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everlasting-stories · 3 years

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To Feel Again [M]

Genre: light angst, romance

Warnings[!]: smut, penetration, creampie, unprotected sex, mentions of adult toys

Pairing: Doyoung x Reader

Words: 4.4k / One-shot

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Valentine's Day: the day of roses and hearts and chocolates and romantic candlelit dinners. When people proposed marriage and professed undying love.

You sighed, staring unseeing into your bowl of cornflakes as they succumbed to their milky grave and turned to soggy goop. Funny how a date on a calendar could open the pit of despair that lived somewhere near your stomach. It had to be near your stomach. You've been reasonably hungry until you've noticed the date and the pit opened. Your hunger had fallen into it, and the memories and pain rose out of it.

There was a time when this day had been wonderful. Life had been wonderful, you didn't need Valentine's Day, but you celebrated it with reverence and, sometimes, wild abandon.

You knew what love was, what it felt like to love a man and how it felt to lose him. You remembered what he'd said that last morning, how he'd kissed you; how the sun had lit his face as he smiled, promising he'd be back. You also remembered the police, how the sun seemed to dim as they told you the phrases out of courtesy. They were sorry for your loss. They will let you know of details as soon as the investigation on the accident comes to an end.

Since that time, Valentine's Day had passed unheralded, unheeded and uncelebrated. You knew you were a joke of the office - entering thirties soon and never been fucked, that's what they said. The borning woman who had no idea what fun was, wouldn't have known what to do with a man if by some miracle you did catch the attention of one. They were wrong, of course. Not that it was any of their business; it certainly didn't affect your ability to do your job.

If you chose to act and dress your age and spend your evenings quietly, rather than as mutton dressed as lamb in some gaudy nightclub, surely that was your right?

You sighed again, getting up from the table, taking your cereal bowl and dumping the gloop down the sink. A bleak day of petty jibes and pitying looks lay ahead. At least you knew what to expect this year.

Last year had been your first Valentine's Day with this particular company and, therefore, your first with this particular bunch of malicious people - your fellow employees. As front counter receptionist, you were the company's first "public face" and some of your co-workers had decided it didn't look good if that face wasn't surrounded by gifts from admirers on this day.

When the first bunch of anonymous flowers had arrived, you've been flustered, flattered and flabbergasted that anyone would send you flowers. You had hurriedly cleared a space on the counter for them, proudly displaying them, fussing with them to show them off at their best and make them visible from the greatest distance. You kept touching them, moving them slightly, reaffirming they were really there. Your heart sang; someone had noticed you. Maybe he was too shy to reveal himself; maybe he was married and couldn't: your mind was alive with questions, trying to solve the mystery of their origin. You were all in all happy.

Then a large box of chocolates arrived, closely followed by more flowers. By lunchtime, these had been joined by a little plush cherub, two red plush love hearts, a pair of earrings, three more bunches of flowers, four assorted boxes of chocolates and a large jar of candy hearts. They all carried the same anonymous message. And you knew then and there what is the catch behind this.

By the end of the day there were nine flower arrangements, ten boxes of chocolates, three cherubs, the two red love hearts, three teddy bears, two jars of candy, the earrings and a gift box containing four pairs of edible undies. Just before the close of business the final humiliation came - a fantastically wrapped see through box containing an inflatable male doll with vibrating tongue, a massive purple vibrating dildo and a copy of the Sex for The Beginners book.

You had to stay at your post until the last visitor or client left. But the rest of the staff was already heading out of the building. Some boggled at your desk, some snickered, a couple made loud crass comments and a very few had appeared horrified at the pile of stuff surrounding yourself. The building had almost emptied before that last visitor departed. You were sure that, too, was a set-up, particularly when you saw it was the client that had been visiting quite frequently lately.

Myungsoo ushered the man to the street and turned back to you as you gathered your coat and handbag, ready to escape.

"Gee, you're a popular girl. Who would have thought?" He reached your counter and began collecting up the flowers, grinning madly. "Let me help you with all that."

Before you could say a word, he bundled all the flowers, chocolates and assorted other items into your arms. You could barely see where you were going. Myungsoo put his arm around your back and shepherded you out the door, peeking at the vibrator in its transparent box. "There you go, sweetheart. Looks like you're definitely gonna get some action tonight." He turned smartly away, laughing as he rapidly put distance between the two of you.

You obviously had thrown the whole lot in the nearest dumpster and hurried to the relative sanctuary of your car before breaking down and sobbing, burying your head in your hands to hide from prying eyes of curious passer-bys.

Standing at your kitchen sink, you wondered what they'd pull this year. It couldn't be worse, could it? You sighed again and then abruptly shook your head, standing straighter. To hell with it - you were not going to let them get to you today.

It had already begun when you arrived. A bouquet of irises sat at the front of the counter. You were tempted to throw them straight in the garbage, but decided they were too pretty, too unusual. So they stayed. Curiosity got the better of you as you looked at the card, expecting it to say something sappy and insincere, as last year's cards had.

"You are worth far more than they will ever realise. Hear the flowers."

You pondered the card. Hear the flowers?

What on earth did that mean? You raised an eyebrow as you settled into your post: at least it seemed this year would be more intriguing than last. During quiet moments throughout the morning, you'd pick up the card, reread the cryptic message and study the beautiful bouquet, but its secret was never revealed.

No gifts arrived for you, no more flowers. You were relieved, but it only served to deepen the mystery of the flowers. As your lunch hour approached, other staff began filtering out of their offices to take a break. They all noticed the irises. Several of the women stopped and commented on their beauty. No one laughed.

As always, you left the building for lunch. You would usually grab a sandwich somewhere and do a bit of window shopping. Anything to get away for an hour - if you stayed in the office, someone always "needed" you for something.

When you returned, a neatly typed page was on your desk: "The meaning of flowers". One line was highlighted in blue: "Iris: Have Faith. Don't Give Up On Hope." A single purple violet was pinned to the page. You scanned the page to find "Violet (Purple): You occupy my thoughts". You put the page to one side, but still in view, unsure whether to laugh at it and throw it along with the flowers away before the punch line or wait it out. This was definitely a far more sophisticated assault than last year.

Throughout the afternoon a steady procession of couriers arrived, carrying flowers and gifts. You nervously watched each one approach your counter, only to breathe a sigh of relief as the teddy bears and hearts, the chocolates and flowers were all destined for other souls.

At 4:30PM a man approached your station: nothing unusual in that; everyone that came to see someone had to check in with you. What was unusual was that he actually saw you as a fellow human, not a robot programmed to take names and give directions. He smiled at you, a real smile that reached his eyes and warmed your heart. Something familiar in his eyes...

"Good afternoon. My name is Kim Doyoung. I have an appointment to speak to Choi Myungsoo. Would you mind letting him know I am here, please?"

Quickly, you dialled Myungsoo's extension, giving him the information. Myungsoo, as usual was brusque to the point of rude, telling you to "entertain the idiot 'till I'm ready for him - he's not supposed to be here for another 15 minutes".

You were tempted to tell the polite gentleman exactly what Myungsoo had said, but instead used your tact and diplomacy (that was why you were hired after all) to tell him that "Mr. Choi is a little delayed. He will be available in a few minutes."

With that being said, you offered him a seat.

Again he smiled. "Those are beautiful flowers," he said, nodding towards the iris bouquet. "A discerning choice for a lovely lady."

You lowered your eyes, feeling the heat rise in your face, knowing you were blushing.

His voice softened and became much quieter. "You don't remember me, do you?" Your eyes flew to his face, confused. Were you supposed to know this charming man?

"I had an appointment here at the same time, on this day last year. I was waiting outside for a taxi when you left. That was uncalled for, the whole situation that happened - mean and heartless and exactly what I would expect of Myungsoo and his friends. I deal with them only because I must. They offer a service unparalleled in this town."

He leaned across the counter, his voice so low only you could hear. "How they manage it, I cannot tell. They are pig swill and don't know a pearl when confronted with one." Doyoung paused, seeming to weigh up his next statement, then leaned closer to you. "Did you hear the flowers?"

Your eyes again flew to his face, your mouth falling open a little. "You sent them?"

"I did. And the violet. I had hoped to counter whatever crass display they had planned this year. Would you possibly consider spending the evening with me?" His face was eager, hopeful. "A nice dinner?"

You were stunned, flattered, amazed - but also wary. This was Myungsoo's client. He could easily have been put up to this. You studied his face closely, seeking any hint of a lurking cad. His face fell. "But, of course, you have other plans. I apologise for embarrassing you." He moved away and sat, abashed, on one of the hideous lounge chairs to await his appointment.

You studied this man. He didn't seem to fit the mould of Myungsoo's usual cohorts. For one thing he was unerringly polite. He was also good looking, very, very good looking, without being outstanding or flashy. He was also much closer to your age than Myungsoo's and had an air of quiet confidence, like he had nothing to prove to anyone and nothing to fear from them either. You looked at the flowers. Could Myungsoo have possibly thought of something this elegant? You didn't think so. You took a deep breath: to hell with it.

"Mr. Kim?" He looked up. "What time would you like to pick me up?"

In your bedroom, staring at the clothes hanging limply in your closet, the cool bravado that had claimed you as you agreed to the date vanished. In its place indecision, doubt and outright terror took hold. It seemed painfully obvious to you now, away from the office and that lovely man, that it was all another twisted joke, something for the office beautiful people to laugh at during tomorrow's coffee breaks. Why did you say yes? Your wardrobe was woefully inadequate. It was years since you'd been out with a man; you were bound to make a fool of yourself, even if it wasn't a set-up.

At that thought your heart jumped and lurched. The possibility that Mr. Kim - no, Doyoung; this was a date not a business appointment - was sincere in his wish to take you out only heightened your confusion and indecision.

Finally, in desperation and the realisation that if you didn't decide soon, you'd still be in your underwear when he arrived; you chose a chanel-knee length cremé skirt and baby pink cashmere sweater, topped off with knee length boots. The heels were quite high, but you remembered him being tall, so that wouldn't be an issue, as long as you didn't fall over in them.

You were saved from an overcritical examination in the mirror. You had just completed applying your makeup when Doyoung arrived. You grabbed your coat and quickly walked out the door, before you had time to rethink and back out.

"You look lovely," Doyoung said, smiling down at you. Feeling the heat creeping up your cheeks; you weren't used to receiving compliments, particularly from someone like him. You mumbled a shy thanks as he helped you put on your coat and led you to his car.

Sitting in the car as he drove, you were able to study the mysterious man that is Kim Doyoung. He was extremely handsome, not in the classical sense, but he certainly was far from a plain looking man - a man at peace with himself. He knew who he was and was content with that; he knew what he wanted and how to get it; and what was beyond his capabilities and lost no sleep over it. He obviously managed quite well; his car was expensive but not too flashy.

The restaurant he took you too was a quiet small place, away from the standard eat-and-entertain strip. It was intimate without claustrophobia; the decor was elegant without being overbearing; the lighting low but not dim; the service attentive without being intrusive. The food you could not describe - later, you barely remembered what you had eaten beyond it being "nice" - your attention was totally taken by Doyoung.

He was gallant and charming; helping you with your coat and holding your chair for you at the intimate table for two tucked away in a corner. Doyoung quietly suggested items on the menu he thought you might like. It was obvious he'd been here before, was a regular, but usually without company. His choice of wine was perfect to go with the excellent food as you enjoyed each other's company.

And you talked.

You learned a lot about him. Doyoung was 34, older than you had thought; he had been engaged, but his fiancé decided to break off the engagement for simply falling out of love. He had had a series of short term relationships that had petered out and, for the past several years, had lived a solitary life, rarely going out with women. He didn't work as such; his livelihood came from investments, which explained him being a client of the company you worked in. Myungsoo may be a jerk, but he was the one of the best investment brokers around.

He had been attracted to you the first time he met you, a year ago, but had been intimidated by the evidence of all your admirers. When he realised it was all a cruel joke played by his adviser and the other brokers, he was mortified. He had seriously considered changing brokers, going to another organisation but that would have meant he had no chance of meeting you again. So he stayed. He had been in your office on three occasions since then, and each time had seen your quiet, unflappable charm and how your talent and lovely nature were either ignored or taken for granted by those around you. He was determined to gain your attention, but without the office cricus freaks being able to use it against you, hence the mystery flower delivery this morning.

You found yourself opening up to Doyoung. He seemed sincerely interested in hearing what you had to say, hanging on your every word. It was a liberating and wonderfully powerful feeling. You weren't used to being the centre of anyone's attention. You told him of your pride at the independence since the loss of your lover, all those years ago. You were happy in your little home, content with your work, rarely coming to the attention of the office jokers.

It was over coffee that you admitted to Doyoung something you haven't admitted to yourself: your life was lonely and you missed the affection of another person. You missed the companionship of sharing your life with someone.

Immediately after the words had left your lips you regretted them. You have given away too much of yourself, been too forward. You lowered your eyes, not wanting to see the closed expression you knew would be on his face, so you didn't see the fleeting look of pain, quickly followed by understanding and hope.

However, you did feel his hand close over yours and squeeze lightly. You looked up into a face of gentle eyes and soft smile. "Would you like to take a walk with me," he said quietly. "I think it's time we leave - they want to close the restaurant anyway."

You looked around yourself noticing that you two were the only people other than staff left in the restaurant, and many of the lights were dimmed. You gasped in wonder - you had no idea you've been there so long. "Yes, a walk would be lovely."

Doyoung ushered you along the street and across a small, neat park to a promenade along the riverbank. It was enough lit to feel safe and you walked along arm in arm. You felt his arm snake around your waist hugging you closer to him, and you snuggled against him, your arm around his back. The moon was up, the stars were out and the night was peaceful and clear.

Your heart was singing and your eyes sparkled. You've been right to take this gamble. He was sincere, and it was wonderful. But the night was late, and it was rather cold.

You shivered. Doyoung felt it immediately and turned off the promenade proposing to head back toward the street where he had left the car. "I'd better take you home. It wouldn't be much of a date if you ended up ill."

At your door, Doyoung formally thanked you for a lovely evening and asked if he could see you again. You smiled and surprised yourself only a little by reaching up and kissing him lightly on the lips before saying: "Would you like to come in for a nightcap?"

Doyoung blinked, looking mildly bemused for a moment before studying your face. "Are you sure?"

Oh, most definitely, you were sure. You have thought of nothing else since you two have left the river. He looked right, he felt right, and he smelt right. You wanted him but was sure he'd never make a move. He was too much of a gentleman to ever force the issue.

You took his hand and led him into your home, kicking the door closed with your foot, shutting out the rest of the world with its mean people and ugly attitudes. You reached up to kiss him again. This time he lowered his head to yours, cradling your face in his hands as he returned the kiss. The lips met and parted, allowing the tongues to join and caress each other. His hands moved down from your face to caress your body, yours moving up from his hips. Both of you parted, searching each other's faces for confirmation of your desires.

"I think we're on the same page," you said. "Why don't you leave your coat on the couch? Do you want the nightcap now, or after the tour?"

"I'll put a hold on the nightcap," Doyoung answered, reading the desire in your eyes and knowing it was mirrored in his while stripping off the coat.

"Right."

You took his hand again. "This is the lounge. There," you pointed to the right, "is the kitchen and dining room. This way," pulling him down the hall, "is the second bedroom, the bathroom and," dragging him through a doorway, "here is the main bedroom."

"Very nice," he said, looking around, trying not to focus on the bed.

Suddenly shy, you both looked at anything but each other, awkward in a lack of intimate knowledge of each other. Doyoung tentatively reached out a hand to you, aiming to caress your breast, veering off at the last moment to your shoulder, but still lightly brushing your breast with his fingertips. Your gasped breath emboldened him and he reached his other hand, caressing your other breast lightly as you shivered under his touch and sighed.

Your own hands went to his chest, running down the front of his shirt and back up, then beginning to undo the buttons, pulling the shirt from his trousers and teasing his bare skin with your fingers.

Doyoung pulled his shirt off and then raised the sweater over your head and off the arms, moving in to kiss you as his hands went around your back to undo the clasps of a bra and returned to cup your breasts. The sensation on your breasts as he caressed and pinched the nipples sent a sharp message straight between your legs. You could feel yourself becoming moist and shuddered under his touch; breath becoming uneven.

Pushing him away you removed the skirt, letting it pool at your feet while looking into his eyes. Doyoung took the hint and began unbuckling his belt, then grinned foolishly and sat beside you to take off his socks, sneaking kisses of your neck and shoulders as he did so. You both stood again, slightly apart. He dropped his trousers and you could see his briefs pushed out of shape by his erection, the fabric straining.

Doyoung stepped up, taking you in his arms, kissing down your neck and across the collarbone, his hands lowering to your hips, sliding under the elastic and beginning to tug your panties down. Your own hands flew to the top of his briefs. Together, you pulled down the underwear, stepping out of them and standing naked before each other. Again Doyoung moved first, holding you and gently pushing backwards onto the bed, following after you onto it.

He ran one hand down the body of yours, teasing and tickling the beginning of your womanhood and beyond, teasing you with his fingers, tickling across your mound and easing around your damp centre. You moaned as he explored, your hips twisting and twitching. It had been so long since another man had touched you there. It felt amazing, wonderful, but achingly short of what you needed. You could feel his hardness against your thigh. Reaching down, you took his cock into your hand. It was hot, hard and pulsed under your touch. Doyoung groaned and his hips jerked convulsively. You kissed him hard and whispered fiercely, "Please, it's been too long. I need you, now."

"For me too, far too long," Doyoung gasped back, rolling you onto your back and positioning himself before gently splitting your lips and sliding steadily but firmly into you. Your moans were prominent in the air as he stretched and filled you right, not stopping his steady thrust until he was wholly inside you, your warm walls gripping him tightly. Your eyes met and locked as you lay still, immersed in the feeling of each other's body.

Being warm, wet and a safe haven, you were engulfing his cock. Doyoung was filling you with his hard heat, owning your body completely. You fit each other perfectly; you could see it in each other's eyes. You belonged together.

As great as this feeling was, you needed more. Doyoung slowly withdrew, till only the very tip split you. Both groaning as he pushed back in, again slowly feeling each other with delectable inch. Slowly in and out, in and out, revelling in the feeling of each other's bodies, gradually building up speed as your need increased.

You could feel the fire building, the tension increasing as sensation on sensation smashed into you with each thrust, your body twitching, your hips writhing. Still it built; higher, tighter, fiercer. Your entire being was wrapped around Doyoung's cock as it pumped in and out of you. You could hear him grunting with each thrust, feel his body trembling as he got closer to his climax. His speed increased and you breath got caught in your throat, your back arched, legs went stiff as you began to twitch when the white light exploded through you, spreading warmth and scattering your senses.

You felt, from far away but deep within you, Doyoung losing his rhythm before coming, pumping wildly into you, grunting and thrusting hard one last time as he shot deep inside you feeling spent but overly fulfilled.

Your hand was making lazy circles on Doyoung's chest as you lay, curled against his side with a head on his shoulder. You weren't sure how you've come to be in this position, but it felt so right and he smelled so good.

You were at peace while drifting off to sleep.

Waking up without feeling body by your side, you immediately felt the loss. Doyoung wasn't there. Your heart dropped, the pit near your stomach threatened to open and engulf it. Sensing the tears coming up, you accidentally feel something on your side with a hand.

He wasn't there. But there was a note.

"I am so sorry. I hate to leave you, knowing you will wake alone. There is something I must do."

You had just finished reading when the phone rang, disturbing your thoughts. Grudgingly, you moved to answer it. "Hello."

"Wish I was still beside you."

Your heart flipped again. The pit dissolved so you could breathe again before whispering, "Doyoung."

"Y/N. Tell me, what are you planning for breakfast?"

"Uhm. Coffee? Maybe some toast. Why?"

"Don't move. I'm on my way. With breakfast. And it's better than toast."

You lay back in bed, listening to the dial tone after he hung up. Surprised, you smile softly. You must remember to thank Myungsoo for introducing them.

If this is how you will feel loved and feel free to love again, you have no complaints.

Your new chapter is about to begin and hopefully, it will last for a very long time with a man named Kim Doyoung.

#one shot #nct smut #nct scenarios #nct fanfiction #doyoung #kim doyoung #doyoung x reader #doyoung scenarios #doyoung fanfic #doyoung smut #romance #nct romance #nct angst #nct 127 #nct u #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 fanfic

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morethanaloveinterest · 3 years

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A Undercover Review of Natasha Romanoff's Costumes in Iron Man 2

Let's talk about what Natalie Rushman wears when she's undercover (and when she's not)

This is her first appearance, coming from Legal to have Tony sign the company over to Pepper. She seems to wear a similar outfit later in the movie, when she and Pepper are fielding phone calls. Otherwise, this is her only pair of pants (other than her tactical suit) that she wears during the movie.

Female representation: 8/10 The buttons are a little more undone than I would wear to work, but overall it's good. I really like the feminine touches, like the sleeves or the flowy pants, on a fairly masculine outfit that definitely contrasts with the more feminine dress Pepper is wearing.

Practicality: 9/10 Very practical work attire. Especially practical for entering boxing rings and flipping over men who try to punch you.

She wears this when they are in Monte Carlo and Tony has just gone behind Pepper's back to hire her as his assistant. Most of her outfits are more muted, but this one is fun and brightly-colored, with gold accents. The gold belt MAY be a reference to Black Widow's belt, which is often yellow in the comics. This is probably the flashiest thing she's worn in the MCU.

Female representation: 8/10 Again, a little more cleavage than I would have at work, but working for Tony Stark is probably a little different (at least by reputation at this point). She looks very bright and professional, which fits her job here perfectly.

Practicality: 8/10 It's practical for her purposes. I don't know why she didn't intervene with Whiplash attacking Tony (except to send Happy and Pepper), but maybe she didn't have the right outfit for it.

This is the end of the day, right before Tony's birthday party. She's in a muted color again, though not blending in with the scenery. The room is mostly dark colors, so she does not clash with that but also stands out (especially her cute nail polish!). The neckline and belt are a great touch on the simple design. She wears a belt with all of these dresses, which may have just been the fashion at the time, but they remind me of the Black Widow costume.

Female representation: 9/10 Where can I get this dress? It's flattering without being over the top. In this scene, Nat is basically flirting with Tony more than any other part of the film, and I like that it is in an outfit that covers her up fairly well.

Practicality: 8/10 I'm sure Nat is used to moving easily in tight clothing, but I think shift dresses would be more of a challenge for her than pants are. We don't see her wear any of these kinds of dresses again in the future, unless she's undercover.

Though more present in a deleted scene, this is what Natalie wears to Tony's birthday party. I have mixed feelings about most of the screen time of this dress being cut, but it is definitely different from anything else she's worn so far. If we were supposed to distrust her, this would be a good outfit for that (my video talks more about that dropped plot thread).

Female representation: 8/10 Well, I think this one goes more with the framing. It could easily have gotten a lower score if the camera had treated the dress as revealing, but it really doesn't. We don't pan up to take it in when we first see her wearing this, and we don't linger on any of the revealing parts. She's wearing a dress to a party and is covered up more than a lot of other people there.

Practicality: 8/10 This one would be a little colder, perhaps, than the previous ones, but not by much. I'm sure Nat could do whatever she needed to do in this outfit. It looks just as structured as the sheath dresses, so I'd probably wear it, too.

Her cover may have been blown to Tony, but she is still dressing the part as Pepper's assistant. First, I love that this is the first time she wears black. Her clothes have gotten pretty consistently darker throughout the movie (white, pink, grey, um, leopard). We now KNOW that she is the Black Widow (or is Natasha Romanoff, anyway, since I don't think they use her codename at all in this movie). As a result, she's wearing black with a thick belt and her hair is curlier than it has been before - the Widow is revealed.

Female representation: 9/10 These ratings are biased because I LOVE this dress and have several similar ones. So I think she looks great and powerful, but your mileage may vary.

Practicality: 9/10 I'm sure she could do some damage with that belt if she wanted to. Otherwise, it's pretty similar to the other dresses - not the easiest to move around in, but certainly doable.

The first appearance of Natasha's Black Widow costume. This may not be my favorite version, but let's admire the details. First, it's interesting that they went with dark blue instead of black - they discussed this on the extras and I think it really pops in this white hallway. That and her wild hair makes her very easy to follow in the intense action of the scene. Speaking of her hair, it is implied that she just takes down her hair and it looks like this? And/or takes off a wig? Strange, but this is my second-favorite hairstyle she has, so I'm on board with it being a little confusing.

Anyway, the tac suit is tight-fitting, obviously, but more like she wouldn't want a sleeve to get caught on something than for her to get a good impression of what she looks like without it. It's a thick material, presumably to protect against attacks. She has a gadget belt that we see her use to hold a number of weapons that help her defeat everyone (including pepper spray!). She has gun holsters, though she doesn't use these until the end of the scene. Her wrist Stingers are not used and copy the comics without explicitly showing what they're for (until the next movie). Her gloves let her use her hands for both breaking into technology with touch screens and protect them during the battle (especially from the garrote she uses). And, of course, she has her high-waisted belt that shows her symbol, setting her apart from other SHIELD agents. Both belts could look silly, but the placement and angles make for a good silhouette.

Female representation: 10/10 Listen... I've been reading comics for a long time, and the fact that they translated her skintight catsuit to this is fantastic. This may not be my favorite version of it, but it's such an improvement over the often-unzipped comics suit (you can tell how good of a story the BW comic will have based on how sexualized Nat is on the cover).

Practicality: 10/10 Nat tears through like a dozen big dudes in this outfit. I think it's the most practical thing she owns.

Check out my other costume ratings here

Hear me ramble about female characters on Youtube - with a complete 10-part series on Natasha Romanoff!

#natasha romanoff #black widow #costume reviews #iron man 2 #mcu: im2

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fictional-worlds-are-exquisite · 4 years

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agajsksns not gonna lie being 10 feet tall sounds awesome. i have no idea how tall that is because the only thing i know about feet (that sounds so wrong) is that google is telling me that i'm 5'6 (sorry to disappoint). which is. average height right? well it doesn't feel like it coz my best friends are giants. they're both 180+ cm tall and they constantly make fun of me for being short. but honestly i win because i can always make them reach things for me.

thank you! that's very sweet, i actually only saw your reply like 20 minutes before the new year so it was right on time! i loved writing to you and waiting to hear back as well, you're a really fun person to talk to!

i know you probably won't see this for a couple of weeks before going on holiday, but have fun!

i laughed really hard at the picture my brain conjured up when reading about you dropping the vampire act and starting to pretend to be a mouse, just straight up scurrying up to the houses on all fours in a bathrobe is hilarious. i'd pay to see that. and yeah! me either. the number of times i've gone outside at night is probably like 3. that's counting that time when i went for ice cream at 11pm to the store on the other side of the street in my pajamas and then had to turn back because it apparently closes at 10 pm. that was a pretty big disappointment

a halloween themed birthday party sounds awesome! it's sort of disappointing though that you can barely remember it. the only themed birthday party i had (or at least the only one that i remember) was princess themed because i was on my princess faze back then (i was 5 or 6 i think). i still remember the sheer joy i felt at being able to wear a long fancy dress. it was brilliant

oh yeah! i'm still slightly scared of blenders because of that time. now anytime i even put my fingers close to the blade i unplug it first. also i saw you got a blender? i think we have one that's similar to the one you described. so i have a couple of suggestions! i like to make banana "ice cream". you just cut up a banana into pieces and freeze it, (i have no idea how long it takes to freeze i just generally always have frozen bananas in my freezer) then you take them out, let them sit for 10 minutes (to not break the blender when you use it) and blend them. i sometimes add frozen berries or peanut butter too! depending on what i want that day. it's great, especially because i'm slightly lactose intolerant too and i absolutely love ice cream. you can also make smoothies as you said. i usually put in mine whatever fruit we have, generally apples, bananas and oranges or grapefruits. or if i'm making one for breakfast (which i know you can't, but this is just a generally more filling option i think?) i also add spinach. you can't really feel the taste but it's supposed to be good for you and it fills you up more (it does make the smoothie super green though!). but yeah i pretty much just mix and match anything i have! also: milkshakes. ice cream, berries (optional) and milk! super easy and my little cousins love it when they visit!

ohhh your grater also seems to be out to get you. i bet it's really painful if it actually falls on your feet, because like metal. on foot. ouch. especially if it hits you with a corner! and i would definitely also get surprised every time it happened no matter how many times it did! bifocal glasses do not sound fun either tho. i would constantly forget how to use them and probably would just get headache really fast too! i get a headache from my normal glasses when i wear them (i usually wear contacts) so bifocal ones would be even worse i bet.

exactly. i had no idea what "hot" means. i thought you were supposed to use it when you thought a person was aesthetically pleasing? or like you thought they look cute? i dunno. i used it a couple of times before i realised that was not what that meant and then i was just like uhhhh yeah i'm gonna delete that word from my vocab. yeah! i think that ace and probably aro too are pretty hard to figure out because it's the lack of something.

ahahsksns i can imagine tiny Lindsey waking up on Christmas morning and running to the window expecting snow in the middle of summer and it's so funny! i can't say anything though because we have this saying in lithuanian which is used essentially when someone does something unexpected and unusual for them so you say "it's gonna snow tomorrow". as in "wow, [name] did [something super unexpected from them], it must be snowing tomorrow" (because like those are equally unexpected things i guess? but it's said in winter too so it's just something you say whenever, i'm sorry it's hard to explain!) but yeah a figure of speech. and anytime i heard that, even in the middle of summer, the next morning i'd run to my window and look for snow and when there was none, i'd just stare accusatorily at my parents. like wow, i can't believe you lied/let someone lie to me

horse races sound fun, i've never been to one though! and a picnic luch sounds awesome! i love picnics but we have them very rarely, i definitely think we should have them more often

and yeah, i get that acid reflux more of an annoyance than a problem but still! i completely agree with you about peanut butter though. it's amazing, i could eat it everyday

I know exactly how tall 10 feet is purely because I’m 5 foot so two of me is 10 foot. I barely know feet but I got used to people being confused when I was like oh, I’m 155cm! so I learnt what my height was in feet but I can really only visualise heights when I put them into centimetres. Someone can be like I’m 6 foot! and that’s great but I don’t have the faintest idea how tall that actually is. 182cm on the other hand is easy. that’s just like one ruler above my height. I can picture that. 5 foot 6 is probably average but as a short person, I consider you tall. That really isn’t saying much at my height but still sdflshdfks. Biggest benefit of tall best friends is indeed making them reach high things though.

And now we’re almost three weeks into the new year. Time seems to be flying this year. This is a very late reply indeed sdfjhskdfs. I did see this before I left but didn’t have time to reply, thank you though! I did have lots of fun. I had some birds try to invade the unit up in Orewa and I had a dotterel (I think) follow me along the beach at Ngarimu Bay playing some sort of red light green light game with me (it only moved closer and started following me again when I looked away) and I think a blackbird started some sort of mating performance at me which was flattering but uhhhh I’m a bit of a big bird mate. Maybe choose someone else. there was also beaches and gorgeous views etc etc but birds, y’know. birds.

i would 100% do that for money with no regrets. on one hand I could get a job and contribute to society. on the other hand I could do that as my main income. not a hard choice. hire me by the hour to freak your family and friends out. i have no respect for myself i’ll do it to anyone for the right price. damn. only closed one hour earlier. that’s a massive disappointment. i was out at night willingly for my high school prom and for a creative writing night at my uni and inside a car if that counts when I think my family was travelling back from the south island when I was younger. So three times that come to mind. Oh. And if stupid camp burma trails count then add a few times to that but those were not night outings I did willingly.

I can barely remember most of my life, I just assume it happened and I wasn’t just planted here at 12 years old as an alien spy. Anything’s possible though. I remember my birthday cakes more than my birthday parties to be honest with you. My mum always made the cake and when I was young she’d make fun designs. A bee, a bat, a swimming pool and a cat come to me off the top of my head. They were mostly just sponge cats but she cut them and iced them expertly. A princess-themed party seems like a very fun type of party for kids who like that. Kids always seem very happy to dress up in pretty dresses and cool outfits to attend those kinds of parties. I can imagine the joy. I know my little cousin looooves that sort of thing, and her brother isn’t willing to be left out either

thank god you unplug it first now sdfjhsdf that’s incredibly reassuring. Ooo thank you for those suggestions!!! this is great!! I was wanting to try something with bananas and that sounds easy enough. I had an apple and feijoa smoothie while I was away on holiday and all I want is another one of those. So I’m very very very interested in trying out fruit smoothies now because they seem like they can be very very tasty. Spinach seems like such an odd thing to add but I’ve heard that several times now so clearly it’s a thing. I don’t think I’ve ever even had spinach. I’ll keep it in mind though. I suppose if I just try whatever fruit we have on hand eventually I’ll get something that tastes good. I have dairy free ice cream and dairy free milk so it seems like this could work out for me in a way where I’m not regretting my entire life. Normally when I go near a milkshake I regret the day I was born.

It isn’t a super heavy grater but I have intense survival instincts every now and then so it hasn’t actually hit my foot yet. I go diving in the other direction. But I think if it did I’d probably curse a few times before moving on with my life. I don’t think it’d be THAT bad. But I live in fear regardless. oh no. do your normal glasses have a slightly wrong prescription or is this just a thing that happens when you normally wear contacts,,, I’ve never worn contacts because I fear touching my squishy eyeball and also I think my shitty eyesight is too awkward for contacts so I have no idea if that’s a thing.

oh yes haha hot has been solidly deleted from my vocab for many years except in terms of temperature. It has a word that has never naturally come to mind and I’m sure it never will. It just seems weird when I use it.

I was a fool of a child and absolutely nothing has changed there! I mean I know how hemispheres work now but I’m still a dumbass at heart. Hahahahahaha oh nooooo. That’s incredible but oh noooo. I get what you mean by the saying though, that’d make a lot of sense here honestly since it never snows ever. Locally, at least.

i think horse races are just a form of betting and losing money that is frowned upon less than actual buildings based on gambling and such. I mean I only ever attended those ones, idk if all horse races are like that, but I know there was buying tickets for whatever horse you thought would win, and if they did you got money, if they didn’t you lost money. I don’t think it was a whole lot of money ? just like a few bucks ? but maybe you could choose to bet more ? I really don’t remember how it worked, I just remember accidentally finding a ticket on the ground and handing it in only to receive some money because the horse won. I think it was like 5 or 10 bucks which seemed like a LOT to my kid self. picnic lunches are fun though. my family keeps a tartan blanket in the back of the car that we use whenever we have picnics and also whenever we get takeaways (we put it in the middle of the lounge floor as the rest of my family eats fish and chips and I eat sushi, normally). But we don’t have as many as we used to. They are fun though.

can confirm i do eat peanut butter everyday and it goes brilliantly.

#orewa is up near auckland kinda #i mean it's part of auckland but it's. auckland is just too big ok it's weird cities are weird #ngarimu bay is harder to pin down even google maps won't recognise it #it'll take you to thornton bay which is the next bay over #it's not far from thames kinda near the coromandel idk there's no big city to identify the location with #if you don't know what burma trails are they are just an excuse to torture children #ok not exactly but i hated them they scared the shit out of me #you walk through the bush at night blindfolded following a rope trying to get to the end #and you have to navigate around trees and over rocks and such #and teachers and parents scare you because they're bastards and possums MAY run over you #anyway they were awful imo #i've explained this before but idk if it was to you or someone else sdfjsdf my memory is shocking #also i cannot have grapefruit anymore and this is a terrible shame #thank u medications that hate grapefruit :)#i've been eating a marshmallow leg while typing this it's alarming how much i've gotten through #i like that they're called santa legs like children who wants to eat santa???#is it cannibalism is santa portrayed as human #technicalities are important here #uhhhh i mean have a good day!!!#Anonymous

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artificialqueens · 6 years

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Do you know what I'm seeing? (Trixya) - Pichitinha

A/N: ok hello guys! i am back after a few months of silence and i’ve a… humorous fit for you, maybe? it’s told through violet’s poverties to changes things a bit, i do hope you’ll like it! if you’re interested my tumblr is @pichitinha and this fit can be found in AO3.

Summary: So Violet’s always aware of anything that’s happening in school, always knows when a rule is about to be created or when a student will have their parents called in or when a teacher is in trouble. Nothing escapes Violet’s radar. Needless to say, then, she’s extremely affronted when Mrs. Zamo is introduced to them on a Wednesday afternoon as the new gymnastics instructor and takes everyone by surprise. - Or the one where Violet does not like not knowing things.

Violet Chachki is not one for gossip - or so she’d say to everyone, as she gossips. She thinks it’s important that as a select group of teachers at a high prestige school they all keep informed about what’s been going on with the faculty. Any slips could cause issues for their reputation - it has before - and Violet likes earning more money than she should because the school is fancy and has lots of friendly parents, as she likes to call them.

So Violet’s always aware of anything that’s happening in school, always knows when a rule is about to be created or when a student will have their parents called in or when a teacher is in trouble. Nothing escapes Violet’s radar.

Needless to say, then, she’s extremely affronted when Mrs. Zamo is introduced to them on a Wednesday afternoon as the new gymnastics instructor and takes everyone by surprise.

She’s a short caucasian woman with light blonde hair that falls in straight locks but curves a little bit at the end, framing her face in a really flattering way that highlights her sharp cheekbones and the bright red lipstick she’s wearing. She’s lean and has an amazing posture, but that’s the least that Violet would expect from a gymnastics teacher.

Violet’s wary.

She doesn’t like the mysterious vibe the woman gives off, doesn’t understand why no one knew she was coming to work there until the exact moment she walked into the door. Something’s up and Violet can smell it.

The last person to join the team before Mrs. Zamo had been Mrs. Mattel, the music teacher. That had been a proper hiring at the beginning of the school year and she had started work on a Monday morning like one should and Violet had been aware of her coming two weeks prior, enough time for her to manage gathering a few facts about her from the school director: that she’d been a music teacher before, had a theatre degree from a fancy school and that she was married but had no children.

Albeit not a lot to know about a person, but more than she currently does about Zamo which is really pissing her off.

She tunes back to reality when she realizes that the Dean Mrs. Charles is walking towards her with Mrs. Zamo close behind. “Oh, and Miss Chachki- Violet! This is Katya, Katya this is Violet.” She introduces them briefly, but leaves no time for them to shake hands or properly meet. “Violet, please give Katya a tour? Show her how the three main rooms she’ll be using for her classes work, please. Alyssa is late again and I can’t afford to wait.” And with that she leaves, doesn’t say goodbye or even acknowledge them, but raises her head in a dignified way that’s supposed to leave them impressed - and usually they make fun of.

“Katya, is it? Weird name.”

People tend to tell Violet she can be rude sometimes, what they don’t know is that it’s on purpose.

Katya smiles though, doesn’t seem to mind. “Yeah, it’s Russian.”

“Are you Russian?!” That’s the type of thing Violet should have already known!She’s entirely too uncomfortable at the moment, knowing as much about the woman as she does about her.

“Born and raised. Until the age of five, that is.” She laughs a little at that but Violet just blinks. “Then I moved to Boston, as you can probably tell.”

She does have a Bostonian accent and she seems pretty keen on sharing details of her life, so maybe Violet won’t have such a hard time - Trixie, for example, is a problem, Violet’s barely learned anything about her in the two months she’s been working there.

“Well, Katya from Russia, follow me.”

Violet really hopes she manages to learn more about the new teacher as she gives her a tour. She is, after all, the informal information resource of the faculty.

“Have you met her yet? She’s super weird,” Violet tells Fame as they’re walking into the teacher’s lounge after the morning classes. “Morning, Trixie.” She greets nonchalantly and sits down at the nearest table, far from where Trixie’s eating at the other side of the room - right under the air-conditioning which is why Violet avoids it at all times.

“Morning,” Trixie greets back, eyebrows a little raised but Violet brings her attention back to Fame. Reading Trixie is too hard and Violet’s given up not long after she first started trying.

“No, I just saw her in the morning when Mrs. Charles was introducing her. She looks nice though,” Fame replies as she sits down next to Violet, nods quickly at Trixie as well.

“I mean, I guess.” She does look nice, but Violet is more interested in whether or not she’ll act nice at school. “And she’s really pretty,” she adds because it’s true and because as bad as it is the board prouds themselves on the appearance of the faculty.

Trixie sits up straighter and Violet sees it from the corner of her eyes but ignores it. Truth be told she finds Trixie a bit weird.

“She’s married though,” Fame reminds Violet as if that’s what Violet was going for.

“Aren’t they all?” she jokes back, knows Fame knows her better than that.

Trixie’s fork clatters on the table. “Sorry!” she exclaims when both of them look at her.

Fame looks back to Violet and then raises her eyebrows, “Wait, you are engaged, actually.”

Violet scoffs, now annoyed. “I’m not because-” she looks around and when she does so Trixie averts her gaze, previously clearly paying attention to them. She lowers her voice just in case, “I’m not because Pearl’s a fucking chicken, I’ve seen her take the damn ring box to our dates three times and she never asks!”

Violet is not in any hurry to get married, but if Pearl is going to ask then she could just ask already, pretending not to know is killing her.

“Did you know chickens are actually really brave?” Fame asks instead of offering any advice on Violet’s relationship. She has that look on her face she gets when she’s talking about something she finds exciting and Violet sighs even if she smiles a bit.

Fame is also a bit weird.

“I do - in fact I know way more about chickens than I ever thought I would or find necessary. Thank you for that.”

“Well-” Fame is interrupted midway when the door opens and in come Katya and Alyssa, now finally together, as it is common in the school that the dance and the gymnastics teachers follow each other’s class plan. Katya looks comfortable already, maybe a bit tired, but that’s just what spending time with Alyssa does.

“Hey, girls! Any seat for me?” Alyssa asks loudly already pulling up the last chair on their small table and sitting down by Violet’s side. Katya just stands there, food in hand, her gaze moving from their table with no extra seats to Trixie, who is sitting by herself and has two spots available.

“Do you want to sit here?” Trixie eventually asks, offers her a warm smile, and Katya smiles right back before nodding to them and moving over there.

Something is… off. Katya seems like a very extroverted and friendly person, it doesn’t really fit with that image to want to sit alone with the quiet girl on the other side of the room instead of sitting with the majority of the girls. And yet she goes with a smile and seems happy about it. She sits down in the chair nearest to Trixie as opposed to the one in front of her and they soon start talking.

Violet doesn’t think she’s ever seen Trixie chat so freely with anyone who isn’t Kim - and Kim had been her friend before she joined the team, she recommended her to the position. Between everyone else she’s probably closest to Bob, but she didn’t warm up to her this fast.

What is going on?

“Maybe we should all sit together,” she says out loud and Trixie and Katya look at her. “We all want to get to know Katya and it wouldn’t hurt to know a bit more about Trixie, right?”

Katya and Trixie exchange a brief look that Violet can’t decipher from where she is, but she’s determined to learn more and she won’t back down.

“Yeah, come on, let’s move to the bigger table,” Alyssa decides for them, loud and decisive as usual. They all join her at the communal table in the middle of the room, Katya and Trixie still side by side, opposite Violet and Fame.

Perfect. Now Violet just needs to figure what and how to ask things that will give her the most information.

“So, Katya-” she directs her gaze at her and Katya just raises her eyebrows. People usually shy away from Violet’s scrutinizing gaze, but not her. It feels like a challenge, almost. “Are you married?”

Katya just raises her left hand and wriggles her fingers, showcasing the wedding band. “Yep.”

Usually when she asks that people say a little bit more than yes or no. She asked Trixie when she started working there and she’d said yes, about two years now. She waits for Katya to elaborate or say anything else but she just starts eating again.

“Has it been long?” Violet tries to never seem like she’s prying, the questions have to be perfectly crafted so that she can receive more than what she’s asking and so it doesn’t look like she was too curious.

Especially because it isn’t curiosity. It’s caution.

“We’ve been together for several years, yes.” That’s not what Violet asked, but it is a piece of information nonetheless. “How about you? Married?”

It takes Violet by surprise, people don’t usually ask her stuff back. Trixie coughs by Katya’s side.

“I- no. Not married.”

“Weren’t you engaged?” Alyssa asks then and they all look at her with raised eyebrows, even Fame who’d just asked this.

How is she the center of this, now? “Uh, nope. Just dating.”

“And you, Fame? Married?” Katya asks shifting her attention before Violet has a chance to think of what else to ask and Violet is not sure how but she completely lost control of the conversation. Suddenly Fame is talking about her wife and her dogs and then Alyssa is talking about the last date she went on and Katya hasn’t said anything else about herself - and neither has Trixie, for that matter.

They do chime in in whatever everyone else is saying and the good side of it all is that they don’t bat an eye at Fame having a wife instead of a husband - not homophobic, or at least not blatantly so, - but Violet doesn’t find a breach to ask anything about them that wouldn’t make her look nosy so she just accepts it. It’s not a wasted lunch because she finds them funny and pleasant and Katya fits right in with the rest of them, but still she hasn’t learned enough.

She’s gonna have to keep trying.

Thing is, Violet does what she does because she cares. They’d had not one but two incidents in the past regarding personal scandals on the faculty and they’d lost several of the important parents’ donations in both. One had been an affair between a teacher and a (married) parent, the other had been an affair between two (married) teachers which would have been less bad except they later learned that the two were also stealing money from the school.

Violet has been working there for years - she studied at one of the siblings schools, prides herself on the place more than she cares to admit. Yes, it is a bit posh and considerably overpriced, but they do the best they can with the children, teach them the most, give them attention, affection, discipline. There are five schools in the group in a range of three cities and maybe Violet didn’t study at that particular one because it’s new, but she was there when it opened, had been one of their first hirings and she’s so proud of herself for it. She wants this school to be the best. She wants to give to those children what she felt as a kid - her teachers were much more than that, and that’s what she wants to be.

So when she pries on the new staff, it’s for their own protection. People who are too secretive usually have something to hide and it churns Violet’s stomach to imagine that. What could they be hiding? A murder? Maybe that’s a stretch but Violet can’t absolutely say they aren’t.

Plus all the nagging usually leads to them all being friends and that’s a good thing. Making friends as an adult is hard, so when you get along with your colleagues enough that it migrates to that - that’s lucky, right? Fame is easily one of her closest friends and that had happened by Violet asking so much about her life that one day they just were good friends.

Violet spends the entirety of Katya’s first week there observing and trying to steal quick conversations here and there so that it doesn’t look like much. She doesn’t learn a lot, but she gathers a few facts - most of them a lot less useful than expected.

Katya wears a silver wedding band because it turns out she’s allergic to gold - which, by the way, is a very rare allergy.

Katya does speak Russian fluently but she’s actually much better in French - which she used to teach before deciding that she liked teaching gymnastics more and switched completely.

Katya does not have any kids and doesn’t know if she ever will, she has a niece and a nephew and she’s content with them.

That’s pretty much all she’s actually said about herself, other than comments on books she’s read or movies she’s watched.

Violet learns a few things by observation, though.

Katya most likely used to smoke and quit recently because sometimes her fingers itch just like Pearl’s did when she quit.

Katya really likes coffee.

Katya gets to school on foot.

Obviously the last one is the one that nags at Violet’s mind. Katya arrives at school ten minutes before the first class every day and she always does so walking. She’s always well dressed and wearing heels and Violet could even be willing to accept that she might take the bus because “it’s better for the environment” or whatever some people would say, except she always walks in from the left side of the school and the only bus stop near them is on the right side.

When Violet asks Katya if she lives nearby, Katya denies.

Violet doesn’t like this. She likes Katya, she’s a fun new addition and all the teachers seem to find her funny and pleasant, but once Violet realizes the walking thing… there’s just no logical explanation to it and it’s not like walking in heels to school from not nearby means she’s a serial killer, but it means something.

“Good morning,” Violet greets everyone when she enters the teacher’s lounge the following Monday and they all say it back in their own time. To her surprise Katya is already there, even though it’s still twenty minutes until the first bell. That’s a change of events and Violet is even more curious now.

Katya is sitting with Bob and Trixie and the three seem very engrossed in the conversation. She grabs a cup of coffee and joins them without a second thought.

“Good morning, ladies. What are we discussing?” She finds that bluntness usually works well with her personality and people tend to find it charming.

“How the three of us hate the California weather.” Trixie replies and Violet is delighted by that. Trixie is still someone Violet needs to learn a lot about and she seems to be more present recently so Violet is eager to do that too.

“Where are you guys from, again?”

“Wisconsin-”

“Boston!”

“Good old New York City.”

They reply all at once.

“Oh, right. You guys probably like snow.” She wrinkles her nose, she hates the cold weather. But if they do hate California then that’s just another thing to add to her list - why do they live there?

“Where are you from, Violet?” Trixie asks genuinely interested.

“Atlanta.”

“Oof,” they all exclaim.

She laughs. “Hey, it’s a great place okay!” Or at least twelve-year-old Violet thought so before they moved to LA where she’s been living ever since.

Bob laughs, “If you say so, girl.”

For the remaining of their time before class they just discuss their childhood and Violet doesn’t ask anymore important questions about the girls - not Bob, she’s known her for two years and she’s solid.

She forgets to ask why Katya got there so early.

Katya is there early every day after that and Violet almost forgets her suspicions, except now she’s already there when Violet arrives so she doesn’t know if she’s still walking. When she recounts this to Pearl one night after work, Pearl tells her that she’s crazy and should stop worrying so much about other people’s lives - sometimes they’re just private and that’s okay.

When Violet tries to argue, Pearl asks how many people at work know that the person she’s dating is a woman. She claims that it’s different, she has no obligation to come out, and Pearl just points out that she’s right and maybe the teachers that won’t share much just feel the same way about whatever it is they’re not telling.

Violet hates that she’s right.

That Friday instead of leaving early as she often does since she doesn’t have the last class, Violet decides to stay and finish some grading in the teacher’s lounge where it’ll be empty and quiet and she can probably finish it faster. She doesn’t really notice when the last bell rings, so absorbed into the paper she’s reading, and she’s surprised when the door opens and in come Trixie and Katya, laughing loudly at each other. They stop in their tracks when they notice Violet inside, laughter dying down awkwardly as they move to their lockers. Violet can see that Trixie has a faint blush on her cheeks and it’s definitely not her makeup.

Huh.

“Hey, Vi,” Trixie calls out as she picks up her stuff. “Working late today?”

“Yeah…” she replies, eyebrows raised. “Had to catch up on a few assignments and since I don’t have this class I just figured it was the best time to do so.”

“Right,” Trixie agrees, clearly uncomfortable. Just then Kim and Bob walk in and greet them and Trixie takes the cue to wish them a good weekend before leaving, Katya not far behind with similar words.

Violet isn’t saying there’s something there.

But there’s something there.

“Don’t you think Trixie is a little weird?” she asks out loud once Trixie has left.

Kim just stares at her for a second before going back to her locker. “I think Trixie is very weird, but also you know she’s my best friend, so I’m allowed to think that, you aren’t.”

This could have turned into a very unpleasant situation, but thankfully Bob laughs and the vibe in the room follows hers.

“She’s just private, you need to get through the shell,” Bob provides as she once again searches her entire closet for something which is most likely not in it. She does this every time.

“I’ve been trying!” And she has, Violet only stopped snooping on Bob six months after she joined, there’s still a long way for Trixie before Violet can fully trust her.

“Not like you’re a PI!” Bob laughs. “Just talk to her like you talk to us.”

Violet scrunches her eyebrows. A PI? Really? “What?”

“Most of the time you’re fine, but sometimes it seems like you’re interrogating people,” Kim tries to explain.

“Sometimes it’s not even that bad, but it definitely feels like an interview at least,” Bob says.

“Yeah,” Kim agrees. “And people like Trixie don’t really like that. I know you worry about the school, but I promise you, Trixie is cool and a good person. Don’t worry so much and try to get to know her. If you got past Max then you can get past anyone.”

Violet chuckles. “God, you’re right, Max was a work of her own.” Max was a shell within a box within a locked chest and Violet managed to get to know her before she moved to the east coast. So yeah, no one can be harder.

“Anyway, I’m not interested in overtime today. Have a good weekend!” Kim says as she leaves and Violet just stays in there as every teacher comes back and exits with a goodbye.

Maybe she should try to worry less - problem is it’s easier said than done.

Violet would love not to worry because she trusts Kim and if Kim vouches for Trixie, fine. But no one is vouching for Katya and she and Trixie seem to get along way too well, which is extremely surprising to Violet - how did Katya manage to get close to her so fast and also how did Trixie out of all of them manage to be the first to befriend Katya?

Violet starts to notice how they seem to always exchange words when they bump into each other in the hall, and almost always sit together during lunch, even though usually not by themselves. It’s been a few weeks since Katya arrived and they already act closer than Trixie and Kim and that’s something that puts Violet on alert again.

Sure, she’s managed to learn more about them in the time that’s passed, even if she can’t possibly ask everything she wants - she knows where the caution ends and her own curiosity starts and she never crosses the line. Getting to know your colleagues happens slowly but surely either way, and so far she’s listened to Trixie play guitar and learned that Katya lived in Europe for a while, for example.

They’re all adjusting as a group, even having gone out together for drinks one day. There Violet couldn’t help but notice how Trixie was opening up more and more recently, which is somewhat suspicious, and mainly she noticed that Katya knew what drinks Trixie likes and vice-versa.

She would love to let it go but there’s just something that doesn’t add up.

On the following Wednesday she spends most of her lunch time paying attention to them to see if anything can be learned by observation. At some point someone asks her something and she gets distracted and when she looks up again she can’t find them. Probably back to class early to set things up.

She finishes her food and excuses herself with a few minutes to spare before the bell rings and she has to go to her next class, goes quickly to the bathroom to use the loo and check herself in the mirror one more time before the rest of the day.

When she opens the door the scare on the two people inside is almost palpable. Katya is leaning her back on the sink and Trixie is close to her, her right hand on Katya’s face, her thumb brushing over her upper lip where Violet can see her lipstick is a bit smeared. Their faces are turned towards her, eyes wide like deer caught in headlights, and Violet’s brain can’t come up with an explanation for that on the spot, but it feels like she should.

For seconds none of them move, but then as soon as she takes another step inside the two of them break further apart with Trixie taking a step back.

“Yeah, you were right, this lipstick will definitely need makeup remover to be fixed.” Trixie says with a concentrated face. “Maybe I have makeup wipes in my purse, I’ll go check.” And with that she’s gone, Katya still leaning on the sink and looking at Violet. She blinks twice.

“Uh…” Violet murmurs because she’s not sure what to say. What just happened?

“Forgot I had this stupid lipstick on and cleaned my mouth with my hand. It smeared a bit but now it won’t come off.”

“Oh. Well, I definitely have makeup wipes if Trixie doesn’t have them,” she offers because it’s true and because that’s happened to her many times before, which is precisely why she carries wipes. It could make sense, if not for the way they’d been positioned and how surprised they looked when they saw her, but Violet just feels too stunned to properly deduce things.

“Oh, thanks! She probably has them, but if not I’ll let you know.”

“Okay.” How would she know Trixie has them?

“Okay.”

Violet uses the loo and leaves before Trixie is back, Katya still inside waiting, acting nonchalantly.

This is starting to become too suspicious.

Violet tells Pearl about the encounter but Pearl just brushes her off saying that Violet is probably just reading too much into it because she convinced herself that something’s up. That could be true so Violet promises that she will let it go once she figures out if Katya still walks to work from the left side of the street and if so why. That’s the one piece of mystery she wants to solve before giving up, and Pearl thinks she’s crazy but still suggests she get there early the following day anyway just so she can get this out of the way.

Violet arrives way earlier than usual and takes a seat in the teacher’s lounge right by the window above the parking lot. She’s getting ahead on some tests she has to prepare, but she keeps glancing outside as her eyes catch movement and she spots Bob’s car as the first one to arrive.

It doesn’t take long for Trixie’s car to find its way into the space and Violet is almost turning back to her computer when she sees both the driver and the passenger door opening when she parks. Out of the passenger seat comes Katya, and together they both walk towards the building, it looks like they’re laughing.

Oh my god.

Is Violet an idiot? How did she not connect the dots?

Are they having an affair?

No, no, no, no, no, this is the worst possible scenario, the school cannot handle another affair scandal, especially a lesbian one - if Violet has any chance of ever coming out at work this will ruin it, straight people tend to associate the behavior of one bad gay with all of them and this can’t happen. Fame is all of the outed quota they have and that’s because she’d been clear about being married to a woman before she was hired - but with this Violet isn’t sure even Fame wouldn’t see some consequences.

But it’s so obvious now that Violet thinks about it that she feels stupid for not noticing before. The lipstick thing in the bathroom? They were probably kissing right in there where anyone could catch them. Not only are they cheating on their husbands and breaking the school policies, but they’re being dumb about it.

And that explains how they know each other’s coffee style, their drink preference, why they seem to always be together, why Trixie started opening up after Katya joined.

They had hugged very intimately before leaving the bar the other night. Thinking now Violet can’t remember if she ever saw them leaving - did they leave together?

They are jeopardizing Violet’s future here and she will not stand for it.

The two of them enter the room with a cheerful good morning and Violet is the only one that doesn’t reply, but they don’t notice, each heading to their locker to store their purses.

Violet is so mad she can’t even fake a happy face. She forces her eyes away from them and stares at Kim’s back from where she’s sat - she said she could trust Trixie, that she was a good person. Well, Violet is gonna enjoy breaking the news to her.

Alyssa asks her if she’s fine once she notices how Violet is burning holes into the walls, but Violet plays it off as a striking headache. It works because the news spread fast and no one bothers her that day, not even her students who can see she’s in a bad mood and don’t want to be in the line of fire.

Violet has to be smart about this. She needs to have evidence, she can’t just barge into the Dean’s office and tell her that it’s happening without proof.

She needs to catch them in the act. If she’s lucky they’ll continue to be irresponsible and that will happen sooner rather than later.

“So, Fame.” Violet does her best so that most girls are sat together for lunch the following day. “Have you ever been cheated on?” Out of the corner of her eyes she observes Trixie and Katya, but they give no reaction at all at the mention of cheating. Violet thought they’d be worse at this.

Fame however reacts properly and just stares at her, eyebrows high on her forehead. “Excuse me?”

“Cheated on? Has someone ever cheated on you?”

Everyone is paying attention now, Violet knows she sounds very blunt, but she doesn’t care.

“Uh, no? At least not that I know of?”

“Cool,” she replies. “And have you ever cheated?”

“What? Of course not.”

“Hm. Anyone has ever been cheated on?” she addresses the table.

Katya seems worried. “Violet, is everything okay in your relationship?”

Violet is outraged at this. She has the audacity to ask Violet about herrelationship. She even looks genuinely worried and for a moment Violet is reminded that she really liked Katya and instead of anger, for a split second, she’s just disappointed. She expected more from her.

She’s back to anger in no time though when Trixie, right by her side, raises her eyebrows in worry as well.

Violet trusted them. Unbelievable. They are putting the jobs of everyone at the table at risk and they act as if everything is fine.

Not on Violet’s watch.

“Everything is wonderful in my relationship, Katya, thank you for asking.”

She just shares a glance with Trixie which just makes Violet fume more. “Okay-”

“How about you, though? Everything fine in yours? Have you ever been cheated on? Or have you ever cheated?”

“Uh…” she seems stunned but to be fair so does everyone else. Now they all look worried about Violet - she’s always composed and assertive, this frenzy is very unlike her. “Yes. I mean, yes, everything is fine, we’re doing great. And no, I don’t think anyone’s ever cheated on me, and I’ve never cheated on anyone.”

Violet actually chuckles because she can’t believe her straight face. “Right,” she comments as she goes back to her food.

“What does that mean?” Katya asks back and Violet doesn’t miss the way her voice is changed. By her side Trixie looks utterly confused.

“Nothing,” Violet replies, almost biting her own tongue. She can’t make a scene without proof, she needs to wait. She’s too stressed about this and isn’t acting properly.

“No, that didn’t sound like nothing.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this now-” Bob starts suggesting, but now Katya isn’t having it. She looks offended and Violet wants to know where she learned to act so well.

“No, I’m sorry, Violet was clearly implying something and I want to know what, because I’m not comfortable with this.”

Violet shrugs. “I didn’t mean anything, I just thought it was curious.”

“What was curious exactly?”

Violet really doesn’t want to do this now, but she realizes she’s made the situation and the blood in her veins is too hot to leave it be now.

She can’t outright accuse them, though, that would get her fired.

“I don’t know. Would have figured otherwise.” She keeps it vague - not completely, she does imply that Katya was lying somewhere in there and they all would look back, but she doesn’t outright say I know you’re screwing Trixie. She does give Trixie a quick side glance which she knows they both noticed.

Katya gets the closest to mad that Violet thinks she can. “You don’t know me, Violet.”

“Clearly not.”

Katya moves suddenly, Violet sees the motion as if she’s gonna push away from the table and leave, but Trixie holds her arm.

“I think you’re crossing some boundaries here, Violet.” Trixie says, her hand still resting on Katya’s arm who looks like she’d like to yell a bit. Trixie still looks more confused than anything else.

“Yeah, I’m the one crossing boundaries.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Bob gets up and her height over them casts a sense of authority hard to argue with. “Katya, maybe you should get some fresh air. Violet-”

“I’ll stay here and finish my lunch, thank you.” Violet cuts her off.

There’s tension for a moment, but then Katya gets up and Trixie does so too, right after her, both heading for the exit.

“Off they go,” Violet murmurs and no one says anything, but Kim makes a face and just stares at her for more seconds than it should feel comfortable.

Maybe Violet will have to take the issue to the Dean without proof afterall.

Violet muses about it for the rest of her classes. She’s certain of one thing only: the parents of this school will definitely not have it if word of a lesbian affair between two married teachers came out and she knows it could have consequences for the school in general and for the staff - she thinks that maybe Fame would be the first one to feel it, knows some nasty parents who’d request for her to be immediately cut together with Trixie and Katya regardless of the fact that she’s got nothing to do with them.

Therefore she knows she must act and she must do it soon, but she also knows the obstacles. For one she really shouldn’t accuse anyone of anything without proof, as the chances are it would backfire and she would be the one taking the blow for it, so she really should think very carefully about how to do it, if at all, with the knowledge she has now. Secondly, Katya had a point earlier at lunch: Violet doesn’t know her - or Trixie. Not a lot, anyway. Who is she to point fingers when she doesn’t know their private lives, what they’ve got with their husbands? Violet doesn’t believe in cheating in any situation, but she can’t judge and she certainly understands some women are in complicated situations - especially if, as it looks like, they have to pretend to be straight for whatever reason.

So Violet doesn’t want to ruin their careers - or their lives, but she doesn’t think she’d have the power anyway - she just wants them far away from her school. She doesn’t want problems, that’s all.

Maybe she should talk to the Dean, then. With them there. Be friendly. It would be a lesser risk for her as well.

She’ll visit the Dean once the last bell rings, depending on her mood she’ll either tell her right then or else ask for a meeting the next day and invite Trixie and Katya. She has no intentions of maintaining the friendship - maybe she shouldn’t judge but she sure as hell doesn’t want friends that will behave like that - but keeping professional appearances is important and she figures it’ll be better if they’re there to speak for themselves. It’s fair, right?

She doesn’t see them in the teacher’s lounge when the last class is dismissed and she also doesn’t miss the looks that the other teachers give her.

“You ok?” Fame asks quietly, away from everyone else.

“Yeah, I was hot headed. I’m gonna handle it now, calmly.”

“Handle what, exactly?” It’s clear Fame doesn’t want to judge but she’s concerned for Violet.

“Don’t worry about it. Gotta go, I want to catch Dean Charles.”

“Violet!” Kim yells when she’s at the door.

“What?”

“Can I talk to you-”

“I need to talk with the Dean before she leaves, can it wait?”

Kim stops then, her eyebrows raise and Violet may be mistaken but it looks like her lips turn up into a small smile.

“Oh. Go ahead then, not urgent.”

Violet is probably crazy but it sounds like Kim is laughing as she closes the door.

She power walks to the Dean’s office, really wants to catch her today and address this as soon as possible - the more she waits the riskier it’ll be for them. She knocks twice and as per convention after a few seconds she opens it and glances inside.

Trixie and Katya are there, in front of the Dean.

“Oh,” is all she manages to say, confused. Are they turning themselves in? Were they caught?

They can’t be trying to say anything bad about her, can they?

“Oh, Miss Chachki. Please come in, I’m glad you’re here.” Dean Charles points to a third chair by Trixie’s side and she walks in silence to sit down. She has no idea what is happening, but they all seem to be way too calm for any scandal to have been brought up.

“Everything okay, Mrs. Charles?” she feels like she has to ask because things can’t be okay, can they? If they’ve come clean that she should not be as composed as she is - they should have been fired.

“Yes, of course.“ She stops for a few seconds, contemplates what to say next. Then she nods her head ever so lightly in a way they usually find snobbish and funny, but Violet doesn’t react. "I’m afraid I told you a small lie at a point and it’s lead to… some issues.”

“I haven’t done anyth-”

“Don’t worry, Violet, you’ve done nothing and you’re not in trouble. I know you like to know about the school affairs and the staff, and that you take care of everyone and that’s very admirable.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“But, you see, there’s one detail you didn’t pick up on and we failed to tell the staff because it’s a situation we haven’t had so far and we weren’t sure how everyone would react.”

“Okay,” she agrees with a questioning tone, not sure what exactly to ask. Why are Trixie and Katya there? What is everyone hiding? Why is Violet not aware of what’s going on- when did she lose her unofficial post of information holder? She looks at Trixie and Katya and they both look way too calm for Violet to be comfortable. “Can I be put in the loop, please?”

“We’re married, Violet,” Trixie says holding her gaze.

“I know.” What are they on about? That is the whole problem.

Katya chuckles. “No, you don’t get it. We are married,” she points between her and Trixie. “To each other.”

If there was a bucket of icy water dropping on top of Violet’s head now she would feel exactly as she feels right now.

What?

“What?!”

“As you know it’s against the rules for two employees to engage in a romantic relationship, but we’ve never had precedents of hiring two people already engaged in it. Katya is extremely qualified and we didn’t want to waste this opportunity, but we thought best to not disclose it. Maybe we should have considered that it would be a hard secret to keep.” Mrs. Charles doesn’t seem to notice that Violet is only half listening, still too stunned by what she heard.

“How can you be married? Don’t you have a husband?” Katya’s talked about him a few times - vaguely, but surely.

“I definitely don’t.” Katya says amusedly, eyebrows raised as if the thought is wild and funny. Violet would find it relatable if she weren’t where she is now, confused. “I’m quite sure I never used anything other than “my partner” or “they” when speaking about Trixie as my spouse.”

It’s true, she has. Violet thought it weird at first but reminded herself that not everyone is gay and she shouldn’t just assume everyone she meets was.

“But, Tom…”

“What about him?” Trixie asks now, equally confused.

“I thought Tom was your husband?”

They both laugh but try to stop it quickly.

“Tom is our cat,” Trixie explains trying to maintain a straight face. Then she turns to Katya, “Oh my god, what did you say about Tom that could possibly apply to a cat and a human?”

“I have no idea!”

“She said Tom was waiting for her to have dinner,” Violet explains and against everything she thinks she is, she starts to blush.

They are married. To each other. For one, they aren’t cheaters. And most importantly, they’re gay.

And she assumed the worst and was ready to try and get them fired.

“Very well. Now that things are settled, I must be off. I’ll hold a meeting tomorrow and we’ll tell the rest of the staff so we avoid further issues.”

As they leave Mrs. Charles’ room and stand in the hallway watching her leave, Violet searches for the right word. She’s not usually wrong and she doesn’t care for it.

“I- I don’t know what to say, I’m so sorry. I thought you were having an affair - I thought you were straight, oh my god.”

“I do find the latter much more offensive,” Katya jokes and Violet laughs. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course.” Katya adds as a second thought, her expression changes.

“Oh! I suppose not, though I wouldn’t know. I have a girlfriend.”

“This is the gayest school in the district, then?”

She smiles. “Apparently.”

They stand there for several seconds, almost a perfect triangle, feelings rather awkward - or at least Violet is, for sure.

“Well-” Katya starts as she shifts her weight from one foot to the other, possible eager to leave. This is too quick for Violet to properly understand how she feels, but she knows she’s far from where she was that morning.

“I gotta say I’m really relieved. I like you guys, I was worried.”

“We’re glad.” Trixie smiles and then she offers her hand to Katya who takes it without a thought.

Now with clear eyes and knowing the situation, Violet takes a second to look at the image. They’re cute. They look happy.

“See you tomorrow?” Katya says as they start walking.

“See you.” She waves them off.

They walk away laughing, hand in hand, and it dawns on Violet that now she has more reinforcement and allies in the school.

She can’t wait to tell Pearl - although she’s not excited to let her know she was right all along.

When Kim greets her the next day, she realizes that she likely already knew. Kim is Trixie’s best friend, has known her for years. She was probably at their wedding.

"You were gonna let me play the fool, huh?” she whispers in lieu of hello, sitting by her side at the table so they’ll be private.

Kim just smirks. “I was gonna tell you, but I knew they were in the Dean’s office. Thought it would be more fun to let you go in there and sort it out.”

“I hate you,” she jokes and Kim just shrugs. “You knew all along.”

“I did. It wasn’t my secret to tell, though.”

Violet admires her loyalty and she thinks she would have done the same in Kim’s place.

“You even knew Katya was gonna start teaching here beforehand, didn’t you? You probably know her patronymic name!”

Kim smiles into her cup of coffee. “I do and it’s hideous. Not telling you, though.”

She huffs as she grabs a cup of coffee, wondering how things are gonna go today, when the door opens and in walk Katya and Trixie.

Their hands are intertwined.

At first she thinks no one is going to notice as they really aren’t paying attention, but then Alyssa stops talking in the middle of her sentence and everyone turns to where she’s looking.

“Oh,” some of them murmur, gasp even.

Violet smirks into her cup. She’s back to knowing more than everyone. She loves this feeling.

“Everyone,” Mrs. Charles calls from the door and everyone sort of gets up quickly as if they should, even though she could not look more uninterested if she tried. “They are married, the school board knows, you should not worry about it being against the rules as it is not.” She announces without caution, doesn’t even step inside. “I hope no one has any issues?” She’s asking but as usual doesn’t leave time for actual responses. “Great. If anyone’s missing, please let them know.”

And with that she’s off, Katya and Trixie standing between the door and the tables they’re all sitting around, all eyes on them.

Violet has to admit that was super awkward and seemingly unnecessary, if not for the fact that people would assume it to be against the rules.

“That makes a whole lot of sense actually-”

“Should’ve seen it coming-”

“Wait, who are they?”

Violet can hear all the comments as the two of them approach their table, visibly looking much more relaxed than usual. Violet figures they must have had a weight on their shoulders every day with that secret and she can’t imagine how good they must be feeling now.

“Good morning,”

“Morning,” Kim says. “Did Violet make an idiot of herself yesterday?”

Violet puffs. “I did not, thank you very much.”

And just as Kim opens her mouth to proceed, the rest of the girls approach them.

Fame has her arms open and she pulls Trixie under one and Katya under the other. “Oh my god, I am so happy about this, you guys.”

Everyone who was out of the loop starts talking and asking questions and Violet just sits back and watches it unfold. She’s happy too, as it turns out. They are good people and they look like they make a good pair.

“Don’t think I don’t see that new ring on your finger,” Kim murmurs to her while people are still focused on Trixie and Katya.

Violet smiles widely and looks down to her left hand. Pearl had been so ecstatic by the turn of events that she’d finally proposed last night.

“I’ll announce it later, I don’t wanna steal the spotlight.”

“That’s a first,” Kim chuckles.

The rest of the day unfolds much like any other, everyone getting used to the idea of them being together really quick, and maybe Violet could consider admitting that there’s more to people than we sometimes assume. She’d been so scared of a scandal just twenty-four hours ago and now everything is just normal as it is every day.

As Trixie and Katya are leaving, now apparently always holding hands, they bid her goodbye.

“Congrats on the engagement!” Katya yells from the other side of the corridor. “Being gay married is amazing, you’re gonna love it!”

Trixie just waves and Violet smiles looking down to her hand again.

If the examples she has are anything to go by, she has no doubt she will.

#pichitinha #trixya #lesbian au #fluff #humor #violet chachki #katya zamolodchikova #trixie mattel #rpdr fanfiction

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