#like she and sadie are up there and on favorite woman

[intheholler]

the appalachian murder ballad <3 one of the most interesting elements of americana and american folk, imo!

my wife recently gave me A Look when i had one playing in the car and she was like, "why do all of these old folk songs talk about killing people lmao" and i realized i wanted to Talk About It at length.

nerd shit under the cut, and it's long. y'all been warned

so, as y'all probably know, a lot of appalachian folk music grew its roots in scottish folk (and then was heavily influenced by Black folks once it arrived here, but that's a post for another time).

they existed, as most folk music does, to deliver a narrative--to pass on a story orally, especially in communities where literacy was not widespread. their whole purpose was to get the news out there about current events, and everyone loves a good murder mystery!

as an aside, i saw someone liken the murder ballad to a ye olde true crime podcast and tbh, yeah lol.

the "original" murder ballads started back across the pond as news stories printed on broadsheets and penned in such a way that it was easy to put to melody.

they were meant to be passed on and keep the people informed about the goings-on in town. i imagine that because these songs were left up to their original orators to get them going, this would be why we have sooo many variations of old folk songs.

naturally then, almost always, they were based on real events, either sung from an outside perspective, from the killer's perspective and in some cases, from the victim's. of course, like most things from days of yore, they reek of social dogshit. the particular flavor of dogshit of the OG murder ballad was misogyny.

so, the murder ballad came over when the english and scots-irish settlers did. in fact, a lot of the current murder ballads are still telling stories from centuries ago, and, as is the way of folk, getting rewritten and given new names and melodies and evolving into the modern recordings we hear today.

305 such scottish and english ballads were noted and collected into what is famously known as the Child Ballads collected by a professor named francis james child in the 19th century. they have been reshaped and covered and recorded a million and one times, as is the folk way.

while newer ones continued to largely fit the formula of retelling real events and murder trials (such as one of my favorite ones, little sadie, about a murderer getting chased through the carolinas to have justice handed down), they also evolved into sometimes fictional, (often unfortunately misogynistic) cautionary tales.

perhaps the most famous examples of these are omie wise and pretty polly where the woman's death almost feels justified as if it's her fault (big shocker).

but i digress. in this way, the evolution of the murder ballad came to serve a similar purpose as the spooky legends of appalachia did/do now.

(why do we have those urban legends and oral traditions warning yall out of the woods? to keep babies from gettin lost n dying in them. i know it's a fun tiktok trend rn to tell tale of spooky scary woods like there's really more haints out here than there are anywhere else, but that's a rant for another time too ain't it)

so, the aforementioned little sadie (also known as "bad lee brown" in some cases) was first recorded in the 1920s. i'm also plugging my favorite female-vocaist cover of it there because it's superior when a woman does it, sorry.

it is a pretty straightforward murder ballad in its content--in the original version, the guy kills a woman, a stranger or his girlfriend sometimes depending on who is covering it.

but instead of it being a cautionary 'be careful and don't get pregnant or it's your fault' tale like omie wise and pretty polly, the guy doesn't get away with it, and he's not portrayed as sympathetic like the murderer is in so many ballads.

a few decades after, women started saying fuck you and writing their own murder ballads.

in the 40s, the femme fatale trope was in full swing with women flipping the script and killing their male lovers for slights against them instead.

men began to enter the "find out" phase in these songs and paid up for being abusive partners. women regained their agency and humanity by actually giving themselves an active voice instead of just being essentially 'fridged in the ballads of old.

her majesty dolly parton even covered plenty of old ballads herself but then went on to write the bridge, telling the pregnant-woman-in-the-murder-ballad's side of things for once. love her.

as a listener, i realized that i personally prefer these modern covers of appalachian murder ballads sung by women-led acts like dolly and gillian welch and even the super-recent crooked still especially, because there is a sense of reclamation, subverting its roots by giving it a woman's voice instead.

meaning that, like a lot else from the problematic past, the appalachian murder ballad is something to be enjoyed with critical ears. violence against women is an evergreen issue, of course, and you're going to encounter a lot of that in this branch of historical music.

but with folk songs, and especially the murder ballad, being such a foundational element of appalachian history and culture and fitting squarely into the appalachian gothic, i still find them important and so, so interesting

i do feel it's worth mentioning that there are "tamer" ones. with traditional and modern murder ballads alike, some of them are just for "fun," like a murder mystery novel is enjoyable to read; not all have a message or retell a historical trial.

(for instance, i'd even argue ultra-modern, popular americana songs like hell's comin' with me is a contemporary americana murder ballad--being sung by a male vocalist and having evolved from being at the expense of a woman to instead being directed at a harmful and corrupt church. that kind of thing)

in short: it continues to evolve, and i continue to eat that shit up.

anyway, to leave off, lemme share with yall my personal favorite murder ballad which fits squarely into murder mystery/horror novel territory imo.

it's the 10th child ballad and was originally known as "the twa sisters." it's been covered to hell n back and named and renamed.

but! if you listen to any flavor of americana, chances are high you already know it; popular names are "the dreadful wind and rain" and sometimes just "wind and rain."

in it, a jealous older sister pushes her other sister into a river (or stream, or sea, depending on who's covering it) over a dumbass man. the little sister's body floats away and a fiddle maker come upon her and took parts of her body to make a fiddle of his own. the only song the new fiddle plays is the tale about how it came to be, and it is the same song you have been listening to until then.

how's that for genuinely spooky-scary appalachia, y'all?

[brujahinaskirt]

WAIT A SEC. I want to cut some credit to player drunkenness in rdr2 and how it works as a vehicle to reveal something about the main character of this story.

Usually drunkenness in games is played off for cheap laughs, and there are plenty of slapsticky drunken antics in rdr2 (LENNAY). But happy-drunk Arthur gives SO MUCH INSIGHT into his real personality, too -- even when he's being a giggling, property-damaging, cancan-dancing terror. When he's drunk, he forgets a little of his mean bastard enforcer mask, the primary role he must play in the gang, and his loving nature becomes laughably obvious.

[spoilers under the cut]

From his sudden determination to teach Jack mathematics to his declared affection for Hosea; from his worrying about Susan getting a break to his insistence that newer gang members are "one of us now"; from his innocuous little compliments tossed around thoughtlessly ("Mary-Beth! Sweetest outlaw in the West! Javier! Best-dressed outlaw in the West!") to his more genuine praise for Abigail's inherent goodness, drunk Arthur is a fuzzy but honest look at a truer Arthur, one who is not thinking about the part he must play in a criminal outfit. Strip that awareness of his station away, even if just for a while, and we wind up with an Arthur who is surprisingly fun-loving, sometimes downright silly, and who lives to fuss over and dote on the people around him.

My favorite moment, perhaps, is a tipsy interaction with Sadie in Horseshoe Overlook during Sean's welcome home party. Arthur meanders over to her, this woman who is not a gang member or a close friend at the time, but simply a grieving widow he doesn't know very well. And he and asks, loudly: "MISSUS ADLER. DO YOU NEED ANYTHING MISSUS ADLER. DO YOU WANNA DANCE WITH ME MISSUS ADLER."

And she just sounds so tickled when she says no thanks to this goofy-drunk gunslinger. And I think maybe, just maybe, watching big bad gang lieutenant Arthur slamming a couple bottles of whiskey and so transparently doting on everyone gave her some of the first laughter at the world she had in what must feel like a very long time.

In Chapter 6, Arthur can again approach Sadie while drunk, and he encourage her to smile. Sadie hisses you're drunk; no woman likes being told this, and on the surface, this seems like a proper Antagonize line. But then Arthur -- who knows he is dying -- says, blearily, to this friend he met at her lowest point of grief and who seems to be in danger of plunging even lower in rage, "I just want you to be happy."

Drunkenness is not a liquid clarifier. Often times, alcohol garbles and distorts a person's personality. But with a character like Arthur, whose heart is so poorly matched with his 20-year lot in life, drunk-writing becomes a powerful tool. It's a quick, non-transformative way to believably peel off the snarl he wears around for a while (without him knowing it), letting players access an easy, silly, soft interior that sober Arthur is much more guarded about showing the gang.

[wosoimagines]

You Didn't Know? - Arsenal WFC/Reader

prompt: R is new to Arsenal after proving themselves at the World Cup, but there are a couple of hurdles they have to face before the team fully accepts them.

warnings: none

words: 6497

I will say that I am not deaf or hard of hearing so if there is anything that I've gotten wrong, please let me know so that I can fix it (I tried to do as much research as I could). Anything that represents sign langue is in continuous italics.

Also, this will become a series, so don't worry about needing to ask for a part two because it will be coming. (I think that this has honestly been one of my favorite ideas for a fic ever and I can't wait to continue it)

part two

(Y/N) POV

I grinned as I got out of the car. I wiggled my eyebrows at the camera once I noticed it. Honestly it wasn’t too surprising that Arsenal would be filming my first day here. I didn’t hesitate to greet the people who were waiting for me either.

“(Y/N), it’s really nice to finally meet you,” the woman that I knew as Clare Wheatley greeted me. I quickly shook her hand once she held it out to me. “Congratulations. We’re really happy you’re here.”

“I’m gonna show you around,” the dark-haired woman who was behind Clare spoke up. I sent her a soft smile. “I’m Sadie Ross. I’ll also serve as an interpreter for you should you need one.”

“You know Auslan?” I asked. I didn’t always have the option to take out my cochlear implants here recently. Once Sadie confirmed that she did in fact know Auslan, I couldn’t help the grin that overtook my face. “I use a Northern dialect usually, but I do know the Southern dialect as well.”

“No worries,” Sadie assured me. She moved closer to me before patting my shoulder so I would follow her. “I’ve studied both dialects.”

“Cool.”

I followed Sadie through until we got to the locker rooms where I was given my own Arsenal gear to get changed into. It was obviously just practice gear, but it was nice to be in official gear from my new club.

“It suits you!” Sadie assured me once I stepped out of the locker room.

“I like it!”

“So, we’re going to take you on a tour, show you the grounds, show you your new home,” Sadie said. I couldn’t help but smile as she had started to sign the words she was speaking. “This is obviously the changing room. This is the technical corridor, so we essentially have all of our tech staff in here. Our head coach Jonas in this hall.”

I looked down the hall that Sadie had been talking about. I started to move with Sadie so that I wouldn’t fall behind her.

“If you come down here, this is where the medical section is. Stuff like physiotherapy, massages, cold therapy, all of that sort of stuff will happen here.”

I paid attention as Sadie walked me through where the medical team could be found along with any rooms concerning treatment were. Sadie also showed me where the meeting room was and assured me that she would be at all of our team meetings and regardless of if I had decided to wear my cochlear implants or not, she would be translating everything that was said.

Then we were off to find the gym. This was one of the places that I was most excited to find since I knew I would probably be spending quite a bit of time in the gym. I appreciated that Sadie had also pointed out where each section was.

Soon we were headed outside.

“So, this is where we come out to get to the pitch?”

“Yeah.”

I grinned as Sadie pointed out where the exhibition pitch was. I was sure that I would be out there soon enough. Before long we had made our way to the mess hall that they had. It was there that I met Mikel Arteta.

Sadie had disappeared while Mikel introduced himself to me. Then I got to meet Win. Who immediately had all of my attention as I moved to the floor to play with the dog.

It was ultimately drawn away from Win though as Sadie made a reappearance. I was quick to get to my feet as I took notice of what Sadie had in her hands. I took in the back of the kit that had my number and name on the back.

“Such a beautiful kit,” I said as Sadie handed it over to me. “Honestly, can’t wait to play in it.”

“Come on,” Sadie said with a chuckle. “Let’s get you changed into it.”

I did a little fist pump before the two of us headed out of the mess hall and back to where the changing rooms were. Once I had the kit on, I headed down the hall to the room that Sadie and I had passed earlier.

“How’s it look?” I asked as I entered the room.

“I’d say it’s probably one of the best looking kits you’ve ever worn,” Sadie said. I let out a laugh at that. Honestly, I didn’t have the chance to wear that many different kits. I had left Australia to go to the States to play college football for Stanford. Other than my youth club kits, the only other kits I had been in were with the national team, but those had been more recent. “Not too big or too little?”

Of course, we had to take pictures of me in the kit while I was in front of the logo that was on the wall. It had been one of the moments I had been looking forward to since it was announced that I was signing with Arsenal following my college career and performance at the World Cup. Then I moved to take pictures of me signing my contract.

The rest of my afternoon was filled with a photoshoot in a full kit before we headed to Emirates. It was pretty cool to finally be able to take in the stadium in person considering I had grown up an Arsenal fan. I didn’t mind the photographer that followed me around getting pictures of me exploring Emirates.

We even sat down for a formal interview before Sadie played twenty questions with me so that fans could get to know me better.

“Why Stanford?”

“Why not?” I countered. I laughed as Sadie rolled her eyes. “I dunno why I chose Stanford. I had played with youth clubs, but no one was looking to give me a shot with their senior team in Australia. I was smart enough to get scholarships to attend school in the States. Stanford happened to have open tryouts and I was just really lucky that I was able to impress the coaches there and they ended up giving me a spot on the team.”

“Was it hard?”

“Yeah. I was pretty much all alone in a country I didn’t know and having to constantly prove myself,” I admitted. My time in college, while it had been great, had probably been the worst time of my life so far. “I had to practice all the time while keeping up with my studies and even then, I would barely get playing time. Then we had the 2019 College Cup. I didn’t get a lot of time still, but our coach, Paul Ratcliffe, had taken notice of all the practice I put in, specifically with my penalties so when the game went to penalties, I got to take what ended up being the final penalty. I finally knew what the biggest shot of my career was.”

“Did it help you to prepare for the shootout in the World Cup?”

I shrugged at that. Nothing could compare to the shootout that happened at the World Cup. I hadn’t even expected the penalties to go on so long that I would even take one, but then that plan had collapsed, and I ended up taking the final penalty knowing that France wouldn’t have that much film on my penalty kicks and tendencies.

“Nothing will compare to my World Cup penalty. That has probably been the best moment of my life,” I said. I motioned to my ears. “I do kind of have an advantage. It is nice to be able to literally turn off all of the noise. And if you watch the play back close enough, you can see that I had turned it back on right after the ball left my foot. Being able to go from dead silence to hearing the entire stadium cheering was incredible.”

“Did you get the game ball?”

“I did. It will be brought over after our next national camp because surely by then I’ll actually have my own place.”

“Now to backtrack, because you’ll be getting to play with Lotte and Alessia obviously. Not only did they knock you and Australia out of the World Cup but you, as mentioned earlier, won the 2019 College Cup by scoring the winning penalty which caused the two to lose the same game. Is there gong to be any bad blood?”

“No, I don’t think so. Does it sting that we didn’t win the World Cup? Obviously, but we were able to do an amazing job and we overcame everyone’s expectations that they had set for us. In the end, it just wasn’t our year for it. So, I don’t have any hard feelings about that,” I said. I had been upset and frustrated that we weren’t able to win the World Cup, but I was still really proud of the rest of the Matildas. “As for 2019, that’s a question for Lotte and Alessia. Honestly, I’m not even sure if either of them remembers me from it. I might have scored the goal, but my role that season was not a huge one. I didn’t even see an increase in minutes that second year with the team.”

“What are you most excited about being here with Arsenal for?”

“To play for the team I’ve always loved,” I said before looking over my shoulder at Sadie. “It is really cool that I’m also going to get to play with Caitlin and Steph more than just with the national team. And it isn’t just them. I could pretty much learn from most of the players here with Arsenal and I’m excited to get the opportunity to do so."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sat by myself again in the mess hall. It seemed that until I got rid of this ear infection, no one was going to approach me except for Sadie. I had really appreciated that she was sitting to eat with me. My hunt for a place to call my own had also been stalled considering I had been trying to rest.

But it had already been three weeks with none of the normal tips and tricks I knew had helped to get rid of this ear infection. Our medical staff at Arsenal hadn’t been able to help me, so they had gotten me in to see a doctor. The doctor had told me it was labyrinthitis, an inflammation of the inner ear.

I had been given medicine for the dizziness that I was experiencing but it did nothing to help the pain I still felt. It led to me ultimately being ruled out of the first qualifying round of the Champions League that took place two weeks ago.

And I couldn’t help but feel like it had partially been my fault when the team came back after being eliminated by Paris FC. I hadn’t even been there with the team for the games. I also wasn’t entirely sure how much the rest of the team knew about why I had been a scratch for the journey.

I looked up at the small tap on the table. Sadie sent me a soft smile as she sat down.

“How you feeling?”

“Tired.”

Not only was I dealing with an ear infection, but the loneliness was starting to get to me. I knew that it would be hard to communicate with my teammates while I wasn’t wearing my cochlear implants, but none of them had tried to get to know me. Not even my national teammates.

I couldn’t wait for the national window to open. Unless I was deemed unable to travel, I didn’t see why I wouldn’t be called up. Even though we’d be in Perth, rather than Brisbane, I was still happy that I’d be back in Australia. I’d even get to see Theo since he had gotten a job with the Matildas. I knew that his main job was to act as an interpreter while I was with the team, but he was also helping take care of all our gear as well.

I sent Kyra a small wave when she smiled at me. The small smile that had taken place on my face quickly turned to a frown though once she moved to join Caitlin and Steph who were sitting with a couple of the English players on our team along with Katie. I sighed as my head dropped down.

“I can say something to them, you know.”

I shook my head. I didn’t need Sadie tackling my problems for me. Besides, once I got over this ear infection, I’d be right there with the other Aussies.

“The last thing I need is for them to think that I’m a coward because I can’t join them and then I send you to confront them for not spending time around me.”

Sadie softly sighed before she nodded. I knew that she hated that I had been left on the outside of the team, but what choice did I really have? I wasn’t really that great at reading the lips of anyone outside of the Aussies and it wasn’t like Sadie could follow me around all day to translate everything for me, she was still one of our assistant coaches.

It was honestly just a really unfortunate situation. One that I hoped would be resolved within two weeks. I wasn’t sure where I would be at mentally if I couldn’t play in our WSL season opener.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My ear infection had finally gotten better a week before we were slated to take on Liverpool, but I was still finding it hard to talk to any of my teammates. Kyra seemed to be the only one willing to seek me out, but it wasn’t often as she was still attached to Caitlin and Steph’s hips. Maybe that’s why I hadn’t been as excited about getting to start against Liverpool. I had questioned Jonas’ decision when he told me, but he said it was the perfect chance to see what I would be able to do so that he could figure out how he would use me for the season.

It would have been fine, if it hadn’t been for the number of knocks that I was taking. It seemed that Liverpool had decided to target me. I wasn’t sure if it was because they weren’t sure what I could do, or maybe they had decided that I was the weak link on the field. But I could handle what they threw at me.

At least until Taylor Hinds and I clashed in the midfield trying to fight for the ball. She had got a hand on the side of my head which ended up knocking off my cochlear implant. This was one of the times where I hated my cochlear implants because it wasn’t like I could just leave it on the ground to come back to while I chased after the ball. No, I had to make sure I grabbed the cochlear implant that had come off my head to make sure that no one stepped on it and destroyed it.

Ultimately, I didn’t even have to worry about Hinds getting too far because the play was called dead. I had assumed that Hinds was going to be reprimanded for the swipe at my head. I wasn’t really sure, but I knew that it gave me time to put my cochlear implant on.

I didn’t tilt my head in confusion when I saw the ref, Emily Heaslip, going to talk with Liverpool’s coach, Matt Beard. My eyes darted between my own teammates because I had no idea why Heaslip was talking to Beard. At least I didn’t have a clue until Heaslip started to wave me over. I glanced around me to make sure she wasn’t trying to get someone else. I even pointed to myself as I raised my brow in confusion. Heaslip nodded her head and waved for me to go over where they were again.

I shrugged as I jogged over to the sideline.

“She’s cheating,” Beard said once I got close enough to hear them. He pointed to the side of his head. “She’s got earbuds in. Getting information from someone up top.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I watched you put it in,” Beard said as he turned to me. My hand flew up to touch my ear. “Yeah, those!”

“You mean my cochlear implants?”

“She should be sent off.”

“They’re medical devices. I have to have them to hear.”

“I’m sure that’s what she tells everyone so she can cheat. After all, how good can a college walk on be anyways.”

Now that was uncalled for.

“I’m better than you because at least I’m playing professionally.”

“Take them out.”

I froze at that. Surely, I didn’t hear that right.

“Take them out before the yellow I’m going to give you becomes a red.”

Heaslip was out of her mind. My eyes immediately darted over to Jonas as I motioned to my ears causing the man to make his way over to us. I wasn’t surprised that Sadie was following behind. Nor when Kim left the huddle of my teammates to see what was going on.

“She’s getting a yellow for blatantly cheating,” Heaslip said once Jonas asked what was going on. “At least I’m giving her the chance to continue the game.”

“They want me to take my implants out,” I explained. I knew that Jonas and Sadie would both be confused as to what cheating they were talking about. “Neither of them are listening that they’re medical devices.”

“Calm down,” Kim softly said from behind me.

I looked over my shoulder at her.

“No, they don’t get to discriminate against me just because they’re idiots.”

Heaslip had enough arguing I guess, because when I looked back at her there was a yellow card pointed at me. Definitely not how I wanted to start my career with Arsenal, but there was nothing I could do to change it now.

“Kim, go,” Jonas said. My captain hesitated, but she moved away from the group to join our teammates. “She quite literally can’t hear if she doesn’t wear them.”

“They come out. Now.”

Heaslip wasn’t even listening to what we were saying. Jonas nodded before glancing at Sadie.

“Okay, just give us a minute so (Y/N) can get them out.”

Heaslip nodded and stayed where she could watch as I walked back toward the bench with Jonas and Sadie.

“It’s not fair,” I said. I had no idea how I was going to play if I couldn’t hear since I always wore my cochlear implants when I played. “My first game with the team and they get to ruin it because they don’t know what cochlear implants are?”

“I’m not taking you out,” Jonas said. I blinked at that. I hadn’t expected him to keep me in. “You can still play without needing to hear. Just try not to keep playing too long after plays are whistled dead.”

“Oh, because that’ll be so easy.”

It wasn’t like I could just keep my eyes trained on the refs for the entire match.

“Sadie will hold onto them.”

I sighed as I looked between the two. It would be nice to finish my first match with Arsenal. I couldn’t do that if I let idiots ruin it for me. It only took me a second to take both of my cochlear implants out and hand them over to Sadie before was back out on the field.

Coming off from the first half, I knew that I was skating on thin ice with Heaslip with the amount of time it took for me to realize when plays were dead. I wanted nothing more than to keep my head down while Jonas talked to us at halftime so that I could at least pretend that the rest of my teammates weren’t staring at me, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to look up so that I could understand what was being said as Sadie translated it for me.

Going back out for the second half wasn’t any easier. I had been slow to move at kickoff since I was relying on when everyone else moved. I tried my best to stay away from fouls, whether my team was committing them or Liverpool, since they were the most unpredictable ways for plays to be called dead. It wasn’t as bad as the first half had been.

But it really came to a head in the 67th minute. We were already down by one, but Caitlin was getting the chance to make a run. I had made the decision to pull toward the middle of the field from my side as the rest of the midfielders were still behind the forwards and I. Caitlin was clearly fouled by Koivisto, but no one was stopping even though Caitlin stayed on the ground.

My eyes stayed trained on Caitlin who wasn’t getting up as I moved backwards. Then I decided to do something that was definitely risky, but I knew that if Caitlin still wasn’t getting up then it would be good for our trainers to check her out. So, I darted across the field where Koivisto was still trying to move the ball. Koivisto stopped and relaxed as soon as I got close to her, but it didn’t stop me from knocking into her to win the ball back. As soon as the ball was at my feet, I sent it out of bounds.

As soon as I had turned to go check on Caitlin, I knew that I was in for it. Heaslip had her eyes trained on me as she started to march over where I was. I scoffed as I rolled my eyes at the clear fact that it was me that she was coming to talk to rather than Koivisto who had been the one to actually foul another player.

I didn’t even pretend like I was paying attention to Heaslip this time. I was just tired of all of the bullshit from this game. However, my eyes did widen when she pulled out the yellow card again and pointed it at me before the red card followed since I had already gotten a yellow.

“Oh, come on. What do you want me to do?” I asked her as I motioned to my ears. “I can’t hear. You made sure of that.”

Heaslip’s lips were moving, but I had no interest in trying to figure out what she was saying. This was insane and I couldn’t believe that I was actually going to have to fight these cards just so that I could play in our next match.

“No seriously, I would love to hear what you want me to do. Oh, wait. I can’t because you made me take my implants out.”

I shoved the arms that were trying to pull me away from Heaslip away from me. I couldn’t wait to fight these cards though so that Heaslip would never call a game again. There’s no way anyone would ever have her referee a game once they found out that she had discriminated against me by denying me the use of my cochlear implants.

I was a bit surprised when Caitlin got in between Heaslip and I before the older Aussie started to push me back. She was pointing toward the tunnel, so it didn’t take much to guess that she was telling me to get off the pitch. My shoulders slumped forward at the obvious disappointment from the player that I had spent so much time looking up to. I couldn’t bring myself to meet anyone’s eyes either as I made my way off the pitch and to the tunnel.

I didn’t even bother to stop by Sadie to grab my cochlear implants. This had to be the worst debut I ever had.

I took a seat in front of my locker. It was an easy technique that I liked to use to help keep me grounded. It made it easier not to lose myself if I could feel the ground under me. I stayed there for the rest of the game. It wasn’t until Jonas and Sadie had entered the locker room that I realized that the game had ended.

“That was the worst game I have ever played.”

Sadie frowned but she relayed the message to Jonas who rubbed at his forehead. Jonas’ eyes stayed trained on me even though mine had to dart between him and Sadie so I could understand what was being said.

“I should have taken you out. That’s on me. I just wanted to give you the opportunity to prove to them that you were better than they gave you credit for. Which you did. We’ll fight the cards and I’m sure that they’ll be overturned considering you really didn’t do anything wrong.”

I shook my head at that because there was nothing that we could do to allow me to redo my first game with Arsenal. Especially in Emirates. It had all been messed up.

“I have dreamed of this day since I was a kid. And it got completely fucked up. I don’t care if the cards are overturned, but I do want apologies from Beard and Heaslip.”

Jonas nodded in agreement once Sadie let him know what I had said.

“Completely understandable and I’ll be sure that it is known that we fully expect apologies from both for forcing you to do something you didn’t want to with your cochlear implants. Whether or not you wear them should be entirely your choice.”

I nodded as I wiped the tears away from my eyes. I knew it wasn’t guaranteed that I would get an apology from either of them.

“I believe there are some fans who would still like to see you. Even if you did get sent off.”

I sighed and dropped my head at that. Before the World Cup, no one was interested in meeting me. It meant that when I had a bad game, or it didn’t go the way my team had expected, that I could leave without disappointing too many people.

But I knew that I needed to go see the fans. They deserved something good from me today after the game. I got to my feet, and I found that Sadie was holding my cochlear implants out to me. I took them from her before I headed out of the locker room so that I could go see some of our fans.

I fiddled with the cochlear implants in my hands as I made my way out of the tunnel to the field. I just wanted to greet the fans and then head home. But it seemed that nothing was going to go my way as I was snagged by the back of my jersey.

When I turned to see who had grabbed my jersey, I was surprised to find Caitlin behind me. She was holding a microphone causing me to full turn to find her in the middle of an interview. I furrowed my brow because I wasn’t sure why she had stopped me considering I hadn’t crashed the interview until she pulled me back. But my eyes moved away from where she was to the reporter who Caitlin was talking to.

“You’re going to have to give me a moment,” I said once I realized that the reporter’s lips were moving a lot faster than I could decipher. It didn’t take me long to get my cochlear implants on before I looked back at the reporter. “Okay, now I’ve got my ears on. What’s up?”

“I was hoping to get your thoughts on your first game with Arsenal. I know after how you played in the World Cup that a lot of the Arsenal faithful were looking forward to seeing you only to find out that you were an illness scratch during the Champions League games.”

“I won’t lie. It’s all been a bit frustrating. Up until today, none of that had been anyone’s fault,” I admitted. I knew that I had to be careful about talking about my frustrations for tonight because I could still be punished if I said the wrong things. “I’m just hoping things will start turning around.”

“What’s been so frustrating?”

“Well, obviously I was an illness scratch for the Champions League games we had. I had been dealing with an ear infection during that time and it lasted until last week. It was brutal and there were times where I was in so much pain. It was just unfortunate that it had to happen almost as soon as I had arrived at Arsenal,” I said as I rubbed the back of my head. It had honestly been the worst ear infection I had ever had. “It made it hard to communicate with anyone really, so that was really hard because I do enjoy spending time with others. But I finally got rid of the infection last week, and Jonas decided to give me the start. So, things are starting to turn around.”

“Even with how tonight ended?”

I glanced over my shoulder at Caitlin who had asked the question. She had a frown on her face. I wasn’t entirely sure why Caitlin looked upset, but I knew that it probably had to do with me crashing her interview or the fact that I just revealed that I had been in pain and isolated.

“Getting carded for the reasons I did was insane and frustrating. Jonas and I have already agreed that we’ll be appealing the cards,” I said. Honestly, I couldn’t believe that Caitlin was okay with the cards I had been given. “I’m sure we’ll win the appeal. I would like to make formal complaints about both Beard and Heaslip considering how I was treated.”

“Well, I’m not entirely sure that you’ll overturn those cards,” the reporter pointed out. I turned my head back to look at her. “You obviously got into a heated talk with Liverpool’s head coach, Matt Beard, and tonight’s referee, Emily Heaslip.”

“It’s simple,” I shrugged. Was I really around this many people who had no idea what cochlear implants were. “One of my cochlear implants fell off and Beard had to be nosy, even though he can’t tell the difference between earbuds and my cochlear implants. Then Heaslip sided with him without talking to either Jonas or I. Which she should have done to figure out what I had in my ears if she was really worried about someone cheating, but she refused to hear us out as we tried to explain.”

“Well, I wish you both better luck for the future.”

I sent a soft smile to the reporter, happy to finally be done with the interview. Caitlin followed me as I headed to where our fans still were so that I could greet them. Caitlin stayed close to me as we talked with the fans and took pictures and gave autographs. I didn’t think much of how close she was staying to me until we were headed back through the tunnel.

“So those weren’t earbuds?”

I stopped in the tunnel causing Caitlin to crash into my back. I honestly hadn’t been expecting the question. Once I regained my balance, I turned to face Caitlin.

“We played at the World Cup together. Not only that but we spent over a month together to prepare for it and then play in it,” I pointed out as I tilted my head in confusion. I knew that I had tended to stick around the ones on the national team who were closer to my age, but we had all spent so much time around each other. The World Cup was one of the few times where I had worn my cochlear implants even when I didn’t want to. “You’ve seen my cochlear implants before.”

“I thought they were fancy headphones,” Caitlin defended. I shook my head as I let out a sigh. She could have just asked me what they were, and I would have told her. “So, what do they really do?”

“We can come back to that in a second,” I said. There was something else that was bothering me now from today’s game. “Were you upset with me when I got the second yellow because you thought I had gotten the first one for wearing fancy headphones?”

Caitlin only shrugged. My shoulders slumped forward because her silence said it all. My own teammates had thought I was cheating along with our referee and opponents’ coach.

“What is it that they do?”

“They’re basically my ears,” I said. This time it was Caitlin who was tilting her head in confusion. “It’s kind of how I’ve always seen them. I have my actual ears and they can hurt and, obviously, I can still get ear infections. But since my actual ears can’t process sound, I have my cochlear implants which are my hearing ears.”

“So, they’re like hearing aids?”

“They have the same purpose but work differently,” I said. A lot of people asked me about this when they first found out that I had cochlear implants so that I could hear. “Hearing aids just amplify sounds so they can be detected by damaged ears. Cochlear implants bypass the damaged parts.”

Caitlin slowly nodded as she furrowed her brow in thought. I didn’t mind answering the questions she had for me. I never had been opposed to answering questions about my disability. But if my own teammates hadn’t realized that I had cochlear implants or what they did, I wondered how many people were unaware of my situation.

“And we all just ignored you when joined the club.”

“It hurt, yeah,” I shrugged. This time it was Caitlin’s shoulders that slumped forward. “I understood though. Outside of our little Aussie group, no one on the team had ever played with me before. And it wasn’t like I’ve exactly had a lot of experience playing with any of you either.”

“But we ignored you.”

“I couldn’t really talk to anyone,” I pointed out. It might have sucked and hurt while I was being ignored, but I had understood why I was ignored. “Sure, I could talk, but I wouldn’t have been able to understand the rest of you.”

“Ross didn’t ignore you.”

“Sadie? She knows Auslan, AKA Australian Sign Language,” I said. I had gotten better offers from other clubs, but Arsenal had already told me that they had an interpreter on staff. “Sadie is literally employed as an interpreter for me now that I’ve joined Arsenal. It just so happened that she was already an assistant coach here at Arsenal and now they’re also paying her for acting as an interpreter.”

“Oh.”

I furrowed my brow. The last thing I wanted was for Caitlin or anyone else on the team to feel like I resented them for not being able to communicate with me. Maybe if I was a kid then I would feel differently about the whole situation, but I had long ago come to terms with the fact that most people wouldn’t be able to communicate with me sometimes.

I grabbed a hold of Caitlin’s wrist as I dragged her to the locker room. I was a bit surprised when we ran into Kyra who was leaving the locker room. It was obvious that she was headed home too considering she had her bag with her.

“Back in the locker room,” I said to her. Kyra’s eyebrow shot up as she looked between me and Caitlin. I looked over her shoulder though to see that the rest of the team was in the locker room. Even our injured players who were talking with the others. “Team meeting! No one leaves until I’m done talking.”

Everyone’s eyes were drawn to me as I turned back to look at Kyra. Kyra nodded before moving back into the locker room which allowed me to drag Caitlin in. Once the locker room door was shut, I let go of Caitlin’s wrist so that she could move to sit down.

“It’s been brought to my own attention that a lot of you are more than likely unaware that I’m Deaf. I was born deaf, and I do use cochlear implants to hear,” I announced. My eyes darted around the room to see how my new teammates would react. “I also know Australian Sign Language, or Auslan. So does Sadie. I wasn’t ignoring anyone or wanted to be left alone during my first month with the club, but wearing my cochlear implants while dealing with an ear infection is quite annoying for me so I chose not to wear them. And I’ll answer any questions you ever have. I really have no problem answering questions.”

The team stayed quiet as they processed everything that I had just told them. The longer the silence went on, the more nervous it made me. I couldn’t help it as I started to fidget where I was standing with most of the team’s eyes still on me.

“So Heaslip made you take off the only thing that allowed you to hear?”

My eyes darted over to where Alessia was sitting. I hesitated for a moment before nodding in confirmation.

“I wasn’t cheating,” I repeated. Just the idea of my new teammates thinking that I had cheated made me nauseous. “And all the warnings for not stopping at the whistle? I couldn’t hear. I had to take cues from everyone else. Well, from you guys.”

My eyes turned to Kim who got up to move in front of me.

“If anyone else ever tries to make you take off your cochlear implants when you don’t want to, they’re going to have to go through all of us,” Kim assured me as she put a hand on my shoulder. “And I know that I’ll be giving you my full support in appealing the cards and any other action you wish to pursue against Heaslip or Beard.”

I sent her a small smile. It was nice to have someone who was willing to back me up so quickly. Especially considering that it seemed like the whole team had been under the impression that I was ignoring them on purpose.

“You’ve got my full support as well,” Alessia said as she stood up.

I didn’t miss how my fellow Aussies shared a look before they also stood up to declare their support. And soon after they stood up, so did the rest of the team.

I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face thanks to the support that the team was so willing to give me even though none of them truly knew me yet. It might have honestly been one of the first times that I ever truly felt like my entire team had my back.

next part

[werepuppy-steve]

modern eddie would be a pibble dad. she's his baby and he puts little bows on her and he throws birthday (adoption day) parties where she gets a puppy-safe cake and his friends gladly show up with presents for her.

the mall hosts pictures with santa the entire month of december and allows pets for an extra cost that eddie gladly pays. his girl is well behaved and knows her manners in public spaces, thank you very much. but unfortunately, sadie is still a pitbull and society hasn't quite moved past its breed biases yet, even if she is sitting quietly at his feet in line and with an "ask to pet" patch on her harness that eddie had turned into a doggy battle vest.

"oh my goodness, is that sadie?!"

sadie's tail starts going crazy at the mention of her name and a woman dressed like an elf crouches down with open arms, ready to receive the gift of happy puppy. sadie immediately plops down and rolls onto her back, showing her belly, which the woman gleefully rubs and pats. sadie's tongue flops out of the side of her grinning mouth, her tail sweeping the floor.

"santa was wondering if he'd see her this year," she says to eddie this time, and gives him a subtle wink that has eddie chuckling. "along with a certain owner, too."

eddie and santa may have started flirting a couple years back. he's not ashamed.

the woman lets them through and there he is. the big (not really) man himself sitting in his chair with his fake beard and red shirt stuffed with fluff.

"well if it isn't my favorite pup!" santa says, patting his lap. sadie puts her front paws on his knees and pants happily as the man scratches her chest and sides. "at the top of the nice list, just like always."

he glances up at eddie with a certain glint in his eye. "and you, mr. munson, are at the top of the naughty list. we'll have to see about fixing that, won't we?"

it actually makes eddie blush, which never happens. it's usually the other way around and he's not used to the butterflies that fill his stomach. however, eddie munson is not one to be thrown off his groove, steps up to santa's side to pose for the photo and fires right back, "what can i say, some like me naughty. now smile for the camera, santa."

he's not sure what the photo looks like, but judging by the blush on santa's cheeks under the beard, eddie wants to put money on it being his favorite. the same woman from check in mans the camera and she frowns at the little screen.

"maybe we should retake it, this one's a little blurry and santa's eyes are closed."

it's very much neither of those things, seeing as the camera's on a tripod, but eddie isn't about to back away from an open opportunity.

"you mind if i borrow you lap for this one, big boy? hunching over like this is killing my back." before santa can reply, eddie's plopping himself into santa's lap and throwing an arm around his shoulder, giving sadie the command to lie down for the photo. just before the woman can press the capture button, eddie steals a quick kiss to santa's cheek.

he doesn't realize he's forgotten to take the photo with him until later that evening. he huffs as he tosses the empty frame to the side and pouts at the blank space on the wall next to all of sadie's other pictures with santa. he perks up when the front door opens and steve calls out a greeting.

eddie walks into the kitchen where steve's setting his bag on the counter and wraps his arms around his shoulders, giving him a soft peck. "hi, baby."

steve pulls him closer by his waist, returning the kiss. "mmh, have a good day today?" he murmurs against his lips.

eddie nods and pulls back before the kiss can lead to somewhere else. dinner still has to be made and he's not above refusing sex on an empty stomach lest he get hangry in the middle of a blowjob. "sadie got her photo with santa this morning, but i completely forgot to take the damn thing with me when we left."

steve hums and presses fleeting kisses to eddie's cheek, trailing them down to his jaw and making eddie sigh as he tilts his head back. eddie's eyes are closed, contentment washing over him as his boyfriend holds and kisses him so sweetly, so he doesn't see steve blindly reaching into his bag.

"you mean these photos?"

eddie makes a sound of confusion as he opens his eyes. steve's holding a fancy photo holder with the mall's name on it.

"you asshole!" eddie says without any heat as he swipes the envelope from steve's hand, the other man grinning. "you could've texted me and told me i forgot them. hell, robin also could've."

steve chuckles and quickly maneuvers out of reach of eddie's teasing smacks. "i'm sorry i was a bit distracted by the cutie sitting on my lap and kissing me. which was very bold, by the way, not many people want to kiss santa."

"would have done a lot more than kissing, but a mall full of children is neither the time nor place," eddie mumbles under his breath. sadie decides to join them, stretching her front paws out in the doorway before sleepily trudging over to steve for pets.

"there's my girl! you were such a good girl today, weren't you? were so well behaved getting you picture taken." the way he immediately dissolves into baby talk with her is hilarious. he's knelt down on the floor, smooshing her face between his hands and scratching behind her ears. "just sat there patiently while dad decided to accost daddy at work, yes you did!"

eddie rolls his eyes and takes the pictures into the living room to be framed and hung on the wall.

[madebycloud]

Sad, Beautiful, Tragic

jenna ortega x director!reader — 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

summary: in a special episode of a popular tv show, you were interviewed about your love life and the experiences you had with your ex-partner. warnings/themes: fluff & angst, not the ‘happy ending’ you're expecting ig, low-key based on la la land words: 3.5k notes: this song is stuck in my head, so i used it as the title 🙏

“Can you handle it?” she paused for a beat. “This whole Valentine's Day thing? You've been like, “yep, yep” for 11 times today, but I just want to make sure you're not going to won't lose it or anything.”

You roll your eyes before putting the phone on speaker and sighing audibly. “Sadie, girl, I promise I'm okay, alright, fine, whatever. Stop asking or I'm going to scream,” you reply, letting out a few giggles.

“Well, I just want to make sure,” she says, clearly still concerned.

“Well, you can stop now,” you reply with a smirk. “I'll tell you all about it later.” The phone call ends, and you take a deep breath and prepare for the next interview. Not just an ordinary interview, this one is all about your love life.

You straighten your clothes, fix your makeup one last time, and open the door. The staff instantly calls your name as you enter the room. “Y/N! The interview room is right there!”, the staff greets you.

You nod and offer a friendly smile to everyone before heading to the interview room.

One of the staff is already waiting for you inside. “Zoe,” she introduces herself. “"And you must be...?”

“Y/N,” you say, holding out your hand for a formal handshake.

Zoe laughs and grasps your hand with hers. “I believe our interviewer is busy right now, but you may wait there for the time being,” she adds, motioning to the chair where the interview will take place. You nod and take a seat, waiting for the interview to begin. 

“You've prepared for the questions, right?” Zoe asks.

You shake your head and give a sly grin. “Questions? What questions?” 

“Oh, please don't tell me you weren't prepared for this.”

“I honestly wasn't,” you shrug. “But I'm sure the questions will be easy.”

The interviewer finally arrives, and you greet her with a charming smile.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Y/N.”

“Likewise,” you say, offering your hand to the well-dressed woman. She shakes it firmly before taking a seat in front of you.

“Alright, before we start, are you ready?” She asks, double-checking that you're prepared.

You give a confident nod. “Absolutely.”

The interviewer counts down from three, two, one, and the recording begins. She introduces both of you to the audience, and you listen as she speaks, nodding along. 

When she finishes, she turns back to you. “Have you been in a relationship?” 

You let out a small chuckle. “Yes, I have.” The staff in the back let out an ooooh, and your smile widens. 

“Tell me everything,” the interviewer continues, her eyes locked on yours.

“The whole story?” You ask, raising an eyebrow in the interviewer's direction. “Like, I'll start from when we first met?”

She nods, giving you the green light to continue with your story.

“Okay, so I'm still in my third year of college, and she's an actress, and I was an intern, carrying around coffee on the set, you know, trying to make a good impression. I was holding my favorite camcorder and taking footage of my experience as the gofer. I'm glad the director approved my request to do this,” you say, letting out a small chuckle. “Oh, yeah, and he said the footage might be used as the behind-the-scenes footage for the film.”

—

You've captured everything—from the cast's interactions to the staff's busywork and even yourself buying coffee for everyone. You've dreamed of being a director, and maybe one day you'll be a director and film like this.

Right now, everyone's resting, and it's more like recess time, so you take the opportunity to record more footage. Mia walks up and wraps her arms around Brittany, and they begin to chat. You keep the camera on them, but they eventually leave, taking a break.

You turn back towards the set, scanning for anything else to film. 

Then, out of the corner of your eye, you spot a brunette girl holding a script, practicing her next line. Your lips curl into a small smile as you aim the camera at her. Her voice is soft, and her facial expressions are so animated as she goes through her lines. 

You find yourself forgetting about the camera and just focusing on her. Her body language, her tone, her facial expressions... everything just seems to blend together into one seamless performance.

Seconds later, she stops mid-sentence and looks at you, breaking you out of your trance. You put down the camera, feeling your face turn red. You look everywhere else but at her, hoping she doesn't notice. And then, she does. She makes her way over to you, the script still in her hand.

You turn to face her, feeling a bit sheepish. “Uh, hey,” you say, hoping to maintain some kind of composure. “I'm Y/N,” you add, offering her a small smile.

She notices your reaction and raises an eyebrow, clearly wondering what's got you so flustered. “Um, I was just filming the behind-the-scenes footage,” you blurt out, rubbing the back of your neck. 

“Oh, that makes sense.” She chuckles. “I'm Jenna Or-,” she introduces herself.

“I know,” you cut her off. She raises her eyebrows again, and you panic. You didn't mean for that to sound rude. “I mean, I know you're Jenna Ortega. I'm working here too.” 

She nods, fully understanding what you meant.

“I was just watching you act... you're amazing."

“Thank you,” she says with a smile. “I just practice a lot. It's important to me to give my best performance, you know?”

You don't know what to say. All you can do is nod, blushing like crazy.

“So, what do you do around here?” she asks, trying to make conversation.

“Oh, I'm one of the film set workers, an intern actually,” you say. “I basically help set everything up and make sure everything runs smoothly.”  

She tilts her head to the side, and your heart skips a beat. You can feel your cheeks turning red, and she seems to be enjoying the fact that you're blushing. 

“Are you an aspiring director?”

“Yeah… I've always wanted to make a movie, and I thought that this would be a good way to start.”

“Wow, that's awesome. I love movies too,” she says with a smile. “But being in them is another experience entirely.”

“Just trying to get a handle on things and see what I'm good at.”

“That's the best way to do it. Just try things and see what works. That's what I did with acting, and look where it got me,” she says, holding your gaze. You feel like you're melting into her eyes.

“So, why are you interested in filmmaking?” she asks.

“I've been studying and practicing filmmaking every day, and I hope to one day make something as great as what we're doing here.”

She smiles, and you notice how stunning her eyes are. They seem like the most beautiful, sparkly gems you've ever seen.

“Maybe we can work on something together someday.”

“Yeah, I'd love that. Maybe I can learn a few things from you. You're a really good actress, Jenna.”

She blushes and looks away, hiding a smile. “Well, I don't know if I'm that good, but thank you, Y/N. It means a lot coming from someone who's willing to learn more about the industry.” 

“I should get back to practicing,” she says, turning away from you. “But we should get together sometime.”

“Definitely,” you say, smiling. “I'd like that.”

—

“I told myself to play it cool, but man, I was a mess,” you admit. “I couldn't help but feel butterflies in my stomach every time she was around, and my voice got all shaky. I felt like I was going to melt.” You hide your face in your hands, feeling the heat radiate from your cheeks.

“I'm sure she thought it was cute,” she says, giving you a warm smile.

“Oh, I hope so.”

She pauses for a moment, deep in thought. “Tell me, how did things go between the two of you after meeting?”

—

You ordered two scoops of your favorite ice cream, knowing that you'd need something to cool you down even in the middle of summer. You're minding your own business when you get a glimpse of Jenna seated on a bench, reading her script. You approach her, and instead of offering her coffee, you hand her two ice cream cones.

She accepts it and starts to unwind, licking the sweet, cool treat. You see a small smile spread across her face as she takes another bite.

“You're a true saint,” she says. 

“You need a break,” you say, taking a seat next to her on the bench.

“You know, I wasn't expecting you to be a summer ice cream salesperson.” She takes another bite of her ice cream and raises an eyebrow. “So what's your motivation for bringing me ice cream today? Did you just think I needed a treat, or were you trying to impress me?”

You grin at her. “Maybe a little bit of both.”

“Don't tease me, Y/N.”

“Well, it's not like it's every day that I get to share ice cream with a movie star.”

The ice cream melts, and it creates a sticky mess on her fingers, making her try to clean her hands on her jean shorts. You grab a napkin from your pocket, and you hand it to her to use. “Thanks,” she says, taking the napkin and cleaning her hands.

“It's so, so hot out here,” you say, fanning yourself. You look around at the sun-drenched set.

She nods in agreement, wiping a strand of hair out of her face. “I know. It's unbearable,” she says with a sigh.

“I'm more of a Christmas person myself. I love everything about it.” 

“Christmas, huh?” 

“It's the best! All the snow, the gifts, the Christmas songs—and of course, the food!” you say, getting more and more excited.

“Okay, okay, calm down. We get it, you love Christmas,” she says, grinning. “I love Christmas too.”

“Do you really?” you say, feigning surprise. “Maybe we should watch some Christmas movies sometime, you know, for ‘research.’”

She chuckles, looking at you with deep brown eyes that drill into your soul. “Sure, why not?”

You nod, feeling your heart race a little faster. You want to say more, but you're not sure if you should.  

She turns to her script once more. You can tell that she's focusing on reading her script, but the occasional glance she gives you makes your heart race. You have to remind yourself to breathe normally.

You glance down at the script she's holding, which she's still reading. “Can I read with you?” you offer. “I'm a bit of a movie nerd, so I'm happy to help.” 

She looks up at you, her eyes sparkling with a bit of surprise. “Really? You'll read with me?”

“Yeah, it'll be fun.” 

She hands you the script, and you start to scan the lines. “So, what scene are we reading?” 

She points to the page, pointing to a specific part of the script. “This one, right here,” she says, biting her lip as she watches you read.

You clear your throat, trying to focus on the dialogue, but it's hard to ignore the butterflies in your stomach. She's so close to you, and her warm, intoxicating scent fills your nostrils.

You begin to read aloud from the script, trying to capture the tone and energy of the characters as best you can.

You hear a light chuckle coming from her direction, and you glance up to see her smiling, her head shaking slightly.

“What's so funny?” you ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Nothing, it's just…” she starts, but then hesitates, “I didn't expect you to be this good.”

You're not sure what to say to that, so you just smile. “Thanks,” you manage, feeling a bit flustered.

—

“A year,” you say, the word dripping through your lips. “We've been friends for a whole year. We hung out often, but life got in the way for both of us.”

You shift in your seat, making yourself more comfortable. “As a fourth-year student, I've been slammed with academics, and she's, well, a celebrity, so it's hard to make time for each other.” you continue with a small chuckle. “We still stay in touch, though, sending each other texts of encouragement or just sharing a little bit about our days.”

“Our first date…” you trail off for a moment, tapping your foot on the floor and looking at your feet. “I saw her at a record store in New York while I was out Christmas shopping. She was trying to pick out a record for herself, and I helped her find the perfect one.” 

You smirk, crossing your legs as you sit across the table from the interviewer. “In fact, I invited her to my show that night.”

“What show?” the interviewer prompts, puzzled.

You shrug. “My little show was at a university theater, and with a limited run, it wasn't really a big deal.”

You take a deep breath, a small grin spreading across your face. “I was nervous because it was my first time directing, but the cast was incredible, and she showed up! I didn't expect her to, but she did.”

—

“The show was amazing! You're a total genius, Y/N,” Jenna says, while walking with you on the sidewalk.

“Don't flatter me too much, or I'll start growing a big head,” you reply with a half-smirk, giving Jenna a sidelong glance.

“Oh, we wouldn't want that, now, would we?”

You roll your eyes, but you can't help the grin on your face. “Nope, that would be my worst nightmare.”

You realize that the cold winter air is making your hands feel stiff and numb. You keep them in your coat pockets, trying to stay warm. You feel a flutter in your chest as Jenna walks next to you, her shoulder brushing against yours.

After a beat of comfortable silence, Jenna looks up at you with a smile, her hair framing her face in the soft glow of the streetlights. “So... you got any Christmas plans?”

“No, I'm just planning on spending the holiday with myself,” you shrug casually.

Jenna's smile falters for a moment, but she soon regains her cool. “That's boring. What about your family?” 

You shrug again and glance at her, wondering where she's going with this. “Eh, they're all busy,” you say with a nonchalant air.

She narrows her eyes at you, and you can practically feel her brain working overtime.

“We're here,” you say as you reach the front of your house. “I'll see you around.”

“Wait,” she says, suddenly interrupting your internal monologue, causing you to jump.

“What is it?”

“I'll be spending this Christmas with my family,” she begins. Her hands fidget, her eyes darting around as if she's trying to find the right words to say.

She takes a breath, and you hold yours, not daring to interrupt her as she speaks.

“Do you... do you want to spend Christmas with me?” she asks, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “I mean, with us. If you want to...?” There's a moment of silence following her response, and she starts to wonder if she said too much.

You blink in surprise, catching a glimpse of your reflection in the windows of some of the nearby houses. The lights inside cast a warm glow on your face, highlighting the rosy hue that crept into your cheeks.

“I'd love to.”

“Really?” The corners of her mouth turning up into a grin as she looks up at you.

You nod again, unable to trust your voice to speak.

A delicate white snowdrop lands on your hair, and you tilt your head back to catch the flutters of powdery white. You smile, your teeth blinding white against your flushed cheeks.

“It's…” she starts, but the words seem to be stuck in her throat, as if the moment is too perfect to be interrupted with conversation. 

“I know.” Your breath created a small cloud of frost in the air.

She looks up at you with a slight smirk on her lips, her eyes darting between yours and the falling snow. 

The only sound coming from your lips is a soft ‘wow’ as the snow settles on the ground. She can't help but notice your cute grin that stretches from ear to ear, almost like a child on Christmas morning.

She reaches for your hand, and your heart skips a beat. Her touch is colder than the winter air, but the warmth of her presence sets your heart on fire.

You turn to face Jenna, a smile creeping across your face as you take in the soft snow falling like a gentle caress on your cheeks. 

Jenna looks at you with such intensity that you can't remember how to breathe. “You're cold,” you state, and she nods, her eyes still locked on yours. 

She swallows, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. She can feel the warmth of your hand on her forehead, and the mere act of being in your presence makes her feel warm all over.

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't. The silence stretches on and on, and you've never wanted to fill it more.

And just like that, the moment is ruined when you sneeze. 

“Sorry,” you mumble, turning red. 

She chuckles. “It's okay, I've got a tissue.” 

You accept it gratefully, wiping away the redness around your nose.

“Thanks,” you say, your voice a little hoarse. 

She nods, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. “Anytime,” she replies, before turning back to the snow, watching as it falls around you.

—

“...after we spent the holidays, we started dating.”

“How long have you been dating?”

“Two years. We've been dating for two years.” You smile softly. “Time was the one thing we couldn't control. I feel like we've just been going in different directions.”

“While I'm trying to make my name as a director, she got into a major franchise as a supporting actor. We both have such busy schedules, and we would barely see each other,” you continue. “The busy schedules, the fights, the doors being slammed, the screaming, the distance—it feels like we've spent more time apart than we have together.”

“It got so bad that we almost broke up, but in the end, we chose to fix things. I supported her career, and she supported mine.”

“But then, as if the universe was playing a cruel joke on us, our schedules clashed over and over again,” you say. “We had a massive argument, with both of us shouting at each other. We could never see eye to eye on anything, no matter how much we tried. I reached my breaking point, and I made the decision to break things off.”

“We both know it's over,” you say, sighing heavily.

“I can't deny it; we've achieved so much. But we're both so busy and caught up in our own careers that we can't focus on each other.”

The interviewer waits for a moment, letting you gather your thoughts. “Do you still love her?”

“I used to, but not anymore.”

—

The sun sets over the studio as the interview comes to a close. 

“Well, that's all the time we have for today, Y/N. Thank you so much for joining us. We wish you nothing but the best in your future endeavors.”

“Oh, I bet you say that to all the guests. But seriously, thanks for having me, Jenna.” You share a laugh and shake hands as she delivers her final line in front of the camera.

Once the cameras stop rolling, you join the staff in cleaning up before walking out. You spot Jenna and make your way over to her.

“Let me walk you out,” you offer with a smile.

“Sure,” she accepts, grateful for the company.

After a few minutes of walking, Jenna breaks the silence. “Your latest movie is a total hit. You must be so proud.”

“I am, thanks. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it to see how well the movie was received.”

You both continue to stroll in silence, the silence only broken by the chill of the night air seeping through your clothes.

But it doesn't last long before Jenna speaks up again. She stops in her tracks and turns to face you. “Thank you, Y/N,” she says. “Thank you for everything.”

You can only manage a small nod in response, unable to put into words what you feel.

Just as you're about to head out, the sound of a car honking catches your attention. 

“That's him.” Jenna turns towards the parking lot, where an attractive guy is waiting for her. You watch as she runs over to him, burying her face in his chest as she wraps her arms around him.

She turns back to you and gives you a look that says everything. You wave goodbye one last time, a small smile etched on your lips.

Even if things didn't work out between the two of you, the connection is still there. You remember the journey you've had together, grateful for the part you've played in her life. 

[romanoffsbish]

Power(less) Moves

CEO!NatashaReader x Assistant!Wanda

A/N: I love mcu Vision, please don’t read into the slanderous noncannon talking points | 4,840 Words

Warnings: Pushy Men | Angst -> Fluff

Smut: Daddy (R) | Mommy (N) | Restraints (W) | Thigh-Riding (N) | Paddle - Spanking | Oral (All) | Strap (W) | Bullet Vibe | Degradation | Overstimulation | 18+ | Minors DNI

A luncheon barbecue was the last place Wanda wanted to spend her Saturday afternoon, but being the assistant to the CEO's meant she hadn't much of a choice. Especially when said CEO's are also her lovers in the night time.

She'd been hoping to get lucky this morning after her dream left her a sticky mess, but when you brushed her off your thigh, and Natasha rushed out the front door with nary a kiss on her lips she knew she was shit out of luck.

Which is why she planned to be a bit of a brat.

——

Sitting impossibly close to Vision Stark, Tony's dorky younger brother that you hired out of pity as he was struggling to find employment after college. Turns out he wasn't all that keen on keeping it either as his hand grazed over Wanda's back as she laughed at his lame joke.

Natasha's hand was wrapped so tight around her flute of champagne that you had to take it from her. Fearful it would snap and cut her.

Your arms connected as they weaved around her front, you kissed the skin beneath her ear then whispered, "It's okay my love, the little whore is foolishly toying with us." Natasha grumbled, "She's letting him touch her Y/N."

There was insecurity in her tone that enacted a resounding pain in your chest. The prospect of losing Wanda always weighed heavy on both of your hearts, she was a bit younger, and more importantly she was free of commitments.

Natasha and you had an entire company to run, people's lives depending on your ability to sign their checks, she only had your cards.

"She wants to make us pay for leaving her a mess," you whispered with renewed conviction as you noticed her gazing back at you two every once in awhile. Natasha caught on as well as she chuckled darkly, "It'll be her to pay."

Wanda clearly felt eyes on her, she enjoyed it at first, the way her body felt with the surge of adrenaline the glares gave her. Riling you guys up was her favorite pastime, because she'd always wind up waking up with one of you both still deep inside of her, where you'd belonged.

Wanda absolutely adored the possessiveness. Being your guys assistant wasn't exactly easy, but loving the two of you was. It was like breathing, an organic, natural occurrence.

There was no way she'd ever leave you two, and especially not for Vision Stark, he was a drab, and on top of that he was unattractively pushy.

At first flirting with Vision was fun, humoring the man who'd made his office crush obvious, it was harmless; until it wasn't. When his hands firmed against her skin, and he leaned in a hair too close. Wanda was no longer enjoying this, he smelt of cheap aftershave, and peach schnapps, smelling just as pretentious as he'd made himself out to be. A rich kid who was so insufferable he couldn't get hired on his name.

Tony once joked he was adopted, and Wanda's starting to believe he wasn't lying after all. That or he was likely the product of an affair. Yeah... Which would explain the stark difference in their appearances, one blonde with blue eyes and lanky limbs, the other a brunette, with brown eyes, and a all around toned physique.

Fortunately for Wanda you guys saw the exact moment her flirty facade fell into distress. There was not even a blink of your eyes before you were rushing off to aide her. Natasha hot on your heels with an HR exec beside her.

"Hey Wanda, is everything okay?" The woman turned her face to look up, her lip wobbled slightly, Vision leaned back in adjunct horror.

"I-." Wanda found herself unable to speak, you all glared daggers at the trembling trust fund baby, and Sadie, the HR manager, sighed in obvious frustration, "Stark, follow me."

You nudged your wife, silently demanding her check reflect a bonus for this moment. Nat rolled her eyes at your thoughtfulness, but nodded a promise, and in this case agreement.

"Wanda, I need you to calm down," you coo'd, a hand softly tracing the curvature of her face. "Can you do that baby?" Her lower lip trembled softly, she harshly sucked it between her teeth to temper herself before nodding her head.

"Thank you," you kissed the tip of her nose, she visibly relaxed, and your heart beamed with pride and swirled with adoration. "Natty's pulling the car around, I'll be home later."

Wanda's hands clutched your shirt, eyes wide with fear, shadowing her disappointment. "I have to close out the luncheon, and then I have to deal with some urgent HR paperwork."

"No," Wanda shook her head, a tear flying as she did. "I'm sorry, I-I, it's okay. Let him go."

"Don't be crazy Wanda," you lowly growled. "He made you uncomfortable, it was clear and he dismissed it, that's unacceptable; for you, to me, and also as a reflection on the company."

"I can stay," she pleaded. "I'll pull it together."

"No." You shook your head, and gave her a hug to soothe her. You quietly whispered, "You've had a rough time baby, you'll go home and take care of yourself. Do as mommy says. Got it?" Wanda nodded, and you gave out soft praises.

Then you heard a car door slam, and a rush of footsteps telling you your time ran out. You slyly kissed her lips, then warned, "When daddy gets home we'll handle punishment."

Natasha kissed your cheek, then smirked at you as she pulled Wanda towards the car. You winked at the terrified brunette, then blew a kiss to your wife before returning to find your employees eyes all on your business. The lot of them straightened out and shifted back to their former conversations, you shook your head with amusement before returning to business.

That mongrel had to be dealt with instantly. 

—

It had been about three torturous hours before you could even consider heading home. Vision tried to fight you, threatening legal recourse as he stated you were merely jealous. Apparently he had known of your situation, and was set on using it against all of you. He'd threatened to use his status, but his attempts were futile as Tony cackled through the receiver of his phone.

What you, Natasha, and Wanda shared was a matter you'd legally squashed ages ago with HR. Sure, you still kept your relationship under wraps at work, but that was simply to ensure staff didn't cry favoritism due to the nature of your positions. Wanda was never given special treatment at work, ever, you and Nat simply couldn't afford to feed into her ego like that.

She was already insufferable at home as it was.

After a long battle that left you exhausted, and poor Sadie on the verge of a breakdown, the younger Stark decidedly heeded his brother's warnings about being cut off if he so much as called the family lawyer against two of his best friends, and his namesake company's allies.

He left quietly, a major deviation from how he'd entered, but you left in an angered rush.

When you eventually walked through the doors of your massive penthouse you were met by your wife, who was sitting on your at home bar wearing nothing more than a red camisole intricately laced in black, her full breasts on display as she hopped off the counter and sauntered over to you, smirking devilishly as she saw exactly where your eyes had landed.

"Welcome home love." She pecked your lips, then allowed you to wordlessly respond, your hands fell to her hips where you squeezed them before pulling her back in for a deeper kiss. It had been a long day, one that was meant to be stress free, but had divulged into chaos.

Natasha could sense the urgency in you, with the way your hands bunched the silk up, fully exposing her bare lower half to you enough of an indication that it had been a tough event.

"Love, slow down," she panted against your lips as you'd slipped your leg between hers and began to rub her cunt against your slacks. You growled, then sunk your teeth into the swell of her breast to clearly reiterate your frustrations.

"I tied the brat up," she whispered between her raspy moans, instantly peeking your interest. "How long has she been made to be alone with her thoughts?" You inquired as you continued to help your wife ride your thigh, enjoying the way her face scrunched up in pleasure as she fought to remain cognizant enough to reply.

"After I made sure she showered his stench off of her, and ate a proper meal, I tied her up."

"Good, because if I had to suffer for her foolish behavior, then so should she." Natasha whined as you abruptly stilled her hips, "Why must I?"

"Oh hush," you chided, "I let you come home while I dealt with the pest, the least you could do is be patient so I can fuck you properly."

Natasha hummed thoughtfully, "Fair enough."

With a soft roll of your eyes you responded to her, then after a moment of silence you lifted the woman up, who squealed at the surprise, and brought her to the master bedroom. You tossed her onto the mattress, then hovered over her, completely ignoring the woman laid beside you with red cheeks and flowing tears.

Wanda immediately pulled at her restraints when she got no response to her pleading. "Mommy please, I thought about what I did," she cried, "I just needed you guys so badly."

"Shut up whore," you growled, but you didn't look at her and that absolutely broke her.

"Had you just been patient, like I'd asked you to be this morning, then we'd have made sure to fuck you dumb later." This time you turned, glare icy as you met her teary eyes. "Color?"

"Green..."

"It's such a shame too," you sighed, your hand cupped her cheek tenderly, subtle reassurance of your guys love before you gripped her chin. "We would've had you thoroughly fucked all weekend long, Monday too since it's a holiday."

"Wait," she went to seek clarity, but you'd already shoved her panties into her mouth.

"Whores don't get to make demands," you tutted before turning back to look at Natasha who was thoroughly amused by your actions. "Now, if you want relief you'll be quiet, and watch me make mommy scream. If you so much as blink we won't touch you for a week."

Natasha snorted, "Aww baby, play fair." The request was absolutely ridiculous, you knew that, but in the moment you didn't care much.

"Fair would've been her remaining loyal," you sneered, "She instead chose to parade around the luncheon like she was on the damn menu."

Natasha frowned deeply at the reminder, her eyes full of insecurities met eyes full of regret.

Wanda instantly broke the rule as she blinked once the reality had hit her, she'd never meant to actually hurt either one of you. Losing you wasn't an option she thought of fondly, or ever. It left a dull ache in her chest thinking that she might be facing losing either one of you. And she couldn't even apologize like she wanted to with the makeshift gag, it was shoved in deep.

"Three blinks," you suddenly conceded through a harsh breath through your nose, knowing damn well that was manageable as Natasha wasn't that far away from her own release.

Wanda nodded obediently, not a single rebuttal left on her lips, and she knew your tight smile was the closest to affection you'd show her.

Natasha moaned as soon as your tongue met her dripping cunt, she was already close while riding your thigh, and she knew as you were relentlessly lapping at her that she wouldn't last long. Which left some hope for Wanda.

The brunette made it an entire minute before she blinked. One down, and two to go, she was pleading with you to work your usual magic. Natasha hardly ever took more than two minutes to orgasm when your skilled mouth was what was at use. Your dexterous tongue was more than enough for the both of them.

Then you incorporate the fingers and it's over, which is how you approached the now. You pulled a strangled moan from the redhead that reverberated off the walls. Wanda gulped and blinked again as her arousal increased tenfold.

"Careful Wands," Natasha panted affectedly, "You've only got one more pass now baby."

Wanda's eyes burned, but she managed to keep them open just long enough for you to suck Nat's clit into your mouth and make her sing your praises. The brunette blinked fast so she could alleviate the sting and watched closely as Nat sloppily rutted into your face to make the orgasm last. Wanda was jealous, but content.

Watching you make your wife fall apart was always something she found attractive. It is how the first night together went. You gave her pointers, then let her take over the act so you could rail her senseless with your strap. A shiver ran down her spine at the memory, and a shock to her heart followed as she continued to regret her every bratty decision on this day.

Natasha smirked dreamily at you as you now hovered over her, all while her slender fingers walked down Wanda's body, she could feel the way the girl tensed, she was perfectly wound up. "She did it lyubov', shall we reward her?"

You hummed in contemplation as you pressed your lips to hers, relishing in the way that your wife moaned, and wrapped her legs around you to draw your body even closer. Wanda watched with rapt attention, her muffled whimpers and squirming body enough to draw you back. You looked at her with that infuriatingly attractive, smug grin that only ever made her wetter.

"I suppose the brat has earned her reprieve," you reasoned with a shrug before clambering off the bed, and just as you disappeared into the closet to retrieve your strap Natasha took your agreement in stride. With fast hands she untied the brunette, and removed the panties. Wanda choked on the taste of her own arousal as she acclimated to the freedom, then after a bit of spluttering she looked up into predatory green orbs and inhaled sharply before pouting.

The redhead wore a smirk, "You look so pretty like this sweetheart," her thumb stroked over the younger woman's cheek, wiping away a stray tear. Then she leaned down to kiss her trembling lips, her tongue slipping into her mouth as she passed time. Once she heard the familiar sound of you fastening the harness she pulled back with a wide smirk. Wanda gulped, and as expected, with the tight grip Nat had on her hips she flipped her onto her stomach.

"Don't you think so detka?" Natasha called out to you as she heard you approach her, you didn't answer right away. Instead you handed over a leather paddle then walked to the side of the bed and crouched down to see Wanda's muddled gaze. "So pretty," you mused as your callous thumb ran down the bridge of her nose until it landed on her plump, pursed lips. Her entire body visibly shuddered, and her eyes that reeked of submission only doubled down.

"Broken into submission, and at our mercy." Natasha beamed at the familiar concept, and you smiled just the same as you leaned in to peck her lips. "It's about time we ruin her."

The redhead took that as her queue and slammed the paddle down onto her left cheek. You took full advantage of her anticipated reaction, Wanda's agape mouth as she went to scream out in a mix of pain and pleasure was full before the sound could fully leave her throat as you jutted your hips forward. It was replaced by a gargle of whimpers and gags.

"Get daddy's cock ready for you baby," Natasha commanded as she roughly groped the stinging skin of her behind. "And take each hit like a good girl, don't try to escape me now love..."

Natasha was relentless in her pursuit to bruise the rear end of your lover. Wanda took it in stride as her repentance was just beginning. Neither of you would truly hurt the woman, marks aside, you knew she took great pleasure from this arrangement as she drenched your sheets every single time you had to punish her.

Her tears still soaked through the pillowcase as you continued to assault her throat just the same, you were clearly close to your release as the harness brutally assaulted your clit. Your grunts turned both of your lovers on, Nat had even brought her paddle to a stop after a harsh swat against the reddened, welting cheeks. It was mesmerizing to see you so close, your face scrunched up as sweat sheened your skin.

The heady stench of arousal nearly brought the redhead to her knees, so she did it herself as she kept her eyes locked on yours. With a much gentler hand she maneuvered the pliant body on the bed until her ass was raised and legs were spread enough to grant her access to her drenched cunt. She winked at you before diving right in, making Wanda moan around your strap and driving you wild with the reverb.

"Natasha," you warned through gritted teeth, she understood you perfectly, but she still teased you by pushing Wanda to the absolute brink. Her eyes swimming with mischief never wavered from your own, and just as you had came, arousal painting your thighs, she pulled away to prevent Wanda from the same fate.

Wanda cried hoarsely as you ripped your strap from her throat, spit trailed from her swollen lips to your strap until you moved far enough back for it to snap. The poor girl was in total disarray over the refusal, but as she was swiftly flipped onto her back she was made to cry even harder. The feel of your usually soft sheets was nearly coarse as it rubbed against her sore ass.

"If only you would've behaved today," you pondered aloud, "We would've let you cum without teasing, and with the promise of it never ending until you'd beg us to stop."

"I'm sorry," she cried, her eyes were clamped shut as she tried to stop her tears, "Please..."

"That's a good girl," you chuckled darkly as you stared down at her from the end of the bed. "Beg for it, remind mommy and daddy that only we can make you this desperate."

Wanda went to plead her case, but you cut her off by pushing your strap beyond her fluttering entrance. The overdue stretching of her slicked up walls had her eyes rolling to the back of her head, her back arching alongside them until Natasha firmed her back against the mattress.

While you picked up an instantly brutal pace Natasha moved about her upper body, making her head spin as she lavished her breasts with soft kisses that turned incessant, then from there it became rough. Her teeth making surprise contact with the skin over her pulse was enough to help reduce her into a mess.

"Please," she whimpered, the first coherent word to fall from her lips in minutes as you purposefully neglected her clit to keep her on that blissful edge. Natasha's mouth wrapped around her pert nipples aided her in her journey, but Wanda couldn't reach her peak without the more direct stimulation. "Hmm?"

"Beg harder baby, don't be so damn pitiful," Natasha taunted in a garbled manner as she continued to suck and nip at her chest. Her mark more than made on the once clear skin that she'd taken to using as a canvas. "Do it!"

Wanda shrieked as the redhead twisted her nipple for emphasis at the same time your tip pressed against her innermost sensitive spot. The brunette blacked out for all of two seconds as the building pleasure reached unbearable. The closeness was obvious to all of you, as with every thrust in you met increased resistance, and Natasha was up close to her heaving chest.

"Please, I-I, mommy I need to let go so bad!" Wanda finally cried, "Daddy, please let me."

Your wife peered up at you, her plump lip caught between her teeth as she admired the way you looked glistening under the soft light of your bedroom, layered in sweat. It was hot. Rather enticing, the way that you focused your eyes on her every previously sinful move while still keeping up the brutal pace of your thrusts. Clearly you were on the brink again, but you kept it under control as you finally gave into the temptation to see Wanda coming undone.

"Cum for us baby," you purred, voice raspy from the insatiable need. Wanda's heart soared and with a firm press of your thumb to her clit as your wife sucked a deep mark onto the skin of the valley of her breasts she was writhing.

"There's our good girl," you teased, and Nat snorted, "We just had to fuck her dumb."

"Oh, and we're far from done," you muttered, smirking at your wife as you felt the way her thighs tensed as you lifted her legs up, causing the strap to reach further. Wanda screamed as the tip of your strap pressed firmly against her g-spot. Natasha watched in momentary awe as the strap you rutted into her, against her walls that squeezed it still, bulged her stomach out.

"I-I can't," Wanda whined, but Natasha shushed her with a peck to her lips, "You can baby, this is what you wanted, so take it." Then she rerouted her attention back to the bulge, her hand splayed flat against her abdomen as she felt the mesmerizing rise and fall of it. "Daddy's fucking you so well baby, thank her."

"Thank you daddy," she instantly complied, "Need to cum again, please." You hummed, "Use your manners and thank mommy too."

Wanda smiled up at Natasha, her expression thanks enough, and so the redhead nodded while reaching down to stimulate her clit as her other hand pressed firmly against her stomach. The brunette's entire body shook violently as she was thrown into another blinding orgasm.

Then all at once it stopped as you slipped out, her slick oozing out of her hole that continued to contract around nothing. Her body slumped and your wife met your lips for a tender kiss.

Wanda was too fucked out to notice Natasha had inserted a bullet into her, her walls too numbed from the previous filling to register it either. It wasn't until she shifted slightly, her eyes widening, that she felt the foreign piece. The way you two smiled at her was enough, she didn't need words to know the punishment was prolonged, and that terrified and excited her.

"Why don't you help daddy out, hm?" Natasha now hovered over the brunette, smile alluring as always as she stroked her face. Wanda knew exactly what that meant, so she shimmied off the bed and dropped to her knees, hands working fast to remove the harness from you, trying her best to be fast to keep you content.

Just as soon as the harness left your body were you gripping her by her hair and pressing her into you. Your cunt ached, as did your body with tension from your long day. Nobody, not even Natasha who was skilled beyond belief could bring you over the edge like Wanda did.

Every single session between you three ended like this, with her in varying positions that always centered with her between your thighs. Using her dexterous tongue and nimble, long fingers to bring you to nirvana in seconds. It filled the woman with pride every time. This time, even with her being in the dog house, was no different. If anything it was more special.

The fact that you are even letting her do this was a privilege she didn't take for granted. Your essence smeared her face, and she wore it with the utmost pride, if you'd let her she would wear it in public. Part of her wished that to be part of the punishment, maybe you'd let her eat you out on Tuesday in the office, and make her wear it in a possessive retaliation.

Natasha watched Wanda's thighs rub together and she smirked from her place behind you, her hands lazily played with your breasts as her lips tenderly kissed over your salty skin. "I think the brat is enjoying her treat, should we give her the other one?" You chuckled breathily, "I don't know, I think us spoiling her like that is what got us into this mess Natalia."

Wanda flinched, the reminder of today still weighed heavy on her every time you brought it up. She wished for it to be a thing of the past, but she knew better than to dream like that. It was her fault, she hurt you both, and somehow you still let her have your sweetest nectar so she wouldn't complain about your denials.

Honestly, she didn't even need the vibe, your moans that just picked up, along with the tightening of your hand in her hair was enough to tell her just how well she was doing, and to send her crashing over the edge alongside you.

"Fuck, she's dripping onto the carpet," Natasha rasped against your shoulder as she peered down to see Wanda with her hands now on the ground as she keeled over and desperately gasped for air. You'd not only smothered her, but your reaction to her alone sent her into an orgasm that was blinding and breathtaking.

Literally, she was basically hyperventilating.

Though you were also coming down from an intense release, you dropped to your knees and pulled the overstimulated girl into your lap. Kissing over the bruises your lover had already left behind, but you refrained from leaving your own. Your slick on her contorted face was more than enough for you to have left a mark.

"Shh, it's okay sweetness," you tried to calm her as you carried her into the bathroom, Nat leading you there so she could run a bath, but it was clear as day that she was deep in turmoil.

"I'm sorry," Wanda cried, hands clutching your shoulders as her head lay against your chest. "Please don't leave me, I need you, please!!"

Natasha rose from the lip of the tub in an instant, taking the girls heated face between her hands so she could soothingly stroke her thumbs over her cheeks, and kiss her forehead.

"Hey, hey, nobody's leaving anybody baby," the redhead shut down her fears, and looked to you so you could continue to reassure the woman.

While Natasha returned to situate the tub, you shifted Wanda so that her arms were around your neck, with her legs around your waist. It brought you face to face, with the proximity you could see just how petrified she really was.

"Wanda, we adore you," you whispered softly, keeping the moment intimate enough. "We'd never leave you, but sometimes." You paused, taking a second to build up the courage to voice your shared fears. "We wonder if you would be happier elsewhere, and it's terrifying to think you'll wake up one day and no longer want us."

"I'm never leaving!" Her grip on you tightened. "You two are my forever, I've never been so happy before. I'm sorry for being an ungrateful brat." She buried her face into your neck, fresh hot tears were now streaming down your skin.

Natasha wrapped her arms around the both of you, pulling your bodies into hers so she could offer comfort as well. "We love you Wanda."

"So much baby," you added. "Never doubt that, just because we can't always fulfill your sinful needs it doesn't make the words any less true."

"Also," Natasha began with a smirk sent over Wanda's shoulder for you to see her devilish intent. "Never stop being our brat." Her lips then latched onto the brunette's neck from behind, drawing out a whimper from her lips.

"Yeah, punishing you is half the fun." You playfully slapped her ass, and she cried harder against you due to the renewed stinging flesh.

"Come now, let's get you cleaned up." Natasha gently maneuvered her from your hold and into the tub. She looked up longingly, and the both of you gave into her pitiful, silent request as you slipped into the tub. Natasha had turned on the jets, so it was the perfect zen moment.

Then once Wanda was calmed she asked you a simple, albeit dangerous question. "What's the other half?" You smirked, hand hovering the remote of her bullet vibe. "That it never ends."

——

[cowboyfromh3ll]

Ik you said resquests are close but my oh my, I'd love to see your relationship/sex hcs for the GIRLS

Mary-Beth, Karen, Tilly, Abigail, Molly, MAYBE EVEN MRS.GRIMSHAW IF UR FEELING QUIRKY

Relationship/Sex HC For VDL Gang Girls

Thank you anon for requesting something with the girls. Also I didn't include Sadie bc I wrote for her already previously in another post

Warnings: smut

Mary-Beth Gaskill

Very affectionate and loves showing you off

Lowkey writes short romance stories about the two of you but uses different names

Loves asking for your opinion on her outfits

Very shy with her writing but allows you to read em

Tries to recreate scenes the romance novels she reads with you

Plays with your hair and tries to style it for you

I can imagine her making flower crowns

Is so lovestruck, she definitely believes y'all are together FOR LIFE

NSFW

I just know she reads smut in her books

She'd probably ask to try out a few of the things she reads about

Comes off as docile or vanilla but would be surprisingly kinky, huge expiramentalist

Bottoms for sure

Would unintentionally grind into your face or shove you in while eating her out

High pitched moans or gentle mewls

Squirms and moves around a lot, just cannot sit still for the life of her

Karen Jones

She'll put on a tougher front but she needs a lot of reassurance

Very sweet in private

Gets flustered with PDA but still does it with you

Loves it when you hold one another closely especially around the camp fire

She'd become very vulnerable with you

Especially when she's drunk

She'd feel as though you're the only person who can see the real her, and that just makes her feel even more in love

When she's unable to take care of herself you do her hair for her

Asks to dance with you randomly

NSFW

As we saw in-game, cries during sex

Feels extremely vulnerable during the act, but instead of sadness it's more of an overwhelming feeling of love that brings her to tears

Super clingy, holds you close during

Wants to stimulate every sense, bascially smothering you

Loves kissing all up and down eachother's bodies while fondling and just holding

Also enjoys hand holding during sex

Likes to start off gentle but things get progressively wilder

Tilly Jackson

She's a playful, yet altruistic lover

Puts you before herself all the time

She could be bleeding out while you have a papercut and she'll insist they tend to you first

Constantly fixes things for you or just generally takes care of things just so you don't have to do them yourself

I hc that whenever she falls asleep on you she drools A LOT

Because she gets really relaxed

Likes sitting along rivers and lakes with you and feeding ducks or skipping rocks

Super short so she's gotta go on her tiptoes to kiss you; constantly cranes her neck to look at you, even gets taller boots

NSFW

Like in other aspects of your relationship, a giver

She knows just what you want, and is more than happy to provide

I feel like she'd be real skilled with her tongue and hands as a result, skill born out of practice

Kinda likes riskier sex so she'll opt for more scandalous locations or situations

Y'all could be doing chores together and the next thing y'know y'all are sneaking off behind a nearby tree

I feel like she'd top, but she's down to switch

Abigail Roberts

She's a good, honest woman

And she's got standards for her lover

Constantly has your back, and is very patient with you as you two grow with eachother

Constantly encourages said growth and improvement in oneself

Loves seeing you put effort into improvement or work!

She just wants a calm, stable life, so if you're able to provide that for her, even if little by little, she'll be happy

Very affectionate with you, one of her favorite things to do is to sit down and have deep, intimate conversations with one another while chilling

Doesn't care how many or mundane dates are, as long as the effort is there

NSFW

She's got demands, and they will be heard

Loves recieving head, or being the main focus of sex as you provide for her. Will hold your head in place

Likes telling you what to do, definitely a dom hehe

Into kinkier stuff so maybe tying you up or even spanking

LIVES to see you cry or to embarass you

She'd probably make you bark for her

Will top or bottom, doesn't matter to her as long as she's taking the lead

Likes passionate sex so she takes her time with every detail, especially foreplay, rather than speeding things up

Molly O'Shea

She falls HARD

The most lovestruck, romantic girlfriend ever

Writes love poems for you

Likes it when you show eachother off

Her favorite types of dates are when the two of you go out together and try new things

Like a new restaurant, a new spot, a new show, etc

Cue that meme of one girl sitting on another's lap while she does her makeup

Yeah that's her

Loves asking for your opinion on her makeup, greatly values your opinion in general

Constantly tells you she loves you, gets sad if you dont say it back

NSFW

Will ask you to be gentle but like rough passionate sex

Moans loudly and shamelessly

Definitely a pillow princess, this is cannon

She'd communicate lots with you about what she likes and what she wants you to do

In a modern setting I feel like she'd wear lingerie or sexy outfits for you

Probably likes roleplaying

Also a huge expiramentalist! Likes trying next and exciting things, including in the bedroom

Susan Grimshaw

This woman keeps you on your toes constantly

Probably a little high strung but it's easy to tear her walls down!

Good at setting and respecting boundaries, while also reminding you of her own

Knows the time and place for affection, so when y'all are working, wants to keep it to a minimum.

But during down time, loves to dance, talk, kiss, and play games together

She's super hardworking and she loves real hard

Good at grounding you and keeping you in check

Like many things in her life, puts so much effort into the relationship and will never let you down or make you feel neglected.

NSFW

Like Abigail, has demands that will be known

Though she'll make sure to pay special attention to you as well and not just focus on herself

I feel like she'd like to be called mommy LMAO

Loves taking care of you and the name during sex would definitely do things for her

She has lots of experience so you'll always recieve the most mindblowing orgasms

SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE'S DOING AND SHE KNOWS WHAT WOMEN WANT

Has like a mental map of your entire body imprinted into her mind at this point

Also hands, I feel like she'd be into anything hands

[total-feminism-takes]

Much as I'm all for acknowledging girl wins, I feel like we as a fandom don't talk about how silly Heather is, especially in Action. Like we all hype her up as being this awesome girlboss yet forget her internet beef era when she went through the effort of making Katie and Sadie hand puppets (I mean presumably, but considering their lack of screentime I think it's a considerable effort in it's own right to scour the web for someone willing to make Katie and Sadie hand puppets aswell) for the sole purpose of being a hater. Also on that same topic she just has a wig of Gwens hair lying around somewhere like where did she get that, not to mention she apparently has retractable claws, that one segment in This is How We Will End It where she did that little clap when Alejandro freed her, her favorite type of chip is dill pickle (yes this is a diss she should be locked away for that), she was called a loser by HAROLD... literally her canonical goal is to take over and rule Europe this woman is so unserious 💀 (btw this is 100% not a hate post I love Heather and stuff like this really humanizes her and makes me appreciate her more as a character)

- 🧡

[scoops-stevie-archive]

modern eddie would be a pibble dad. she's his baby and he puts little bows on her and he throws birthday (adoption day) parties where she gets a puppy-safe cake and his friends gladly show up with presents for her.

the mall hosts pictures with santa the entire month of december and allows pets for an extra cost that eddie gladly pays. his girl is well behaved and knows her manners in public spaces, thank you very much. but unfortunately, sadie is still a pitbull and society hasn't quite moved past its breed biases yet, even if she is sitting quietly at his feet in line and with an "ask to pet" patch on her harness that eddie had turned into a doggy battle vest.

"oh my goodness, is that sadie?!"

sadie's tail starts going crazy at the mention of her name and a woman dressed like an elf crouches down with open arms, ready to receive the gift of happy puppy. sadie immediately plops down and rolls onto her back, showing her belly, which the woman gleefully rubs and pats. sadie's tongue flops out of the side of her grinning mouth, her tail sweeping the floor.

"santa was wondering if he'd see her this year," she says to eddie this time, and gives him a subtle wink that has eddie chuckling. "along with a certain owner, too."

eddie and santa may have started flirting a couple years back. he's not ashamed.

the woman lets them through and there he is. the big (not really) man himself sitting in his chair with his fake beard and red shirt stuffed with fluff.

"well if it isn't my favorite pup!" santa says, patting his lap. sadie puts her front paws on his knees and pants happily as the man scratches her chest and sides. "at the top of the nice list, just like always."

he glances up at eddie with a certain glint in his eye. "and you, mr. munson, are at the top of the naughty list. we'll have to see about fixing that, won't we?"

it actually makes eddie blush, which never happens. it's usually the other way around and he's not used to the butterflies that fill his stomach. however, eddie munson is not one to be thrown off his groove, steps up to santa's side to pose for the photo and fires right back, "what can i say, some like me naughty. now smile for the camera, santa."

he's not sure what the photo looks like, but judging by the blush on santa's cheeks under the beard, eddie wants to put money on it being his favorite. the same woman from check in mans the camera and she frowns at the little screen.

"maybe we should retake it, this one's a little blurry and santa's eyes are closed."

it's very much neither of those things, seeing as the camera's on a tripod, but eddie isn't about to back away from an open opportunity.

"you mind if i borrow you lap for this one, big boy? hunching over like this is killing my back." before santa can reply, eddie's plopping himself into santa's lap and throwing an arm around his shoulder, giving sadie the command to lie down for the photo. just before the woman can press the capture button, eddie steals a quick kiss to santa's cheek.

he doesn't realize he's forgotten to take the photo with him until later that evening. he huffs as he tosses the empty frame to the side and pouts at the blank space on the wall next to all of sadie's other pictures with santa. he perks up when the front door opens and steve calls out a greeting.

eddie walks into the kitchen where steve's setting his bag on the counter and wraps his arms around his shoulders, giving him a soft peck. "hi, baby."

steve pulls him closer by his waist, returning the kiss. "mmh, have a good day today?" he murmurs against his lips.

eddie nods and pulls back before the kiss can lead to somewhere else. dinner still has to be made and he's not above refusing sex on an empty stomach lest he get hangry in the middle of a blowjob. "sadie got her photo with santa this morning, but i completely forgot to take the damn thing with me when we left."

steve hums and presses fleeting kisses to eddie's cheek, trailing them down to his jaw and making eddie sigh as he tilts his head back. eddie's eyes are closed, contentment washing over him as his boyfriend holds and kisses him so sweetly, so he doesn't see steve blindly reaching into his bag.

"you mean these photos?"

eddie makes a sound of confusion as he opens his eyes. steve's holding a fancy photo holder with the mall's name on it.

"you asshole!" eddie says without any heat as he swipes the envelope from steve's hand, the other man grinning. "you could've texted me and told me i forgot them. hell, robin also could've."

steve chuckles and quickly maneuvers out of reach of eddie's teasing smacks. "i'm sorry i was a bit distracted by the cutie sitting on my lap and kissing me. which was very bold, by the way, not many people want to kiss santa."

"would have done a lot more than kissing, but a mall full of children is neither the time nor place," eddie mumbles under his breath. sadie decides to join them, stretching her front paws out in the doorway before sleepily trudging over to steve for pets.

"there's my girl! you were such a good girl today, weren't you? were so well behaved getting you picture taken." the way he immediately dissolves into baby talk with her is hilarious. he's knelt down on the floor, smooshing her face between his hands and scratching behind her ears. "just sat there patiently while dad decided to accost daddy at work, yes you did!"

eddie rolls his eyes and takes the pictures into the living room to be framed and hung on the wall.

[intooned]

What are your least favorite ships for jaune, Steven, and finn

My LEAST favorite? Woof! Ok, here we go.

Jaune: WhiteKnight: Any woman Jaune ends up with will have to AT LEAST have Pyrrha as a standard. Pyrrha loved Jaune before he accomplished anything, when he was just a sweet, earnest dork who wanted to be better than he was. She met him in the mud and jumped at the opportunity to help brush him off and build him up. Pyrrha heard his aspirations and said "cool, here's the first step on the road to your dreams, take my hand so I can support you if you stumble."

Meanwhile, Weiss just so happened to glance back at the finish line as Jaune crossed it, literally as a middle aged man, and she all of a sudden has a complete change of heart about him based off of his LOOKS? And nothing else? I loved Weiss' character development as a person, but having her take interest in Jaune on a dime with zero preamble was the most shallow thing she's ever done, and that's saying a lot considering her character from vol 1-2.

He already closed ONE gaping hole in her stomach at Haven Academy, and she never so much as uttered a thank you or a nod back. No indication whatsoever of a changing perspective or reevaluation of him to suggest any interest in having him fill her other holes in the future. When he expresses that he's glad she's OK, she doesn't even respond to him being their whatsoever, just gets up and carries on. And after the fight no words were exchanged between them, no apathetic eye contact, just nothing at all.

The shmuck fell for her at first sight without even getting to know her (not that Weiss ever gave him the chance to) and she never let anybody hear the end of it. Yet she knows Jaune for years and after all that time still has zero interest and the barest of friendships? Fine, fair enough! But that all goes out the window because of his APPEARANCE alone? A few seconds isn't enough time to take into account how Jaune's character has developed for his character to have been what attracted Weiss. How astoundingly hypocritical that she just wants him for his body after giving everyone hell for assuming the same of him? And one outing to the movies, with oscar in tow, off-screen, with no suggestive interaction afterward is not sufficient enough for anyone to believe anything had changed.

A cliché is cliché for a reason; Weiss didn't want Jaune at his worst, but Pyrrha did. She didn't want him at his beginning, but (according to Oum, by the end of season 2) Ruby did. She didn't want him at his mid, but a literal harem of milfs did. But now, at his best and most vulnerable... that STILL wasn't what had her moist at first sight; his newly well-worn dilf status was the sole factor in her newfound attraction. If you ask me, Jaune deserves so much better than the frigid panties of such a fickle and shallow girl. Especially ironic now that her kingdom, status, and family name are worthless. The gall to thirst after a guy you consistently insulted, for liking you, for two whole school years!

I had really hoped that someone, ANYONE, but especially Ruby would have confronted her behavior with contempt and indignation at her lust for Jaune after her indifference and outright hostility toward him up until that point. Having the both of them as her best friends, Ruby was privy to both sides of Jaune and Weiss' "relationship" back in school. I want to see both Jaune and Weiss happy but as far as we've gotten in the plot Weiss is acting more immature now than Jaune was back at Beacon, and it sucks that the writers are definitely going to smooth over all of that for the sake of giving the ex-heiress what she wants.

Steven: Steven x Sadie: Not much to say other than I can't imagine either of them benefitting or growing from each other's presence in a relationship.

Finn: Fubblegum: Princess Bubblegum is a conniving, manipulative, lawful evil ego-maniac and Finn dodged a NUCLEAR WARHEAD moving on from his crush on her. Heck, Marceline is WAY too good for her. I don't have a single doubt Marceline would give her life for her partner, and Finn was willing to tank third degree burns for someone he liked, and would do that and more for anyone he knew, but Bubblegum? I don't think she'd suffer any major inconvenience for her lover, especially after the bloody CUNT called Marcy "Monster Trash". This may be my diehard Finnceline enjoyer talking, but of all the female characters in the show, none of them vibed on the same wavelength with Finn like Marceline did. After Jake there's no one who's been a closer friend to Finn than Marceline; I'd go so far as to say Bubblegum has been more harm than help for Finn and others in the long run.

[scarfacemarston]

Omggggg can we get some sadie x reader action please? Thank you so much🙏🙏

Sure! Here is one of the few other examples I have of me writing Sadie, (Some are NSFW)if you're interested. I don't receive requests for her often, so I'm hoping I did okay.

You're aware that Jake will always be Sadie's number 1 love in her life, but as long as you can accept that, you're already on the road to a healthy relationship.

You approached her as a friend first. Not as someone to coddle or look at her with pity, and Sadie appreciated that immensely. Sometimes, the two of you would sit silently, listen to the birds sing, or enjoy watching the streams nearby. This is something that the two of you would openly seek later on in the relationship - sometimes with better or worse results. The bogs of Lemoyne were not exactly date-worthy, but you enjoyed the flower fields, the rolling hills, and the mountainside. Sadie was always on the lookout for new locations to show you. It was always a great way to leave camp and spend some alone time.

Sadie actually likes mystery novels and has a bad habit of trying to guess the ending the entire time, or worse, she'll sneak a peak at the end of the book and smile smugly as you were surprised by every twist in the book.

She would NEVER admit it, but she enjoys the occasional romance novel. She never considered herself a romantic person, and she never will. Still, she would be lying to herself if some books didn't remind her of her relationship with Jake…………or the occasional Sapphic "friend" novel reminding her of you. She may or may not borrowed an idea or two from the books to try out on you. Think Cassandra from Dragon Age.

She loves jerky of any type. She used to dry and cure the meat, testing out various mixtures with the different animals that were hunted. She'll buy as much as possible, but it still pales compared to the jerky she's made. She does not understand why people don't appreciate jerky more. It is certainly not a boring food. Modern Au Sadie has a hatred for Whole Foods, but especially finds their jerky selection pretentious.

She's not a particularly religious woman, but she has prayed before for your safety when she felt like there was nothing else that could be done. She hated the helplessness, and at least praying was something, even if it wasn't necessarily meaningful to her.

Favorite fruit is blueberries. She's always loved popping them in her mouth in between picking them from the bushes. Jake used to bake pies with them. She'd be overjoyed if you baked for the two of you………….but she can try if you ask nicely enough.

Loves her harmonica. She is constantly asked to play "Clementine". Usually, it's Jack that asks for it, but she'll play for you……..but prefers you pick a different song.

She will come up with any excuse for you to share her horse. "Your horse looks tired," "You look tired," "My horse is already tacked," "Bob is faster,." "Bob spooks less."

Has a weakness for hats. She is very economical, but if she sees a good hat, she won't hesitate to loot it and dust it off. She has at least four different hats…..so far. It makes it easy for you to pick out a gift for her.

[rheapankow]

Devils in the Details

paring(s): jj x mom!reader

summary: You never liked JJ Maybank. He was arrogant and sometimes rude. To sum it up, trouble. But he was your daughters' surf instructor. The best on the island and only the best for your girls. But what what happens when one of them lets family secrets slip?

warning: abuse, one cuss word

┌──────┐

He rolled his icy blue eyes. "You're a kook, I don't think money is an issue for you babe. I expect it by the end of the morning when you pick them up or else I'm going have to drop them." The woman's heart stopped as she looked to Matilda and Mercy, fear locked in their green eyes.

"I'll get what I can."

"And be here by noon. I'm not a daycare." With that, he ended the discussion and focused on the girls. "Come on girls, let's put some zinc on. I got pink and purple for my two favorite princesses." They cheered and clung to his leg.

If y/n hadn't watched the previous sessions, she would say he hated children and hated his job, but that was the furthest from the truth. The joy in his eyes when he worked with students and seeing them conquer any task. Tilly could go on for hours about how amazing he was. Mercy  on the other hand just stared at him and worshiped the ground he walked on.

The soft eyes filled with tears, losing any last ounce of dignity. There is no way she could get that money. Full kook, yes. Money, no. Not hers at least. Y/n's dreadful husband, Rafe, sat on a pile of it, checking every expense made, berating every choice made for thier kids, leaving everything to him. She had a small sum on the side that was hidden away, but all of that went to Mercy and Tilly. If he could just wait for Rafe to leave, y/n can sneak to the safe to take a little. She sat in her tinted black Escalade, formulating a plan.

The clock on the dash read '10:45am' as the car sat in the driveway of a multimillion dollar home, all thanks to her husband. As terrible as Rafe was, the luxury made up for where he lacked. Was that a selfish thought? Did that make me a terrible person? It didn't matter at this point. Mercy and Till remained at the forefront of y/n's mind. Protecting their innocents from the sins of their father consumed her mind daily.

"Rafe?" Y/n called out. Despite not seeing his car, you couldn't trust the silence. "I'm home." Once scoping at the place, she raced to his office safe located behind the sail boat. Rafe was simple, his passwords simpler. '6969.'

Y/n skimmed a small stack of cash covering enough for next session of lessons, gas, and ice cream for the girls.

"Excuse me miss?" A small elderly voice call from behind.

Her heart sank, praying the maid wouldn't pass on the information. "Oh Claire I didn't know you were here!"

"Mr. Cameron doesn't like people in here."

"I'm his wife, he knows." Y/n prayed a false bravado would be enough to hide the shaking hands.

"Yes ma'am." Once she left, y/n raced backed to the surfing shack with thirty minutes to spare. That's enough time to finish her latest novel. Enough time to escape from Rafe's wrath when he finds out what she did... again.

Y/n was pulled away from reading by the sound of giggles getting closer. "Mom!" Tilly called out as the door opened. "Please tell me you have the money. He's going to tech me how to duck dive and we're going to go even deeper!"

The lady muster up a smile and said she handled it. "Do you mind getting Mercy buckled so I can give it to him?"

Tilly nodded enthusiastically. For only being five, the girls more advanced than the average kindergartener. She's curious, adventurous, and can't forget funny. Mercy on the hand is cautious yet full of wonder and a deep love for her sister. Mercy does what Sadie does and surfing is just that. The joy it brings seeing both girls eager to learn. Next thing y/n knew they are going to be competing against each other.

"Excuse me, JJ?" Y/n's demeanor was timid, scared he might explode at any second.

"You can just put it on the table and head back to figure eight." The comments were not new, but it still shocked y/n. Didn't he know she grew up just right down the road, didn't he understand she had to work ten times harder to be where you are. Too bad JJ only saw two things, money and women.

"Do you even want to work with my kids?" Y/n let out a heavy sigh. "I don't understand why you have this deep rooted disgust towards me?"

"Your kids have more talent in their pinky toe than I did at that age. They are going to go far in surfing. I hope to be the one to teach them. I don't disgust you, I need to make rent and a living. And I hate your husband."

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, be better. I'd hate to have to drop them." Y/n's heart sank even further.

"See you tomorrow." With that, y/n walked out, worried about heading home. By the rate her phone was blowing up, Rafe knew. A storm was coming.

—

Y/n did her best to hide the bruises scattered on her, but nothing compared to the shiner and gash on her cheek. "I slipped in the shower" she told the girls, trying to laugh the abuse off for the sake of saving face. That was the easy part. It's the adults that poke holes in every syllable.

"Mommy, are you going to walk with us?" Tilly shyly asked. Ever since the young girl work up, she's been more soft spoken, always close by.

Y/n looked into her eldest daughter's eyes. The glimmer that once was there was gone. 'Does she sense her mother's pain?' The agony engulfed the young mother. "Anything for you girls." Y/n scooped both girls into her arms and began the short journey. "I think you two are getting a little too old for this. I'm not what I used to be." She teased, ignoring the wounds on her ribs.

"Good morning ladies!" JJ made his way to the small group of three. Mercy was the first to run to JJ and engulfed him in a hug. He gladly accepted it. He loved his job and loved all the kids he instructed, but these girls were his best. They were full of life and joy making every lesson fun; a breathe of fresh air.

Tilly cautiously walked over in an uncharacteristically manner. Her eyes sunken back and darker. JJ tried to signal to y/n but she was hidden behind a sun hat and glasses. "I'll be over in the boneyard reading until is time if that's okay?"

Y/n's body slumped over, hiding her face. A mannerism that JJ did not miss. "You can go run errands like usual or something as long as you are back by noon."

"No, I'd like to be close to my girls." JJ ignorantly dismissed her and took the girls to go get their wet suits.

"How are we doing today?" JJ began engaging in conversation with the girls.

"Mommy made tuna mac!" Mercy excitedly screamed about her dinner.

"Was it delicious?" JJ had now turned his question to Tilly.

"Yes." Her shoulders dropped at the thoughts of last night.

"Anyways let's go stretch and then we can get out on the water. Waves won't last all day."

Throughout the session, JJ kept a closer eye on Tilly. Maybe she was coming down with something. She was adamant on continuing the class, not wanting her daddy's money go to waste. As if Rafe wasn't snorting it up his nose like it grew on trees.

"Mister JJ?" Tilly looked at him. "Are you safe?"

The instructor got on a knee to look her in the eyes. "What's up, t?"

"Teacher at school says to talk to someone safe if you need help." JJ glanced at Mercy who was building a sand castle during the break, then back at the older child.

"I am safe, but have you talked to your mommy about it?" He didn't want to overstep his job title, but also didn't want the girls to not trust him.

"I can't." He gently grabbed her hand to encourage her to speak. "Mommy lied to me."

JJ wanted to chuckle but Tilly's eyes showed immense depth of hurt and betrayal. "What makes you say that."

"She says she slipped in the shower, but last night I heard daddy say something mean to mommy. And when I went to go check on her she was sleeping on the floor and had blood on her face." JJ's eyes widened, not wanting to jump to conclusions. "I think daddy hurt mommy. He always hurts mommy."

JJ understood being in Tilly's shoes, but where does he go from here? Should he call cps and watch the family be torn apart? Or should he confront y/n about it? All he knew is he couldn't not do anything. "Would it help if I talk to mommy about it?"

"I don't want her to get sad. I didn't know who else to tell." Tears began streaming down her face. "Help please." The girls sobs reminded him of his own, each cry more heart shattering than the last as she collapsed into his arms. "I'm scared."

JJ did his best to calm the child, but he knew the last ten minutes were going to be less productive and more play. "How about you stay here and play with mister John B and mercy while I go make sure mommy is alright? How does that sound?"

She nodded, slipping out of his arms back to the sand. "Bird, you got them for a second? I need to talk to y/n for a bit." He nodded confused but took charge. Having a kid of own, John B has become great with kids, all those dad tricks.

Y/n leaned perched up against a tree, nose tucked into a book. The sound of the blonde headed man snapped her back to reality. "Y/n?"

"Oh is the session over already? I guess my mind has been somewhere else." Every movement was curated perfectly, shielding her face from his gaze.

"We ended a little early. I, um, wanted to talk to you about Tilly." He stumbled over his words. The last thing JJ wanted to do was make her feel unsafe. How many times has he made comments about how perfect her life was? How many days has he treated her with contempt all because she had what he didn't. Maybe their story has more in common than he thought. 

Y/n was worried about what Tilly said, the young girl is incredibly smart and picks up on everything. What if she-

"Y/n. Please look at me?" JJ's typical cold tone was warm and comforting, something so pure and trusting. As she looked up, her glasses shifted allowing a clear view of her face. Something else JJ didn't miss, something he never imagined.

Hues of blue and black littered her skin. A deep cut ran along the bone. JJ let out a gasp. "Y/n."

"Don't. Just leave it alone." Her voice shook.

"Tilly told me she went to check on you and you were passed out." Y/n's heart stopped. “That didn’t happen. Kids make up stories all the time. Over active imagination.”

“Y/n.”

“I slipped in the shower. I’m fine.” The desperation to believe the lie was evident. “I’m okay, really I’m-”

JJ’s voice became softer than before. “Y/n, please.”

“No, I-” The levy broke through the cracks. Tears began pouring down her sun kissed cheeks.”

For the second time that morning, JJ held another human in his arms. “It’s going to be okay.” He reassured her the best he could. “You��re not alone.”

Once the storm blue over, the lady composed her self. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“I’ve been where Tilly and Mercy have been, except my mom had enough sense to get out, not enough sense to take me with her. I don’t want the girls to be collateral damage.” He leaned in close with a soft smile. “Don’t tell anyone, but I have a soft spot for kids. Especially ones as sweet as yours.”

“They are pretty great.” Y/n took a deep breath. “Did you turn out alright.”

JJ chuckled. “Oh fuck no. She tried to smile, but feared for the future too much.

“I don’t know what to do. They love their dad. I can’t just take them and go. Rafe has all the money. I have a little from teaching, but it’s for the girls. Everything I do is for them, but it wouldn’t be enough for us.” JJ felt the guilt rest on his shoulders. He couldn’t wait one more day for her to get the money, she probably had to sneak money away. Now she’s beaten, bruised, and broken. It’s his job to fix it.

“So let’s come up with a plan. You open a separate bank account, find a better teaching gig or pick up tutoring, prove to yourself you can do it. Then when you feel steady enough, find a place and make an escape plan.”

“Easier said than done.”

JJ nodded. “I know I haven’t been the friendliest person, but I’m here to support you now if you’ll let me. It’s not easy, but I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through. If I can help it.”

Y/n looked deep into his eyes for the first time. “I’m not sure if I want to do this.”

“For Tilly and Mercy.” JJ offered his hand to help her up. “One day at a time.”

“Yea something like that.”

JJ and y/n walked back. The seasons were changing, a new tide was coming. “Change isn’t easy, but you’re going to get out.”

With that, everyone went their separate ways. One day at a time.

└──────┘

A/n: part 2??? Feedback would be so appreciated:) - Rhea

Tag list: @multifandomwhore-003

[authorsadiethatcher]

I love summer, but May is my favorite month. Why? Because it's my birthday month. And I chose the picture to go along with this month's State of the Thatcher Address because my favorite color is blue. If you've paid attention to my covers, you've probably noticed that. There's a lot of blue outfits.

April was filled with family obligations, travel, and some medical stuff. I still got lots of writing done, for both of my pen names, but it was not just a work month for me. May will definitely have more words get written as I have deadlines approaching.

I'll talk about May's writing a little further down, but this month should be a good one. And the current weather forecast has the rain giving way to warm temperatures and sun just in time for my birthday. I can't complain about that.

A quick reminder that you can find my books on Amazon, Smashwords, Google Play Books, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Everand. You can also read everything I’ve published under my Sadie Thatcher name since last May on Ream, which is a subscription platform built specifically for authors. You can check out my Ream page below.

Ream: https://reamstories.com/sadiethatcher

And speaking of Ream, I have a Ream exclusive novel called The Muse (extreme dollification) that is now complete. I’ve made the first three chapters available for free. All you have to do is sign up as a follower at the link above to get a taste of my first real story that is too extreme for Amazon.

I also post the occasional bit of flash fiction for followers on Ream. I have one up already and plan to post another one this week. As soon as I'm inspired, I'll add a new mini-story to Ream.

On the Libby Feron front, my fantasy writing is going decently well. I'm working on a series of novellas or short novels that was initially inspired by the pirate attack on Port Royal in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. But on top of that, I'm also got an idea for a time travel fantasy novel percolating in my head. More on that another time. However, since I don’t talk about my fantasy writing often, checking out https://libbyferon.com/ and signing up for the email newsletter is the best way to stay informed. At some point, there will be a free novella offered.

Now it’s time to talk about what to expect this month. First, I've already released the first book in the His Dreams Series. This is the first time I've written specifically from the male perspective for an entire story. The entire series will be like this.

I also have one last book left in The Secret Series. I plan to finish writing it today and will be submitting it for publishing May 3.

And then there's the new content. I have two new series that will begin to appear in the middle and then the latter part of the month. First is an alien hucow story. A town will be taken over by aliens and the population turned into livestock for the aliens. I'm not sure of all the details yet, but I'm excited to write it.

Finally, there's a series idea I've had for a while that I'm looking forward to. It's been documented that if a male dominated workplace has a single woman, nothing will really change. Instead, the woman is far more likely to conform to the male points of view, playing along so that she can be one of the boys. While the reality of that is unfortunate, it makes for a good setup for a bimbo story, which I'm calling Tokenized, at least for now. All titles and ideas are subject to change with my whims and muse.

So that about does it. You can also hopefully expect a fantasy novella from me as Libby Feron at the end of the month called A Throne of Bones. What a month this will be.

[crowleywowley]

hai….i’m back….here to give more modern (plus some general) hcs!! :3

⭑i like to think of john and abi as highschool sweethearts :) But they were pretty on and off, so everyone was surprised when they made it to senior prom (john wore those tuxedo t-shirts)and eventually graduation! they got pregnant with jack a few months after graduating

⭑when it’s time for spring cleaning, DUTCH IS THE LOUDEST MF IN THE HOUSE. he’s blasting the 70s music, waking up everyone in the house very loudly announcing that it’s spring cleaning day…poor hosea, john, and arthur

⭑i like to think charles makes these super pretty bracelets and sells them online :3 some of the gang members got some! they’re very meticulously crafted and he takes pride in his art!

⭑Karen is def a crazy cat lady. She has FOUR OF THEM!!! She’d give three of the cats really pretty names but let Sean name her most recent one…in which he named the poor cat “napkin” 💀

⭑Dutch and Hosea have an unreal amount of hawaiian pattern shirts..it’s crazy. hosea wears them in the spring and summer but dutch wears them year round

⭑For some reason, it’s tradition on Arthur’s birthday to go to Texas Roadhouse (I know he’d FUCK UP that bread they give as appetizers). He usually has his family, an s/o, and a couple friends there :)

⭑Speaking of fucking up rolls…I think Artie in general would just have a guilty soft spot to sweets. His s/o would come back with those rolls or just any pastry or candy and arthur will feel so special and spoiled! He’ll also do the same thing for them in return :) (Or just any kinda fave food they like)

⭑Lenny was a SUPER smart kid in school. I like to think in the modern au he just graduated outta highschool, but he got all of these scholarships and awards for being such a smart kid. He’d def major in some sort of writing or literacy thing in college

⭑Sadie can and will destroy anyone at those bull riding things at restaurants. she’s got a plaque of her name on it at a restaurant she won at!

⭑This is more of a general one, but seeing Arthur and John compared to eachother is so funny…Arthur is like this big bear while John is skinny and dorito shaped

⭑It’s also funny seeing the heights of the vandermatthews (name still in progress) family. From shortest to tallest it goes Dutch (5’8”…short dutch all the way), Hosea (5’10”), John (5’11”), and Arthur (6’2”)

⭑One time John borrowed Dutch’s laptop and clicked on a weird website, giving the laptop a virus. John was grounded for a few days and Arthur didn’t stop teasing him about it

OKAY!!! that’s all i have rn ^^ i think i might be saying too many hcs but i love making them…they’re too fun!! (sorry for showing my arthur favoritism again sighhhh 😭😭)

So sorry it took me several days to get to this, real life has had me busy 😔 but I’m here now and EEEEEEEE so fun and silly!!!!

-I’ve also always seen John and Abi as a high school sweethearts type of thing, I think they broke up and got back together so many times in that immature high school way until like senior year when they just stayed together

-Dutch is that one vine where the guy was dancing to Morning Train by Sheena Easton

-crying real tears rn imagining Charles crafting stuff for his pals🥹🥹🥹🥹 I could see him eventually getting into bigger crafts too

-Listen I’m gonna defend Sean bc I just KNOW that napkin the cat fits her namesake so well. It’s one of those skrunkly white kittens

-Arthur having a sweet tooth is canon in my heart sorry ladies, I think he’d enjoy baking goodies for his friends/partners bc he’s suchhhhh an acts of service/gift giver love language kinda guy

-I think Lenny was just one of those kids in high school that everyone loved. He was nice to everyone and genuinely really smart, sorry haters but he definitely got voted prom king or something. As he should!!!!!!

-Sadie drives a cool truck but not in a douchebag way, like that woman is hauling shit AROUND!!!!!!!!

These are all so fun and so silly! It’s been a rough week so I genuinely enjoyed getting to read these :) yall please never hesitate to blow up my inbox with thoughts like these!!

[verdemoun]

Hiii been a minute since I asked something. I know Mary Beth didnt timewarp (it makes me both happy and sad 😞) but if she did what would it be like (I'm very interested in how she and Jack would interact. Pls pls pls)

Okay iiiiif Mary-Beth timewarped:

Mary-Beth was murdered by a stalker following the success of her novel mere weeks after John saw her in Saint Denis. In this AU, this stalker would later be the bounty that successfully got the one-up and murdered Sadie Adler, too, who was in a recklessly blind rage trying to avenge one of the woman who had supported her following the death of her husband.

Mary-Beth was obviously traumatized by this experience, clinging onto Arthur in tears when he was there ready to pick her up. Being a well renowned author already in 1907, she was easy to locate. She originally stayed with Arthur due to him having the spare room, but despite loving the space and generally what a nice house it was she realized she couldn't handle being alone after the experience. She moved in with Hosea, Bessie, and of course, Kieran (later, Javier too).

Mary-Beth was truly had symptoms of agoraphobia, including severe monophobia. She had to be with at least one other person or she would get panicky, even if she knew others were in the house but not in the same room. Even with others, she struggled to leave the house.

But she was lucky in that being around a group was exactly what she needed. She had, privately, gone through a very similar thing when she left the gang: learning to be alone again and coping with that anxiety. Being with the VDLs was one of the only times if her life she felt safe, and being with the gang again was a balm for her soul.

Shout-out to her and Kieran just besties. Autism be damned my boy felt a debt needed to be repaid. Mary-Beth was his best friend and closest thing he had to an ally in canon era, and if she was hurting he was going to be there for her. They were joined at the hip and some of the glares Kieran would give people when Mary-Beth needed space really reminded them he was as much an outlaw as them once upon a time. Femme-nb solidarity they share clothes.

Predictably she becomes an ao3 queen, secretly writing sequels to her own novels. She also earns a tidy living writing dime-store erotica, which she reads aloud to Kieran to proofread. Hosea and Bessie both sit at the kitchen table drinking their coffee very slowly when she's proof-reading because - well she's a damn good writer.

At first Jack is a little bit intimidated because 'holy shit since when was Mary-Beth Leslie Dupont what do you mean an aunt I don't remember is the Leslie Dupont'. You meet one of your favorite authors only for them to laugh, affectionately say they haven't seen you since you were thiiiiis tall, that they remember changing your diapers, only to then enthusiastically ask to see your writing the second your pain-in-the-ass well meaning cousin drops that you write too.

After getting over a lot of his own awkwardness and other assorted issues, Jack will go to Hosea's because really all his favorite people are there. Hosea might be his papa and go-to for new book series he's obsessed with, or really anything he's reading, but he loves sneaking looks at whatever Mary-Beth's writing and sometimes very rarely sheepishly asking her to read his stuff which makes her whole face light up in the most overdramatic gasp yes of course imaginable.

He also does not know he sits there like an excited puppy waiting for her reactions and comments because she is so positive and supportive of his writing and poor boy craves validation. It could be red hot garbage and she would still give him an essay of what she loved about it before gently making corrections.

They are losers your honor Jack and Mary-Beth sitting in Hosea and Bessie's chairs respectively in the reading room parallel play style both frantically writing and teasing each other with spoilers.

[blairwick]

Things about my OCs! Still contemplating if I should make another one 😆

Sylvan had a phase as a child when he loved knights, to which, he still does since the London Continental has so much swords on display.

if Sadie would have stayed as a normal person with no ties to the underworld, she would have been an opera singer.

Sylvan is asexual. Though, he doesn’t mind sex. But rather, he just sees it as another way to deeply bond with someone. (But he sees no use for it.)

Sadie looks up to many people that she’s grown close to. But she also looks up to some people that she hates, always seeing the positive things about them.

Sylvan believes in anyone can have good in them, and sees everyone and everything as something more complex - like machinery.

Both see life romantically!

Sadie’s favorite song is Here, There, and Everywhere by the Beatles.

Sylvan isn’t quick to hate, and does his best to understand anyone.

Sadie comes off as a mean person, but just looks that way - she ends up being really nice! 🤍

Sylvan is a certified woman lover!