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illylli · 2 years

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Sweet Thing | Steddie x fem!Reader (18+)

→ Getting high at Lover’s Lake on a soft summer’s day seems like a perfect idea, until both Eddie and Steve realise they can’t keep their hands to themselves when they see you in your bikini.

→ 4k words: minors DNI; mentions of drug use, public oral (female receiving), choking kink

→ a/n: this was super fun to write, I absolutely adore wholesome n sexy threesome dynamics. If this gets enough traction, I might write a part 2 ;)

♫ mood: ‘sex, drugs, etc.’ by beach weather

Screeching tires alerted you to the boys’ arrival, and you knew what that meant.

Eddie and Steve were bickering over cassette tapes as you slid into the backseat, their argument ceasing as soon as you leant over the console, gifting them both a kiss on the cheek and a flower each.

“What’s this one?” Eddie asked as he brought the pale orange blossom to his nose. You were always sneaking a few from work for your friends.

“Carnation.”

Steve snorted as he put the car back into drive. “What, they sponsored by NASCAR or something?”

“Har har,” Eddie pushed the stem of his flower behind his ear, big brown eyes dazzling you as he smiled. “Do I look cool?”

“You look pretty,” you beamed, settling back into your seat. Steve put his gift onto the dashboard of his new car, which was now filled with a variety of dried and fresh flowers from each time he’d picked you up from the florist.

He reached his hand back, patting your knee as he drove, “Thanks, buttercup.”

You groaned at the nickname; one of many that stuck as soon as they’d learnt where you worked. You didn’t really mind it. In fact, you found it endearing. But letting them believe you hated it always led to them coddling you, and you were a sucker for being sucked up to.

It worked especially well when they were drunk, as it always led to precious kisses, which led to make-out sessions, which led to nothing more, because neither of them were gutsy enough to cross that line.

Maybe it was because they both liked you, thus decided not to put this flirty dynamic at risk by pursuing anything real. All you knew was that something was bound to change eventually, and you were eager to be the catalyst.

“You okay back there?” Steve asked as he heard you shuffling around. Glancing in the rear-view mirror had him swerving on the highway. “Christ, (Y/n)!”

“Don’t look, I’m getting changed into my bikini.”

Steve swore under his breath. “You couldn’t have said something earlier?”

“Dunno why you’re complaining, man,” Eddie mumbled, leaning back to put his feet up on the dash. Steve swatted at his Reeboks.

“Down,” he ordered, “And I didn’t see anything.”

He wasn’t lying. At most he would’ve gotten an eyeful of your thighs when he looked. But it was the possibility that he could’ve seen more that had him on edge.

While he was distracted, Eddie slipped a Dio cassette into the player, and Steve pre-emptively turned the volume down before it started blasting.

“Metal isn’t made to be listened to at a low volume,” Eddie argued, twisting the knob back up.

Another argument broke out; their tiffing the backing track to your wardrobe change. You were at Lover’s Lake in no time, so their bickering fizzled out, excitement setting in.

Eddie hurried to get your door for you, flourishing his hand dramatically. You took it, and he helped you exit. He made no attempt to hide how he ogled you in the wrap dress you’d haphazardly tied around your body to cover up before you reached the shore.

Steve retrieved the picnic stuff and nudged the back door shut with his hip, then struggled to lock the car with his arms full.

They both looked utterly adorable in their beach get-ups: Steve in a thin stripey shirt, red lifeguard-esque swimming trunks, and his signature sunglasses. Eddie went for a more utilitarian look: a dark acid-washed shirt with a few holes in it, his bottom half donned in the most distressed pair of black jeans you’d ever seen (you supposed for airflow). He clamped his teeth around a hair tie as he brushed his mop of hair off his neck, no doubt already feeling the heat.

After he’d tied his hair into a ponytail, and both you and Steve had sufficiently stared at him with hearts in your eyes, Eddie hauled the beach umbrella over his shoulder.

“Don’t forget the sunscreen,” Steve warned, and Eddie gave him the thumbs-up.

You took in the crowded shoreline, filled with families and some familiar faces. “Let’s find somewhere a bit more private,” you suggested, and the boys agreed. You led them through the forest, following the edge of the water until you found an empty stretch of sand, nestled between the trees.

Steve got to work with the sunscreen, ever diligent with his application. With a swift tug, your cover-up fell to the ground. His hands stilled.

“Well, Mr. sun safety, you gonna do me?”

Steve cleared his throat. “Yeah,” he nodded, “Yeah,” he said again, taking a step towards you.

His hands were warm when they connected with your back, his fingers dipping under your bikini string to make sure he got every inch. Eddie came along to help, smothering your face in sunscreen, his tongue sticking out in concentration as he smoothed it out, down your neck and arms.

Satisfied with his job, he promptly snatched up the book he’d brought with him and beelined for the hammock that hung under the shady trees. Steve’s lips brushed your ear as he whispered a devious, “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

With a nod you were on to stalking your prey, employing a pincer movement as Steve snuck behind the tree-line. You served as the bait, luring Eddie’s eyes away from the pages, distracting him while Steve jumped out, wrapping his body in the hammock and spinning him upside down.

Eddie released a hilariously high-pitched screech as he hung cocooned.

“Goddammit!”

You leaned over, flicking his nose. “You have to swim with us today, no more hiding in the shade. You can read anywhere.”

Eddie groaned, “Can’t have a single relaxing day with you two.” He tried fighting out of his entrapment, limbs pushing against the canvas fabric fruitlessly. He huffed his defeat. “Fine.”

Steve put him right, providing an arm when Eddie stumbled back onto his feet, grumbling his discontentment. Eddie rid himself of his shirt, chucking it at Steve’s face, who caught the balled-up fabric with ease, but almost dropped it again when he drunk in the pale, tattooed chest that sunk into the jeans low on his hips.

You’d all seen each other in these states of undress before. You’d even visited Lover’s Lake a couple of times, enjoying the cool water on humid days. But as your attraction never wavered, so did your reactions never change.

Eddie’s knowing smirk lit up his face. He shoved Steve’s chest playfully.

“Don’t forget to do me too, Harrington”

While Steve’s movements stuttered, you started, tugging on the belt loops of Eddie’s jeans to bring him closer before unbuttoning and unzipping them.

“I knew you only wanted to get into my pants,” he teased as you tugged them down, exposing legs that had never seen the sun.

“You wish,” you retorted, sinking to your knees. Eddie’s eyes went unfocused then, the position providing a perfect view down your bikini top. Your expert hands slid up the soft flesh of his thighs and started to feel faint.

Steve’s hands steadied him as he started doing his back and arms, paying extra attention to the tattoos littered across his upper body. He massaged his biceps, fingers following the pronounced veins that wrapped around his muscles.

“Jesus, dude, you’re rock hard.”

Eddie chuckled, turning his head, “From fingering my sweetheart all night long.” He caught the snort you gave in response to his reference to his guitar. He pushed a hand through your hair, tugging, making you look up at him. “Wish that was you, huh.”

You left him with a stinging slap to his upper thigh that left him hissing. You backed into the water to avoid consequence.

“Race me?”

Steve grinned. “You guys don’t stand a chance.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eddie crossed his arms, getting in his face, “We all know Stevie’s the swim champion.” He then shoved him, stalling him for a second as he ran for the water, giving you both a head start.

The goal was the little island in the middle of the lake, and you were in the lead until Eddie caught up, snagging your ankle. You tried not to laugh, but it was difficult as his ticklish touch crawled up your calves. While Eddie was trying to dunk you into the water, Steve leisurely freestyled his way to the island. After leaving you flustered, Eddie joined him soon after, the two of you prepared for the show of you exiting the water.

Dripping wet with your hair slicked back, the two men felt like they were looking at something that shouldn’t be allowed. During the race your top had become loose, and you were fidgeting with it when Eddie came to the rescue.

“Here, let me help you with that babe.”

The knot was tight, so he had to pry it open with his teeth, his lips brushing the back of your neck. Steve pretended not, his hand hovering suspiciously over his crotch as you pressed your hands to your boobs to keep yourself from being exposed.

Once Eddie was done, your top now secure, he pulled his hair out, shaking it out and splattering you with water droplets. He laughed at your offended look and reached out to pinch your side.

While you watched Eddie retrieve a bag filled with a few joins and his lighter, Steve took the opportunity to palm himself. He was going absolutely crazy watching the drops of water roll down Eddie’s chest, his eyes following to the curve of your body beside his as he passed you a neatly rolled joint.

“My best work so far,” he commented, his wet hair brushing your shoulder as he hovered close.

Your eyes lit up at the pattern on the paper. “Grape flavoured?”

“And apple for Stevie,” he said, passing his friend the one he’d rolled for him.

You all lit up, sitting on the shoreline, water lapping at your feet. With your free hand you played with the damp strands of Eddie’s hair. Steve pointed at his bare hands.

“You lose your rings?”

Eddie shook his head. “Didn’t bring them for that exact reason. I’ve lost a fair few while swimming. Never again.”

Steve placed his hand on his back, rubbing supportively. “That must’ve been really hard, man, I’m sorry,” he teased, playing off Eddie’s unnecessary dramatic wording.

Eddie rolled his eyes, unable to retort verbally while his joint was between his lips.

After that he began to teach you how to blow smoke rings. Steve was going crazy as he watched Eddie press his thumbs to either side of your mouth, demonstrating the shape it needed to be in to achieve the rings. He showed you how he curled his tongue to do it, and you, the apt pupil, got it pretty quickly. Steve showed off and blew one on his first try.

You hummed, licking your lips to taste the residue of the flavoured paper after each puff. Both Eddie and Steve knew you liked sweet things, hence the picnic sitting ready for you back on the mainland, filled with fruit, chocolate and sugar.

As you reached the end of your joints, Eddie started playing with the frill on your bikini bottoms. “Where’d you get this little set?” he asked, taking in the black and white Gingham, “You look like a snack.”

You shrugged, but the compliment obviously left you chuffed. “Got it on a trip to California.” Then, a minute later, “I’m starving.”

The swim back to your picnic spot was a lot more relaxed, taking a moment to just float and watch the clouds drift across the bright blue sky. Unbeknownst to you, Steve and Eddie were watching on, admiring the glittering sunlight reflected against your skin, making it appear like you were swimming in gold.

“She’s so damn pretty it’s stupid,” Eddie smiled gently. His hair had started to curl as it dried.

Steve was glad they were standing in waist-high water, because the tent in his pants agreed. “Pretty, smart, funny. It really isn’t fair.”

“You guys know I can hear you,” you beamed, eyes still closed. The men laughed, and Eddie splashed you.

Steve waded over with a pebble he’d been playing with, and placed it atop your bellybutton.

Eddie swooped down to pick a rock up from the lakebed, placing it on your stomach. Thus, it became a game of balancing. You shook with restrained giggles as they covered your floating body with little stones. The breaking point was when Eddie placed a tiny pebble on your nose. When it slid off you erupted into laughter, turning upright.

That was your cue to finally have lunch. As you exited the water, Eddie asked Steve what he’d do if someone were drowning. He put on a half-assed act of drowning. You heard him say “I think I need CPR, because you just took my breath away,” and were amused by the way the cheesy pickup line genuinely flustered Steve.

They came to sit down on the blanket, thanking you for setting it all up while they fucked around. You reclined, still wanting to bask in the sun, but as you reached for a strawberry and cream sandwich Steve tutted.

“You’ll choke,” he warned, and with a dramatic groan you sat up, resting your head against his crossed legs, which seemed to be good enough since he didn’t say anything else about it.

Eddie mixed up some cocktails in plastic cups, garnishing the top with a candied orange slice.

“You sure it’s all good to drink and smoke?” Steve asked.

“Golden rule,” Eddie raised a finger, prepared to impart his wisdom. “Beer before grass, you’re on your ass. Grass before beer, you’re in the all clear.”

You hummed in delight as the carbonated drink hit your tongue. Eddie made eye contact with you as he sucked on his candied fruit. Steve tried to focus on not getting hard, hiding his face in his drink as the weed and sugar and his two hot friends drove him insane.

As you reached for a chocolate, just out of reach in your reclined state, Eddie noticed and said “Let me grab that for you, sweet thing.” He hovered over you with the treat, “Open,” he coaxed, then fed it to you. “Messy girl,” he tutted, “Clean me up.” You licked his fingers clean where the chocolate had melted.

He popped one into his mouth, and you mentioned that he got a little chocolate on his face. The mood became more playful as he took another, purposefully smearing it against his face as he frowned at you. “Here? Shit, here?”

You laughed and pulled him down, hands on either side of his face, and you licked the chocolate from the side of his mouth and up his cheek.

Eddie’s dark gaze fell on Steve’s pants and he smirked. “Want one, Stevie?”

You pushed your head back, looking up at him as he tried for nonchalance and said “Why not?”

His stomach flipped as Eddie plucked a chocolate and placed one end between his teeth. He hovered over you, placing his hands on Steve’s knees, drifting closer and closer until Steve opened his mouth to take a bite, their lips brushing in the exchange. You watched the scene, a heat starting to stir in your core.

Eddie acted like the mood hadn’t completely shifted, leaning back to grab a beer before lounging back on his elbows. A cool breeze blew past as the clouds crossed over the sun, and Steve felt painfully restrained as he caught the way your nipples hardened underneath your bikini top. Eddie was looking too, his fingers circling the mouth of his bottle.

“Did you plan this?”

“Hm?” You glanced up at Eddie as he leaned over you to pluck a grape from the bunch.

He motioned between you and the blanket. “You’re matching.”

“Oh yeah,” you giggled, wondering how it’d taken him so long to realise.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you? What, you want us to eat off you instead?”

He placed the grape down on the front of your bikini bottoms, a mini picnic hosted above your sweet spot. Steve began playing with your hair; he had to do something to occupy his hands as he watched Eddie’s mouth lower to your crotch, his lips pressing against the fabric of your bikini as he closed his mouth around the grape.

You sucked in a breath, your hips inching higher ever so slightly, a rumbling laugh reverberating in Eddie’s chest as he chewed, moving away.

“Eddie,” you whined,” Please.”

“Please what?” He laughed when you didn’t answer, “Sweet thing, if you want me to fuck you, you should’ve said something before Harrington got a hardon.”

“I’d be happy to watch,” Steve kidded. “Hang on. You guys aren’t joking?”

Eddie ran a finger up the inside of your thigh, your whole body shuddering under his touch. “Nah man, I don’t think we are.”

He slid two fingers over your clothed slit, chuckling darkly as you let out a whimper. Steve felt like he couldn’t breathe as Eddie lowered his mouth to you again, teeth sinking into your hip, causing you to buck into him. He apologised with a lick as he hooked his fingers into your bikini, pulling it to the side before pushing a testing finger into you.

“Jesus Christ, you’re already so wet. You like my mouth that much?”

You nodded. Steve groaned.

“So responsive. Uh-uh.” Eddie tutted, pushing your thighs apart as they attempted to jerk closed when his thumb circled your clit. “You want my mouth on you again?” You nodded again, desperate. “I wanna hear you babe.”

“Yes.” Your voice was little more than an airy breath. Eddie smiled.

“Such a good girl,” he beamed, “You want Stevie to play with your tits while I eat you out?”

“Please.”

Steve didn’t hesitate any longer, his hands sliding over the damp material of your bikini top, pressing a squeeze to each. You looked up, reaching for his face to pull him down into a kiss. He stroked the edge of your jaw as he savoured the sweetness on your tongue, his back stiff as he parted.

Your hand flew to grip his wrist as Eddie’s wet mouth pressed against your clit, his tongue soon flicking against the sensitive nub before he began to suck. Paired with a second finger sliding into your hole, you felt immediately overwhelmed.

Steve wanted so badly to jerk himself off to such a lovely sight, your body twisting, Eddie’s elbows digging into your thighs to keep you still. But he wanted you to feel good first, so his hands dipped back to your breasts, pulling your top down with a low groan. He began alternating between flicking your nipples and squeezing the flesh of your breast. You turned your head, biting down on his forearm hard as Eddie fucked you with his fingers and mouth.

Eddie motioned with his free hand, mumbling something Steve didn’t catch. He made a c-shaped grabby hand, and Steve frowned.

He took the moment to come up for air, pushing his hair out of his face. “She likes being choked.”

“What?” Steve looked down at you, eyebrows raised, “You do?”

“Gently,” Eddie said pointedly, “Like this-“ Eddie reached up, his fingers still in you, pumping slowly as his other hand wrapped around your neck, fingers squeezing the sides, “You don’t want to put any pressure on the front of her throat. Just on the sides. You like that, don’t you sweetheart?”

You responded with the arch of your back, Eddie humming contentedly.

“Yeah, she loves it.”

Steve remembered it now, catching the two of you making out at a party, Eddie’s hand wrapped around your throat. That’s where he must’ve learnt of your preference. Steve tried not to let jealousy wash over him. He wanted to make you feel good, too.

So, he let Eddie’s advice sink in, carefully positioning his hand. He gave a test squeeze and your brows fell in pleasure. “Let me know if I’m hurting you, okay?”

You nodded, tears springing to your eyes as Eddie’s mouth pressed to your pussy again. Everything felt like too much and not enough, every touch and squeeze heightened by the high that was coming on now.

“You look so good like this,” Steve cooed, his thumb digging into your pulse. You were biting your lip so hard he was worried you’d draw blood, trying to contain the sounds Eddie was working so hard to coax from you. He bent over, pressing his mouth to yours, and a cacophony of your moans fell onto his tongue and against his teeth.

Eddie made a whiny sound against your pussy as he heard you falling apart, his pace picking up, fingers brushing your sweet spot as they pounded into you. Steve hooked his thumb into your mouth, holding it open so that your pretty sounds released into the air.

Eddie chuckled, lifting his mouth to tell you “You sound like a fuckin’ porn star, baby. God, you feel amazing, clenching around my fingers like that. You gonna cum, babe?”

A chorus of yes yes yes started tumbling from your lips, and Steve cracked onto the fact that you enjoyed the praise.

“You taste fucking phenomenal,” Eddie’s voice muffled as he sunk back to tease your orgasm out with his mouth.

“You’re doing so well, beautiful,” Steve encouraged, “C’mon, I wanna see you cum on his face. Let’s see that. You like it when I play with your boobs?”

Steve’s cock started throbbing when his name fell from your lips in a whimper. At least he could see Eddie was just as affected. Despite his pinpoint focus on getting you off, he was grinding his hips against the ground, chasing friction.

Your nails dug into Steve’s arms as your orgasm built, the pitch of your moans growing higher and higher until you tensed up, your toes curling, a wave of pleasure washing over you, Eddie’s name exhaled dreamily as you rode out the high, enhanced by your actual high.

You slumped against Steve, Eddie panting as he pushed himself up, hovering over you to place a sweet kiss to your lips, still slick with your juices.

“So good,” you whispered, feeling all spent, content to just lay there for a while. “Your turn soon,” you promised.

“Steve should go first,” Eddie told you, “I’m exiling you both to sex island,” he pointed, and you both tittered.

“What makes you think he doesn’t want to fuck you too?” you asked.

Steve held his hands up, “Guilty.”

You all burst into laughter at his response. The day was still young, and you were all high enough to afford yourselves a few reckless decisions. Two of which were devouring you with their eyes, eager to indulge themselves.

They wouldn’t have to wait much longer.

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jedivszombie · 3 years

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Okay gang, since there are a bunch of anons going fucking wild across the dash tonight about some joking posts about Mark Webber and Ann Neal - that were someone’s shocked reaction to the age difference between them. I thought it would be interesting to go on a little journey together.

This little journey is the story of how Ann and Mark met, and will hopefully give you guys some insight as to why the ‘sexism’ and ‘ageism’ arguments you are currently using are bullshit - and why using these words in such a buzzword way actually is not the kind of critical thinking you think it is. And why this situation is more akin to a student and teacher starting a relationship - which I think we can all agree is not advisable, even if you don’t know why.

Below the cut is going to be a little discussion of Mark and Ann the early days; the reason the age difference is iffy at best and fucked up at worst; and, a little discussion about how these situations require nuance and the ways in which f1blr often likes to blow situations out of proportion.

I have split it into three parts:

Mark and Ann: The Early Days (1994-1997)

Nuance, my old friend. Anon hate, my enemy. (tw: for racism here, be careful)

The pitfalls of discourse and the importance of looking after yourself.

A little disclaimer for you guys: I do not pretend to know anything about this relationship, other than what is readily available to learn about it from what they themselves have put out about it. I am just providing a timeline and some facts. Whatever conclusions you draw from it are your own.

Feel free to come for me if you so desire.

Mark and Ann: The Early Days (1994-1997)

We start our story in Australia in February, 1994. Mark is competing in Australian Formula Ford Championship and Ann Neal is the new media and PR officer for the category. This is their first meeting. Just so we know what’s up here Mark was 17 at the time, and Ann was absolutely an adult (apparently there is a 13 year age gap, which may not sound like much but we will get onto that later, which makes her roughly 30 when they first met).

Some key things to be aware of from this first meeting:

Mark is 17, Ann is about 30. Mark is a young racer, Ann is the media and PR officer for the category he races in.

In an excerpt from Aussie Grit, p. 57 to be exact, we get to find out what Ann had to say about the first time they met:

“She thought I was a bit of a smart-arse when we first met. ‘But I liked how bold and cheeky he was,’ she says, ‘and how mature he seemed. When I asked someone how old he was, I was shocked when they said 17 – he was confident beyond his years.’”

In another excerpt from Aussie Grit, p. 61, Mark tells us other things Ann remembers about their first meeting:

“Ann remembers our first meeting and my opening remark about her being so important. She can even remember what I was wearing – a stripey green and red top, one of those United Colors of Benetton things – so that was pretty prophetic, as things turned out!”

Now this may sound extremely cute to some of you, like they’re just having a normal ‘aww remember how we met’ moment. But let me please re-direct your attention back to the fact that Mark is 17 (and still not an adult yet if this is what you are gonna nitpick about) and Ann is very much an adult, in a position of power.

So, a teenager makes a quip about how important you are and you commit to memory what he was wearing the day it happened?

Now let’s bring in the first quote I put up there where Ann herself was recalling the first time they met. I would like to draw your attention to the following sentence: ‘and how mature he seemed. When I asked someone how old he was, I was shocked when they said 17 – he was confident beyond his years.’

Hmmmm, where have we all heard language like this used before? If, like me, you have some experience of adults trying to start inappropriate relationships with you as a teenager then you will be very familiar to this sort of language. The emphasis is on how mature he seemed, is what’s sticking out for me here tbh.

Now, if this had been a fleeting meeting, and they had met again a few years later, I would be more on board for whatever justification some of the anons have been trying to use. However, it wasn’t.

Again from Aussie Grit, p.61:

“After that first meeting we kept in touch. My family sometimes met up with Ann and Luke for weekend get-togethers, and I ensured she got her motor-sport fixes by dragging all my old F1 tapes out. By way of revenge she would bring down all her British Formula Ford tapes for me.”

Oh cool, so she gained the trust of his family and Mark was hanging out with her son. This is so sweet Alexa, play Chosen Family by Rina Sawayama. Real talk though, again if this is how it had ended - with them just being family friends - then we would not be having this conversation.

BUT, we all know how this little story ends so onwards we march. We shoot forward to late 1994, Mark has done okay in Formula Ford but his Dad is no longer able to fund him. SO, he turns to their old pal - the ever present and super helpful Ann, bless her heart - to try and drum up some sponsorship for Mark so he can race.

Little background on why Ann was chosen to try and help with this, I’ll give you 3 guesses and only one of them is correct. Yes, that’s right, it’s her experience - which she has managed to get by being 30 and having a background in motorsports. She started out as a motorsport journo and ended up dealing with press and PR for Paul Warwick (Derek Warwick’s brother). In 1986 she started dealing with Johnny Herbert’s media before working for Formula Ford in Europe in 1991.

Ann begrudgingly accepts and draws up plans with Mark, which leads him to a Yellow Pages sponsorship for his next season in Formula Ford, and beyond - how sweet, how nice, they are #winning! We stan teamwork besties! And Ann started working with Mark and his family to further his career.

Ann had a plan for Mark, as outlined in Aussie Grit, p.69-70:

“By the end of 1995 Annie told me, in no uncertain terms, that – and I quote – I had to get my arse out of there. She didn’t just mean Australian Formula Ford, either: she meant Australia. She thought it was time for me to go and have a crack at some of the big guys, and she proposed to help me go about it in a serious, business-like way.

‘How the f#*k are you going to get to Formula 1 coming from Queanbeyan?’ Anyone who wants to trace my journey should start with a piece of paper that Ann drew up on 6 July 1995.”

So, now Ann has outlined her hopes for Mark and a glimmering career in motorsport. I would like us to know that at this point in time Mark was the ripe old age of 18, going on 19.

In 1996 Ann and Mark moved properly to the UK so Mark could drive in the British Formula Ford Championship - at this point Mark is still 19. At this point he is living in the UK with Ann and her mother, and Ann’s son.

So this is probably sounding pretty okay so far and sure it’s just a business relationship with a business set up, like no real cause for concern. But then we discover that this business relationship had turned into a relationship-relationship pretty damn fast.

From the horses mouth himself, Aussie Grit, p.87:

“Back in England, Ann and I moved house to Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, on the edge of motor sport’s equivalent of Silicon Valley. We had started out as teammates and friends on a mission but over time our friendship had deepened into something else. I enjoyed spending time with her and we felt entirely comfortable in each other’s company. Moving to England was a huge step for me and I think it was a case of us needing one another and that’s how the relationship was formed.”

Okay, okay, okay so I know at this point Mark is 19/20 he’s an adult right? He can make his own choices. But, can we please admit that at best it’s an iffy situation because of the position of power and authority she was in? In his life? For his career?

There are a few other excerpts I found particularly interesting, about Mark’s family’s reaction (all from Aussie Grit, chapter 3):

“My parents came over to the UK in the English summer of 1997. While they were thrilled about how things were developing for me in racing, they’d been less thrilled by the romantic relationship that was developing between Annie and me....” “...Annie was bitterly disappointed at my behaviour. Her plan to take me to the highest level of motor sport was starting to go horribly wrong, so she left Australia earlier than planned and headed back to Europe. My family arranged for Alan Docking to collect my belongings from the house we had been sharing and the one and only car Annie and I had at that stage...Campese Management told her that they had been instructed by the Webber family to terminate her role as my manager and that Campese Management would be taking over all aspects of my career, including the negotiation of my driving contracts.“

“While I knew Annie provided the support and guidance I needed in my racing career, I was missing her in so many other ways too. We were such a dynamic force in every sense; we could make things happen when we were together. We were teammates, soul mates, call it what you want.“

“As to Mum’s concern about our age difference, that has never been a factor for us. When we began to be more open about being together, perhaps the top end of the age gap shocked a few people. In those days people were less accepting of a big age difference between partners, especially when it’s our way round. It’s not such a big deal nowadays and it makes us laugh when so-called celebrities reveal they’re dating an older woman or younger man!“

While the Daily Mail is trash, the beginning of this video is very revealing to me - particularly Jackie Stewart’s comments from 00:12.

Obviously you can make up your own conclusions from all of this information, and I would once again like to point out that none of us - not me, not the anons, not you - actually know the nature of their relationship. They have been together for 24 years - good for them! Whatever they have going has obviously worked for them, this is not me trying to shit on that or anything, and I’m gonna be real I’m not the biggest Mark Webber fan.

Nuance, my old friend. Anon hate, my enemy.

All I want to do is add some nuance to the conversation, an overview of the timeline, an understanding of what the facts are. So that some of those cowardly anons (or anon) can hop off their self-built thrones and get a grip. The sexism and ageism argument literally does not apply here, for all of the evidence and reasons listed above - if the situation was flipped we would still be calling it out. The only difference is you guys would probably be on board with it being called out.

So Ann is a woman? So, what? Do you think she’s above reproach? You think one person’s 50 note post on this site is gonna rock the foundation of a relationship that has been 26 years in making? If you have answered yes to any of these questions then you are either: a) Mark Webber himself, or b) delusional as hell. You really think that responding by sending anon hate to a teenager, who btw only made a post calling out the age difference because she was shocked and had just discovered it, is the right way to go?

You really think that sending me this message, attacking other people in such a vile and racist manner is okay?

So you don’t like Nehir and Sera? Good for you, go block them, if you follow them, unfollow them. Those options are free and readily available to you.

For me, it’s so funny to see you hiding behind that little Anon mask spewing this vile shit. The commitment you have to proving that you are just a cowardly person with nothing better to do than rag on a bunch of different people for reblogging a post, that in the long run is not going to reach the people it’s about, is outstanding. I really hope you pat yourself on the back for this one.

The pitfalls of discourse and the importance of looking after yourself.

There has definitely been a spate of ‘conversations’ that have been happening recently that have very much been straying into the land of discourse, over very small comments or posts. I think that some people need to remember that we’re all here for our own entertainment and as soon as it stops being fun - you are allowed to log off; you are allowed to block people; you are allowed to unfollow people.

Sending anon hate is so counterproductive to whatever conversation you think you are starting or having with a person. Also guys, sometimes it’s not that deep - sometimes jokes are just jokes, sometimes someone finds out something they didn’t know about a driver or an ex-driver and they make a joke post about it. That does not give you the right to send them hate, or to make racist comments in other people’s asks.

Sometimes these discussions require a debate and sometimes discourse can be good - but honestly? I’m worried about some of you guys, it is not healthy to get so angry at other people for the things they post on their blogs that you are not obligated to follow or interact with at all.

I am also worried about people who turn every little thing into something discoursey. There are causes and issues to care about in this sport and community, for sure. But sometimes you also have to pick your battles - especially when I know a lot people in this community have fragile mental health. I do not say this to patronise any of you but to just provide a reminder that you do not need to engage with everything that makes your blood boil, and furthering some of these conversations sometimes is not doing you guys any good. Burnout is real.

Please take some time to take care of yourselves, the pandemic is doing a number on all of us and I know being online gives you a gateway to being connected to people, but sometimes you just have to walk away from a discussion. Sometimes you have to just go and reblog something unrelated, or stare at a photo of your favourite driver, or listen to some angry music. Anything else to process your knee jerk reaction, to give yourself time to figure out how you feel about something and whether it’s worth engaging in or not.

#maisie talks #the post that no one asked for but we sure as shit needed #anon hate below the cut #would also like to say that i am not pretending to know shit about their relationship and this is all information provided by the couple #themselves #under the cut is a bunch of information about their relationship up to you how you take it but i know how i feel #tw racism #i went insane i've seen the opposite of god #thnx ana for supporting my rage #here i am a hundred years late and a dollar short #mark webber

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aphrodite-would-be-proud · 4 years

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Anon said: Could you do the duck pond headcannons with Armin and his s/o? hes just so sweet and I know that boy must have a soft spot for ducks...🦆🦆🦆

Feeding the ducks with Armin

{ Armin x reader | tw:none | fluff | modern }

{ "Enten" 1909 by Alexander Koester 1864-1932 }

The thing about Armin is that he's really good at keeping going.

No matter how stressful life gets, how much the never ending work piles up, somehow he manages not only to get things done, but to keep expectations and above.

And all of that without an outside twitch or beep.

It's both a good and bad trait, since yes he gets things done but at the cost of his own self.

His mental state takes the hit, stress, overthinking, doubt and anxiety.

And he learned how to break the cycle, how to soothe his own worries away and to respect his own needs.

He learned to never ignore the signs, to always step back and take a break whenever he notices them. For if he ignored them, things would only get worse, the key to soothe them away is to acknowledge them first.

He needed a break, and that wasn't up for debate in his mind.

And so one day, on an especially lazy weekend morning, as he snuggled closer to you for warmth under the cozy blanket, he seemed to be...looking to say something.

A trip to the nearby park is what he suggested, just you and him sitting near the pond under the cool breeze.

How could you say no to those puppy eyes looking at you like you held the stars, or the way some strands of his messy hair were standing up?

Especially his soft spoken words just right against your neck, warm breath ghosting over skin.

Calling you sweetheart as he hugged you closer from behind, saying how nice it would be to get some fresh air today, how much he'd love to take you to relax near the water and maybe feed some ducks.

How soft the grass would feel below your skin as you basked in the warm sun.

Ending it with a remark on how stressful life was lately, how much he missed spending time with you.

Light kisses trailing up your neck, reaching right below your ear.

How much he needed you.

...

how could you ever say no? It'd break your heart to refuse him something when he's like this.

It's almost like he planned for it.

Although whatever theory your brain was working out about how Armin seemed to always end up getting his way in these situations, was quickly tossed away when you saw his smile, making it all worth it.

He kept saying thank you between each soft kiss he gave you.

Excitement clear in his voice as he hugged you even closer, tangling your legs together.

And so, when the wind picked up as the warm afternoon sun arrived, both of you were already settled on a good spot near the pond at the park.

Sitting on a stripey yellow and white sheet, wearing matching sun hats while sharing a plate of fruits, crackers and cheese.

His hand occasionally caressing yours without a word, just tangling your fingers together for a few seconds before pulling away so he can feed you some grapes.

You can see that he felt...at peace.

Like his worries went away the moment he stepped near the pond and heard the flapping of birds and ducks.

Some frogs were taking a nap in the muddy spots near the water cliff, basking in the cool shade the tall grass provided them.

You're pretty sure you saw a couple ladybugs crawling up Armin's arms, although he didn't seem to notice or feel them.

Maybe because he was still a bit shaken from the squirrel jumping on his hair before stealing some of his food and scurrying away.

Afterwards he didn't take his sun hat off no matter how many times you reassured him no squirrels were targeting his hair.

Neither of you brought anything beside food and some utensils with you, much preferring to just...sit together and talk.

Watch the still water, chat about whatever comes to mind, say the most cheesy lines you could think of, and despite how cliche they were, they still earned you a smile and a blush from Armin.

Yeah some of his lines made you giggle, while others got your heart beating again as he perked up from your reactions.

Time flew by, both of you too occupied with each other to notice the clouds passing by and sky slowly turning orange.

Somewhere along this, as he was entranced by a story you were telling him, a high pitched quick interrupted you mid-sentence.

Looking below, a black and yellow feathered duckling stood, tiny wings spread as it quacked at you again.

"You came to say hi little buddy?" Said Armin

The duckling opened its peak, taking the string of Armin's shoelaces and pulling on it like it's a worm.

He must be hungry, you told Armin who nodded Before reaching to the basket beside you.

The fact he even came prepared with some bird seeds and defrosted peas, would've surprised you if you were someone else.

But you knew him well, how much effort and thought he puts in even the smallest of details just because he truly cares.

Asking to open your hand, he poured some of the seeds in your palm.

The duckling cautiously waddled closer, observing your hand before pecking it, nibbling as it got what can of the seeds.

And soon enough, the more quacking sounds came as the mother duck finally stepped closer after observing from a far for a while, the rest of her ducklings trailing after.

Deciding to pour the rest of the food for them on the ground since there's only so much cuteness to numb the feeling of ducks pecking your hand while eating.

That day you and Armin made a small family of ducks very very happy and full of aots, peas, corn and bird seeds.

Afterwards Armin made sure to press his cold soda against your palm to soothe the slight tingling pain, asking if you're okay and fretting just like the mother duck who checked each of her children before jumping in the water.

As a compromise, he held your hand close on the way home before buying you some of your favourite snacks from a corner store as a silent apology.

And just like that, after a full day of spending it with you, the most precious person to his heart in this world, Armin felt like he can go back to facing the daily life struggles with a new sense of strength.

You are a huge source of his strength after all, and it's on days like these when he realises how much you can affect him just by sitting with him near a pond.

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tobesobri · 4 years

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𝓞nly one more chapter to go after this omg!!!! Honestly, I considered giving up on posting this story so many times, but I’m really glad I didn’t because it’s been such an incredible experience thanks to all of you guys! This chapter is my personal favorite out of the entire series so I really hope you guys like it!

If you’d like a preview of Chapter 13 right now, you can join my patreon here! All current proceeds will be donated to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute. Thank you so much for all the love and support with this story ❤️

huge massive thank you to the incredible @youresogolden-h for editing ❤️

CHAPTER TWELVE: SLAVE TO THE WAY YOU MOVE (6.2K)

Harry and Y/N are friends…. with benefits, but not the kinds you’re thinking of.

🥥MASTERLIST 🌃INSPO TAG 🌻ASK TAG 💃PLAYLIST 🛌

When her phone rang the next morning, she didn’t exactly get to it very easily. Not when she tried to roll away from Harry and he groaned, holding onto her even tighter.

“Leave it,” he whispered in a raspy version of his voice, eyes still closed, arm still firmly curled around her waist.

“It’s probably Will,” she reminded him, attempting once again to move away from Harry.

But he just groaned again like he was some kind of possessive dog. She huffed, falling against his chest when he showed no signs of giving up. Which remained true until she dug her hands into his side and tickled him away from her.

“Oi! Stop it!” He whined, finally letting go and pushing her away from him until he rolled over on his side and she was free to answer her phone.

“You cheating fucker,” he mumbled half into his pillow while she sat on the edge of the bed and took care of Will’s call before it went to voicemail.

“Hello?”

“Hey, you're still at Harry’s right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m out front. Sorry I didn’t call before I got here, it’s just been hectic.”

She immediately shot up from her spot on his bed and Harry opened his eyes again, turning onto his back to watch her as she raced to retrieve her clothes.

“Oh, um... I was just going to get an uber or something.” She held her phone to her ear with her shoulder as she grabbed her bra and then her dress from Harry’s floor.

“It’s no big deal. I’m headed back to pick up a few things anyways because I’m going to stay with Sasha the rest of the weekend.”

Y/N had been too lost in her panicking that she forgot why she’d ended up where she did last night in the first place. “Is she alright? Her mom I mean.”

Will sighed through the receiver, “Yeah. She was having chest pains yesterday. They kept her overnight for observation. I just got them home about an hour ago, but I’m literally still in my clothes from last night.”

Y/N glanced over her shoulder at Harry, who stared at her concerned, waiting himself to know what was going on and why it seemed like she was leaving him already.

“Okay, um, I’ll be there in a minute.”

And then Harry shut his eyes tight and wished they could just rewind and go back to sleep.

“He’s waiting outside.” She spoke softly and Harry opened his eyes to her, finding her phone in her hand instead of at her ear.

Harry nodded, knowing she didn’t have any other options. She stared at him for a moment, growing sadder by the second, before she reluctantly took her clothes to his bathroom with her and changed back into them.

When the bathroom door shut behind her, he rolled onto his stomach, pressing his face into his hands because her leaving was not at all in his plans for the morning. He had so much more to say to her, more kisses to give her.

He didn’t want her to go home and never come back again because, in his experience, saying I love you wasn’t always enough to get someone to stay.

She crawled onto the bed behind him once she was changed, placing his t-shirt onto his bare shoulder to get his attention. Once he looked at her, she smiled apologetically.

“I’ll be back, I promise.” She leaned down, pressing her lips to his. She pulled away quicker than he would have liked her to and she looked at him almost like she was about to cry when he pouted and reached for more. She hated leaving him like she was, with so many words hanging above them still, but Will left her no choice.

“Sorry for bailing on you like that.” Will said while he drove in a hurry, breaking the speed limit on every street it took to get back to their building. She couldn’t blame him though.

Shaking her head, she quickly shot him down. “Don’t worry about it.” And she really wished he wouldn’t. After the night she had, she should be thanking him for leaving her at the party.

“Guess Harry owed you anyways for that one time he got drunk and you let him sleep in your bed.” Will smiled, glancing over at her while she nodded in agreement. Her heart fluttered thinking back to that time and how far she and Harry had come since then. She wondered if he’d liked her back then too, in the same way she had liked him, and just how long she was blind to it.

Will explained everything that happened with Sasha the rest of the way and she listened quietly, respecting his need to release all the anxious thoughts even though she sometimes found herself getting distracted. It was Harry’s fault, she figured, he’d said he was in love with her, and kissed her when he was sober, and she didn't get the chance to say a single word to him yet.

Y/N and Will split ways when he rushed to his room to pack a bag and she sat on the edge of her bed, waiting until he left again before she called Harry. A text might have sufficed, asking what time she could come back, but she wanted to hear his voice again. Desperately.

Her phone dinged in her hands before she got the chance, however.

(Harry, 10:03 a.m.)

Just got called to a meeting until five. I can pick you up afterwards?

Her shoulders dropped and a frown pulled on her lips. Five o’clock was so far away she had no clue what she was going to do until then. She had no plans for the day besides spending the entire thing with Harry.

(Y/N, 10:03 a.m.)

Okay.

“I’ll be back tomorrow night.” Will poked his head in her room and she tried to pretend like she didn’t just get the worst news of her entire life.

She nodded and he hesitated a moment before he left, wanting to ask if she’d be alright by herself in the apartment all weekend, but he refrained. She wasn’t a baby and he needed to stop worrying so much. His lips fell into another apologetic smile just before he took off. She listened to his footsteps and then eventually the front door as he shut it behind him.

Falling back on her bed, she already wished she was in Harry’s again. She still felt his arms around her, his lips on hers, his breath as he said those words.

When it was nearing five, she was just about ready. Harry had texted that he got out early and was on his way right as she got out of the shower. With her towel wrapped around her, she walked over to her dresser to figure out what to wear and put her focus on that, which calmed her nerves about seeing Harry again.

She dug through her underwear drawer first, realizing she hadn’t done laundry in a while when she only had a couple clean pairs left. But in her attempts to choose between the bright purple pair with pictures of cats on them or the stripey one with ‘Wednesday’ printed on the back, her eyes fell to something much more appealing at the bottom of her drawer that she hadn’t seen or thought of in a long time.

She’d never had a need for a nice set of lingerie, not even when she’d bought it just after graduating college. No one was going to see it besides her, but that really hadn’t mattered because it was for her. Picking the lace bra and panty set up in her hands now, it reminded her of when she’d first saw it online and then opened it up in person. When she tried it on and looked at herself in the mirror with all the hope in the world that it would make her see her body differently. It didn’t quite work out that way, however. It wasn’t an instant fix to her problems as she dreamed it would be, but even though she didn’t care for how she looked in it, it still made her feel better about herself, so she hung onto them.

And she was glad for that because if something were to happen with Harry, she was not doing it in kitty cat undies and a bra she owned since freshman year.

She had no clue if they would even get to the point of Harry seeing what was underneath her clothes, but just the thought of it made her restless in the passenger seat of his car. Then there was just being in his car at all that had her in a fit of butterflies as well because it was the first time they’d been out in public like this together. They weren’t around friends, not in the comfort of either of their homes anymore and while it used to scare her to potentially be caught with Harry, now she was wishing someone would. It would make telling her roommates, and especially Will, that much easier.

In order to keep her thoughts and her body under control, she focused on the mundane things instead. Everything she wanted to say to him was going to have to wait until they were at his house because that was the only place she felt comfortable enough to be completely vulnerable with him.

“How was your meeting?” She asked after he pulled back onto the streets again and although it was a boring question, it still made her just as nervous, possibly because she knew it was just her stalling until they walked through his front doors.

“Alright,” he mumbled, “would have rather spent the day with you.”

Looking out her window instead of at him, she quickly hid the blush on her cheeks. The lingerie on her skin under her long-sleeve and jeans became all-too apparent again. She needed to calm down, that much she knew, because she didn't even know what Harry wanted yet and she definitely wasn’t doing anything until she’d said what she needed to say.

She sighed shakily, “Well you can have me for the rest of the weekend.”

He grinned at her words, not sure if she was hiding an innuendo in them or not, but he didn’t risk asking. She was staying, at least until the weekend was over, and that’s all he cared about.

Once they’d reached his house, and she glared at the stupid For Sale sign again, she realized why she hated it so much. It wasn’t just a house to her anymore, it wasn’t some place that made her feel like a stranger. It held her most personal objects and most precious memories. It had become home to her, way more than her apartment ever did.

She placed her things down on the island in the kitchen and it was clear he had hired someone to clean up while he’d been gone. There was no chocolate cake smeared into the countertops and no empty bottles of beer laying around anymore. It was clean again with absolutely no telling if a party had even happened last night. She’d almost forgotten, too, since the only part of last night on her mind was when they’d gone upstairs together.

Watching him pour two glasses of water, it took her right back to their first night together. So much had changed since then. She wasn’t even the same person anymore, she was sure of that.

Although she was possibly the most nervous she’d ever been, she knew she had to just spit it out. Rip the band-aid off and tell him everything she felt about him. She cleared her throat and hoped for the best.

“I liked you all this time too, you know.” Her confession wasn't nearly up to par with his, but he’d take it anyways. Grinning, he glanced at her sideways while closing the fridge.

“Could’ve fooled me.” He slipped her one of the glasses across the counter, knowing very well that she did, in fact, fool him into thinking otherwise. Until she kissed him this morning and promised she’d be back, he still hadn’t been convinced.

A slew of apologies rested on her face, in her furrowed brows and flared nostrils, “I didn’t think you liked me so it was easier for me to just push you away.”

He leaned onto the counter, facing her but not looking at her. His mind went in all different directions then. First to the time he told Will he thought he’d made his feelings for her obvious and now realized Will had been right. Then, and most prominently, his mind snapped to quite possibly the worst day of his life, or at least since he’d known her. His heart broke all over again when her previous words rang in his head as clear as they had several weeks ago. When she told him she didn’t care if he saw other people. When he cried in the exact same spot he was standing in now because he thought she didn’t have a single feeling for him at all. He never thought she just might be pushing him away in order to protect herself and he felt stupid for not realizing that.

But… hiding her emotions seemed to be Y/N’s specialty.

“You were really good at that… pushing me away.”

She sighed again and all the words in her brain finally just spilled out for him to hear and for the kitchen walls to absorb. “I’m really sorry about that Harry, I think I was just too afraid of you rejecting me… and you never really said anything either so I assumed… But I was heartbroken when I found out what you did in New York, I just,” she paused for a moment to look into his eyes again and the way he looked at her with so much care gave her enough confidence to continue, “I didn’t want you to think I liked you, or that I was jealous, because I didn’t think you would ever feel the same about me.”

Harry remained quiet when it was written all over her face that she still had more to say and all he wanted to do was listen. “But then, um,” she began once more, “then I didn't really want you to like me or for that song to be about me or any of it because I felt like you would be better off with someone else who could be more open with you.” Her next words came out in a whisper, “I just thought it was best to leave you alone.”

He nodded, averting his eyes to where he ran his fingertip over the edge of his glass, figuring out everything he wanted to say first but when he looked at her again, he realized that was part of their problem. Not just saying how they really felt without thinking of the consequences.

He took the two steps needed to stand right in front of her, to be able to reach out and tuck her hair behind her ear and fill his senses with everything he loved about her. Her soft skin when his thumb brushed past her cheek, her coconut-scented shampoo, and especially her eyes that cared about him and trusted him.

“That’s not what was best, I hope you know that.” He began softly and she nodded before he continued. “Also hope you know how sorry I am that it took me so long to say anything to you… but I realized I was falling in love with you after you told me about your past. So when you said you didn’t like relationships, I didn’t want to hurt you so I kept it to myself. But I still foolishly fell for you anyways, didn’t I?” He glanced between her eyes, watching the crinkles appear on the outside of them as she smiled.

“But Y/N?” He started up again and her smile faded when his did too, “There was never anyone else I wanted. I can’t even tell you how sorry I am for making you think that and upsetting you. That was never my intention.”

She hesitated a moment before swiping a few stray strands of hair from his forehead. “It’s okay. I know that now.”

There was still a look of uncertainty in his eyes, like he didn’t deserve to be forgiven and like he still wasn’t sure she was actually going to stay, and he wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t want to.

“I’m not going to leave again, Harry…” she assured, practically reading his mind in a way she had never been able to. “Not unless you want me to of course.”

He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips as he grew closer, close enough to press his forehead to hers and swipe his thumb along her cheekbone, “No, I don’t want that. I never wanted that.”

Although he was still smiling, sadness fell over his eyes that he quickly hid by flicking them down to her lips. She had already been in love with the way he looked at her mouth, but if it was even possible, she liked it more now. Now that they weren’t being idiots and wasting time. Now that both of their mouths had said things they’d been meaning to for a long time now.

He glanced back to her yes, all sadness stripped from his face now, “S'alright if I--”

She cut him off, already nodding before he had a chance to ask. She didn’t want him to ask that question ever again. She didn’t want him to worry about being too forward, about hurting her, about crossing a line. There was no line for him to cross. She just wanted him to kiss her without thinking about it.

And he did. It took him another few moments, but his lips were on hers again and it felt just as amazing as it did last night and then again this morning. She hated that she could have been kissing him for a long time now, but she tried not to dwell on her mistakes too heavily. Not when he was kissing her the way he was and all she wanted to focus on was his lips and his tongue and his hands.

His hands that fled from her face moments after she brushed her tongue against his and things took a turn from innocent kissing in his kitchen to needy hands sliding up the back of her shirt and wet moans from his lips when she pressed into him. It helped her confidence knowing his fingertips were inching closer to her bra, the one she was grateful she had on right now.

And then she wrapped her hands around his forearms and backed away before he got any further. But when she saw the look on his face, she wasn’t sure that was the right move. He was absolutely terrified. He pulled his arms from her grasp quickly and put an inch or two of space between them again.

“I’m so sorry.”

Again, she put a halt to his train of thought with a simple gesture. She shook her head and reached her hand up to his face, wrapping it around the back of his neck and pressing her thumb where his dimple should be.

“Don’t be… just meet me upstairs in ten minutes.” Her voice was soft, but her eyes might as well have been undressing him right there in the middle of his kitchen. Although that would have been nice, she really didn’t want him to see her in her lacy underwear in his fucking kitchen. The lights were too bright for her liking and she never got the chance to warm up to the space as much as she did his bedroom.

His body eased and then he nodded slowly, never looking away from her while she pulled her hand from his face, grabbed her bag and walked away from him.

Ten minutes was way too much time to be away from her and he spent the whole spanse of time staring at the clock, wishing it would go faster but also wishing it wouldn’t. He had no idea what she was up to and even though his mind went crazy with all the endless possibilities, he just hoped that whatever it was, she knew what she was doing.

She squeezed her hands around the arms of his chair when she heard him heading up the stairs. She didn’t move, however, just focused on her breathing as she convinced herself not to run into his bathroom and hide before he made it to her.

Ten minutes was four minutes too long. She sat down and realized that once every piece of her body was set aflame with anticipation. She knew what she wanted, but she still wasn’t sure about him. What if he didn’t want her?

The events from last night flew past her eyelids. He kissed you because he wanted to, not because he was drunk, she reminded herself. And he kissed you again, moments ago in the kitchen, also not because he was drunk. She thought about his touch on her skin, slowly inching up her back. She thought about his words from last night and they settled her nerves down to a minimum.

That was until he appeared in the doorway to his bedroom.

He sucked in a breath of air seeing her in that familiar spot in the middle of his room. Sitting on her throne and looking out over Los Angeles like she owned it. But it was hardly what he expected when she told him to meet her here. Especially when she didn’t even look at him, just tensed up her shoulders and her grip on the chair when she noticed his presence.

“Everything alright?” He asked and she continued to just stare out the windows, nodding and trying to regain whatever courage she had in order to ask him to do this in the first place.

He furrowed his brows, confused as he walked over to his bedside table and removed his phone and wallet from his back pockets and then each of his rings from his fingers, knowing that whatever she was planning, he didn’t want anything weighing him down. It also gave them both a moment to relax.

Right when he began removing his watch, the last thing on him besides his shirt and jeans, she stood and took a few steps in his direction. He froze and looked at her while she hugged her arms around herself. He realized then that she was wearing a robe which looked an awful lot like one of his. If the lighting was better, he’d be able to make out the stitching on the left breast of his last name and confirm that she had, in fact, slipped into his robe while she made him wait downstairs.

“What are you--?”

He stopped talking, and stopped thinking and probably stopped breathing when she untied the belt around her waist and let both halves of the robe fall open to reveal what she’d been hiding underneath. His watch hit the floor instead of the table.

He swallowed thickly, not sure how long was too long to stare at her like he currently was with his jaw slightly ajar and his eyes refusing to blink in case he might miss something.

When he snapped out of it, he walked over to her finally, not giving a single shit about his watch. He stood in front of her and kept his hands to himself even though it was painful to do so. Instead, his eyes flickered to the embroidery on the silky fabric draped over her shoulders and he grinned, “S’that my robe?”

It was a dumb question, because of course it was his. It had his name stitched into it.

“Hope it’s okay that I borrowed it.” She ran her fingers up the hem and made him light-headed. Her matching pink lace underwear was one thing, but the robe was almost too much for him to process.

He dragged his eyes reluctantly from her breasts, the transparent material showing off more of her than he’d ever seen, and back up to her eyes. “If I say it isn’t, will you take it off?”

She smiled at him and then took one step closer. “Why don’t you,” she began, grabbing his hands and placing them on her bare hips, “take it off yourself?”

Her voice was shaky and even though her actions exuded confidence, he knew her anxiety must be through the roof. He knew her too well. He knew she didn’t like being touched, didn’t like being seen when she wasn’t covered. Didn’t like being open. It soothed his own nerves to know that all of the things she didn’t like became things she did, as long as it was with him. The only thing on his radar now was making her as comfortable as he possibly could.

When she let go of his hands, he kept them there, pulling her in to close the gap she’d left between them until his mouth found hers again. He’d daydreamed through his entire meeting about kissing her the entire rest of the night, but that was no match to the reality of it. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect her to be standing in front of him like she was, putting his hands on her body in a whole new way than ever before.

His fingers slid gently up to her shoulders where he slipped them under the silk until it fell right off her skin and gathered into a pool at her feet. He pulled away for a moment, resting his forehead on hers when she reached for more. He smirked at the way she pouted impatiently.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, bringing a hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear and he didn’t give her much of a chance to respond, but the blush on her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes said more than enough.

Once his lips were on hers again, he backed her up slowly, stepping right on top of his, now irrelevant, robe until they reached the chair.

She pulled away from him this time and when she spoke next, there wasn’t a stitch of hesitation in her voice, “I want you.”

Swallowing, he nodded in understanding. She knew exactly what she was doing and she wanted him. His hands were back on her hips as he gently coerced her into the chair.

“Sit,” he whispered and she did exactly what he said without a second thought.

She was back in her chair in front of him, her hands gripping the armrests while she looked up into his eyes eagerly because she had no clue what he was planning but she trusted him to know that whatever it was, he wouldn’t hurt her. He was Harry and he’d never make her do something she didn’t want to.

He sunk to his knees then and she already felt the pool between her legs before he even touched her. He never took his eyes off of her when he lifted his hands to her knees and slowly slid them apart to fit himself in the middle. He waited for any signs that he should stop, but when she glanced down at his hands that sat idly on her thighs, he figured it was a good time to move them.

“Is this alright?” He asked after he’d hooked his fingers under what little fabric there was of her panties and paused to make sure. When she nodded, he proceeded and began pulling them off. He went slow, almost painfully for her, but she was appreciative of it. If he went much faster she wasn’t sure how she’d respond and ruining everything right now was not on her agenda.

Again, his eyes stayed planted on hers as he tugged the lace over her hips when she adjusted slightly to give him room to do so. They went the rest of the way down her legs with ease until they, too, were on his bedroom floor. Her legs fell back into place around him as he slotted into his previous position. She focused on everything physically here and now as best she could, whether it was the way he looked at her, or the way the fabric of his shirt felt on her knees, the rough texture of his jeans on her calves. Just knowing that it was Harry sitting in front of her like this, while she was this exposed, calmed her right back down. Well, at least, it calmed the nerves, but she still felt the surge of butterflies in her stomach every time he made a slight movement and she could nearly puke with excitement.

“You okay?” He asked quietly, and her eyes bounced from his down to where their bodies connected and then back up and she nodded. It reassured him because even though she had said she wanted him, she had every right to change her mind.

“Let me know if you want me to stop.”

She nodded again, positive that if she opened her mouth to say something nothing would even come out. Her lack of ability to speak made him smile, though, as he slowly descended down her body.

He kissed her from her collarbone down to her belly, pulling her legs out around his waist so that she slouched in the chair and gave him better access by the time he reached his destination. His hands gripped her thighs tight as he sat back on his knees and let his mouth do the talking.

She tensed up the second he licked the tip of his tongue into her and he immediately backed away staring up at her in shock that he’d already done something to hurt her.

Instead, she finally opened her own mouth, “I’m sorry, I’m fine. I just… didn’t expect… you can keep going.”

He fell back into place hesitantly, but this time he kissed his way up her inner thigh, making sure to keep at least one eye on her at all times. When he had his tongue on her again, though, she sunk into her seat with a sigh and he wasn’t as worried.

When he spread her open with both his hands planted on her inner thighs, his tongue explored even more to the point of finally managing a moan out of her. She didn’t give him a whole lot, but he didn’t really need it the way he watched her like a hawk to make absolutely sure she was really okay.

And she did seem that way, she seemed more than okay, in fact. Everytime he flicked his tongue over just the right spot, her eyes rolled back into her head and so he made mental notes of everything she liked best. Even though she never closed her eyes completely, never looked away from him for more than a second, what she did do was more than enough. Although he normally got off on verbal praise, just the way her body reacted to him seemed to do all the tricks he needed it to. The way she moved against him, the way her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pouted and she sucked in shaky breaths, he didn’t need anything more than that.

What she did next had him moaning, however. She dug her fingernails into his scalp and tugged his curls, leaving him in stinging pain that felt so fucking incredible. It was just another reminder from her that what he was doing was good and that he made her feel good enough to have her hands at the back of his head trying to get more from him. He fidgeted and shifted his weight just to get some relief himself while he looked at her with darkened green eyes and his tongue suddenly picked up the pace.

She gasped and leaned back into the chair, her eyes fluttering shut. He let her do it for a moment until he slowed to a stop and pulled his mouth away just far enough to speak.

“Open your eyes,” he whispered, catching his breath, and she felt the heat of it on the sensitive bits his tongue had just been getting to know. She, again, did as he asked without question. His voice wasn’t filled with anything but care for her so no matter what he asked, she’d probably do it.

“Don’t stop looking at me, okay?”

She agreed, nonverbally, before he even considered continuing where he left off. It wasn’t that he needed to see her face, although that had been a huge factor in telling him what he needed to do. It was mostly that he didn’t want her to close her eyes and have a single stitch of an intrusive thought leak into her brain. He didn’t want her to see anything besides him, not the trauma she’d been through or the face of the asshole who had done it. He wanted her to see him; his green eyes, his dimples, his curly brown hair that tickled her skin and framed his sweaty forehead. He wanted her to see that it was him on his hands and knees in front of her and that his touches would not make her hate her body. They wouldn’t betray her or disrespect her. Her body was safe in his hands and he wanted her to see that.

When he knew she was close, he found her hands digging into the cushion below her and slipped his fingers through hers instead, letting her squeeze the life out of them and dig crescent shapes into his skin. By this point, he’d become obsessed with her body, in love with the way it said everything her mouth didn’t. He didn’t need her to say anything, though, he never really did. Just being near her had always been more than enough. The only thing he would need her to say now though, was if she wanted him to stop.

But those words never left her lips and he stopped expecting them to as he watched her face contort with pleasure. He wondered if anyone had ever made her feel as good as he was and it made him sad to think she’d gone so long never being treated the way she deserved. He adjusted again and gave her everything he was capable of.

Her body moved against him like a tidal wave and he’d probably let her drown him if it meant feeling her buck her hips up into his mouth the way she was and he’d most definitely die at the hands of her body if it meant feeling her heels dig into his back for an ounce of mercy. He didn’t give her very much though, mostly because the look on her face told him that if he stopped now, she might actually kill him.

Even so, he worshiped the fuck out of her in every sense of the word. He never looked away, he watched her mouth as it fell open. He watched her eyebrows as they furrowed. And most importantly, he watched her eyes until she couldn’t take it anymore and they crossed back into her head, while her whole body shivered against him. He felt her coming more than he heard anything about it at first.

But then she whispered and he completely forgot what he was doing.

“I love you so much, Harry.”

He blinked, looking up at her so much more in love than he ever had been before. He wanted to kiss her, to hear her say it again ten more times at least. When her hips shifted upwards again, he snapped out of it and scooted closer to her to gain some control while she was losing it, using his forearms on her hips to keep her in place. That had only led her to squeeze his hands tighter than ever before while her thighs got him in a choke hold, but he loved every single second of it, which is why he didn’t take his tongue away from her until she settled down.

She breathed heavily for a few moments while he watched her come down from her high as he rested his cheek against her thigh and stared up at her, still holding onto her hands and rubbing his thumb across the back of one of them. He heard her words over in his head again and they became his most favorite words ever.

“So you do love me?” He asked quietly, not wanting to miss too much of the sounds of her catching her breath because of what he’d just done to her body.

She laughed and fluttered her eyes shut again. After a moment, she shook her head and changed the subject, “Please don't ever leave this house.”

He chuckled, sending cool air against her core again while he leaned over to kiss her thigh softly, “Whatever you say.”

Taglist: @afterstylesmadeit @cxnyon-moon-deactivated20200417 @chrryblsms @whydontharry @harryinsweatersandbandanas @idkthisisjustforfanfic @teddysoldbird @shawnsblue @thurhomish @theasstour @hufflepuff-always-and-forever @staceystoleyourheart @granolagrannie @defineharry @iambabyharry @1142590m @ashtondene @smokeinherperfume @cherryyharryy @mellamolayla @chrryblsms @cassiopeiaskies @sunflowerjens @detroitkiwis @brwnskin-bunnyteeth @meetmeinfleetwood @harriesgolden @rachkon @caritocp @sspidermanss @forestliz @grandfunnyemopainter @metalmerida @httpsmoony @iconicharry @cheesecakebagels @cronias13 @dontyoucallhimbabby @brassharry @whothefudgeisharrystyles @damnigotadime if you’d like to be added, go here :)

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cassies-closet · 4 years

Text

Style Q&As from the old SkinsLife website

Hi guys! In my search to find the striped hoodie Cassie wears at the end of her series 1 episode, I found the old SkinsLife website, where Edward Gibbon (the costume designer) did his Q&As before they moved over to the e4 website. Unfortunately, not all of it has been archived, but there’s a lot of good stuff about where the series 2 costumes come from, and a ton of questions about Cassie’s clothes.

Here’s what I could find. I’ll put all of the Cassie questions at the top and then all of the other ones under a cut:

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Hellie Cory: Can you please tell me where they got Cassie's skirt?? I absolutely love it and I've been searching for ages with no luck : (

Edward: Cassie's skirt is from a small Japanese designer in Camden (and well spotted Olivia xx the fabric is from Ikea.)

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TanitaAlethia: Im so happy about this. I have always wanted a nice, not sexy (like in costumes shops, there gross) little sailor outfit. When Cassi had one on, i almost fell of my chair, i love love LOVE it. So i was wondering, where an earth did you fined it? Thankyou =] Tanita-Alethia

Edward: Cassie's sailor top was from New York, but you can always try an Army Surplus store or maybe Camden if you're anywhere near London. Let me know how you get on!

------------------------------- evil_daisys: hey, i wasnt sure where to put this,, but were did you find the dress cassie wore in episode 1 of season one at the party? and episode 2 of season one she wore at michelles? i love the way she dresses its so cute and girly and still slightly different =)

Edward: Both of Cassies dresses were vintage pieces from the 60s and 50s respectively - keep your eye out wherever you are and never turn down an invite to a jumble sale ! -------------------------------

AmyyB: hi edward, can you please tell me where cassies pink chiffon top and grey socks that she wears in chris' episode? thanks sweetheart keep up the good work x

Edward: cassies' chiffon top was from Top Shop and the socks are from H&M.; --------------------------------------

maxine: heya, i was just wondering where cassie's bow t-shirt is from, from the latest advert? ♥x

Edward: cassie's bow t-shirt was from TopShop ------------------------------------------------

Franchesca Allen: Hi im really into weird and unusual style and i love cassie's. I was wondering if you could tell me where you get most of her clothes. And i was wondering in series 2 effy's episode whats she wearing with the leopard skin tights, what top is it? Please reply i've wrote before and got no reply :) Thanks and keep up the amazing brainstorms with the costumes xx

Edward: Cassies clothes are from all over the place ! Her style is a mixture of amazing vintage pieces, charity shop finds, vintage designer stuff and high street sale stuff (normally the things no one else wants ! ) The top you are talking about was a vintage nylon 'teddy'(an all in one , shorts and top underwear item ). This year she has been wearing a lot of underwear as outerwear so keep your eyes peeled in charity shops and don't be afraid to rummage through dead peoples' clothes! ------------------------------------------------

rachey_babey: hi can you please tell me where cassies gold high hees are from that she's wearing when she spills the milk and could you please tell me where the dress / nightdress cassie wore when she was sitting on the couch with chris and watching telly is from? i think it was white with a green or blue rim. ta.

Edward: Cassie's gold shoes are character shoes from a dance shop , customised with gold leaf and cassie's nightdress was a plain cream dress from H&M; which we customised with green lace ------------------------------- sarinda: hello, i really love cassie's style, i love going to jumble sales and charity shops looking for vintage finds so its really great that there is someone like that on tv. i was wondering where you got cassie's red skirt and gold shoes when she is at her exam? and also where her bra if from when she is getting dressed before that. thank you xx =]

Edward: Thanks, Sarinda. Cassie's skirt was Prada, shoes from Bertie and bra from M&S...;

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Lauren Jones: Hey I was hoping you could please tell me where Casie's night dress with the skeleton on it is from?? I have been looking everywhere and cant even find something similar! I would love to know where I could get one from please x

Edward: Cassie's skeleton dress was from TopShop Unique. It's probably not available any more, I'm afraid, but keep looking - you never know! ------------------------------------------------ Leelee: Helloo! My question is regarding the reaons behind Cassie's rapid change in clothing style in episode 9 when she arrives in NYC. At first I simply assumed it was to make her seem more vagrant looking, as though she was wearing simply what she grabbed in the dash. But then in the last scene of the episode, she is running down the street and is in another compltely out of character outfit, and wondered that would she really have all these clothes that she just never wears? Was there any specific reason as to this change? Thanks!

Edward: By the time we see Cassie in NYC she has been on the road for a while and grabbed clothes wherever she finds them , if they don't seem quite like what she normally wears that's because of what she has been through and the clothes she goes running in are Adams - see clothes tell a story as well ! ------------------------------------------------ asdfghjklxx: hii i was just wondering if you could tell me where cassies boots and jeans were from that she was wearing in the last episode when she arrives in new york, also where is the red and white candy striped skirt that she wears with the bow tshirt in her exam from? thanksss xxx

Edward: The jeans are from Uniqlo and then distressed, the boots from a Charity shop and the skirt by Prada

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meli_x: In the latest episode where was cassies t shirt with the bow on from and the socks she was wearing with that outfit (when she was in the exam). also her hairclip with two robins in (i think) and the necklace with the trophy on and her stripy dress from when she met chris' mom thanks :) x

Edward: the t-shirt was from TopShop, socks from Noa Noa and the birds were christmas decorations from a craft shop... ------------------------------------------------

Sara: Hey Edward, any chance you could tell me where Cassie's necklace (the cup/trophy) that she wears throughout ep. 9 is from? Thank you very much, loving your work!

Edward: Cassie's necklace was made from a piece of ribbon and an old badge from a Vintage Fair. It said 'victory' on it, if that helps. ------------------------------------------------

Danni: hey, i was wandering where cassies big blue jacket/coat was from, the one where she first arrives in new york? thankyou :)

Edward: Cassie's jacket was a vintage American College jacket - which was worn by Chris in the last series on the school trip to Russia, adding a nice bit of continuity ! ------------------------------------------------

rachael tallentire: hey 2 thngs i want to know where is cassies skeleton dress/nightie she wears in the last episode and also where is her top she wears for her exam from?

Edward:- both are from TopShop Unique range...

And a few Effy questions as well:

Munchkin: Where is the dress Effy wore to the rave in episode 1 series 2 from? i absolutely love her style, you dress her amazingly, it matches her personality exactly. please show us more of effie she is immense!!

Edward: Effy's rave dress was made by customising 2 dresses: one from Oasis and the other a vintage one from a charity shop...

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Michelle123: I hope this doesn't sound pervy but where is Effy's underwear from when she is in her room with Sid? x

Edward: Effy's underwear was from Primark and M&S; !

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larry the lady: Must, must, must know where Effy's jeans or leggins or what ever are from. i could die happy if i could get a pair. I'm on about the large striped black and white ones. XD oh and where would effy's character typically shop for her rave clothing. Love love love xxx P.s the black and white striped jean things, remember, we want them!! lol

Edward: Effy's jeans were from phunky phish/ Effy loves shopping in unexpected places - other peoples houses / old ladies wardrobes / her gran's charity bag and then she customises with scissors and a blowtorch !

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Other costume questions:

Pascha Rix: I really loved the gorgeous white shorts that Michele was wearing once in a club scene when she was dancing up against two other guys. The shorts were tiny, white and with pink sequins on them and they were absolutely gorgeous! Where do you also tend to look for other clothes she wears? Are there particular shops you goto?

Edward: The skirt's from Top shop but you can make your own if you like: hack off a pair of old jeans as high as you dare and then cover randomly with sequins...

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Kris Jones: I'd just like to know whether ALL the actors' clothes are chosen by stylists, or do some of them get to wear their own stuff? Do you even choose their pants?

Edward: Pretty much everything they wear is chosen by me - especially their pants and socks; they play an important part in defining their characters.....

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Savethesoundsystem: I wanna know where sid's yellow/orange nikes and the headphones t-shirt are from in episode 3! Oh and chris' flags of the world jacket!

Edward: Mike's trainers are retro Waffle by Nike, the headphone t- shirt is by 77 and the Flag Jacket was a rare vintage find.

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Ben Smith: Hi, the trainers maxxie's wearing in ep2 when hes taking off his superman costume.. where are they from? And the luminous yellow stripey tshirt in ep 3? Cheers.

Edward: Ben Smith - Maxxies' trainers are Nike Air Force hi-tops and his T- shirt was from Top Man.

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Stephan: I was just thinking.. i want all of Maxxie's clothing, shoes. lol. I watched a clip from episode 4! And i would like to know where did you get the stuff (shoes, shirt, jacket, everything...) he was wearing when he came to sit on the grass with Anwar and Michelles stepsister?? I got a pic, but isn't clear...

Edward: Hi Stephan, The jacket's Nike, The T-shirt's Etnies and the hat's from River Island.

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Emul 8: Where's Chris' shirt from that says "I love (heart) hate" from the episode 4 series 2 preview from?

Edward: The 'I love Hate' T-shirt is by 77 and Maxxie's orange shoes are from Polo.

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hsto1234: hi! i would really like to know where Chris' t shirt in episode 1 series 2 is from? its white with 'pretty vacant' written on it. thanx

Edward: The 'Pretty Vacant' T-shirt is by by Japanese label KTZ and it's available from Concrete or Koko To Zai.

------------------------------------------------

James Davidson: i Love the clothes tony wears, where's the best places to look? thanks james :)

Edward: Tony's favourite labels are Farah, Junk De Luxe, Buckler, Penguin and Nike...

------------------------------------------------

Gloria Good Chris wears a yellow type jacket a lot of the time. He was wearing it on the last episode (Series 2:Episode 3). Really want to know where it is from !

Edward: Chris' yellow jacket is from American Apparel . --------------------------------------------------

Thomas Judes Kaplan: heya, i'd be pleased to know where you guys found chris white tee shirt with wasted brit youth tagged on it with yellow pink and orange, the one we can see in episode 5 thanx and if you need fucked up french fashion tips (maybe for a series 3 french character), i'd be honored to help you :)

Edward: thomas and everyone else - Chris' wasted British Youth is by Unconditional (available from Concrete and Selfridges ) and would love to see some fucked up French Style! put some up in your profile so we can see... ------------------------------------------------

Rhiannon Irving: Hi! Where are Jal's necklace and green dress from Episode 5 from? Many thanks :-) xx

Edward: Jal's dress is by The Prisoners of St. Petersbourg (from Kokon To Zai ) and necklace is by Chateau Roux ------------------------------------------------

ryan keys: Edward i love the top that chris is wearing, the one that looks like a shirt and bow tie. where did you get it?

Edward: Chris shirt and bow tie t-shirt is by Unconditional ------------------------------------------------

charlie lewis: Do you know where i can find tonys burgandy cardigan featured in the first episode of series 2 where can i find this hoody josh is wearing in series 1? Thankx alot

Edward: Tony's cardigan is from Zara and Josh's hoody is a customised cheap white hoody from primark ------------------------------------------------

Jman: Hi, I'd really like to know where Maxxie's necklace from Series 2 Episode 1 is from - the bronze one with the dice. Thanks & great website BTW!

Edward: Maxxie's dice necklace was from River Island ------------------------------------------------

legoac: can you tell me where the following are from?: -maxxie's t-shirt, trousers, and shoes from ep. 1's rooftop dance scene -chris's grey and white long sleeve shirt in careers officer scene -anwar's long sleeve striped yellow and white shirt in club scene (the one under the polo) -chris's green belt in scene where cassie shows him the notice thanks!

Edward: Maxxies t-shirt was from All Saints, trousers from Jungle or your local Army Surplus. The shoes are Lacoste. Chris' grey and white shirt was by Buckler, Anwar's yellow stripe t- shirt by H & M and Chris' belt from Honor Lulu ( a great 50s shop in Bristol).... ------------------------------------------------

Lewis Jones: can u tell me where maxxies checkered shirt from episode 4 series 2 is from please.

Edward: Maxxie's check shirt is by Junk de Luxe ------------------------------------------------

Evans17: In episode 5. just after swimming, tony was wearin a cardigan an a shirt where are they from??

Edward: Tony's cardigan is by Zara and shirt and tie are by Junk de Luxe. ------------------------------------------------

Pixies: Jal's big gold necklace in episode five. She wears it at the beginning when she is sitting on the bench with chris (where they stick paper on each others foreheads) and at the party when she gets up on stage. its impossible to make out what it says and i NEEEEED it. thanks a bunch :) xx

Edward: Jal's necklace is by Chateau Roux and says Chateau. Hope that helps! ------------------------------------------------

Bex Crawley: Heya, i was just wondering in episode 5, where is Jal's dinosaur jacket from? It is so cool! thanks xx

Edward: Jal's jacket has got chickens on and is from SkunkFunk ------------------------------------------------

And finally, for red polka dot - Chris' red cardigan is from a charity shop and Anwars jacket is by 55DSL

------------------------------------------------

chook: Hey there, just wanting to know where anwars hoodie jumper is from...he wore it in the last episode. thanks

Edward: Hi chook - Anwar's hoody is by Artful Dodger... ------------------------------------------------

zander: hey edward i was wondering where the pink cardigan maxxie wears in the the adverts to promote skins two, the t-shirt under it and his trousers are from?likein the style thanks!

Edward: Maxxie's cardigan was from Zara, t-shirt from Etnes and trousers from Cos ------------------------------------------------

pinkdreamz: from season one. the dress michelle wears in episode one, the black and white one, where is it from? this might be rude, but what do u guys do with the clothes after the show? Edward: Michelles's grey/black dress was from Oasis. At the end of filming we have a costume sale for cast and crew and anything not sold we hang onto or donate to charity - don;t worry, not a rude question at all!

------------------------------------------------

Joe Wood: wer did tony get his bed sheets and wear did u get sids hat =) and wear did he get that top which makes sounds in series 1? cheers fella

Edward: Tony's duvet cover was specially made for the show , Sid has many different beanies from H&M; primarily and Mega Dog was a one off creation ! ------------------------------------------------

dannymilhouse: wat r sids favourite makes/designer????? and wat shops cud i get them makes from????????????

Edward: Sid loves Plain Lazy , Nike, jumble sales and skips ! ------------------------------------------------

Foxy: Where would one find the tan belt that tony is adorning his suit with in Episode 6? It looks similiar to paul smith.. i may be wrong.. AlSO the waistcoat toby is wearing? Cheerss

Edward: Tony's yellow belt was a ladies' belt from Gap ! and Toby's waistcoat is a period early 20th. century piece from an antique clothing market (try Blind Lemon's website for similar fairs ) ------------------------------------------------ Bapo: Hi Edward, I am wondering where you found Sid's military jacket that he wears in the Secret Party special episode... Much love from France to all the Skins family!

Edward: Sid's military jacket is an original from a costume hire shop in Bristol - try vintage army surplus clothes stores or markets ------------------------------------------------

Louis: Hey Edward, I absolutely adoore your taste, especially tony's clothes and i was wondering where you got his black polo with white stripes that he wears in episode 6 please...?

Edward: Tony's black/white stripe polo is by Farah , pink/black by Topman ------------------------------------------------

Jowellzz: hey edward, I know this isn't series 2 related but, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Maxxies brown coat and blue-checked hat in Season 1 Episode 6 where they go to Russia. could you tell where they're from? xx

Edward: Maxxie's coat was from H&M; and hat by Etnies ------------------------------------------------ JimBuns: Hi Edward, i hope u guys can help out, do you know where i can i find that grey cardigan with pink and blue circles on it, that chris wears in the club , series 2 on episode 5, ive been lookin for it every where, any help is much appreciated

Edward: Chris' cardigan was from Behave on Lexington Street in London ------------------------------------------------

Pixies: Hey edward thanks for responding! I have my Chateux necklace ordered jal style :D could you please tell me where michelle's flowery necklace is from in last nights episode? thanks x

Edward: Michelle's necklace is vintage plastic 60s from a market -------------------------------------- Rubyred: Hey, would you be able to tell me where the outfit that that girl Tony meets in the club is wearing there is from and also what she's wearing at the university?

Edward: Beth's dress in the club is from Kate Moss for Top Shop , shoes vintage Dolce and Gabbana at the University her vests are from Miss Selfridge and Gap, jeans by Cheap Monday, belt from Urban Outfitters and shoes from Gap. ------------------------------------------------

Abby Fletcher: jal's green shirt and yellow top when she finds out shes pregnant NOW! o.. i mean... it really would be nice of you... :)?

Edward: Jal's green shirt from H&M; , yellow top by People's Market.

------------------------------------------------

Kim Matthews: hi edward, could you tell me where michelle got her cow print pyjamas from in series 2 episode 7? also where did you get the blue top she was wearing when she went round to chris's looking for jal in the last episode? thanksxx

Edward: Michelle's pjs were from La Senza and her blue top was from Oasis ------------------------------------------------ red polka dots: thanks loads for telling where anwars jcket was from, its great. but could u plz tell me where to get maxxies jeans in this pic. they are so amazing!!!!!! thank u

Edward: Maxxie's jeans were by Replay ------------------------------------------------ tommy the 2nd: hey edward could you please tell me where to get maxxies great hat from episode 1 series 1. its soooo great!!!

Edward: Maxxie's hat was from H&M; ------------------------------------------------ Maciej: Hello Edward. I have trouble with shoes. I was just wondering if you could give me some advice. I like Maxxie's style, but I still don't know what should I pick. The clothes I mostly wear are from American Eagle (ae.com), no ripped jeans though. I don't think ripped jeans look nice. I also don't wear baggy jeans. I'm 6'2" and kind of skinny (pant size: 30x34 or 31x34). My shoe size is 12.5. So I'm big, skinny guy with big feet. I have no sense in how a shoe should match. I was just wondering if you could tell me what would look best on my feet from a brand like Nike, Puma, or one I could easily get in Chicago area. Btw. love watching Skins :-) Thanks.

Edward: the best look for fairly big feet is the plainest styles of trainers - good old Converse are a safe choice, mess it up with some of the great colours they do . Old school trainers like Nike Tennis shoes or their retro Waffle style / addidas gazelle or stan Smiths . Swear is a British label that does great very flat plain trainers with a twist - they have a brilliant new collection in collaboration with Hummel . So basically the plainer and flatter the better, avoid anything with chunky soles and too much detailing . ------------------------------------------------ HaydenWing: hi Edward, could you please tell me where can i get Maxxie's bag in Ep. 8 when he comes into the classroom with James. Thankies!

Edward: Maxxie's bag is by Freitag , who make great bags from recycled materials like tyres ,seat belts and inner tubes ------------------------------------------------ Chris Murray: Hey Edward, cheers for looking :) Could you tell me where Chris' tiger skin pink and black top is from, the one he's wearing in Episode 2? Its the coolest thing I've seen him wear!!

Edward: Chris's tiger t-shirt is from Behave on Lexington Street ------------------------------------------------ windinthewire: please can you say where jal got her giraffe earings from, i love them and reaaaally want a pair!

Edward: Jal's earings were from TopShop ------------------------------------------------ AlexGabriel: Hiya. I'd like to know where Maxxie's grey trousers are from, the ones he wears when he comes into the classroom with James.

Edward: Maxxie's trousers were from Cos ------------------------------------------------ trainstobrasil: could you please tell me what Jal's book bag is in episode 8 this season? the lovely yellow one with the design that she carries around throughout the episode. I loved it! thanks :)

Edward: Jal's bag is by Eastpak ------------------------------------------------

Abby Fletcher: hey, just wondered where jal's yellow dress with the black shirt underneath came from, and the earrings she has in in the audition! thanks much! xx

Edward: Jal's yellow dress was from Monsoon and the brown shirt underneath was Calvin Klein Jeans ------------------------------------------------ Jerry: Hi, I was just wondering what bag Tony wears in season 1, it looks like a Gucci bag but I never get a good look at it. The name of it would be swell!

Edward: Tony's bag was an unbranded one from Camden Market ------------------------------------------------ verity: hey, wondering where michelle's silver vest in tonights episode came from. and her vests in general :) then i just need to wait for some warmer weather..! thanks

Edward: Michelle's silver vest was from Kate Moss for Top Shop - her vests are from all over , American Apparel is great for brilliant coloured basics made in ethical factories ( much better for your conscience and the world than Primark !)

Episode 7

------------------------------------------------

moppet: Hey Edward, I just want to say I think the overall look of the characters in the show is amazing so whatever you are doing with the wardrobe you are doing it extremely well! I hate to be the 1,000,000,000th person to ask you this but...in Michelle's episode (Series 2, Episode 4) she wears a pair of skirt dungarees or a skirt with braces made of denimn. I would love it if you could tell me where you found it? Or where I could find a similar item? I know several people have already asked you on this about it. I would really appreciate it if you could get back to us about it. It would actually mean a lot! much love, moppet xx

Edward: Really sorry but can't actually remember what label Michelle's dungaree skirt was - it was a TKMaxx find - but try Lees new stuff designed by Jane Birkin for something silmilair ------------------------------------------------ HarrietBABESS: Hi, i was wondering if you could please tell me where michelle's necklace is from in her lost weeks diary, the black bow one, and effy's dress she wears to the club in series 2 episode 7? I would really love to know where to get them. Thanks

Edward: Michelles necklace was from Warehouse and Effy's dress was created from a vintage beaded dress , customised over another dress from Oasis - so sharpen those scissors and start creating ! ------------------------------------------------ geodude: hi i was just wondering if you could tell me wer you get the majority of chris' vest tops from i just think there so good that i have to have one especially this one!! thanks XD

Edward: a lot of Chris' vests are 70s deadstock - original stuff that was never sold - from markets and vintage shops - try some of the retro stalls in Camden or local car boot sales ------------------------------------------------ christian20: Hey I was just wondering if you could tell me where Maxxie's jacket is from that he wore at the skins secret party??? thanx

Edward: Maxxies' rowing blazer was hired from a Bristol Costume Shop and is probably about 100 years old - still looks good doesn't it , just goes to show great style never goes out of fashion . ------------------------------------------------

alex: hi edward, i've been spending my internet millions on some new clothes recently. can i tell everyone about them? (Note: Alex, despite his yuppy question, is not the sugar daddy he claims to be. You've been warned, girls...Ed.)

Alex - we need photos of you modelling your new looks maybe with some of your Skins' co-workers ! ------------------------------------------------ AnnaBanana: Hi Edward! First of all, well done on your supreme costume choosing, its impeccible! I was wonder where Chris' fluffy hat from the Skins 2 opening credits is from? Its pretty much the best hat i have ever witnessed :0 Thanks

Edward: Chris' fluffy hat was from the brilliant hip/hop stall in St. Nicholas's Market in Bristol ------------------------------------------------ Bridget Burton: hi i was just wondering if you could tell me where you got Jal's Shirt, shorts and (i think they were Nike) Trainers rom episode 1 series 2, where she and chris go to pick up Tony from Maxxie's. That would be very helpful.x

Edward: Jal's shirt was from H&M;, shorts were from Uniqlo and her trainers were indeed Nike . ------------------------------------------------

mindemo: hey edward...i was wondering where maxxie got that purple and silver nylon jacket in his unseen episode on his myspace...cheers mate...haz...XO

Edward: maxxie's jacket is from Nike ------------------------------------------------ SamR: Could you tell me where the outfit Tony wore to the university came from please? Thanks

Edward: Tony's shirt from Junk de Luxe , tie by American Apparel , jacket by Parkes , trousers from Cos , belt by Gap shoes by Converse ------------------------------------------------ Grantlock: Please could u tell me if theres a peoples market shop in bristol or wher i could get the clothes from fank you!!!:D x

Edward: Not sure if People's Market sell in Bristol - it's available in Number 22 on Carnaby Street and TopMan at Oxford Circus ------------------------------------------------

Kaz: Hi Edward, I didn't get my question answered last time and I really need those socks lol. Was just wondering if you could tell me where they were from? Michelles socks in episode 1 when shes in the club and outside with Sid

Edward: Michelle's socks were from American Apparel ------------------------------------------------

charlie lewis: hi. Do you know where i can find the tank top chris is wearing at the end of the latest episode, the one with horses or something on it. cheers.

Edward: chris' vest was 70s deadstock from Camden Market ------------------------------------------------

john Rainey: hi jakes yellow/orange cardigan from the start of the effy episode? can you tell me where it's from?

Edward: jake's cardigan was an old ladie's from a jumble sale

Episode 9

------------------------------------------------

Dave Gee: Hi, can you tell me where Tony got his pink underwear and t-shirt from, please? It was the episode where Effy's mad mate came over.

Edward: Pay attention, Dave! Tony's underwear was pink due to Effy's inefficiency in the washing department! ------------------------------------------------

Christina_Marie: Hi, i was just wondering where Michelles green dress comes from in the calander cover photo below theres a photo. And also were do Jal's pink star earing come from which she too wore in the same photo? Thanks xx

Edward: Michelle's dress was by Lux from Urban Outfitters and Jal's earings were from H & M.

------------------------------------------------

Branwen: Hi edward can somebody PLEASE tell me where jal got her white dress top she wears in episode 8 series 2 when shes at her music audition, ive asked like 8 times lol! Thanks a lot xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Edward: Jal's audition dress was from Oasis - well asked!

------------------------------------------------

snoogins: This may sound like a stupid question, but i thought you should be the one to ask. I have a big problem buying trousers for myself. I dunno if it's just my frame (I'm 6 foot and pretty thin). But anything outside of blue jeans look awkward on me. I was wondering if you had any tips when look for mens trousers. Oh and everyone always asks where certain characters shop. I was wanting to know whats your own favourite brands of clothing?

Edward: Hi snoogins. Blue jeans are a pretty good basic for any look - take advantage of your height by maybe wearing trousers a bit shorter than you normally would - Farah have a great range of trousers that suit all shapes, so check them out. My favourite labels are Margaret Howell, Vivienne Westwood, Thom Browne and thanks for asking... ------------------------------------------------

skinsfreak: hey edward, was just wondering where Chris's Monkey Man t shirt was from?

Edward: Chris' Monkey Man was specially designed by me.

------------------------------------------------

beth babe: hi edward:) could you please tell me where michelles gold-like jeans are from that she wears with the silver vest in episode 8? also where is the blue vest top and the orange bra from that she wears? i cant remember which episode she wore them in sorry, thanks so much! the skins style owns:) x

Edward: Michelle's gold jeans were from Morgan , blue vest from Oasis and orange bra from La Senza. ------------------------------------------------

#cassie #cassie ainsworth #skins #skins style #skins fashion #skins uk #skins gen 1 #skins generation 1

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copperbadge · 4 years

Text

dignitywhatdignity re: sewing

Gotta have a 3a on a Copperbadge list!

It’s tradition! IDK, I feel like limiting what I say to three items helps keep me focused, but there’s always one more slightly less relevant thing I feel must be said...

geekgirl76 re: sewing

LOL! I think I know which pattern you’re talking about! (I think I have about 3 copies of it!) It also makes an excellent jumping off point for a ROTJ Luke Skywalker!

What’s so interesting to me is that while yes, obviously it helped me make the coat, I feel like basically any coat pattern would have done the same -- I modified the front and the collar so heavily and tailored it so specifically to my torso length that really all I needed was a basic coat pattern to start from.

I mean, I’m not saying I’m an expert tailor or anything, it was a basic “sack with arms” kind of a deal, and also sewing my own shirts or coats would be a tremendous pain in the ass. But now that I know how coats are cut out and pieced together I feel like I could pretty much assemble one either without a pattern, or with only minimal pattern that I would then modify to the specific body.

Like, patterns are great, but mostly in my case they’re meant for teaching me “How shapes fit together” and once I’ve done it a few times I can basically pattern something out from scratch, which is how I did the bicycle seat cover -- “Oh, I know in theory how this ought to work, it’s a flat top with a strip around and buttonholes to tuck under”.

Which is a talent I did not expect to have, to be honest, given I have semi-poor spatial sense and failed geometry twice. It’s probably because I started sewing so young.

bibliophilecats re: glasses

Posts like these make me so happy: seeing another adult who is still into fan culture, fanfic etc. Fastly approaching 40 myself, I do not feel so particular 😊 I used to think at that age one is supposed to be married with children and house, to be a "regular middle-aged adult".

Aw yeah! There’s a whole community of us. Tumblr actually skews way older than you think, as does fandom, it’s just the younger members tend to be louder and post more. (I mean, fair. I did too at their age.) But yeah, fuck adulthood milestones, I own my own home and would rather be single than in a bad marriage and don’t want kids, so here I am. :D

col1999 re: glasses

Sam. I, too, like to keep an old pair or two as backups - I get it, I do! But your prescription has probably changed too much for those to be useful now. (But now I'm thinking how neat it would be to have some sort of display of all my old glasses, especially to see how my tastes have changed. And lens thickness since I used to need coke bottles before the thinner lenses were available and cheap.)

LOL! Yeah, those glasses would really hurt my nose if I tried to wear them now anyway...

If you were to look at photos of me from childhood to adulthood, you can pretty much pinpoint the moment at which I started picking my own glasses frames. My mother favored MASSIVE round lenses, like think if Harry Potters’ glasses were 2-3 times larger, with tortoiseshell frames, that made me look faintly buglike. Around 12 or 13 the lenses suddenly square off and the frames turn black or silver, and from 13 to 20 or so you can see the lenses get gradually narrower and narrower. But from 20 to 40 I pretty much stuck with “narrow squared lenses, black frames”. Once I find what I like I very much stick with it, something that is currently, I can tell, frustrating my villagers in Animal Crossing. (I don’t want to wear a stripey shirt and a sporty cap! I want to wear my wetsuit and bandanna all day every day!)

#dignitywhatdignity #geekgirl76 #bibliophilecats #col1999 #reply all

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unedibledaisyduck · 3 years

Text

scars - s.m

pairing: stephen meeks x gn!reader

warnings: no caps (one line in all caps), kinda angst to fluff, r's insecurities, one swear (two if you could damn as a swear), meeks calls reader baby a lot

fandom: dead poets society

summary: meeks tells you repeatedly how much he loves you and your scars

perspective: 2nd person (you, yours, you're)

a/n: reader's gender, sexuality (r is dating meeks already, this is just relationship fluff) nor race is never mentioned <3, please don't steal my work, i worked hard on this piece

masterlist

taglist

you stood in front of your mirror, only in your undergarments, looking at your scars that littered your body. you hated them, despised them. they made you feel ugly and, quite frankly, not good enough for any of your friends, nevertheless meeks.

meeks was a great boyfriend, always there for you.he was a bit of a simp, to be honest. he was currently out at todd's place, having lunch.

you continued to look in distaste at your scars when you heard the familiar bang sound through the cottage you and meeks called home.

you scrambled to hide the scar removal surgery sheets you were looking at previously. just as you were hiding it in your closet and putting on meeks’ beatles band tee, your lover entered your shared bedroom.

you quickly closed the closet door and patted your hair down.

‘hi meeksie.’ you said quickly, still disorientated from your previous rush.

‘hi, baby, what’s in the closet?’ he asked, his bare feet taking a step closer to you, and the closet.

‘Uhm, my clothes?’

he looked at you seriously. ‘baby, what did you stuff ‘nto to the closet just as i entered the room?’

your brain went into a mini panic when you realised that meeks was going to figure out what was in there, one way or another.

‘damn his relentlessness.’ you grumbled mentally.

you took a step away from the closet, silently telling your boyfriend that he could look into the oak closet.

he looked at you worriedly and practically ran to the closet, swinging the doors open. the squeak of the hinges made you cringe.

‘what the fuck is this, y/n’ he said, turning around. you could see the tears starting to form in his eyes and he re-read the fill-in form for the scar removal surgery.

‘It’s uhm something for my um.. sister, gissette who needed it for-’

‘NO MORE FUCKING LIES, Y/N!’ he yells, spit flying from his mouth and his face starting to turn red, tears starting to slowly leave his eyes.

tears started pooling in yours too. ‘it’s a form for the scar removal laser surgery i wanted to get’ you whispered, but meeks heard you loud and clear.

you suddenly felt familiar arms wrapping around you. You both just stood there and cried, for a solid 4 minutes.

‘baby, do you know how wrong surgeries can go, especially when they’re in their beta stage, like the one you want is in?’

you shook your head, even though you knew it was a rhetorical question. meeks pulled away from the hug, grabbed your shoulders and spun you around so you could both look into the full body mirror. your back was against his chest.

‘i love you so much baby, you don't even want to know how much, because then you’d think i was a weirdo.’

‘too late, i already do.’ you said jokingly.

‘i love every inch of you, no matter the amount of scars.’ he started, wrapping his arms around your stomach. ‘i love your scar that goes across your face, i love that one lightning shaped scar at the top of your thigh, i love your scar on your bicep when charlie accidentally stabbed you,’

this went on for 10 more minutes, until meeks saw that you were on the brink of falling asleep. he carried you to bed and took off your bra, knowing how much you hated sleeping with it. then he changed into his pink stripey pyjama set and climbed behind you, pulling you into his chest.

‘i love you meeks’

‘i love you too, baby’

taglist: no one yet

#maria's weird fics #stephen meeks x reader #stephenmeeksxreader #stephen-meeks-x-reader #dead poet society #dead poets society fic #dead poets society fanfiction #dead poets society x reader #welton academy #tw swearing #tw no caps #tw insecurity #tw scars #tw caps #tw baby pet name #tw bold text

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whispersafterdusk · 4 years

Text

Lost in Time - ch 7

"Oh come on - you're going to eventually own more than two sets of clothing you know."

Eli had once said Gale seemed like 'an animated fellow' - if he was animated then Selene was animated to the power of ten; there were times she thought of the builder as a hyper little puppy and it wasn't a personality type she was entirely used to just yet so the woman's eagerness was a bit daunting sometimes.

"You've already spent a lot of money on me-" Eli started, only for Selene to make a hushing gesture.

"Yes, I have, and I've got gols to spare -- just to rub it in Higgin's face once I purposely made certain I stayed the number one top shop in Portia for three years in a row. That built up quite the savings and I'm not going to be spending it on myself anytime soon. Now come on - you need more than a bed and a tiny table. Go nuts!" the woman laughed, gesturing at the various furniture items that lined the walls of...was it Paulie? Paulie's store. ((Continued below cut))

She'd eventually decided on staying with Selene; Happy Apartments had reminded her too much of the barracks, and she...wasn't ready to deal with that constant reminder yet. So, the offered, spacious room at Selene's had been her choice, and Selene had awakened her bright and early to go furniture shopping. The bed was easy: a simple wooden frame and headboard that had an ivy pattern carved into it and a basic mattress; the frame and headboard were painted a nice cream color and the ivy was a deep green. Along with it she'd chosen a matching bedside table that had two small drawers built in, and she'd deemed that sufficient enough to start out with but Selene was...very insistent on furnishing the entire room.

There was another small table that matched the bed, and the builder woman kept "subtly" nudging her toward a bookcase with matching chair as well as a piece that was half dresser (with mirror) and half armoire; all of it was a pale wood that, while it wasn't the exact shade of cream as the headboard, was still a close enough color that it all could pass as a "matching" bedroom set.

"Even if I say no, this is going to magically turn up in my room isn't it?" she asked dryly.

Selene giggled. "Not 'magically,' no. If you like them, then let's get them -- Paulie'll even move them in for us."

"That's right! Because it's the manly thing to do for such a large order," the giant man laughed.

The man was...pretty obsessed with the word "manly" but his laugh was genuine; he and Selene had that same level of friendliness going on. Hopefully that friendliness would remain after he found out who she was and where (and when) she'd come from.

Anyway...back to the matter at hand. Apparently everything in the shop was something Paulie had made himself, and she had a feeling that everything she picked up now was as high quality as it looked and would probably last her several decades so at least Selene wasn't paying a premium for furniture that would fall apart in two years. "...fine, all right. But just these things and that's IT, got it?"

Selene snickered then held a hand out to Paulie; as Eli watched the man took a handful of gols (why the world had gone back to physical coin-based currency was beyond her) and dropped it into her palm.

"When exactly did you two have time to make a bet on her wearing me down?"

"As you were looking at the bed frames. When the smallish builder sets her mind to something very little will stop her," Paulie said. "And sometimes that means I lose a manly bet."

Selene pocketed the handful of coin, looking smug. "It was a righteous cause, I promise you. You deserve to actually have a comfortable living space."

"I'll have all this delivered by end of the afternoon," Paulie went on. "Did you have a floor plan in mind?"

"Nah, we can move it ourselves once you get it into the house," Selene replied. "Thank you Paulie." She gave the large man a hug and he returned it with enough force to lift the builder from her feet then waved at them as they headed out from the shop.

Outside the wind was blowing but the sky was clear; Eli zipped her jacket back up against the chill and looked to Selene. "Now what?"

"Well... Merlin is helping Petra check for any mention or pictures of the tool we need, so they're busy today. I wanted to wait to see if they found anything and I also have the factory building the last pieces of the lockable elevator car at the moment so even if I had all the measurements or assurances that I could go ahead and try casting that tool we need I'd still have to wait for that to finish. So...basically, we've got the day free aside from being home when Paulie delivers the furniture. Want to get a late breakfast?"

Eli opened her mouth to reply when a comically large set of scissors over a storefront across the way caught her attention. "-is that a salon?"

"Huh? - oh, yeah. Sanwa runs it - cuts, styles, and dyes hair. And beards, but that doesn't apply to you," Selene answered, grinning.

With a small smile she looked away from the scissors shining in the morning sun and back to the builder. "Don't suppose I could rely on your charity for one more thing, could I?"

-----------------------------------------------------------

The apricots Selene grew along the western fence line were juicy and tasted fantastic, and made a for a refreshing snack after an hour or so of moving furniture around.

Paulie had carried it all in and then she and Selene had pushed things into place; Selene was now off double checking on the final pieces of that locking car mechanism, and Eli was sitting on a stool in front of the fence with her back pressed to the wooden slats as she slowly munched on one of the last apricots the builder had gotten off the trees before winter had set in.

It seemed that along with new or hybrid fruits and vegetables a lot of plants she was familiar with had developed a rather long shelf-life on top of having shifted what seasons they typically grew in -- in this case, Selene's apricot trees kept producing right up to the first frost of late fall whereas the trees Eli had known in her time period had mostly stopped dropping fruit by late summer (and the apricots back then definitely hadn't lasted for a few months without showing signs of rot or withering). There was a single apple tree in the little "grove" along the fence and from what Selene had said the apple tree at least produced on a schedule that Eli remembered.

There were neat, orderly rows of planters next to the trees and while they were empty now there were little signs attached to them to identify what had been there: chili peppers, cotton (such a small amount though...surely that wasn't useful enough to grow so little of it?), green lettuce, pumpkins, wheat (again how was it useful to grow just a few tiny planters full, versus an entire field?)

It was a small comfort to actually see proof that not everything had changed so drastically but that was about all that was immediately familiar on the property.

In the planters among the normal plants Eli recognized were more of the weird ones: bamboo papaya, cornball (this one was at least...SORT of understandable? It seemed to be corn that just grew in an orb instead of a long cob), layered carrots (something that tasted like a carrot yet was shaped like a turnip and colored a stripey green and white that resembled neither vegetable), potato fruit (looked like an apple, tasted like a sweet potato), sisal... There were remnants of flowers that Selene had called rainbow flowers, and despite there being only withered stems and dried petals Eli could see the name was very fitting.

And over there, separate from the fruit trees, was a cluster of seven trees that were totally unrecognizable; Selene had called them nitra, zeolora, and crystella trees and Eli had never seen anything so bizarre as trees that grew...rock and crystal-looking "fruit" that hung heavy from the branches or leaked from the bark like a growth. Whatever or however the rocks and crystals grew the builder had said that the trees weren't ready to be harvested but had promised to let her help when it was time; what had gone wrong in nature to create trees that grew rocks?

No... What had gone wrong with the world that gave chemicals and biological weapons free reign to do all THIS?

'At least some of it's familiar...' she kept thinking to herself.

And she had to keep latching on to the familiar things, but there were precious few compared to everything that had changed... Plants were different, the trees were different (even the "normal" ones growing naturally around the shop - Eli didn't recognize those species at all), languages had disappeared, technology was gone...

And then there was all the people, and all the nations, that were gone too.

A twinge hit her in the gut and she leaned her head back against the fence behind her; the change in posture let the light breeze blow right down the front of her, through the little opening between the V-shape of the zipper on her jacket and the tiny gap at her collar bone where her sweater neck drooped slightly. The sudden stab of cold against her skin drew her attention away from the black hole of thought she was about to tumble down and she took a steadying breath.

After a few moments she did zip her jacket up to beneath her chin but she stayed leaning as she was; from the workshop and warehouse across the yard Eli could hear the noise of machines pounding and grinding away -- the locking elevator car was nearly done with only the front and back wall panels needing completion. The lock itself was fairly clever and Selene had seemed especially proud of herself as she showed it off to her earlier; it required both a physical key and a magnet of a certain strength to turn the tumbler and lift an inner locking bar that fit into the gap the door would ordinarily slide effortlessly into, and without the magnet to lift the bar you'd have to tear the entire door apart to get that bar up and out of the way (and by that point you wouldn't even need to as the door would be less a door and more a gaping hole).

Selene had selected a pile of magnets of various shapes and sizes but all roughly the same strength and the plan was only some of them would get a key and some would get a magnet (with a few exceptions - Gale would have both a key and magnet and so would at least one of the Civil Corps members). It essentially meant that it would take two people to get the car unlocked, which Eli considered a little overkill but was willing to let the mayor have the final call.

It did make her wonder what kind of war had just passed between the Alliance and this Duvos...Gale was dead set on absolutely nothing in those ruins falling into Duvos hands even though Eli knew there wasn't a chance in hell that anyone on the planet could replicate anything that could be found down there.

The thrumming and clanking of the workshop factory rather nicely covered up the sound of approaching hoofbeats coming from the direction of the city gates; Eli wasn't even aware Arlo had gotten that close until he'd said hello, and then she felt like an idiot at how she'd jumped out of her skin at the sudden greeting.

---------------------------------------------------

"Didn't mean to startle you, sorry."

Spacer nickered quietly - almost like the horse was also apologizing on his behalf.

Eli sat up from where she'd been leaning against the fence. "Not your fault, was just...thinking, I guess. I need to get back into the habit of listening for every little noise."

With a nod Arlo quietly gave her a once over; she was looking stronger every day, and now that she was out here with Selene she'd be right next to the Civil Corps usual jogging path. "-you're looking well. Does Dr. Xu have you exercising to build your muscles back up?"

"Not yet, but getting out to the facility and working inside it is doing a pretty good job of getting me back to what would be normal for anyone else. It's going to take a lot of work and protein to get back to what's 'normal' for me."

"When the Civil Corps does training exercises we usually start out with a run that begins at the gates and goes right by here - maybe you can start joining us, when we get back to it."

Eli smiled at him. "I'd like that. It'd be a good way to get the lay of the land too." She jerked a thumb over toward Selene's factory. "She's almost got the locking car done so whatever schedule you had before you ought to be getting back to soon."

Arlo gently nudged Spacer a little bit closer so he didn't feel like he was just a few levels shy of shouting at her to be heard over the noise of the factory going at full steam. "I'll be helping to haul it out and install it - how big is it?"

"Big enough to properly fit into the shaft, and with thick walls and door. The lock's actually pretty clever too."

"Good. We need clever to keep people out of there. Has Gale talked to you yet?"

He noted that she paused (it was barely perceptible - could've been mistaken for a flinch) before offering him another smile.

"Yeah, he has. This coming sunday the cat's out of the bag."

"I don't expect any trouble but Remington and I will be there regardless."

Eli nodded and an awkward silence fell; she took a halfhearted bite out of the mostly finished apricot in her hand but was chewing it slowly, like she didn't want to swallow it.

Sensing a change of subject was probably needed Arlo cleared his throat. "-your haircut is nice. Suits you."

"Thanks," came Eli's quick answer - the relief in her tone was palpable. She ran a hand through her hair; it was shaved almost to her skull on the sides and in the back, but the top had been left long enough to comb to the left. "It's how I wore it before. Fits better under helmets and there's less there for someone to grab a handful of if they manage to get close and I don't have said helmet on."

Ha...a haircut doubling as part of personal defense. That was something he hadn't given thought to before. "So you've met Sanwa then. What'd you think of him?"

"Chatty fellow. Selene mentioned I was new to the area and he started waxing poetic about Portia and how peaceful it is out here. I guess that's why you only need three Civil Corps members, eh?" she asked, chuckling quietly.

Arlo smiled faintly, shaking his head. "He does have a point. There's not a lot of interest in joining the Civil Corps because not a lot of people think we need a large group of us because Portia is so peaceful. Gale does have the budget set aside to hire on more people as needed or required, and Paulie helps out as he's able -- we did have a recent incident with a rogue knight that had people clamoring for more town security but that sentiment only lasted a couple of weeks."

"...a...rogue knight?" Eli repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Like, metal armor, sword, chivalry knight?"

"Sort of. He had some armor on and a sword but he was commanding an All Source AI and other AIs to attack Portia. We sustained some heavy damage but were able to fend him off with help from Django."

Eli let out a barked "ha!" before spinning on her stool to rest her arms on the fence and her chin on her arms. "I knew it. That man carries himself too confidently to just be a chef."

"He...what?"

"Django. I met him earlier when Selene and I got brunch. He walks and carries himself with a certain confidence and balance that I'd expect out of someone who's been trained in combat. Is the knight-theme of his diner just for show, or is he some sort of knight too?"

"He's retired. You could tell all that from watching how someone walks?"

Eli nodded. "You can. Might take a bit to notice with some more than others but with him it's a dead giveaway. If you ever want to learn what to look for I can teach you, no problem."

"I'll keep that in mind. Could be useful." Arlo glanced toward the door of the factory; he was tempted to get down and go check on progress but if Eli said Selene almost had it done he was willing to take her word for it. "I need to go on patrol. Would you like to ride along? Get the lay of the land, like you said earlier, and maybe we'll find somewhere you recognize."

Eli seemed to consider that a moment, then nodded; as she stood she whipped her arm and sent what was left of the apricot in hand whizzing toward the compost heap across the yard. Arlo tracked its arc and nodded approvingly as it landed on top and sent a small clump of rotting leaves and cornball husks sliding down the side of the heap.

"Nice throw."

"Thanks. I'll let Selene know where I'm headed and then we can head out."

She headed into the workshop and was back a few moments later; Arlo held a hand out and helped her mount up behind him before nudging Spacer into a trot.

Across from Selene's shop was Sophie's ranch; as they drew away from the workshop the hissing and pounding noises faded and the soft sounds of cattle and horses started to become apparent. The wheat fields had long since been harvested and as they ambled along Arlo could pick out tracks across the field were someone had been walking and another longer stretch that looked like someone had been sledding there. These spots and of course the areas where the cows and horses wandered had thawed out down to the ground underneath and stood out as dark, muddy spots against the remaining slushy snow that still clung to the ground (and was also a reminder of the mud they had to wade through daily to get to and from the facility as well).

"Were there any farms nears Dubei?"

"On the very outskirts, and also hundreds of community plots on the rooftops."

Arlo blinked. "On the rooftops? How?"

He heard a soft chuckle behind him. "Just a reinforced area able to handle extra weight of soil and water, good drainage, that sort of thing. Almost every roof had some sort of food garden or ornamental one - Dubei loved their greenery. Planters and trees on every street and corner, shelves to let vines come down the sides of buildings. Lots of potted plants inside buildings too. From far off it'd be easy to miss among all the lights, signs, and the glass reflecting everything but down in close, on the streets and in the buildings themselves, you'd see green everywhere."

"Sounds like a lot of work."

He felt movement against his back as she shifted, then "-not when you have AIs specifically handling the work."

"An AI for every task, sounds like."

From the corner of an eye he saw Eli nod. "They did the bulk of menial and hard labor, and of course were invaluable assistants in day to day goings on. Lots of data storage, for one."

"The historical records seemed to suggest AIs did everything for humans."

"NOT everything," Eli corrected, tone firm. "They couldn't do everything. And we couldn't trust them with everything anyway."

"Couldn't trust an AI? But I at least thought they were everywhere."

"They were. But would YOU want to trust every aspect of life to something that was one damaged power supply or corrupted file away from shutting down at the worst possible time?"

"I guess not."

They rode on in silence for a bit; the farm passed by and they were approaching the fields beyond Sophie's fences. He turned Spacer to the right and began to follow the fence line up toward where the air balloon platform was. In full view from here was the water wheel that fed an irrigation system for the tree farm, as well as two towering ruins that were little more than metal husks -- they hadn't held much of importance when they'd first officially been delved into about twenty five years ago and since then they'd been stripped of as much useful scrap as they could without causing them to collapse.

Very carefully he turned his head to catch a view of Eli behind him; she was studying the shape of the ruins in the distance and seemed to be comparing them to the water wheel. He stopped Spacer at the DeeDee stop and shifted to look back at her. "Anything seem familiar yet?"

"I'm...PRETTY sure that rounded building there was a planetarium -- a, uh, a place where you could learn about space and the solar system. That rounded top was usually a theater where you could sit and watch a presentation projected onto the ceiling that, because it was rounded and also huge, seemed to drop you right in the middle of the movie. It's easy to trick the brain into thinking you're moving if you're surrounded with the right sensory information so the whole point of the presentation was to make you feel like you were literally flying through space examining planets."

"Sounds like fun."

Eli laughed quietly behind him. "It was. And it's something I'm sure even your level of technology could replicate."

Arlo smiled a bit at that and guided Spacer off to the left, diverting toward the elevator that led up to the hot springs. As he scanned the area and the bluffs ahead he wasn't seeing anything out of the ordinary - there weren't even any footprints up this way. He checked that the elevator was still working as it should and then turned Spacer down the path back toward the road that would lead to the harbor.

Technically he was going well out of the way of his usual patrol route but with Eli with him he wanted to give her the best chance possible to recognize anything in the immediate area; that she'd sort of recognized a planetarium was, he assumed, a good thing, and maybe with a few more landmarks she'd be able to piece together a map of Dubei and know approximately where she was now, 300 years later.

The lighthouse was always in view from almost anywhere you cared to stand once you were south of Sophie's, along with the top of the cargo crane. There was a rumble in the distance suggesting the bus that wheeled around Portia was just past the trees up ahead (that was where the bus stop was, after all) and aside from the soft lapping of waves against the shore there wasn't much else going on out here. He could do a quick loop then circle back north toward Amber Island's bridge, then keep going...

"Was Dubei close to the shoreline?"

"It was built out over the shoreline," came Eli's answer. "Big pylons, gigantic harbor. Docks and walkways. I'm not sure where we are on Dubei's shoreline just yet though."

Arlo nodded and kept Spacer moving at a leisurely trot. Eli seemed a little interested in seeing the "haunted" cave on Amber Island so he made a mental note to make sure she got a chance (knowing Selene if she caught wind of it she'd drag the woman out there herself) and then kept northeast toward Bassanio Falls.

"Is that...desert, over the river?"

Arlo nodded. "It is. Eufala Desert. There's some ruins out that way and Dana's mining operation in Ingall's Mine. If we'd gone across that second bridge we just passed on the right we would've arrived in South Block - it's a tiny outpost right at the edge of the desert." As he glanced back to her he saw her frown, then shake her head. "I'm guessing there wasn't any desert near Dubei in your time."

"No, there wasn't."

She didn't elaborate further; the lift to the top of the falls was where, lately, Arlo had been stopping his patrol route -- now that they were having to keep an eye on the facility in the marsh whoever got the afternoon shift was usually the one who skirted the edge of the marsh and then circled around and down from WOW Industries...

But, the very top of the falls was fairly high up and you could see for miles around up there so that would be the optimal place to have a look from. When they were within walking distance of the lift he got down from Spacer's back and walked the horse the rest of the way; the DeeDee stop would double nicely as a hitching post and there he left Spacer tethered before offering Eli a hand down.

"Let's head up - you might spot something you know."

As soon as they were at the top of the lift Eli immediately spotted the towering ruins of WOW Industries. "Did you people give names to any of these ruins?"

"Not really. But the ones we were able to find mention of, or ones with surviving signs, we just call them by their names. That's WOW Industries."

Eli's eyes lit up. "THAT'S WOW? Well, that's half of WOW. All right...all right, so then..."

She jogged up the path ahead of him and he sped up to keep pace, and then almost collided with her when she abruptly stopped.

"What the heck are THOSE?" she asked then, pointing off to their left where there was a flurry of movement near the tops of the trees.

Arlo squinted off toward where she was pointing and caught the barest glimpse of fluttering wings. "Panbats."

"Pan...bats?" she repeated slowly, turning to look at him in confusion.

"Panbats. They're pests that feed on trees - we had an infestation of them at the tree farm a few years ago. Usually they're pretty harmless but if they're hungry or you scare one they might attack."

Eli continued to stare at him for a few breaths more, then turned on her heel to head up the path further before turning to the left to creep up to the base of a tree; at the base she knelt down, putting the tree partially between herself and the panbats that were flapping around. Arlo came up behind her, counting seven of the beasts; he was more interested in watching how Eli watched them -- he wouldn't say she was sizing them up but she was eying them with far more than a passing curiosity. As they hunched there, observing, Arlo could see one large panbat alight on a bough and pull a shriveled apple free from a dry branch before beginning to suck at it.

"...do you have pandas, and bats, in this world?" Eli asked quietly.

"Bats, yes. Not sure what a panda is."

"Pandas - panda bears. Think...THESE things, but no wings, and about half the size of your horse."

Arlo shook his head. "We don't have those around here, at least. Couldn't say for the rest of the world though."

Eli let out a sigh that trailed off into a faint raspberry noise before she stood and turned back to the WOW Industries building. "Well... The good news is I know WOW Industries, and I know where it was. We're in the southeastern corner of Dubei and now I can also confirm that the shoreline is NOT where it should be, and that none of these bluffs or waterfalls here are where they're supposed to be. It's like...it's like parts of the land got shifted, or sheared off."

He didn't know what to say to that and instead followed silently as she walked up to the building. She stared up at the building and at the door, then circled around the ruin's foundation to the left; there was a flat metal platform here they'd assumed was some kind of loading dock that served double duty as a canopy that covered three enormous pipes coming out of the building. Not far from the edge of the platform was an enormous, wide stone retaining wall that overlooked the eastern border of the Collapsed Wasteland. There was another wall and a line of trees that blocked the majority of the view of the Wasteland from the top of this particular wall - it was hardly more than a crater with a few intact buildings clinging to the land so there wasn't much to see regardless.

Despite the obstructed view Eli was still standing atop the wall and, while he couldn't be sure, it sort of looked like she was measuring distances with her hands - using her fingertips lined up with the landscape and tops of the ruins.

He was content to wait and let her do whatever she needed; down below them he could just make out slurpees wandering about -- he wondered what she'd think of THOSE.

"Oh Fate...why is THIS the way the story goes..."

He just barely heard her speak. "-huh?"

"Nothing. Just having a crisis of faith. Or, in my case, a crisis of Fate."

"Ah."

She ran her hand through her hair again, and paced back and forth a few steps in each direction. "--what religions even exist now?"

"We have the Church of the Light. There might be others but I'm not sure - I've never been very far from Portia." He waited a moment, watching her pace. "What religions existed back then?"

"Hundreds of thousands. Mine specifically was the Foundational Three."

Arlo shook his head. "I've never heard of that one. The Research Center might have, but not me."

"Great..." she sighed. "Well. The Foundational Three are..." She paused, kicking away snow and ice from the stone under her before dropping down to sit. "Fate. Balance. And Judgement. Fate is the Great Curator, and ensures that every soul born into the world has a story to tell and, when those lives are over, makes sure their stories are made a part of the cosmos. Balance is the Silent Observer - Balance makes sure your life isn't too hard or too easy because too hard means you give up and too easy means you don't grow. And Judgement is the Arbiter, the one who carries out decisions made by Balance. Judgement will remove or place obstacles as needed, and punish or reward those as needed -- those who make it their purpose to make other lives miserable will find themselves on the receiving end of Judgement's wrath, and that's not somewhere you want to be. And on the other end of the spectrum are those who are given a helping hand to overcome their troubles if it proves to be more than they can bear."

She trailed off, staring out at the treetops below them. Arlo likewise cleared off a spot to sit and dropped down next to her. "It sounds like a nice religion."

Eli nodded. "Compared to most I'd say it definitely is. Certainly more kind than a lot I'd heard of back then. A lot of religions threatened doom and hellfire and damnation, or the destruction of the soul, or losing the ability to be reborn into another life - always more threats of the bad things versus promises of the good things. The Foundational Three always made the most sense to me though."

"Why's that?" He asked almost without thinking, then quickly added "you don't need to answer that if it's too personal."

She waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, it's fine. In fact, the Three actually encourage you to share information and stories. That's part of why it made sense to me...there's things that should be shared, and remembered. And there's proof all around you that the stories told keep echoing - there's a reason people believe in ghosts. Those are just stories that weren't ready to end."

"I'm not sure I follow."

At that Eli laughed quietly, pulling up a knee to rest her chin on it as she wrapped her hands around her leg. "So, you have ghost stories here, right? I'd assume so being as you have a 'haunted' cave attraction." When he nodded she continued. "A ghost is a soul. A story. And sometimes, when someone dies, instead of their story joining the infinite collection the story itself hangs around. Sometimes it's there because the soul feels their story was cut short and they're upset. Sometimes it remains because the soul feels too strong of a connection to someone else's story, and they can't leave yet because their story is still being written, just on someone else's pages. That's how you end up with guardian spirits or the angry, hateful ghosts that appear in scary stories -- it's just someone's life, someone's story, that wasn't ready to close the cover yet. Eventually though the cover closes, the story returns to the shelves, and the details of that story are written in the fabric of existence where anyone, at any time, may catch a whisper of it even if they never knew that person."

She went quiet after that and Arlo mulled over everything she'd just said; it was a neat and tidy way to think of the universe, for sure. There was even a small bit of comfort in it, thinking that both people he knew and also those he'd never known or would ever know would somehow know about him when he was gone...granted, that thought was terrifying too - a bunch of strangers hearing only bits and pieces of things he'd done or the type of person he'd been. Anyone could make any sort of story out of scraps and believe themselves right.

"What happens when you accomplish whatever Fate said your story was supposed to be about?" he asked into the silence.

Eli shrugged. "How would you know you'd done that?"

"...no idea."

"And no one else would know either. Only Fate would. And even stories that seem complete can keep going. The only thing you can know for sure is you have a starting point in your story, and somewhere there's an ending point, but there's an infinite number of ways to get there." She trailed off again, then inhaled deeply and looked over to him. "Though I definitely understand the NEED to know why your story is going where its going. What am I supposed to accomplish?" With a flick of her fingers she gestured to the Wasteland ahead of them. "How in the world does THIS fit into any reasonable story Fate would want to tell?"

He didn't have an answer for that so he just stayed quiet; the sun was setting and the breeze was getting a bit more chilly and out of habit he rubbed his hands together.

The movement attracted her attention. "We can head back. I've seen enough to have at least some idea of where I am. It's just...staggering that there's so little left."

He nodded and stood, and offered her a hand up; they walked back to Spacer in silence and began to make their way back to Portia.

About halfway there he heard her sigh again - it was more of a groan though. "What's wrong?"

"I just realized something. Something that I was doing."

"What's that?"

"I want to know what happened here, and what that facility actually is and why I was down inside it. And I keep catching myself thinking of those three things - what happened, what it is, why I was there - as all separate pieces of the puzzle, when I SHOULD be thinking of it as one big knot to unravel. Seeing WOW, and spotting the sewer network got me to thinking about what's gone, what should be where, and how the landscape changed and for a moment it was like THAT was the only problem. And I know I'm doing it because, to be blunt, I'm terrified to actually get the answer..."

"I'm sorry," was all he could think to say.

The ride back to Portia was quiet after that.

#Lost in Time #lit #Lost in Time - ch 7 #Arlo #Builder #Paulie #My Time at Portia

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cbspams · 3 years

Text

ONF - New World (Performance MV)

The last one. Ahhh, when I first committed to watching RTK, I wasn't sure what to expect and I didn't know anything about the other groups. I'd seen TBZ's Reveal (Catching Fire) which lured me in and I'm grateful for it because I got to see all the other amazing performances everyone pulled off. Beyond just the performances, it was really heartwarming to get little glimpses of the hard work everyone puts into each stage and how they're always supporting each other, within their own teams and outside of it. I would definitely recommend watching RTK if you're interested in getting into any of the groups featured, and even if not I would still recommend watching the performances because they're all so unique in their arrangements and stages. It's the kind of thing that can only happen on a competition show.

Thanks for putting up with all my ranting and know that I love you if you've read all my different thought posts. I hope you all look forward to Kingdom: Legendary War as well, it's gonna be HYPE!

Alright dudes let's get down to it.

Admittedly I did not love ONF for a lot of RTK. They're a great group, but I felt like their stages didn't favor the same kind of theatricality other groups had. And when they were ranked highly for We Must Love + Moscow Moscow (2nd round, My Song) stage, I was frankly a little miffed.

I adored their stage for It's Raining though, and all throughout RTK even if I didn't love them I still thought they were wonderful. Their reactions were so entertaining to watch and their stages were all fun and well executed.

I struggled watching New World a bit because I couldn't get over the fact they went back to more simple performances when It's Raining had been so elaborate.

The performance MV for New World is amazing. I understand the live performance had to be filmed indoors and that because it's indoors and because the stage is black and the stairs are black and the bleachers are black, the impact is different. But I'm really sad about that because the open air film location they did for the performance MV fit the song's vibes so much better. The kind of controlled sunlight, the open air lattices of the building they were standing on, the contrast between the dark outfits the members had and the bright cream of the building's plaster. All of those contributed to such a different vibe for the song, which is so bright and fun.

The opening to the light performance is a short film, similar to ONEUS and Pentagon. I'm not too sure about this but it seems to start with fast cuts from their previous MVs? And then slows down marginally to give a bit of storyline that seems to be a combination of pre and post apocalypse/societal collapse in a fantasy/cyberpunk mix world? Yeah, I dunno I've watched it 4 times and that's the best I could come up with. Especially because the ending shot is several very large meteors crashing through the atmosphere and like, those are pretty deadly so...?

In the pre-performance bit with the ONF members, they had discussed a theme of Pandora's box. Most people know that Pandora's box is a symbol of curses and tragedy, often tied to themes of humanity's greed versus humanity's innocence in listening to the gods. On opening the box, all the diseases and negativity inside flooded out to torment humanity but Hope remains in the box to allow humanity to maintain light in the darkness, and only humanity can give up hope.

NGL I was really excited to see how they would execute that theme. But then?? They kind of treated the box as a time capsule? I could kind of see it like them put their hopes into the box, which is an interesting twist on the tale of Pandora's box but also Confusion because that's definitely not the theme of that story. I kind of let it go though, because maybe they were just borrowing inspiration from the story and not actually trying to represent it.

Moving onto the actual performance and song. The intro is so intense! It's a really interesting fit because the rest of the song is way more dance upbeat/electric. But as far as openings go, pretty impactful and very pleasing to watch the ripple effect with the backup dancers down the aisle.

Again with the colorful flashing lights. Cool? Yes. Contributing to the aesthetic? Not particularly. Productive to the storyline? No. Part of the performance? Yes. Shruggy on this one, I don't really have anything to add that I haven't mentioned in previous commentaries.

I do really like the song though. Just as a piece of music, it's so fun to listen to and has definitely joined the ranks of my usual kpop bops. The kind of light, fast electro beat is something to jam to. Wyatt's voice is just so good, especially as part of the pre-chorus. The contrast makes it delightful to go from verse one to chorus. The lyrics and message of the song are really well thought out and executed as well, talking about reaching a better world and turning away from hurting each other/the environment/generally being hurtful.

OKAY. So this part is actually something I really adored: the sort of robotic formation. Wherein the members stand in the center of several backup dancers who seem to place on pieces or armor or something onto the member's limbs. A very clean cut, fast paced dance sequence that really strongly reminded me of early iron man scenes in which the different parts of armor were installed on the body. Also lowkey reminiscent of magical girl transformation hahahaha. But it's done so cleanly and while the camera angles make it hard to focus, it's still such a treat to watch. AND THEN. The members come up to the shoulders of the backup dancers and for Wyatt's lines, they're just!! In control! If y'all have watched power rangers or Gundam or Aquarion or Neon Evangelion or like, any of those then you know what I'm talking about, in which the human character slides into some massive machine and controls them from the inside to fight monsters (kaiju) and stuff. And the next bit with J-US and the hands! Creative, interesting imagery, just a complete delight to watch. It's just sooooo fun and I love that for ONF, I really do.

I genuinely think that their theme doesn't make much sense without the context of the lyrics and even then it still feels clunky and sort of inspired by rather than actually embodying the concept. So I'd dock point for them for that personally because I think that when themes are introduced and performed, they should show up as more than just a simple prop. But also I acknowledge that dance and musical performances like this (not musicals) aren't necessarily intended to be storytelling, especially in 4th gen kpop. I do like their theme with the keys and opening, I feel like the performance would have been enhanced if instead of using pandora's box, they choose to use the gateway to the new world. A bit on the nose but a lot more impactful with the key turning bit after the second chorus.

On the key turning bit with the weird holographic box: Dude. Those backup dancers? So clean. Nice stiff steps that feel very robotic which goes wonderfully with the costumes. The keys they each take actually read RTK ONF if you go clockwise from the left (MK). Just a neato little fact. Attention to detail is so good. And the timing of the key turns, of course it was gonna be to the beat but like still! Satisfying af.

Why Wyatt grabs the box and slams it to the ground I don't know. Maybe it has to do with the line dive into new world.

The high notes. Again. Literally just. What the fuck guys, they're so good. I'm gonna cry. The stability, the pitch, just. (sobbing)

The LED screen in the back is interesting? Is it supposed to be a door into the new world? Probably?

Dance break!! Guitar solo!! The door tradition into the weird stripey LED screens that just feels so chaotic and kinda like I'm going through a movie warp portal. Somehow when combined together it all works lmao??

I love the bridge. There's no reason for it, I just love Wyatt's fast paced lines and the kind of dun dun dun fast tempo beat tapping.

The ending of running away from the camera, towards the little cliffs and the LED screen was a good choice because the last lines refer to how they'll never stop as long as they're alive. Not the most impactful ending but definitely satisfying given the song's lyrics and meaning. Again, that lack of pandora's box kind of haunts me?

Overall if I consider this ONF performance compared to their others it doesn't feel quite as thought out and executed. Similar to their We Must Love + Moscow Moscow performance where I couldn't really see the marionette theme, I couldn't really understand the idea of Pandora's box in this performance and I really wish they had chosen perhaps a gateway to the new world or some other theme instead because it would fit much better. It's also a little lackluster compared to the performance MV that had a lot of contrast which created more focus and contributed more to the atmosphere of the performance.

Still, as a performance on it's own, it does pretty well and I'm really happy for ONF to have performed it. Thank you RTK for introducing me to this song and to ONF in general, I hope they continue to release some really good stuff.

#admin talk #rtk commentary #rtk performance comments

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makeitquietly · 4 years

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A quick recap of what criticism I remember reading about this Blu-ray set: nobody agrees about the picture quality, or on which films it’s best/worst, but it’s on the waxy/soft side mostly because of too much digital cleaning or whatever, the sound is said to be good, some hissing, out of sync in the 1936 version of Berth Marks, extras are good too, no Blu-ray logo on the case, no booklet, awkward menu always reverts back to beginning, no play-all possibility, the films are not in the order of making/release.

But a lot of people worked very hard for a long time to make this set available. Which is why nothing negative should be said about it? Eh. Next time go for quality instead. Or don’t sell your product. Make it a fanwork.

Anyhow, if I was all powerful and had commissioned someone to restore these films, I’d make them go back and do it again if this set was presented to my ruling eyes.

OTOH, I paid 99 euros for this package and have had lots of fun with it and if there’d been Stan’s scrapbook (pages) amongst the galleries, I’d happily paid double. It’s not about the money spent except when people imply that negative reviews aren’t allowed. I’d paid 99 euros for the galleries alone.

It’s about the fact that the films aren’t as well restored as they should/could be. Beyond me, why it’s so difficult to admit. And it’s clearly not only an issue of getting waxified during some final cleanup or somehow being ruined when transferred to Blu-ray disks.

Any idiot (me) knowing nothing about the processes involved can easily confirm this by watching how different films on the same disk have different quality, likewise first reel can be almost okay, the second much worse, scenes and cuts have often annoyingly varying quality, even single frames look like they came from different prints and nothing was done to make them fit more seamlessly in their surroundings. And I’m not talking about that one wandering frame in Scram!, which must be some person’s idea of a joke, how else could it be so out of place?

Or didn’t anyone watch these that one last important time since it wasn’t removed, nor were the countless spots still there in most of the films? I know, when things get cleaned up that one remaining crumb is much easier to spot... er... see my point?

There are also jumpy frames, which I imagine would’ve been easy to adjust, and to prevent those ubiquitous flashy cuts, you’d only needed to adjust the brightness of that single frame causing the flashing. Even I have done that on GIMP when making gifs. I’m guessing too much contrast on, say, Me and My Pal isn’t a problem created by the wax people either.

The ridiculously softly glowing Brats might be, there’s an awful lot of glowing in One Good Turn too, and in parts of Sons of the Desert, for example, where faces are dangerously close to have that overly scrubbed look, which is a big problem in The Chimp and Come Clean.

When it comes to wax, Helpmates and County Hospital are the most hideous, the latter must be the worst looking of all the films in this set, being also awfully spotty as well as too dark. It’s got other faults too, like wonky frames. The Music Box has a pretty decent first reel (except for the opening scene), and despite not being able to see the stripes on Stan’s and Ollie’s pants because of too much contrast, Me and My Pal is also clearly better wax-wise in the first reel.

It’s interesting to watch some of these films for the first time, thinking that this is crap quality picture, but then the second reel is even worse and suddenly there’s a whole new level of crappiness.

I think the sound is ever so slightly out of sync for a bit in Way Out West and One Good Turn. At least it is compared to those same films on my 21 DVD set. In addition to being very clearly out of sync in that Berth Marks reissue like others have noticed. Berth Marks also has a weird stripey “cover” over the actual film. I suppose it was impossible to remove.

Even with some sync problems, if I had to choose the best restorations from this new collection, Way Out West would be on my list, together with Busy Bodies, Hog Wild and Towed in a Hole. Some parts of Sons of the Desert look gorgeous. With grain and all. Pretty much like Atoll K but unfortunately not as consistently. (Atoll K was restored by different people, I gather.)

The much anticipated but already online for free since 2019 The Battle of the Century then? Well, the first reel is quite good, or would be if it wasn’t a weird blend of an ugly greenish yellow or yellowish green. Sepia isn’t what it used to be. And I would’ve thought they’d made sure to get all those black spots removed at least from this one what with it being one of the “new” things on this set. The second reel is worse except colour-wise. But at least it’s there complete with Charlie Hall and the “what pie fight” ending.

Haven’t mentioned The Midnight Patrol, Their First Mistake or Twice Two yet. The last two are pretty evenly waxy, and comparing The Midnight Patrol to Come Clean and The Chimp makes it not that bad. There’s no actual need to bleach faces or an excuse for Billy Gilbert’s patternless shirt, is there?

For me the treasures from this set can be found on each disk under galleries. Even for those not interested in scripts, press material, posters and assorted documents, there are circa 1,400 photos, many of which really are rare, or at least I’d never seen them before. One of the gems are the about 140 photos from Babe’s Vim days. Awesome! Nothing as gemmy from Stan’s past before Laurel and Hardy, and someone put wrong names on the photos where he appears with the Hurleys, not the Cookes. Yes, there’s a short, handy description for most of the photos.

So many of them and I must peruse more, of course, but I’m going give a special mention to Stan with both Loises on the set of Brats for adorableness and likewise to Thelma Todd for previously unseen (by me) variations from her photoshoot on that bathroom set. Love the six new-to-me photos of Stan and Babe together on the 1932 British tour especially. Great stuff. Oh, and Mae Busch, Dorothy Christy and Charley Chase in their Sons of the Desert portraits look fabulous.

Another treasure are the interviews with only a couple of slightly dubious moments. Joe Rock made me grin. George Marshall made me cry. Walter Woolf King made me laugh. Most wonderful. Short introduction by Randy Skretvedt for each interview. He’s the one who did the interviewing too. There’s 15 of them altogether. Plus a chance to hear composer Marvin Hatley perform Honolulu Baby and Will You Be My Lovey-Dovey. The audio only interviews come with some more great photos.

I kind of adore how Richard W. Bann casually debunks Anita Garvin’s The Battle of the Century story with one dry line during his commentary of the film. Hurts so good. Let’s have more debunking!

Speaking of the commentaries, and maybe more about them on some other occasion, Bann only comments The Battle and The Music Box, all the rest, including That’s That and The Tree in a Test Tube have commentaries by Randy Skretvedt.

I was expecting Bann to tell the whole story of why it took so long to get The Battle on video but he didn’t; fair enough, I thought, but then in his other commentary he goes on about his grudge with a dead guy, so I guess it was not his, um, politeness that stopped him from dishing on the much more recent and therefore interesting stuff. What then?

Perhaps a third person sharing the commentary duties would’ve been a good idea. That was my thought when Skretvedt obsessed over Stan’s smoking for the third time. By obsessed I mean he listed all the films where, according to him, Stan smokes. What for, you may wonder. I did. No answer. I remember reading somewhere that Stan not smoking in the movies means he’s a child. (Yes, some Laurel and Hardy fans are somewhat weird sometimes. Aren’t we all?) Maybe Skretvedt was trying to debunk that theory? Hehe, okay, I know he wasn’t, because he did the “they’re children, Hal Roach said so” routine in his Their First Mistake commentary, complete with Charles Barr quotes to prove there’s nothing gay about Ollie liking Stan more than his own wife. Made me fume. I don’t know why. Nothing new.

I don’t know why it doesn’t occur to him that if Ollie didn’t spend so much time with Stan, Mae wouldn’t be the lonely, disappointed wife who ends up wanting a divorce after one too many lies from Ollie and accuses Stan of alienation of Ollie’s affections. But no, apparently it’s no wonder that Ollie likes Stan more than his wife because she hits him with the broom. So the hitting came first and then too much time spent with Stan? I don’t think so.

Anyhow, third person, more variety, something newer, or at least an explanation for Stan’s smoking being of particular importance. Ollie’s smoking isn’t mentioned. Also, to digress even more, I always found the claim that Stan doesn’t smoke because he is a child odd, not only because he does, but also because he drinks alcohol too and manages to be married in several films. But the Laurel & Hardy child squad of course thinks the wives are actually their mothers. (Yes & again, weird.)

I did and do also wonder if there would’ve been anyone available and even if there had been, if these old school fans had accepted someone with different views. Probably not.

Still waiting for Skretvedt to notice Stan’s camera looks. Maybe he just hasn’t been a fan for long enough yet... 😛

I’m out of steam now. Need to rehydrate.

One more thing: No booklet, so maybe nobody involved wanted to spread about their name more than absolutely necessary knowing the restoration work was, shall we say, uneven?

Tl;dr: Uneven restoration work. Great extras. Mostly interesting commentaries.

#Stan Laurel #Oliver Hardy #Laurel and Hardy #the definitive restorations #2020 #2020s

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my-whumpy-little-heart · 4 years

Photo

Tumblr was fighting me on the reblog, so I just made a new post. Thank you so much to @spookyboywhump for tagging me in that picrew chain; I went a little overboard and had a lot of fun!

In order, these are Percival, Floyd, Llyr, Hugh, Ray, and Mabel all from my pirate universe. I’m going to go into a bit more detail under a cut because of course I am, you guys know me, so open that up if you want some excited appearance rambles!

Oh hello, welcome to the forbidden Keep Reading land! Glad to have you here. Just gonna do this list style before I start going wild with transitions or something dumb like that.

Percival - Ah, it’s been ages since we’ve seen this man, hasn’t it? If you’ve been around for a good long while, you might remember me doing a drawing of him and Floyd a while back, and details on both of their appearances have definitely shifted since then. This picrew is more accurate, especially in the hairstyle. The color should be warmer and have streaks of blond in it, but otherwise it definitely looks like him to me.

Some more details to note is that no picrew will ever get his eyes right. They should be lighter and lean a little more towards orange with yellow highlights that are especially prominent when he’s using magic. I’m not sure if he has his nose pierced in canon, but he does have his ears pierced and oh yeah those snake earrings were definitely used because of his reputation as The Serpent. And I love snakes a completely normal amount but that’s totally irrelevant definitely not a driving force what?

(fun side note: i was gonna give him the lemon background because he is a sucker for anything acidic and strong, hence his really weird obsession with vinegar that is the only thing he wants to tell me about himself most days, but then this one looked really pretty so I kept it)

Floyd - We just saw him again if you’ve been keeping up with the Llyr and the Pirates storyline, though this picrew is based more off of his starring role and captivity in Persistence. He doesn’t have piercings in anything we’ve seen so far, but he will canonically get them at some point :D

Other than that, everything’s pretty straightforward. He’s got his collar from Percival, which is technically a more brownish leather and just a little thicker than that, and his eye color should be a little lighter, leaning towards blue-green. Oh, and I gave him a pass on my attempts at kinda realistic clothing because I thought that Floyd would absolutely love this shirt. A shame he isn’t in our time really... I think he would love a lot of funky patterns and stuff in modern fashion. aNYWAYS-

Llyr - My sealy son! I’ve really gotta see if there’s a seal picrew I could use to design his other form lol. But here’s what he’s meant to look like! I think this hairstyle was meant to be used as braids or dreadlocks, but it was the only messy looking one I could find. Because ever since Llyr turned human, his hair has been awfully maintained, and by that I mean Not At All it’s so tangled you couldn’t even pull a brush through it without a good amount of effort. But all the colors are correct here!

If I could very quickly point you in the direction of his cloak, that’s the closest I could get to the way he wears his seal skin when it’s not being taken away from him (*glares at the Offending Individual(s)*). He isn’t wearing a shirt under it because clothes are still super weird feeling to him, and he’d rather go with the bare minimum than feel fabric moving around and clinging to him all day. And he’s being assertive and indignant, because Of Course He Is.

Hugh - Aha, a design! A design for the largely descriptionless bastard man! The hair is pretty accurate for how he wears it currently, though he definitely prefers it shorter than that so it isn’t curling into his face all the time. The color should be darker, closer to a traditional brunette tone, and this picrew is so invalid only because I couldn’t give him the beard that was the only thing I pictured for so long. Hugh has a full chin beard that he also keeps fairly short, but he isn’t able to grow too much of a mustache so that stays as stubble on his upper lip.

As for physique, he’s definitely a lot more muscley than this picrew allowed him to be. The outfit he has on is definitely close to something he got his first night on Gawain’s ship, though a little more tight fitting than it is in reality. Otherwise, I don’t have too much to say on him! Smarmy grin and half lidded eyes is his signature expression for harassing people, but those eyes open up to look a little more friendly most other times.

Ray - Ahhh my sunshine child, always trying his best! *stares at both of my story wips with him* He’s completely fine, both physically and emotionally! But I digress. Here’s Ray on a classic, happy day! This picrew did such a good job with his hair. Wavy, ending just above his shoulders, and sometimes tied up in a ponytail or bun. This honestly looks so accurate to him and I love it.

A note on his coat that also extends to Percival, this choice isn’t super accurate to his coat? Percival’s should be dark red/magenta and Ray’s should be more of a navy blue/green, and both of them should be more tailored, but these were the closest I could get them. My captains really like their fun coats (except Gawain. He likes to stick to protocol uniforms, which in the Law Abiding Business does not include a fun coat)

Mabel - Last, but certainly not least! Mabel is fantastic and this picrew fits her very very well. That shirt is definitely made of some softer flannel-ish material and she wears it on windier or brisker days. Those stripey shirts are some of her favorite patterns aside from No Pattern.

Oh and her hair I really had a blast making here. It wasn’t working out at first because there aren’t a whole lot of options, but I thought to have her put it up and then include that little braid bit and with some curly bangs and little loose bits on the side it really came together! Yellow looked cute with her and I didn’t want the beautiful fruit backgrounds to go to waste, so I gave her some lemons because why not.

Ah and one last note. The only reason y’all aren’t getting a Gawain picrew as well is because 1) even numbers,,,, good,,,,, and actually because 2) he looked absolutely cursed in this picrew and it didn’t represent him quite as well as I’d like. Maybe I’ll doodle him out sometime so you guys can see what he looks like....

Sooo.... yeah.... that was certainly. A Ramble. If you’re still here, I’m so very sorry. I’m going to go get something to eat now. Ah, and everyone I would have tagged has already taken care of this since I took all day, so anyone can go ahead if they’d like.

#literally everyone: i'm gonna make one or two picrews then say a few words before passing this on #me: ahaha yeah i can do that #me just seconds later: oh wait. i'm an idiot.#buuuut anyways I decided on appearances! hugh didn't have one before this!#neither did gawain but he didn't work well at all in this picrew haha #i don't even know who's appearances i've shared with the world before now #did y'all know what mabel looked like? am i a fool? did i forget to say what she looked like?#no matter. you know now and that's all that matters ig #i need to hECKING POST THIS DAMMIT BOA THIS DOESN'T NEED MORE TAGS BUT FIRST #boa speaks #boa is very dumb #picrew #ohhhhhhhhhh do i tag characters #i'm gonna tag the fucking characters fuck this #Percival #Benedict Floyd #Llyr the Selkie #Hugh Williams #Raymond Bates #Mabel Forbes #tHERE #THAT'S IT #I'M DONE MAKING WORDS AAAAAAGH NONE OF THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPENNNNNN

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purgatorys-fallen-angel · 5 years

Text

Losing Bets and Elf Costumes

Written for: @notfunnydean ‘s SPN Adventcalender 2019

Prompt: Day 12: Elves

Pairing: Castiel/Dean Winchester

Summary: Castiel and Sam lose a bet and have to dress up as elves. Dean very much enjoys himself.

Word count: 829

Read it on Ao3

“I’m not going to wear this.” Castiel stared at the stripey tights Dean held out for him.

“Oh, yes. You will. And you’ll look amazing.” The hunter was grinning in a way that made Castiel slightly uncomfortable. Not necessarily in a bad way, but not in a good way either.

“Why does Sam get to wear pants?” Cas held up the green body that – in his opinion – was way too small.

“Because I couldn’t find a body in his size plus I really don’t wanna be scarred for life after this.” That earned him a snort from Sam and a confused look from Cas. Of course the angel didn’t get it. Or he did and played dumb. Dean didn’t know, and he didn’t care. They had lost the bet, so they got to wear what he wanted them to wear. And he had chosen a women’s costume for Cas because honestly, why not. That was probably the closest he would get to seeing Cas in anything but his suit and trenchcoat. Not that Dean didn’t like Cas’ outfit, it was just that it got a little one-sided after some time. And especially after several years. There had been some changes. During his time as a human Cas had worn different clothing. And then he had upgraded his outfit to wearing his shirt not all the way buttoned up and without the tie. Dean really liked that, but that didn’t change the fact that he wanted to see Cas wear something else.

Sam raised one eyebrow at Dean, grabbed his outfit and left to change. When Cas didn’t move or take the pile of clothes – well, almost clothes – in front of him, Dean smirked and winked at him. “Do you need help changing? I think the body might be a bit difficult to put on.” Although the gaze Cas shot him was possibly meant to kill him, Dean couldn’t help but smile at his own funny joke. It wasn’t exactly a joke, though, he really wanted to help Cas.

“I think I’ll be better off alone, thank you.” The angel grumbled, took the outfit and disappeared towards his room in the bunker. Maybe he was a bit disappointed, but Dean just sat down and decided to wait for the best thing that was yet to come.

“You know, your way of showing Cas that you have a thing for him is not the most subtle one.” Sam came back and stood in front of Dean. The costume looked hilarious on him. Although the shorts were supposed to be calf length, Sam somehow managed to still be too tall for them and they ended up barely reaching his knees.

“Do you think he got it?”

“Yes, I got it, Dean.”

Dean’s head shot up and he turned red when he saw Cas leaning in the doorframe. The tights were just as tight as he had imagined they were, and they hugged Cas’ legs perfectly. And the body…. Dean was sure he was about to die when his gaze focused on the cleavage. Normally, he totally wouldn’t stare at a guy’s cleavage, but Cas’s was a sight to look at. He had never noticed how muscular the angel actually was. Well, he certainly had seen the muscles in his arms and legs once or twice but the rest usually was hidden by the trench coat.

“Uhm, well, yeah. I think I am done here so I’ll leave you two alone now, bye.” Sam smiled a bit awkwardly and backed out of the room. It was a shame that Dean was too busy staring at Cas that he completely forgot to take a picture of his brother to annoy him with later.

“You are staring, Dean.” Cas was beautiful when he smiled. If Dean wasn’t seeing things, the angels’ cheeks were flushed in a light shade of pink. He licked his lips and got up, whiskey glass still in his hand. Once he stood right in front of Cas he stopped and gently ran his hand over the angel’s side and waist. “Well, I can’t help it when you look that hot.”

“Even in an elf costume?” Cas smiled and loosely wrapped his arms around Dean’s neck.

“Hell yes, even in an elf costume.” Dean muttered and closed the small distance between them to press his lips against Cas’. The kiss soon turned into something more heated, tongues fighting for dominance. Dean grabbed Cas’ thighs and lifted him up, sitting him on the counter. In return, the angel wrapped his legs around Deans’ hips and pulled him close, grinding against him. The tight costume did nothing to hide his arousal and the obvious bulge that was forming beneath the green velvet.

“Fuck yes, you make a hot elf.” Dean mumbled against Cas’ lips once they had to part to breathe. The confused squinty eyes and the annoyed eyeroll that followed his comment made him smirk in amusement.

“Dean, shut up and fuck me.”

#spnadventcalendar2019 #elves #destiel #castiel #dean winchester #supernatural #spn #destiel fanfic #my writing #sam winchester #elf costume #dean has a crush on cas #christmas fluff #attempt at humor #i wrote this instead of sleeping #and it's 3 am and I am so done with everything right now

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 5 years

Text

Though I know I should be wary

Still I venture someplace scary

Ghostly haunting I turn loose.

Betelgeuse.

BETELGEUSE.

Psycho Analysis: Betelgeuse

“It’s showtime.”

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Here he is, the ghost with the most, the bio-exorcist extraordinaire, the spook who has lived through the Black Plague (and had a pretty good time during it) and who has seen The Exorcist about a hundred and sixty-seven times (and it keeps getting funnier every time he sees it)! From the Tim Burton movie of almost the same name – his name is actually spelled like the star in the constellation of Orion, not like what the movie and the cartoon’s title says it is – Betelgeuse is one hell of a guy, an undead menace like no other. Between the performance from none other than Michael Keaton (which is not surprising since the guy was more of a comedic actor prior to Batman, which this film came out before) and the direction and style granted to him by Tim Burton in his prime, Betelgeuse has cemented himself as one of the most delightfully enjoyable jackasses in fiction.

Actor: I want to believe this is what convinced Tim Burton to cast Michael Keaton as Batman. In fact, I like to imagine this movie is why anyone casts Michael Keaton in anything, ever. Birdman? Spider-Man: Homecoming? Minions? All because of his performance here. He’s clearly having a blast, and he fills Betelgeuse with the sort of insane, depraved manic energy a sleazy undead conman should have. Keaton has apparently said this is his favorite role and he’s down to do the sequel if it ever gets out of development hell, and if he can still provide the same wacky performance as he did back in ‘88 I think we have nothing to fear. He is the glue that holds this film together along with Danny Elfman’s score. Case in point: most of Keaton’s lines were ad libbed. Think of all the hilarious deliveries, dialogue, and jokes that BJ spits out, and think if there had been someone else playng him. I don’t know if anyone else could have come up with anything funnier.

Motivation/Goals: Betelgeuse really seems like an agent of chaos, just doing what he does because it seems fun to him. He is just so gleeful about the prospects of killing people on the job, and he gleefully torments the Maitlands even while they ask for his help, sexually harassing Barbara at every turn and just being a real creep. Later in the film, he implies he really wants to get out of being undead, and so tries to coerce Lydia into releasing him, even forcing her to marry him in return for help freeing the Maitlands from accidentally being exorcised.

Really, the guy just likes to cause a ruckus. It’s not really expanded upon in the movie, and he’s just played up as a hilariously creepy jerkwad, but apparently the musical adaptation expands on why he does what he does. As far as the movie goes, though... yeah. He’s just a jerk. A really, really funny jerk.

Personality: Betelgeuse is like a sleazy used car salesman cranked up to eleven. He’s motormouthed, he’s unpleasant, he’s sleazy, he’s perverted, and he’s an incredible jerkass… and yet, you just can’t help but love the guy, because Keaton’s energy just shines through and makes him a jerkass in a lovable sort of way. It’s sort of the same principle as Gaston; he’s just so cartoonishly, hilariously over-the-top in how much of a pig he is that you can’t help but enjoy him, especially since he does get his just desserts in the end.

Final Fate: Betelgeuse tries to force Lydia into marriage, and poofs away the Maitlands to make sure they don’t say his name. But this backfires spectacularly: shrinking Adam allows him to drive a toy car into Betelgeuse’s foot, casuing him to drop the ring before he can seal the deal with Lydia, and poofing Barabara out onto the surface of Venus only serves to allow her to wrangle the Sand worm and have it crash through the roof and eat him alive. And then when Betelgeuse gets stuck in the waiting room, he ends up between the man with a shrunken head and the witch doctor who did it to him, and after stealing the witch doctor’s number, Betelgeuse finally is able to get a little head… just probably not in the sense he’d have liked it.

Best Scene: Once he says “It’s showtime,” all bets are off, and he really delivers on his promises to help the Maitlands. It’s actually kind of shocking that he holds up his ends of the bargains he makes; maybe people wouldn’t try and screw him out of his end of the deal if he wasn’t such a raging perverted jackass.

Best Quote: The guy is just a fountain of quality quotes, particularly when he rattles off his qualifications. But I really have to give it to one line, a line that absolutely baffles me as to how it made it into a PG rated film, which Betelgeuse says after kicking over a tree in the town model:

“NICE FUCKING MODEL!” This is then followed by him grabbing his crotch with cartoonish honking noises. It’s incredible.

Final Thoughts & Score: It’s really hard for me to not call this the definitive Michael Keaton performance, as far as comedies go anyway. He is just really throwing himself into to the role and having an absolute blast with it; there’s not a single moment with him that feels forced or tired, he’s just constantly putting all his effort into making this ghastly slimeball a likable antagonist, and boy does it pay off. To this day, Betelgeuse is a beloved and iconic character in Tim Burton’s filmography, to the point where the guy got his own cartoon show which is in and of itself considered a beloved cult classic. And as if that wasn’t enough, he got his own musical! It takes a special kind of villain to score a big musical gig; just ask a certain green witch.

The thing is, there isn’t much to analyze in the way of character here; he’s really just the way it is because it’s funny. The movie is a dark comedy, after all (though not the darkest comedy starring Winona Ryder that came out in ‘88). Hell, I think the most interesting thing to glean from him is how his most popular outfit, the one he wears all the time in the cartoon and is on everything from the posters to DVD cover, is actually only worn by him for about five minutes of screentime, with the rest of his appearances featuring him in what appears to be ratty, nasty old pajamas. I think part of why the stripey outfit became his signature style is because not only does it look cool, but he wears it for his big moment when he frees the Maitlands and really lets loose.

The other interesting thing to glean from Betelgeuse is how despite being a nasty, horrible person, you just can’t help but love the guy. He’s just so darn funny! Like I mentioned before, I think it is because in a lot of ways, he is like Gaston, who is the poster child for toxic masculinity. Betelgeuse is a slimy sexual harasser, he has no sense of personal space, and he tries to force a young woman to marry him; in real life, this guy would be a vomit-inducing psychopath who people would rightfully want hung out to dry, but here, in this film, he’s hilarious. I think that, much like Gaston, it’s the energy and fun pf the performance, and at least here with Betelgeuse it has to do with how utterly cartoonish he is and how everyone around him has the intended reactions. And, of course, he never really wins, even if he does cause a lot of mischief along the way.

I think Betelgeuse is the sort of magical jackass more fantasy films should aspire to have; there really aren’t many characters worth mentioning who are in the same vein as good ol’ BJ. With that in mind, I think he deserves a 10/10. I think he’s one of Tim Burton’s finest creations, the most lovable of rogues, a truly impressive phantom menace, and he really holds the film together. I long for the day when Michael Keaton’s dream comes true, and they finally make Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian or whatever other absurd concept they would do for a sequel if they decide not to got with Tim’s joke script.

All I can say for sure is: boy am I glad Burton and Keaton changed this from a straightforward horror film into a dark comedy, because I’m not sure I’d like to live in the universe where Betelgeuse was legitimately evil and tried to rape Lydia. Yes, this was really what the film’s original script was like. It just goes to show that sometimes it’s better to be funny than it is to be scary.

#Psycho Analysis #Betelgeuse #Beetlejuce #Beetle Juice #Michael Keaton #Tim Burton

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