#chelsea x claire

[laurfilijames]

Like My Dreams

Part 5

Intro Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Pairing: Pete Dunham x female reader

Words: 9.9k

Warnings: Rated E, 18+. Swearing. Alcohol consumption. Unprotected intercourse. Sex in a public place. Blood, cuts and bruises. Dressing of wounds. Cockwarming. Mention of stab wound and life-threatening injuries. Assault. Threat of rape.

Summary: Right when you and Pete seal the deal on your relationship, more car trouble and a visit from an ex stirs up drama and pops the blissful bubble you waited so long for.

A/N: 😅 this chapter really got away from me but I had the best time writing it!! I had an idea for part of it and pitched it to the wonderfully supportive @ramadiiiisme who encouraged me to go for it and helped me pull it off, so big thanks to you a million times more 💗 The scene with Mrs. Platt was inspired by a conversation with @stealfromthedevil about her dear grandmother who's cheeky words are included in the dialogue 💗💗

The linked song is one I've been listening to non-stop while writing this chapter and is just so lovely and fits in with all the fluffy bits of not only this chapter, but this series as a whole.

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It had been a couple of hours since Pete had gone home to shower and clean up after the friendly game with the lads, now sitting in his favourite seat at their table watching the Hammers struggle to get a lead against Chelsea, the match currently tied at 1-1. He would normally care a bit more about it, but knowing you were on your way to meet him there had taken all his focus and energy, feeling more excited to see you than bothered that his team might end the game in a draw, or worse.

He slouched against the old chair with his arm over the back, taking a long sip of his beer before setting it back down and licking his lips.

“Oh, come on! Fucking unbelievable!” he muttered at the screen, the referee pulling an outrageous call against West Ham.

Whatever happened next in the game no longer mattered to him all that much, seeing you walk in the door and through the crowd of people standing between you, his smile growing as he watched you tug your scarf out from around your neck and head over to the bar where you stopped to say hello to Terry and order a drink.

Pete stood and walked over slowly, admiring you from across the room as you chatted with Terry for a moment, your smile making his heart nearly stop when you turned and directed it at him as he reached you.

He said nothing, his grin too large to control any words to come through it, instead opting for a greeting he had been waiting all night to give.

Grabbing your cheeks, he leaned in and kissed you, inhaling with a low moan as he felt you melt into him and release your breath, your hands landing limply on his biceps.

A few people cheered around you, making both of you smile again after you parted from each other, but the need to get you alone was quickly becoming a priority in the realization of how many people were preventing him from doing all the things he wanted to do right then and there.

“Hi, love,” he said warmly, the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes making desire stir inside you.

“Hi,” you sighed with a love-drunk smile, the single word a breathy whisper.

Pete bit his lip as he reached for both of your drinks off the bar, nodding in the direction of their table in the corner.

“Come on, gorgeous, we’re over here.”

You were greeted warmly as usual, the spirits of everyone high after the Hammers scored a goal, and with all members of the GSE and their respective partners present to watch the match, little room was available at the booth.

Ned and Ike shifted over to make a spot for you beside Clair and Dave, leaving a space that was too large for your liking between you and where Pete sat in his designated chair, his hands folded together with his elbows resting on the arms of it as he looked fondly at you mixed in with his favourite people.

As much as you loved being at The Abbey enjoying conversations that made your cheeks and stomach hurt from laughing so much, the company that Pete kept people you now couldn’t imagine your life without, it was difficult for you to focus tonight, your mind constantly wandering to how the night was going to turn out just as much as your eyes continued to find Pete’s automatically.

It was like he knew everything you were thinking, his blue eyes glowing with a telling want and his looks loaded with insinuation, every swipe of his tongue over his lips or the way he rolled the toothpick that hung out of his mouth teasing you and driving you mad.

You squirmed in your seat, your fingers toying with the soggy coaster that had been spilled on too many times, forcing yourself to peel your eyes away from him whenever you felt the heat inside you becoming too much, only to steal another glance a moment later, finding him still looking at you hungrily.

The game was coming to an end, and with the Hammers still holding onto their lead, Pete was more than happy to miss the rest of it in exchange for seeing something he had wanted to all day, and as you slowly trailed your hand down your neck to your chest before reaching for the drink you had nursed most of the night, he knew he couldn’t wait any longer.

Waiting for you to glance over at him again, he watched you intently, imagining your bare form beneath him, pressing his lips against every single inch of you.

Finally, you met his gaze, a sultry look weighing in your eyes, and with a subtle nod toward the door, Pete silently told you it was time to go.

You smiled almost sheepishly, your face seeming to glow in a mix of embarrassment and excitement as you rushed through your goodbyes, your friends all shouting teasing jeers at you in knowing the reason behind your early exit.

Pete winked at you as he shrugged into his tan trench coat, adjusting the collar and tugging it up at the back so it covered his neck, flicking the toothpick he still had in his mouth onto the table.

He took your hand and lead you through the pub with a pride that didn’t go unnoticed by those you passed, finding yourself bashful in thinking that everyone knew what was about to happen based on the look on your face, having to bite your lip to stop yourself from grinning and cast your eyes down at the worn carpet as you made your way out.

The door hadn’t even shut behind you before Pete had you up against the brick wall, his hands holding your waist with a claiming grip as he leaned into you and kissed you breathless, his want for you inarguable.

“Let’s go home,” he said with surety, his smile lighting up his eyes when he stepped away from you, pulling you with him with his hand clasped around yours again confidently.

The walk to Pete’s wasn’t long, but was made longer tonight by how often the two of you stopped to kiss, unable to keep off of each other for the duration it took to land at his door.

There was thankfully no sign of Mrs. Platt hanging around to make comments, the time it took for Pete to fish out his keys and unlock the deadbolt incredibly delayed due to interrupting the process in favour of kissing, your bodies now pressing together more closely and your hands becoming bolder where they roamed.

Pete finally opened the door and walked through it, and after tossing his keys onto the table, turned to grin at you and take your hand, pulling you inside with him.

“Get in here,” he said through his smirk, the playful tone of his voice undisguisable despite how much lust showed in his eyes.

He brought you in against him, his lips teasing yours as he whispered, “I need you.”

You smoothed your hands up the back of his neck as you kissed him, melting when he moaned into your mouth as the sensation of your fingers raking through his hair made him desperate for more, the intensity of the kiss increasing quickly.

Within moments you stood naked in his room, holding each other close while playful kisses were shared and hands began their worship, the excitement and anticipation that had slowly built up to this moment stirring within you.

It was clear that Pete felt the same, his smile unable to be wiped from his face each time you parted to look at each other, and as he moved closer to the bed with you, he tucked his bottom lip in his teeth to try to restrict it.

You sat on the mattress, leaning back on your elbows where he followed closely, crawling over you as you fully laid down in his bedding that lingered with the scents of him and you. His smile turned into a sweet chuckle as you giggled too, having him settle between your legs and laying on top of you making you feel unbelievably elated, the sensation of his readied cock resting against your core solidifying the fact that you couldn’t possibly wait another night.

His expression turned serious for a moment as he peered down at you, a soft groan coming out of his mouth as his cock rubbed against you when he shifted slightly.

“You sure you’re ready?” he asked, his voice somewhat shaky with restraint.

You nodded, and spoke with as much certainty as you could have in a moment where you felt on the border of being totally consumed by lust and longing, “Fuck me, Pete.”

He didn’t hesitate, pushing into you with a confident drive of his hips, your head tilting back as you cried out, the stretch of him filling you bare without a doubt the best thing you had ever felt.

Together, you quickly found a pace that suited you both, his thrusts slow and rolling but purposeful, his kisses growing more desperate on the skin of your neck and chest as each minute ticked on.

It took hardly any time at all for your climax to fire up within you, the anticipation of sex with Pete having let the intensity of it lay in dormancy right under the surface only to bring it forth faster than ever, his body linked with yours igniting and awakening every part of you.

You clawed at his back in a signal of your oncoming pleasure as well as a silent plea for more, half of you wanting to experience it immediately while the other half begged to prolong it all.

Clenching around his cock, you couldn’t ward it off any longer, moaning into his mouth as he continued to slam into you in a tempo that sent you to the edge but you could tell was beginning to falter as his climax took him in its clutches.

Your orgasm came through you hard and fast, shattering every inch of you as he followed right along with you, feeling him pulse and swell inside your walls, soaking him at the same time he filled you.

Pete kissed you almost frantically as he slowed his movements in you, savouring every second of being inside you while seemingly starving for more, your whines quieting out in his mouth as his breathing worked to calm to normal.

Emotion overcame him at the thought of never being able to experience this with you, the reality of him almost dying without ever having kissed you or touched you or loved you made his eyes burn, and closing them tight as he parted from your lips, he held your face in his hand and brought his forehead to rest against yours, his thumb moving to pull down your lower lip as you shared more laboured breaths.

You made love again and again through the night, resting between rounds only long enough to recharge, the addiction you had to each other increasing each time.

It was well after three in the morning when you had finally fallen asleep, exhaustion eventually taking over the nagging need for more, the cold comfort of the open window and your bodies wrapped together truly feeling like heaven.

The sound of rain and Pete stirring against you woke you up, making you scoot back against him to get closer to him, his arm that was wrapped around your waist tightening its hold and pulling you in.

He hummed in your hair, his body beginning to wake before his mind fully did, feeling him harden against your bum while his lips lazily kissed down the back of your neck.

A long moan sounded from you as you indulged in the blissful sensation, wriggling against him until his cock was firmly pressed between your cheeks, beginning to rock your hips languidly back and forth until his sleepy kisses turned to warning nips.

“Babe…” his sleepy voice purred in your ear, his lips pulling your lobe between them before his tongue swept along its shell.

“Pete…I need you.” His name fell from your lips in a whimper as your hand took hold of his and guided it between your legs, his fingertips gently stroking your clit until he had you begging for more.

Pete sat up and guided you onto all fours, positioning himself behind you where he gripped your cheeks with his hands to part them while he stroked your folds with the head of his cock.

Despite feeling how wet you were, he was aware how you would likely be sore from the amount of times he’d fucked you already, reaching over for the bottle of lube on the nightstand where he squeezed some out and coated his length until he hissed from the sensation of his own hand and slowly guided himself inside your tight walls.

He watched your hands grip the sheets as he filled you, your fingers relaxing slightly as he pulled back out, only to grip them harder and cry out when he pushed in again.

“Fuck, you take me so well,” he muttered, keeping a slow tempo even though he was tempted to quicken it and destroy you.

He heard your soft hum of appreciation for his praise over the pouring rain, everything you did adding up to drive him insane and make him fall more in love with you, suddenly feeling as if being buried inside you wasn’t enough to appease his heart.

Pete wrapped his arm around you so his hand splayed out over your stomach, applying pressure to guide you to sit up and onto his lap, careful to keep himself locked in your cunt.

Spreading the remaining lube onto your clit with his fingers, Pete began to steadily work you, his other hand holding you up while also squeezing and massaging your breasts, his mouth worshiping the space between your shoulder and ear in an intoxicating way that had your head lulling back onto his shoulder.

Goosebumps erupted over your skin as a brisk gust blew in through the window, adding to the over-stimulation that assaulted every part of you, doing your best to focus on the fullness of Pete driving inside you as you rocked yourself on his lap.

You reached your arm up and around his head, stroking his hair and gripping at him as you rode him, feeling yourself beginning to lose all control but placing all your trust in him to take care of you just how you needed.

Still holding you firmly against him, he continued to strum between your legs, knowing how close he was getting you from how you subtly tried to escape his grasp and your body convulsed to his touch, feeling your hands tighten on his head and forearm that was wrapped around you to keep you in place.

“That’s it. Come for me,” he panted in your ear, feeling you angle your hips against his hand in order to gain more friction on your clit, chasing your end as he increased the power behind his hammering thrusts.

Quiet whimpers grew at a steady pace as they spilled from your mouth, your whines of pleasure drowned out in your own ears as you focused on the sound of Pete’s heavy breathing and the praises he was showering you with, the pouring rain tapping furiously against the glass panes.

You unraveled together, the way your body tightly coiled before turning limp milking out his climax at the same time, his breath fanning out over your dewy skin as he rested his parted lips on your shoulder and stilled inside you.

Lifting yourself off his lap, you sank onto the mattress on your stomach, closing your eyes as exhaustion completely took over you, a faint smile tugging at your lips when you felt Pete follow, kissing up along your back until he collapsed half on top of you.

He took hold of your hand and brought it to rest between your bodies, kissing your knuckles softly until his breathing began to turn shallow as sleep quickly dragged him into its grasp.

These were the moments you knew you couldn’t live without, willing to sacrifice sleep night after night in order to love and be loved like this, the gratitude that filled you at being the one laying beside him as he slept outweighing any desire to close your eyes and miss even a second of it.

You knocked twice on the door before opening it anyway, letting yourself in just as Pete had told you to whenever you came over, the urgency you felt to get inside and out of the hallway too much to handle even if you weren’t allowed to walk in as you pleased.

Pete gave you an amused look, one of his eyebrows hooking high on his forehead as he placed the pen he had been holding in his mouth and reached for another paper to grade off the coffee table, your laughter sparking his curiosity.

“What?” he asked, letting out his own chuckle at your flustered state as you leaned against the door and ran your hand over your head.

“I was just stopped by Mrs. Platt. She told me she can hear us and to keep it down!”

Pete burst out laughing, shifting on the settee so his arm rested on the back of it to face you more.

“It’s not funny!” you argued, even though you were still laughing yourself, shaking your head in disbelief at the conversation you had just had with the crotchety woman in her eighties.

“Oh, it is!”

“Pete!” you urged, as if saying his name would scold him into not making fun of the situation, walking through to the living area where you plopped your bag down on one of the chairs as you passed.

“She actually said, ‘It’s not my place, but do you two ever sleep? All I hear night after night is that bed banging against the flaming wall!’”

Pete only laughed harder, hanging his head back over the sofa where you stood behind it and leaned down to grab hold of his face, begging him to stop laughing before kissing him in order to try to shut him up when he didn’t.

He was still chuckling when you pulled away from him, prompting you to smack his chest as you cursed at him.

“I can’t keep being stopped in the hallway to listen to this poor old woman make comments about hearing us have sex!”

“Ah, she’s just winding you up!”

You turned to walk into the kitchen only to be stopped by Pete’s arm wrapping around your waist to pull you back to the couch that he leaned over the back of, looking at you with mischief in his eyes that made you melt and suddenly not worry about anyone hearing the things you did together.

“Come on, love,” he purred. “She ain’t heard nothing yet.”

“Is that a promise, or a threat?” you asked, smirking as you freed yourself from his grip and made it into the kitchen, filling up the kettle.

“Both!” he replied, sitting back down on the sofa where he resumed marking his student’s homework.

“I need to take my car back to the mechanic,” you explained, shifting the conversation to something ordinary after a couple minutes of comfortable silence while placing a tea bag into your respective mugs.

“Yeah?” Pete asked somewhat distractedly as he focused on his task.

“Yeah, it's been making a funny noise whenever I accelerate, and it sort of jolts when I shift gear. Hopefully it’s nothing major or expensive, they were meant to be the best mechanic…”

“When are you taking it in?”

“Tomorrow morning. My sister’s going to meet me there and take me to work after.”

“I can do it if you want,” he offered, glancing over at you.

“Nah you’re off the hook,” you smiled, “she’s got some holiday time so I’m off duty being Jack’s chauffeur for a week!”

“Ah, look at you!”

“I know, right? She’s even taking him to practice this week.”

“That means I won’t get to see you there then, nothing good to look at on the sidelines and distract me,” he pouted, making you roll your eyes before pouring the hot water into your mugs.

“I reckon you’ll live.”

“Ah, then Mrs. Platt will just get to hear an even better show than normal when I get back home to you,” Pete laughed, ducking when you threw the tea towel at him.

The drive to Millwall took longer than normal due to rush-hour traffic, but it didn’t bother you as much as it typically would knowing you had a late start to your day that had been approved by your boss.

You pulled into the open bay door of the garage, parking your car and stepping out, giving a friendly smile to the mechanic who had helped you before.

“Giving you some grief, then eh?” he asked through a grin, nodding to your car as he wiped his hands on a rag.

“Yeah, as I said on the phone it’s kind of clunking when I’m shifting and the sound it makes when I accelerate worries me a bit…”

“We’ll put ‘er right, not to worry!” he beamed at you, extending his oil-stained hand to take your keys that you held out for him.

He stared at you for a moment, making you avert your gaze slightly, feeling somewhat uneasy.

“Say, you don’t happen to know the Dunham’s do you?” he asked, his question making your head whip up again in surprise. “Steve and Pete? They’re brothers.”

You tilted your head, your curiosity somewhat guarded, “I do, as it happens…”

The way his smile changed and the shift in his eyes put you on edge and raised your suspicions, but you did your best to remain confident, interested as to why he was asking and how he knew who they were.

“I thought as much,” he nodded.

His response took you back, and you blinked quickly, trying to wrap your head around this whole inquiry.

“Sorry, how exactly do you know them?”

He hesitated, staring you down for a few seconds before answering, almost as if he was being careful to formulate a proper response or like he was unsure how much to tell you.

“...We’re old mates,” he said slowly, his smile not leaving his thin lips.

You nodded, glancing down at the embroidered name tag on the chest of his overalls, the name ‘Martin’ one you wouldn’t forget.

“Right,” he broke the silence, his tone more cheerful in disrupting the somewhat tense air. “We’ll have a look at it and likely get it back to you at the start of next week…give ya a ring when we know what it needs and what the damage is.”

“Ta,” you thanked him, giving him one last look before turning and walking out of the garage, heading to your sister’s car where she was parked on the road out front.

You pulled the handle on the door and sat down into the passenger seat, looking out the window into the shop where Martin stood with another man of equal stature, both of them glancing out in your direction.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, pulling you from your thoughts.

“Hm? Nothing, it’s fine,” you assured her, smiling at her as you put your seatbelt on. “Can we stop for a coffee on the way?”

It was a typical Thursday night at The Abbey, everyone gathering at the table one by one as they flowed in from work, a pint and some laughs with mates seeming to be of the same priority for each hardworking hooligan alike as the week started to take its toll and winded down to an end.

“Where’s Pete?” Ike asked, sitting down beside you with his fresh pint.

“Oh, he’s coaching tonight,” you explained, spinning what was left of your gin and tonic in its glass. “He should be here in an hour or so.”

Ike nodded in confirmation as he took a long sip of his beer, both of you drawing your attention to the Bjorno’s as they walked in with a cheerful greeting.

Dave planted a kiss on Clair’s lips as he stopped at the bar to get the drinks in, letting her continue on to the table where she sat down with a sigh.

“Long shift?” you asked, catching the weary look that she couldn’t easily hide.

She glanced at you exasperatedly, “Oh, don’t even get me started!”

“Here you go, my love,” Dave said while leaning down to place her drink in front of her, kissing the top of her head as he did.

You found it difficult to focus on the conversations happening around you, your attention glued to the small group of women standing at the far side of the bar, the looks they kept shooting your way making you feel uneasy.

“Hey, do you know who they are?” you asked Clair, subtly nodding in their direction as they leaned in over the bar to get closer to Vicky, the barmaid, before all staring back at you again.

“Those tarts?” Clair began. “Yeah, they’re mates of Vicky’s. Bunch of slags.”

You nodded, taking it in but still not having an answer as to why they seemed so interested in you, thinking of all the times you had nice enough conversations with Vicky, or so you thought.

“Pete used to have it off with the blonde one,” Bovver piped up, blowing the smoke from his freshly lit cigarette in your direction as he spoke.

Your eyebrows raised high on your forehead as you took in the information, finally having some clarity as to why these women you had never seen before were obviously unhappy with your presence.

“Fucked like crazy for a few months…” he continued, the iciness of his blue eyes holding something of a threat as he told you.

“Oi! Don’t be like that,” Dave scolded him, shoving his arm. “Why do you have to say it like that?”

“It’s true!” Bov scowled, his loyalty to his relations with Vicky clearly extending to her friends over you.

You sighed, trying not to let it bother you, reminding yourself that everyone, including you, had a past, and hoped that whatever issue she had with you would pass soon.

“Right, I need another,” you stated, shaking your empty glass in your hand as you stood.

Just as you anticipated, the daggers coming from across the bar dug into your back, still doing your best to ignore them while waiting for Terry to fix your drink, but that became impossible when the blonde who was apparently an ex of Pete’s slunk over to you and stood far closer to you than you would’ve liked.

“I didn’t think it was true, but here you are,” she began, her accent sloppy from the drinks she had tossed back already, her breath smelling of stale fags and the tartness of the cranberry juice she mixed with her vodka.

“What’s true?” you asked, giving her no more than a sideways glance as you fished the change from your pocket to pay for your drink.

“That Pete is dating a plain, old slag.”

“I’m sorry, and who might you be?”

“I was you only a few months back,” she grinned, her smile vicious and proud in her admission that she had been Pete’s at one time.

You huffed as you smiled, taking your drink from Terry who eyed you up as if offering his help, turning to go back to the table. The thought of him being with someone as vile as her made your stomach lurch, and not wanting to give it any further attention, you ignored her.

“I’m not done talking to you, you soppy cow!” she shouted, her lack of couth on full display to everyone around as a hush fell over the pub.

When you continued on your way over to the group, all of them watching with bated breath to see what would happen next, the satisfaction on Bovver’s face boiling your blood more than she was, her shrill voice sounded out again, making you pause.

“He said I was the best he’s ever had, and I’ll be right here to remind him of that.”

Your heart was pounding in your chest, the adrenaline making you feel shaky and on the verge of doing something stupid, but instead you neglected to give her the drama she sought and took your seat again, praying that Pete would get there soon.

“Don’t let her get to you,” Dave assured, leaning over Clair who had already offered to fight her twice. “It wasn’t that serious…”

“It’s fine, I’m fine,” you assured, hoping it sounded genuine or at least believable.

“I mean, they were at it together for a few months…” Keith added in, earning a scolding from both Dave and Swill, making you swallow thickly.

You took a long sip of your drink as you tried to tune out the sound of the lads bickering and the jeers still coming in your direction from across the bar, your eyes closing as you tried to slow your breathing.

After a couple more minutes, you stood and made your way through the bar to the loo, praying no one would follow you, your newfound enemies calling you names as you passed.

Pete finally made it to the pub, strutting through the crowd and desperate for a beer after a long day at work and then coaching out in the cold rain, the sight of his ex leaning what she thought was invitingly against the bar making him scowl as he passed.

When there was no sight of you at the table, he did a quick glance around, distractingly returning everyone’s greetings as he shrugged out of his jacket and sat.

“Oi, what’s she doing here?” he asked Dave, nodding over in the direction of the bar where they continued to stare over at him.

Dave shook his head, “They’ve been causing trouble, pal.”

Seeing Pete’s face fall into worry as he looked around for you again, Dave continued. “She’s in the toilets, she seemed a bit upset…”

“For fuck’s sake,” Pete muttered, standing and going through the pub in quick strides, not giving his ex even a glimpse as he passed.

He pushed open the door to the ladies room more aggressively than he intended, his anger at the situation and that cheap tart upsetting you getting to him, his anger quickly turning to surprise when he saw you standing in front of the tarnished mirror reapplying your lip gloss, appearing fine and unbothered.

“Can I help you?” you grinned, watching him in the mirror with unhidden amusement at his presence.

His head tilted a bit to the side, walking toward you slowly while still assessing you, his concern still creasing his features even though he was smiling back at you.

“They said you were upset…”

You laughed and shook your head, screwing the cap back on your lip gloss before sticking it in your pocket, turning to look at him directly instead of in the mirror, your bum sitting on the edge of the sink.

“Upset? Over those twats? Come on…” you shrugged, trying your best to play it cool even though it had bothered you more than you were letting on.

Pete closed the space between you and leaned his forehead against yours, still searching your eyes for any hints of you being hurt or shaken up.

You let your eyelids close, instantly feeling relaxed from him being close to you, breathing in deeply when he brought his hands up to hold your face.

“We all have a past, Pete,” you whispered, saying it more for your own conviction than his, the frustrated exhale he let out at his past involving that awful slag fanning over your lips.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, his lips moving against yours as they hovered there, teasing a kiss.

“Don’t be sorry,” you answered, your hands trailing up his chest where you took hold of the collar of his jumper and slid the material through your fingers, his body moving closer to yours. “Just kiss me, Pete.”

He did, crashing into you so hard your head was forced back but stopped by his hands still gripping your face, his tongue delving into your mouth hungrily and greedily where you didn’t hesitate to match his fervor.

Everything was rough and desperate, kissing with a need to prove that each other’s lips were the only ones ever worth kissing, your hands pawing and groping in a crazed act of passion.

Pete’s fingers tore at the button and zipper of your jeans before diving his hand inside them, his long fingers stroking through your folds until your wet coated them, your moans reverberating in his mouth as you continued to kiss, your lips moving against each other sloppily and hastily.

After a minute, he withdrew from you, roughly tugging your jeans and panties down your thighs, his steely eyes staring at your exposed cunt as he quickly unfastened his own jeans and pulled out his hard cock before crashing against you again.

You spread your legs as wide as you were able to, giving him enough access to your core where he guided his leaking head, smearing his precum on your clit a few times until you were moaning and begging him to fill you.

Pete happily obliged, pushing inside your tight walls where he paused once he couldn’t go any deeper, kissing you frantically and groaning into your mouth from how good you felt.

Like he lost all sense of control, he slammed in and out of you, fucking you hard and fast while his mouth hung open and panted against yours in his efforts, the sink creaking precariously as you rocked your hips in time with his brutal thrusts, your fingers digging into the back of his neck and shoulders as you held on tight.

You were both so entranced in each other that neither of you noticed the door opening, his ex standing in the doorway in shock of the scene she walked into, scoffing as she turned and left.

“Fuck, babe,” he growled, pulling his face away from yours slightly where he watched his cock slide in and out of you, the sight encouraging him to move even more furiously within you, your cries growing louder as your climax quickly built up.

“Pete!” you bellowed, a desperation in your voice that told him you were on the brink, and knowing you were at risk of screaming as you came, he covered your mouth with his and proceeded to pound you mercilessly, swallowing your noises of unbridled pleasure as you clenched and shuddered on his cock.

Only seconds behind you, Pete bucked into your soaked cunt until he pumped you full of his hot spend, feeling it leak out of you as he continued to slowly thrust, drawing out every moment of your highs that he could.

You laughed as you comprehended what just happened, smoothing your hand over your head as your chest rose and fell sharply, Pete chuckling as a mischievous and prideful look dressed his flushed features.

“It’s impossible to get enough of you,” he admitted, his eyes flickering over your face as he leaned his arms against the sink, caging you in.

You hummed appreciatively, wrapping your arms around his neck to pull him closer, kissing him long and slow and in a way you hoped conveyed everything you felt for him.

“You sure you’re alright?” he asked when your kiss slowed to a pause, the blue of his eyes more vibrant and full of emotion.

“Yeah,” you nodded, smiling at him softly while your finger traced the crease beside his mouth.

“Okay, darling,” he cooed, nuzzling his nose against your cheek as he inhaled deeply, his face moving into the side of your neck where he pressed kisses into the sensitive skin and made you squirm and giggle.

Stopping, he brought his face back up to look at you, his expression serious again, his hand finding yours where he laced your fingers together and gave it three gentle squeezes.

“You know you’re the only one I want, yeah?”

You nodded, squeezing his hand back three times, smiling bigger as his own grew.

“I do, though I wouldn’t mind you showing me again…”

“Careful what you wish for!” he laughed burying his face into your neck again where he nipped and sucked at your skin, your laughter echoing against the tiled walls.

Pete walked out of the bathroom with you confidently after cleaning up and composing yourselves, even happier to see that his ex and the rest of Vicky’s horrible friends had left, the expressions on everyone’s faces as you sat back down at the table telling you they knew exactly what you had been up to.

“Oi, that colour suits you, mate,” Ned commented, pointing to his lips as he stared at Pete’s that were tinted from your lip gloss.

“Yeah? It’d suit yours too,” Pete said, leaning over and planting a kiss on Ned’s cheek quickly before he pushed him away, cursing and wiping his cheek dramatically.

Pete laughed as he took his seat, downing his pint that had been waiting for him to return to, leaning back in his chair where he pulled you onto his lap to have you proudly perch, the atmosphere more relaxed and as it normally was.

Red dripped into the sink one drop at a time, flowing steadily from so many places on his hands and face he wasn’t even sure where it was all coming from.

Pete tugged more tissues out of the box, bunching them up and holding them to what he thought was the deepest cut on his chin with as much pressure as he could, the ache in his hand preventing him from doing a sufficient job. He didn’t think he’d cracked on that Zulu cunt as hard as he did, but his knuckles proved otherwise, split open what felt like to the bone.

Any effects the pints in his bloodstream had provided him had definitely worn off now, his head pounding and every cut on him stinging and burning like mad, the severity of each fresh injury hard to determine as he looked at himself in the mirror through one good eye, the dark, puffy welt spreading up to his other from his cheek.

He stood with a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, his blood and sweat-stained clothes discarded in a heap on the floor, his reflection revealing bruises on his side and abdomen that refused to be ignored when he had lifted his jumper over his head.

It was late, and as quiet as he tried to be, Pete knew better than to think you wouldn’t have heard him come home, your inability to stay asleep for long without him something he secretly loved and made him swell, always feeling equally as eager to get back home and in bed with you.

“Hiya, love,” he muttered, smirking at you in the mirror when you appeared in the doorway, your sleepy face quickly changing to shock when you saw the state of him.

“I’m fine!” he stressed, knowing what your next words were going to be, the worry on your face breaking his heart a little.

“Pete…” you whispered, not in an accusatory or scolding way, but out of sheer love and care, your hands cupping his cheeks gently despite getting blood on them, your eyes searching his for truth in his claim of being okay.

“Fucking Zulu’s…” he trailed off, a small laugh blowing out of his lungs.

Never once had you asked him to stop fighting, and he knew you wouldn’t now, taking the aftermath of his hobby on the chin just like he did multiple times tonight, his love and appreciation for you making him feel a bit emotional as he watched you open the cupboard and get out the first aid kit to tend to his wounds.

He blinked back the moisture that had quickly accumulated in his eyes before you were facing him again, closing them when you pressed a careful kiss to his bloody lips, letting out a long sigh when you pulled away.

“Sit so I can see better,” you instructed, your voice soft and soothing to his ears.

Pete turned and stepped toward the tub, perching on the edge of it so he faced the sink for you to work, watching the deep red spots staining it dilute into a rusty colour as water ran from the tap and washed his blood off the porcelain.

Carefully, and for as long as it would take, you gently cleaned all of his wounds, wiping the blood that had dried and stuck in his blond stubble and dabbing the cuts that still oozed, your touch becoming lighter whenever you noticed a wince that involuntarily snuck past his attempts to hide them.

Luckily, nothing needed stitches, and even though Pete knew you were done cleaning and disinfecting each cut he’d sustained, you continued to linger, admiring his bruised and battered features.

Wrapping his arms around your waist, he pulled you close to him, letting his face lean into your stomach, breathing deeply as you raked your fingers up his bare back and through his hair. His shoulders relaxed, letting go of the tension held in them from taking the painful sting of peroxide seeping into his cuts over and over, his hands smoothing up your bare thighs and your bum.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” you whispered, your lips pressing against his scalp.

He hummed, pulling his face away from the warmth of your body in his sweater.

“Yeah. C’mere,” he offered, shifting slightly so your legs had room to straddle him.

You seated yourself on his lap, smiling when his own broke out on his damaged face, your back arching into him when he placed his hands under his sweater that you had now worn more times than him to card up your back.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, admiring you for a moment before kissing you softly, his nose moving back and forth on yours a couple of times before nudging your cheek, resting his face against it while he closed his eyes and breathed slowly.

“You’re welcome, love,” you cooed, your fingers ghosting over the back of his neck, making him melt into you even more.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” he spoke, mostly to himself, still finding it hard to believe that he had been lucky enough to survive his injuries and then have you walk into his classroom that one morning.

Pete kissed your cheek once, then again, each press to your soft skin urging him to add another and then more after that, eventually meeting your lips with his until minutes had passed with you lost in the haze created by your slow kisses.

His hands held your back firmly, keeping you close to him and preventing you from falling back as he moved his head away from yours and looked at you in a way that made you want to show him that the love you had for him existed like no other.

“I love you,” he professed, as if he had stolen the words right out of your mouth. Those three words were spoken with a calm surety that held such truth there was no way you could deny or question it, your fingers trembling against his cheek as you trailed them along the crease that flanked his lips.

“I love you, too, Pete.”

The taste of blood transferred onto your tongue again as he crashed into you, kissing you with more ardor than ever before, the relevancy of the cuts on his lips no longer a concern to either of you.

Your hands slipped around the back of his neck, pulling him into you even more to deepen your kiss, your hips rolling against his just enough that you could feel his cock hardening, your bare core grinding on the somewhat rough material of the towel separating you.

Pete moaned into your mouth, and without stopping kissing you, leaned back enough to unwrap the fold of the towel from his waist, letting it fall open under him.

His hands slid under your thighs, guiding you to lift your hips in order to get on top of his cock, breaking your kiss to watch your face as you sank down on his length.

Before you even had the chance to start riding him, Pete ran his battered hands over your hair, his eyes holding as much softness as his voice did.

“Just be still for me, yeah?” he asked, wanting to savour the intimacy of being inside you unmoving.

You nodded, drawing in a deep, shaky breath, closing your eyes as his nose brushed against yours before capturing your lips again, your hand resting on his chest where you could feel his heart beating wildly.

You would have been kidding yourself if you said you weren’t feeling a bit uneasy about going to pick up your car alone, the conversation you had had with the mechanic, Martin, when you dropped it off still fresh in your mind.

Pete was unable to take you, having to coach a practice after work, and your sister was taking Jack to it and staying to watch since she always missed so many, leaving you to take the tube over to Millwall to deal with it on your own.

You assured yourself over and over that it would be fine and that you were probably reading into things too much, but still the way he had mentioned knowing Steve and Pete and claiming to be old mates with them wasn’t sitting right with you. With work being so busy this week, you had completely forgotten to mention it to Pete, and you cursed yourself for failing to bring it up when you had checked with him again that morning if he was sure he couldn’t get someone else to coach for him.

As the stops to Millwall grew closer and closer, you did your best not to dwell, reading the book you brought with you while your leg bounced up and down unconsciously, your eyes scanning over the same paragraph again and again without being able to absorb the words.

“Alright, good job, lads!” Pete shouted after blowing his whistle, signaling the end of their practice.

He held the bag open for them to toss their soiled jerseys in, laughing at all their comments to each other and how supportive they all were of their teammates.

“Eh, Jack, will you help me gather up the pylons?” he asked when your nephew had made it over to him in the queue of rowdy boys.

As Pete knew he would, Jack happily jogged around the pitch and collected the majority of them, saving Pete and his leg the trouble of going to do it all himself.

“Cheers, mate,” Pete thanked him, ruffling his hair as he walked with him over to where his mum stood waiting.

“Great practice, love!” She praised her son, then smiled at Pete as Jack worked at untying his cleats and taking off his shin guards. “Reckon she’ll be back from Millwall soon, then?” she said, glancing at the watch on her wrist.

“Millwall?” Pete asked, his face screwed up at the mention of his rivaled district.

“Yeah, that’s where the mechanic is she took her car to.”

“What’s the garage called?” he questioned, an urgency present in his voice as he reached in the pocket of his jacket for his phone.

“I don’t know, I didn’t look when I had dropped her off and she never mentioned it…is everything okay?”

“Hmm, yeah,” Pete lied, trying to settle the rising panic he felt inside him at the thought of the garage you took your car to for repairs being Tommy fucking Hatcher’s.

He hit the button to dial your number and held it up to his ear, pacing as he listened to ring after ring before the sound of your voice came through, his heart falling when it was only your voicemail picking up.

“Fuck-” he hissed, hanging up before redialling, praying you would pick up and tell him you weren’t alone at Tommy’s garage.

The bell that chimed when the door opened sounded ominous tonight as you stepped through it, the smell of oil and exhaust fumes hitting your nose heavily, the distant sound of the radio and tools clanking against metal filling the otherwise quiet shop.

Your car was parked out front, seemingly ready to drive off in, and you hoped to settle the bill and get your keys quickly so you could make your way back to see Pete, wanting this day and especially this exchange to be over and done with.

Glancing through the window that looked into the garage from where the little waiting area was, you could see Martin bent over the bonnet of a car, and behind him, a small office where who you assumed was the owner sat at his desk.

When neither man noticed your presence, you stepped through into the bay, careful your heels didn’t slip on the greasy floor.

The man in his office finally caught sight of you, grinning with a somewhat villainous smile that split his hardened features, and you thought no matter how friendly he tried to appear, there was something about him that seemed impossible to soften.

“Hello, love,” he greeted, his voice matching his looks.

“Hi, sorry,” you stammered, “I’m just here to get my car.” You hooked your thumb and pointed over your shoulder in the direction of where it sat outside, planting your feet firmly on the cement floor while doing your best to stand tall and confident.

“Yeah, not a problem, I’ve got the paperwork all here for ya,” he explained, standing from his chair and turning to reach for some papers from the filing cabinet behind him.

Martin nodded as you walked past him to enter the office, giving you a curt ‘Evening,’ as you smiled weakly in return.

The man seemed to fill the entire space of his office, his form tall and broad, his personality giving off a powerful air that made you feel somewhat suffocated.

There were empty beer bottles on his desk, and scattered across the walls and cabinets that took up nearly every square inch of the small room were various pieces of Millwall F.C. paraphernalia.

“You a fan?” he asked, catching you looking at the poster of the crest hung on the wall beside him.

“Erm, no, I don’t really pay attention to football all that much,” you lied, the realization that this man was clearly a huge supporter of the club that was Pete’s sworn enemy making you want to avoid the topic altogether.

“No?” he questioned, his head tilting to the side as another vicious smile revealed his teeth. “Not even a fan of the mighty Hammers?”

The way he said it made your blood turn cold, and you swallowed thickly, thinking how Martin must have discussed your affiliation to West Ham United through knowing Pete and Steve, and you wondered if these men were members of Millwall’s infamous firm.

You shook your head and huffed out a false laugh, reaching into your purse for your wallet.

“No,” you repeated, hoping he didn’t press his inquiry any further.

Clearing your throat to ensure your words came out properly, you started filing through the stack of notes you had taken out of the bank that morning, counting out what you had been told the total was going to be for the repairs.

“It was £450, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right,” he confirmed, watching as you placed the money on his desk, folding his arms across his chest.

“You sure you aren’t running about and singing along to ‘Forever Blowing fucking Bubbles’ then?”

You scoffed, trying your best to look like you hadn’t heard or even sang that song more times than you could count since meeting Pete.

“Ah, I see,” he said, slowly. “So you’re going to lie right to my face and tell me you’re not Pete Dunham’s missus, are ya?”

You almost choked, words unable to form on your tongue that felt too big for your mouth, the air in your lungs feeling trapped while everything around you started to distort as a dizziness overcame you.

“How…how do you know that?”

He pointed his finger at you, his lips still curled into a smile. “See, I knew you were lying to me, you little slag.”

You stepped back as he walked around his desk, his blue eyes icy with an evil you had never seen before.

“Don’t you think you’re going anywhere anytime soon, love,” he grinned, sitting on the edge of his desk as he nodded behind you. “Martin there hates your little boy toy just as much as I do, so he won’t be letting you run past him too easily either.”

You kept still, taking in as deep a breath as you could, closing your eyes briefly to gain some courage as you thought of which of the many questions racing through your mind to ask next.

“How do you know who I am?” your voice squeaked out, unable to hide your fear.

He shrugged his shoulders and frowned, “I get people to find things out for me.”

“Right, I’d just like to get my keys and leave, I don’t want any trouble-”

“You’re missing the fucking point, here!” he shouted, cutting you off. “Didn’t little Petey warn you about me?”

You shook your head again, confused as to who this man even was to Pete. “No, I-”

“Was he too afraid to come with you, not man enough to protect you?”

He stood from his desk, walking closer to you until you were face to face and your back was pressed against a cabinet, leaving you nowhere to escape.

“Is the taste of death still too fresh for him?” he laughed, clearly amused in seeing you put it all together.

“You’re-”

“Yeah, that’s right, darling,” he cooed, his face so close to yours you could smell the stale beer and smoke on his putrid breath. “I’m Tommy Hatcher. The man who nearly wiped out the Dunham name.”

He seemed so proud of it, like the memory was something he revisited often, and you felt sick knowing you were standing vulnerable at the hands of the man who almost killed the one you couldn’t live without.

“It’s funny, innit? That out of all the garages in London to get your car fixed, you came to mine.”

His finger jabbed into your chest with each word, making you recoil to try to make space between you, only to press yourself harder into the cabinet.

“You’re vile,” you spat, shoving your arm against his chest to push him away from you, only to have him come back stronger and closer than before.

He gripped your chin with his meaty hand, his fingers digging into your skin so hard it made you yelp.

“I’ve been watching you for weeks now. You should really pay more attention to your surroundings, love,” he warned, the pleasure he took in this written all over his grisly face. “How’s that nephew of yours, by the way?”

Bile rose up your throat at the idea of him getting to Jack and causing him harm, the lengths this horrible, soulless man would go to to make anyone he hated suffer having no limit.

“He seems like a good lad,” he whispered, his mouth hovering beside your ear where his hot breath made your skin crawl and you squirm in his grasp. “It’d be a fucking shame if he didn’t make it past his twelfth birthday just like my son didn’t.”

“You wouldn’t!” you cried, trying to move your legs enough to kick him, only to have his body lean harder into yours to stop you.

“See, you’re forgetting what I’m capable of. How easy it was to drive that bottle into Stevie’s neck and how much fucking joy I got breaking Petey’s body until he was lifeless on the ground.”

His grip tightened on your face as his eyes scanned over you, and despite your efforts to not let it happen, tears sprang from your eyes at the description of him trying to kill Pete.

“Don’t think it wouldn’t be hard to do the same thing to you or that little boy.”

With all the strength you had, you pushed against him, hitting him as hard as you could in his stomach while stomping hard on his foot, but Tommy was too strong, slamming you back into the cabinet so the handle drove into your ribs and all the air in your lungs was knocked out of you.

He laughed in your face, locking his forearm across your neck to keep you in place, your struggle to breathe seeming to satisfy him.

“I could do anything I wanted to you right now and no one would know or be able to stop me,” he bragged, growing more aroused with the power he held over you.

He ground himself against you, making you feel his hardness through his trousers, the possibility of you actually being sick between that and the lack of oxygen becoming more and more likely.

“It’s funny, you've got the same look of terror in your eyes as he did right before I smashed his fucking face in!” he pointed out, his laughter ringing through the room like you had just shared a joke together.

Within a split second his demeanor changed again, glaring at you seriously as his voice quieted and turned calm.

“See, I could rape you, ruin you so he’d never want to touch you again...”

You let out a broken sob, your eyes screwing shut when you felt his other hand travel slowly down your waist until he reached your thighs, stopping when he spoke again.

“But it’s lucky for you I’m a changed man.”

Tommy loosened the force of his arm against your neck, backing away from you slightly, and ran a hand over his hair to regain some composure.

“Don’t wanna be stuck in the nick again over someone as pitiful as you and your precious Petey!” he barked, adjusting himself in his pants crudely while you shook against the cold, metal cabinet.

He reached for something on his desk, turning around and quickly throwing your keys at your face where they missed and hit you hard in the chest, making you jump and cry out which only made him howl a maniacal laugh.

“Go on, you shitcunt,” he spat, “go home to Petey and cry all about it to him!”

You stooped and grabbed your keys off the grimy floor with a trembling hand, bolting out the door as fast as your legs would carry you, the sound of his and Martin’s laughter chasing you out of the building where you pressed the button to unlock your car as quickly as possible.

The tears didn’t come until you were out of the lot and onto the road, the lights from passing cars blurry and blinding as you finally let out wracking sobs, unaware of how fast you were going or which roads you were turning down, getting as far away from Tommy Hatcher as you could the only thing on your mind.

---

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[alwritey-aphrodite]

Never Looked Back

Prologue of There’s Nothing Like This

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Jamie Tartt x fem!footballer!reader

Warnings: none :)

Word Count: 1.3k

Author’s Note: the rest of the chapters will have more Jamie and more words. Shoutout to @buckychristwrites for letting me word vomit to her and to my wife @andr0medafallen for being a supportive baddie

Flying has never been your favorite thing, and as you begin your descent over London, you’re reminded of the last time you’d flown this far. You’d been seventeen, alone and anxious and on your way to Chelsea, brimming with excitement over finally reaching your dream.

Not even seven months later you were on your way home, ligaments torn and joints aching in a way you’ll never get rid of.

Now, sitting for so long makes your hips cramp and your knees lock and you can feel your ankle swell and pulsate with pain. You know your back would start cramping if you weren’t landing, so you have something small to be thankful for. Really, you’re just lucky that you have a few days to recover before training begins.

It hits you how pathetic it is that you, a professional footballer, need to recover from a plane ride. You try not to let it bother you, try not to wallow in self pity and hatred the way you did when you were 17, laying on your mother’s couch post-op and believing your life was over.

If only you could see yourself now, on your way to join the brand new AFC Richmond women’s team.

The idea of leaving the US was nerve-wracking, but you simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play in England again, to try one more time to achieve a dream you’d had since you were a little girl. It was so clear that everyone you talked with truly believed in creating a space for women, to support them and push the sport forward, and that starting a women’s team wasn’t simply a way to keep up with other clubs, to stay relevant.

As the plane lands, you finally allow yourself to feel excited in that same giddy way you did the last time you made this journey. You were finally one step closer to making your dreams come true, and you weren’t going to let your negative thoughts and fears ruin it for you.

The entire ride to Nelson Road, you couldn’t help but let that giddy excitement course through your veins, feeling like you’re a little kid again and on your way to your first day of school. You can’t help but wonder who’ll be in your class, who your teacher will be. The Richmond women’s team has been kept fairly quiet, and you have practically no idea what you’re getting yourself into.

Walking through the doors, your nerves start to build again, and you think your heart is going to beat right through your ribs as you make your way to the front desk. Before you start speaking, you need to take a deep breath or else you’re worried you’ll collapse, and that seems like bad luck considering you’re here to be an athlete.

“Hi, I’m here-“

“I know why you’re here,” the receptionist cuts you off and you’d be upset if she wasn’t beaming at you, “Ms. Welton is waiting for everyone in her office.”

The receptionist shows you the way, gesturing up a grand staircase that gives you plenty of time to freak out some more, your anxiety only growing the closer you get to the owner's office. As you open the door, you wonder if it’s too late to turn and run and catch a flight back to America.

All those feelings disappear when you see one of the other players talking with a gorgeously tall woman, and you can’t help but to squeal despite how unprofessional you know it makes you look.

“Mackie!” You yell out, causing the other woman to turn towards you, a grin blooming on her face when she notices you. Claire McKenzie had been one your best friends since you both debuted for the US team together at twenty years old, bonded by your age and your bench riding skills.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” She asks as she pulls you into a tight embrace, completely forgetting about everyone else in the room.

“I’m here to play some fucking football!” You reply, feeling ten times lighter than you did in the hallway now that you know you have Mackie on your side.

Breaking apart from the hug, you feel everyone’s eyes on you and you’re wishing the floor could just open up and swallow you when the woman who must be Rebecca Welton smiles kindly at you.

“I’m glad to know some of you ladies are already friends,” she says, the room breaking into laughter and the weight lifting off of your chest.

After everyone had arrived, she took the time to introduce herself and the few other non-players in the room, including Keeley Jones, the true mastermind behind the Richmond women’s team. No matter how much this team means to you, to the rest of the team, to Rebecca, it means ten times more to Keeley. This was her idea, her baby, and you can already feel the pride and excitement radiating off of her at the sight of the team gathered before her.

You’re determined to win it all for her.

“This is Coach Kent, and Beard and Nathan Shelley will be your assistant coaches until we can find someone to fill those spots permanently,” Rebecca says with a smile, but you can all feel the tension coursing underneath the surface.

“So no one wanted to coach us?” A voice from the back of the room asks, and it’s like you’ve been drenched in freezing cold water now that somebody’s said it out loud.

“No one has expressed interest… yet,” Rebecca adds, trying to keep up her jovial facade as the players start to mutter to each other. It feels like you’re in gym class again, standing and hoping and praying you get picked for dodgeball but knowing you’ll be last again.

“Oi! I fucking want to coach you, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t,” Roy says, sounding angry but you can’t quite place what he’s truly feeling, “and these two want to fucking coach you.” Beard and Nate nod, Roy crossing his arms across his chest as your murmurs die down, placated by his statements.

“With the limited space and limited coaching staff, there will be some days where you share training with the boys, but we’re all one big family here,” Rebecca adds, and you can tell by now that the smile plastered on her face is fake, that she’s trying to convince herself as much as she’s trying to convince you.

As you wrap up in the office and head downstairs to see the dressing room, you can’t help but feel as if the entire world’s against the team, against you. All you know right now is that you’re going to need to work ten times harder than everyone else to prove yourself to the fans, to the media, to the world.

Passing by the men’s dressing room, you briefly lock eyes with someone walking towards the pitch, who smiles as you pass. It’s so quick that your brain isn’t able to process who it is, so you try to forget it and follow the rest of the team to the brand new women’s dressing room.

The players rush into the room as if the floodgates opened, everyone trying to find their kit and their name and their number. As much as you want to play it cool, want to make a good first impression on Rebecca and Keeley and the coaches, you can’t help but grin and run with the other girls, everyone giddy as they see the kits in person.

When you finally find yours, you can’t help the tears that spring to your eyes.

It’s the classic Richmond blue, with your name in bold white above a large number nine.

It’s as if everything you’ve ever wanted is right in front of you: you’re a striker on a team you care about. You know it’s going to be an uphill battle, know you’re going to need to prove yourself over and over and over, but right now, with your kit in your hand, your team laughing and smiling around you, you think you can face it.

Tags: @andr0medafallen @buckychristwrites @benedictscanvas @whimsical-roasting @sokkigarden @scaramou @guccilongboard @onceuponaoneshot @presidential-facts @yepyeahuhhuh @loveslide @allthefandomtherapy @gibby31 @buddyjuststop @ellietartt @cancvr @rae4725 @brianandthemays @sonyume @aiyaiy @captainfrisbee @dalebo3 @theloud-yet-quietone @imsoluckyeverythingworksoutforme @rockchickrebel @legobatmans9thab @curlypeter @lostinwonderland314 @yokolesbianism @jamietarttdodo @kno-way-home @nicklet94 @fan-goddess @innocentbi-stander

[seemsablur]

i neeed to know ur favorite lesbian vampire novels. i need recs because there are few and like i need to expand my base from something other than carmilla and the confines of my imagination. i need lesbian romantic vampirism.

i am quite literally reaching through time and space to kiss your forehead for asking this question and allowing me to talk about my favorite things. prepare to get so much more than you asked for because i have no self control.

Lesbian Vampire Fiction

(other than Carmilla, which is so so dear to my heart and I return to it every single October)

A Long Time Dead by Samara Breger: Based in 19th century England; deliciously gothic, moody, and thrilling without being too highbrow or pretentious. The book also doesn’t waste much time on context, the book opens to our delightfully blunt and funny sunshine MC being cared for by a mysterious brooding vampire (also gets smutty by page 10 if you’re into that ✨) if you want entertainment without particularly demanding prose, found family, and the most entrancing sapphic love story i literally can’t recommend this enough.

La Petit Mort by Olivie Blake: Steeped in New Orleans romance and intrigue, MC is bequeathed a house that comes with bizarre terms and conditions attached. TECHNICALLY the MC is not a lesbian and there is a temporary male love interest, but the emotionally unavailable bloodthirsty vampire antagonist is so magnetic I barely even noticed him to be honest (for best experience, use any maladaptive daydreaming tendencies to make him into a butch as you read). I adore Olivie Blake’s writing style, very blunt and easy to put down in a single sitting. I inhaled this book

these are all the ones I have actually read and enjoyed, but my TBR is a mile long so if you’d like more please send me a message and i’m happy to send those over as well x

Honorable Mentions for other Vampire Lit

Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda: Young intersectional vampire trying to fit into society despite her bloodlust. heartwrenching depiction of the alienation and anxiety of being a girl in your twenties that is only magnified by the supernatural lens

The Vampyre by John Polidori / Dracula by Bram Stoker: cornerstones of the genre, required reading blah blah blah

Honorable Mentions for other Lesbian Lit

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield: Just finished this and it absolutely destroyed me. Surreal body-horror about a woman’s wife going off on a research trip and coming back wrong. the portrayal of how love persists against all reason and logic was so devastating

This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone: dystopian time traveling sci-fi centering around two queer MCs on opposing sides of a war and also basic ideology. FASCINATING and short read that was made indescribable by the representation. i finished this book and then immediately started it again from the beginning.

Final Honorable Mention: A Certain Hunger by Chelsea Summers. not queer nor vampiric but romantic cannibalism done so well it had to be included. if you want “i support women’s wrongs” and to be inserted into the mind of a brilliant, vicious, sociopathic female misandrist you need to read this.

There’s a million others that fall into these categories but for the sake of keeping this -relatively- succinct i will stop there. thank you for such a lovely ask, this made my heart sing <3

[love-bokumono-fics]

Fresh Crops! December 18 - December 31, 2023

That last of 2023's newest fics and chapter updates for Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons on AO3!

Her Voice Within - by syavwits; Complete, 7/7, 15k

Rating: Not Rated; Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Category: F/M Fandoms: Back To Nature Relationship: Claire the Farmer/Gray; Characters: Claire the Farmer, Pete the Farmer, Gray, Rick, Kai, Cliff, Doctor | Trent, Mary the Librarian | Marie, Karen, Popuri, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran, Elli | Elly, Manna, Duke, Doug | Dudley, Old Ellen, May | Mei, Stu | Yu, Zack, Won | Huang, Anna, Basil the Writer, Saibara, Harris, Gotz | Gotts, Kano, Louis the Entomologist | Chuu, Greg, Barley | Mugi, Aja | Adge Additional Tags: Friends to Lovers, Romantic Soulmates, Soul-Searching, Mystery, Mute Protagonist, Found Family Summary: It's not that Claire can't talk, she sometimes speaks yes, but only when she really put all her energies to do it. Then there's Gray, the stoic guy with the famous resting b*tch face, he doesn't want anything to do with anyone, everyone, even the new girl although she's… cute. While Pete tries to save his farm, he also confides in Claire and asks her help to search for his unknown childhood friend, his first love, who apparently is one of the girls in Mineral town?!? Will Claire manage to find Pete's long-lost Best friend? Will Claire find what she truly desires in her second chance at life?

Cooking Lessons Part II - by blushroomx; Complete, 1/1, 3.5k

Rating: Not Rated; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/F Fandom: A Wonderful Life Relationship: Flora / Vesta; Characters: Flora, Vesta Additional Tags: Fluff and Angst Summary: The sequel to "Cooking Lessons", Flora's POV.

Restraint - by MidnightArrow; Complete, 1/1, 4k

Rating: General Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: A Wonderful Life, DS Cute Relationship: Celia| Cecilia / Marlin | Matthew / Pony; Characters: Marlin | Matthew, Celia | Cecilia Additional Tags: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Tragic Romance Summary: Cecilia studied the area where his fingers met her wrist. The farmer's face flashed through her mind. She thought of the long afternoons they spent analyzing Matthew's stray touches and unexpected smiles, the farmer gushing over his every move. She thought of Matthew beaming at the end of the aisle on his wedding day. She thought that she couldn't love Matthew if he went any further.

We're Friends - by dicelady20; Complete, 1/1, <1k

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town, Kill la Kill Characters: Matoi Ryuuko, Gray Additional Tags: POV Third Person, Double Drabble, One Shot, Friendship, Gray, ryuuko Summary: This drabble is an aftermath of an incident, where Gray (Harvest Moon) saves Ryuko (Kill la Kill). Now she returns the favor and drags him to a closed mini-mart.

Rainbow Curry - by Anonymous; Complete, 1/1, 2k

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: Multi Fandoms: Grand Bazaar Characters: Hansel, Gretel, Daisy, Ivan, Freya Summary: Oliver sold Anita's peculiar grass collection, and now she's upset because she needed them for the rainbow curry she always prepares during the holidays. Oliver ventures into the city with Daisy and Ivan to find new ones for her.

Sex for Christmas - by Daryls_Favourite; Complete, 1/1, 1.5k

Rating: Mature; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: A Wonderful Life Relationship: Daryl /reader; Characters: Daryl, Reader Additional Tags: Sex, Fucking, Oral Sex, its just a mature one shot x reader, Unprotected Sex Summary: It’s Christmas time in the valley, and this more demanding reader-chan is gonna get what she wants

Out of Reach - by MidnightArrow; WIP, 5/11, 2.6k

Rating: General Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Fandoms: Sunshine Islands, Island of Happiness Relationships: Chelsea/Vaughn | Waltz, Sabrina | Sefiina/Vaughn | Valts, Chelsea/Mark, Mark/Sabrina | Sefiina; Characters: Vaughn | Waltz, Chelsea, Mark, Sabrina Additional Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Romance, Friends to Lovers Summary: "What's it like to be in love?" Chelsea and Vaughn share a bittersweet moment in the meadow that slowly unravels their friendship. Will something new take its place?

Live a little, love a lot - by IslandsOfAvalon; Complete, 1/1, 7.5k

Rating: General Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Categories: F/M, Gen Fandoms: Trio of Towns Relationship: Female Farmer/Wayne; Characters: Wayne, Female Farmer, Original Female Character(s), Ludus, Ethan, Yuzuki, Lisette, Siluka, Stephanie Additional Tags: Stephanie doesn't speak but I mention her enough that she counts, and a good few others who're mentioned but don't speak!, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Rodeo, That's right folks this is a Rodeo AU, I call it "the Trio Rodeo", Fluff, Country & Western, Rodeo Competitions, Cowboys & Cowgirls, Alternate Universe - Western, Horses, Horse Racing, I spent so long doing research for this please let it pay off, I sneaked in a little bit of Lisette x Ludus because I'm soft, Dancing, Love at First Sight, because he is and I will repeat a dork, Not Beta Read, no beta we die like my crops the second the season changes, I spent way too many hours listening to country music while writing this Summary: There used to be magic in their world, once upon a time, and it’s widely accepted that magic is still very much present even if humans no longer have the ability to use it. Wayne blames magic on the way Hinata falls off his horse, boldly wrestles a steer to the ground as fast as he can manage while the animal struggles valiantly against his hold, and somehow makes it away completely unscathed.

Twice Shy - by JillOfAllTrades__x; WIP, 1/2, 6.7k

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: A Wonderful Life Relationships: Molly/Matthew, Mark/Cecilia mentioned; Characters: Muffy | Molly, Marlin | Matthew Additional Tags: Unrequited Love, Hurt/Comfort, Heartbreak, Drunken Confessions, Christmas Party Summary: Last Winter Forgotten Valley bore witness to Mark and Cecilia’s nuptials, leaving two residents reeling from the ceremony. A year later, Rock’s impulsive Secret Santa holiday party gifts them the potential for closure.

Home For The Holidays - by TheBeckster; Complete, 1/1, 2k

Rating: General Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: Gen Fandom: Grand Bazaar Character: Lloyd Additional Tags: Ranch Story Secret Santa 2023, cozy vibes, coming home, home is where people love you Summary: After a long time away from Zephyr Town, Lloyd returns just before Starry Night.

deja vu - by FountainOfDreams, pinkfrogsndaylilies; WIP, 2/?, 3.4k

Rating: General Audiences; Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Category: F/M Fandoms: Animal Parade, Tree of Tranquility Relationships: Angela the Farmer & Kevin the Farmer, Candace/Kevin the Farmer, Angela the Farmer/Chase, Everyone & Everyone; Characters: Angela the Farmer, Kevin the Farmer, Hamilton, Gill, Chase, Candace, Wizard Gale, Witch Vivi, Harvest Goddess Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Sibling Bonding, Past Lives, Alternate Universe, Crossover, kind of, Evil Plans, replaying the games and felt motivated to repost this, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags Are Hard, Slow To Update, Older Sister Angela the Farmer, Brother-Sister Relationships, Chatty Cain, being revamped as we speak Summary: Siblings Angela and Kevin move to Castanet, a faraway island in the middle of nowhere, to start their new lives on a farm. Their days passed peacefully, everything the same as the last; wake up, water the plants, care for the animals, give Chase his marmalade, visit the town, repeat. It was all very...familiar. One day, a strange small fairy showed up in their kitchen in the middle of the night looking anxious, and scared? Something wasn't right about this town, and Angela and Kevin now feel obliged to get to the bottom of it.

The Princess and the Carpenter - by SymphonicFantasia; Complete, 50/50, 7.5k

Rating: General Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: Magical Melody, Save the Homeland, Hero of Leaf Valley Relationship: Dia/Kurt | Hayato; Characters: Dia, Kurt Summary: They weren't so different from one another although others may not think so. Just because she was a "princess" didn't mean that the carpenter didn't belong with her. It just took a bit of chiseling to see who they really were deep down. And even then, they would only show those halves to one another.

[charliethomascoxuniverse]

Charlie Cox: Star turn

Charlie Cox is taking a break from Hollywood to bring Pinter to London's West End. And the experience has proved to be truly terrifying, he tells Charlotte Cripps.

Tuesday 29 January 2008 (X)

I'm watching a preview of the Harold Pinter double bill at the Comedy Theatre on the night before I meet Hollywood's newest star, Charlie Cox, when I encounter his fan club in the row behind me. The girls gasp collectively at how good-looking he is, especially at the end of The Collection, when he strips off to a pair of tight white boxer shorts.

The English public school-educated 25-year-old is not only converting teenagers to Pinter, however; he also holds his own with his more experienced co-stars, Timothy West, Richard Coyle and Gina McKee.

The young star has just played the lead in the blockbuster family film Stardust, alongside such Hollywood luminaries as Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert de Niro, Sienna Miller and Claire Danes. Cox's character was the earnest, genuine Tristan, who transforms from boy to man on his quest for true love. In real life, too, the actor is growing up fast as he finds himself, right at the beginning of his career, rubbing shoulders with the acting elite. Although he had picked up some good roles – performing opposite Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice and in Casanova alongside Heath Ledger – the actor was relatively unknown until a few months ago. Nowadays Cox, with his boyish, wide-eyed good looks, gets recognised wherever he goes.

When we meet the morning after the Pinter previews, the actor is cleaning his teeth in his dressing room at the Comedy Theatre. As he welcomes me inside, he takes off his porkpie hat to reveal a mass of bouncing, newly cut hair and clear brown eyes. His dressing room, which has the feel of a miniature flat, is nevertheless smaller than those of the other three members of the cast, because, he says as if he is still at boarding school, he is "the new boy".

His costumes for the character Bill – who in The Collection is accused by a husband (Coyle) of having a one-night stand with a married woman (McKee), despite being in a gay relationship with Harry (West) – are hanging tidily over a camp bed. There is a ‘Just For Today’ meditation book on the table – a 12-step recovery tool – because the actor no longer drinks. He has already begun pinning things neatly to the white walls, to create a collage that will document his four-month run in the play. So far it includes a line of fizzy vitamin C sachets, a Nurofen Cold & Flu packet, even three different Starbucks coffee cup sizes. He points out everything to me – "I will remember the bad cold I had at the beginning of the run" – but it is only day four. He is still warming up in his first proper job on a West End stage. "I am far out of my comfort zone. I am trying to keep up with actors who are consistently brilliant, not like me, this Disney kid Cox from Stardust."

Cox lives in World's End, Chelsea, above an art gallery, with his best friend, Ned, and dog, Ralph. He speaks with passion and maturity about his job, and has a calm presence as well as heaps of energy, which he uses both positively and negatively. "I am incredibly self-deprecating. It stems from self-doubt. With every job I watch, I can't find peace with what I've done. It's never good enough in my mind. I will never be happy if I'm in that mindset, unless I get a review that starts: 'once in a generation'," he says, laughing. "Fame terrifies me. I can say that with honesty. You're terrified that, when people know the real you, they won't like you."

The actor was born in 1982 and grew up in East Sussex with his publisher father, Andrew, his mother, Trisha, and his older brother, Toby. He also has three much older half-siblings, Ollie, Emma and Zoë, who were all leaving home by the time he was born. At the age of eight, he was sent to a local prep school and then to Sherborne School in Dorset. He won the school's Gerald Pitman Award for Drama twice, before leaving school for London at the age of 18.

He got a supporting role in the film Dot the I opposite Gael Garcia Bernal, before starting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School at 19 years old. It was a miserable experience. "They start picking holes and I took it all too personally." Auditioning for roles was banned while pupils were still at the school, but after his first year he secretly auditioned for Pacino's The Merchant of Venice. "I remember feeling really panicked. I was meant to have learnt to play the recorder for the class nativity play when I got the call from my agent telling me I'd got the role. The next thing I knew I was hanging out in Luxembourg with one of my idols. Deep down I knew I'd never go back to Bristol. To slot back into my class after that would have been entirely weird."

He then played a warrior in an unwatchable Spanish film, Tirante el Blanco. "To call it a flop is an understatement. The film made no sense. It hadn't been translated properly. I wasn't even invited to the premiere." He returned to the UK to perform for no wages in 'Tis Pity She's a Whore to packed houses at Southwark Playhouse. The production, directed by Edward Dick, received rave reviews. "None of us got paid for it but it ended up being one of the shows to see in London."

This was the first time that the actor had a difficult decision to make, as he had already been offered a role in a big feature film when the Pinter play came up. "It really threw a spanner in the works because there is a pressure to continue to do films. If you disappear for a little while, they just lose interest. But if I want to be still acting when I'm older, the Pinter play is the kind of work I need to be attached to. The theatre is where I'm learning my trade," says Cox. "In Tim's [West] day he did years of rep theatre. Today we are in a manic rush to be rich and famous. None of us young stars has had time to learn our trade. There is a horrible misconception that you can either act or not. But experience is everything."

It is a challenge for Cox, playing a lead role in The Collection – one of the two rarely performed Pinter plays, the other being The Lover, which are being revived at the Comedy Theatre under the direction of Jamie Lloyd, who recently directed The Caretaker for Sheffield Theatres. "Harold [Pinter] has been involved in the production, but he hasn't told us whether my character Bill really did sleep with Stella or not. He is the only one who really knows. Gina [McKee] and I made a decision that we think helps us, but we are keeping that decision a secret." Bill is a million miles away from his Stardust role of Tristan, who wore his heart on his sleeve. "What is certain about my character Bill is that he lies all the time. Whether Bill did it or not, he still gives different versions of the story. He is a bit of a spoilt brat who doesn't think of what other people want. He just wants a bit of a drama. He craves power and manipulates people for his own amusement. He annoys Harry for no reason at all other than to entertain himself."

For Cox, who has been living out of a suitcase for so long, starring in the West End allows him something of a normal routine. He can walk his dog and hang out with the small group of friends whom he has known since childhood. Fame has not changed him, and he doubts it ever will. None of the older actors has ever sat him down for a pep talk either, but Pacino offered him some words of wisdom. "Al said, 'You're not an actor until you've got a leather jacket.' I took it very seriously and asked my parents to buy me this brown leather jacket for my 21st birthday. It's worn really well, hasn't it? Then Al rang me on the day to wish me happy birthday while I was in the middle of having a small party. Answering the phone to him was one of the most bizarre things that has ever happened to me."

Now Cox has another offer to star with Pacino, in Enclosure, a black comedy about a Jewish family. He has already finished filming Stone of Destiny, based on a true story, in which he plays Ian Hamilton, a committed Scottish nationalist who in the 1950s led a raid on Westminster Abbey to bring the Stone of Scone back to Scotland. The actor talks about his career with the excitement of somebody who is living his dream. In promotional TV interviews for Stardust he looked almost startled, but since he's been at home he seems to be more at ease. "It's so easy to become obsessed with the film industry and recognition that we can forget that we are not saving the world. We are just actors trying to entertain people. Doing this play, in front of a live audience, has reminded me of that."

~*~

[thebryanandsilvergarbage]

The 23rd Annual Bryan Awards - Acting Categories

Acting and Performance

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: ABBOTT ELEMENTARY - Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues (ABC) DEAD TO ME - Christina Applegate as Jen Harding (Netflix) MAISEL - Rachel Brosnahan as Miriam Maisel (Prime Video) ONLY MURDERS - Selena Gomez as Mabel Mora (Hulu) POKER FACE - Natasha Lyonne as Charlie (Peacock) 

Lead Actress in a Drama Series: BAD SISTERS - Sharon Horgan as Eva Garvey (Apple Plus) THE CROWN - Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II (Netflix) THE DIPLOMAT - Keri Russell as Kate Wyler (Netflix) THE HANDMAID’S TALE - Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne (Hulu) SUCCESSION - Sarah Snook as Shiv Roy (HBO) YELLOWJACKETS - Melanie Lynskey as Shauna Sadecki (Showtime) 

Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series/TV Movie: BEEF - Ali Wong as Amy Lau (Netflix) DAISY JONES & THE SIX - Riley Keough as Daisy Jones (Prime Video) FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE - Lizzy Caplan as Libby Epstein (Hulu) GEORGE & TAMMY - Jessica Chastain as Tammy Wynette (Showtime) LOVE & DEATH - Elizabeth Olsen as Candy Montgomery (HBO) TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS - Kathryn Hahn as a Clare Pierce (Hulu)

Lead Actress in Daytime: THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL - Katherine Kelly Lang as Brooke Logan (CBS) THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL - Jacqueline MacInnes-Wood as Steffy Forrester (CBS) GENERAL HOSPITAL - Laura Wright as Carly Spencer (ABC) THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS - Melissa Claire Egan as Chelsea Newman (CBS) THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS - Michelle Stafford as Phyllis Summers (CBS)

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: BARRY - Bill Hader as Barry (HBO) THE BEAR - Jeremy Allen White as Carmy Berzatto (Hulu) ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING - Steve Martin as Charles-Haden Savage (Hulu) ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING - Martin Short as Oliver Putnam (Hulu)

TED LASSO - Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso (Apple Plus)

Lead Actor in a Drama Series: BETTER CALL SAUL - Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill (AMC) THE LAST OF US - Pedro Pascal as Joel (HBO) THE OLD MAN - Jeff Bridges as Dan Chase (F/X) SUCCESSION - Brian Cox as Logan Roy (HBO) SUCCESSION - Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy (HBO) SUCCESSION - Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy (HBO)

Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series/TV Movie: BEEF - Steven Yeun as Danny Cho (Netflix) BLACK BIRD - Taron Egerton as James Keene (Apple Plus) GEORGE & TAMMY - Michael Shannon as George Jones (Showtime) MONSTER - Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer (Netflix) WEIRD - Daniel Radcliffe as “Weird Al” Yankovic (Roku) WELCOME TO CHIPPENDALES - Kumail Nanjiani as Somen “Steve” Banerjee (Hulu) 

Lead Actor in Daytime: THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL - Thorsten Kaye as Ridge Forrester (CBS) DAYS OF OUR LIVES - Dan Feuerriegel as E.J. DiMera (NBC & Peacock) DAYS OF OUR LIVES - Billy Flynn as Chad DiMera (NBC & Peacock) GENERAL HOSPITAL - Maurice Benard as Sonny Corinthos (ABC) THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS - Jason Thompson as Billy Abbott (CBS)

Lead Performer in a New Series: THE BEAR - Jeremy Allen White as Carmen Berzatto (Hulu) THE DIPLOMAT - Keri Russell as Kate Wyler (Netflix) THE LAST OF US - Pedro Pascal as Joel (HBO) THE OLD MAN - Jeff Bridges as Dan Chase (F/X) SHRINKING - Jason Segel as Jimmy Laird (Apple Plus) SO HELP ME TODD - Marcia Gay Harden as Margaret (CBS) WEDNESDAY - Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams (Netflix)

Younger Performer in Daytime: THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL - Henry Samiri as Douglas Forrester (CBS) DAYS OF OUR LIVES - Christopher Cary as Thomas DiMera (NBC) GENERAL HOSPITAL - William Lipton as Cameron Webber (ABC) GENERAL HOSPITAL - Eden McCoy as Josslyn Jacks (ABC) GENERAL HOSPITAL - Avery Kristen Pohl as Esme Prince (ABC) 

Younger Performer in Primetime: FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE - Meara Mahoney Gross as Hannah Fleishman (Hulu) THE LAST OF US - Belle Ramsay as Ellie (HBO) THE LAST OF US - Keivonn Montreal Woodard as Sam Burrell (HBO) THAT ‘90s SHOW - Callie Haverda as Leia Forman (Netflix) WEDNESDAY - Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams (Netflix) YOUNG SHELDON - Iain Armitage as Sheldon Cooper (CBS)

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: ABBOTT ELEMENTARY - Janelle Jones as Ava Coleman (ABC) ABBOTT ELEMENTARY - Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard (ABC) THE BEAR - Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu (Hulu) MAISEL - Alex Borstein as Susie Myerson (Prime Video) THE OTHER TWO - Molly Shannon as Pat (HBO Max) SHRINKING - Jessica Williams as Gaby (Apple Plus) TED LASSO - Juno Temple as Keeley Jones (Apple Plus) TED LASSO - Hannah Waddingham as Rebecca Welton (Apple Plus)

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: BETTER CALL SAUL - Carol Burnett at Marion (AMC) BETTER CALL SAUL - Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler (AMC) THE CROWN - Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, Princess of Wales (Netflix) SUCCESSION - J. Smith-Cameron as Gerri Kellman (HBO) THE WHITE LOTUS - Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt (HBO) THE WHITE LOTUS - Meghann Fahy as Daphne Sullivan (HBO) THE WHITE LOTUS - Aubrey Plaza as Harper Spiller (HBO) THE WHITE LOTUS - Simona Tabasco as Lucia (HBO)   

Supporting Actress in a Limited/Anthology Series or TV Movie: BEEF - Maria Bello as Jordana Forster (Netflix) FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE - Claire Danes as Rachel Fleishman (Hulu) LOVE & DEATH - Lily Rabe as Betty Gore (HBO) MONSTER - Niecy Nash-Betts as Glenda Cleveland (Netflix) TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS - Merritt Wever as Frankie Pierce (Hulu) WELCOME TO CHIPPENDALES - Annaleigh Ashford as Irene Banerjee (Hulu) WELCOME TO CHIPPENDALES - Juliette Lewis as Denise (Hulu)

Supporting Actress in Daytime: THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL - Krista Allen as Taylor Hayes (CBS) DAYS OF OUR LIVES - Stacy Haiduk as Kristen DiMera (NBC & Peacock) GENERAL HOSPITAL - Sonya Eddy as Epiphany Johnson (ABC) GENERAL HOSPITAL - Brook Kerr as Dr. Portia Robinson (ABC) GENERAL HOSPITAL - Kelly Thiebaud as Dr. Britt Westbourne (ABC) THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS - Susan Walters as Diane Jenkins (CBS)

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: ABBOTT ELEMENTARY - Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie (ABC) BARRY - Anthony Carrigan as NoHo Hank (HBO) BARRY - Henry Winkler as Gene Cousineau (HBO) THE BEAR - Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richie Jerimovich (Hulu) JURY DUTY - James Marsden as Himself (FreeVee) SHRINKING - Harrison Ford as Dr. Paul Rhoades (Apple Plus) TED LASSO - Phil Dunster as Jamie Tartt (Apple Plus) TED LASSO - Brett Goldstein as Roy Kent (Apple Plus)

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: BETTER CALL SAUL - Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo Fring (AMC) SUCCESSION - Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsch (HBO) SUCCESSION - Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans (HBO) SUCCESSION - Alan Ruck as Connor Roy (HBO) SUCCESSION - Alexander Skarsgard as Matsson (HBO) THE WHITE LOTUS - F. Murray Abraham as Bert Di Grasso (HBO) THE WHITE LOTUS - Michael Imperioli as Dominic Di Grasso (HBO) THE WHITE LOTUS - Theo James as Cameron Sullivan (HBO) 

Supporting Actor in a Limited/Anthology Series or TV Movie: BEEF - Young Mazino as Paul Cho (Netflix) BLACK BIRD - Paul Walter Hauser as Larry Hall (Apple Plus) BLACK BIRD - Ray Liotta as Big Jim Keene (Apple Plus) FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE - Adam Brody as Seth Morris (Hulu) LOVE & DEATH - Jesse Plemons as Allan Gore (HBO Max) MONSTER - Richard Jenkins as Lionel Dahmer (Netflix) WELCOME TO CHIPPENDALES - Murray Bartlett as Nick DeNoia (Hulu)

Supporting Actor in Daytime: THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL - Matthew Atkinson as Thomas Forrester (CBS) BEYOND SALEM/DAYS OF OUR LIVES - Steve Burton as Harris Michaels (Peacock) GENERAL HOSPITAL - Nicholas Chavez as Spencer Cassidine (ABC) GENERAL HOSPITAL - Chad Duell as Michael Corinthos (ABC) GENERAL HOSPITAL - Robert Gossett as Marshall Ashford (ABC) THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS - Bryton James as Devon Hamilton (CBS)

Supporting Performer in a New Series: BAD SISTERS - Eva Birthistle as Ursula Flynn (Apple Plus) THE BEAR - Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu (Hulu) THE BEAR - Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard “Richie” Jerimovich (Hulu)

JURY DUTY - James Marsden as Himself (FreeVee) THE OLD MAN - John Lithgow as Harold Harper (F/X) SHRINKING - Harrison Ford as Dr. Paul Rhoades (Apple Plus) WEDNESDAY - Gwendoline Christie as Larissa Weems (Netflix)

Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: ABBOTT ELEMENTARY - Taraji P. Henson as Vanetta (ABC) ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING - Jane Lynch as Sazz Pataki (Hulu) POKER FACE - Judith Light as Irene Smothers (Peacock) SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE - Quinta Brunson as Host/Various Characters (NBC) TED LASSO - Becky Ann Baker as Dottie Lasso (Apple Plus) TED LASSO - Harriet Walter as Deborah (Apple Plus) 

Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: ABBOTT ELEMENTARY - Leslie Odom Jr. as Draemond (ABC) THE BEAR - Jon Bernthal as Mikey Berzatto (Hulu) THE BEAR - Oliver Platt as Pops (Hulu) MAISEL - Luke Kirby as Lenny Bruce (Prime Video) SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE - Steve Martin & Martin Short as Co-Hosts/Various Characters (NBC) TED LASSO - Sam Richardson as Edwin Akufo (Apple Plus) 

Guest Actress in a Drama Series: THE LAST OF US - Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen (HBO) THE LAST OF US - Storm Reid as Riley Abel (HBO) THE LAST OF US - Anna Torv as Theresa “Tess” Servopoulos (HBO) SUCCESSION - Hope Davis as Sandi Furness (HBO) SUCCESSION - Cherry Jones as Nan Pierce (HBO) SUCCESSION - Harriet Walter as Lady Caroline Collingwood (HBO) 

Guest Actor in a Drama Series: BETTER CALL SAUL - Mark Margolis as Hector “Tio” Salamanca (AMC) THE LAST OF US - Murray Bartlett as Frank (HBO) THE LAST OF US - Lamar Johnson as Henry Burrell (HBO) THE LAST OF US - Nick Offerman as Bill (HBO) THE MANDALORIAN - Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon (HBO) SUCCESSION - James Cromwell as Ewan Roy (HBO) 

Guest Performer in Daytime: GENERAL HOSPITAL - Denise Crosby as Dr. Carolyn Webber (ABC) GENERAL HOSPITAL - Alley Mills as Heather Webber (ABC) GENERAL HOSPITAL - Linda Purl as Peyton Honeycutt (ABC) THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS - Barbara Crampton as Leanna Love (CBS) THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS - James Hyde as Jeremy Stark (CBS) THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS - Robert Newman as Ashland Locke (CBS)

Guest Performer in a New Series: THE BEAR - Jon Bernthal as Mikey Berzatto (Hulu) THE BEAR - Oliver Platt as Pops (Hulu) THE LAST OF US - Murray Bartlett as Frank (HBO) THE LAST OF US - Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen (HBO) THE LAST OF US - Nick Offerman as Bill (HBO) WEDNESDAY - Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams (Netflix) 

Performance by a Cast in a Comedy Series: Abbott Elementary (ABC) Barry (HBO) The Bear (F/X) The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video) Saturday Night Live (NBC) Ted Lasso (Apple Plus)

Performance by a Cast in a Drama Series: Bad Sisters (Apple Plus) Better Call Saul (AMC) The Crown (Netflix) The House of the Dragon (HBO) Succession (HBO) The White Lotus (HBO)

Performance by a Cast in a Limited/Anthology Series or TV Movie: Beef (Netflix) Daisy Jones and the Six (HBO) Five Days At Memorial (Apple Plus) Fleishman in Trouble (Hulu) Welcome to Chippendales (Hulu) The White House Plumbers (HBO) 

Performance by a Cast in Daytime: The Bay (Pop TV) Beyond Salem & Days of Our Lives (Peacock) The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS) General Hospital (ABC) The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Performance by a Cast in a New Series: Bad Sisters (Apple Plus) The Bear (F/X) The House of the Dragon (HBO) Jury Duty (FreeVee) So Help Me Todd (CBS) Wednesday (Netflix)

Screen Couples

Screen Duo or Trio in a Comedy or Variety Series: THE GREAT - Nicholas Hoult and Elle Fanning (Hulu) ONLY MURDER IN THE BUILDING - Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez (Hulu) SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE - Steve Martin and Martin Short (NBC) SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE - Michael Che and Colin Jost (NBC) SCHMIGADOON - Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key (Apple Plus)

Screen Duo or Trio in a Drama Series: BETTER CALL SAUL - Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn (AMC) THE CROWN - Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki (Netflix) THE GOOD DOCTOR - Freddie Highmore and Paige Spara (ABC) THE LAST OF US - Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman (HBO) SUCCESSION - Any two (or more) Roy Siblings (HBO) 

Screen Duo or Trio in a Limited/Anthology Series or TV Movie: BEEF - Steven Yeun and Ali Wong (Netflix) DAISY JONES AND THE SIX - Sam Claflin and Riley Keough (HBO) FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE - Jesse Eisenberg, Lizzy Caplan, and Claire Danes (Hulu) GEORGE & TAMMY - Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain (Showtime) HOCUS POCUS 2 - Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy (Disney Plus) 

Screen Duo or Trio in Daytime: GENERAL HOSPITAL - Maurice Benard and Cynthia Watros (ABC) GENERAL HOSPITAL - Chad Duell and Katelyn MacMullen (ABC) GENERAL HOSPITAL - James Patrick Stuart and Finola Hughes (ABC) LIVE WITH KELLY AND MARK - Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos (ABC/Syndicated) THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS - Peter Bergman and Susan Walters (CBS)

Host Categories

Late Night Host: THE DAILY SHOW - Trevor Noah (Comedy Central) JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE - Jimmy Kimmel (ABC) LAST WEEK TONIGHT - John Oliver (HBO) THE LATE SHOW - Stephen Colbert (CBS) THE PROBLEM WITH - Jon Stewart (Apple Plus)

Daytime Talk Host: THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW - Drew Barrymore (Syndicated) THE JENNIFER HUDSON SHOW - Jennifer Hudson (Syndicated) THE KELLY CLARKSON SHOW - Kelly Clarkson (NBC/Syndicated) LIVE WITH KELLY and MARK - Kelly Ripa & Mark Consuelos (ABC/Syndicated) THE TALK - The Hosts of The Talk (CBS)

Reality Host: BAKING IT - Amy Poehler & Maya Rudolph (Peacock) NAILED IT - Nicole Byer (Netflix) QUEER EYE - The Hosts of Queer Eye (Netflix) RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE - RuPaul Charles (VH1) SURVIVOR - Jeff Probst (CBS) TOP CHEF - Padma Lakshmi (Bravo)

Game Show Host: FAMILY FEUD - Steve Harvey (ABC/Syndicated) JEOPARDY - Mayim Bialik (ABC/Syndicated) JEOPARDY - Ken Jennings (ABC/Syndicated) LET’S MAKE A DEAL - Wayne Brady (CBS) PASSWORD - Keke Palmer (NBC) WHEEL OF FORTUNE - Pat Sajak (Syndicated)

[mysymmetry]

2023 Reading List updated Jan 8 March 13 April 10 May 29 July 5 July 31 August 22 Dec 14

Read So Far: Play It As It Lays, Joan Didion All of This Could Be Different, Sarah Thankham Matthews Readme.txt, Chelsea Manning The Book of Grief and Hamburgers, Stuart Ross Burntcoat, Sarah Hall The Best American Essays 2022, ed. Alexander Chee Easy Beauty, Chloe Cooper Jones Very Cold People, Sarah Manguso Son of Elsewhere, Elamin Abdelmahmoud Happy Place, Emily Henry Couplets, Maggie Millner Strange Loops, Elizabeth Harmer Milk Fed, Melissa Broder Tides, Sara Freeman Biography of X, Catherine Lacey The Guest, Emma Cline No One is Talking About This, Patricia Lockwood Ripe, Sarah Rose Etter How to Do Nothing, Jenny Odell Homebodies, Tembe Denton-Hurst Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin Trust, Hernan Diaz The Fake, Zoe Whittall Anon Plz, Deuxmoi Utopia, Heidi Sopinka Death Valley, Melissa Broder

Currently Reading: A Little Life, Hanya Yanigahara The Best American Essays 2023, ed. Vivian Gornick Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone, Benjamin Stevenson

Want to Read: Love and Other Puzzles, Kimberley Allsopp (on hold @ city) Land of Milk and Honey, C Pam Zhang (on hold @ city) Lioness, Emily Perkins (on hold @ city) Monsters, Claire Dederer (on hold @ city) Body Friend, Katherine Brabon (avail @ SA Lib) A Real Piece of Work, Erin RIley (not avail @ SA Lib) Priestdaddy, Patricia Lockwood The Light Room, Kate Zambreno Lurch, Don McKay Started but Haven't Finished

Saving Time, Jenny Odell Really Good Actually, Monica Heisey My Autobiography of Carson McCullers, Jenn Shaplan Bliss Montage, Ling Ma Death in Her Hands, Ottessa Moshfegh The Hurting Kind, Ada Limon A Single Rose, Muriel Barbery We Have Always Been Here, Samra Habib Pathological, Sarah Fay The Marrow Thieves, Cherie Dimaline Animal Person, Alexander MacLeod My Face in The Light, Martha Schabas Pure Colour, Sheila Heti Satched, Megan Gail Coles A Lover's Discourse, Roland Barthes The Country of Marriage, Wendell Berry

[waterarks]

accumulated book list; (unowned) 𓇢𓆸

- [ ] the body where I was born by Guadalupe Nettel

- [ ] a personal matter by Kenzaburo Oe

- [ ] shame in the blood by Tetsuo Miura

- [ ] nw by Zadie Smith

- [ ] tender by Ariana Harwicz

- [ ] shantarm by Gregory David Roberts

- [ ] second place by Rachel Cus

- [ ] bluets by Maggie Nelson

- [ ] devotions by Mary Oliver

- [ ] black swans by Eve Babitz

- [ ] perfume by Patrick Suskind

- [ ] a certain hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

- [ l ] time is a mother by Ocean Vuong

- [ ] assembly by Natasha Brown

- [ ] butter by Asako Yuzuki

- [ ] carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

- [ ] boulder by Eva Baltasar

- [ ] permafrost by Eva Baltasar

- [ ] discipline and punishment by Michel Foucault

- [ ] black reconstruction by W.E.B Dubiou

- [ ] a poets notebook by Paul Valery

- [ ] die my love by Ariana Harwicz

- [ ] swimming in the dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

- [ ] timecode of a face by Ruth Ozeki

- [ ] into the wild by Jon Krakauer

- [ ] the wind up bird chronicle by Murakami

- [ ] theory of the lyric by Jonathan Culler

- [ ] orality and literacy by Walter J. Ong

- [ ] the soundscape by Murray Schafer

- [ ] listening and voice by Don Idhe

- [ ] the poetics of french verse by Clive Scott

- [ ] the poetics of space by Gaston Bacherlard

- [ ] housekeeping by Marilyn Robinson

- [ ] the white book by Han Kang

- [ ] americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

- [ ] poor deer by Claire Oshetsky

- [ ] pushout by Monique W. Morris

- [ ] agua viva by Clarice Lispector

- [ ] foggy mountain breakdown by Sharyn Mccrumb

- [ list two ] ☼

bought = b | loaned = l , read = x | reading = …

[kalista-emerald]

LadyPink par Upside Down World Via Flickr : ✗Head LeLUTKA Raven Head 3.1, ✗Body [LEGACY] Meshbody (f) Special Edition (1.5.1) , ✗Skin & shape tres beau x lelutka evox - noelle skin (fatpack) group gift, ✗Eyes makeup Knife Party // Diana Eye Makeup // Evo X // BLOGGERS, ✗TattooVENGE-BOM-'Midsummer Rose' Chest Tattoo, ✗Hair [LERONSO] HAIRBASE v19 for Lelutka EVO X, ✗Outfits[seeker]_Enna_FatPack@ Flourish, ✗Shirt Lace::WD:: Lace Shirt Maeve Blogger Pack, ✗Garter...:::Beautiful Dirty Rich:::... Hailey -Bow Garter- , ✗NoseSFU - Candy Nose Chain, ✗ErringsSFU - Claire Earrings, ✗ShoesLUNA CHELSEA-BERTIE HEELS LEATHER 2023 UNPACKER HUD, ✗PosePink Moon - I'm on the move,

[chriscasaliworld]

‘Gestures’, a group exhibition I’m in curated by Michelle Chanique at Stanley Street Gallery, Sydney.

Gestures often referring to nonverbal communication, are a felt experience. They can be intentional or unintentional, widely recognised or small and intimate. The exhibition Gesture, curated by Michelle Chanique brings together four artists to develop this conversation, thinking about non-verbal languages in surface, medium, and physical movement. 

Chelsea Lehmann’s painting Pleasure Treatise is the starting point of the show. The entwined bodies converge narrative with loose brushstrokes, creating a surface of tangled abundance. With an apple in one palm and a harp in another the faceless figures caught in fervent embrace fill the canvas with baroque sensuality. The artist’s technical rigor blends traditional techniques of chiaroscuro with contemporary abstraction, playing with notions of creation and censorship. 

The work of Tanya Linney push the painterly movement of Lehmann’s work even further. Linney strips back the idea of gesture to a raw extent, simplifying and expanding the brushstroke across the canvas. Exploring scale and colour, the effect is visceral, giving an immediate sense of vitality and wildness to the painted surface. 

In contrast to the spirit of Linney’s work, Chris Casali’s breathtaking detail reminds us to take a moment and pause. Sitting within an environmental framework, each surface invites a personal encounter with the natural world. Casali’s intricate and careful abstraction considers what it means to connect and experience kinship with nature. 

The work of Ben King disrupts the conversation between the walls, pulling the audience back towards the idea of gesture as physical and performative. His ceramic sculptures are whimsical and nostalgic, drawing on childhood memory. The rough surfaces have a painterly quality, evoking the visceral interaction between the clay and the artist, exploring sensation and suggestion rather than realism. 

Responding directly to the practices of the four artists, Chanique’s curation initiates a conversation around medium, surface and physical movement. In many ways, the three painters reveal the sensibility and tactility of a sculptor. On the other hand, the sculptor’s work is evocative of painterly gesture. This tension plays with our lens of perception, reminding us that it is important to view things in a different manner and live outside category. 

- Claire de Carteret

Image: Chris Casali, Untitled; Study of Contrasts #1, acrylic on canvas, 1680 mm x 1525 mm

[taylorkellyreporting]

live-blogging is apparently something i’ll never stop doing no matter how hard i try lmfao

this right here means everything to me i don’t even care that he’s in love with claire right now if i can survive young and hungry i can survive anything

claire’s little rose cake is so cute

MY PEOPLE

e.t in a wig? 😭

“the whole thing takes place inside a closet” PLS

he saved her LIFE they’re endgame idc idc i’m believing it until it’s physically impossible

her little smile while thinking about her feelings for grant oh she’s got it bad

his little smile too? and the closed door? i know this scene probably isn’t going to be what i’m expecting but a girl can (and will) dream

“yikes! grant asked chelsea for a favor” aaand the slow burn is back on lmao

“you go first” sorry but if that were me and the thing i had to say was that i have feelings for the person i’m talking to, you bet your ass i’m going first.

ohhh the devastating realization on her face i hate it here i forgot how painful slow burns are

y’all better be writing au’s for this scene i want fics where that closed door leads to something else

“i told marley he was a little bitch, you know, flirting to get things flowing” skfjfjckcks

“easy tiger! i don’t wanna have to hose down the sofa” 😭

“the tops need bottoms, the bottoms need tops!” “they should try switching, works for me” WOAH 😭 jayden being a switch was not something i needed confirmed but good for him! good for him

they both have daddy issues lmfaooo

“oink, oink, baby!” i’m sorry???😭😭💀

chelsea and her little smile while talking about grant oh she likes him so much

yeah…

“claire is a wonderful, sweet person who deserves love” SO! DO! YOU!

“you really think i should?” oh her face i’m sick

never thought a hug between them would cause me so much pain

“and how’s your crush on grant?” i audibly gasped

solana is right, chelsea really should be single for right now. as much as i want her and grant together, she should really just go out there and have fun for a bit before committing to a relationship with anyone.

grant’s future love confession to chelsea is gonna hit so hard

there are no winners here

hoping that claire turned him down because she has feelings for someone else not because she’s scared

grant and chelsea in their pining eras except grant’s pining for claire! :) smiling :) through :) the :) pain :)

when we get a future scene where grant acts like an idiot in love with chelsea i will know peace

“thank you glaad co-chair” 😭😭

if grant ends up on the same dating app and matches with chelsea literally nothing will convince me that they aren’t endgame sorry

well. forgot that he’s a hot guy with people lined up to date him lmao

“on the one hand, kinda boho. on the other, kinda homo.” help 😭

pause! tapping into the delusional shipper side of me for a moment. did grant seem…idk. not too thrilled when chelsea was telling him about the guy she was talking to? like his facial expression’s were a bit off…

“you’re supposed to be straight-bait, not conversion therapy” the laugh i just let out please 😭

“my sister and i will each have a gin & tonic. in one glass. with two straws” oh what in the f.r.i.e.n.d.s. is going on here?

the twirl 😭😭

“houston, we have a homo” jayden really is the funniest bitch on this show argue with the wall

that “wtf?” look chelsea and grant just shared lmfao

oh i hope this continues to work out for jayden he deserves it truly

awww shit. she does have feelings for grant

kay she says one thing but her face says another. hoping this dave dude helps her move on cos they could be so cute together

just date each other

“goodnight, grant.” “goodnight, chelsea.” sjfjfjfnjd mutually pining era coming soon????

i know grant feels something for her, i know he does. his facial expressions say everything without him ever actually having to say anything

oh this opening scene means everything to me

oh jayden definitely had a glow up

their drinking game is something i’d totally play

chelsea is terrible at this 😭

chelsea immediately caving and saying she’ll play the game all because grant put his hand on her back and said it’d mean so much to him if she played??? oh she’s weak for him she’s down so bad and who can blame her

“you’ve been talking about her all day” HA!

oh his face after saying he’s just excited for chelsea to join in…my man had a feelings realization huh?

so most of this episode is going to be them running around looking for cody mail? i know it’s gonna be hilarious

his gnome? 😭

i too would break the law if grant walked up to me like that

“ramona and i were roommates but to me she was…so much more” the chelsgrant of it all

anyone: *talks*

me: how can i make this about chelsgrant?

THE GLANCE GRANT THREW AT CHELSEA AFTER CODY SAID HE FELL IN LOVE WITH RAMONA??? ENDGAME BITCHES

i hope they’re right about ramona cos i don’t think cody is gonna handle the broken heart well

YOU’RE ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE

i am on such a high right now

his mother?? 😭💀

that dance scene is comedy gold

oh that scene between jayden and jasmine was everything!! i hope the writers continue to grow their relationship throughout the series

chelsea working out with grant i’m gonna love this

not solana gaslighting jayden and claire 😭

knew she wasn’t in a cult but solana practicing law again was not something that i was expecting

her real name is alison. okay.

I COULD JUST KISS YOU RIGHT NOW

just took the sharpest intake of breath

SHUT THE FUCK UP

the writers are sick. just sick.

that opening scene made my heart stop and for what

ohhhhhhhh this hurts

my guy got rejected by both sisters i just know he’s sick

awww grant and clair had a meet cute 🥺

she most likely still has feeling for him and i’m most likely going to fling myself off a building 😃

“he’s not dead like we were hoping” fngjfjdks

“and we’re back, baby, hell yes!” why is this grandpa literally me

“this is all such a mess” you have no idea

“if i sit here any longer, i’m gonna kiss you” do it! do it! i am begging you to do it!

ohhh my girl’s so happy why does it have to end 😩

WHAT. THE. FUCKKKK!!!??!?!?!?!

well that cliffhanger is going to be all i think about for the coming future 🙃 not losing hope. like i said earlier, it’s about the slow burn. we’ll get there eventually! chelsea and grant’s dynamic and chemistry is too good to do nothing with. it’s the long con.

this show is hilarious and i truly hope it comes back for a season two bc it deserves it.

[morganatique9]

thinking about “pretty smart” again and i have a few thoughts (spoilers ahead, read at your own risk)

first of all, i was initially so glad they weren’t going down the “love triangle involving siblings” trope because, for starters, love triangles suck and also, even more when there are two women competing for a guy’s attention in it. And i was just sooooo relieved when claire was like “oh no i’m all moved on, i don’t reciprocate grant’s feelings, he’s just a friend” etc, i was genuinely like “omg yes, that’s what we want to see” but of course, OF COURSE, my relief and joy were shortlived when all of a sudden, at the last minute, claire realized “oh wait, no, i do still have feelings for grant” like??? JUST FOR THE SAKE OF DRAMA BECAUSE GRANT AND CHELSEA WERE FINALLY ADMITTING THEIR FEELINGS FOR EACH OTHER. seriously netflix, get it together. now, if there’s ever a season 2, we’re gonna have 2 women, even worse, 2 sisters fighting for another white guy’s attention. ugh

and second of all, and that’s probably my most important statement... it just amuses me so much that emily osment and gregg sulkin, both former disney channel babies, had their characters’ first interaction in this show be osment saying sulkin has a big d. netflix really went there and it sold the show to me

[radiant-carefree-dreamy]

Me: I need a show I will not get emotionally attached to. *starts watching pretty smart* yeah this show doesn't seem that great

Me *10 episodes that I binged in 1 night later*: oops

[barnes-107th]

I feel like I’m in the minority who prefers Claire/Grant to Chelsea/Grant. Like sorry but dating your sisters ex is a huge no. Shouldn’t even be up for debate.

[mmoutfitters]

hi! i love your blog. i was wondering if you would do an updated wedding look book? i know you've done a few, but i think most of them are older. feel free to ignore if you're not accepting these rn!

hello! thank you for the kind words. i appreciate you!

there have been so many new wedding dresses out since my last lookbook, especially with the new pack, so i'll gladly do another!

apart from my suggestions below, there are a bunch of wedding resources out there already! here are some that i recommend looking at:

- HIGHLY recommend you look at the creators @zeussim, who has a bunch of wonderful wedding collections. - @beocreations is also a very popular creator for wedding dresses. - there is also a whole tumblr dedicated to wedding finds, @sims4weddingcc.  - there are also a bunch of cc wedding collections/sets available : til death do us part - sentate x joliebean x hfo wedding collection - miiko x simcelebrity00 wedding set - greenllamas  rustic romance stuff - plumbob tea society love that journey for us - joliebean x anotherplumbob bridal collection - serenity - i would also recommend checking out the cc finds tags: mmoutfitters | mmfinds | maxismatchccworld | emily cc finds - you can also check my ‘my wedding stories’ tags, for recolors and edits, mmoutfitters  - as you mentioned, i’ve done a few prompts for this already. you can find those on my ask tag page (under ‘weddings’). - here are some pinterest boards that I used:  sims 4 wedding dress wedding sims 4 cc - as well as a couple of youtube videos: elliandra - wedding showcase | best wedding cc 

i've included 30 'traditional' wedding gowns below.

i know not every sim can afford a wedding dress or even wants to wear one, so i've also included some more casual/homemade wedding outfits too. hope these help!

traditional [full img]:

1. leonie dress by jarusims (tsr) 2. chiara gown by jarusims (tsr) 3. stella dress by jarusims (tsr) 4. dimante dress by greenllamas 5. atlaua dress by sentate 6. jessie dress by sentate  7. imogen dress by sentate  8. oscar dress by sentate 9. elaine dress by madlen 10. the baroness dress by magnoliafarewell 

11. jane dress by zeussim 12. daisy dress by zeussim 13. ellie dress by beo 14. claire dress by beo 15. bridget dress by icecreamforbreakfast 16. carmen dress by zeussim 17. cinderella dress by zeussim 18. siren dress by zeussim 19. odette dress by miiko 20. althea dress by zeussim

21.  elverkongens brud by zeussim 22. amaryllis dress by zeussim 23. jemisha dress by sifix (tsr) 24. wedding dress 06 by beo 25. lace aplique dress by ekinege (tsr) 26. wedding dress by gcs 27. a-line gown by melonsloth 28. levitate dress by margeh-75 (tsr) 29. evanjelin dress by 5cats (tsr) 30. theia dress by sifix (tsr)

homemade [full img]:

1. doll bodysuit by ridgeport / fair shake ruffle skirt by dallasgirl 2. leather top by kunobani / ella pants by arethabee 3. noir accessory bodysuit by trillyke (tsr) / sam skirt by serenity 4. faye anime top by serenity / ramona skirt by ridgeport 5. lush corset by serenity / long pleated skirt by dissia (tsr) / dentelle bodysuit acc by renorasims  6. hero bodysuit by ridgeport / fraise skirt by nekochan 7. gloria top by candysims4 / cropped pants by qicc 8. julisa top by madlen / clio pants by ridgeport x grimcookies 9 sheibe outfit by candysims4 

10. chilly blouse by mmoutfitters / avery skirt by madlen 11. chasing love top by trillyke / daphne pants by sentate 12. ari top by serenity / chelsea skirt by sentate 13. sylvia-marie shirt-dress by hfo / talia pants by aharris00britney 14. blair blazer by greenllamas / cullotes by okruee 15. julia top by aladdin / sorielle skirt by sentate / gloves by sentate 16. astra dress by trillyke / eternally wedding gloves by devilicious (tsr) 17. ana accessory top by arethabee / marlene outfit by madlen 18. luisa dress by isjao

19. audrey cloth set by rustycc 20. jessica dress by kumikya 21. arlington dress by mmoutfitters 22. tiffany dress by sifix (tsr) 23. sigrid dress by ridgeport  24. pocahontas dress by simple-simmer 25. anne-marie dress by candysims4 26. whipped cream dress by gcs 27. hanuel dress by satterlly

28. alex dress by serenity 29. redoute dress by miiko 30. moira dress by adrienpastel 31. tied bodycon dress by casteru 32. papillon garden dress by anessasims 33. lace dress by sweetformysims 34. level dress by mmoutfitters 35. emilia dress by 3thousandplumbobs

[siriustreasure]

welcome fairies

requests closed | drafts 89 (ಥ_ಥ)

hiya lovelies ! i’m melody or mellie / melly for short ! or if you like pet names you can totally use those !! <33 :)) please scroll for my masterlist <3

rules :

i will not write anything involving incest, pedophilia or lack of consent. i will also not be accepting any smut / nsfw requests for the foreseeable future.

favourite characters to write :

alucard, freddy, sun, moon, hvitserk, sirius, heinley, my ocs

favourite things to write :

fluff, angst, platonic pairings

characters + fandoms :

if a character / fandom is crossed out, i’m not accepting requests for them at the moment !

i currently don’t accept requests for celebrities, including the actors who play the people on this list. i do occasionally write stuff for them of my own accord however, so check my masterlist <3

american horror story :

incomplete, any pairing

michael langdon, montanna duke, xavier plympton

bridgerton :

complete, any pairing

benedict, prince friedrich

castlevania :

incomplete, platonic only | any pairing

alucard, dracula, sypha, lisa, hector

doctor who :

complete, platonic only

11th doctor, amy pond

dead by daylight :

incomplete, any pairing

yun-jin lee, the trickster (ji-woon hak), felix richter, the nurse (sally smithson), the huntress (anna), the artist (carmina mora)

euphoria :

incomplete, platonic only | any pairing

cassie, jules, nate, fez

five nights at freddy’s : security breach :

complete, platonic only

freddy, sun, moon, chica, roxy, foxy, bonnie

friday night dinner :

complete, platonic only | any pairing

johnny, jackie

house of ashes :

complete, platonic only | any pairing

eric, rachel, joey

love island : the game :

incomplete, romantic only

chelsea, kelly

resident evil :

complete, platonic only | any pairing

leon kennedy, claire redfield, lady dimitrescu, bela dimitrescu, daniela dimitrescu, karl heisenberg, ethan winters, mother miranda

red dead redemption 2 :

incomplete, platonic only

arthur morgan

remarried empress (game) :

incomplete, any pairing

heinley

scream :

complete, romantic only

billy, stu, tatum, sidney

the witcher :

complete, platonic only

geralt, yennefer, jaskier

vikings :

complete, platonic only

hvitserk, ubbe, lagertha, björn, ragnar, rollo

venom :

complete, any pairing

venom, eddie

wizarding world ( harry potter + spin offs ) :

complete, platonic only | any pairing

sirius black (ge only), remus lupin (ge only), queenie goldstein, dumbledore

masterlist :

vikings :

the end of an era ( hvitserk x sister! reader )

drabbles ( miscellaneous ) :

001 ( mostly hvitserk x sister! reader )

bridgerton :

prince friedrich courting you would include

corpse husband :

being corpse husband’s daughter would include part 2