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mimiswitchywrites · 3 years

Text

Not A Burden: Chapter 5

TW: SH references, attempted s****de and references, child/s***al a**se references (not graphic but enough that could be triggering). Vague r**e scene at the end.

Master list or read on AO3

2.2k words

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Lancelot sat on the cot with Miriam (at an appropriate distance, of course) as she ate her soup. She had been in Camelot for a week, most of that time spent sleeping. She would eat and drink some water whenever she woke, and then Gaius would give her a sleeping draught and she would fall into another restless slumber. She was bored of it and Lancelot could tell. If the way she took her time between mouthfuls and asked questions about anything she could think of wasn’t a clear enough sign, the way she exclaimed “I can’t fucking do this anymore” certainly was.

Over the days she had been in the physician’s chambers, the two had talked a lot. She enjoyed his stories of adventures past, and he enjoyed the sarcastic comments she would butt in with. She rarely talked about herself still, and that frustrated him though he did his best to hide this fact. He could understand not wanting to talk about events that brought pain and, if what little he did know of her was anything to go by, most of her life brought her pain.

And so, he decided to help her create new memories that didn’t affect her in such a manner. How he would go about that was still yet to be discovered, but he was determined.

“I have a proposition, if you care to hear it, My Lady?”

The way he referred to her like that still brought a smile to her face. She turned to him, trying to figure out the proposition from the look in his eyes. “We are going to raid the royal vaults?”

He laughed, shaking his head. “You wish to cut replace all of the king’s clothes with common fabric, so he is itching for days?” He laughed harder at this, wondering how long she had been thinking of that one.

“What a cruel woman you are, must I arrest you for scheming against the crown?” She giggled at this – a sweet, melodic sound – and leant against Lancelot’s shoulder, putting her bowl down on the bed. His cheeks warmed and he looked to the wall opposite him, hoping she wouldn’t notice. She didn’t, too caught up in listening to his breathing.

“What was your idea?” She looked up at him and he turned back to her. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

As night fell and the castle grew quiet, Miriam sat up. She had rejected Gaius’ offer of another sleeping draught, declaring that she felt she could sleep on her own for now. It was a lie, but a necessary one. Gwen had lent her two of her older nightgowns on the day she arrived – her dress being soaked in blood, sweat and a little bit of vomit. She pulled the light blue gown off, checking Gaius still slept first, and shimmied her way into the moss green one. It was slightly thicker and had a small amount of floral embroidery on it that Gwen had done when she was bored one week. Miri smiled at the thought. She took one of the blankets from the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders as she tied her boots.

Her heart was beating fast at the prospect of sneaking out. She didn’t know her way around the castle as she was unconscious on her way through it the first time, but Lancelot had explained the path to her. She took a deep breath, smoothing her dress and fluffing her hair slightly, and made her way through the door. It creaked lightly behind her and Gaius’ snoring hitched momentarily but resumed soon after. Safely out of the chambers, all that was left was to navigate a large, heavily guarded castle that she wasn’t supposed to be exploring. How hard could it be?

Very, it seemed.

After what felt like an hour (but was likely only ten minutes) Miri found herself looking out into the courtyard with no idea how to get down there. The moon lit it softly, along with torches glowing through the lower windows. She could see a figure that she could only assume was Lancelot, waiting for her. She considered calling for him but quickly disregarded the thought: it wasn’t worth waking those in the rooms near her, just so she could have a midnight picnic with a friend.

Deep in contemplation, Miriam didn’t notice a new figure sneak up on her. It had been watching her from the end of the corridor for some time now and, deciding that she wasn’t going to move, it approached.

Mimicking her stance (arms resting on the railing, weight on the one leg as the other rocked on its toes), Arthur looked out. He could see The Rising Sun from here, and a few of its drunken patrons stumbling home to the lower town. They stood in silence, Miriam glancing over at him briefly before looking back down at the courtyard below.

Taking a calming breath and saying ‘fuck it’ to himself in as much of a kingly manner as one can, Arthur did something odd. Arthur apologised.

Kind of.

“I am glad to see you are well enough to leave your room.” She made no sign that she heard him and so he looked over to her and started again. “I have been thinking about our last encounter and talked it through with Sir Leon. He is one of my most trusted knights and friends and he suggested – that is to say, I thought it best that – I talk to you. I regret the way things went.”

She turned to him, glaring but with little passion behind it. “How heartfelt of you sire, I truly feel your remorse.” Her words were laced with sarcasm. It didn’t sit well with Arthur, was that not heartfelt?Being Uther’s son meant apologising was not something he had much practice of, he thought he had done a pretty decent job. Time for a second attempt.

“I am unsure what stories Lancelot and Merlin have told you but there is a growing trend of incidents in those woods. All too often we find people hurt and we take them here, to safety, and they exploit that. I have trusted people, and, in turn, they have hurt those I care for.” Her eyes softened as she listened to him. He stared ahead, refusing to make eye contact as he made himself more vulnerable than he had in some time. He didn’t appreciate the way a lump grew in his throat.

“My father was put under an enchantment by a troll trying to take his throne, a woman that I thought I was in love with tried to drown me, Merlin—” his voice cracked, Miriam pretended she hadn’t heard it “has been poisoned, ambushed, burnt and shot at. The knights too, but at least they signed up for that.” He took a deep breath, watching the way she processed the information. “I couldn’t let you do the same thing. I couldn’t stand by and watch you hurt them as others have. When I followed you, you were completely gone and I worried that maybe, maybe you had magic. While my views on that are not what they once were, it made me…” He faded out, not able to finish the sentence.

She stood straighter and gently placed her hand on top of his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I understand. My reaction was not as it should have been either.”

“You don’t need to justify yourself, Miriam. While my experiences of your situation are few and far between, I can’t imagine you were thrilled to find people attempting to heal you. Your reaction to my wielding a sword at you was appropriate, it is okay.” She took her hand back, wiping away a rogue tear as subtly as she could.

“Now, I believe you have a lucky gentleman down there expecting you. Is there a reason you have left him waiting so long?” She let out a sudden laugh, wet with held-back tears and explained her situation. He bit back a laugh of his own and graciously offered her an arm. Hesitantly taking it, they made their way through corridors and spiral staircases until they were down at the large stone entrance steps as she had been days before. Letting go of Arthurs arm, she gave him a slight curtsy, and skipped down the last of the steps.

He watched her go, a smile forming on his face as he shook his head at her retreating figure. He was glad to be on the path to resolution with her. She seemed like a good person and he was glad that she was making Lancelot happy: the man had been down since discovering his affections for Guinevere were one sided, but Miriam was pulling him back if the smile on his face in training the previous day was anything to go by.

Lancelot was getting worried. After he and Miriam had talked through their plan earlier that morning, he had set off to put it into action. He made sure he wasn’t needed on patrol that evening and then went about gathering what was needed for a perfect picnic. First, he went to Guinevere’s to borrow one of her baskets (this was a short and awkward visit) and then he visited Juliana – a laundrette that Gwaine had been in a somewhat relationship with from Samhain to the Solstice – and asked for a sheet for them to sit on. After hearing what he needed it for, she also gave him some napkins and candles that she had spare. He made a note to show his thanks with some flowers and maybe some bread from the market when he returned everything the next day.

His final stop was to the kitchens. He had put this off for as long as he could, not wanting to see Cook unless he truly had to, but the time had finally come. He waited until she ducked out for her break and then made his way in. He started with the bread, taking a sad looking loaf from the back of the tray, knowing Cook was likely to throw that one to the dogs anyway. Next, he took a few slices of meat (it was Thursday which meant pork), and a small bunch of grapes that looked like they were on a plate waiting to go to Arthur. He won’t miss them. His final stop, a rushed one as he was sure he could hear approaching footsteps, was at the desserts. He took two sticky rolls and a small raison loaf that was falling apart.

Feast ready, he returned to his chambers to get dressed into something nicer and wait until the twelfth bell.

As he waited in the courtyard, he played over the instructions he gave her. He was sure he had made it clear how to get from the physician’s rooms, through the west wing and down the main steps. Maybe she had changed her mind, or worse, fallen ill again. Watching her growing so pale and hot, drenched in her own sweat, made Lancelot’s heart ache. He had got attached to the girl impossibly fast and seeing her in such a state brought him more pain than he could imagine.

He began to pace. Should I go and search for her? Maybe she’s gotten lost or stumbled and hurt herself? This led to another anxious spiral, not only at the idea of her being hurt but also for how he would explain such a thing to Gaius. His head would be on a spike in seconds, he was sure of it.

Heart racing faster than the King’s steed, lip thoroughly chewed, he settled on a plan. He would wait five minutes and then go in search of her. Just as he finished the third round, he heard the gentle patter of boots on the cobbles. He looked up and saw Miriam and, curiously, another figure that looked a lot like Arthur, who stood at the top of the stairs.

She made her way closer, and he took in her appearance. She wore a familiar green gown which looked scandalously similar to sleep clothes (he blushed at the thought). Her pale skin was tinged red from the cold which led to the chivalrous knight pulling off his leather coat to give to her when she reached him.

Miriam, looking over her shoulder to give Arthur a small wave, tripped over a raised stone. With arms tangled in blanket, she could do nothing to slow her quick and likely painful decent. But no crash came. Instead, she found herself wrapped in Lancelot’s arms as he pulled her close, steadying her.

“It’s nice to finally see your face as you lean against my chest, my lady.” Her face flooded with embarrassment and she did her best to stutter out her thanks. Her hands had landed flat against his chest, his grasping her waist. She looked up at him, their eyes locking. She blushed again and began to take a few steps back, wrapping her arms around herself. He let her go, smile plastered on his face and twinkle in his eye.

He lifted the basket which had been placed on the ground next to him as he waited, “Shall we?”. She nodded, took his arm, and walked in pace with him as they made their way through the castle grounds.

#merlin #merlin fanfiction #merlin fic #bbc merlin #merthur #gwen x fem!oc #queer gwen #gwen #lancelot #lancelot x oc #gwen x oc fic #merlin oc fic #arthur #arthur pendragon #merlin pendragon #gaius #gaius merlin

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pucksnsticksnhockeyboys · 4 years

Text

holiday party

summary: you may not be the average size of the typical girl a professional athlete might want, but you’re exactly Brett’s type.

warnings: plus-size reader, mentions of self-image problems, swearing

word count: 2.7k

requests are open!

Right now, you were seriously regretting the outfit you were currently wearing, but the mirror you were critiquing you appeared in. In the store, you seemed to have all the confidence in the world. The fabric of the dress was just a tad bit too tight around your waist, showing off the stomach you desperately tried to hide on a daily basis.

Growing up, you had always been on the heavier side of the scale. No one ever said anything to you directly about it, but sometimes, you could still hear the girls at your old high school making comments about you as you walked past, ones clearly not meant for you to hear. You were short, with thicker arms and thighs and definitely a softer stomach that protruded outwards. Usually, you wore jeans and sweaters that covered anything you didn't want anyone to see, but the dress you were currently poking and pulling at was completely different.

When you had bought it at the store, your friend had been with you. She, of course, cheered you on and spurred you to buy the dress, claiming you could use it for a night just like this one.

You were supposed to be accompanying your best friend Brett to a holiday party, one that was a little fancier since, as his teammate Ryan so eloquently put it, ‘we’re fucking adults, we’re going to drink wine and listen to holiday music and mingle’ when he invited you after one of their games.

A knock on your bedroom door brought you back to reality just enough to call out a soft ‘come in’ but you were still absentminded enough to continue to pull at the fabric, trying to make it less—you weren't even sure what you were trying to accomplish, but you just wanted to look different. That was always your problem, wanting to change your appearance.

“What’re you doing?” The familiar voice belonging to Brett sounded from your doorway, and you spun so quickly, like a kid who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar, that you almost stumbled over your own two feet. He was leaning against your doorframe, and amused smile on his attractive face. You gave yourself a second to take in his appearance, mostly because you weren't sure how to respond to his innocent question.

He was wearing a pair of dress pants and shoes, with a nice, white, button up. The top couple of buttons were undone, and his hair was styled the way he usually had it when he was dressing up. The outfit was so simple yet so attractive, it was easy to see how you fell for him as quickly as you did. Not to mention, he was incredibly kindhearted and hilarious when the time was right.

But then you remembered where you were headed—a holiday party for adults, and adults bring their significant others to these type of events. You were headed out to go mingle with a bunch of hockey players and their probably drop dead gorgeous wives and girlfriends, while you arrived with Brett as a friend looking the way you did.

Friends. That’s all you ever would be to him. While you were pining away, stuck in your small apartment, he was free to travel across the country and be with whoever he chose. And it didn't matter that in the two years you had known Brett that he had never brought a girlfriend around to meet you, you were just waiting for the inevitable day when he looked at someone else the way you looked at him.

Brett called your name out, softly, when you took too long to respond. Your brows were furrowed from your time spent in deep thought and your whole body was tense. You knew that, from the sheer amount of time you spent together—as just friends—he was able to tell something was up with you. So, instead of giving him a chance to question you about it, you turned away from him and back to the mirror.

“I think I might change to a different dress.” You stated, unable to meet his gaze through he mirror no matter how much you wanted to. It was hard enough to think so poorly of yourself when you were alone, and now that you had an audience the thoughts that kept stumbling into your head felt stifling. But you if had glanced up, even if only for a fraction of a second, you would’ve seen the look of utter confusion on Brett’s face.

“That one looks really good on you, though.” He tried to reason and all you could manage was a bitter laugh. How could he not see just what you were looking at in the mirror? That nothing about how the dress fell across your stomach looked really good? He was sugar coating it, surely, taking his job as best friend seriously. He was supposed to tell you that you looked good.

“It’s just... I don't know.” You struggled to find the words, hoping he would pick up on your insecurity and leave so you could change into something looser. Apparently, he wasn't as skilled at reading you as you had thought, because he was stepping further into the room and to your closet, grabbing the heels he knew you’d want to wear. They were your comfiest pair, and whenever you accompanied Brett to something that required fancy shoes, you’d always pick that pair.

“We’re running late, anyways, so come on.” Brett told you as he got down on his knees before you, fumbling with the clasp to your heels. You blushed when you realized he was putting on your shoes for you. Now, you were stuck with the stupid dress and you couldn’t help but feel like you were on fire when his fingers brushed against your ankles while he worked.

“You didn't have to do that.” You mumbled, embarrassed, once Brett was standing again. To avoid his gaze, you walked out of your room, leaving him trailing behind you in search of your coat. He saw it first, snatching it off the back of your kitchen chair while grabbing his own.

“Yeah, but it was faster.” He replied as you followed him out the door, making sure to lock it behind you. You tried not to think about how domestic it felt to have him help you get ready, and you definitely avoided wondering about how much it felt like you were heading to this holiday party as his date, not just a friend.

On the ride over, you tried to keep the conversation flowing easily with Brett. but was hard, since your mind kept trailing back to worrying about how you looked and your fingers kept tugging at the dress, as if that would make it looser. Brett seemed to notice your actions, and he finally confronted you about it when you were in the elevator up to Ryan Strome’s apartment where the party was being held.

“Why do you keep doing that?” He questioned, and your head snapped to him, brows furrowed as you hadn’t been really paying attention to anything around you. “Pulling at your dress, I mean.” After he elaborated, you could feel your face heat up and the elevator was suddenly taking too long to each its destination.

“I don’t know.” You replied shortly, unable to meet his gaze. Deep down, you knew he hadn't meant to make you uncomfortable, that the question came from genuine curiosity instead of malice, but it affected you as if it had. You knew Brett wasn’t blind, and he clearly must have seen just what set you apart from other women, so you assumed that he would be able to pick up on the fact that you felt unattractive in the dress. Was he just toying with you?

The door dinged open, and the faint sound of Christmas music could be heard from Ryan’s apartment, which you hurried to. Brett was easily able to catch up to you by the time you were knocking, and you made it a point ignore his curious look, questioning just what he had done wrong to invoke your annoyance.

“Then why’d you buy it?” He continued to ask, which only managed to frustrate you further. Right now, you needed to put some space between yourself and Brett to clear your head. You knew you were being irrational, and it wasn’t fair to Brett, but you couldn't help the negative thoughts that were plaguing your mind.

“I don't know, okay?” You snapped at the same time Ryan opened the door. Poor Strome, who had been in the process of being a good host, got caught in the crossfire of your attitude. He looked like a deer caught in headlights and he looked between you and Brett. He had never seen the two of you arguing, no one had, because you both were pretty good about telling each other what was up before a fight could ensue, but you had been bottling these feelings up for so long and Brett just didn't notice.

Before either teammate could say anything, you were brushing past Ryan and entering the party. When the crowd inside saw you, they cheered and you plastered on your fakest smile you could muster. Chris offered you a glass of wine, and you very readily took it. A glance to the door out of the corner of your eye told you Ryan was pestering Brett for answers on what had you in such a sour mood, and neither were doing a very good job at hiding the fact that they were talking about you. Ryan pointed his thumb over his shoulder, loosely gesturing to you and Brett was staring directly at you, watching your every movement.

That only worked your confidence, having his eyes on you, searching for something wrong.

It was going to be a long night.

Half an hour had passed since your arrival and you hadn't spoken directly to Brett yet. Not for lack of trying on his part, though. He’d make comments on stories you were telling the group, and you’d only nod, not meeting his eyes and taking a sip of your drink to help swallow the lump that’d form in your throat.

“Spill. What’s gotten into you?” Gracia, Brady’s girlfriend, questioned you as she, Marc’s wife Lindsay, and Ryan’s wife Sydney cornered you in the kitchen while the rest of the party continued in the living room.

“Nothing?” You lied. As much as you loved the girls, no part of you wanted to confess to the group of knockouts that you felt insignificant compared to them. Especially since they were nothing but kind to you ever, Lindsay even acting as your second mom when you missed home too much.

“Bullshit!” Sydney called, a grin on her face and wine clasped in her hand. She was tipsy, you all were, and the slight level of drunkenness seemed to remove everyone’s filters. “You’re ignoring Brett, so what’d he do?” Her question felt so loaded, because in reality, he hadn't done anything. You and your irrational overthinking had you ignoring him for no good reason.

“Brett looks like a lost puppy without you out there. It’s sad, really. Marc thinks you rejected him.” Lindsay spoke, and you weren’t sure she even knew what she chose to end on, because your eyes were bugging out of your head.

“Reject him?” You stammered, gripping your cup tighter. “No, what—”

“Exactly! I told him you wouldn’t reject him because you’re like, in love with him.”

“Lindsay, what?” Your face was on fire and all three women were grinning at you, like they hadn't just announced to whoever could overhear them the one fact of life you tried so hard to hide.

“So what’d Brett do, huh?” Gracia teased, excited to hear some drama. She knew that whatever likely transpired between the two of you was something you would be able to get over, together, because you and Brett knew each other so well.

“He didn’t do anything—”

“You’ve been like, really distant tonight, though.” Sydney cut you off. “Ryan said you snapped at Brett when he answered the door.” Your face flushed at this, and you weren't sure how much more you could handle. The girls continued to pester you, trying to uncover what happened before you got to the holiday party.

“It’s this fucking dress!” You caved, practically shouting as you felt the lump start to form in your throat. The girls stopped their questions, but the gates were already open. “I feel so fucking ugly in it, especially compared to you guys. Like, I know it’s important to love oneself, but it’s hard, you know?” Lindsay called your name softly, but you ignored her, too caught up in your ranting with your gaze trained on the floor to notice her looking at something—someone—behind you. “And Brett didn’t do anything tonight. He was incredibly sweet and caring and you're right, I do love him, but he’ll never see me as anything more than the best friend. I guess I just got annoyed at him for not realizing—”

This time, you cut yourself off when you felt a hand on your arm. The hand, quickly spun you around and you found yourself face to face with Brett. Your sight was blurry from the tears that had built up during your rant, but you could still see the look of pure seriousness on his face. You barely register the girls excusing themselves, leaving you and Brett alone in the kitchen.

You wanted to follow them, to run away and hide. Brett had just heard you say everything you had spent so much time and energy keeping from him, from you image issues to literally confessing your love for him. He should be running away, never wanting to see your face again.

But instead, he just stood in front of you, studying your face as if it was the first and last time he’d ever see it and he needed to memorize every detail. You wanted to step back, put some distance between you and him but the look in his eyes made it impossible for you to move.

“Do you really think that about yourself?” Brett’s voice was quiet, as if he didn't want to break the stillness of the room. You hadn't anticipated that being his first question. You had figured that he was trying to find a way to let you down gently.

“Um, yeah?” It felt uncomfortable to say that to him because judging by the look in his eyes, you could’ve sworn he was in love with you. The way you could see the heartbreak in eyes made you want to take back your words.

“You shouldn’t.” Brett simply said and it took everything in you to not roll your eyes. To deflect his comments of assurance. A tugging sensation in the pit of your stomach told you to listen to him, to hear him out. As if he could hear the debate going on in your head, he grabbed your hands. “And you have to listen to me, because I love you, too.”

You felt your heart stop in your chest. You wondered for a moment if this was a dream, but Brett squeezing your hands in his brought you back to reality. Your eyes must have widened comically, because Brett was chuckling. Before you knew it, he was leaning forward to brush his lips on your forehead. Your eyes fluttered shut for a moment, relishing in the feeling. Of course, Brett had kissed your forehead before, but the action felt so much more heavenly since he had just confessed his love for you.

“When we go home tonight, we can talk about what I heard, yeah?” Brett started and you nodded, still in a state of shock to really understand what he was saying. The adoring look in his eyes and the fact that you just knew him so well leading you to trust whatever he had in mind. “Right now, I just want to show my gorgeous girlfriend off to everyone out there.”

Now you were positively beaming. You were on cloud nine, he just called you his girlfriend. This was not the way you had planned on this night ending, but that was perfectly fine with you. All you could manage out was a simple, one word response, having finally found your voice. But it was enough to have Brett dropping another kiss to your hairline.

“Okay.”

#Brett Howden #Brett Howden x reader #Brett Howden imagine #Brett Howden imagines #New York rangers imagines #hockey imagine #new york rangers #New York rangers imagine #hockey imagine #hockey imagines

152 notes · View notes

btsareyandere · 5 years

Text

Wet

Warning- slight forced, violence, mild mentions of Smut (pretty mild)

Yandere Jungkook

You open your eyes and squint at the sunlight streaming in, quickly pulling the blankets back over your face to avoid getting up.

"Uh-uh-uh baby" his sweet voice permeates the covers and caresses your ears as you tune in to what he says.

He suddenly rips your cocoon away from you and pounces onto the bed, you muse at the way he laughs between placing kisses on your stomach. You love mornings like this, slow and non-demanding ones that allow you to bathe in them safely. Specks of dust float through the air before your eyes, being lit up by the rays of light cutting across the bedroom. As far as you're concerned, this is heaven.

"Come on. Get up now" he orders, tone lower this time as he lands a final wet kiss on your skin.

"Please just a little longer?" You beg already reaching for the corner of the blanket.

"I said no already. I won't repeat myself many more times. Do it now" you roll over and stretch the entire length of the bed before finally placing your feet on the floor. "I'm up" you mumble to him.

"I see that. Now please go wash and dress, it's a big day today so you need to look amazing on my arm and be on your best behaviour. Go!" Ah yeah, you think to yourself. Jungkook has an important "conference" with another faction of the mafia, a group he is hoping to take over without the need for a full-scale war.

You sluggishly pull yourself up and over to the bathroom to begin making yourself presentable enough to be worthy of being on his arm tonight.

Jungkook goes out for most of the day, working on final touches and making sure the security around the event is fastened as tightly as possible.

You, on the other hand, are back at home wandering slowly from the bathroom to the bedroom and back again, every inch of you must be perfect and if something is slightly off, he won't hesitate the call you out on it, at home or in front of everyone.

Early evening rolls around and the hairstylist has been and gone, the makeup artist turned up but you sent her away without even seeing her, you always hated how she made you look.

From the closet you hear the bedroom door open and close again, the shuffling sounds let you know that jungkook has settled on the bed, most likely already dressed and ready to go.

"Y/n, you have 30 minutes then we're leaving. Hurry up" he calls out. You poke your head around the door and see him on his phone slouched on the bed, just as you suspected. "Yeah, I'm coming" you answer, walking back to your clothes.

You skim through them and select a deep blue dress that you ordered many months ago but haven't had a chance to wear yet. You slip the fabric effortless over your body and straighten it out, squeezing on some matching heels and giving yourself one last glance in the mirror before entering the bedroom.

"I'm ready," you say dismissively as you reach the bedroom door, ready to leave and get back home already

"You're not wearing that, go change" his voice stops you in your tracks. "but.." you begin, turning to look at him.

"Enough! I told you to go and change, don't start with me right now. I didn't buy that dress so it doesn't belong on your body. Give it to me" he ordered as he stood up at the side of the bed.

You shake your head and pout, "no, you'll destroy it~" your voice takes on a whiny quality since you know full well where this is going to go.

"Of course I will. If you continue to refuse I'll take it off for you and you'll greet everyone tonight with a handprint on your beautiful face." Your hands slip to the hem of the dress to bunch it up, exposing the tops of your thighs and the beginning of your crotch slightly as you ponder your options "if I take it off, can I keep it for just at home?" Jungkook has finally had enough and storms over to you as you press your back to the door and hold your hands out defensively.

He grips you by the throat and turns you to face the wood as he begins tugging aggressively at the fabric, yanking it unceremoniously over your head.

His rough hands push your face against the cold surface "I've told you before not to question me. Negotiations are for people who both have power to play with, baby you have none." His hands leave you and the eerie silence reminds you to appease him when he gives you permission. "Turn around and look at me"

This is my chance to make him happy again, you think to yourself, ready to admit your wrongdoings.

You slowly turn around and are met with a firm hand to the face, yeah, you knew it was coming. "I'm a man of my word little one. Say sorry to me".

You place your hands on his chest and grip the fabric gently, "I'm sorry" you whisper "I didn't mean to make you angry". Jungkook laughed slightly and kissed your forehead "you know for a fact that this is nowhere near as angry as I can get. Follow me".

You try to straighten your hair out as you stay one pace behind him on the way back to the closet.

He skims through the dresses and chooses one that is definitely pretty but just not something you would choose to wear. "are you going to put this on yourself or shall I have the maid come in here and dress you while I hold you still? Because either way, you're going to wear it"

His eyebrow was raised slightly as he waited to see which option you choose, "Uh-uh I can dress myself."

Jungkook nods and moves to stand in the doorway, re-adjusting his cufflinks as he waits. "Hurry then, I'm watching you".

You keep your head down and rush to change and present yourself to him again. "Well done baby girl, let's go".

His hand swallows yours as he grips it tightly and every time you lift your head when someone greets the two of you, he grips it harder and you're once again reminded to keep it low.

"jungkook, I look stupid like this" you whisper just loud enough for him to hear.

He makes a small noise that signals that he heard your complaint but makes no attempt to communicate further.

You tug his arm to get some more attention from him, all he's done so far is shake hands with some pretty intimidating men and neglected to introduce you.

"Jungkook please~," you say again. This time he clicks his tongue and stares down at the top of your head. "Behave yourself y/n, this is an important night. Consider yourself lucky, no-one else brought their wives." He snaps his finger and suddenly he's passing your hand to another man without a word to you about it "take her to her seat and make sure she stays there".

"Yes sir," the guard says. You glance up at your husband before you're led away and he's no longer in sight.

The longest time later and jungkook finally joins you on your table at the front of the hall. "Have you had a drink?" He questions. To which you shake your head silently. He beckons a member of the catering staff over to you both "can I have a-" you say, sitting upright but he cuts you off when his hand appears in front of your face. "Being me one glass of wine and one water" he demands.

You look up at him open-mouthed but remain silent. "You'll drink what I tell you to".

As much as you want to please him, your patience is wearing thin. Every time you say or do something he shuts you down and overrides you and it's getting old very quick.

The meeting reaches its peak and jungkook announces that negotiations are over and since they have gone well, the bar is open for all for the remainder of the night. A celebration of sorts was now underway and you're still glued to your chair despite jungkook having wandered off ages ago along with the guard he stationed next to you.

A cough breaks you from your thoughts and encourages you to turn around in search of the origins "hey" a tall, muscular man is looming over you in the same way jungkook always does but this man isn't causing fear to flood your veins, instead he makes your heart beat a little faster, the blood feeling a little thicker.

"Hi" you choke out.

"I've been watching you all night, not in a creepy way though, I promise" he laughs.

You follow and giggle quietly as he sits in jungkooks seat. The moment his form settles on the spot jungkook ones owned you gasped, could someone really come in and replace him as easy as that? Could he take you with him and make you his?

"I'm glad your husband managed to negotiate with my boss. Maybe I'll get to see more of you now" his smile was wide and bright, clearly displaying all his teeth.

Walk away y/n, walk away, the little voice inside you is screaming but an 'accidental' brush of his hand against your knee drowns it out until it's little more than a ringing all the way back in the recesses of your mind where your better judgement lives.

"I'd like that" you squeak accidentally.

"The grounds here are lovely, would you like to see? It'll be okay, I'm a bodyguard for my own boss so you're safe with me".

You watch in confusion as his eyes lift up and widen dramatically but you don't have to wait long to understand the reason behind it. A firm hand grips your shoulder and you instantly freeze, shit, it’s jungkook.

"Who's your friend?"

"N-No-one. He's...I don't know him." Jungkooks hand snakes around your throat for the second time tonight and compresses your windpipe slowly. "Leave, I need to teach her a lesson"

Despite his initial presence and confident demeanour, your potential knight in shining armour now cowers like a kicked dog and escapes.

"Didn't I warn you not to talk to people?" He asks. You nod, trying to pull his hand from your neck. "A question requires an answer." He tightens his grip further, forcing a strained tear to slip down your cheek. "Yes," you manage to say. Jungkook smiles at the struggle you had to go through to give him that answer.

"You've done me wrong y/n. I dress you nicely, I bring you out and this is how you repay me?" By now he can see that your face has adopted a slight blue tinge as your body is being deprived of oxygen, he knows he needs to let go but the fact that you're not fighting him pleases him too much.

Here you are having the life choked out of you and yet, you know not to try and save yourself, that to jungkook is pure ecstasy.

With a disappointed sigh, he finally lets you go and pulls your head back to rest against his belt buckle. "So you like the attention of others. You're a whore aren't you?" His words are cutting you painfully deep and rubbing dirt into the wounds. What jungkook is seeing as inappropriate lustful behaviour, is really just you marvelling at having someone treat you well.

"No, baby I'm not a whore. I don't want anyone else, he was just being nice and I was being polite." You reach up and rub the back of his hand in an attempt to soothe him and his temper.

"Are you sure? Are you sure he didn't get you all wet, promising you things that only I am allowed to give to you?" he spits.

You look around at the people drinking and socialising and wish that even one of them would be brave enough to help you.

"No reply huh? Let me check for myself then. Get up". You do as you're told and stand, slightly unsure of what he wants from you. Jungkook pulls you close and slides his hands up your thighs, under your dress and gripping the waistband of your underwear.

Realising what he wants, you place your hands on top of his and squeeze your legs together tightly, "no please jungkook, don't do this. I wasn't flirting. Oh, please don't do this to me".

One of his hands moves up and grips your face to pulls it to his, fingers digging painfully into your cheeks which in turn cause your teeth to cut into them. "If I want something from you I'm well within my rights to take it. Open your legs now!"

You sob uncontrollably when he returns his hand to your thigh and slaps it, encouraging you to follow his order. Finally, you spread your legs and allow him to slowly lower your lace underwear to the floor.

He looks up at you from a crouched position and slides a hand up the inside of your thigh as he stands. His fingers push aggressively through your folds, prompting a twisted expression to form on his face "you're wet. So you did want him."

Still crying, you shake your head and try to pry his hand from between your legs, earning you a slap to the sensitive skin around your entrance. "Don't try and dictate when I can and can't touch something that I own. This, y/n, belongs to me. If it didn't, could I do this?" In one motion he plunges his fingers into you, surprisingly easily, making you wonder about how much that man truly affected you.

"So you're a slut basically" he tuts before removing his fingers and wiping them on your cheek, the cool air chilling the sticky substance instantly. The fear and the shame of not being able to control how your body responds to someone makes you feel sick, you're being humiliated for something you have no say over.

You shiver under his gaze and reach out to touch him like you did earlier, "Don't. I didn't say you could touch me."

In response you lower your head and cry to him "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I didn't know".

This time jungkook snaps, he growls over you before knocking you to the floor. The commotion finally draws everyone's attention yet only you are feeling embarrassed, jungkook is always in control and happy to receive the gaze of all those around him.

"For fuck sake cover yourself y/n. Everyone here has seen you now. Seen parts of you only I'm supposed to see." He bends down and the suddenly close proximity has you heaving, close to vomiting in fear and apprehension. You know for a fact that jungkook wouldn't give you to anyone so that isn't a worry, but how far he would go teach you a lesson is something you're not so sure of.

You whimper and fuss, trying to cover yourself and crawl away from him. Jungkook smiles, completely satisfied before standing and placing your underwear in his pocket.

"I'm sorry for the commotion everyone," jungkook says, addressing all his members. "It turns out my wife is quite needy and couldn't resist the charms of that young man over there". You and the rest of the room all direct your attention to the man hiding his face, at the back of the crowd.

"Let this be a lesson to all of you. I don't share, anything. I especially don't share my wife and I am more than happy to dig your eyes from your skull if they linger on her too long. Is that clear?" A worried murmur travels around the room before dissipating. "However, tonight is a night of celebration for us all and so there will be no bloodshed." He reassures them all.

"And I am more than happy to beat you in front of all of these people baby, do you understand me?" He speaks, now fully facing you.

Still crying, you get to your knees and move to his feet, hugging his legs as you nod and sniffle.

"Jungkook I'm sorry. I really do only want you, I want you so much I couldn't desire anyone else. Please believe me" you implore.

"Well done." He praises. "You'll go and sit in the car now and you'll wait in silence until I consider this gathering over." He lifts you to your feet and calls one of his men over to lead you away.

"Baby" he calls out. You turn back to look at him as he grips his bulge "Stay wet for me".

@hxfflepxffx @jinnenchimchim @aria101404 @v-2bucky

#yandere bts #yandere #bts #yandere jungkook #yandere reactions #yandere drabble #yandere scenarios #bts drabble #bts yandere #bts jungkook #bts scenarios #jungkook #jungkook x reader #yandere jungkook x reader #bts mafia au #bts mafia imagine #bts mafia fic #bts mafia reaction #bts mafia jungkook

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feralrosie · 5 years

Text

Something in the Shadows

Fandom: Dragon Age Relationships: Fenris/M!Hawke/Anders, Isabela/F!Hawke Rating: General Audiences Read on AO3 This is my Fic or Treat gift for @cruelangelstheses ❤

“Have you ever thought of getting an undercut?” Cassidy Hawke was caressing the elf’s white hair, unable to sleep “I think you would look very cute”

Fenris opened up his eyes slowly, just enough to look at the man laying by his side on the bed, and smiled in the corner of his lips. It was already late at night and both were still a little tipsy from the several glasses of wine they had earlier in that evening, so the elf felt like he could allow himself to be a little vulnerable. He felt weirdly safe around the mage, but was not willing to give it much thought at that moment.

“It is already cold enough here, I don’t need to expose my neck to the wind” he replied while getting out of the bed and looking for his clothes on the floor.

“If you come back here I can warm you up a little bit more” Cassidy watched with a silly smile on his face as his lover got dressed.

Fenris chuckled, turning around on his feet to throw some cotton pants on the other’s face, ordering him to put it on.

“No? Are you sure?” laughed the man while sitting up on the bed.

“Just do it before I leave you in this old ass mansion all by yourself"

“You say as if I was scared of this place or something” Cassidy rolled his eyes, tying his long hair on a traditional bun and putting his pants and socks on, but before he could reach for his shirt, a sudden loud noise came from outside the room, making the mage shiver “What was that?”

Fenris was already staring at the door, frowning and reaching blindly for his sword by the bed “I don’t know. It came from downstairs, sounded like a door slamming”.

“I’m sure it was just the wind... Right?”

“I wouldn’t be so sure” he sounded cold and angry “Not in this mansion. Not with Danarius out there”

“Do you wanna go check it out?” whispered the mage after approaching his companion’s back.

“Yes” he replied in the same low voice, eyes still fixed on the wooden door “Just put on your shirt first, for the Maker’s love”

Fenris was holding firmly the door knob in one hand while the other squeezed the grip of his sword “Are you ready?” he whispered. Cassidy was right behind him - way too close, in fact, but not willing to admit his fear - and just nodded. The elf opened up the door slowly, trying to not make much noise from the old hinges. They stepped out of the main suite, paying attention to all corners and noises, Fenris leading the way towards the double staircases on the main hall of the mansion, dark and still. There was not a single soul around.

Another loud sound was heard from the first floor, this time like iron sticks falling down to the stone flooring. Startled, Fenris hid his body against the hallway wall and pushed Cassidy back to do the same. He waited for the sound to vanish and listened to the darkness around them. When everything was safely quiet again, he moved his head to the side in order to look at the stairs and to the main hall. The fireplace was lit and the iron pokers were scattered on the floor. Fenris frowned, still hiding and holding Cassidy’s chest against the wall.

“What is it?” whispered Cass in a trembling voice “Can you see anything?”

“Quiet” hissed the elf. He stepped away from the wall and held his sword with both hands, moving like a shadow towards the hall. Cassidy followed him carefully, looking around at every corner. He could feel his heart beating faster as he walked down the stairs, holding his staff firmly in his hands in a grip that would otherwise hurt his palms if it was not for his fear of the unknown. “Can you feel anything different? Like magic?”

Cassidy tried not to sound scared, but his trembling voice gave him away. “No, I-” he was interrupted by a thin, sharp sound coming from the other side of the main hall. A door was being slowly opened in the way for the kitchen and dining room, producing the most horrifying sound a hinge could ever do. There was nothing touching the door, not even the wind. The mage felt the hairs on his nape rising as he was struck by a sudden feeling of panic. “We should go, Fenris”

“Yes. We should” the elf’s voice was deadly serious and his eyes were feral. He moved towards the door to the dining room, ignoring the whispered protests of his companion. At first inspection, the door seemed fine, just like every other on the mansion. It was just a huge wooden door, wide and heavy, but going through it did not feel that normal. The dining room was pitch black and the air felt dense to walk in, as if the atmosphere was thicker. “Can you give me some light?” he whispered.

The mage nodded quietly and produced a small flame on his hand, just enough to let them see the dining table in the center of the room, as well as broken furniture spread all over it. White sheets were covering the wooden pieces from the dust, emanating a creepy aura to the old mansion. Cassidy leaned down to the elf from behind, approaching his face to the other’s ears “Can you see anything?” he asked in a low voice, making Fenris shiver.

“No, just a bunch of junk” he whispered back, still scanning the room like a hunting lynx. “There’s no one here. We must have-” he stopped talking at once when he saw something moving in the right corner of the room, under a chair. Fenris held Cassidy’s wrist and pushed it just slightly to the side, directing the flame to where he was staring. Cass followed his movements with his eyes, looking for what could have caught the other’s attention. They stood still in that position, silent as they could be. The chair was positioned beside a slatted window with purple curtains that fell on its arms, dusty and dirty. Something seemed to move again, almost imperceptible in the dim light. Both men doubted they saw anything, thinking it was probably the moving light of the mage’s flame tricking their minds. Cassidy’s heart was racing in fear and his mouth seemed very dry, but he could not look elsewhere. He wondered if Fenris was feeling the same.

The fabric on the chair moved again. The men squint their eyes to try to focus better on that, Fenris raising an eyebrow in suspicion, and just before they could hold their breaths, a white small figure popped out of the fabrics on the chair in a hush, making its way to the the kitchen doors on the other side of the room. Cassidy let out a single long scream, putting out the fire in his hand by instinct and holding on to the elven body in front of him. Although he did not scream, Fenris compressed his body against Cassidy’s, leaning on his shoulders with one arm and pointing his sword towards the kitchen doors with the other, a little shaky.

"What was that!?" asked the mage.

"How am I supposed to know?" Fenris snapped back, only realizing a moment later that he was still pressing his body against the man. He cleared his throat and let go of him before continuing "It seemed like fog, but it is hard to see anything in here"

"We should go back to the Hanged Man and find the others. Perhaps Varric will let us stay the night" he lit up the flame on his hand again.

"Or we could go on, kill whatever is it and then go back to bed" the elf said as if it was just so simple, already heading to the direction the creature went, sword in both hands. Cassidy had little choice but to follow, always right behind him.

The sudden cold air hushed through their bodies once they stepped into the kitchen, not as dark as the dining room. Once again, nothing seemed to move and Fenris was getting angry. "Ok, enough!" he snapped, screaming into the shadows "Who is it? Danarius, I will murder you with my bare hands!"

"I don't think it is him, Fenris" there was caution in the mage's voice. He spoke in a low tone, looking for anything in the room.

"Who, then? Your other mage friend?" the word sounded sharp between the clenched teeth, refering to the Warden healer.

"I don't think it is a mage at all" his voice did not change to the provoking "not even a demon or the fade"

Fenris complexion translated confusion more than anger. He wouldn't rest until he was safe, but he couldn't make sure of it if he doesn't knew what he was after. Then, another sound. This time it was a high pitched laughter coming from the gardens behind the mansion, a door stood open on the other side of the room showing the way out and leaking moonlight into the kitchen.

"Let's get this over with at once" he sounded certain, but looked at Cassidy with unusual worry "But Cass... Stay close. And aware."

Hawke tried to contain a silly smile. He called me Cass, he thought and only nodded twice. Both headed to the gardens.

Right in front of the tall bushes, stood a chest that otherwise should not be there, but that night had already a lot of unexpected situations. It was made of cheap wood, painted in a clumsy fashion of blacks, grays and reds, and did not seem very heavy, much less locked. Something moved inside it and Cassidy felt his blood pumping faster in his veins.

"Should I make the honors?" his voice cracked despite his efforts to sound chill.

Fenris almost chuckled. "No, you keep guard behind me". He approached the box and kneeled to the ground, placing his long fingers on top of it, about to open the lid. Slowly, more for caution than fear, he moved it and looked inside the box. "What the-"

Behind him, Cassidy screamed as something heavy jumped on top of him. Every thread of hair in Fenris body rose up to the sound of despair coming from the mage, but as he turned around on his feet, ready to help his lover, the scream had turn into… laughter?

It took a moment for Fenris to realize what was going on. On top of Cassidy, laid his sister, tickling the soul out of the mage's body. He laughed in panic, trying to push her off him, but Devon had always been stronger than him. Wide eyed, Fenris did not know what to do. His only instinct would be to fight the attacking figure, but even that was held up in his confusion.

"Devon! Devon please!" begged Cassidy against the grass "You maniac, stop!"

A second set of laughter creeped out of the shadows of the garden and a pirate captain came out of it. Isabela was almost out of air, red cheeked from the several pints of all kinds of alcohol she had earlier. Devon's face was just the same. "I can't believe it worked out so well!" she said. From the box behind the elf, a small figure popped out, covered in white sheets with holes cut on it. "You did great, Ser Pounce-a-lot the Second"

A cat? thought the elf Was it him in the dining room? Fenris wanted to punch Isabela on the face, but before he could move, Cassidy was already free from his twin's torture session.

"That was not funny!" cried the mage, catching his breath again "I should have murdered you in the womb!". He couldn't help but to laugh a little, too.

"Fenris? Are you all right?" asked Isabela, wiping a tear off her face.

"I am going to kill you second" echoed his voice, already not so dead serious as before "and I will have her head first" he pointed his chin to Devon, who was curling in the grass, trying to contain her laughter.

"What are you even doing here?" Cassidy took off the grass from his clothes.

"Well" smiled Isabela "We were having a few drinks and felt the urge to mess with you guys. Also we found this cat, so maybe you'll do the honors to give it to Anders, Cass?"

The black cat was trying to take off the piece of sheet that covered his whole body except by his eyes, ears and tail. "That was so mean of you, Devon" Cassidy said as he helped the cat. He pet the fur between the tiny ears.

"The cat is fine" replied his twin, finally getting to her feet. She approached Isabela and rested an arm around her shoulders, but tried to not look too drunk.

"You had your fun, now get out" said the elf.

"Don't be so mad, Fenris" returned Isabela "I brought you wine"

Fenris' eyes squinted, considering the offer and eventually grabbing the bottle from the rogue's hands.

"Also," started Devon. Cassidy had already made friends with the cat and picked him up. "We're going to crash here for the night. I'm so very tired to walk home. Thanks for the hospitality. Goodnight, boys!" She laughed, going back to the mansion and leading Isabela to follow before Fenris could make any proper objections.

Cassidy was by his side, talking to the cat in his arms with a silly, high pitched voice. The elf rolled his eyes at the scene, but smiled in the corner of his lips. "We can hand him to Anders tomorrow. But he will not sleep on the bed with us. Come on, let's go inside"

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beca-mitchell · 5 years

Note

44. :)

blink and you might miss (1/1)

summary: Chloe has an idea for making movie nights fun. The jury’s still out on that, Beca thinks. Rated M/E. I’m so sorry.

word count: 3.6k

written in response to prompt 44: “Cuddle me.”

“Movie nights are terrible,” Beca grumbles. She’s brushing her hair quickly, staring at her reflection in the mirror of Chloe’s vanity.

Chloe nods, primarily focused on all the smooth skin on display - the way the muscles of Beca’s back bunch and jump with each movement of her arm as the brush passes through her hair.

Sighing, Chloe leans back, content to listen to Beca’s complaints, so long as it means that Beca gets to spend more time with her.

Their little friends-with-benefits scenario started about two months ago, near the beginning of the school year. A new year - Beca’s junior year and Chloe’s…second junior year - and Beca was newly single. Chloe would be remiss if she didn’t admit that she had been waiting for Beca as patiently as possible. This - this isn’t the absolute best scenario, but she’ll take it if it means she gets to have Beca, even for just a few stolen moments.

Somehow, they found their way together, amidst it all.

Beca sighs, putting the brush down and turning back to Chloe. Her eyes are sharp, bright, and thoughtful as she assesses Chloe for a moment.

“What?” Chloe asks, raking her hand through her own hair lazily. She doesn’t feel inclined to move for a while.

“Nothing,” Beca admits. “Just admiring the view.” She realizes belatedly the exact words she just expelled and flushes, crossing her arms. “Shut up,” she says quickly.

Chloe stifles a grin and instead raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t say anything.” She pats the bed. “Get back here, you nerd and cuddle me.”

It isn’t until much later when Chloe’s getting ready for bed and Beca is long gone that she’s struck with sudden inspiration.

Beca can’t quite believe this is when Chloe is choosing to this.

But she can believe it a little – especially after Chloe had been so delighted by her discovery just last week.

(“Shh,” Chloe hushes, brushing a wet finger over Beca’s lips. “You’re going to wake up the entire house, babe.”

Beca writhes, needing Chloe’s fingers back in her. Her eyes nearly cross at the sensation of Chloe’s fingers rubbing expertly at her clit, arching her back once more. “I don’t care,” she murmurs before she can stop herself. The air feels thicker and heavier, weighing down on her chest. Her hand rakes up Chloe’s back, trying to pull Chloe closer to her if it’s even possible at this point. “Please,” she whimpers. She’s so fucking close.

“You don’t care?” Chloe asks, interest tinging her voice. “So you wouldn’t care if I fucked you in front of all our friends?” Her fingers press deliberately and firmly into Beca.

It’s something about the timbre of Chloe’s voice and the little rasp that forms at the end of her inquiry. Beca groans as the imagery assaults her senses. Chloe had been teasing her all night, building her up only to stop and then start all over again. Now that Chloe’s fingers are being merciful, Beca’s brain cries out in relief and her defenses fall nearly immediately.

Rocking her hips up, Beca cries out, nodding against Chloe’s neck, enjoying the little puff of air that Chloe lets out as her arm tenses between them. “Yes,” Beca mumbles. “Yes, God – yes.”

She cannot be held accountable for what she agrees to when Chloe is two fingers deep inside her - no matter how true the statement might be.)

Beca knew she was in trouble the moment she entered the living room and saw the way all the Bellas were already arranged. There was no available seat except-

“Bec, sit here,” Chloe had said cheerfully, patting her lap. She even lifted the edge of the blanket for good measure, eyes wide. The picture of innocence.

Beca had rolled her eyes and ignored the way Amy snickered at her and the general giggling that had happened from everybody else.

She allowed Chloe to drape the blanket over both of them, nearly up to their shoulders. Chloe had then comfortably wrapped a loose arm around Beca’s waist and leaned her chin on Beca’s shoulder. “Tell me if you want to stop,” she whispered. Beca then felt Chloe’s hand trail up her inner thigh.

Beca did not object.

…Which why Beca is now struggling to keep her eyes open and focus on at least the opening credits of the movie. Chloe is rubbing her through her shorts – her dark, almost black shorts, a color for which Beca is grateful because of how wet she is at the moment. She can’t quite believe how bold Chloe is being, teasing her like this in front of literally everybody. Beca briefly sends a quick prayer of thanks up to the Heavens for the fact that Aubrey no longer lives in the Bella house. She’s not sure what she would do if Aubrey ever caught them.

Chloe’s teasing continues on and off throughout the movie for at least half an hour. By then, Beca is trying to stop from both squirming and crying out because of how close she is to coming. As she shifts backwards, she finally feels it.

Chloe pauses too, seemingly realizing that Beca has noticed what she had kept hidden under her loose sweatpants.

“Oh,” Beca whispers, low enough that only Chloe can hear.

“Okay?” Chloe asks back, lips warm against the shell of Beca’s ear.

Beca isn’t going to object – not when she feels herself clench around nothing at the thought of Chloe fucking her with her strap-on in front of all their friends. She nods, trying not to be too eager, but she knows Chloe knows anyway, because Chloe has a knack for these things.

God, she feels dirty.

Beca exhales as Chloe shifts the fabric of her shorts further, to accommodate their positions. The fabric pulls at Beca’s skin, but she could care less. She’s only hyper aware of how fucking full she is, sitting on Chloe’s lap fully, with a fucking sex toy inside her.

“Fuck,” she hisses. It’s less discreet than she thinks because Stacie’s eyes swivel to her and her eyes narrow either in suspicion or confusion. Beca’s not entirely sure how her brain manages to fire any cylinders at all at this point, but she quickly shakes her head and whispers to Stacie, “nothing, just – Chloe’s hands were a little cold against my arm. Er. Leg.” She tries not to waver, but her voice sounds higher-pitched than usual. Beca tries to make up for it by fixing Stacie with a confident-enough expression (she thinks).

Overall, it’s quick-enough thinking and appears to satisfy Stacie because she turns back to face the screen. Beca is only aware that it’s some romcom of some sorts starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis – Stacie’s choice for the night, if Beca recalls the schedule well enough.

It doesn’t matter though, because Chloe’s arm is tightening around her waist while the other presses firmly on her thigh, pushing their bodies closer together. Beca stifles a groan, but she’s sure Chloe feels the tremble that rips through her body.

Beca had been dying for Chloe to bring out this toy again since the first time they used it.

Now that she’s confronted with it – literally – she can’t believe they waited this long at all. Chloe presses a quick kiss into her shoulder, her breath puffing out against Beca’s neck before she whispers “good work, baby,” in a soft, gentle voice that belies the way her fingers are digging into Beca’s thigh. Beca stifles another sharp inhale and allows her thigh to shift to the side. Chloe’s fingers immediately trail gently up her inner thigh, rubbing back and forth in a seemingly soothing manner.

Beca tries to breathe regularly – tries to fixate on how solid Chloe feels underneath her. God, she needs to be even closer �� she needs Chloe to-

“Take them off,” she murmurs, as quietly as she dares. Chloe’s fingers pause and she seems to contemplate Beca’s words.

“Can’t,” Chloe replies, right in her ear. It makes her jump, but the action itself only reminds her that the strap-on is buried inside her. She shifts again, a little restlessly, wanting to take off her shorts completely. Granted, the shorts are loose enough that it’s not entirely painful, but it’s not the most comfortable.

Beca bites her lip, hoping Chloe won’t hate this too much. She groans and stretches her arms, before lifting herself off the toy completely. She has to bite her lip to stifle the whimper that threatens to escape and as quickly as she dares, quickly shimmies her shorts halfway down her thighs all while pretending to just re-adjust herself on Chloe’s lap. Chloe’s fingers tighten against her hips, and soon enough, she’s sinking back down comfortably – though as comfortably as she dares, taking each inch of the toy while holding her breath.

A quick glance around indicates that nobody has noticed or cared, which Beca is grateful for.

“Sorry,” she murmurs, tilting her head towards Chloe.

Chloe chuckles then, low against the back of Beca’s neck. “Desperate,” she teases. Beca flushes at Chloe’s knowing tone, hating that Chloe can read her so well – especially hating how much she wants Chloe at any given point in the day. Still, Chloe squeezes her hips comfortingly and moves her hands to trace little patterns on her bare thighs. “You’re okay,” she reassures in a barely-there whisper against Beca’s ear. Chloe’s hips shift then making Beca’s eyes very nearly cross.

Beca is not okay. She would never be okay again. Every inch of skin touching Chloe’s body only served to stoke the fire inside her. Greedily, she thinks, she would much prefer Chloe’s fingers in her, but the thought of whether she wanted them in addition to the strap-on only makes her body tremble again with want and she quickly banishes the thought from her mind for the time being.

“You two enjoying cuddling over there?” Stacie asks, voice low and teasing, just barely audible over the sound of the movie.

Chloe takes the opportunity to pull Beca closer and shift her hips in a way that Beca has to force herself not to squeeze her eyes shut. “Yes,” Chloe responds cheerfully. “Beca loves cuddling.”

Snickers from her so-called friends. “Does she?” Amy asks. “She always hits me whenever I try.”

“Maybe it’s because you try to sit on her before hugging her,” Cynthia-Rose chimes in.

Beca feels Chloe’s nails dig into her inner thigh. “Yes,” Beca manages to croak out. “This is fun.”

Their friends divert their attention once more and Beca exhales.

She hates this – she hates Chloe for likely enjoying it. She hates herself for enjoying it as much as she is at the moment. God, she can’t imagine the looks on their friends’ faces if they knew. Acting on instinct, Beca reaches down under the blanket, grabs Chloe’s hand and pulls it between her legs hastily. Chloe’s hand stiffens at first before she realizes what Beca is doing and she mercifully rubs at Beca’s swollen clit and down to circle her entrance around the toy as best as she can, but only for a few seconds before her wet fingers are trailing across Beca’s thigh and up, up - out from under the blanket. Beca blinks and dares to tilt her head a little to watch as Chloe slowly and deliberately flicks her tongue out to taste her fingers.

That damn eyebrow rises slowly as Chloe captures her own fingers with her mouth, cheeks hollowing in a purposeful show of sucking her fingers clean.

God, Beca hates her.

She whips her head back around and tries to refocus on the movie, ignoring the little pleased hum she feels vibrate from Chloe’s chest. Chloe’s hands mercifully find their way back to her body, resting low enough just under her belly, but Beca’s sure that the torture will resume soon enough. She shivers, drawing the blanket up more comfortably around their bodies, ensuring that nobody gets a free show in addition to the movie they’re watching (which has more sex scenes than Beca expected – she should really pay more attention to the synopses of the movies Stacie chooses).

Beca is distracted once again by Chloe shifting underneath her. This time, Chloe lifts her bodily as she readjusts on the couch, getting her legs into a more comfortable position. Now, Beca’s legs are spread a little over Chloe’s thighs and she quickly adjusts, biting back a groan when she has to lift herself and shift a little.

This is definitely not the most comfortable position and Beca is horrified to realizes that she has to sit through this for at least another hour or so.

“You’re sexy,” Chloe breathes out. Beca can practically feel the smile against her shoulder.

“You’re a tease,” Beca retorts out of the corner of her mouth.

Before Chloe can reply, the movie is suddenly paused and Beca’s entire body stiffens as Amy stands up. She feels Chloe’s hands tense on her thighs as well. Both their bodies lock up at the same moment and Beca is sure they’ve been caught.

“I need to use the bathroom real quick,” Amy announces. “Give me fifteen minutes.”

Everybody groans and stands up as well, stretching their limbs. “I’m going to get more snacks,” Stacie says, gesturing for Jessica and Flo to follow her. “Beca, do you wanna come? Or are you comfortable on Chloe’s lap?”

The sudden question startles Beca from where she had been subtly trying to shift and alleviate some of the pressure. Briefly, her brain fizzles out as she thinks of the many ways she could answer Stacie’s question. Glancing behind her, she sees Chloe is appearing nonchalant, on her phone, scrolling through a social media feed. Incredulous and mildly jealous of Chloe’s easy poise, Beca turns back to Stacie and shakes her head. “I’ll stay,” she says, surprised at how steady her voice sounds.

Chloe’s fingers move to rest lightly on her clit in response.

(Beca’s not sure it’s a reward - not when her entire body feels like it’s about to combust.)

Eventually, all the Bellas file out within the next two minutes, with Emily being the last and throwing Beca and Chloe a friendly wave on her way out.

(Nobody ever bothers staying, knowing that it might be a while before they reconvene.)

“Fuck. Thank God,” Beca groans, the moment they’re out of earshot. She stands, letting the blanket fall to the ground and shucking her shorts down so they dangle precariously off one ankle. She finally takes in Chloe’s own attire now that the lights are on and shining down on them like a spotlight on their sins. Chloe’s oversized top dons a ridiculously cute pattern of dancing penguins while her sweatpants are tugged down enough to reveal the shiny blue strap-on. Beca notes that Chloe came prepared - the fact that she’s sitting on an old hoodie, likely to stop them both from creating a mess on the couch. This was so premeditated that Beca kind of hates her for it. “Fuck, you’re going to make me come right now,” she says in a hoarse voice, moving to re-straddle Chloe’s lap.

“Cute,” Chloe comments with an infuriatingly cheerful smile. Her hands glide confidently around to hold Beca’s hips.

The placating tone she uses is diminished by the pure desire Beca sees in her eyes. Beca goes for a different angle, looping her arms around Chloe’s neck and leaning close so that their foreheads are barely touching.

Sinking down, Beca makes sure that Chloe hears every last drawn-out vowel in her moan. “I’m so wet,” Beca whispers. “Please, Chlo. Please, I’ll come - just for you.” She bites her lip, lifting herself up and sinking back down again, a quiet whimper escaping her. It’s a testament to how comfortable they are with each other at this point, the fact that Beca knows exactly how to get that gobsmacked expression on Chloe’s face. The thrill of satisfaction rushes through Beca among other things when she sinks all the way down on Chloe’s lap when she takes in the hazy expression on Chloe’s face. Chloe’s possessive streak runs hot, Beca has come to know, especially where Beca is concerned. It’s something that she’d like to address later, perhaps when they’re not having risky sex nearly in plain view of all their friends.

When Chloe doesn’t stop her, she does it again, biting her lip so hard that she’s afraid that she draws blood for a moment. “You’ve been teasing me all night,” Beca murmurs. She leans in to kiss Chloe, lingering for a moment with an open-mouthed, barely there brush. Chloe exhales heavily into the kiss, tilting her head to better accommodate Beca’s lips. Chloe’s grip tightens on her hips, pulling her closer.

“Are you…at least enjoying the movie night?” Chloe asks, between increasingly desperate kisses. Beca nearly crows in triumph, seeing that Chloe no longer cares about having any sort of control over her. She wonders if she can convince Chloe to bring her back to her bedroom.

Chloe’s thoughts follow along the same line. It had been fun, but Chloe has half a mind to just bring Beca back up to her bedroom. The insert had been rubbing against her all night as well, and she was close to combusting on the spot. She’s not even sure how she’s forming words, let alone keeping up the charade of watching the movie, only focused on ensuring Beca was entertained or at least distracted enough to not be bored.

Beca takes pause at the question, wonder coloring her features for a moment. Chloe blinks out of her daze, staring up at Beca with an adorably confused expression on her face. “I - yes,” Beca answers as truthfully as she can. She felt like most of it was torture, but it wasn’t entirely terrible. “Very much so,” she breathes.

“Yeah?” Chloe asks breathlessly before leaning up to nip at Beca’s lower lip. “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?” Chloe continues. Beca realizes she had been terribly mistaken that Chloe was giving in. “You enjoyed the thought of getting caught - of somebody figuring out what you were doing.” Chloe’s hand comes up to grip the back of her head, pulling her in so their foreheads are touching. “You couldn’t help yourself, could you? You’re so fucking wet right now.”

Beca gasps - whether from the sudden grip Chloe has on her or the spectacularly surprising “fuck” that Chloe just dropped - and only manages to wrap her arms around Chloe’s shoulders before lifting her hips once more. “Shut up,” she grumbles, eyes falling closed. “Before they come back,” she gets out, stiltedly.

“They won’t be back for a while,” Chloe murmurs. “Try not to make a mess on the couch.”

Beca groans, partly in complaint and partly in desire when the tip of the strap hits a particularly sensitive spot with a strategic shift of Chloe’s hips. “You try not - not to make a mess,” she says, moaning embarrassingly right in the middle of her retort.

Chloe’s lips seek Beca’s out again, a surprisingly graceful and sensual kiss for their current activities. Beca whimpers into Chloe’s mouth, enjoying the sensation of Chloe’s warm body pressed against hers while their lips glide slowly together. It’s something that Beca has enjoyed recently - getting to know the different types of kisses. This kiss is currently verging on hungry, though they’re both adept at managing the pace of their kisses now and Beca slowly brings it back down to mildly desperate before exhaling heavily against Chloe’s lips.

“Are you close?” Chloe asks against her mouth. Beca’s eyes flicker open and she sees the sheer pleasure on Chloe’s face: it’s evident in the way her brow furrows, the flush on her cheeks, her swollen lips. What gets her is the way Chloe’s eyes are blown and wide once her eyelids flick open. She stares back at Beca in a way that makes Beca shiver from the vulnerability of it all.

Beca had been close, but upon seeing Chloe’s expression, she’s pretty much right there- “Fuck, yes,” she groans out before reattaching their lips. Her entire body seems to coil and tense, as does Chloe’s beneath her. Chloe whimpers once, head falling back against the couch as she lets Beca ride out her orgasm with ease. “Shit,” she mumbles, squeezing her eyes shut as she forces herself back down on Chloe’s lap, mouth falling open with how full she feels.

Beca’s body collapses against Chloe’s and she grips Chloe’s shoulders tightly before pushing herself back, dazed.

“That was okay right?” Chloe’s hands glide up and down her thighs comfortingly as they sit in silence for a couple of minutes.

Beca almost doesn’t want to leave because Chloe is warm and comfortable, but she’s growing mildly uncomfortable with the toy nestled inside her. “Yeah,” she mumbles. “More than.” She blinks, battling back the little wave of arousal that courses through her when she slowly extricates herself from Chloe’s grasp and settles back on her lap so the toy slips out and rests between them.

Chloe exhales heavily, her hands still rubbing soothingly along Beca’s body. She tugs Beca in for a quick embrace, lips seeking hers out briefly. “We should clean up,” Chloe murmurs before pressing her lips against Beca’s forehead. “Change. Before they get back.” Her words come out as staggered as Beca’s thoughts feel, so she agrees, if only to quickly relieve herself of the stickiness she feels between her legs.

They manage to make it back onto the couch. Beca tiredly allows Chloe to tug her into a half hug, her legs draped over Chloe’s lap comfortably, before Chloe tugs the blanket up around them. She’s comfortably snug in a spare pair of Chloe’s sweatpants and and equally warm sweater.

Her nose presses lightly into Chloe’s neck and she tries not to inhale too greedily, enjoying the scent that is so distinctly Chloe.

Chloe’s giggle is light and muffled when Beca tugs up the hood of her sweater over her head. “Tired?” she teases.

“Shut up and cuddle me, you psycho.”

fin. fic tag.

#bechloe #mine #text #my fanfic #beca mitchell #chloe beale #pitch perfect #Anonymous #ask #fic prompt

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peace-coast-island · 5 years

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Diary of a Junebug

Trying out bookbinding kits!

This week’s arts and crafts theme is bookbinding! Last year we tried a bunch of art kits, including a book making one by CraftyCrafty. Since everyone had fun with the craft kits, I figured why not have a day where we try out various kits relating to a certain art project? Bookbinding won by a landslide!

It took about a year, but Butch and I managed to find five different bookbinding kits that met our standards. And by that, we mean kits that have all the supplies, aren’t too pricey or complicated, and have fairly good reviews that are three stars or more. There’s not a lot of bookbinding kits out there so it’s a bit of a challenge finding good ones. Luckily, we managed to find five different kits that we can’t wait to try out!

Knifty Knits What makes this kit catch my eye is the fact is it’s from Knifty Knits, which involves knitting. In terms of bookbinding, it’s for a coptic stitch book with a plain chipboard cover. The kit also comes with three different colors of yarn - jewel tones, water lilies, and rainbow - and a pair of knitting needles. Since it’s for a book cover and it’s not supposed to be bulky, the yarn is super fine and the needle size is quite small.

As for the bookbinding itself, there isn’t really anything that sticks out. The paper quality is like a $10 sketchpad, so it’s pretty good. There’s the usual tools like an awl and bone folder - both are decent quality too. As for the knitting portion of the DIY, I was impressed! Since the yarn and needles are small, it takes quite a bit of time to make the book cover/sleeve. But if you’re like me and find something like knitting relaxing, then it’s all good. The colors of the yarn are pretty and the quality is pretty good - especially since super fine yarn isn’t really something you find in stores. As for the leftover yarn, I’m gonna use them to make two more journals!

Rating: 4 skeins of yarn out of 5

Plushiemania Like the knitting one, this kit focuses more on the cover than the actual bookbinding itself. So you get to make a cute plush animal cover, which is super cute! There’s six patterns for six animals - dog, cat, bunny, elephant, duck, and alpaca - and they’re easy to follow. The kit comes with the usual bookbinding supplies minus the bone folder, along with squares of plush fabric in various colors. The fabric feels soft and durable - though I won’t really know for sure how wear and tear will affect it until time goes on but according to online reviews it seems to hold up well. As for paper quality, it’s noticeably thinner than the previous kit - but still good enough for writing and sketching without too noticeable or distracting ghosting. I guess the thinness of the paper is to make up for the bulkiness of the book cover since the front will have a bit of polyester stuffing to add to the plushie appearance.

Overall this kit is fun and cute! I enjoyed making the cover and the patterns are easy to follow - though if you’re a beginner at sewing it’s best to do some practice runs so you’re comfortable with the stitches. There’s so many cute designs to choose from as well as colors of fabric - and like the previous kit I plan to make the other designs with my own supplies. However the only thing about this kit is that the front cover will be a bit bulky - not by too much as I initially thought, but it’s noticeable. It’s a cute front cover, but is is practical for use? Guess I’ll find out when I put this journal to good use!

Rating: 3.5 plushies out of 5

Pleather Crafts A traveler’s notebook kit with saddle stitch booklets and a leather cover! This kit’s on the pricier side - mainly because of the pleather quality according to the website. The kit comes with two large sheets of pleather in brown and black, a pad of decorative paper for the inside of the leather cover as well as covers for the booklets, charms, elastics, and the usual bookbinding essentials. What’s different about this kit compared to the other two is the paper. It’s thicker and a lot higher quality- the kind of paper that can be used for painting - and it’s cream colored with rounded corners. And of course, there’s instructions as well as dimensions for the cover. There’s enough paper to make three booklets, which is how many books the cover can fit.

I love everything about this kit! From the high quality pleather to the pretty patterned decorative paper to the whimsical charms - it’s my favorite kit out of all the five we tried out! The size of the traveler’s notebook is perfect for putting in a handbag without being too small or bulky. I also love the simplicity of the design along with its whimsical touches. A pricey kit, but worth every cent!

Rating: 5 butterfly charms out of 5

Travels Beyond Another traveler’s notebook kit! This is for a passport size book and the cover is made from laminated cardstock instead of pleather. Also, the paper for the inserts are dot grid instead of blank. And since it’s smaller sized, the paper is noticeably thinner than the previous kit - about the same quality as the plushie kit. The paper for the covers are maps - which are a very nice aesthetic that fits in with the traveler’s journal theme. Like the pleather kit, this one also comes with all the bookbinding essentials. There’s enough paper to make three inserts - you just need a paper cutter so they’d be passport sized.

This kit is pretty simple - something you can make at home of you have all or most of the supplies. However the tricky part was laminating the cover, which took me a couple tries. There were a lot of air bubbles but I didn’t want to waste supplies so I did my best to pop them with the bone folder and that ended up working better than I thought. There’s not too much to say about the kit except that I love the aesthetic, especially the airplane charm!

Rating: 4,5 airplane charms out of 5

Secret Belgian Binding After watching a tutorial on this method of bookbinding, I was intrigued. There’s not a lot of kits for this binding so it was like finding a rare bug or fish when we came across it online. The binding looks complicated but the actual process is easier than we thought! Also the cover bends all the way back, which is cool! So we’ve got the essentials as well as high quality chipboard for the covers. There’s colorful paper for the pages - all pretty decent quality and colors of the rainbow. The selection of decorative paper for the inside cover is colorful too, adding a much needed pop of color to the cover.

The front cover is a cutout, so the kit also comes with patterns and templates as well as blades. Basically you cut the templates, tape them on the cover, and cut out the shapes. It’ll take a few tries to go through the chipboard and it’s best to practice on a scrap so you’ll be comfortable with the blade. I love how the cover turned out - not bad for my first time doing something like this! And the binding was pretty fun! Like I said, it’s not as complicated as I thought it would be and it turned out very nice! However it does involve quite a bit of prep - like making a spine and stitching the cover first then the signatures - so I recommend using a cutting mat to make sure the measurements are even or else the cover will turn out wonky.

Rating: 4.25 cardboard flower cutouts out of 5

junebug|previous|ao3|next

#animal crossing #Animal Crossing City Folk #Diary of a Junebug #headcanon ramble

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happilyrainyinternet · 3 years

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The Best Window Curtains, According to Interior Designers

You may not appreciate the importance of window dressings — which, in addition to looks, provide privacy and block light — until you move into a place with naked windows. Luckily, adding curtains is one of the easier — and less expensive — projects you can undertake to transform a room. To help you dress your windows with the least amount of headache, we turned to 10 interior designers for their favorite curtains, lots of which are surprisingly quite budget friendly. (If you’re shopping for curtains, you’re likely looking at rods, and this list has a bunch of expert-recommended options to choose from.)

Before we get to the blackout curtain— which include a range of ready-made styles in different opacities, colors, and patterns, as well as a couple of custom options — some quick guidelines for how to size the drapery you choose for your space. When it comes to measuring your windows, Megan Hersch, the owner of Studio MG Interiors and online interior-design service RoomLift, says you should measure 12 to 24 inches beyond the window on either side to determine how wide each curtain panel should be, so that you have some gather. In determining the length of your curtain, Hersch says it depends on how formal you want them to look — and how much cleaning you want to do. “I typically measure the drapery so that it just ‘kisses’ the floor,” she says. “This way, nothing is dragging and trapping dirt, but you are sure they don’t look too short.” For a more formal look, she suggests adding an extra 1.5 inches so the drape just “breaks” on the floor. The most dramatic look is to have the panels “puddle” on the floor, which means adding anywhere from 8 to 12 inches to the length of the curtain (the type of fabric, whether stiff like taffeta or soft like velvet, will also determine how naturally it gathers on the floor).

A sheer curtain is a great choice if you want a little bit of everything from your window treatments — privacy, light, and looks — without having to commit too heavily to any one of those needs. As Megan Huffman, a designer with the online interior-design service Modsy, puts it, sheer curtains “provide the ability to allow natural light into a space and help brighten up dark rooms while still allowing privacy,” adding that, “there’s nothing I love more than a crisp, white, sheer curtain.” She recommends this pair from West Elm, which features a subtle crosshatch pattern that adds a bit of texture. If you like the look of sheer curtains during the day but also want to keep light pollution from coming through at night, Huffman says these can easily be hung on a double curtain rod with a pair of thicker, more opaque blackout curtains.

Interior designer Nicole Fuller also loves the sheer look, noting that sheer curtains made with linen in particular allow for that “gauzy feel” as the sun shines through the fabric. Linen drapes in general, she adds, “are incredibly timeless.” Fuller told us her favorite linen curtains come from Restoration Hardware’s Perennials line. But Hersch did us one better: She pointed us to these less expensive Perennials dupes from Restoration Hardware’s teen line, which she says will often have “very affordable,” premade drapery panels. (Hersch says Pottery Barn’s teen line is another source of affordable but expensive-looking curtains.) The curtains shown are made from a linen-cotton blend and cost about a third of their counterparts from the Perennials line.

For something more opaque (and still less expensive than Restoration’s regular line), try this linen-cotton style, which has the same look as the curtains above, but with a blackout lining that offers full privacy and light control.

For basic, neutral curtain panels that are less than $20 apiece, Dani Mulhearn, a senior designer at online interior-design service Havenly, recommends these curtains she uses in her own home. She says they “add a bit of softness and dress up standard window treatments in a space.” While Mulhearn cautions they are not true blackout curtains — just “room-darkening” — they still work great for privacy. She likes the pearl color, calling it “a great neutral that goes with any cool or warm color schemes.” (If pearl’s not your thing, there are 16 other colors available.) Mulhearn also appreciates the fact that they have grommets, which are “a super-functional” detail that negates the need to buy curtain rings, and makes opening and closing them easy.

For faux linen blackout curtain, these are Mulhearn’s go-tos. She likes that they’re affordable, come in a variety of neutral colors, and are available in various lengths, from 63 inches to 108 inches. They also have a grommet top, which means you don’t need to get additional curtain rings to hang them from a rod.

If you’re looking for solid curtains with more drama, Huffman recommends using velvet ones — specifically, these light-blocking matte velvet curtains from Anthropologie that come in an array of jewel tones. The fabric’s piled texture and more substantial feel add heft to a space, not to mention color, making them a functional and stylish choice, she says. Each panel is made to order, which accounts for the price tag (velvet is also generally a more expensive material because of the way it is made).

If you want to stick to neutral colors but crave a bit more personality, consider these cotton-canvas patterned curtains from West Elm that also come recommended by Mulhearn. She told us they “have a little sheen to them,” with a “subtle enough pattern to give your windows that ‘dressed up’ feel without being super flashy,” noting that they also block most light and help insulate windows.

This curtain is Decorilla design expert Devin Shaffer’s choice. He says the panel’s raised pattern, which is made with metallic threads and kind of looks like tree bark, reminds him of the outdoors. While noticeable, the neutral-colored pattern is subtle enough that it won’t overwhelm a room, he adds.

Pinstripes add a “casual and coastal feel” to otherwise straightforward drapery, according to Modsy designer Katherine Tlapa, who says these curtains “add height and brighten a space with their simple vertical striping” while still being “clean and classic.” Interior designer Bachman Brown agrees that patterned curtains like this can do wonders for a room. “A large-scale pattern is one of the best drapery treatments you can do for a window,” he says. “It sets the tone for the room, and nothing draws your eye more than a grand-scaled fabric.”

Decorist designer Katy Byrne likes experimenting with boldly patterned curtains because “unlike paint, drapes can add a lot of color to a room while being much easier to swap out with changing trends.” She recommends these ikat panels that she says “would add a fun highlight to a playroom or kids’ space.”

If you want to splurge on custom drapery, interior designer Betsy Burnham, who also prefers “clean, unfussy treatments,” recommends the Shade Store. She likes its solid linens, opting for those with “inverted pleat drapery,” like this one, “for its tailored feel.” If you don’t like the linen fabric, Burnham says these curtains can be customized with a range of other materials.

For many of us, lockdown means looking: gazing at the views outside our windows, the traffic and the trees, with thoughts of post-pandemic life dancing through our heads. We ought to give some thoughts to those windows too, whether they are panes, sheets, or entire walls of glass. As my mother once said regarding domestic architecture, “A house without a porch is like a man without a country.” To my mind, a similar rule applies to windows—without blinds or shades or shutters or curtains, many windows are just featureless voids. I’m not the only one who thinks this: Scores of AD100 interior designers from Manhattan’s Jeffrey Bilhuber to Milan’s Studio Peregalli consider a window undressed to be a window unfinished.

Historically speaking, windows have typically had some sort of covering, to regulate sunlight, protect interiors from inclement weather, and to provide privacy for you and yours. In the ancient world, they were simple fabric panels that could be folded back or lifted up and then held in place, in one manner or another, for the duration.

Time-travel thousands of years later to the minimalist Bauhaus era, where rejection was the rule yet curtains were still considered essential decorative components. Le Corbusier specified curtains and shades for his projects, and Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld’s houses possessed their own complement of window treatments, from full-length to café short. Alas, Rietveld’s marvelous little 1924 house for and in collaboration with the young widow Truus Schröder in Utrecht, his very first architectural commission and now a museum, possesses no shades or sheer window treatments anymore—a curatorial mistake, to my mind, because that decision deifies the architecture while ignoring the domesticity of Schröder and her children for which it was built. (Rietveld, though married, would become his client’s lover and live there too, returning to his family only at night.)

Luxurious floor-to-ceiling curtains outfitted the Czech Republic’s Villa Tugendhat, one of modernism’s most celebrated residences, a glass-walled villa designed by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and decorated with designer Lilly Reich in the 1920s. Some of them were made of silver-gray shantung silk, while others were fashioned of black or white velvet, the uncomplicated lengths and plain colors framing a green landscape. The Frenchman Jean-Michel Frank may have been a pioneering reductivist, but even he understood the power of a pretty window. After all, he was the man who put dramatically ruffled curtains into Elsa Schiaparelli’s Place Vendôme fashion salon.

Concurrently, while the tastemakers of the 1920s and 1930s were paring back but not abandoning window treatments entirely, their traditionalist peers held faithful to layered looks that began in the 17th century, grew more complicated in the 18th century, and became suffocatingly elaborate in the 19th century. Sumptuous window dressings reached their 20th-century apotheosis in the work of the British tastemaker John Fowler, a cofounder of London’s Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, as well as such disciples as America’s Mario Buatta.

Fowler’s curtains for aristocratic country houses and the apartments of international grandees remain a standard in the craft—lined, interlined, fringed, looped, swagged, tasseled, pinked, and otherwise elaborated in a manner that brings to mind the intricacies of haute couture as well as 18th-century France, one of the decorator’s passions. Among my favorites of the genre, though far simpler than Fowler’s swoony extravagances—such as the madly romantic cascades of silk taffeta in Evangeline and David Bruce’s famous London drawing room—are the ones that his colleague Tom Parr created in the 1980s for the Manhattan multipurpose living room of Grace, Countess of Dudley, and her longtime companion, Robert Silvers, editor in chief of the New York Review of Books. Great lengths of rose-splashed white chintz sluiced from ceiling to floor in the vast primary space—the 50-odd-foot sweep was divided into several areas for living and dining—emphasizing the height of the ceiling and parted to reveal views of Park Avenue.

Take note of the word parted. Beyond the myriad practical aspects, window treatments, from simple to elaborate, offer us moments of communion, as human hands—whether your own or those of Lady Dudley’s housekeeper—adjust them at will. There are aural pleasures too, from the clicking of curtain rings to the swish of fabric to the creak of shutters to the whir of roller blinds. Literally, the beauty of geometric blackout curtain is an open-and-shut case.

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colorfuljellyfishpirate · 3 years

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The Best Window Curtains, According to Interior Designers

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ryviri-cosplay · 7 years

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Hey! So I know some of you were asking for some advice on a Chrom cosplay so at last I am here to help. Sorry it's a bit late, but let's get started!

Here's the front of the shirt! The shirt and pants are made up of some dark blue spandex-ish type fabric, and I got about 4.5 yards of it. The shirt is actually two layers, the under layer being the part with the sleeve and folded collar. I used just a basic long sleeve shirt pattern for that but instead of sewing on both sleeves, I only did the one and just hemmed off the one missing the sleeve. The collar was simple too, I just used YouTube for collar tutorials since I never made one like this but it's very basic and is easier to make than you might think. Now, the top layer is a sort of poncho that I made out of the same fabric that I lined with bias tape as seen above and connected the buttons and other collar to.

Chrom is weird and has two collars, one being the folded one (that I sewed on the bottom shirt) and the other being a sort of Sailor Moon or Anime School Girl collar which I connected to the top layer, the poncho. The flatter, school girl collar was simple to make as well and just used more tutorials on YouTube, you can make these however you want or in what way you want, but that's how I did it! So the funky-shaped poncho went over the shirt and that's the base of the shirt!

The bias tape is actually made by me, I bought the fabric I wanted for it which was some silvery-gold satin and used a bias tape maker to get the even strips of fabric that are free of frays on the outside. Then I literally just hot glued them onto the shirt lol.

The buttons are made of craft foam and worbla and I just hot glued those on as well. Sometimes the simplest/laziest methods work the best!

This is the back of the shirt where you can see that school girl collar much better. To get the designs, I used some thinner cardboard/cardstock and cut out the shapes, then I took the same fabric as the bias tape I made and covered the cardboard pieces with it. (The cardboard could be like the backs of notebooks or cereal box cardboard, that's what I used) I tucked the edges of the fabric around the back of the cardboard and glued it down so the fabric didn't fray, then I just hot glued the pieces on, nothing fancy at all!

Here are the pants, I already talked a bit about them in a previous post but here they are again! The base of it is just leggings I sewed, then the part on the thighs are strips of that blue fabric that I put bias tape on and glued together and wrapped around my legs. So they're like an extra layer that I just hot glued on top of the leggings. I also stuffed them with a bit of stuffing to give them that pantaloons shape that Chrom has. (So yes, these are pillow pants basically) The little buttons are buttons that I covered in that same fabric and glued on as well.

Here's the back of the pants where you can see how the fabric is wrapped around from the butt and all the way around the front and to the inseams. It was very awkward to make, but they're comfy!

These are the belts that go around the chest area! I got about 2-2.5 yards of this I think... The base is just some white vinyl I picked up and folded over (and glued) so it had nicer edges. The buckles are made of craft foam and worbla and the buttons are googly eyes that I painted. There's also a decorative button that I sewed onto it as well.

It looks like a jumbled mess now, but if you take a look at a reference of Chrom, this all makes much more sense where everything should be placed! You can also see Velcro on there where I attach it to the bottom part of the belt that goes around the waist, which you'll see in a second.

Only one of the buckles I made actually functions like a buckle in case I need to use it getting on the costume or taking it off, but usually I don't need to unbuckle it at all.

Here is the other belt I mentioned earlier that hangs lower on Chrom's waist and sort of loops around his thighs. You can also see the Velcro here where I keep it attached to the chest belts. Nothing fancy here either, just a strip of fabric with lines on it. The lines are black fabric paint that I very carefully painted on because for some reason, I didn't want to sew on the black lines since it was leather-y fabric. It took a lot of patience lol.

Moving along, these are the gloves and the little wrist band thing that goes on his sleeve arm! I literally bought some gray gloves off amazon, cut them down to size, then made little cuffs and sewed them on (that are lined with the same gray fabric as the wrist band). Then the wrist band is just a strip of fabric I hemmed and sewed in a loop that I just slide onto my wrist. It also has some tiny buckles on it that I believe I bought from Etsy, I just got a little package of like 12 of them since I used them more later on.

Here are the leg things! Leg sleeves? Leg bands? Leg warmers? I have no idea. Either way, you can see that the little buckles come into action again here and I just stuck them through little hemmed strips of fabric, then (you guessed it) hot glued the strips down to the base of the leg thing. The longer leg thing is just sewed in a tube and hemmed, once again nothing fancy there, then the top is a band that I sewed in a tube shape as well and sewed black lines on for details. As you can see, I also added on the cuffs just like the gloves made of that same gray fabric (that I got about 2 yards of). So I made two identical bands with cuffs, but one has that weird leg sleeve thing, otherwise they're exactly the same and just slide onto the legs just below the knees!

Now getting to the cape, you can see the little brooch he has that I made out of clay and then painted with acrylics and sealed with mod podge. The brooch is hot glued to some weird rope stuff I found at a craft store, however, I braided the rope so it was thicker, sturdier, and got a similar effect to Chrom's. The other end f the rope is hot glued to the inside of the cape on the edge there, where there is also another decorative button I just sewed on.

Here's the pauldron/shoulder armor! I could have done better on this but whatever. It's made out of craft foam and worbla and I just shaped it to the way I wanted and added on the details. The details are little strips of worbla that I heated up and rolled into noodles, then I just attached them and shaped them to the surface of the pauldron. No glue there since worbla sticks to itself! If it looks uneven, you can always heat it back up and move the pieces around!

I also just glued the pauldron to the cape because I was lazy and when I was looking at references, I didn't notice any straps or anything that Chrom has so that's what I did!

And this is the cape! You can see the black patch in the top right corner there, that's just more Velcro that connects to the back of the brooch, which of course also has Velcro on it. You'll see that in another picture as well. The cape is made up of some nice cotton fabric and it's two layers of the same stuff that are just sewed together. I made sure it was cotton because that's the easiest to dye since the bottom gray-ish part is gray Rit Dye that I dipped it in to gat the worn/burnt/dirty effect. The edges are all trimmed in random directions to give it the cool effect.

After that. I decided to take it up a notch! I actually rubbed that bottom part of the cape in some dirt and grass as well to get some real dirt effects. (which you can't see as well in the picture, but it's the thought that counts) Then I had some help with a blow torch and singed the edges of the cape to get an even more battle-worn and burnt look to it! This was the most fun part of making the cosplay tbh.

Here's the backside/inside of the cape! It's made of that same cotton fabric, but I dyed it blue! (Fun fact I had this fabric and it was dyed blue already before I even thought about making this costume because I was going to use it for something else but never did lol) You can also see the sloppiness of the cape bunched up where the pauldron is because that's where I glued it, but it looks fine from the outside which is where it counts! And you can also see the patch of Velcro on the back of the brooch that I mentioned before so I can keep the cape on and take it off with ease.

Next is the shoes! These were fun to make too! I just used a cheap pair of boots I bought from Saver's for the base and decorated them with the same dark blue and gray fabric from before. I added on some cuffs just like the leg bands and gloves, and of course I covered the front and back with some gray fabric which took a long time to get that smooth effect. With the leather-y boots, I used super glue to glue down the fabric and I only used the super glue along the edges so it didn't bleed through in random spots in the middle.

As you can see, they also have a band that I attached to the cuff part and I used Velcro so I can put them on and take them off easily. The Velcro especially helps keep them on my feet since I had to manipulate the original boots and cut them down to get them to the shape I wanted!

Almost done! These are the fake tattoos I made that I use for his Brand of the Exalt on his shoulder. I'm going to be honest, I went into Microsoft Paint (before I got a tablet and Paint Tool Sai) and took a picture of the brand and just colored it to that light red-ish color that I wanted. Like I said, sometimes the simplest methods work the best! Afterwards, I put the picture onto a Word document and got it to the size I wanted. Before I printed it on the special tattoo paper, I monkeyed around with the shade of red I wanted and the size and printed it on normal paper first to double check everything. Once It was settled, I fit as may little pictures as I could onto the Word document and printed it with the tattoo paper. There are instructions with the package, I just looked up "temporary tattoo paper" on amazon and it was the first one I'm pretty sure. This was an easy part of the cosplay too!

Last but not least, the wig! This is a Magnum wig from Arda wigs in the color dark blue, from what I can remember. It was very easy to style and I know I can always trust Arda to have some amazing cosplay wigs!

Besides the Falchion, that's basically it! The Falchion is made of poster board with foam and worbla details, but since there are 100 million ways to make swords, I won't go into depth unless you guys are interested.

Just let me know if you have any further questions and I'll try my best to answer them! Thank you so much for all of your support and great questions, I'm always happy to help!

#chrom #fire emblem #fire emblem cosplay #fire emblem awakening #fire emblem chrom #cosplay #cosplay help #cosplay tips #cosplay tutorial #This was such a fun cosplay to make and wear tbh #typing all this out made me want to wear this to another convention lol #long post

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broadwaybydesign · 7 years

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The Glamorous Life: Costuming the 2009 Revival of “A Little Night Music”

Editor’s Note: This review was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but due to the tech issue with the Here Lies Love review, I’m going to post it this afternoon. Hopefully I can find the HLL review, but if not, I’ll write a new one for posting later in the week. And now I’ve learned a valuable lesson in backing things up again!

A Little Night Music is one of those productions where everyone can probably name the 11 o’clock number, but has no idea what the rest of the production is--or even that the song came from a musical: the classic “Send in the Clowns.” But this production, and its 2009 revival, are so much more than a single (beautiful) number. And while Harold Prince may have said it is “a play about wasting time,” there is a lot more than nothing going on with this staging and costuming.

I first became aware of A Little Night Music because of the 1977 movie of the same name which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Len Cariou. The musical and movie are based on an earlier film by famed Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, so it is perhaps not surprising that the whole of the production is couched with Scandinavian themes, styling, and color schemes. The 2009 production, a revival starring the divine Dame Angela Lansbury and the ever-beautiful Catherine Zeta-Jones in a role which won her a Tony, is no exception.

Prepare for a lot of whites and creams and blacks in this review, which should give us a chance to talk about technique a lot, because that’s just as important here as the colors are in other productions. Costume designer David Farley also did the scene design for this revival production, and so we get to see what it looks like when a costumer can have a direct hand in the set design, rather than just the reverse! Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of these designs:

There are some parallels in the character played by Ms Zeta-Jones, Desiree, and that of Glenn Close’s Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. Both are actresses whose stars have faded, who are past their prime, and who are still thirsting for a taste of the glory they once had on stage and screen respectively. Unlike Norma Desmond, however, Desiree has a bit more of a “life” in that she’s surrounded by family and former lovers throughout the production, somber “Send in the Clowns” number notwithstanding.

This costume shows some classic late Victorian and early Edwardian style, which makes sense given that the musical is set in 1900. Despite being relatively simple to behold, there’s actually quite a bit to unpack here in the costume, both the dress and the accessories. Ms Zeta-Jones has a traditionally classically beautiful figure and appearance, and a costumer always wants to design their costume to fit the actress herself, and not just the character, something that I have mentioned in the past. But in this case, that’s important for the character of Desiree herself; despite the fading of her glory, she remains vain and glory-seeking, and obviously would put her appearance and looks before almost anything else.

That’s also one of the two reasons for the muted color palate chosen in this costume. The other is, as I mentioned earlier, the setting of the musical; Scandinavian designs, especially for summer weather, were extraordinarily stark for the upper classes in this era. The focus was on crisp, striking beauty rather than stunning flashes of color as seen in London or Paris circa 1900.

This dress itself is beautiful, capably constructed out of satin and what looks like a light muslin; the latter would keep the wearer cool in hot weather, important both for a Swedish summer and for an actress under the brutal heat of stage lighting. And that is extra important with this costume because it’s the one Ms Zeta-Jones spends the most time in during the production.

Let’s look at it from another angle to check some of the details:

The white chemise under the dress is what gives us our tipoff that this dress is, in fact, a cream color rather than a snow-white, and I’ve mentioned in previous reviews why that’s important. Set aside the Scandinavian design work of the piece, and an off-white often looks cleaner to the naked eye than a pure white, because the eye is attuned to picking up things that aren’t quite right when there is a lot of negative space (which white naturally tends to form). A cream, in other words, allows the purity and elegance of the white to be shown off while still looking satisfying to the eye.

The dress itself is relatively simple, with a muslin skirt that is designed to look chic and elegant, while the blouse and bodice of the dress are a little bit more stylishly cut. Notice how the bodice comes to a point in the center, allowing the eye to visually see where the piece ands and then take note of the skirts underneath. In addition, the dress is hung and layered in such a way as to allow subtle folds to develop as the actress moves across the stage or shifts her positioning; as I mention a lot, that helps the dress catch the light, and in this case reinforces that this is not a white dress, but a creamy off-white.

A line of buttons acts as the only dress adornment, and rather than being straight, they are angled across the bust towards the hip. This adds a little bit of style which takes the costume from being too simple to being just about right for the 1900-era Swedish setting of the production. The lapels of the blouse and bodice are small but prominent enough to be noticed when looked at up close, once again a hallmark of proto-Edwardian style, a transition between the lapel-heavy late Victorian era and the more flat blousing of the Edwardian era and later, as it became more acceptable for women’s fashion to be a little less “styled” as it were.

The accessory work here is very pretty, timeless in consisting of pearls and (assuredly false) diamonds. The necklace around Desiree’s neck is dainty, with the pearls bunched in a way that is reminiscent of clustered fruit, with dangling pearl earrings to match. Rather than an elaborate hat, Ms Zeta-Jones sports a feathery hairpiece that gives a little bit of added height and hints at her elegance...or perhaps, even, her reduced circumstances, relegated to theatrical touring in Sweden instead of the main stage.

Another key difference between proto-Edwardian style and its 19th century predecessors is the lack of a large bustle. I’ve mentioned bustles before in the context of ball gowns, and they were used to expand the rear of a dress and provide a bit more space between a woman and anyone else coming near her. By 1900, however, this had gone out of fashion, and we can see from this kneeling shot where Desiree embraces Frederik (Alexander Hanson), her former lover and (maybe) father of her child. The expansion of the rear of the dress is solely because of the petticoats which can be seen peeking out from under the hem of the skirt as it pools on the floor.

I like the use of the more linen-like, muslin cloth for this dress for a couple reasons, the first of which is that it’s quite authentic to the time period, but also because it allows us to talk about technique a little more. I’ve talked a lot about comfort for the actresses under stage lighting, but another reason to vary your fabric selection is to play with the lighting a little bit. Whereas satin, sateen, silk, and the like will be reflective, muslin, linen, or other woven cloths will give you the much more matte appearance seen here, and below in another group still, this time encompassing a couple similarly costumed characters:

There’s no reflectivity in this shot, because the cloth of the dresses does not allow for it. That means you can actually see some of the details a little bit better, and given that Mr Farley did both the costume and the scene design for the 2009 revival of A Little Night Music, I cannot believe this is coincidental.

Take a closer look at Dame Angela Lansbury’s, playing Desiree’s mother, costume on the left of the shot (stage right). While similar in color to Desiree’s, the style is very different and quite a bit older. Madame Armfeldt is an older woman who clings to the more Victorian styles that she grew up wearing and is most comfortable in. There is more rich adornment in this dress than in her daughter’s, as can be seen here:

Cream in color, there is a subtle patterning to this dress in the form of just-thicker-than-pinstripe stripes, a lighter color than the main cream body of the dress. Around her neck, she wears not only a pearl necklace with a cameo pendant, but a pair of spectacles, as would have been appropriate for a woman of style and some measure of means in this era; the handbag would not come into vogue for an upper class woman (and she is upper class, given her “dalliances” with European royalty in her past) for some decades.

Dame Angela is also costumed with a rather compelling hat, a straw base with some pale pink feathering and a couple of gray flowers; once again, the color scheme is muted in keeping with the overall theme of stark colors, but the addition of some adorning elements and complementary shades is a pretty nice touch.

As I noted at the start of this review, whites and creams predominate, but there is some good use of black in the costumes as well. Let’s take a look at a couple of those as well:

Once again, with the black dresses, we get to see the distinct differences between the Victorian and Edwardian styling. Dame Angela’s costume is far more voluminous, designed to disguise her figure, and the bodice is decorated richly with a little bit of beadwork and some lace-work. While she does lack a hat this time, the slight butterfly sleeves once again draw a distinction between her costume and Ms Zeta-Jones’.

Desiree’s costume is simple once again, but the striking silver panels to the bodice and blouse combination help it to stand out. There are specific rules in Victorian and Edwardian fashion about how black is supposed to be used, but at the moment I can’t recall where silver/gray comes in on the hierarchy. Needless to say, here it was a deliberate and stylish costuming choice that makes what might otherwise be a too plain dress into something that is eye-catching and memorable. Once again, there is little in the way of accessories, though Ms Zeta-Jones sports a brooch at her neck, much like Dame Angela.

Take a look at another one of the black numbers from the production, this time much more stark and austere, without the silver paneling of the above costume:

As you can see, the skirt is much the same, the giveaway being the embroidery about six inches above the hem of the dress. But whereas before we had a blouse and bodice that combined some colorful elements, this time we have a much more plain, almost velveteen blouse. There’s a more somber feeling to this dress, and I think it easily fits some of the darker themes of the musical: dissatisfaction with life, anger at lost glory, and a sense of loss as one’s fame recedes into the fog of memory.

A Little Night Music is not a showy musical, in music or in costuming, but I would never call the costumes of David Farley boring. Rather, they allow us a glimpse inside the fashions of a time period that often gets overlooked, namely the transition between Victorian fashion trends and Edwardian trends. The fact that the musical takes place in a culture that emphasized flat tones and matted colors helps to explain the choice to keep things confined to blacks, whites, and silvers. To me, that’s a beautiful choice, and there is a kind of elegance here that is timeless. Instead of relying on a color palate, the cuts of the cloth and shape of the costumes are forced to stand on their own, and I think they succeed.

This is a musical that deserves a look, not only because its austere color choice is a bit of a palate-cleanser, but because the designs are interesting and the music light and delightful. In that respect, David Farley’s designs are a rousing success, and it was wonderful to analyze them.

That wraps up my review of the costumes of A Little Night Music. As always, if you have thoughts, comments, criticism, or the like, please feel free to drop an Ask, submission, or message! And make sure to keep reading as we approach the weekend and take a look at more beautiful musicals!

Stay tuned!

#a little night music #david farley #broadway #musicals #catherine zeta-jones #angela lansbury #theatre #costumery

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tree-of-blue-squirrel · 7 years

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Strange guest - @cas-is-my-hero fic challenge

Fandom: Supernatural

Pairing: Canonically possible mention of Destiel

Word count: 1440 words

Summary: Holy shit, the aliens are apparently a thing! (don´t tell Bobby)

Prompt: what are you doing on my doorstep at 2 in the morning?

Warnings: none

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A soft knocking on a motel door, wouldn´t wake many of the people. Sam, however, wasn´t just a regular. Hunter instincts have saved him from many sticky situations. Also his intelligence, but he had to admit there were times when Dean could thought up of better tactics. Speaking of Dean, he was sleeping like a baby. Sam chose to not interumpt his sleep. Yesterday´s werewolf hunt had been an exhausting one. Sam grabbed a silver knife from his lampstand and cautiously approached the door. The werewolf they hunted down could have some buddies near the town. Nothing could´ve prepared him for the view he met when he opened the door though.

„Who are you and what are you doing on my doorstep at 2 in the morning ?“ he asked the hillariously short figure that stood in front of him, while holding his knife close. It certainly wasn´t a human.

„I come in peace.“ Said the figure in a shaky voice. „I-I´ve been cast out of my home planet.“

„Dean, wake up.“ Sam shouted out into the darkness of the room where his older brother slept, maintaining defensive stance, just in case the creature was lying.

„Sam, if you´re trying to get me to live healthy, you better stop now. I am not going jogging with you ever again!“ Dean waved his hand at Sam and turned on the other side. He was having such a nice dream. He wanted to go back and drown himself into those heavenly blue orbs. „I am not taking you jogging, and never will since the time you used my running clothes to get laid. This is an emergency!“ Sam´s voice was gradually getting more desperate.

„Is Hell freezing solid or what?“ asked Dean, finally getting up and fixing his wild hair sticking out in every angle possible and grabbing the nearest clean pair of pants.

„Sir, from the little I know about Hell and it´s culture, that´s scientifically impossible.“

„SON OF A BITCH!“ screamed Dean, subsequently getting stuck while trying to put on his flannel shirt. „Sam, WHAT is this ?“ he asked, pointing at the figure near Sam.

„Dean, calm down, it´s just a harmless refugee. I guess.“

„Also an alien. Actual, breathing, grey-skinned alien... wait, a refugee ?“

„Yes, sir, I am indeed what humans call refugee.“ Said the alien, with a glimpse of nostalgia in her big black eyes „I´ve crashed near your residence in the foliage of local growth. By the laws of Claes'od, I am your slave now.“

The small figure fell on the knees and bowed in front of the hunters. Neighter of them seemed to be comfortable with that.

„You are not our slave.“ Said Sam, „Laws in here forbid slavery. Plus, it would be highly immoral.“

„Sam´s right. We will get you back home to your kind in no time, pal.“

„No, you don´t understand! I can´t go home. I was exiled because I commited an unforgivable crime against my family.“ Ranted the disstressed alien. „When saving people from a burning building I put my mate before my parents, resulting in their death. THE MATE! Do you even realize what that means ? Blood is thicker than water, and that´s a law!“

„What´s your name ?“ asked Dean quietly, kneeling next to the small frame of the Claes'od

„Maxiprgpjadosj´evenuu“ she whined softly.

„Okay... Max.. ughh, can I call you that ?“ she nodded and Dean continued „You see, the world is not so simple. Same goes for the relationships. If your kind wants to dick around and make it a law, it´s their choose, but here on Earth, family doesn´t end in blood, and it doesn´t start there eighter.“

„Thank you, human Dean.“

„Now that that´s settled, we should probably hide the ship, or whatever you arived on, before anyone finds it. Last thing we need around now is guys from Area 51.“

„Oh don´t worry, the ship has invisibility shield that mimics it´s surroundings. Only beings with hightened perception of light wavelenght can see the minimal anomalies it causes.“

„Fair enough, but let´s go check it, just in case it isn´t hidden enough.“ Said Sam.

„Good idea.“ Agreed Max

„Let´s go ship-hunting then. I´ll man the flashlight.“ Said Dean with a child-like grin on his face.

The group of three had searched the bushes behind the motel up and down, but they couldn´t find anything, by seeing or just hitting it accidentally. As Max grew anxious, Dean was getting annoyed by it.

„I don´t understand. The ship is invisible, not immaterial. It´s gone.“ Max cried out

„Well, maybe that, or maybe you were just lying.“ Dean spat out his doubts

„Guys, I think it was rather stolen.“ Said Sam „There´s a tiny bit of sulphur.“

„So demons. This night just keeps getting better.“

„It´s not going to be the night for much longer. Max will need some disguise, and probably food.“

„Food ? Oh you must mean nutritiens. No, I do not. My species lives similarly to plants on this planet. We breathe oxygen and carbon dioxyde to create energy.“

„Well, that helps with a budget. Let´s find you some human clothes, then. Your current outfit could draw unwanted attention.“ Said Sam, pointing to the sleek fabric that shifted colors with every move.

Naturally, every piece of clothing was huge on Max, but after a bit of tearing and stitching here and there, Sam and Dean quickly made them suit her thin body.

„Now, just one last thing – a big hat and a pair of sunglasses.“ Said Dean putting them on. The hat couldn´t be tailored to fit Max´s small head, but with the sunglasses it covered most of her face.

„I think we are golden this way. Maybe we could head out to the Bob-“

The light in the cheap stinky motel room flickered. Most of the people wouldn´t be bothered by this, in fact they would expected the lights to flicker – but not the Winchesters.

„Grab a shotgun and let´s go. Looks like the demons came back.“ Shouted Dean, tossing one to Sam.

The trio ran towards the Impala and soon they were speeding on a highway followed by an enormous cloud of black smoke.

„We gotta get rid of them, Dean. They don´t seem to be keen on letting us go just like that.“

„I know Sam, but what chance do we stand. It´s not like we have demon-killing bombs on us. Our best chance is getting the demons as far from the town as possible and then put up the best fight we can manage.“

The atmosphere in the Impala was dark, but there still was a glistering sliver of hope. Max turned in her seat and studied the cloud closely.

„Do you have any kind of energy package on you that you don´t mind destroying ?“ she asked

„You mean a battery of some sort?“ Sam answered

„Yes, a battery. A smaller one, preferably.“ Said Max „But hurry, they are getting close.“

Sam quickly pulled out his phone out of his pocket and threw the battery from inside it into Max´s hands.

„Will do. Now, stop the transport machine, Dean, I need to get out.��

„Are you crazy ? Aparently they are after you, and we can´t fight them all.“

„You can´t fight them...“ Max corrected „...but I can.“ She took of her necklace with a large pendant made of strange stone. It seemed to glow softly, shifting even, as i fit contained something.

„When I´m out of the car, close your eyes. They are too delicate for what´s about to come.“

„Okay, Mad Max, but you have only one chance at this. Better make it count in the afterlife.“ Said Dean as he jumped on breaks and send the Impala into spin. The front now faced the smoke which menacingly flew closer with every second.

Max didn´t wait for second signal. She jumped out of car, with phone battery and the pendant, one in each hand. She joined them together in a loud bang as the sparks of electricity cracked around it. She threw the pendant on the ground as she looked fiercely into the smoke.

„Eat this“

The battery flew right into the middle of the cloud and exploded from the amount of energy it was forced to take in.

Luckily, they´ve been far enough from the town, so the citizens only saw something very similar to fireworks.

„What a bunch of idiots... It´s not the 4th of July yet.“ Old, grumpy sheriff Todd said to himself as he fell back into dreamless sleep.

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honorable tag: @cas-is-my-hero - because you can´t just ditch the prompt source

tags: @moostache @dragon-tail @wildtendermythologia @shit-happens-bitchachos @mishacrazyworld @snovolovac @nicowhereinhadesareyou @geekself @funnycas - feel free to reblog and spread this like a wildfire (it´s not funny or anything, but hey, I am narcissist who wants some attention, sue me for that xD)

#my writing #fandom fic #fanfiction #supernatural #i want to believe #anxious alien #cas-is-my-hero fanfic challenge

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quicksilversquared · 7 years

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Tikki’s Hobby

Tikki discovers origami during her quest to find something to do while she's sitting around in Marinette's bag. It's fun, it's pretty, and it doesn't take long for her to learn. Tikki is thrilled. She can make the little figurines all day and still be entertained.

Marinette just wants her room back before she drowns in a sea of miniature origami pieces.

(AO3) (FF.net)

Being an immortal god meant having a lot of time on one's hands.

Being an immortal god who had to ride along in a teenager's bag while she was at school meant having a lot of time on one's hands during which one couldn't really do much anything interesting, like flying laps or watching cat videos or listening to all of the music that had come out since the last time the Miraculous were activated, since those activities tended to make enough noise to draw unwanted attention. She couldn't very well paint in a bag without making a mess, and even an attempt at using a tablet and Microsoft Paint had ended in failure because the glow the screen gave off attracted too much attention, even through the bag's fabric.

So Tikki had to get creative.

"Can we buy that, Marinette?" Tikki asked as they browsed through the arts and crafts department of a neighborhood store. Marinette had been looking for a book about embroidery, but a thin book with pretty things made out of folded paper on it had caught Tikki's attention instead. "Does it say how to make the paper animals?"

Marinette turned around and spotted the book almost immediately. "Oh! It's an origami book. It shows all of the steps so you can make the animals, and it comes with some pretty paper, too."

Tikki bounced. There was a folded paper ladybug on the cover, and a cat, and a turtle, and a butterfly. When Marinette opened the book, she could see designs for a bee and a fox and a peacock among the other animal designs.

Tikki had to have it.

"I think I still have a couple origami books from when I was younger," Marinette said as she paged through the book. "Some of them have the same patterns as this one, I think."

Tikki peered up at Marinette. "Can we buy the book? Pretty please?" She widened her eyes as much as she could, knowing full well how susceptible Marinette was to kitten eyes. Perhaps it was cheating, but she wasn't using it for bad. "I think it would be fun to learn!"

They bought the book.

Tikki learned quickly that her body size put her at a bit of a disadvantage with the paper folding. The paper squares that came with the book were a bit too unwieldy for her, but any smaller and the creases and thicker paper layers started to interfere with the design. She had to back away from the more difficult, more interesting designs at first until she got the hang of simpler origami designs. It took a lot of practice, and Marinette ended up helping Tikki with a couple designs in between homework problems.

The god of creation was not going to be brought down by folded paper. She was going to get the hang of it, of that Tikki was certain.

Two weeks after buying the book, Marinette suggested that Tikki use tissue paper instead, or maybe another, thinner sort of origami paper. She could use smaller pieces then, without the thickness being such a huge problem. Tikki pounced on the suggestion immediately, and soon the little god had mastered the basic designs. Slowly but surely she moved on to the harder designs, and then the designs that used several pieces of the tissue paper, all folded differently. Tikki became an origami expert in no time, though to her great consternation she never got the hang of lucky stars. Her lack of fingers kept Tikki from pressing in the sides of the paper to form the stars, which frustrated the little goddess to no end. Still, Tikki didn't let her troubles with one design hold her back.

Slowly but surely, Marinette's desk vanished under a flood of tiny paper animals and flowers.

"Maybe you could make something with the origami pieces," Marinette finally suggested after she accidentally created an avalanche of folded paper by bumping into her desk. "A bracelet, maybe? Or maybe they could be hanging decorations."

Tikki pouted as she gathered up the small paper pieces in her arms and floated off to arrange the pieces on a windowsill. "But what if they get crushed? These are fragile."

Marinette bit her lip as she watched Tikki carefully arrange the tiny herd of giraffes on the windowsill. Her room was slowly being overrun by Tikki's hobby and, well, two artists in one space wasn't going to end well, especially since Marinette's sewing machine was currently being used as a display stand for no fewer than twenty-two origami cats of all colors and patterns.

"There might be a way to make them sturdier," Marinette suggested as she carefully moved seven origami peacocks to the side so she could do her homework in front of her computer. She wriggled the mouse to wake the computer up, almost crushing a paper flower as she did so. One quick Google search later, she found her answer. "This site says we could use acrylic paint or clear fingernail polish to make the paper harder so it could be used for other things."

Tikki whizzed away from where she was straightening a herd of elephants to peer over Marinette's shoulder. "But wouldn't anything wet make my animals warp? No thank you!"

Marinette giggled at her kwami's pout. "They only use a little bit at a time and do a bunch of layers so that the paper doesn't warp or anything. You could at least try it on some of your earlier attempts first, and if that doesn't work then we'll try something else."

Tikki looked undecided for a moment. "I don't know..."

Marinette waited.

"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt," Tikki finally decided. She brightened and looked up at Marinette with a grin. "Okay! Do you have any nail polish?"

"I didn't see where the akuma went!" Chat Noir shouted to Ladybug as they raced over the rooftops. "Do you have any idea?"

"Not a clue!" Ladybug shouted back as she slowed down to take a look at their surroundings. They were in a part of Paris that she hadn't been in much before. In fact, she had only been there once, to get the materials for an art project she did back in école. She and her father had gone to a giant art store that had absolutely everything any artist at any level would want. She had been overwhelmed at the options at the time, but now...

There it was, right over there, a beacon to artists all over the city with its flashy, art-themed storefront. Ladybug knew full well that they carried the product that Tikki wanted for her origami there, the product that she hadn't been able to find anywhere in any of the stores near her house. She had been hoping to maybe take the bus over to this part of town some afternoon soon before her chaise vanished under the growing collection of paper figurines, but she had never had the time before.

But she was here now, and with the akuma suddenly gone quiet...

Ah, Paris could wait three minutes while she ran in and bought a bottle of clear glaze for her kwami.

"I need to make a quick stop at that store," Ladybug announced as Chat Noir jumped over the street to join her. She could almost feel his quizzical stare on the side of her face. "I'll be right back out, I promise."

"O...kay?" Chat Noir sounded nothing short of puzzled. As Ladybug started forward, she could hear his footsteps following her. "May I ask why you are shopping in the middle of an akuma attack, my lady?"

Ladybug couldn't stop the blush that flared up across her face as she swung down to the street. Perhaps it was irresponsible of her, but she was getting desperate. She could barely do her homework anymore without worrying that she was going to crush the miniature owls surrounding her keyboard. "It's for my kwami. She's taken up an art hobby and needed something that I couldn't find near us."

"Uh-huh. And how are you going to pay for that?" Chat Noir landed next to Ladybug with a light thud and followed her as she made a beeline for the store. "Like, are you going to need to detransform? Because I can totally go take a hike for a few minutes while you do your shopping."

Ladybug froze a meter away from the door. She had been so incredibly focused on the store and getting the glue for Tikki that she had completely forgotten that her wallet had vanished with her transformation. If she wanted to get the glue without depending on the old "stuff is free for superheroes" thing that some shopkeepers had decided to do, she would have to find somewhere safe to detransform, get into the store, make her purchase, and then find somewhere to transform again, all of which would slow her down a lot.

She might have the time to make a quick stop in a store, but she definitely couldn't afford the extra time and danger that detransforming in the middle of a fight- with the akuma MIA, no less- would create.

She couldn't do it. Tikki would have to wait.

Almost as soon as the decision entered Ladybug's mind, a ripple of magic at her hip caught her attention. Ladybug looked down in confusion, only to see that her suit had sprouted a pocket, a pocket that was bulging a little from the wallet inside of it.

"I guess that answers that question," Chat Noir chuckled as they both stared. "Wow, your kwami must really be passionate about her hobby, huh? Mine only cares about cheese."

Ladybug could only flash a weak grin in reply.

It didn't take them long to get through the store, since everyone had gone into hiding when the akuma fight got too close. Chat Noir cracked art-themed puns as Ladybug hurried through the aisles towards the glues and paints section. He had actually been surprisingly helpful once they got to the right section- the glaze Tikki wanted was on the highest shelf and was almost out, putting it far beyond Ladybug's reach, even when she stood on her toes.

"I don't think the cashier even noticed we're the real Ladybug and Chat Noir," Chat Noir cackled as they left the store with Ladybug's purchase. Ladybug was busy trying to shove both wallet and jar into the tight pocket in her suit. "Like, did you see that eye roll he gave us when we got to the counter? We were just interrupting his texting time with his girlfriend."

Ladybug snorted. "You don't know that, chaton."

"I do! I was looking at his phone screen while he was ringing you up, and he was texting a girl that had, like, five hearts after her name. Totally his girlfriend."

Ladybug finally got the jar into the pocket and with another flash of pink magic the pocket vanished, leaving her outfit as smooth and seamless as it normally was. "You really shouldn't have been looking at his personal texts, Chat Noir."

Her partner shrugged, completely shameless.

"You're impossible," Ladybug sighed, trying not to grin. "Really, though-"

A scream cut off whatever Ladybug was about to say as both heroes whipped around to face the direction the scream had come from. More screams from the same direction left no doubt that the akuma had shown his face again.

"Ah, it looks like your shopping time is over," Chat Noir said with a wide grin. "Pity, since there's a great shoe store over a block and they have some fantastic deals on their fall heels collection right now."

"Maybe we can stop over there after we take the akuma down," Ladybug shot back with a grin. "I know how much you love your high heels. I'll even carry a bag or two for you if you buy too much to get in one trip."

Chat Noir clasped his hands over his heart as they sprinted towards the screaming. "My lady, you would do that for me? We should go shopping together someday! I could carry your bags one day, and you could help me with mine the next, and oh, it would be so much fun! I've been looking for a new shopping buddy-"

Ladybug snorted with laughter as they charged around a corner. "God, the media would have a field day."

"I don't know, we could probably wear something over our suits and maybe pop on a pair of sunglasses and bam! No press!"

"You'd have to find something to cover those cat ears of yours, kitten," Ladybug teased as she wound up her yo-yo to throw at the akuma. "They're not very subtle."

Chat Noir grinned over at her as he circled around to attack from another angle. "Maybe your kwami can make something for me to wear, hmm?"

"You'd have to ask nicely!" Ladybug called back before diving into the fray with a shout. There was little time for banter after that, and then once the akuma was defeated both Ladybug and Chat Noir had to save their breath for sprinting back to their side of Paris before their timers ran out. Ladybug had only just gotten into her room when her transformation dissolved early. Tikki rushed out of her earrings with a grin, little arms already held out for the bottle of glaze.

"Easy there," Marinette laughed as she regained her balance. "I think the jar might be a little heavy for you to carry down. Why don't you go find the pieces you're going to use for the test run, and I'll set up the glaze and your paintbrush?"

Tikki nodded eagerly and dashed off, making Marinette laugh at her kwami's eagerness. She headed down the steps from her loft as Tikki rummaged through the pile of less-than-perfect origami pieces for the ones that she was going to try the glaze on first. Marinette couldn't help but hope that the pieces either didn't go too well at first so Tikki could throw a couple pieces away or that Tikki would do well right away, at which point she could toss the less perfect pieces of origami like she had been promising to do for a month. Marinette poured a little bit of the glaze onto the lid of a container, then pulled out the brush Tikki had adapted for herself. The handle had been cut short so it wouldn't be so unwieldy, and the bristles had been trimmed down a little as well.

"I got the pieces!" Tikki squealed from behind Marinette as she finished setting up Tikki's workstation. "Can I start now, Marinette?"

Marinette giggled at her kwami. "Are you sure you don't want a cookie first? We did just fight an akuma, you know!" When Tikki hesitated, Marinette added, "And soon you'll be too covered in glue to hold a cookie without getting it sticky as well!"

"Ooh, that would be bad!" Tikki squealed. "Cookie first, please!"

The paper glossing went very well from the start. It only took one ruined piece for Tikki to get the hang of using just enough of the gluelike substance at a time to stiffen the paper when it dried but not too much that it would warp the origami paper or make the ink on the paper run. Once Tikki got confident with her skills, it wasn't long before the army of paper animals and flowers around Marinette's room turned into an army of glazed paper animals and flowers.

It really wasn't much of an improvement.

"I'll get rid of some of it soon, I promise," Tikki said when she caught Marinette staring at her covered chaise. "Can I borrow a needle and thread? I want to make a chain of flowers."

Marinette produced the materials with a bit of a sigh. She was truly lucky that her parents didn't often venture up to her room, since it would be next to impossible to explain the origami overflowing from every corner and even, in some cases, stuck to the walls with a special wall putty Tikki had found.

"I can give some of this to Master Fu," Tikki said as she strung paper flowers and ladybugs onto the thread. She made a careful knot between the flowers, spacing them out along the thick thread. "Wayazz would like a chain of turtles, I know he would."

Marinette's mind went to Master Fu's shop. He probably couldn't display anything too obviously associated with the Miraculous in his front room, but he probably wouldn't mind a few more things in his back rooms. "Maybe you could do a chain with all of seven of the Miraculous animals on it as well. Master Fu would like that, I think."

"Ooh!" Tikki wriggled with excitement. "I'll make several things for him, I think. It's lots of fun!"

Marinette couldn't help but smile as she left her kwami busy working as she went back to her homework. If she was lucky, maybe Tikki could bring along the string and some origami figures to school in her bag and continue her work there; while the glazing kept Tikki busy while she was at home, it wasn't something she could do while Marinette was at school. As a result, the number of origami figurines in Marinette's room just kept growing.

She only felt a little guilty about encouraging Tikki to offload some of her origami on Master Fu. The older Miraculous holder could handle a couple decorations. He had the space.

"Oh, I love it!" Fu exclaimed when Marinette presented him with the two garlands Tikki had pulled together. Her kwami had decided to get a little more creative with the turtle garland and had added small shiny green glass beads on either side of the little turtles. "These are absolutely gorgeous, Tikki."

Tikki spun around in glee, clapping her little arms together happily. "Thank you! I made a bunch of origami animals. They're so much fun to make, but I can't keep them all."

"Yes, yes, I know the feeling," Fu chuckled. "I have had many hobbies over the years, and more than a few have resulted in too much stuff. Some of it I gifted, some of it I sold. You may want to consider the same; these pieces are gorgeous."

And that was exactly what they ended up doing. Several of Master Fu's customers complemented his new decorations, so he started selling the garlands that Tikki happily produced. Marinette breathed a sigh of relief as her room slowly cleared up, letting her see her chaise for the first time in weeks.

Much to Tikki's amusement, people seemed to like the ladybug-and-black-cat garlands the best. They always sold within a day of Tikki delivering them.

"Imagine what people would say if they found out that Ladybug was the one selling these," Tikki giggled as she strung together another garland. The kwami thankfully didn't seem to mind catering to the demand for certain animals; as long as her paws had something to do during class, the kwami seemed perfectly happy. "I don't think I would be able to keep up!"

Marinette smiled at Tikki as the kwami hummed happily, carefully putting a bead in place before stringing another black cat on. The glaze on the paper cat shone white for a moment as Tikki tugged it down the string.

While the kwami seemed enthralled enough with origami now, Marinette knew full well how hobbies like that could work. She had gone through more than a few arts-and-crafts hobbies when she was younger- origami, then jewelry making, then scrapbooking, painting, paper mâché, embroidery, knitting, and finally sewing her own clothes. The materials she had left from those hobbies were fantastic now whenever she was babysitting Manon, but at the time it had been incredibly frustrating to have to explain to her parents why she absolutely had to go to the art store to buy something when she still had loads of origami paper or paint or beads left to play with. Manon went through hobbies even faster than Marinette herself had, but at least her mother provided all of the materials for Manon to use.

At the moment, those materials involved a whole lot of glitter. Marinette couldn't wait until Manon grew out of it.

"I have a present for Chat Noir," Tikki announced, breaking into Marinette's thoughts. The little kwami held up the garland she had been working on. Spaced evenly along the black string were folded black cats, each edged by two brilliantly green beads. "Do you think he'll like it? Plagg only likes cheese."

"He'll love it," Marinette promised. It definitely was true; Chat Noir would treasure anything Ladybug gave him. "I know he will."

Naturally, she was right.

"I love it!" Chat Noir exclaimed, picking up part of the strand to peer at the origami cats more closely. "The cats are so cute! And you said your kwami made them?"

"She's gotten really into origami," Ladybug replied, smiling as she watched Chat Noir's grin stretch wider. "She'll be thrilled to know that you like it."

"I'm putting it up as soon as I get home," Chat Noir assured her with another grin. "My room needs more decorations. Tell her thank you for me."

"I will," Ladybug said. She grinned at him. "So I hear that your kwami isn't into anything but cheese?"

She laughed as her partner groaned. "Oh, is he ever. Let me tell you..."

A few weeks passed, and Marinette mostly forgot about the chain of paper cats her partner had gotten. It was just one of many chains that Tikki had made, and there was no particular reason for that one in particular to really stand out.

And then there was.

"So this is my room," Adrien said as he ushered Marinette and Alya through the door into a huge sun-lit room. "Snacks should be up in a few minutes, and then we can get started on our project."

"Holy hell, model boy," Alya breathed, turning around slowly as she wandered into the middle of Adrien's room, eyes wide as she took in the expansive space. "Your room is insane, isn't it Marinette- Marinette?"

Marinette didn't respond. Her eyes were locked on the garlands crisscrossing the open area between the upper walkways in Adrien's room. One of the strands was strung with alternating ladybugs and black cats- which was normal enough, since Tikki had made over a dozen garlands in that style- but the other garland was purely black cats, set off with bright green beads. She could have sworn that Tikki had only made one strand like that- the strand that she had gifted to Chat Noir. But then that would mean...

Marinette's eyes snapped to Adrien's slightly concerned face, framed by perfectly styled hair. Both boys were blond with green eyes, yes, but picturing Chat Noir with Adrien's hair was laughable and besides, she didn't know for sure if Chat's eyes were actually green or if it was merely his suit that made them appear that way. There was no reason to jump to hasty conclusions over a strand of origami cats. It was far more likely that Tikki had simply made more of the black cat strands and Marinette hadn't noticed. As bad as it sounded to admit it, she really didn't pay a whole lot of attention to Tikki's hobby other than to ensure that her kwami's supply of materials wasn't running low.

She could ask Tikki about it later. There was no reason to needlessly freak out now. Sure, it was strange that Adrien just happened to know Master Fu- because where else would he have bought the garlands?- and strange that he had just happened to buy the same style garland that she (well, Tikki) had gifted to Chat Noir, but maybe Adrien went to Master Fu's practice every once in a while after a particularly strenuous basketball or fencing practice. She couldn't rule that possibility out, or the possibility of Adrien having received the garlands as a gift, possibly from Nathalie or his bodyguard, both of whom were a whole lot softer than they appeared at first glance.

"Marinette?"

"I'm fine," Marinette said hastily, finally pulling her gaze away from the decorations gracing Adrien's upper level. Surely there was an explanation. She was just jumping to conclusions. "Should we get started on our project?"

As it turned out, Marinette completely forgot to ask Tikki about the black cat garland. The group project at Adrien's had gone swimmingly, and Alya had been a fantastic wingman, pushing Adrien and Marinette closer together whenever she could. The two of them had actually had a fully coherent (if short) discussion while Alya used the bathroom, and then Adrien gave her (and Alya as well, admittedly) a hug before she left. Marinette had been walking on Cloud Nine when she got home, suspicious decorations completely forgotten.

"We had an actual conversation," Marinette sighed as she flopped onto her chaise (after checking for stray origami pieces). "And we're going to work together for a whole month."

"With Alya," Tikki pointed out, carefully pulling out her newest additions to her origami collection from Marinette's purse. She smoothed out a couple of wrinkles and lined them up to be treated. "Don't forget that."

"I could never! Alya's the only reason I could survive this." Marinette fanned her face with her hands. "Ooh, this is going to be awesome, unless- oooh, what if I mess up my words again? That would be so embarrassing-"

Tikki sighed and let Marinette babble on as she folded another butterfly and propped it on top of the rest of her figurines. Her Chosen would calm down eventually.

Until then, Tikki could keep on creating.

Of course, it couldn't last. Folding paper day in and day out was bound to get old after a while, even for one of the most patient kwami. And so one day, Marinette opened her bag after a long day at school and found her kwami staring a bit blankly at the side of her purse, surrounded by unfolded origami paper.

"Are you sick, Tikki?" Marinette asked after a couple seconds. She picked up her coat, ready to head right back outside and straight to Master Fu's place.

Tikki startled, glancing up at Marinette. "Oh no! I'm not sick at all, I..." She paused, sighing. "It's just that garlands take so many of the same thing, over and over and over, and I, I don't want to sound ungrateful because you bought all of this origami stuff for me, but..."

"You're tired of making the same thing over and over," Marinette finished. "That's perfectly understandable, you've been making so many."

Tikki perked up. "Exactly! And then today, I was going to start, but I just didn't want to, and then I told myself no, I had to so that I can get enough to finish the next garland, but it was worse than just sitting there and doing nothing while the teacher talks!"

"It's okay, Tikki, don't force yourself to do something you don't like!" Marinette said hastily. "You were doing it for fun, and it's not like there were people ordering the garlands or anything."

Tikki looked a bit relieved before she slumped again. "But what about the pieces I have laying around? There's so many odds and ends, but I don't know if I could finish enough of any of them for an entire string..."

"So we can do something else with them." Marinette placed Tikki down on her desk and wriggled her computer's mouse, waking it up. "I know I saw a bunch of other stuff online when I was searching to figure out pricing for the garlands- most of it was jewelry, like earrings or necklaces. Those would only take one or two origami pieces, and I bet a lot of people would like them."

Tikki blinked up at her. "But where would we get materials for that? Don't you need earring hooks, and chains, and special jewelry wire?"

Marinette giggled, scooting her chair over to a large box sitting in the corner of her desk. "Surely you didn't think that I didn't have stuff like that? I was really into making jewelry for a while maybe a year and a half ago, and I still have the stuff for that. It's useful if I can't find the right accessories to go with an outfit, but I really don't have much of a use for the earring stuff now, obviously." Marinette tapped at her earlobe, where her Miraculous were attached. "Well, except for as gifts. But you can use this stuff for now, and if it works out, I'll buy more. Do you want me to look up a tutorial for how to make earrings?"

Tikki nodded eagerly, energy returned, and thirty minutes later both of them were hard at work. Tikki sat on Marinette's diary box, bent over her first pair of earrings. Further down the desk, Marinette was hard at work on her homework. Tikki hummed happily along to the Jagged Stone song as she picked out what beads she was going to use with each origami piece- there were so many choices!- and strung them onto the earring pin, occasionally pulling everything back off and rearranging the beads. Marinette smiled at her kwami before returning to her French Literature reading.

"It's perfect!" Tikki announced half an hour later. She held up the pair of turtle-themed earring pieces. "But I think I need you to bend the top of the pin to attach it to the earring hooks. I don't have the strength to do it myself."

Marinette winced. "I should have thought of that." Setting her pencil down, Marinette reached over and picked up the needle-nose pliers before taking the pin from Tikki. "A lot of jewelry with the origami uses these pins, actually. Maybe you can experiment with other things." She carefully attached the first pin to the earring hook, then set it aside and did the same with the second. Tikki squealed in joy as she handed the pieces back.

"These look great! They're glorious!" Tikki spun around the room one earring in each hand. She settled back down after a minute, beaming as she hung the earrings back up. "I'm gonna make more!"

And she did. Another three pairs of earrings followed the first, and then Tikki decided to make a necklace. A tiny flower hung on a pin from the middle of the strand, offset by tiny seed beads.

"It goes with your jacket, Marinette," Tikki said as she held the necklace up. She had to hover in the air so that the bottom of the necklace wouldn't drag on the desk. "Do you want to keep it?"

"Oh, of course!" Marinette dipped her head so Tikki could slip the cord over her head. "Thank you, it's gorgeous!"

Tikki beamed, clapped her paws together, and flittered back over to her workspace to keep working.

Over the next few days, Alya got a ladybug necklace, Marinette's mother got a pair of earrings with flowers dangling from the ends, and a whole mountain of jewelry made its way over to Master Fu's place to be sold. The odds and ends of Tikki's origami stash dwindled down to a few of Tikki's favorites that she was keeping. She made a couple new pieces to complete a set of earrings, but otherwise Tikki had completely stopped doing origami.

Origami burn-out, Marinette called it. Too much in too short of an amount of time. Tikki would probably be interested in origami again after a while, but for now she would have to find another hobby to occupy the hours she spent in Marinette's bag.

It could have been worse, Marinette reminded herself as she finished up her lunch. Tikki might have not wanted anything to do with her origami after the burn out, and she would have been left dozens upon dozens of little origami figurines to store until Tikki could face them again. At least now, Tikki was dealing with the figurines. They were leaving the room, and Tikki seemed to be enjoying herself with picking out which beads to pair with which origami pieces. It was also nice that they could do something with Tikki's pieces- if they hadn't, if Tikki had gotten into something like sewing tiny, kwami-sized scarves or making similarly small paintings- it would have been far more of a problem.

"Ready to go, Tikki?" Marinette asked as she headed up the stairs and pushed her trapdoor open. "I want to be early for my next..." She trailed off as her eyes fell on her kwami. Tikki was sitting in the middle of a pile of beads in front of the computer. A beaded earring sat to one side of Tikki, completely origami-free, and another was half-done in the kwami's paws. The computer screen displayed step-by-step instructions for the gorgeous instructions.

Somehow Marinette suspected that Tikki had found her next hobby.

"Oops?" Tikki offered a little guiltily as a couple seed beads rolled off the desk and bounced to the floor. The kwami held up the earring. "I just was having so much fun with the origami pieces, and then I got curious about how other earrings get designed, and then I looked it up and it looked really cool so I had to try, and this is amazing."

"It's fine," Marinette assured her kwami quickly. Really, she shouldn't have surprised that Tikki would get interested in jewelry-making eventually; Tikki was Creation, after all, and of course creating things would be right up her alley. They might end up wrestling over the seed beads when Marinette needed to bead a purse or a dress or something, but she would rather have to deal with that than deny Tikki something that she enjoyed doing.

And besides, at least the jewelry making didn't involve glitter.

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #Tikki #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #origami making

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brooksontum-blog · 5 years

Text

Tactile Tiles: Pros and Cons

Rubber incorporates an assortment of characteristic points of interest which have made it an especially famous deck elective for expert, high-traffic conditions. What’s more, today that rubber floors arrives in a wide accumulation of hues, structures, and surfaces, this item is likewise finding its technique into private inside and outside projects. Tile things, which ordinarily can be found in 12-inches, 24-inch, and 36-inch squares, are uncommonly amicable for DIYers. Then again, these points of interest will be adjusted by method for a progression of impediments that are crucial that you comprehend preceding settling on a last decision about your floor.

Rubber duck on blue restroom floor, close up, see from above.

A sort of material tile

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Solidness

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Simple Maintenance

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Regardless of its flexibility, rubber ground surface will be delicate underneath. That is among the essential factors it’s so outstanding for exercise rooms and dens. By and large, the thicker the floor covers, the milder it’ll be. A few types of rubber deck contain included pad from fabric, plug, or froth rubber sponsorship.

Water-Resistant

Most rubber floor covers is very strong to demolition from dampness content on both top and base level surfaces with the material. Be that as it may; in case you’re putting in it beneath class, for example, in the cellar, you might need to add a vapor obstruction to maintain a strategic distance from water from leaking up from underneath. Some silicone floor tiles moreover come uniquely restored to make them perfect for wet conditions.

Calm

The flexibility of silicone ground surface encourages it be exceptionally silent to walk around. Heels don’t tap on and dropped things don’t crash and clack, since they do of all hard-surface floors.

Simple Installation

Rubber tiles happen to be among the least convoluted ground surface materials to set up. Some tile things utilize interlocking edges, while some utilization a strategy for preferred position sticks that contain the tiles commonly. Tiles are regularly cut having a sharp blade. There’s likewise stick down sorts of rubber tiles available, however they are less incessant for DIYers being that they are progressively convoluted to set up.

Protection Value

Rubber ground surface brings a quantifiable R-esteem upgrade to floors. Essentialness bills are diminished. In correlation, earthenware tile accompanies a R-estimation of only one 1.0, while reused silicone deck will come in at a R-estimation of 2.2.

Recyclable

As it relates time to wipe out an old silicone floor, the items are frequently recyclable at specialty focuses.

Inconveniences of Plastic Tactile Tile Flooring

It’s reasonable for express that silicone tile ground surface implies a specialty inside the deck showcase. This infers there are bunches of less makers and vendors and therefore less alternatives than alongside the real deck assets. Rubber ground surface likewise offers less programming in the typical home. In the same class as it is perfect for action zones, many rubber ground surface does not have the privilege show up and feel for liveable space (in any event for some individuals). The following are a couple of other normal drawbacks to consider:

Cost

Premium rubber floors could be pricey. Tiles perfect for exercise rooms may cost altogether under $2 per square feet, anyway the sorts which are appealing enough for living regions can go around $12 to $15 per square foot, much like some normal stone alongside other top of the line flooring items.

Slippage

Smooth, untextured silicone tiles could be dangerous when wet. This issue is unquestionably a ton more regrettable if the ground is waxed and cleaned.

Recoloring

While rubber floors is impervious to many recoloring operators, there are numerous items that may stain its zone. Great cleansers and rough washing fluids could be particularly awful for rubber floors. Silicone ground surface could be recolored by oil and oil–a disadvantage this will give any basic habitation culinary specialists delay before conveying it in their kitchen zones.

Scent

Despite the fact that it steadily leaves, an unmistakable scent incorporates the region with respect to rubber ground surface, in addition to certain property holders will see it upsetting. The scent is certainly significantly increasingly articulated with unadulterated rubber items, substantially less so with created types of plastic.

Fire Issues

While rubber is somewhat versatile to getting hearth, engineered rubber supplies, when they complete catch blazes after presentation to adequate temperature, may deliver toxic gases. To shield from this, pick items that exclude PVC materials. In the event that the ground surface was essentially stuck down, the cements could be powerless to fire.

Creases

Rubber floor tiles may themselves get water-safe, anyway the introduced ground surface will be pressed with creases that may let water to the subfloor beneath. That is valid for pretty much any sort of flexible floors tile–it essentially can not be dependably secured against dampness infiltration. Accordingly, it is anything but a magnificent alternative for really wet territories, such as bathrooms with showers or tubs, or at any rate the quick locale around the wash or tub. In the event that you wish to utilize rubber floor covers in these spots, sheet items will be a superior decision.

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