If you like that eclectic look, pull out a bunch of different tables. It's only gonna add to the personality.” You can also suggest a theme through votives, glassware, and flatware. “I guarantee you your aunts, your mother, your sisters, and your friends will have wonderful flatware that you can borrow,” she adds.”

Go bold with your theme. The color and size of décor items you choose can help express a theme, regardless of your budget. “If you're looking for ultimate drama, I would go deep, dark, bold flowers,” Mindy says. “No matter the time of year. . . if someone comes in and says, ‘I wanna sexy, bold wedding,’ I'm gonna reach right for these big, burgundy dahlias or roses, which are readily available most places. So bold is color, it's size, and it's depth. If you're goin' bold, do it. And you can do it on a budget because more color, the less you need.”

Enlist the help of your wedding party. It takes time and effort to commit to a theme, especially when you have a budget to consider. A theme might require you to forage wild flowers, hang string lights, or craft centerpieces. “Get your wedding party to help you—both sides of the wedding party,” Mindy advises. “Make it a fun event maybe even a couple days before the wedding, or don't go to bed too late the night before [and] spend the day together, finishing everything up.”

Make it personal. No matter what theme you choose, add personal touches to go the extra mile. “I did an event once where the client really did the research and gave me a picture of every guest there,” Mindy recalls. “We made that part of the place card. So not only was it fun to find your place, but it really showed that the couple took the extra effort to let you know, ‘We are happy that you're at our event.’”

Pick a color palette. Mindy encourages couples to add a little color, even if they have a simple palette. “Colors really reflect an emotion, not only with you as a couple, but as your guests walk into the room,” Mindy says. “There's always a reaction. So whether you're choosing something that's very modern or you're choosing something that is like an unkempt garden, immediately they will know what direction you have chosen for the look and feel of your wedding.”

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[dailyclowndoodlez]

this clown is one or two shapes

DAY TEN!!!! Dats double digits baby!!!!

I like her because she is just so shape of triagle

[ID: A minimal drawing of a clown made out of simple triangle shapes for the head, body, and limbs. She is pink with yellow zigzags and has red cheeks. She is juggling. End ID.]

[pocoslip]

I thought I may as well need to get New Decepticons so I picked Needlenose

(well i bought 3 cons if you count his "minicon" partners)