#tess-studies

[lizzybizzyart]

What about the kid?

ellie williams i would also die for you

[tessaservopoulos]

#TESSJOEL: trust me, i can handle me a dangerous man

[indilaras]

No thoughts, head empty, only Tess (started as a warm up sketch and now she's here)

ID: a drawing of Tess from Aurora, with a white frame and a dark background. She is smiling, and she has one hand on her hip.

[apfelhalm]

Memoria certainly is the episode of all time, but Mayday still gives me chills the second time around.

[cravingstudyvalidation]

I promise I'll go to sleep after this shitpost

MY SKL JUST SENT US A NEW TIMETABLE AND CHEMISTRY IS FOR THE FIRST 90 MINS😭😭😭

[mariatesstruther]

spn x tlou au!

in which joel and tommy miller are notorious born and raised hunters. on their way to visit sarah at college, they come across a nasty pack of vampires in jackson. their first night there, they go out to a local bar for drinks and meet tess and maria, co-owners and longtime locals. they flirt shamelessly with them ask them questions about the weird shit going around town to get more information about the coven and end up staying until closing, making better conversation than either of them have had in years

the next night, right smack-dab in the middle of a vampire fight, the same two ladies show up and, frankly, save their entire asses. turns out maria and tess have been hunters for just about ten years, and they had this case handled before these two boneheads had to butt-in and fuck things up. now they all have to work together to take down a big-ass vampire coven who, previously, had no idea that tess and maria were even onto them, so. thanks for that, goddamn fuckin’ millers

[incorrectsibunaquotes]

i’m taking a class on horror films through a queer lens and today we covered a theory called ‘infiltration anxiety’ and how secret societies are often stand-ins for queer people because “how are you supposed to tell who’s part of this hidden ‘other’ group when they look and act like everyone else?”

i think unsurprisingly this infiltration anxiety (and subsequent potential for queer reading) can be applied to s1 and s3 of hoa respectively— more so than s2 for obvious reasons.

in many horror films throughout history, the secret society preys on impressionable youths, whether to influence or harm them. this impact is most obvious in three student characters in hoa s1: joy, patricia, and jerome. oftentimes in horror films, these societies (often queer coded) target teens who are either loners or have missing parental figures. all of them are students at a boarding school so no parents, and while joy’s dad is present, he’s still a central point in the society.

and, as we know, secret societies are often queer coded. who are our main players in the s1 secret society/society adjacent group? victor, rufus, and mr. sweet. now, idk about y’all, but… do i have to say it? 💅🏻 okay, in case it’s not clear, these three characters in particular are queercoded in some way, shape, or form. at the very least they’re all bi. and they all prey on teenagers in some way, shape, or form— whether through gaslighting, grooming, or, more often than not in the case of the hoa adults, both. joy and patricia were essentially groomed and gaslit by the society and rufus respectively, and jerome was definitely exploited, which is a lot of what anti-gay propaganda claimed was happening to children because of the existence of secret society type groups in the mid-20th century.

(i want to be clear that especially in the horror genre, a lot of queer coding is inherently homophobic to get around the production code that was put in place to combat “perversion and depravity” in film, so while equating homosexuality with predatory behavior is obviously not good, it’s still filed under a “queer reading”)

now, in s3, it’s a more traditional sense of infiltration anxiety. this is applicable to a horror films like invasion of the body snatchers or in lots of vampire movies. there’s also the inclusion of a curing trope, but i’ll get back to that.

in s3b, the sinners (the name alone gives me enough fuel for a traditional horror queer theory reading, but i digress) operate as a sort of secret society in and of itself. my professor literally used the words “they walk among us” in reference to the pervasive fear in the 50s and 60s in america about both communists and queer people. and i don’t have to talk about how queercoded robert frobisher-smythe is, do i? i mean…

anyway, if we’re looking at this all as a metaphor, we once again get that homophobic read on infiltration anxiety. here’s a queercoded man/monster preying on children and recruiting them to also be queercoded monsters preying on children. it’s an old and potentially problematic trope if we look at it through horror film queer theory.

now, let’s look specifically at the dynamic between sibuna at this point, because they best represent the “discovery plot” often used in horror films that feature infiltration anxiety:

straight couple who discover a thing: obviously it’s the whole club who discovers that frobisher is on the hunt, but two of them are paired off so they count.

they are aware the thing is there and dangerous and they’re trying to convince other people of that: more specifically applicable to kt trying to convince sibuna that she’s been set up by patricia.

the couple (or group) is not believed until it’s too late: fabian learns the truth and immediately gets picked off

the female character in the couple is in danger from the thing (may also succumb to the threat): patricia (or arguably kt but in a different context)

the hero discovers the thing’s achilles heel and exploits the weakness to destroy the monster: eddie & co vs team evil smack down

If we look at this through a queer lens, particularly point four stands out, especially in the context of s3b and sinner!patricia’s behavior with kt and eddie separately. the female protagonist is in danger/harmed by the thing and has succumbed to its influence, thus infiltrating the good group. her behavior with kt is physical and obsessive, and as i’ve pointed out before… can be read homoerotically. on the flip side, her behavior with eddie is a pageantry of straightness— she is acting as the “perfect straight girl” should with her boyfriend, only to further her evil agenda.

the curing trope was often used in queercoded horror films to overcome the evil, aka curing the monster of its queerness. that might be a religious curing or it may be a straight curing, like in the nightmare on elm street sequel where freddy is defeated bc the girlfriend of the queercoded boy he possessed kisses him and he melts back into her boyfriend. ring any bells for s3?

once the evil (queerness) has been eradicated, everything returns to normal (heteronormativity)

both these s1/s3 instances of horror tropes are very interesting… and potentially products of a problematic production code chic

[gramarye]

u can separate the casual judai fans from the REAL judyheads by how they characterize his adhd sauced up quirkiness . real judyheads know hes actually particular about hygiene and also his hairstyle in the anime, hes NOT messy like that.. hes like. messy in the sense of being unaware of/not caring about social conventions that much and having terminal Can't Sit Still and Forgor disease but he's not messy like THAT!! he makes fun of manjoume for being Stinky and not washing his clothes and in one of the season 1(i think? could be early s2) eps one of his duels is about to be broadcast and he's fussing about combing his hair and washing his face and looking good for TV.

it is actually pretty endearing in the sense that ok..that's not even his bedhead he just does want it to look like that daily. that hairstyle? funny. this is also all in jest btw i just think it's easy to have misconceptions about his character but his disorderliness does Not manifest in lack of hygiene or care for his looks... its just like. everything else. at least before s4, after his depression might make him not gaf as much as before but i digress

[worstloki]

Ooh, Crying Over Constellations for the fic ask? 👀

Well since that one has a wholesome version and a dark version and the dark one is the newer one, I'll go with that. There's a reason I have decided to leave this fic to sit for a while XD

-> Loki has no interest in sex, and Tess knows this but does expect it eventually, despite assuring Loki on the matter. He’s big on consent though so waits. In this fic Tess can sense Loki's seidr, which is like a dead giveaway to how Loki feels at any given time. If Loki's happy it's vibrant, if he's afraid it recoils, and so on. Tess keeps prodding at boundaries of what he's comfortable with and justifying that Loki is lying when he says he hates/dislikes things by coming up with his own seidr explanations for why he secretly doesn't. Loki doesn't know that there is a thing his seidr does! What it does separate to himself, as much as it's a mirror, and he can't even see it normally! So he doesn't know Tess knew every single time he did something that made him twitchy! He assumes it's a harmless accident and Tess couldn't have known better! Every single time! Tess is a friend, more than that even, and wouldn't take advantage of him or try to cause harm on purpose. That's ridiculous. Thor's words on the subject must be getting to him to make him think such a thing.

-> The Moment in this one comes when this is all revealed - with Tess accusing that if he hated it all so much/if what he claims his thoughts are were true that he'd be hurting through it. He would be hurting right now. Loki realizes what's been going on.

[lunawish]

tag drop part 3

S. ADAMS FOSTER : inchara. S. ADAMS FOSTER : images. S. ADAMS FOSTER : study. S. ADAMS FOSTER : hc. S. ADAMS FOSTER : rel. lena adams foster. S. ADAMS FOSTER : rel. callie adams foster. S. ADAMS FOSTER : rel. mariana adams foster. S. ADAMS FOSTER : rel. jesus adams foster. S. ADAMS FOSTER : rel. jude adams foster. S. ADAMS FOSTER : rel. brandon foster. S. ADAMS FOSTER : rel. mike foster. S. ADAMS FOSTER : rel. sharon elkin. S. ADAMS FOSTER : rel. frank cooper. S. ADAMS FOSTER : rel. tess bayfield.

P. GELLER : inchara. P. GELLER : images. P. GELLER : study. P. GELLER : hc. P. GELLER : rel. rory gilmore. P. GELLER : rel. lorelai gilmore.

A. MONTGOMERY : inchara. A. MONTGOMERY : images. A. MONTGOMERY : study. A. MONTGOMERY : hc. A. MONTGOMERY : rel. lauren bloom. A. MONTGOMERY : rel. remy hadley. A. MONTGOMERY : rel. mellie grant. A. MONTGOMERY : rel. mark sloan. A. MONTGOMERY : rel. derek shepherd. A. MONTGOMERY : rel. meredith grey. A. MONTGOMERY : rel. callie torres. A. MONTGOMERY : rel. jake reilly. A. MONTGOMERY : rel. henry montgomery. A. MONTGOMERY : rel. amelia shepherd. A. MONTGOMERY : rel. charlotte king. A. MONTGOMERY : rel. alex karev.

A. ROBBINS : inchara. A. ROBBINS : images. A. ROBBINS : study. A. ROBBINS : hc. A. ROBBINS : rel. callie torres. A. ROBBINS : rel. eliza minnick. A. ROBBINS : rel. carina deluca. A. ROBBINS : rel. teddy altman. A. ROBBINS : rel. amelia shepherd. A. ROBBINS : rel. mark sloan. A. ROBBINS : rel. sophia robbin sloan torres.

C. YANG : inchara. C. YANG : images. C. YANG : study. C. YANG : hc. C. YANG : rel. meredith grey. C. YANG : rel. teddy altman. C. YANG : rel. MAGIC.

[cravingstudyvalidation]

tbh this is the longest I've studied math since igcses. quite proud of myself, my brain cells are absolutely drained.going to sleep early for once hehehe

[stormyoceans]

I'm biased bc of bad buddy withdrawal but ugh I wish we got more of actual tess and tun like wtf happened when they switched back and found their lives totally sorted out. Esp Tess who was lowkey such a mess. Did he feel any guilt for ruining Talay's life while he was there?? And omg Friend Credits being so confused as to why thier friends went from stupidly sappy to super cold towards each other... I have so many qs (what if I wrote a fic......)

this is probably a VERY unpopular opinion, but i have to admit that i've never really felt the need for the show to explore tess and tun's of the story, probably because i don't have many positive feelings towards tess ;;;;;;

i definitely understand the appeal of it tho!!!! vice versa is very much puen and talay's story, and because the show follows their journey through the two universes, it means that a lot of storylines in the alternate one remain open (not only tess and tun's, but also aou and fuse's, dol's, pang's....). for some people this lack of definitive closure for all the characters is a flaw, which is definitely valid!!!! but i think it makes perfect sense within the narrative of the show, and i like that it leaves the viewers with so much love and curiosity for these characters that you want to know what happens to them even if they weren't the main ones

we have so much creative freedom left, and not because of bad writing, but because the show actually gave that to us and let each of us imagine the future we prefer for these characters. for example, even if i don't particularly like tess, i do like to think that eventually he's gonna see the error of his ways and change for the better, especially after seeing how much talay has done to improve tess' life and the lives of everyone around him. i also love the idea of tess and tun using a breakup as an excuse to explain their sudden cold behavior towards each other, and then slowly learning about the past two years and about this new person they have become in everyone else's eyes, until they're slowly pulled back together by what they went through and eventually learn to be friends and then maybe more

but yeah all this nonsense is to say, i understand the frustration of not having sure answers, but also you have the power to end this part of the story however you want!!!!! you can actually find your own answers!!!!! SO PLEASE WRITE THAT FIC!!!!! I WILL BE SITTING HERE SUPPORTING YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!!!!!!

[rise-my-angel]

.

[entitled-fangirl]

Two idiots in love.

Joel Miller x anemic!reader

Summary: Ellie notices the two lovebirds, and decides to ask Joel about it after the reader falls asleep.

Words: 1,584

Warnings: talk of death, anemia, mutual pining, cursing, Ellie being a shithead as always...

Author's note: The way I write about this man all day long but none of the fics go together 😦

Part 2!!!

Masterlist

.......................................................................................

Joel decided to set up camp for the night, only outside of Boston by 10 miles.

Tess had just died, and things were still tender between Joel, Y/N, and Ellie.

Tess was Y/N’s older sister, and she looked up to her more than anyone.

And so did Joel.

Tess was their rock. Their steady hand in hard times. And she was gone.

But at least Joel and Y/N had each other.

They had been in an awkward “Are they? Aren’t they?” Situation for the past two years. 

They liked each other, that much was clear by the stolen glances and small smiles they gave one another. But they hesitated. 

They didn’t want to invest too much in each other just to watch the other die in front of them.

So, they remained friends.

Friends that like each other a lot.

And Ellie noticed it too.

She saw the way the two “friends” would share food. His hand was always placed on her waist or shoulder. Her eyes always flickered to him in a situation. 

She knew they loved each other.

Y/N sat her pack down, her body sore. She sat down, leaning back against the trunk of a tree.

Joel immediately took notice of her exhausted behavior, “Hey.”

She looked up, her voice soft, “…what?”

He kneels down next to her, “…you alright? Not… hurt or nothing?”

She pulls up her sleeve, revealing a nasty bruised where an infected had grabbed her.

He immediately pulled her arm in front of him, studying it.

“I’m fine…really. Just a bruise….”

His thumb grazes over her forearm lightly, his mind wandering a million miles an hour.

But that mind stilled when she spoke again, “…you alright, Joel?”

He nods, “Yeah. Fine.”

She takes that as an answer, studying the frown lines in his face with a smile of her own. She couldn’t help but like the older man. How kind he was to her. The caring touch he always gave her. She always felt her heart jump when he’d give her a soft look after practically murdering someone in front of her. In a way, it was… sweet.

Ellie had a shit eating grin on her face, watching the exchange with a careful eye.

If Joel noticed, he didn’t care enough to comment, his worry focused on the woman in front of him. “You take your meds?”

She sighed, her shoulders falling slightly, “…no.”

His eyes hardened, “Take them.”

A small smile came to her lips, “…Joel…”

“I fucking mean it. Take them. Now.”

Her smile fell, realizing how serious he had become. Her eyes watched the micro-expressions in his face change too.

She pushed herself up slightly with a huff. She pulled her pack to her, flipping the top up with a bit of an attitude. She dug around for a while. Finally, she found them, pulling out the orange pill bottle with a content sigh. 

Joel reached back, pulling out his canteen, handing it to her. “Go on…”

She took the pills, taking a drink from his canteen and handing it back to him. 

He smiled, “Good girl.”

And with that, he stood, going to check the perimeter.

Ellie watched him walk away, her eyebrows furrowing. She stood up, walking closer to Y/N. She then kneeled down, not much differently than Joel had. “What, uh… what was that?”

The woman scoffed softly, “…you’ve never heard of medication before?”

Ellie rolled her eyes, “No. I know what that is. I meant… you two. Like… what… I don’t know… what are you two?”

The woman looked up at the sunset. Or, at least, what she could see over the trees. She sighed, “I don’t know, El. Don’t ask things that there’s no answer to.”

Ellie huffed, moving back to her previous spot.

…

A few hours later, when the sun was long gone, the three of them sat around a small fire. Ellie sat across from Joel and Y/N, occasionally looking over at them.

Y/N’s eyelids were slightly drooping. They had been like that since they stopped for the day. It seemed that she couldn’t keep herself awake. 

And Joel noticed. Of course, he did. 

So, he let her lean against him, her head resting on his shoulder. 

He leaned his head down, his mouth in her hair, “Wanna sleep, sweetheart?”

Her grip tightened on his arm just slightly, “no… I… I’m fine… I’m awake…”

Joel chuckled. “Nah, honey. Go to sleep. Ellie and I will watch, right?”

Ellie’s head perked up and she nodded quickly. 

Y/N seemed to take that for an answer, slowly beginning to move to set up her sleeping bag. 

Joel grabbed her wrist, “Hey. Just… stay here, yeah?”

She turned to look at him, her eyebrows coming together in confusion. But the confusion didn’t outweigh the exhaustion, because she quickly nodded and moved back.

She leaned against his shoulder once again, feeling his arm snake around her waist to hold her against him. 

“Just sleep. I gotcha, darlin’.” 

She let her eyes close, the sleep calling to her.

A silence resounded through the forest, only the cricket’s chirping being heard.

Joel held her close, relishing in the feeling it gave him to know she was there. Safe in his arms. He could see her resting next to him, her chest moving up and down with each breath.

He lightly kissed the top of her head.

It seemed only then he remembered Ellie’s presence, because his gaze shifted her her. 

She had a large smirk on her face, her eyebrows raised.

Joel scoffed, “Oh, shut up.”

“I didn’t say nothing.”

“You said enough.”

She laughs to herself, going back to staring at the fire. 

Y/N shivered lightly, her body temperature dropping. 

Joel immediately shrugged off his jacket, moving her in his arms to wrap it around her. 

It woke her up, just barely, as she began to mumble. “No… don’t… I… I’m not cold...”

He wrapped her in it, pulling her further into his arms, trying to transfer some of his heat to her. 

“…Joel…”

He leaned his head down, “It’s alright… I wanted to… Let me look after you. Please, sweetheart.”

A soft breath left her lungs as she relaxed again, presumably falling back asleep.

Ellie studied the transaction, curious about something. 

Joel rolled his eyes, “What now?”

Ellie continued to stare at the woman, “What’s wrong with her?”

Joel’s jaw clenched. “There’s nothing wrong with her. She just… has a harder time than most.”

“...Well, that was vague as fuck.”

“Ellie… Goddammit. Just… ugh.”

“...Well…?”

Joel sighed, “…it’s anemia. She’s anemic.”

Ellie stared at the fire, thinking, “I don’t…”

“It’s a blood disease.”

Her mouth formed a small ‘o,’ her eyes moving back to him. He took this as a sign to continue. 

“The body needs oxygen. And a lot of it. There are these… carriers, I guess you could say, and they carry the oxygen through the bloodstream to different organs. They’re called blood cells.”

Ellie nodded, trying to follow along.

“Well, she doesn’t make enough of them. Her body doesn’t get enough oxygen. Makes her tired… and… whatnot…”

“So, that’s what her medicine is for?”

Joel nodded. “Hard to come by but… better than nothing.”

Ellie gulped. “And… when she doesn’t have any more?”

Joel's gaze hardened. “She has enough for the trip, alright. This is the most strenuous thing I’ll ever make her do,” his hand rubs across his face, “…fuck..” He sighed under his breath.

“So… it makes her tired and…what?”

Joel looks back up at her, “…dizzy, nauseous… she passes out sometimes, but… it’s rare. Out of breath… she’s having a harder time right now because… well.. you know…”

Ellie’s stare was blank, “…how the fuck do I know?”

Joel sighed again, his voice slightly raised, “Goddammit. Her… time of the month…”

“Oh. She’s on her period?” Ellie said with a smirk.

“Yeah. Yeah. So… even more less blood to go around… so… we’ll take it easy the next few days… give her a break.”

Ellie nods. Silence sets in before...

“You love her, don’t you?”

Joel’s head perks up, a surprised look on his face. “…What? No, I don’t…”

“Yeah you do.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Look at yourself, Joel.”

Joel looked down. His arm was wrapped around her waist, the other arm rubbing up and down her leg to create heat. He let out a grunt, “This is why I don’t fucking tell you things.”

Ellie scoffed, “You didn’t fucking say it. I’m looking at it, idiot.”

“Go the fuck to bed.”

“Wow. Just... wow. Way to be an adult, Joel. Real mature.”

“Goodnight.”

…

Y/N woke up a little while later to Joel moving her in his arms. She shifted, her eyes starting to open.

“Shh…. Go back to bed, baby," Joel whispered in her ear, "Just… go back to sleep for me.”

She was laying in Joel’s sleeping bag with him, his arms wrapped around her tightly, her head resting on his chest.

She hummed, “mmm… but…”

She could feel his smile, “None of that. Sleep, sweetheart. I’ll be here when you wake up. I always am.”

…

Surprisingly, Ellie was the first one to wake up that morning. She sat up, craning her neck to check for her companions.

And God, she wished she had a camera.

The two were wrapped in each other’s embrace, Joel’s soft snores echoing.

They were just two fucking idiots in love.

And Ellie made it her mission to get them together by the end of the trip.

.................................................................

Author's note: I made a part 2!!!

[ekingston]

A chef!AU, maybe? In any case, a story in which Kara and Lena meet through one of them preparing/serving/etc food for the other and build their relationship based on that.

(also on ao3.)

“I’m telling you, Alex. It’s her.”

At three pm on a Tuesday their restaurant is characteristically dead, save for the one lone customer Kara is spying on from behind the kitchen doors. The woman is perched, a little perilously, on a barstool at the counter. It’s the one that’s closest to their register, the one with the wobbly leg that Alex keeps telling Kara to fix. One of her red-soled heels is dangling from an impatiently bouncing left foot.

“This is the fourth time this week she’s come in here,” Kara says. “You don’t think that’s just a little bit suspicious?”

Alex shrugs, fully committed to her task of mincing onions. “Maybe she’s just a big fan of Italian food.”

“No way,” Kara says. “No woman who looks like that would put something in her mouth that wasn’t clearly marked gluten-free and vegan. Give me your phone.”

Alex rolls her eyes dramatically as she elbows it over. “Tell me again how you’re totally over Siobhan.”

“Oral sex isn’t a moral issue!” Kara takes a decisive breath while she unlocks her sister’s phone with practiced ease. “Whatever. Water under the bridge.”

“Uh-huh.”

“A love for pasta also doesn't explain why I heard this woman answer a call yesterday with a different name than the one that’s on her credit card,” Kara points out, before snapping a quick picture through the porthole window.

“Okay, now you’re being creepy,” Alex says.

“Shut up,” Kara tells her. “I’m texting Winn.”

Kara eyes the woman at the counter while she waits for his reply. The subject of her suspicion—Lena, she’d called herself on the phone; Tess Mercer, it had said on her mastercard—twists a soft-looking lock of dark hair around her finger as she studies their menu. The way the sunlight sets it ablaze almost makes Kara take a second picture, purely for its artistic merit.

Alex dabs at her onion-induced tears with the cuff of her sleeve. “Let it go, Kara,” she sighs.

“Let it go? Let it—” Kara whirls back to face her, throwing her hands up in frustration. “Do you want The Tower to end up like Winn and James’ steakhouse? Or are you fine with getting swindled by this—this… villain?”

“Of course not.” Alex looks at her like she’s stupid. “But even if this woman is your so-called ‘food influencer’, what do you suggest we do about it? It’s not as if we can bully her into giving us a fair review.”

Kara squares her jaw and sets her fists firmly on her hips. “No,” she declares, her tone grim. “But we can teach her a little about journalistic integrity.” She blows at a lock of hair that’s fallen in her face. “And also, possibly, credit card fraud.”

Alex narrows her eyes at her. “Kara,” she warns, putting down her knife. Her voice is low and cautious, as if she’s talking to the rowdy raccoon that moved into their dumpster three weeks ago instead of to her baby sister. “Let’s just take a breath and think about this for a m—”

Kara is already gone, the doors to the kitchen swinging closed behind her. Sliding into the cluttered space behind the counter, she crosses her arms and then drops her elbows on the bar, leaning what she belatedly realizes is probably a little too close to her adversary. She’s close enough to make out the individual downy hairs on her chin and the lines in her painted lips, which are still pursed thoughtfully in what Kara is sure would look like an attractive pout to someone who didn’t know any better.

But Kara knows so much better.

“Let me guess,” she remembers to get out, much less biting than originally intended. “Today you’ll be having the fifth entrée down the list.”

As soon as their eyes meet over the miniscule amount of space left between them, Kara knows leaning in was a fatal mistake. Her nemesis blinks up at her with wide, startled eyes that remind Kara of the glass pebbles she finds on the beach on her morning walks, not-quite-blue and not-quite-green, and for a moment Kara’s brain sputters out as if someone abruptly turned off the flames that kept it cooking.

But the woman recovers fast, like the scheming scoundrel that she is. She guiltily shutters her eyes behind thick, charcoal lashes, and Kara’s temper revives at the observation that her enemy isn’t as good of an actress as she thinks she is.

“I’ve actually been thinking of breaking my own rule,” she says, with a smile that lands somewhere between self-deprecating and apologetic. “I may give in and order the same thing you served me yesterday.” Kara goes hot all over with righteous indignation at the rich timbre of the woman’s voice, the almost flirtatious lilt it takes on when she adds, “I haven’t been able to stop dreaming about it.”

Kara pulls back a little in an effort to escape that curious gaze, the enticing scent of the woman’s perfume. It’s sweet enough to drown out even Alex’s mountain of onions. “I know what you’re doing,” she blusters.

The—frankly unfairly beautiful—soulless grifter stares at her, stricken. “I’m—I’m sorry?”

“You should be,” Kara says. “I know who you are.” And then, as if she’s putting down the last card in a game of Uno, “Lena.”

The woman goes very still for a moment, and then the corners of her lips tug down in a bitter semblance of a smile. “I see,” she says. She’s rigid, regal; she’s royalty perched on a wobbly wooden stool. “And am I to assume that’s enough for you to turn down my patronage?”

Kara’s resolve wobbles, too. She hadn’t expected her adversary—Lena, she now knows—to roll over so easily. “Well, yeah, obviously,” she flusters, her energy suddenly too large and lumbering in the face of Lena’s deference. “Winn and James are family.”

“Family.” There’s a flicker of wistfulness in Lena’s voice, before confusion colors her features. “So the cold shoulder,” she says. “It’s personal?”

Kara scoffs. The fraudster doesn’t even remember the names of her latest victims. Typical. “It was their steakhouse that you razed to the ground last month,” Kara reminds her.

Lena blinks at her. “The establishment just up the road?” She raises a critical eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure they set themselves up for failure when they decided to name their restaurant Misteak.”

Kara huffs. Her air quotes are appropriately vicious when she says, “They were doing just fine before your slanderous ‘review’ went viral.”

Lena does a remarkably convincing impression of someone who is genuinely flabbergasted. “I don’t even know what that means.”

“Liar.”

Lena’s shocked laughter is bright but brief. It’s the first time Kara has heard her laugh. It’s maddeningly attractive and deeply annoying.

“Okay,” Lena says. She folds her arms in front of her chest and leans back a little in her seat, unaware of its delicate disposition. A smirk tugs at one corner of her mouth. “Tell me,” she says, her eyes narrowing. “Who do you think I am, exactly?”

Kara leans in close again, refusing to allow Lena to get the upper hand. She’d like to wipe that smirk from Lena’s face—manually, if need be—preferably, even, if it means she’d get to smudge that infuriatingly immaculate lipstick with her thumb—

“You,” Kara charges, in an effort to drown out that unhelpful thought, “are a fraud. You call yourself a ‘mystery food critic’ on TikTok, but really you’re blackmailing businesses into buying a favorable review.”

“Hey, um.” Alex has followed her out of the kitchen, holding her phone. “So. Winn texted back, and he says—”

But Lena laughs again, her guarded posture melting down to unmistakable relief. “I’m so sorry,” she says, her voice a high warble. “That sounds awful. And also extremely illegal. Have you reported this person to the authorities? I can get you in touch with an excellent lawyer, if you’d like.”

Kara doesn’t know if she feels more outraged or confused.

…Or possibly some secret third thing.

“So you’re telling me—” Kara barks out a disbelieving laugh. “You’re saying you’re not her.”

“This, ehm— Tic Tac person?” When Lena’s dark lashes flutter, something in Kara’s chest flutters too. “No.”

Impossible. “Then why have you been in here every day this week?” Kara interrogates, the full force of evidence she’s collected behind it. “When neither one of us has seen you here even once, since we opened?”

Alex rolls her eyes. “I told you I wasn’t sure whether I’d seen her here before,” she points out. “Also, Winn says—”

“Oh please,” Kara scoffs, her eyes fixed on Lena, who has propped her elbows on the counter again, closer now than she’d been the last time their eyes met. “As if you could forget a woman as beautiful as—” Kara’s gaze drops to Lena’s mouth, unbidden, when Lena parts those rude, ruby lips. “...You.”

Alex stares.

Kara swallows.

Lena blinks; two times fast, and then again, after a beat, slow and sticky, her eyes darkening.

“So you may as well come out with it,” Kara croaks out what little remains of her anger. “There’s something you want more than our fettuccine.”

Lena’s cheeks have turned a treacherously charming shade of pink. “I suppose you’re right about that one, at least,” she admits after a beat.

In Kara’s peripheral vision, Alex frantically slides her hand across her throat. Kara frowns at her, telegraphing a wordless what is your problem but finding no satisfactory answer in the crimson shade her sister’s face has taken on.

“Yeah, well,” she says, almost disappointed, fumbling to fill the space left by Lena’s confession. “I’m telling you right now that it’s never going to happen.”

Alex clears her throat with startling force. “Winn wants to know,” she says, reading from her phone, “Who’s the hot chick?”

When Kara returns her gaze to the woman on the other side of the counter, she gulps. Lena is somehow even closer than she was before. She’s also fully propping herself up now on the laminate surface between them, granting Kara a glimpse of freckled cleavage that in no possible universe could be interpreted as unintentional.

“So,” Lena drawls. “What you’re saying is you’re not going to give me your number?”

Kara’s throat is suddenly very dry.

“Huh?” she manages, but only just barely.

“I was hoping,” Lena says slowly, that maddening smirk once again tugging up the corner of her mouth, “that you’d maybe like to—”

Lena shifts in her seat, crossing her legs in what is bound to become a devastatingly seductive pose, but the barstool decides in exactly that moment that's it’s finally had enough. Lena yelps as it gives out beneath her with a dramatic snap, one of its rickety limps flying across the floor as if celebrating its first taste of freedom, and Kara’s never considered herself to be very quick, but here she is anyway, on the other side of the counter in what feels like less than a second, one hand gripping Lena’s forearm, the other slipping smoothly around her waist.

“—fuck,” Lena gasps up at her. She feels good, in Kara’s hands, slight but pleasantly heavy, like the santoku knife Alex has forbidden Kara from touching ever again. “Well,” Lena says. “That’s. Perhaps not the way I would have phrased it, especially in front of your friend—”

They both glance over at Alex, but she’s disappeared, the swaying of the kitchen doors the only indication she was ever there.

“O-kay,” Kara says.

Lena grins. “Okay?”

Kara mentally rewinds the conversation and feels her ears burn at the realization of what she just agreed to. “I mean,” she amends. “We could, maybe, grab something to eat first?”

Something devious sparks in Lena’s terrifyingly gorgeous face. She glances down at Kara’s arms before blinking back up at her again and smirking. “I thought you already had.”

And, goodness gracious.

Kara is about to be in so much trouble.

[woso-dreamzzz]

Strictly Come Dancing

Leah Williamson x Reader

Summary: The final of Strictly Come Dancing

"Dancing the Argentine Tango, Leah Williamson and her partner y/n l/n!"

There had always been something about the tango that drew you in. Maybe it was the way the dancers moved. Maybe it was the outfits or the sensuality or something of the like.

Either way, it had always been your favourite dance.

It had always been special.

But now, it was even more special.

It was the dance you and Leah were performing for your last dance on Strictly and you were determined to give it your all.

The music began. The lights rose.

You'd practised this until even your feet hurt, a rare feat for a professional dancer. You'd practised this until even Leah with her infinite stamina had to call it quits.

She looked good enough to eat in the suit she was wearing. One hand clamped around your own and the other curled around to lay on your shoulder blade.

You nudged her arm up a tad higher before you truly began.

You were chest to chest for most of the dance and you refused to let her look away from you even as you knew she could hear the crowd cheering when she pulled off an impressive dip that had you almost kissing.

You used all of the dancefloor as you kept your eyes on her.

You studied her face. The shape of her eyes. The arch of her brows. The slope of her nose. Her perfect, perfect lips.

She didn't look like she was struggling and you were glad for that.

You saw her draw in a big lungful of breath before she lifted you, spinning you around right as you passed the judges.

You smirked at her as she steadied you both, drawing your face closer to hers with a hand on her cheek as she leant over you.

The crowd erupted into cheers as the music stopped and regular lights returned.

You grinned as Leah righted you, hands on your waist as you greeted Tess.

"I mean," Tess said," It is the final and, wow, that was certainly a final level performance. Craig, what did you think?"

"Well," Craig said," Leah, I have to say, I...Loved it! When you think of a tango, you think intimacy, sensuality and I must say, you have done that tonight. My only critique? There should have been more! I wanted to watch you two forever!"

"Motsi?"

Motsi fanned herself. "You two..." She said, shaking her head," You two...I don't think I have ever seen such a consistent duo. Week in, week out, you put out some of the best dancing I've ever seen! This is how you win a final! Footwork! Eye contact! I felt like I was intruding on a personal moment and that's exactly how a tango should feel! I agree with Craig!" She slammed her hand onto the desk. "I wanted more!"

"Shirley?"

"I mean, there's not much new to say. You hit your footwork. You hit your lifts. You were so close you were practically kissing. The Argentine Tango is about chemistry and partnership, something you have shown you two have in droves. There's nothing to say but I hope you consider a dance career when you're finished with football, Leah!"

Leah laughed next to you.

"Anton?"

"Everyone keeps taking what I want to say!" He complained," There's nothing I can say that hasn't already been said. It was the epitome of a tango. Everything was right. The costumes. The music. The partnership! There is nothing I can add that will change anyone's mind. That is the best tango we've seen on this show in years!"

At his declaration, the crowd cheered and you leaned into Leah's side.

"I mean," Tess said, noisily blowing out air," The judges are nothing but complimentary. This is a final. Leah, I have to know, how have you found your Strictly experience?"

"I mean," Leah said," Nothing short of amazing. And I've done some pretty amazing things in my career. But this is certainly one of the hardest. Obviously, I stepped out of my comfort zone agreeing to do this but I'm glad I did." She nudged you. "Plus this one would never let it go if I didn't."

Tess laughed. "We've had previous partners tell us she's a bit of a slave driver."

"She's certainly intense," Leah agreed, winking when you slapped her on the chest," Nah, but it's good. I wouldn't be nearly as comfortable as I am without her. She really pushes me to be my best every day so, yeah, I'm glad I've got her."

It felt all too soon that you were standing back on the dancefloor with the other couple that made it to the final two and Tess was reading out the results.

You stayed pressed into Leah's side, one hand resting on the one she had clamped around your hip. It was a familiar pressure and you leaned into her.

You don't know why you felt so worried. You had won this trophy four time all ready, all in a row.

"The votes have been counted and independently verified," Tess said solemnly," And the winner of this year's Strictly Come Dancing is..."

Leah squeezed you tight.

"Leah and y/n!"

You leapt into Leah's arms and she held you securely at the waist, spinning you around. You'd been trying to keep the PDA to a minimum but you'd just won and you decided that all kind of decorum was out of the window.

You crashed your lips against Leah's and she reciprocated immediately.

"Leah and y/n, you are our winners," Tess said," How does it feel?"

"Er..." Leah looked to still be in shock. "Yeah, I mean..." Her face split into a massive grin. "There's no better feeling really."

"Better than the Euro's final?"

Leah pretended to think. "Well, I got to do this one with my wife, so, yeah, maybe. I mean, I feel great! It's this one's fifth trophy in a row so I'm just glad I didn't mess up her streak."

"You wouldn't have, baby," You said, pressing a firm kiss to her cheek," I had faith in you."

Tess laughed. "Of course, winning the glitterball trophy isn't an unusual feat for you, y/n. Does it ever get old?"

"No," You said," It's made even sweeter that I've got my last glitterball trophy in a while with my wife."

Leah grinned wolfishly at you.

This announcement was a long time coming.

"Oh?" Tess asked," You don't think you'll win next year?"

"I think I'll be too busy taking care of the baby to compete."