#edit: i actually just now fucking realized that hes actually wearing the sunglasses that flip up

[yuckymuckyy]

i saw this image on twitter but i didnt have the freedom to say that this made me feel equal parts feral attraction and crushing gender envy:

#the earrrringggg #edit: i actually just now fucking realized that hes actually wearing the sunglasses that flip up #so two pairs #three pairs of glasses is a choice but the fit still goes crazy #usopp #one piece #god usopp

[just-here-for-the-moment]

For the DIFFERENT POV GAME:

I want Javi’s POV on this whole adorable scene.

Okay, my Queen @quica-quica-quica, I want you to know that I suuuuucked in a huge breath when I saw this Ask, because I was entirely unsure if I could do this. It seemed like a really hard challenge, but FOR YOU I’ll try anything.

I dug in to see what I could do, and of course because I can’t just write succinctly I had to start waaaaaay back in the beginning of the story to get Javier where I needed him for the phone number scene… hope that’s okay!!

Thank you for challenging me this way! This went from scary to amazing in just a few days! I love you so much, my friend!!!

---

Coffee Shop Girl (a companion piece to “For Now” told from Javier’s point of view)

Word count: 3000+

Rating: mature, 18+ only

Outline: Javier Peña x “You” (Austin coffee shop barista; cis/het female reader; “blank canvas”/no physical description/no name/no use of “Y/N”)

Warnings: slow-burn; references to previous hiring of sex workers; cigarette smoking; Javier masturbating

Javier Peña felt like he was at loose ends. Not for the first time in his life, but it’s different feeling ‘lost’ as a young man than feeling ‘lost’ when you’re on the wrong side of 40. At least a teenager can still expect their whole life ahead of them. Since leaving the DEA and the fight in Colombia behind, he had been feeling directionless.

Spending some time at his dad’s ranch in Laredo had helped, the way that hard labor and sweat always does. It left him too tired to ruminate, to sink into the blues and feel sorry for himself. He had lined up a teaching job at a university in D.C. but it didn’t start until the fall semester, and Javier wasn’t looking forward to an entire blazing-hot summer on the ranch. So when his friend Bill called from Austin and offered a short contract job doing consulting for one of the state agencies, he jumped at the chance.

Javier landed at Mueller Airport at 2:00 in the afternoon on the second Saturday in June. He made his way out of luggage pickup to the Hertz desk and signed for a rental car. It didn’t take him long to find the apartment complex where Bill had arranged for him to stay. Bill’s coworker’s son had graduated from UT Austin in May, and the lease wasn’t up until August, so everything worked out perfectly. Javi could sublet for the remainder of the summer, and the apartment complex was close enough to the office that he could take the bus, meaning he wouldn’t have to put too many miles on the rental car or pay for parking downtown. A small, blandly furnished one-bedroom apartment near work was perfect. He could make it work for two months, and he had certainly lived in much worse places during his years traveling.

On Monday Javier was introduced around the office and given his portfolio of cases to consult on. He also found out that the coffee in the office was total shit. He had spent too many years drinking government-grade slop at the DEA and other agencies to put up with it now. He wasn’t one to complain, or to order any of the frilly new designer coffee drinks that seemed to be making the rounds among the ladies in the secretarial pool, but he had noticed a coffee shop between here and the bus stop. Some local place, one of those Austin things where they boasted about fair trade and locally roasted beans. If they made a decent cup of black coffee he could splurge, buy a cup on his way into the office each day.

The bus dropped him off at the corner at 7:45, so he could grab a coffee and still be on time to work at 8:00. Punctuality wasn’t always his strong suit, but Javier wanted to at least make a good impression while he was consulting. You never knew who might be a network contact to something good, and he didn’t want to screw Bill over after he had recommended him for the contract.

Tuesday Javier tried the coffee shop and found out that their coffee was not only decent for the price, it was actually good. Wednesday he went back again, this time brushing fingers with the pretty barista by accident. He offered her a “thanks” and then went on his way. Thursday he walked in and stood patiently in line behind two stoner kids trying to make up their minds between breakfast tacos and blueberry muffins. The pretty barista was there again, and she waved him over with a smile, indicating he could skip to the counter and leave the hippie kids in line.

“Black coffee, right?” Her smile actually reached her eyes, and for a moment Javier was very glad for all of the body language and psychology classes he had ever had to sit through. It was nice having a pretty lady smile at you to start your morning, and even better that this one already knew his order. She was quick, he figured, and good at her job if she had his order memorized after only two days as a customer. Not that ‘black coffee, to go’ was a difficult order, but he hadn’t expected to become a regular so quickly.

He smiled and nodded, “That’s right. Thank you.” He looked for a wedding ring and then for a nametag on her black apron, but didn’t see either one. He slid a rumpled $5 bill across the counter, larger than the singles he had paid with the previous two days, but she was nice. “Keep the change.”

He thought he saw her bite her lip as she turned away, and while she was fixing his cup he took a moment to check her out. He wasn’t some kind of pervert who would goose her from over the counter, but from what he could see she was attractive. Hell, most women were attractive to Javier. He suddenly realized it had been a while since he’d gotten laid. His last relationship was years past, and he no longer visited prostitutes regularly. Javier wasn’t a ‘reformed man’ by any means, it was just that that habit had been limited to a specific time and place in his life where he wasn’t stable enough to have a long-term relationship, and it had the added bonus of gathering intelligence.

The barista turned back to him with the cup and when she handed it off their eyes locked and their fingers touched again. He saw her pupils dilate and recognized the little spark that turned over in his own gut. Damn, she really was attractive. But Javier didn’t want to be the kind of lecherous guy who hit on a woman while she was working. Too many men mistook the minimum of customer service friendliness for a sexual invitation. Or worse, like the men who hit on waitresses on purpose since they couldn’t be outright rude to stop them. Javier suppressed a smile and took the cup from her, nodding his thanks.

On Friday when he breezed into the coffee shop he saw the pretty barista smile from behind the counter, and she immediately turned and started pouring his to-go cup. She turned back and gave him the ‘what’s up’ chin nod while holding his cup up. Javier walked up and he slid a few singles across the counter to her.

Javier gave her a warm, “Thanks,” and winked at her. That was at least a harmless bit of flirting, in line with her bright smiles and her friendliness so far. If she liked it, great; and if not, then at least he hadn’t made her uncomfortable by asking for her number or hitting on her directly. When he said, “See you next week,” she smiled that bright smile back. Javier noticed that it again reached her eyes, lighting them up just a bit more than last time. A good sign.

The weekend dragged but Javier filled it up with errands: a run to HEB for groceries and to Highland Mall for a new shirt. If there was the possibility of a date sometime in the next few weeks he at least wanted to wear something other than his work clothes. Saturday night he ordered pizza and watched a movie on TV, some lame action movie with giant muscled guys shooting way too many bullets, and of course all the curse words and a sex scene edited out for network TV. Can’t let the kiddies hear the word ‘shit’ while they’re flipping channels, but watching Stallone blow a guy’s head off is good for their growing brains. He finished his pizza and a cigarette and then felt that tug, the loose ends, a little bored.

Javier took a shower and his mind went to the pretty barista, that smile, the sparkly eyes. He thought about those eyes looking up at him through her lashes, or down at him from on top. He wondered what her skin felt like, imagining the rest of her naked, spread out, touching him all over. He felt a little bit creepy touching himself to the thought of her, hoping it didn’t make him a bad person, hoping he would see her again on Monday. But fuck it, he needed the release. Javier came, spurting hot in the steamy shower as he leaned his head on his forearm and groaned into the cold tile wall. He wished he at least knew her name.

Sunday Javier slept in and then did laundry, tidied up the apartment, and took a jog around the neighborhood. He tried to talk himself out of a repeat of Saturday’s shower. It didn’t work.

On Monday Javier lit up as soon as he stepped off the bus. The first week of the consulting gig had gone well, but today was a big meeting and he knew the agency was not going to like his recommendations. He was constantly trying to quit, but at least he had cut back recently. He was down to a pack a day and only one cup of coffee. That had to count for something, right? Maybe his doctor would finally get off his back about that.

He smoked as rapidly as he could on his way to the coffee shop, and stubbed the cigarette out as soon as he reached the big window that overlooked the street corner. He tucked his sunglasses into the top pocket of his blazer and opened the door to the coffee shop.

The pretty barista was smiling, looking right at him and already holding up his cup of coffee like a game show model holding a prize. Javier felt his heart give a little squeeze, and he smiled and winked at her again as he approached the counter.

“You psychic or something? Or am I just that predictable?”

“Both, maybe.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him and gave him a toothy grin.

Javier opened his wallet and saw that his smallest bill was a $10, but he decided not to ask for change back. She was attentive to her customers, she had surprised him by having coffee ready, and she was cute. “Great service, keep the change.”

Her face lit up and she turned to put the money in the register. Javier turned and exited the front door, and then decided to look back through the big plate glass window. She was looking at him, and Javier realized that meant that she had watched him leave. He hoped he wouldn’t have to tip $10 every time to get that look. He lifted his cup, nodded at her, and then made his way to the office.

Tuesday she had his coffee ready again, so he gave her another wink with his smile, and he thought that she purposely put her fingers in a spot to touch his as she handed the cup over. He paid with a $5 bill again, and then thought about her smile and her touch all the way to the office a few blocks north. He didn’t want her to think that the overtipping was him trying to come on to her; it really was nice to have his order ready to go every day.

On Wednesday she had his coffee ready again as soon as he walked in, but Javier supposed that was a testament to the bus schedule more than his own punctuality. This time he paid with singles. But he didn’t want her to think the smaller tip was because of anything wrong with her customer service, so he smiled a little more warmly, turning the charm up as much as he dared without just outright hitting on her. He noticed she was looking again through the glass as he left. But of course the only reason he knew that was because he had looked, too.

On Thursday Javier decided that it wouldn’t hurt to flirt a little more obviously, but to give her an out in case she wasn’t interested. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or fuck up his supply of good coffee, so he decided to take it a little slow. When he got to the corner he glanced into the window of the coffee shop and saw the pretty barista looking right at him. He took that as a good sign that she might be receptive to his flirting. He opened the door and let someone exit, then walked up to the counter. She pointed at his cup sitting on the counter in front of her, smiling that bright smile.

He arched an eyebrow up. “You trying to get rid of me? In and out so quickly?”

She grinned at him. “Depends on how long you were planning to stay. We close at 1:00 a.m. after open mic tonight. After that you gotta go somewhere else.” That was the most that she’d spoken to him yet. Javier decided to take his chance.

“And what time do you get off, after the morning shift?”

“Depends on who’s asking.” She winked and then bit the inside of her lips, like she had said something she shouldn’t have.

Javier decided to be direct. At least that would give her the chance to say ‘no’ if she wasn’t interested. He locked eyes with her and said, “I am.”

He was relieved to see her flash that big smile, all pretty soft lips and sparkly eyes. “I finish at 1:00, after the lunch rush.”

“Good to know.” He stuck his hand out to shake. “I’m Javier, by the way.” She continued to smile as she gave him her name. When she took his hand she gave a good firm shake, not like one of those women who went limp as soon as they shook a man’s hand. Javier liked her even more.

He fished a few bills out of his wallet. “Can I maybe stop by after your shift, take you to lunch sometime?”

“You can do me one better than that.” She reached down to grip the lid and spun the cup. He saw her name and seven digits scribbled in Sharpie. “My phone number’s on the cup.”

Javier gave her the eyebrows, very much enjoying how direct she was. It was nice to get a clear signal from a pretty lady, instead of having to play guessing games and worry about overstepping. He pursed his lips and nodded in approval.

“You do that for all your customers?”

“Just the best tippers.” And there was her pretty smile and her wink again, so soon after the first one.

Javier decided to give her both barrels. He put his hand out again, palm up instead of a handshake. When she put her hand in his he lifted her knuckles to his lips and pressed a soft kiss, giving her a look from under his eyelashes before he let go.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Javier picked up the cup and left, and gave her a warm smile through the glass as he walked away. As soon as he got to the office he jotted her name and the number on a scrap of paper and tucked it into his wallet. He felt hopeful in a way that he hadn’t for a long time, and he rolled the cup endlessly between his palms while he considered his options. Options. Something he sometimes had taken for granted in life, until those moments where they suddenly ran out.

Javier drained the last of the coffee and then scribbled over her number with a Sharpie before tossing the cup in the trash. No sense in letting her number out into the world where some creep might find it. He smoked his third cigarette of the day out on the plaza and thought about her smile, the brush of her fingers on his, the way she approached him directly. He could use a friend in town, one who wasn’t a guy at the agency or an old college buddy. One who was soft and sweet and might be open to a date… or more. He checked his watch and calculated the hours until 1:00 p.m.

Normally he wouldn’t go back to the coffee shop until tomorrow morning, but it wouldn’t hurt to pop back over there today at the end of her shift, see if she wanted to grab lunch, right? He hoped it wouldn’t scare her off, going back so quickly. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray by the lobby door and jogged back up to his office, taking the stairs two at a time. He wanted to finish up, get this meeting over with, see if he could get over to the coffee shop before she left. He sat in the meeting, watching the clock hands spin slowly, listening to someone drone on about a budget issue that didn’t impact his work, and which could have been a memo in the first place. He felt his irritation creep up the longer the meeting went on.

Finally the meeting closed and Javier hopped to his feet. He told Bill he was headed to lunch and then jogged back down the stairwell instead of waiting for the elevator. He walked the few blocks to the coffee shop, keeping an eye on his watch. He hoped he wouldn’t miss her.

When he got to the coffee shop he opened the door and let his eyes adjust to the dim light for a moment. And then he saw her, slinging her bag over one shoulder and coming out from behind the counter. Javier smiled.

She stopped a foot away and smiled softly, “Hey.”

Javier realized he was still wearing his sunglasses, no wonder it was so dark. He took them off and slipped them into his blazer pocket. He really hoped she wouldn’t think it was weird, him coming back so soon.

“Hey, I’m glad I caught you. Are you busy, or can I take you to lunch today?”

Her face lit up. Good sign. “No, I’m not busy. I’d love to go.”

She gestured out the big window, “There’s a sandwich place around the corner, and a park we can go sit in.”

Javier felt his face split into a wide grin. “That’s perfect.”

---

Just-here-for-the-moment’s masterlist

The only tag list I have: @quica-quica-quica @anaaaispunk @justanotherblonde23 @gracie7209 @nicolethered @honestly-shite @driedgreentomatoes @dihra-vesa @1800-fight-me @the-queen-of-fools @juletheghoul @kesskirata @honeymandos @silverwolf319 @mourningbirds1 @greeneyedblondie44 @spacedilf @maxwell–lord @anxiousandboujee @cevvie @sherala007 @writeforfandoms @libellule2001 @deadhumourist @mandoalorian @javierpinme @eri16 @mandocrasis

#pedro pascal fic #pedro pascal fanfic #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal characters #javier peña x reader #javier pena x reader #javier peña x you #javier pena x you #narcos fic #narcos fanfic #narcos fanfiction #pedrostories #pedro stories

[universal-casey]

64. Did they ever change their appearance? So has America ever tried defying Soviet the first few days/weeks by taking off his blindfold, trying to change his flag back (idk if that's a thing), etc.?

America was defiant for all of a week. He would continually paint over the hammer and sickle with blue paint, stitch his old flag onto the sash while putting a big X over the gold symbol, he would wear his sunglasses, the whole shibang. He was so defiant that other countries were pretty sure America would be back to his old self in a matter of days. 

Until he lost his eye. 

Soviet had gotten fed up with America’s continual push back and so he mercilessly ripped out America’s right eye. That was a signal that pushed itself into Ame’s head. Soviet wasn’t messing around. Of course that didn’t stop him. America pushed back a little more and suddenly Soviet broke Ame’s mental state and reduced him to little more than a shell of what he once was. Of course, none of the other countries know why America suddenly changed. They only know that he started wearing a blindfold and listening to every word Soviet said like it was coming from God himself. And now we have the Soviet America you all know. The soft spoken, scared, obedient country.

Also! Just a wee bit of my headcanon. So flag changes aren’t actually a conscious effort of the country themselves. They kind of just happen. There’s been a few times where the country hasn’t even noticed their face is different until someone points it out. Countries can have an idea that a flag change has occurred however. There are a couple clue-ins. One: a takeover, such as America’s case. Two: Cases of extreme emotion (characteristic of revolutions and breaking off from unions), such as America’s flag change from the Union Jack to the circle of stars during the American Revolution. There’s also pre-takeover America’s unique case of adding stars to his flag. Taking a new state into his union would add in another star, so America became acutely aware of that fact. (America America America)

Bonus shitpost

Edit: Just realized i severely fucked up Ame flipping the bird. I have a headache and am not fixing it

#country humans #countryhumans #countryhumans america #countryhumans au #countryhumans ask

[apocryphist]

@vault11overseer​ asked me to rank all of Palpatine’s looks, which was probably at least 40% a joke. Joke’s on them, I’m doing it anyways, starting with the absolutely most wretched of them: 

The classic throne room look

Yeah, I know -- this is The Palpatine Look, the one that defined our mental image of withered old bastards forever in Return of the Jedi. It’s a classic. But looking at it with the nostalgia goggles off, first doesn’t always mean best. There’s nothing regal about this look, nothing that screams Emperor, just a decrepit old man in his comfy clothes. 

Sure, it’s real menacing when the fabric kind of blends into the shadows, but when he’s just walking around?  It looks like he’s wearing evil cotton bathrobe. Even Dooku knew that if you were going to take a nap, you’d better be doing it in black silk pajamas. Next to Palpatine’s other looks, this one’s clear that he’s not trying too hard. 

Which, of course, is the point -- Luke Skywalker sure didn’t expect the bathrobe man reclining in his Death Star Lay-z-boy to summon fucking lightning from his fingertips. That, and Palps just doesn’t have anyone to impress at this point. Who the fuck does he need to dress himself up for? Nobody, that’s who. 

That said, this outfit has an unsung hero -- the cut of that hood. The way it’s draped like that, basically putting his head inside of a triangle, is way more evil than some round hood would be. Seriously, that hood is the reason we remember this look so well. 

Final Verdict: 6/10, a respectable showing in many ways, but his other outfits often take what’s good about this one and do it better. 

Next up...

Pantene-patine

Yeah, that’s not a great pun, but this guy clearly loves having hair a little too much for his own good. It’s like he saw male pattern baldness coming for his colleagues in the Senate, and thought “oh man, they’re all gonna be so jealous when they realize I can still style my hair like Nicholas Cage.” 

But it also gives him kind of the air of a doddering politician. Between the taditional Naboo clothing, unflattering haircut, and the particular brand of politeness he employs, this Sheev Palpatine can blend into the background until it’s time to let his actual personality shine through and steal the space presidency out of nowhere.  

Still not going to save it from a mediocre score, though. 2/10.

Space President, President of Space

Ol’ Palpy’s moving up in the world, so he can trim the weird wings off the sides of his haircut and stop wearing medium blues and purples to look nonthreatening. He doesn’t want to come on too strong, so there’s no hood or whatever, but he takes advantage of the opportunity to wear black and runs with it, only offsetting it with a brown top and sash. Palpatine can afford to look a little evil now; he’s space president. If he wasn’t at least a little evil, what would he be doing in politics?

But the ruffled brown-gold...sweater...? That’s not doing him any favors. 5/10.

Revenge of the Sleeves 

This one’s pushing it, Pal. This outfit might not quite scream evil, but it's at the very least stage-whispering it. All-red color scheme? Shoulder pads like an evil wizard? Sleeves wide enough to hold entire folders in the upper arm?? Also, now that he’s in animation, it’s a little hard to hide the fact that he looks like an evil puppet, but what the hell. The Senate voted him enough war powers that shit shouldn’t matter. 

All of that evil looks good, but those sleeves really do lose this outfit a lot of style points. Still, I guess he just had to do it to em. 4/10 

The murder machine

We all have days where we want to cut lose and just be ourselves, right? Well, this is what Palpatine wears on rare occasions when he can put aside the busy schedule of leading both factions in a galaxy-spanning war, and just be what he is in his heart: a goddamn Sith Lord. 

This doesn’t just scream evil, it screams evil and loving it! He spends his time in this outfit doing two things: cackling, and styling on absolutely everyone he encounters. It’s got that same classic comfy cut as his original Return of the Jedi look, but with a little more class. The texturing is great, the balance of black and red is on point, and it’s got a nifty sith clasp thing. Also, accessorizing with two lightsabers is a risky choice, but it really works out here. 

Honestly, this look is hard to beat, a great combination of old and new.   9/10.

Leather car upholstery from the 90s 

You know, this has a lot going for it. The cut of it is great, with angles seamlessly transitioning into round forms in a way that kind of suggests a business suit. This really says Space President in a way most of his looks don’t. That said -- this texture is just too much. Space leather is nice, but this is just distracting.

Also, I just noticed this, but -- are those loafers? Fucking evil loafers? Sheev, come on. 

 It looks good in darker lighting, though, so I’m gonna give it 7/10.

The Coronation Gown

Motherfucker shows up like “okay, the Jedi tried to kill me, gave me some weird scars, but i’m good. Don’t even pay attention to those scars, I’ve got this sick red robe aND A NEW EMPIRE, SEE YA DEMOCRACY WE’RE GREAT.” 

Also? This is a fucking sith robe. Dude’s just wearing it in public because he knows he’s eliminated the only people who would know what he’s doing. What a fucking power move. 

Is this a little too regal? Maybe for day to day wear, but come on, let Sheevy have his day to wear crushed velvet and unholy symbols of the dark side. 8/10

Classic 2: The Sequel: Redux: Fresh New Emperor Edition

What’s old is new again. right? Mostly. While this is a good look, it’s not as striking as the look he sported in the Clone Wars, and it’s not as creepy as his original look, either. Also: he gets flipped over a chair by Yoda. 

Surprisingly underwhelming, 6/10. 

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain 

Is it cheating to count two looks as one? Probably. But the juxtaposition of his original Space Satan look with Kindly Old Grandpappy Palpatine was fucking incredible. 

You never forget that he’s a bad guy, but you understand the Empire a little better just looking at Hologram Palpatine -- this is the face he presents to the public, a charming and diplomatic wartime leader turned the greatest champion of peace in the galaxy. It’s a hell of a trick. 

Plus, the animated version of the costume is a little more put together than the 1983 version, while still maintaining everything that made the original great. 10/10.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast

Is this our old pal Sheev? No, technically not, it’s a recording of him being projected by a droid after his death. 

Still, I like to think he picked this look out for the Sentinel Droids. Red leather, poofy sleeves, classic Sheev Palpatine material. Also, the faces on top of droids? Very spooky, very necessary, and very Palpatine. A post-mortem message isn’t quite the same with your dead boss staring you in the face. 

However, I’m sorry to say, these sentinel droids look cooler without Palpatine’s face being projected in them. 

They have a really neat look all of their own, and a dead dictator in a fishbowl doesn’t really add much. 7/10

So classic you don’t even know it’s classic

This is how Palpatine appeared in the original release of The Empire Strikes Back, before Ian McDarmid was even cast in the role. And, if I may say so, this is clearly Sheev’s best appearance. Big spooky hologram, lighting so dark you can’t tell where the shadows end and the black clothing begins, eyes that are probably sunglasses with putty on them -- need I go on?

No. No I don’t. Sheev was facetiming Vader from the fucking Coruscant runway where he was showing of his Sheevy Collection. Everyone else in the galaxy, eat your heart out, you’re never gonna look this good. 1,980/10.

...That applies to everyone except Lando. I can’t even joke about that, the man wears capes as fashion statements, and can turn the most painfully 1970s look into something acceptable. Sorry, I don’t make the rules; that’s just how it is.

#sheev palpatine #palpatine #star wars #original trilogy #star wars rebels #the clone wars #text #misc. apocrypha