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#piper without hat
falloutspammer · 2 years
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no hats gang
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joojconverts · 6 months
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4T3 Conversion of TwentiethCenturySims' Catalogue
A 4t3 conversion of (most of) twentiethcenturysims' catalogue for all your sims! I truly hope you like it! Enjoy! <3
In this compilation are included sets, mini-sets and standalone pieces that the original creator made! Recolors, posepacks, fantasy items, repeated pieces (things very similar to what I've already converted in the past), and pieces categorized as "timeless" are not included!
This is what I've been working on haha! My last statement for some time... thank you all so much, once again! 💖
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Known Problems:
The trim on the "Wilma Casual Dress" (purple dress with bow) gets a bit wonky at the end of the skirt! I tried to fix it in many different ways, but this is what I got!
The pleads on the "French Hen Dress" also get a bit wonky, same as above!
LIGHTING GLITCHES ONLY APPEAR ON CAS!
* Note that teens and elders have neck gaps. This is sadly the price for having them available! For teens, try using this and this slider by gruesim!
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ALL OG CREDITS GO T​O @twentiethcenturysims! IT’S NOT MY MESHES, AND IT’S NOT MY TEXTURES, I JUST CONVERTED THEM TO THE SIMS 3!
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NOTES:
Because TwentiethCenturySims is a great creator, his whole catalogue is quite low-poly and gameplay friendly, so don't worry about that!
All 3 hats are hat-slider compatible and unissex, as always!
The Ida, Annie and Elsie dresses (gingham and flowers pattern) all have 11 presets. First 10 are overlays, having multiple floral options, but with collars, buttons and bows being recolorable. Last one is completely recolorable!
The "baby sweater" (green sweater with black tie) has 4 presets, first two having christmas-like patterns, third one having a knitted pattern, and last one being completely CAStable!
The "baby dress" (red dress with white collar) has 12 presets. 6 first presets have a velvety texture which is recolorable, with 5 flower options to the collar, and one without the flowers. Same applies to the other 6, but they don't have the velvet texture to the dress!
The "baby hat" also comes with 2 presets, one having a velvety texture, and the other one not!
The "Havana jacket" (orange jacket with white shirt) has 31 presets. First one is completely recolorable, and the other 30 are a variety of overlay patterns to the white shirt. The jacket stays recolorable in all of them!
The "Eleanor 1930's Dress" (green dress with bow) has 6 presets. First 4 have overlay patterned presets to the dress, but the bow, collar and trim stay recolorable. The last 2 are completely CAStable!
The "Piper Dress" (kids' dress with blue bow) has 4 presets. The first 4 have overlay patterned presets on the dress, but the rest remains recolorable! The last one is completely recolorable!
The "Goose Suit" (kids' gray suit) has 3 presets. First two have different patterns checkered patterns, and the last one is plain. In all of them the collar is an overlay texture.
The "Ruffles the Clown Costume" has 2 presets, having two different stripe options.
The "Billy Sailor Suit" (Toddler's sailor-inspired outfit) has 2 presets, with two different mask options. The second one has three little recolorable circles on the belt.
The "Darlene Sailor Dress" is the same as the above, but reversed haha!
The "Swan Suit" (houndstooth patterned suit) is totally recolorable, though it may not seem like it lol! I added the houndstooth pattern from CAS, which you can remove and put anything you want instead!
The "Bonnie Two-Piece Dress" (checkered dress with buttons) has two versions: the AF-EF version, as usual, and a teen-age conversion, just because I feel like it'd be useful to you!
The "Viola 1930's Dress" (yellow stripes and brooch dress) has 5 presets. The first, second and last presets are totally recolorable, having different mask options! Third and fourth presets have floral patterned overlays on the dress, but the collar, belt, etc. remains recolorable! The brooch looks a bit off without the accessory overlay, which is the next note!
There is an overlay/color mix accessory for the brooch on the "Viola Dress, which can be found in the socks category. It gives a multiplier (details) to the brooch, as well as making it fully recolorable! If you're going to use the dress, I highly recommend only using it with the accessory activated! It has a separate thumbnail, as seen in the previews!
As you saw on the previews, there are two buy mode objects: a highchair and a potty, both for your babies! They're found where these objects are usually found (Kids -> Baby Furniture). The potty costs §30, and the highchair costs §100!
You probably noticed the 4 skirt thumbnails (with its half options) at the bottom. Because I don't want this post to be gigantic, I'll link to the original post where twentiethcenturysims explains how to use them and their purposes: HERE! Yes, they're found under "accessories"!
I think that's all haha! Now to the download! <3
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SimFileShare |  Dropbox
☕  buy me a coffee or become a patron!
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Credits:
@twentiethcenturysims for all the meshes and textures; you can find everything here!
💖 @katsujiiccfinds​​​ @emilyccfinds​​​ @kpccfinds​​​  @xto3conversionsfinds
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solitarelee · 7 months
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Seeking Mutual Aid
Well guys, it's finally happened. It's my turn to pay the piper. It's my turn to beg for money online.
The context: up until very recently, I was the full time caretaker for my disabled brother, despite being similarly disabled myself. I also was going to school full time and working. I make $800/month and that was enough to survive because I also got a decent chunk of FAFSA every semester.
Then, my grandmother got sick. My mother, who lived with us about half the time, left to take care of her, and took her financial support with her. Suddenly I was not only the sole caretaker of my brother but also a large 3bed/2bath house with a full garden, all while going to school and trying to work. Just to afford food, I wracked up large amounts of debt with the assumption that when FAFSA came in the fall, I'd be able to pay it off.
But the work was too much. I couldn't finish my classes, and had to take incompletes. This resulted in me losing my financial aid. I managed to get the funds together (mostly by guilting family) to afford my last semester of college, but now there's the matter of all that "buying food" debt. We lost SNAP in the middle of all of this because they added work requirements (I wasn't eligible at all, being a student, but my brother had been. Obviously he can't work, but my support makes him not qualify for disability status either.)
The short of it: to stave off the demons of interest rates, I need like $1500 by the middle of October. That's. A lot. I make $800/month, so I can kind of do it if I uhhhhh *checks notes* don't buy food for 2 months. Hm. An issue has been detected.
I hate this because I almost fucking made it in life without having to get on my knees and beg strangers on the internet for cash (giving them my full legal name in the process), but here we are. It's at least an "any amount helps" situation and not a zero sum game, so I'm passing the hat around to see if anyone can throw in a dollar. If you can't, consider reblogging, in case anyone else can.
Paypal: solitare_lee (at) yahoo (dot) com Zelle: available via DM Patreon: elvensemi (it's not being updated atm but in the future there'll be worldbuilding stuff if that's your thing)
$1292/1500
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lenievi · 4 months
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I'm trying to get back into writing, so I'm rereading some of my wips, and I love this one so much and I want to see it continued so badly...
(a snippet)
“Doctor Piper,” Spock said. “This is Doctor McCoy.”
Piper stood up and offered McCoy his hand. “Doctor.”
McCoy accepted it. “Doctor.”
“I see you wasted no time,” Piper said, looking at McCoy’s bag. “So eager to take over my post?”
McCoy’s cheeks heated. He didn’t even put on his uniform. “I was told the Enterprise urgently needed a new surgeon. I didn’t know you were still here until Spock told me a few minutes ago.”
Piper hummed. “Good to see some passion. Spock, I think you and McCoy will find you have some interests in common. Not like you and me.”
“I’ve always found our conversations agreeable, Doctor,” Spock said. “No matter how rare and infrequent they were.”
Piper patted Spock on the arm, and the hard lines around Spock’s mouth softened.
“Well, I can show you around the sick bay,” Piper said to McCoy, “or you can go settle in your quarters and come back. It’s quiet today, but don’t let that fool you.”
McCoy let out a laugh. “If there ever was a starship doctor who had two days without an emergency, I’ll eat my hat.”
“You're not wearing a hat,” Spock said.
McCoy didn’t know what to say. Spock was either going to be the funniest person or the most annoying one. Decision pending.
The door to the sick bay opened. “Hey, Mark. I need –”
McCoy startled. The voice brought up a memory – not a forgotten one, but one he’d buried deep. Quickened breaths, hands roaming over his body, caressing, gripping, and whispered words that – he squashed it down.
This couldn’t be happening.
Maybe it was just a similar voice.
He turned around. 
And there he was. The man who introduced himself to McCoy as Jim three years ago. He hadn’t changed much. His hair was shorter and thinning at the front, his shoulders filled up, and his gold-greenish tunic was tight enough to outline the contours of his biceps and pectorals. McCoy wet his lips, his eyes roaming up and down Jim’s body.
Two and a half stripes on his wrists. It was just his luck. Jim was the damned captain of this ship.
“What happened to you, Captain?” Spock asked.
McCoy frowned and looked at Jim… the captain more carefully. He had avoided looking at his face before, afraid of what he would see there. Recognition? Disinterest?
Their eyes met. Kirk looked away as if McCoy was just a piece of furniture.
THAT'S IT WTF SELF how DARE you end it here?
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kayakischaotic · 1 year
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PJO/HOO/TOA HEADCANONSSSS 🎉🎉🎉
WHOS READY TO RUMBLEE
also I haven’t read the books in awhile + I have terrible memory so o7
clears my throat
PERCY JACKSON:
—>all my faves had a emo phase. including Peter Johnson
—>he owns a BUNCH of different earrings, nothing too big or extravagant, but like a little fish, maybe an arrow, etc
—>dyes part of his hair blue because he’s Percy
—>Sally TOTALLY knew he was bi when he was little
—>has a bi flag necklace (I’m jealous)
—>once dyed his hair blonde while he was at camp and after everyone called him a dumb blonde he decided to never dye it blonde again
—>he totally loves having his hair played with cause Sally used to always play with his hair when he was a kid
—>his eyes change from blue to green depending on the lighting
—>he’s been the little mermaid for Halloween at LEAST once
—>has an extensive collection of Hawaiian shirts
ANNABETH CHASE:
—>she sticks a bunch of little pins on her Yankees hat
—>doesn’t know how to drive (at least not very well)
—>if she could she’d have road rage so much
—>probably owns at least 5 different pairs of earbuds/headphones that she uses on her iPod and/or Daedalus’s laptop
—>building a campus place similar to New Rome at CHB
—>instead of a box of chocolates for Valentines day, she once gave Percy a bag of M&M’s. but only the blue ones
—>drinks at least 3 cups of coffee most days
—>bi-curious/questioning
—>also questioning her gender a bit
—>read Harry Potter and couldn’t tell if she wanted to BE Hermione or be WITH Hermione (still can’t tell)
GROVER UNDERWOOD:
—>pan, ace
—>will eat anything if he’s stressed
—>has little rings he can put around his horns for added style
—>tism
—>he/they KING!!
—>will just snack on a head of lettuce
—>has to wear reading glasses (what a nerd /pos)
—>has an extensive knowledge of which plants around CHB taste good, and which taste bad (has definitely been taken to the medics once or twice for eating poisonous plants)
JASON GRACE:
—>everyone makes fun of him because of The Brick™️.
—>THEATER KID
—>will ramble to you about wolves for as long as you will let him
—>frequently dyes small strips of his hair with hair chalk
—>him and Annabeth are like best friends. please.
—>questioning
PIPER MCLEAN:
—>she ate the rest of the non-blue M&M’s for Annabeth
—>genderfluid she/her lesbian.
—>helps Hazel, Annabeth, and the other girls do their hair (and sometimes Percy)
—>sees Jason and Leo as her brothers
—>wears suits to fancy events
—>usually uses her charmspeak to win at board games
—>girl in red’s biggest fan
—>EVERYONES WINGMAN
LEO VALDEZ:
—>makes everyone friendship bracelets
—>will totally light candles just to watch them burn
—>pretends he’s Festus’s vet whenever he has to fix him
—>calls the Argo II his child
—>doesn’t have a proper sleep schedule in the slightest…
—>gay, demiboy
—>totally introduced everyone else to neo/xeno pronouns
—>he/they/it mainly, but also uses a bunch of neos and xenos
—>has a dragon stuffed animal he calls Festus Jr. that he struggles to sleep without
—>he is the autism creature /j
—>will call anyone in sight bro or dude
—>scared of heights
—>keeps calling himself “the rizzler”
REYNA AVILA RAMIREZ-ARELLANO:
—>therapist friend
—they/she
—demiromantic asexual
—>astrology lover
—>straight A student without trying or studying
HAZEL LEVESQUE:
—>the only person on the Argo II that can keep a plant alive (somehow)
—>unlabeled
—>her and Nico help paint everyone’s nails
—>is always wearing either a skirt or overalls. (better yet: overalls skirt)
—>lactose intolerant
—>totally holds a dance at Camp Jupiter that is similar to a school dance at least once a year
FRANK ZHANG:
—>token straight friend
—>has a fairly large stuffed animal collection (only to be rivaled by Octavian’s)
—>if he ever visits CHB he purposely avoids being near the fire
—>makes the rest of the 7 watch superhero movies with him
—>owns lots of comics
—>him and Percy ramble about superheroes and comics together
NICO DI ANGELO:
—>certified DJ of the 7
—>his favorite restaurant isn’t even McDonald’s.. (it’s Olive Garden /j)
—>if demigods could use technology, he would totally be a tumblr user. (happy (late) Ides of March)
—>THEATER KID
—>he keeps saying “gaslight gatekeep girlboss” and everyone is kinda confused
—>loves listening to 70s/80s/90s rock
—>is (attempting) to learn the drums
—>survives off of energy drinks and coffee
—>has a nightlight in his cabin for when Will visits
—>also listens to Crywank
WILL SOLACE:
—>definitely has dressed up as a lamp for Halloween
—>HE/THEY!!!
—> trying to convince Nico to be in a band with him, playing guitar, Austin, playing sax, and Apollo, playing flute (Nico’s not having it)
—>favorite color is “all of them”
—>attempts to grow plants (fails)
—>he would totally be addicted to Tiktok if he had it
—>if anyone asks what time it is he will respond one of three ways: “it’s time for lunch” “its game time” or “it’s time for you to get a WATCH”
—>he’s really bad at reading clocks
—>totally cried during Frozen
APOLLO/LESTER PAPADOPOULOS:
—>he/they bi icon
—>motto is “fake it til you make it”
—>adhd, probably
—>always looses board games
—>chronically online…
—>will purposely sing the wrong words to popular songs so half of CHB thinks they’ve been singing these songs wrong the entire time
—>him and Nico bond over saying things like “gaslight gatekeep girlboss”
—>scared of the dark
—>quotes Mean Girls at least once a day
—>trying to make a theater class at CHB (Chiron agrees, Dionysus is… not quite there yet)
—>surprisingly good at lying (fake it til you make it!)
—>some Aphrodite kids told him their skincare secrets while he was mortal and gave them a few products
—>wears eyeliner on a daily basis
—>when he was a mortal the Aphrodite cabin and his cabin played dress-up on him and made him wear a bunch of weird outfits
THATS ALL FOR NOW!!!!!
I bet you totally can’t tell who my favorites are by how much they have put down…. /s
TELL ME SOME OF YOUR HEADCANONS SO I CAN ADD THEM TO MY HOARD
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duchesstypewriter · 2 years
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Birthday Honey
PAIRING: Nick “Goose” Bradshaw x Reader
REQUESTED: Yep!
SUMMARY: It's your birthday and Goose goes above and beyond to make sure his wife has the best day.
CHARACTERS: Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Penny Benjamin, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, Ron “Slider” Kerner, Charles “Chipper” Piper, Rick “Hollywood” Neven, Marcus “Sundown” Williams.
WORD COUNT: 5.8k
WARNINGS: Pure fluff. Goose drinks three jars from the Loving His Wife juice a day. Some suggestivity.
A/N: The final moment was inspired by this scene from The Crown that has been renting a triplex in my head for almost two years now. Also, I apologize for the delay as I've been busy with some urgent issues, so it's possible I'll take a break. Anyway, hope you like it!
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The unique sensation of tender fingers running down your bare back while a soft melody was hummed in your ear was enough to wake you from your dreams with a lazy but satisfied smile on your face.
“Happy birthday, honey,” the enthusiasm in Nick's whisper only made your smile grow, he always seemed like an excited kid on the birthday of any of his loved ones, maybe even more so than on his own, he was generous like that.
“Well, thank you, darling,” you failed to suppress a yawn, yelping as you felt his strong hands manhandling your body with ease to turn you to him, your hands reaching for the white sheet to cover your chest.
“Nothing I haven't already seen, honey,” he gave a wicked grin, earning an eye roll, but the way you pressed your lips against each other showed that you were slightly embarrassed, just as sweet as the first time you slept together. “Are we getting shy?”
“I'm in the perfect position to kick you,” you threatened jokingly as your husband towered over you, his muscular arms at either side of your body, making your breath hitch as he left small kisses along your collarbone.
“And miss the chance of some goose-and-duck in the shower?” He teased with one of his grand, bright smiles, wiggling his eyebrows.
You let out a loud laugh, throwing your head back, and Goose could live in that moment forever, “You sound like a high schooler sometimes.”
“But I can last longer than one.”
“Really?” You raised your eyebrow, pulling a wistful frown.
“No way I'm letting my wife question my performance,” in a second he rose from his position on the bed, pulling you by your ankles just to manhandle you, taking you in his arms as if you weighed nothing, earning giggles from you. “Quiet or Bradley will think it's an open party.”
“Bradley’s up?” You frowned, he usually woke you up by jumping on your bed on your respective birthdays.
“Yeah, but I left him in the living room watching that dinosaur cartoon and eating cereal. All under control,” he stated without a second thought as he carried you into the bathroom of your room.
“You left our four-year-old son unsupervised? If he burns this house down, we're divorcing you, Bradshaw,” you threatened as he set you down, your hands still around his neck.
“You're stuck with me, house burned or not, sweet pea,” one of his hands found your bare ass. “Now get into the shower, Mrs. Bradshaw. We have a whole day planned.”
What a good start to a birthday, you thought contentedly as he pulled you into the douche.
“Happy birthday, Mommy!” Bradley exclaimed cheerfully as you walked into the kitchen after your husband had left you to get dressed calmly, opening your arms to welcome the boy who had a party hat with drawings of multiple Mother Goose in various sizes and shapes on it. Where did Nick get these things?
“Thank you, baby,” you smiled, feeling the sweet kiss on your cheek.
“I'm not a baby, mommy. I'm a big boy,” he stretched his back to look taller in your arms.
“Oh, pardon me, Mister Grown-Up,” your fingers found their way to his belly, tickling that earned giggles from Bradley who was trying to get away from your hold, Goose just smiled, flipping the pancakes. “Am I going to get a hat too or what?”
“Wait, mom,” Bradley replied, fussing in your arms for you to put him down, and so you did, his small hands holding yours to pull you to the table that was decorated with an arrangement of your favorite flowers and various delicacies that certainly hadn't been prepared by Nick, he was good at making the basics to not starve to death, but definitely not all that you were seeing.
“Yeah, easy, mama,” Goose sent a wink in your direction, leaving the warm pancake tower on the table. “And here's your hat.”
“Thanks, daddy,” you reached up to place the accessory on top of your head to match the other two who were looking at you with bright eyes. “So, where should I start?”
Breakfast ran smoothly with tasty food, laughter, and you surrounded by your two favorite people, if the day ended that way it would be enough to consider it your best birthday — which wasn't too difficult because in the last few years you spent your special date alone because Nick was deployed far away, in bed with a bad cold, or in the hospital because Bradley had chickenpox, but the duo wasn't willing to stop anytime soon.
“Daddy, can I give mommy's gift?” Bradley shouted in all his enthusiasm after he finished eating some of everything on the table.
“Gift?” You turned your curious gaze to Nick.
“You're terrible at keeping secrets, buddy,” the boy gave a coy smile to his father, his hands supporting his chubby rosy cheeks. “Go get it.”
“I think I'm being too pampered,” you teased, rising from your chair to walk to the other side of the table to sit on Goose's lap, his hands wrapping around your waist. “You should treat me like this every day.”
“I'm insulted, honey,” Goose put one of his hands on his chest, feigning hurt. “I kiss the ground you walk on every single day.”
You smiled because it was true, there hadn't been a day since you met years ago that Goose hadn't made you feel absolutely loved, your fingers found their way into his hair, “So how about now you kiss my lips?”
“Your wish is my command, ma'am,” his lips met yours in a gentle but needy kiss, feeling the butterflies invade your stomach like the first night you two shared such an intimate moment.
“Yuck!” The gasp of disgust came from Bradley who was standing in the doorway with a book almost bigger than him in his hands.
“I'm going to have a field day when you get a girlfriend,” Goose said humorously.
“I'm not having a girlfriend, girls are disgusting,” the younger Bradshaw swore solemnly, leaving the book in front of you on the table. “It's for you, mama, I made it myself.”
Nick cleared his throat and Bradley smiled at him, “And daddy helped, but it was my idea. Did you like it?”
Your fingers began to flip through the pages of the handcrafted scrapbook, your eyes shining in adoration at the numerous Polaroid shots of yourself that had been captured by your husband and son, next to them were stickers, colorful drawings, and messages left by the two artists, it was as chaotic as it was beautiful, “I loved it! It's the best present ever, thank you so much, baby!”
“Did you really like it, mommy?” Bradley asked through big eyes as if to confirm that his idea had been the best, and you reached over to sit him on your lap, creating a pile of Bradshaw.
“I loved it!” You hugged him tightly, leaving a kiss on the top of his blond hair. “I can't wait to show it to granny when we go visit her next month.”
“All right, we'll have plenty of time to plan the visit to grandma's house, but now it's time to get on with celebrating mom's birthday,” Goose reminded, using all his strength to bounce his legs, making both you and Bradley giggle at the movement.
“And what are the plans, big bird?” You joked, turning your head to your husband who rolled his eyes at the nickname.
“Our first stop today is the beach and the rest you'll figure out in the due time, now stop being noisy and go dress up,” he didn't need to say more for Bradley to jump off your leg to run towards his bedroom, always excited to see the ocean.
You turned to Nick, leaving a light kiss on his lips, your hands holding his cheeks, “If you clean up the kitchen fast enough, maybe you'll have time to help me put on my bikini.”
“I think I'd rather take off your bikini.”
You shook your head, rising from your lap to leave the kitchen, “Less talking, more cleaning, Bradshaw.”
The beaches of San Diego were high on the list of places you liked the best, especially with your two favorite boys running through the sand in a banter you didn't quite understand, but it was fun to watch anyway, especially hearing their laughter, earning strange looks from some passing civilians unaware that this was one of, and in your humble opinion, the best RIO, and once in a while some of the Navy personnel would stop to say hello to Goose and end up congratulating you because he and Bradley made sure to let everyone know it was your special day.
“Mommy, it's ice cream time,” Bradley ran up to you, his small but agile feet kicking the white sand everywhere.
“Are you tired yet?” You cast an inquisitive glance, seeing Nick running in the back with water dripping from his body, and you knew exactly how this was going to end.
“No, but daddy says it's time to go to the ice cream shop,” Goose took the boy in his arms, you couldn't trust the youngest of the gang with a secret, sometimes his mouth worked faster than his brain.
“So this is the second part of my big day?” You gave an amused smile to Goose, who set Bradley down, opening his wet arms to slowly walk over to where you were sitting in a comfortable beach chair. “Nick Bradshaw don't you dare, I'm already dry, don't be a bad husband.”
None of your pleas worked, on the contrary, they only made Goose's smile widen until you were running to escape his wet embrace, trying to dodge the taller man, which only worked for the first thirty seconds before he caught up with you and took you in his arms to carry you out to sea, earning you a victory celebration from Bradley.
The three of you spent another hour on the beach, but it wasn't as if you were in a hurry to be anywhere else, at least you weren't.
Leaving your bags, beach chairs, and parasol in the car, you walked to the small ice cream parlor that was the four-year-old's favorite, who always guilt tripped Uncle Mav with his puppy eyes to get him there — which reminded you that Pete hadn't called, or shown up at the beach, he must have been up to something.
“Close your eyes,” Nick instructed as you sat at one of the booths, and you frowned in confusion. “Bradley, don't let her spy.”
Bradley's chubby hands reached out to cover your eyes, and you laughed because his spaced fingers hid nothing, so you closed your eyes to await whatever surprise your husband and son had for you.
Your eyes opened as the small hands were removed from your eyes and you heard the voices of the duo mixed in the notes of a Happy Birthday, making you smile brightly at the sight of an ice cream cake with colored sprinkles drawing your new age on top, and the staff and a few other customers joined in the music, and if it was with anyone else, you'd be asking for the floor to swallow you in embarrassment, but seeing what Nick and Bradley had prepared for you, you could only smile and clap along.
“I love you both so much,” you stood up to hug them both, using your hands to squeeze their cheeks together, leaving a kiss on the tip of their noses.
You sat on the same side of the booth with your head resting on Goose's shoulder while Bradley was snuggled between the two of you, eating the cake that was a mix of your favorite flavors, and your youngest seemed to be enjoying every second of it, which would no doubt lead to a sugar rush that would make you and the RIO sweat to put him to bed later.
“We have one more gift for you,” Goose put one of his hands in the pocket of his colorful shorts, drawing your attention to him.
“I thought the scrapbook and this day were already my gifts,” you said, completely content in how the day had unfolded so far, but knowing full well the tradition that had begun when you were married.
He stretched out his left arm to place the small box with a turquoise bow in front of you and you gave an excited little smile, your nimble fingers working to find out what was inside the small package, revealing the charm of a miniature F-14 Tomcat that made you look at it with a small chuckle.
That little gold object would go to complete the gold charm bracelet that Goose had bought as a gift on your first birthday as a very well-married woman, and every year since then he had given a different charm that hinted at something important from the year that had passed — a miniature of the place where you married, the initial letter of Bradley's name, a charm of the first place you were shipped to as a family, your birthstone, one that represented the second honeymoon you had in Hawaii when he had a longer break, and now the aircraft that indicated his admission into TOP GUN.
“We've known each other for nine years and you're still the most romantic man I know,” you turned to meet him with a smug smile at your compliment, being the best husband in the Navy was without a doubt the title he liked to brag about the most.
“It's hard work, especially when my wife tells me to do her laundry, but what can I do if I love that old lady?” He joked as if he was pondering his answer.
You gasped incredulously, leaving a light slap on his biceps, “Who are you calling old, big bird? I'm two years younger, so I'm much more likely to dump your saggy ass for one of those tanned ones that were running around the beach.”
“First, my ass is lovely and I work out hard enough to keep it that way,” Goose replied seriously, raising his fingers to assert his points. “Second, I already told you that we'll be together forever, sagging and all.”
You placed the back of your hand on your forehead, throwing your head back romantically, “How touching, Romeo.”
He stretched his body over Bradley who was still far more entertained in eating his ice cream cake than paying attention to the conversation to leave a kiss on your lips, “I love you, honey.”
“I love you too, Mother Goose,” you smiled against his lips, your thumb stroking his cheek. It wasn't the most comfortable position for Goose's back, but it was certainly worth it.
“I'm full,” Bradley pronounced after a few more minutes, letting the spoon fall against his plate.
“I was starting to think you were a bottomless pit,” Goose joked, reaching for a napkin to wipe Bradley's mouth that was all smeared with chocolate mint ice cream. “Ready for our next stop?”
You and Bradley shared an amused look before answering in one voice, “Yes, Lieutenant.”
“May I know where we are heading?” You asked curiously as you left the parking lot to face one of San Diego's busy streets.
“Brad is spending the night at Georgia's,” Nick looked through the mirror to see his son's face light up with joy, the woman in question was Bradley's babysitter, who always stayed with the boy when the two of you wanted to have an alone evening, but Maverick was busy with his girlfriends.
You raised one of your eyebrows in his direction, surely your celebration would yield more than just family time, and Goose continued, “You're staying with Georgia who rented a bunch of your favorite movies, while daddy will have his sweet way with mommy.”
Completely oblivious to the dual intent in his father's words, bless his soul, Bradley began talking about what movies he would like to watch, the foods he would ask his favorite babysitter in the whole world to make, and how they would play all night, thus being the way until you reached the girl's house who was waiting at the door, Nick quickly jumped out of the car to get Bradley and a backpack of his clothes that you hadn't even realized he had packed before leaving home, Georgia welcomed Bradley with open arms before wishing you a happy birthday and before you knew it, you were both heading home.
“Ready for some adults-only fun, Mrs. Bradshaw?” Goose asked with a mischievous grin, his hand finding its way to your exposed thigh since you had worn a short outfit to the beach.
“I'm all yours,” you felt the euphoria invading your stomach, sending a wink in your husband's direction.
The inside of your home was covered with an arrangement of your favorite flowers when Goose opened the door, your eyes growing wide with the scene in front of you, turning to your husband, “I can't believe you outdid yourself this year.”
“All for you, Mrs. Bradshaw,” he replied, closing the door behind him with his foot, tossing the car keys on the couch before taking you in his arms, your legs wrapping around his waist. “I think we have some time before we leave. What do you say?”
“Show me the way, big stud,” you replied, but before he could answer, you silenced him with a rough kiss, your hands finding their way to tug lightly on his hair, making him moan against your lips, desperately searching for the way to the bedroom.
The celebration was only getting better.
After two rounds of great fun, you would normally be ready to put on your most comfortable pajamas and call it a night, but it was your day and neither you nor your husband seemed ready for bed yet — looking like those same energetic kids who went to prom together a good few years ago.
Your eyes were thankful for the wonderful sight as you returned to the bedroom with a white towel covering your intimacy, your hair already dry and slightly styled, only to find Goose in his dark blue underwear, wearing an unbuttoned shirt rolled up to his elbows, that was a sight close to paradise.
“Gee, honey, don't look at me like I'm just a piece of meat,” Goose teased with a smile that showed he loved knowing that even after years, he still had the same effect on his high school sweetheart, his glowing eyes undressing your figure just as he had done a few hours ago.
“I guess I should say that now,” you returned humorously, stepping closer to reach into your closet in search of an outfit good enough for the celebration with your friends at the O Club, but Nick tilted his head slightly toward the bed and you turned around confused to find a large black box on top of your bed. “Goose…”
“Don't act like you don't like being spoiled,” he moved his hands to urge you to open your present, and you couldn't deny it, although just being with your favorite people was enough to have a great day, it was undeniable how nice the materialistic part was.
Your mouth dropped wide as you opened the box to find a jewel-toned piece you had become obsessed with three months ago after seeing one of the characters on the late-night soap operas you and Goose watched when he didn't get home early enough, that was the only thing you could talk about, filling Goose's and Maverick's ears for two weeks before falling into oblivion, but you could perfectly remember the reason for your obsession when your fingers touched the soft material, your head quickly darting to your husband who had a pleased smile for doing a great job, rushing to throw yourself into his arms, almost dropping the towel in the process.
“You,” a kiss. “Are,” another. “The,” one more. “Best,” a few more. “Husband,” six is the charm. “If we weren't married, I'd be taking you to the nearest church to make you mine.”
The mischievous smile grew on his face, “I know of several ways you can make me yours, dear.”
“What are you, insatiable?” You asked with a laugh, trailing kisses down his collarbone.
“It's part of having a hot wife,” he let a hard but affectionate slap your ass covered by the thin cotton towel. “Do you want help getting dressed?”
“I thought you preferred to be unclothed,” you lifted your gaze to wink at him.
“Naughty girl,” Goose laughed, only obeying as you pulled his hand, leading him to the bed, eager to try on your new gift.
You lightly pushed your husband to sit on the bed, discarding your towel that fell to the floor, feeling your face heat up with the wolf whistle you received as you stood in just your panties, stretching to reach for the pretty piece and taking the opportunity to give Goose a great show before turning around, looking over your shoulder and Nick didn't spend a second in getting up, leaving a kiss on your shoulder before slowly dragging the zipper up, his hands reaching around your waist to turn you to him.
“The prettiest birthday girl,” his lips met yours in a quick but sweet kiss. “Now it's your turn to help. We don't want you arriving late to your party, do we?”
“And I don't want the others looking at what's mine,” you busied yourself with buttoning his shirt, taking your own sweet time at the task while Goose tried his best not to start groping you.
“That doesn't matter when I only have eyes for you,” he replied with that damn charming smile that always made your stomach flutter.
The two of you parted ways once again to finish getting ready, passing each other in the bedroom or bathroom and exchanging quick kisses, the phone ringing a few times before Goose finally answered it only to find that it was Maverick saying that everything was ready, just waiting for the two of you to arrive to start the big night.
“I have one more gift for you,” Goose announced from his place half sitting, half lying on the bed, a sight that belonged in museums, his eyes full of adoration watching you make your way out of the bathroom almost ready, the muse of his wildest dreams.
You put both hands on your waist as if to scold your husband, “Baby, you gave me way more than enough, don't you dare give me any more gifts.”
“Didn't your mother teach you that it is ugly to reject courtesies?” He rose from the bed, reaching for a black velvet box that was hidden behind him.
“Not when my husband seems to be trying to bankrupt us in a single day,” you continued in your position, watching him approach slyly. “You’re a Lieutenant, not an Admiral, at least not yet.”
Nick didn't respond, he knew better than to argue with his wife because you were always right, so he opened the box in front of you to reveal a necklace and earrings that matched the color of your outfit perfectly.
“No, no, no, no, no,” you shook your head, raising your hands not to touch the beautiful jewelry. “That must have cost a lot more than we can afford. You will close that box and return it immediately, Nick Bradshaw, don't you dare touch it.”
“Honey, it wasn't that expensive, I bought it at the flea market,” he laughed at your exasperated reaction, and you raised one of your eyebrows. “All right, all right. It wasn't at the flea market, but it's nothing I can't afford either, Mav made sure to remind me of the prices every five minutes, and Penny said you'd like it, so here it is.”
You shook your head from side to side before letting a big smile break on your face, “You promise you didn't go over our budget?”
“I promise,” he raised his hand in a solemn promise.
“And that this is the last gift of the evening?”
“Yes, ma'am,” he shook his head vehemently. “Now may I put it on you?”
“Please,” you turned away with a small smile, letting Goose do his work.
“This reminds me of our prom night,” he commented as he brushed away the strands of hair that fell at the nape of your neck. “I almost had an aneurysm trying to get your clothes off.”
“You got smoother after you joined the Navy,” you joked, sighing at his light touch. “Which makes me wonder if you practice with the pretty girls around the world.”
“Oh, of course I do,” Goose continued the teasing banter, something you could do without a pang of conscience because you fully trusted each other. “You know there's a world of girls out there wanting a piece of me. But my wife is getting old so I’m settling down.”
You turned to let a small slap on his arm before reaching for the earrings, “And who assures you that she doesn't have some fun when you're away too, Lieutenant?”
Goose looked both ways as if checking before telling a secret, moving closer to whisper, “Don't tell her, but I leave our son on guard so no Casanova comes anywhere near our house,” he sent her a big smile, leaving a kiss on your cheek before walking away. “Ready to go, Mrs. Bradshaw?”
“Lead the way, Lieutenant,” you wrapped one of your arms around Goose's, enjoying your reflection in the mirror. You were a damned gorgeous couple.
The drive to the O Club was quick, with the California night wind brushing against your face as you sang aloud to the songs playing on the radio, and Goose just couldn't stop appreciating how breathtaking and lively you looked, and when the car parked, your husband jumped out of the car to open the door for you, leaving a kiss on your forehead, “Are you ready?”
“Wait a minute,” you stretched your arms to wrap them around Nick's neck, standing on your tiptoes to inhale the intoxicating cologne on his neck, he smelled so good, his arms automatically wrapping around your waist to bring your body closer to his. “Thank you for everything, really. I love you.”
“Anything for my girl,” he murmured against your hair, leaving a kiss on the top of your head. “I love you so much, Mrs. Bradshaw, I would gladly steal the stars for you.”
“Always an over-the-top romantic, Nick,” you couldn't hide your smile at his statement and he just nodded in agreement, what could he do if he prided himself on loving his wife?
The two of you walked hand in hand across the parking lot, listening to the sound of the music building up with each step that was taken toward the entrance of the establishment, and you tried your best not to roll your eyes as you heard the so characteristic voice of Hollywood shouting in a whisper, “All in position, Mama Goose is coming.”
“For a group of top Navy aviators, you guys aren't very quiet,” you joked to Goose as he opened the bar door for you.
“Happy Birthday!” The huge group shouted as the two of you finally made your way into the club, and although you were expecting it, your expression lit up with happiness at the sight of your husband's classmates, with whom you had formed a great relationship, becoming the mother and father of the group after a joke started by a drunken Chipper, and other people you had befriended during your stay in San Diego, gathered to celebrate your special day.
Maverick was the first to take you in a tight hug that lifted you off the ground, causing a laugh to fall from his lips, and Nick watched the scene tenderly, you two and Bradley were his family and he always got a little emotional to think that he had been able to build something so beautiful with the woman of his dreams, “I hope you liked the flowers, Goose left me in charge of turning your house into a garden, I don't think there's a flower shop I haven't called.”
“I knew you guys were up to something when you didn't show up at the beach, for a moment I even thought you were forgetting my birthday, but there was no way my big bird and my little chicken were going to let you forget,” you joked, turning away from the pilot who was like a brother to you. “Thanks, Mav!”
Next came Penny, of all the girlfriends Maverick had in his life, which no doubt were many, she sure was your favorite, something in your heart knew she was the one, “You're glowing, darling!”
“I guess you could say I'm aging like a fine wine,” you joked, thanking Penny for her kindness and for helping your husband and her boyfriend with all the preparation for the surprise. “Look at the charm I got this year,” you raised your right arm to show the bracelet that dangled from your wrist, and Penny touched the little F-14 Tomcat, she thought that jewel was so adorable.
“If all men were as passionate as your Goose, half our problems would be solved,” Penny said, and your husband smiled delightedly behind you, making everyone else roll their eyes.
“See, I'm raising the bar for all of you, especially you Mav,” Goose teased, motioning his finger in the direction of his mates, making Pete mutter something under his breath.
The next to congratulate you was Slider, who walked up to you with his arms outstretched before pulling you into a tight but respectful hug, it was all just to annoy your husband, which seemed to be working by the way the other RIO was grinning like a mad man when he let go of you, “Mama Goose, you are dazzling.”
“Yeah, she always is, but her eyes are up here,” you tried to suppress the smile that insisted on spreading across your face at your husband's protection, almost melting as you felt one of his arms encircling your waist to pull your back against his warm front. “And those beautiful tits are just for me.”
“Goose!” You scolded your husband's language, feeling your face heat up with embarrassment, but the men just laughed.
Everyone else came up to greet you, even Iceman, who despite being a bit of a pain in the ass to your husband and Maverick on the air, was nothing but sweet to you and Bradley, who to the pair's chagrin, called him Uncle Icy.
And soon you found yourself in a quieter corner of the bar, chatting with Penny and the respective girlfriends of Sundown and Wolfman, telling them every detail of your wonderful day with the two men of your life, making them sigh because you, sure enough, had grabbed the latest Navy sweetheart for yourself, and you could only agree as you sent flying kisses to the man across the bar who caught them dramatically, not caring if his coworkers joked that he was whipped.
Until you felt a warm body at your back, and you didn't have to turn around to know it was Nick, your body just automatically recognized him, relaxing into his touch, turning to your husband, but not missing the winks the three women sent in your direction before leaving to go after their own beloveds.
“Is the most beautiful woman in this bar enjoying her evening?” Nick asked, taking a sip from his beer bottle as your fingers deftly played with the buttons of his shirt.
You pouted, looking at him through your lashes, “I don't think I'm the most beautiful woman in this bar.”
“Oh, tell me more about it,” Goose furrowed his eyebrows.
“Nobody's asked to dance with me all night,” you continued your teasing. “I mean, I've always heard that Navy men can't keep it in their pants, yet I'm here, and not even this RIO I've had my eye on all night has asked me.”
“So the lady has someone specific in mind?” Goose kept going with the playful flirting, looking over your head to the entire bar as if searching for who you were talking about.
“Actually, you look a lot like him,” you propped your index finger under his chin, curving just enough to bring your lips close to his ear. “But if I can tell you a secret, I think you're better looking.”
Goose moved his head back with a big smile, taking a last sip of his beer before setting the bottle on the counter, “Then I guess I can take care of that myself, mama.”
He offered you one of his large hands and you took it, fitting in perfectly as he led you through the crowded bar, stopping next to the jukebox to choose a song that you could only recognize when the first notes of Can't Take My Eyes Off You began to roll.
Goose used the hand that was holding yours to twirl you twice as you made your way to the middle of the dance floor, attracting a few glances from your friends and also from the other customers who had arrived later. Your body being gently pulled close to your husband's, one of your hands on his shoulder while his hand was on your waist, swaying from side to side in rhythm to the sweet melody, your foreheads lightly touching and your eyes locked as if there is only each other in the world, “Let's give them a show, honey?”
“Go on, then,” you agreed with a laugh, looking away for a few seconds to see that all the other eyes were focused on the two of you, the women had dreamy looks, the men sent a few wishful glances in your direction, and Maverick had the biggest grin, just wishing he had a camera to capture how his friends, his only family, looked so happy.
The two of you began to dance and twirl around the ballroom as if you owned the place, huge smiles on your faces as your friends whistled and cheered at the scene, ensuring that they would tease Goose for his extravagant moves the other day, but none of this mattered to your husband, who was the happiest man in the world to have you in his arms.
The applauses erupted as the song ended with a big kiss between the two of you, your bodies still moving slowly as the melody faded into You Mean Everything To Me, feeling that you could live in that moment for the rest of your life, but if at some point you needed to leave it, you couldn't wait for your next birthday.
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Accepted Shorts List
This list will be updated as shorts are selected, and will become a masterdoc for entries.
Piper, dir. Alan Barillaro (Available on Disney+)
Dissolve, dir. Carina Heller
Sharp Teeth, dir. David James Armsby
Tar Boy, dir. James Lee
Moses of Prosthesis, dir. Gagame
Quasi at the Quackadero, dir. Sally Cruikshank
Welcome to Hell, dir. Erica Wester
Friendly Shadow, dir. David James Armsby
The Acorn Princess, dir. Kris Yim
Drawn to You, dir. Eleanor Davitt
Scattershot, dir. Jade Smania
Ramshackle, dir. Zi Chen
Paperman, dir. John Kahrs (Available on Disney+, Amazon, iTunes, Google Play)
Loop, dir. Erica Milsom (Available on Disney+)
Jinxy Jenkins & Lucky Lou, dir. Michael Bidinger and Michelle Kwon
Kitbull, dir. Rosana Sullivan
Out, dir. Steven Clay Hunter
In a Heartbeat, dir. Beth David and Esteban Bravo
Ice Merchants, dir. João Gonzalez
Diamond Jack, dir. Rachel Kim
Lackadaisy (Pilot), dir. Fable Siegel
The Cat Came Back, dir. Cordell Barker
Fuelled, dir. Michelle Hao and Fawn Chan
The Man Who Planted Trees, dir. Frédéric Back
My Friends Take the Night Bus, dir. Sofi
Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers, dir. Nick Park
The Naked King -What a Beautiful Life-, dir. rapparu
Coming Out, dir. Cressa Maeve Beer
Dear Girl, dir. Choi Ji-eun
Jibaro, dir. Alberto Mielgo (Available on Netflix, Love Death + Robots S3E9)
The Witness, dir. Alberto Mielgo (Available on Netflix, Love Death + Robots S1E3)
The Legend of Pipi, dir. Julia Schoel and Birgit Uhlig
The Cameraman's Revenge, dir. Wladyslaw Starewicz
What's Opera, Doc? dir. Chuck Jones
The Dover Boys at Pimento University; or, The Rivals of Roquefort Hall, dir. Chuck Jones
Kitty Kornered, dir. Bob Clampett
A Wild Hare, dir. Tex Avery
Everything Will Be OK, dir. Don Hertzfeldt
Yankee Doodle Daffy, dir. Friz Freleng
Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century, dir. Chuck Jones
Long Gone Gulch, dir. Tara Billenger and Zach Bellissimo
I Love to Singa, dir. Tex Avery
Opal, dir. Jack Stauber
Scaredy Cat, dir. Chuck Jones
I Should Leave This Mall I Think, dir. Noodle
Porky's Duck Hunt, dir. Tex Avery
Bambi Meets Godzilla, dir. Marv Newland
Porky in Wackyland, dir. Bob Clampett
Rabbit Seasoning, dir. Chuck Jones
One Froggy Evening, dir. Chuck Jones
Don vs. Raph, dir. Jhonen Vasquez
Cat City, dir. Victoria Vincent
Roller Coaster Rabbit, dir. Rob Minkoff
Tummy Trouble, dir. Rob Minkoff
Trail Mix-Up, dir. Barry Cook
Blood Bound, dir. Lyly Hoang
Ciao, Alberto, dir. McKenna Harris (Available on Disney+)
Blackfly, dir. Christopher Hinton
Charlie the Unicorn: The Grand Finale, dir. Jason Steele
Free Apple, dir. Ian Worthington
Bigtop Burger Season 1, dir. Ian Worthington
There's a Man in the Woods, dir. Jacob Streilein
Llamas with Hats: The Series, dir. Jason Steele
Welcome to my Life, dir. Elizabeth Ito
Duck Amuck, dir. Chuck Jones
We Can't Live Without Cosmos, dir. Konstantin Bronzit
Geri's Game, dir. Jan Pinkava
Have to change the format cause tumblr has a limit to text in a single list
68. Snow-White, dir. Dave Fleischer
69. DAICON IV Opening Animation, dir. Hiroyuki Yamaga
70. Rooty Toot Toot, dir. John Hubley
71. SHOP: A Pop Opera, dir. Jack Stauber
72. Rabbit of Seville, dir. Chuck Jones
73. The Cat Concerto, dir. Joseph Barbera and William Hanna
74. My Little Goat, dir. Tomoki Misato
75. Asparagus, dir. Suzan Pitt (Available on the Criterion Channel)
76. Puparia, dir. Shingo Tamagawa
77. The Cybernetic Grandma, dir. Jiří Trnka
78. Captain Yajima, dir. Ian Worthington
79. Agoraphobia, dir. Victoria Vincent
80. Donald in Mathmagic Land, dir. Hamilton Luske, Wolfgang Reitherman, Les Clark and Joshua Meador
81. Joy Street, dir. Suzan Pitt (Available on the Criterion Channel)
82. The Old Man and The Sea, dir. Aleksandr Petrov
83. The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, dir. Aleksandr Petrov
84. Vincent, dir. Tim Burton
85. World of Tomorrow, dir. Don Hertzfeldt
86. World of Tomorrow Episode 2: The Burden of Other People's Thoughts, dir. Don Hertzfeldt (pay per view of Vimeo)
87. The Magic Portal, dir. Lindsay Fleay
88. The Golden Chain, dir. Adebukola Bodunrin and Ezra Claytan Daniels (available on the Criterion Channel)
89. Black Soul, dir. Martine Chartrand
90. Hedgehog in the Fog, dir. Yuri Norstein
91. Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Flying House, dir. Windsor McCay
92. Around is Around, dir. Evelyn Lambart and Norman McLaren
93. Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor, dir. Dave Fleischer
94. Historia Naturae (Suita), dir. Jan Svankmajer
95. Still Lost I Guess, Here's a Tunnel, dir. Dario Alva
96. Kapaemahu, dir. Joe Wilson, Dean Hamer and Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
97. Long-Haired Hare, dir. Chuck Jones
98. Muto, dir. Blu
99. Windy Day, dir. John and Faith Hubley
100. Bully for Bugs, dir. Chuck Jones
101. The Haunted Hotel, dir. J. Stuart Blackton
102. Destino, dir. Dominique Monfery (Available on Disney+)
103. Fantasy, dir. Vince Collins
104. To Beep or Not To Beep, dir. Chuck Jones
105. Pixillation, dir. Lillian Schwartz
106. Goodbye Jerome!, dir. Chloé Farr, Gabrielle Selnet and Adam Sillard (Available on the Criterion Channel)
107. Betty Boop's Halloween Party, dir. Dave Fleischer
108. Jumping, dir. Osamu Tezuka
109. Baby Fingers, dir. Adrian Dalen
110. On Your Mark, dir. Hayao Miyazaki
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It was thirty years ago today…
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With pipers playing a traditional Scottish air, the wedding party emerges from Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral Castle. From the left: the bridegrooms mother, Mrs Barbara Laurence, Commander Tim Laurence, the Princess Royal, the Queen and the brides daughter, Zara Phillips.
The wedding of The Princess Royal and Commander Tim Laurence
HELLO! Number 233 | Published: December 19th 1992 | Article 1/2
Princess Anne's short and simple wedding ceremony turned into a traditional Highland celebration when she and her husband drove through the gates of Balmoral Castle. Estate workers had prepared an open carriage drawn by fell ponies to take the laughing newlyweds up the hill to their reception in the Queen's Scottish home. It was a romantic ending to an intimate country wedding on Royal Deeside.
Just as the bride had wished, it was a quiet, unpretentious affair with only immediate family plus a few close friends and estate workers present. In stark contrast to the grand state occasion of her first marriage at Westminster Abbey 19 years ago, last week's ceremony was consecrated in a tiny granite kirk on a bleak hill in the remote and beautiful landscape beneath Lochnagar.
Outside Crathie Church, a small crowd had gathered by mid-morning in freezing temperatures, five hours before the bride arrived. The groom, smiling nervously, was the first of the bridal party to arrive with his brother Jonathan and best man Charles Barker-Wyatt. Tim Laurence, 37, wearing the uniform of a Royal Navy commander, looked at the sky and told his friend: "The weather is not too bad."
At 2.50pm the Queen, the Queen Mother and Prince Charles arrived in a Land Rover driven by the Duke of York. He gallantly leaped out to help his 92-year-old grandmother when she said: "I can't get down. Can you help me?" He brought a footstool from the back of the car and placed it by her door so that she could step down without difficulty. Next to arrive was Princess Margaret with Anne's son Peter in another Land Rover driven by Prince Edward.
When the bride finally swept into view down the road from the castle the frozen crowd gave her a warm welcome. As her car, driven by her father, the Duke of Edinburgh, slowly crept past, it was possible to see that Anne, 42, was wearing an ivory woollen suit. Her hair, for the first time in years, flowed down her back beneath a small brown hat decorated with freesias, and she carried a small posy of white Highland heather. In the back seat was her only attendant, her 11-year-old daughter Zara Phillips, in a warm red hooded coat.
The princess removed a brown checked shawl she had worn around her shoulders on the half-mile trip from the castle as the car pulled up outside Crathie Kirk. Then, her happiness clear for all to see, she paused at the church door and checked that Zara was right behind her. When the organ music began she turned to her father, took his arm, grinned and said: "Come on."
The ecumenical Church of Scotland service was conducted by the Minister at Crathie, the Reverend Keith Angus, a member of the Queen's Chapel Royal in Scotland.
The bride did not promise to obey. Instead, according to the ritual of the unrevised Church of Scotland Marriage Service, the couple simply pledged to be "faithful and dutiful" to one another. With Zara Phillips standing beside her mother holding her white heather posy, the Reverend Keith Angus told the couple that "marriage was not to be entered upon lightly or inadvisedly, but thoughtfully."
He reminded them that it was also "ordained for the lifelong companionship, help and comfort, which husband and wife ought to have of each other."
At the end of the solemnisation, the couple knelt together before the lona marble communion table at the front of the wood-panelled church. With the princess kneeling to the left of Commander Laurence, the couple both bowed their heads. The Queen and her family, in their own separate annexe, knelt in pine pews at right angles to the main congregation. Friends and estate workers followed suit as the Reverend Keith Angus recited the "favoured" blessing from the Church of Scotland's Book of Common Order.
At the end of the service, the newly married couple walked into the vestry to sign the register privately. And, just 25 minutes after the bride had walked down the aisle, the wedding was over.
Twilight comes early in the Highlands and dusk was creeping through the valleys as the newlyweds emerged from the kirk to the skirl of bagpipes. Two local pipers played a stirring rendition of the old Gaelic tune Mhairi's Wedding.
Two children who live on the estate then came forward to present the bride with bunches of heather before rejoining a dozen other local youngsters given a prime vantage point by the church door.
The beaming bride then beckoned to her daughter to come forward. “Are we all going to come out?" the Queen asked the Duke of Edinburgh, and when he nodded, the whole family joined Mr and Mrs Timothy Laurence outside.
Meanwhile, Princess Anne turned to her new mother-in-law and showed her the flowers and lucky horseshoes presented by the local children. When another guest asked where they came from, Anne indicated the excited crowd of youngsters on her left and said: "Over there."
As the couple received congratulations, the Queen asked: "Where are we going now?" Princess Anne replied: "We will have to wait to have our photographs taken before we go."
Then the bride stepped back into the blue Land Rover Discovery which had brought her to the church and, with Tim Laurence at the wheel, they drove slowly back down the hill and across the River Dee. Back at the church, the Queen walked over to say hello to the children. "Are you still having your Christmas play next week?" she asked. When informed it was still on, she apologised because she would not be able to attend. "I'm so sorry I will be missing it.
Then the whole family climbed back into their cars and followed the bride and groom on the short drive back to the castle. That is when the estate workers welcomed the newlyweds in true Balmoral style.
It has become a royal custom for the residents on the Queen's Scottish estate to mark special events in the family's lives in this way. When Prince Andrew came home a hero from the Falklands War the estate workers also decorated a cart to carry him from the castle gates. And instead of using ponies the locals pulled the open cart themselves. A similar celebration was arranged when Prince Charles and Princess Diana first visited the castle after their marriage.
On the happy day last week, the bride flung a white woollen shawl around her shoulders to keep out the cold on the slow, but fun-filled journey up the private road leading to the castle portico. Inside, the housekeeper was waiting with a real Highland high tea - including the local black bun, a kind of fruit loaf, that all the royals love so much. An hour after the wedding reception began, it was all over, and the guests began heading back along the Deeside Road to Aberdeen airport.
The princess and her husband drove off to spend their brief three-day honeymoon half a mile away at the grey stone Craigowen Lodge beside the Balmoral golf course. There housekeeper, Hazel Essen, had a warm fire waiting in the drawing room grate to welcome them. Then the newlyweds shut out the world to enjoy being man and wife.
It was not the usual kind of royal wedding. But as the bride once said: "I was never the fairytale princess." For the royal family it was a heart-warming occasion, a happy new beginning at the end of a year during which the Queen and her relatives have been beset by troubles.
It was the first time a divorced member of the Queen's immediate family had remarried. And as the Church of England does not sanction the remarriage of divorces, the princess had decided to hold her wedding north of the border where the Church of Scotland does carry out such ceremonies.
The happy result was a gathering of the blood royal members of the Queen's family in their best-loved rural retreat. It was a show of solidarity by the people who love the bride best - her parents, her three brothers and her grandmother.
Far away from the strife that has surrounded them all year, they could have a happy day privately with the spotlight of the media kept at a distance. And the small crowd who had gathered there to wish them well thoroughly approved of the starkly simple ceremony.
Lena Morrison, a nurse from the nearby village of Cairney, summed up the feelings of many when she said: "Now she is getting her second chance at happiness and we are here to show her and her mother - that we love and support them." The loudest cheers of all came when the Queen passed by.
As her annus horribilis drew to an end everyone seemed to be hoping that the New Year would be filled with many more occasions just as happy as her daughter's second wedding.
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The newlyweds with the Princess Royal’s two children Zara and Peter (left). Taking their wedding vows the couple pledged to be “faithful and dutiful”. The bride looked radiant in an ivory fitted outfit with her hair worn loose and carefree.
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The official wedding portraits. The bride and groom (left). The immediate families (right), back row, left to right: Commander Timothy Laurence, the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh. Front row, left to right: Peter Phillips, Mrs Barbara Laurence, Zara Phillips and the Queen.
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The royal guests arrived in quick succession. Prince Andrew drove the first car with Prince Charles as the front seat passenger, and the Queen and Queen Mother together in the back (left). The bride, with her daughter Zara sitting in the back of the car, was driven to Crathie Kirk by the Duke of Edinburgh (right).
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First to arrive was the groom with his best man Charles Barker-Wyatt, a former Navy colleague (left). They waited for a few minutes before going inside the church to wait for the bride who, in keeping with tradition, arrived a few minutes late (right).
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The Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Margaret with Zara in the background holding lucky horseshoes given to her mother (left). Prince Andrew and Prince Charles (centre). Reverend Keith Angus and Right Reverend Michael Mann chat to Brigadier Charles Ritchie (below right).
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A joyful bride wearing something old - her ivory woollen suit - and something new - her gold wedding ring, pauses for a brief moment at the door of Crathie Church (left). Looking on, a happy Queen Mother and Zara Phillips with the grooms mother Mrs Barbara Laurence (right).
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Princess Anne and Commander Tim Laurence step out into their new life together, as delighted family, friends and estate workers crowd around the church door to wish them every happiness for the future. Two local pipers in traditional dress played the Gaelic tune ‘Mhairi’s Wedding’ to greet the newlyweds.
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Following the ceremony the Duke of Edinburgh drove the Queen Mother, The Queen and Prince Charles back to Balmoral for the reception (left and centre). Prince Andrew drove Princess Margaret and Prince Edward back from Crathie Church to Balmoral (right). It was cold and dark by the time the royal party arrived at the castle but their spirits were high as they celebrated the Princess Royal’s special day.
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As the newlyweds set off for the reception at Balmoral Castle, the crowds who had gathered outside the church wished them a long, happy and healthy future together. The brides posy of white heather was propped on the dashboard of the couples blue Discovery for the short journey (above).
MAIN PHOTOS: NICHOLAS READ/REX FEATURES
REPORT: JUDY WADE
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kai23-doodles · 1 year
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[WHA OCs] Made overcomplicated ref sheets for my silly lads; a brushbug shepherd (Ihrin), and a plant brimhat (Ewyn), what will they do.
Long post under the cut with their description (but you can also skip the whole descriptions and look at their brushbugs)
Ihrin (first) is a happy-go-lucky brushbug shepherd. They travel around the whole peninsula followed by their big, big brushbug herd. Others know them as either "The Brushbug Shepherd" witch or "The North Star" witch because oftentimes they guide lost people on the right path. They know only a few magic spells, (their main magic being wind magic), but that never stopped them before.
Ewyn (second), is a brimhat witch and an inventor. He lives deep in the forest, in a treehouse that is surrounded by a beautiful garden (and he will attack anyone who rips his flowers without his consent). His job is to fix and create magic equipment and spells and sell them to other brim hats. He never wanted to become a brimhat, he just was unlucky enough to get an unwanted tattoo on his back, so all he can do now is to silently hate every brimhat that crosses his path. Others know him as the "The Wizard Rose" witch because of his cloak.
Bonus their brushbugs:
Piper (Ewyn's), is a really smart and fluffy girl. In the past she belonged to Ihrin:
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Amandine (Ihrin's most beloved brushbug) is a really calm and happy brushbug who manages to calm other brushbugs and animals (like a "therapy bug" but for animals) :
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raidenloml · 7 months
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new fortnite season dropped smash or pass time (because im autistic, tierlist ver someday)
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long post but i swear im funny about it
nolan whatever the fuck (dont care)
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PASS who is this man he ooks like someone drew jonesey from memory get away (his other alt styles are just better wont bother ranking)
2. piper pace
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barely a smash i really dont like the outfit underneath but the jacket <3333 and she bombs people with pizza deliveries so yk
3. hyperspace piper
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really dont likr the hair colour it doesnt fit at all, also goofy ass shoes. pass
4. fish thicc + fin-dicator style
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smash i dont have to explain (i think he would not bully me ) (also why are his feet like that)
5. mae + black hat style
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smash shes a tumblrina, now i will list all of the cutesy :3 shit she has brought upon us
('^u^"), (\(>X<"/), a wrap called UwU (<- horrible), (;3;), :D and >:3
6. antonia
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PASS, I LOVE HER BUT IM SCARED OF TYHE SWEATY SKIN ENERGY UEUEUE (her mask style is amazing and also the quest one)
7. combat chic antonia
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SMASH i love this one a lot but the like half legging is still throwing me off
8. KHABY LAME IN MY FORNTIE>????????
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this is a real person i wont say anything but hes very silly and i will play as him thumbs up
9. kado thorne
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pass i like the one without mask better but his fit is so ugly i wont even bother showing it again
10. revenant kado style
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smash this skin goes so hard the trousers actually look good here 10/10 (no ulterior motives nuh uh.....)
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amazinglyegg · 2 years
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How often do the Fallout 4 companions have naps?
Ada:
About once a month or so
Technically more like a "restart" for her systems
She prefers doing so during the day but will do so at night if Sole asks
Cait:
Occasionally
If she was forced to get up early or do a lot of work during the day she will nap out of spite
Or if she's just annoyed at everyone she'll pretend to sleep
Everyone knows not to bother her while she's sleeping, so it's an easy way to avoid conversation
Codsworth:
Never
He's programmed to (and feels most comfortable) having the same schedule as his family
So sleeping at night and working during the day
He can go a long while without going into "sleep mode" if he needs to
Him falling asleep during the day is a good sign he needs more fuel or coolant
Curie:
Fairly often
She's not too used to sleeping habits when she first gets in her body, leaving her tired during the day a lot
She loves the idea of naps to keep her energy up
Doesn't do so if she has work during the day, though
Work always takes priority
Danse:
Pre-BB he never naps
Especially when out on a mission, he refuses to sleep until everyone is taking shifts at night
The only time he'll sleep during the day on the Prydwen is if he just got back from a mission in the morning/afternoon after multiple days of no sleep
After living with Sole for a while he may begin to nap occasionally
He's a lot more likely to relax with Sole (especially when romanced) and ends up falling asleep, even if he didn't want to
Deacon:
Whenever he can
He often has to work strange hours and change plans quickly
Because of that, he can't rely on sleeping every night
He catches a quick snooze whenever he has downtime
Waiting at a safehouse for another agent to show up, waiting until evening to go on a mission, etc.
Very light sleeper, he'll wake up as soon as he hears noise and nobody will ever know he was sleeping in the first place
Gage:
All the time
Loves his naps, don't take them away or else he'll get grumpy
He's like a toddler. He needs his nap time.
Will just fall asleep in the chair he's sitting in or leaning against the wall
Nobody knows how his armour can be comfortable enough to sleep in
Hancock:
Loves naps, has them whenever he's at Goodneighbor
Especially if he's out partying all night
He'll crash anywhere at anytime
His bed, the couch, in the middle of the floor
He fell asleep on a bench once and woke up with blankets and a pillow from the townsfolk
Longfellow:
Dude he's old
He has so many naps
Practically needs naps to function
He's the type of person to wake up from a three-hour nap to say "hey i was watching that" when sole finally changes the channel on the TV
Maccready:
Another nap lover
He doesn't need them to function but he WILL get cranky without them
Especially if he didn't get enough sleep the night before
Puts his hat over his eyes
Adorable
Nick:
Definitely has naps
Reclined in his chair, hat over his eyes
Despite having a bed he rarely uses it
If Ellie tries to wake him up amd drag him to his bed he'll claim he was just "resting his eyes" and that he was totally working
Ellie just throws a blanket on him and lets him sleep
Piper:
Occasional nap-taker
She'll find herself pulling an all-nighter writing an article and then fall asleep mid-afternoon the next day
Tries to drink Nuka Cola to keep herself awake
Doesn't work that well
Fifty fifty chance on whether Nat throws a blanket on her or draws on her face
Preston:
Way too much of an overachiever to even think about naps
Hell, half the time Sole has to drag him to bed just for him to sleep
Will never ever fall asleep while working but refuses to stop working like, ever
A romanced Sole would have to really trick him in order for him to nap
"Oh why don't we sit on the couch together? And get a blanket so it's more comfortable... and why not lay down? Don't worry, I'll totally wake you up if you fall asleep..."
Strong:
Supermutants take naps often
They take shifts while at camps together, sometimes staying up during the day and sometimes at night
He can go a few days without sleep but has no problem napping in the broad daylight the day after
X6-88:
Nope, never
Nobody has ever even seen this man sleep
I mean, in the Institute coursers have a very specific daily routine which includes sleeping
They just keep the synths beds far away from the rest of the scientists to make them seem less human
Because of that, X6 only sleeps in complete privacy
Coursers can last longer without sleep than most humans, but if he's on a long mission with Sole he'll either teleport back to the Institute with them to rest or lets himself take a few hours to sleep while Sole keeps watch
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Note
Greetings and good evening! (or morning, or afternoon, whenever you read this😅) I’ve been reading your Pied Piper fanfics over and over and I must say, they are absolutely lovely! I’m glad to see that you appreciate the Pied Piper too! There isn’t enough work of him on Tumblr. So, as a fellow Pied Piper enjoyer, may I request number 13 from your prompt list, “Let’s make our own story.” , specifically with a reader who is also a bounty hunter and has been wronged by society, like the Piper? I’m so sorry for having such a specific ask, feel free to take your time or not even answer at all if your don’t want to!
Thank you!💖😁 I hope you enjoy!! I could never refuse a kind request!
Also, random thought I'm making here, but if anyone has seen Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish...it made me think of a story in which the Pied Piper tries to get the wishing star to get his voice back.❤️
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Wronged By the World
As a fellow bounty hunter, you meet the Pied Piper on a hunt. But instead of fighting, you guys have a different outcome.
#13 “Let’s make our own story.”
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Rolling up the paper, you put it in the saddlebags of your horse as you rode across a forest trail. The beating of hooves clouded your vision as you thought of the task at hand. This was the only life you have ever known since a witch cursed your parents when you were younger.
The life of bounty hunting only calls the lonely and desperate.
Your horse soon went from a canter to a trot to finally a walk. The sun was beating down on both of you, and you could tell that the time to water your horse was coming. Eventually, the sound of a river caused you to cut off trail.
As your horse was drinking, you opened a map to look at your destination. Where you were supposed to find your victim was about a day's ride out. You sighed to yourself as you folded the map.
Suddenly, a flute started playing and your horse picked up its head.
You froze in your spot, watching intensely as your horse began to move towards the sound. You didn't know why you didn't intervene, but your horse soon took off and left you on your own.
"Hey!" You shouted to no one in particular. The forest was now eerily quiet, and you glanced around here and there. Without your horse, you were basically defenseless. You growled to yourself in frustration.
Soon, the sound of someone behind you caught your attention.
Turning around, you recognized the cold blue eyes of a well-known man. He was dressed all in black, a hat on top his head complete with feather, and a flute was held ready for use in his supple hands. You narrowed your eyes at him.
"The Pied Piper...you took my horse." You stated while folding your arms. He smirked that familiar smirk and nodded.
You deflated at that. He was probably after the same person that you were, and without the gear on your horse, you were pretty much left with the clothes on your back. You were ready to surrender to him, but instead, the Piper himself deflated and sat on a rock. Disassembling his flute into its respective holders, he placed his head in his hands.
You were beyond confused.
"Are you...okay?" You asked him, and the Piper shook his head. Now you were suspicious about this. Why would he take your horse and then act like a child who just got scolded.
Slowly, you moved to sit beside him. You knew he couldn't answer you like a normal person, but you had a feeling you knew how he was feeling. Most of the time, bounty hunters were on their own, which blocked out a majority of feelings. When they encountered one another, all those feelings were brought back tenfold. And so that's how you understood how the Piper was feeling.
He was lonely.
"It's the life, isn't it?" It's hard?" You asked, mimicking his stature as well with your head in your hands. His eyes looked down towards his boots as he nodded.
"I get that...one thing after the other...the world looking at us like we're vermin." You started to voice your own feelings about how the world looks at people like you and him. You noticed the Piper started to stare at you, his eyes making you self-conscious. Eventually, he nodded in agreement, a frown on his face.
"I think you were on the same path as me." You stated and he shrugged. Obviously, it would be hard to tell from his perspective when all these thoughts were firing off in your head.
"Are you lonely too?" You asked quietly, and the Piper looked at you with a look of shock before sadness came to his face. His lips came to a thin line as he nodded.
A crazy idea came to your head.
"Would you like to come with me?" You asked him, causing him to look at you in shock. Most bounty hunters preferred to be alone, getting the job done easier. But you were sick of being alone, and he doesn't seem like the talkative type.
He started to smile a little.
“Let’s make our own story.” You said, a smile now on your face. The Piper soon matched your smile, and you guys both felt a weight lift off your shoulders. And you would probably never know that his original goal was to steal your horse and your bounty. When he saw you, he just couldn't stop all the feelings from returning. Another person on the path like him was hard to ignore.
But now, he found something much more.
Standing up, he pulled out his flute and played a tune. The sound of hoofbeats returned and you looked to see your horse running back towards you. You grinned and thanked him profusely for returning your horse. He nodded at you, a smile on his face.
You mounted your horse and helped him up behind you.
"Now," you pulled out your bounty, the face of a familiar feline with the words Dead or Alive underneath it, "let's bag this cat."
The Piper grinned before pulling out his flute, playing an adventurous tune as he sat behind you on your horse, legs swung out on one side as you encouraged your horse to a gallop.
You guys still led the lives of bounty hunters.
But you guys were leading them together.
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Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 3
Episode 13: JAM Session
What is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Piper Hart? That's right, her never-ending anger issues. She was infamous for her temper, even the slightest annoyance could make her fly off the handle, meaning that for many people she was often very unpleasant to be around. 
Deep down, Piper was a sweet little girl, a brat that secretly had a heart of gold under all the meanness, the trouble was she rarely let anyone see that. For weeks, she and her friends had been planning a skiing trip, just the group of them; a whole week of snow, hot cocoa and fun. She had packed her bags, donned her cutest hat, scarf and gloves, the whole shebang, the only problem was her friends had grown. tired of her foul outbursts and her constant t beratement and brutal harshness, so that left without her.
Yep, all of her friends had reached a unanimous decision and had skedaddled before Piper had even had a chance to realise that she had been left out. And that broke her. She was left sobbing at the kitchen table since she knew that sometimes she could be a little prickly, but she had never meant to hurt her friends so much that they'd prefer to be without her than spend a trip with her. 
Now, Henry, being the kind and sensitive big brother he was, had sat down and comforted his little sister, advising her that her violent outbursts were what was driving people away and offered to take her to a "Junior Anger Management" session, or y'know, just JAM for short. He and his parents hadn't really expected it to work, after all, Piper had been like that since she was a toddler and even the most experienced therapist surely couldn't be able to treat her. Or. could he?
The man had some kind of magic aroma gas stuff that was diffused from some sort of collar. Henry called bullshit as soon as he saw the stuff, thinking that this was some kind of marketing scheme or shit hoax, but no. One sniff of the calming gas and Piper switched from a teen in a tantrum to polite and gentle, even offering her hand for the man to shake. 
Henry was stunned, bewildered, but also...happy. He'd. grown tired of his sister's temper and screaming, so he thought that if she could stick to the JAM course and its treatment, his life would be so much better, which put him in a perfectly content mood for work. 
~The Man Cave~
"Well, move over Chicago, 'cause Swellview's about to become the windier city." Came the voice of Mary Gaperman on KLVY News. Some strange shit was going on around the secret headquarters; Ray was making (y/n) contort and stretch his arms in every which way, whilst Jasper and Charlotte were removing the guts from several large pumpkins. It was some fad diet that Ray had insisted on trying (it might have been something to do with Henry calling him fat last week) and so, here they were trying to help him get whipped into shape.
(y/n) was certain that he didn't need to get any fitter, he was already perfectly trim and gorgeous in her eyes, but no matter what she said or did, he just wanted to eat pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins.
"Good one, Mary. Now, bring your pets inside and tie your kids to something heavy, because a big ol' tornado is on its way to Swellview and is expected to cause powerful winds of up to ninety-five miles per hour. So now, here's Mary with what she calls her torna-dos and torna-don'ts. Mary?" Trent Overrunder carried on as the teens continued to hack the obscenely large orange fruit into small chunks. that could be shoved into the fridge. 
Meanwhile, Ray was enjoying his girl rotating and yanking at his arms, which looked and sounded painful to anyone else, but actually felt quite nice. Her small hands and strength pulled him one way and then the other, making him groan and lean his head into her soft tummy. She felt so tired from the vigorous actions, but seeing him so contented made it worth it.
"Do stay inside. Don't go outside." Mary advised, making her fellow reporter and the people watching frown at the obvious notion. Charlotte had heard enough and switched the ridiculous channel off, preferring silence to whatever drivel was on the air. 
"Like that?" (y/n) asked her boyfriend, making sure to yank his arm as hard as she could, knowing that it was what he wanted and judging by the please groan he released, it was working.
"Awwww, yeah, sweet girl." He rumbled, smiling dopily as she worked her magic. All he had to do was lie back in his squishy chair and think of everything he loved, namely her and pumpkins, but mostly her. His continuous moans of pleasure were particularly odd to Henry, who had walked into work thinking everyone had gone mad.
"Okaaaaay, (y/n) pulling arms, pumpkins being murdered." He summed up, trying to rationalise what the hell was going on. "Why are you making them hack up pumpkins?" 
"Isn't it obvious?" Ray asked with a blissed-out, smouldering gaze as his girlfriend ran her hands over his shoulders. God, he could get used to this.
"No." Henry shook his head. It wasn't Halloween nor could he see a reason why they'd need so much of the orange flesh. It was all a bit weird to him.
I'm on P.E.P...P-E-P!" Ray exclaimed, loving talking about his new diet to anyone who would listen, which wasn't many people. (y/n) was fed up with the smell of pumpkin, the taste of pumpkin on his lips, the sight of pumpkin, just everything about the fucking things. 
"Pep?" Henry asked, vaguely recognising the name, but he had no clue what it was.
"Yeah! The pumpkin eating plan!" Ray elaborated whilst his girl began to raise and lower his arms above his head, really getting those muscles working, hers and his. 
"All he eats now is pumpkins. Pumpkin juice, pumpkin smoothies, pumpkin patties, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin jerky, I'm so done with fucking pumpkins!" The young woman rolled her eyes, dropping her forehead down to rest it on the crown of Ray's head. It was a bit much when he was mumbling "pu--pum--pa-pumpkin-kin" in his sleep. He'd be marrying one next.
"You still love me though, right?" He gave her a dumb, woozy smile, leaning back in the chair so he could look up to see her bemused, beautiful face. His sweet girl, she put up with everything he threw at her. 
"I suppose, doofus...Love you." She mumbled and pressed a kiss to his head before continuing with his arm exercises. Those muscles wouldn't grow on their own. 
"Hey, look! Everybody! Come look what I made!" Schwoz suddenly yelled as he dashed into the room. Well, at least he provided a break from the pumpkins, even if no one was particularly interested in what he had invented. 
"Uh, what is that?" Henry asked with a confused face as (y/n) kept pumping Ray's arms with all her might. 
"I call it a breeze-eer. You can use it if there are strong winds." The genius explained, which didn't really clarify what the breezy thing was for, but it struck a chord with Jasper.
"Oh, is this about that tornado that's headed toward Swellview?" He asked. Surely if Schwoz had a wind machine, it had to have something to do with the phenomenal weather going on right now in the city.
"Yah! See, if the wind grabs you and lifts you off the ground, you can use these controls to turn yourself and navagoot." He explained, drawing some funny looks with his poor pronunciation. 
"I think he means navigate." Charlotte simplified, making everything click into place for those who didn't quite catch the real meaning and making Schwoz sarcastically mimic her sounds. He spoke fine, he just knew he did.
"Hey! Who wants a breeze-eer?" He moved on and dug around in his bag to hand out the copies he had of his invention, but he was disappointed when everyone swiftly walked away saying no.
"Nobody. Nobody wants that." Ray told him flatly, too engrossed in how he could feel his girl's hands almost everywhere to care about some dumb wind machine. Schwoz grabbed his case and wheeled it back up the stairs, saying something in his native language that no one else could understand. He was probably cursing them or something but they could give a toss. 
"Hey, Henry, did Piper start Junior Anger Management?" Charlotte asked her friend as the tranquillity returned and she could focus on disembowelling her pumpkin.
"Uh, yeah. Me and my dad dropped her off there this morning." The boy answered and this was a conversation that Ray was highly interested in. Piper was doing an anger management course? That was hilarious to him.
"Ha!" He sniggered, causing (y/n) to sharply knead his shoulder with her strong fingers. She was glad that Piper was finding help for her temper issues and she wasn't going to have her childish boyfriend be a negative nancy about it.
"What?" Henry frowned, not liking the scepticism in his tone either. He was Piper's biggest support in this, mainly because he feared for his life every time she got angry.
"Ha! As in ha, JAM Class is stupid." He replied, earning a smack on his arm from his girlfriend. Just because he didn't need it, didn't mean that it was stupid. Different kids have different issues and Piper just so happened to be an angry girl. 
"No, it's not." Henry insisted, not that Ray cared. He only listened to one person and even then with his ears only half-open.
"You do know that JAM Class helps a lot of angry kids, right?" (y/n) grunted as she kept stretching his arms, although if he kept pissing her off, he'd have to do it himself.
"Well, it's not gonna help Piper." Jasper butted in, taking Ray's side since he a) idolised him and b) had been on the receiving end of the tween's fury many times and knew that it would never be tamed. She was just moody and tetchy and disturbed and scary and sometimes dangerous. 
"Why not?" Charlotte asked, putting her meat cleaver down on the table so she could fully enter the argument. She too thought that JAM Class was great and couldn't believe that she worked with such negative morons.
"'Cause, she's an animal." He stressed and hacked up another wedge of pumpkin as the three supporters rolled their eyes. 
"Yeah and besides, people never change. That's why they say, angry at five, angry at fifty and, uh...once a freak, always a freak." Ray added, making (y/n) pull his arm extra hard and flick him in the ribs. He whined in pain as she scowled at him and when he tried to grab onto her hands with a pouty face, she pulled away in a sulk. Piper was a child, not a freak.
"Babyyyy..." He whimpered as she ignored him in favour of harshly pulling his arm across his chest and he began to get moody when he realised that she was upset with him. 
"All right, all right. (y/n), stop torturing Ray, he's getting angry too." Henry rolled his eyes when he saw his boss's dark expression and the woman reluctantly became much more gentle. 
"Maybe he should go to JAM Class too." She muttered stroppily, which prompted Ray to seize her by the waist and hug her from behind, instantly soothing her bad mood. She turned in his arms and plonked herself down on his lap; no more arm stretching for her, she was exhausted.
"Anyway, I was at Piper's JAM Class this morning and I bet it does work," Henry smirked, having faith in his little sister and the excellent work of the therapist he'd met earlier that day.
"Well, I'll tell you what..." Ray returned the smirk and stood up with his girl bridal style in his arms since he always loved how small it made her seem and how she swooned at his strength. A win-win situation. 
"I bet you that the day your sister is done with JAM Class, I can get her to lose her temper that very same day." He carried on, snapping his fingers as best he could with his arms full and (y/n) tapped his shoulder to tell him to put her down. 
"Nah, I doubt it. 'Cause, they have these special aroma collars that--" Henry snapped his fingers in an equally annoying way and his face echoed (y/n)'s when Ray interrupted him; pissed off.
"Blobbity blobbity, aroma collar..." He ranted petulantly, making his girlfriend stand in front of him with her hands on her hips and an annoyed look on her face.
"Why would you deliberately undo all of Piper's hard work?" She frowned and folded her arms when Ray gave her one of his cocky smirks and his eyes roamed her body. Damn him, why did he have to find her hot when she was trying to be annoyed with him?
"Because Piper will never be able to stay calm, sweet girl. It's inevitable." He cooed, making her bite her lip before she said something she'd regret. Henry though, couldn't keep it in.
"All right, it's a bet!" He shouted, the boys sharing an equally hard stare as they began another one of their silly competitions.
"Yeah, it's a bet!" Ray growled back. The only problem was that the woman who was usually the referee had chosen a side too, as had Charlotte and Jasper. The whole Man Cave team (minus Schwoz) were against each other.
"Then I'm with team Henry," Charlotte announced and gave her friend a fist bump. She was an optimist and was sure that Piper would find this difficult at first, but then rewarding and easy. 
"Well, I'm on team Ray." Jasper countered and stood up on the couch so he could reach his boss's height and wrap an arm around his shoulder, which didn't go down very well.
"Take it away." Ray instantly said and Jasper immediately did so and sat down. There was only one person's arms Ray wanted around his shoulders, but she wanted to throw a spanner in the works and mess with his mind.
"What about you, (y/n)? Whose side are you on?" Charlotte asked her, assuming that her adoration for Piper, even if she was a brat, would lead her to the light, AKA, Henry's team. However, she was shocked when the young woman smiled sweetly at her boyfriend and captured his face with her hands so she could guide him into a sweet kiss. Okay, that's not what she was expecting.
(y/n) deliberately poked her tongue into Ray's mouth for just a brief second, allowing him to taste her and desire more as she pulled away with a mischievous grin. His hands were tightly clenched on her waist but his grip softened when her winning smile turned into a smirk.
"I'm on team Henry." She confirmed and stepped away from her needy boyfriend, who couldn't believe how devious his sweet girl could be. Teasing a man so cruelly, he loved and hated it.
"Tell us the bet, sweetheart." She fluttered her eyelashes innocently and joined Henry and Charlotte on the right edge of the couch as Ray took on the unspoken challenge set between them.
"The bet is...when I get Piper to lose her temper...you, Henry and Charlotte gotta eat a big ol' bucket of raw pumpkin guts." It was his turn to smirk since he knew how after having to eat nothing but pumpkin crap every time they shared a meal, his girl was sick of the sight of them Raw, slimy pumpkin seeds and tendrils weren't helping that and even if it was supposed to be good for you, it was rancid.
"So...when you fail to make Piper lose her temper, you and Jasper have to eat a big ol' bucket of raw pumpkin guts," Henry countered, deciding that he'd reverse the stakes. Tit for tat and all that.
"Yeah, while wearing swimsuits!" Oh, dear Jasper. He really didn't understand bets, he only knew how to make them worse for him and Ray, good old seething Ray.
"What?" Ray looked at the curly-haired boy like he was insane. He just made the torture worse, what a dickhead.
"I was just saying that we should wear swimsuits when we're--" Jasper smiled at the superhero, thinking it would be a wacky yet fun thing for them to do.
"Just...just be quiet." He put a hand on Jasper's head and made the boy sit down before he could say anything else, preferring to focus on his rivals instead.
"So, we got a bet?" Ray asked Henry, who grinned and nodded. This shit was on.
"We got a bet." He confirmed and firmly shook hands with him to seal the deal. Piper better be on her best behaviour tonight, otherwise, someone might lose their temper. 
~Later that evening~
"Hey, sweet girl, you ready?--" (y/n) heard her boyfriend yell as he entered their shared bedroom. She was just doing a final check on her hair and makeup when she turned around to see that he had stopped dead in his tracks to take in her outfit. It was simple, cute, with just enough cleavage and thigh to leave him happy whilst also staying appropriate for dinner with Henry's family. She still thought it was weird that they were just barging in and demanding to be fed, but Ray's charming smile would surely win Mrs Hart over, which was another worrying thing.
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"What?" She asked, pushing Henry's mom to the back of her mind as she took in his gormless expression and grabbed her clutch purse so they could meet up with Henry and Charlotte in the main room. 
"You look beautiful." He cooed and floated over to her to cup her jaw with his large hands. She was so bashful, she couldn't meet his eyes, not that she needed to, he just kissed her gently anyway. She melted into it and enjoyed feeling his warmth embrace her, no bet, no interruptions, just them...until Ray got clever and tried to sneak his hands under her skirt to cup her ass.
"No, Henry and Charlotte are waiting..." She whined breathlessly, feebly clutching at his arms as he squeezed and kneaded her supple flesh, chuckling when her protests died in her mouth. 
"I'm sure we can make it quick, you look so fuckin' good, sweet girl." He growled and tried to distract her with his mouth on her neck as he teased her underwear over the curve of her ass, but she just ripped herself away from his embrace. Too much temptation and she wouldn't be able to say no.
"I've spent way too much time on this hair and makeup for you to ruin it. Plus, we both know it's never quick." She whispered and fiddled with the lapel of the jacket that was hiding his loud shirt from the world. It fit him so well, she knew it did and dinner would be a real struggle in more ways than one if it dazzled Mrs Hart half as much as it did her.
"Hey...what's wrong?" Ray asked, instantly pushing away their flirtatious banter when he saw the light in her eyes go somewhere else and he wondered what she could be thinking of that made her deflate like that.
"It's nothing..." She smiled and shook her head, trying to convince him that she was all right, but he knew her far better than that to just assume that she was fine.
"Are you sure? You seem a little out of it..." He frowned, gently grabbing her chin between his finger and thumb so he could look into her eyes and look for any kind of lie or hurt.
"I was just thinking about how you'll be munching down on those pumpkin guts whilst I'm in here waiting for you to finish..." The young woman giggled mischievously and trailed her hand up his chest and caught his lips with hers before he could ask any more questions.
"I thought you said Henry and Charlotte were waiting," Ray mumbled as he brushed her hair away from her face and followed the passionate movements of her lips against his. He was grateful that she wasn't swatting away his hand now, but they were still under a time limit.
"Five more minutes." She breathed against his lips and properly straddled his waist so she could push him back against the mattress. Five turned into ten and then twenty. Oh, well...at least she got him to herself, even if it was for just a little while.
~Henry's house~
"You guys are disgusting." Henry chastised the giggling couple as he, Charlotte Ray and (y/n) hurriedly scurried from Ray's car to his front door. Swellview's tornado was in full swing and the gale-force winds were giving the city a battering, but that wouldn't stop Henry from lecturing his boss and his girlfriend for making them late. He just hoped his mom would accept such tardy arrivals.
"Can we drop the subject?" (y/n) stressed, feeling a little embarrassed that she had done exactly what she had insisted on avoiding and had let Ray ruin her for far longer than she had originally planned, but then again, she didn't care. Her hair was still good and although her lipstick definitely needed some TLC, they had both come out of it feeling...great.
"Yeah, Hen, stop it before I puke," Charlotte grumbled, having heard more than enough already. The mere thought of that made her stomach flip and twist, god, they were so gross.
"Just open the door," Ray instructed Henry since he was fed up with the wind ruining his perfectly floppy hair and just wanted to get inside where it was warm and safe. The kid let them in and the four staggered after him, shivering from the cold.
"Mom!" Henry greeted the smiling woman as she put down the phone after nattering to her friend. She looked up from her cooking and gasped in surprise when so many unexpected faces walked through her living room.
"Hi, Mrs Hart." Charlotte and Jasper addressed her, beaming politely as she took in her four new arrivals. It wasn't like the mother didn't have enough food, it was just shocking to see Henry invite practically everyone he knew to a small family dinner.
"Hello, Mrs Hart, lovely to see you again." (y/n) smiled shyly, suddenly feeling a little nervous now that she was in front of the woman with her notoriously flirtatious boyfriend behind her, but all she got was just a similarly bright grin.
"Hello, Mrs Hart." Ray appeared behind his girlfriend and wrapped an arm around her waist as he casually greeted her. Okay, that was pretty normal, his voice was a little husky but it was cold outside so (y/n) could ignore that. No need to be scared or nervous or light-headed...
"Hi, I didn't know you were bringing friends to dinner." Mrs Hart told her son warmly and he paused to think of an answer, but the ever-flirty Ray jumped in before he could reply. God, what was he thinking? Idiot...
"Friends...and his boss from Junk-N-Stuff." Ray leaned on the counter and smirked, too caught up in the moment to realise that he was letting himself get too friendly or how his girl gulped at his softening eyes. 
Every time, every damn time, why couldn't he just stop being himself for one occasion so he'd spare her the heartache? It wasn't fair that he had been all over her only half an hour earlier, panting into her hair at how much he loved her and how he always wanted it to be this way, but now he was acting as though those had been hollow lies and shit, that cut deep. 
"Mom, you remember Ray and his girlfriend, (y/n)." Henry subtly jabbed his boss in his side as he recognised his flirting and he didn't need to look to know that (y/n) was hating it. She wouldn't say anything, she'd grown too good at that, so he was going to stop it before it spiralled out of control. 
"Oh, sure. We've met a dozen times." Mrs Hart cordially extended her hand for Ray to shake, meaning it as a friendly, but not too friendly, gesture and he accepted it with a tad too much eagerness for it to be on the same level. He'd been a player all his life, he just couldn't get out of the habit of literally charming the pants off every female he saw, even though he adored his girlfriend and would die for her. 
But actions spoke louder than words for (y/n), and knowing that she'd been the sucker believing his words, feeling special from all of his attention, made her feel small and very, very stupid. The next one in line, dumb enough to think she deserved a superhero's love.
"Ah...fourteen." He corrected the woman, causing (y/n) to take a micro-step backwards like she was removing herself from the situation. Who the hell counted how many times they'd met someone unless they had some school-boy crush on them? The thought broke her heart and made her revert to the old (y/n) - say nothing, do nothing, they're better, you're not, he loves them, not you. 
"Really?" Mrs Hart gasped, mistaking the flirting for small talk or dinner party convo, so Henry stepped in to separate their hands before it got weird and they'd have to resuscitate the young woman from a heart attack.
"Hey, uh, can I...go up to your room for a sec?" Jasper asked his best friend once the little moment between Kris and Ray was broken, making everyone look at him suspiciously. 
"Why?" Henry asked, growing at the thought of the boy sloping off upstairs to do something strange and unknown. Was this part of the bet?
"You'll see. You'll all see." That was all the curly-haired boy said mysteriously, dashing up the stairs as Mrs Hart got a text, which she rushed to answer.
"Oh! It's Piper, she and your dad will be here any minute. I better go butter the lobster balls!" She exclaimed, running back into the kitchen before she could answer any of Charlotte's queries on what exactly was a lobster ball. Was it lobster balls or lobster balls?
"Hey. Okay, before Piper gets here, let's go over the bet." Herny gathered the group in closely and whispered so his mom wouldn't hear their crafty plan.
"Okay. When Piper gets mad and loses her temper, Jasper and I win and you three gotta eat a big ol' nasty bucket of pumpkin guts." Ray smirked at his friends, still in a pretty good mood for a guy who was chipping away his girlfriend's confidence with every ill-judged comment.
"Or, when Piper doesn't lose get mad and lose her temper, Henry, Charlotte and I win." (y/n) replied, folding her arms and masking her distress with a façade that had taken years to create and master.
"Yeah! And then you losers gotta eat a big ol' nasty bucket of pumpkin guts." Henry bit back, relishing in the idea of giving Ray a taste of his own medicine. 
"You're such a child." The superhero sneered at him in a silly voice, defeating his argument by acting petulantly himself.
"I think that's the pot calling the kettle black." The woman on his left muttered, turning around when she heard Jasper coming back downstairs and oh, my...
"Uhhh, guys..." Charlotte pointed to her friend, who had changed his outfit into a crop top and some swimming shirts. So it was for the bet, well, the part of the bet that wasn't happening. 
"Well, hello, everyone." He smirked at them, thinking he looked pretty damn fine, even though in reality, he looked pretty damn ridiculous. Hopefully, Mrs Hart was too busy in the kitchen to notice.
"Dude, we told you, the swimsuit is not part of the bet," Henry told him lowly, not wanting to draw any more attention to themselves than they already were.
"Oh, I know. I'm just, uh, showing off my new one. Eh?" He swivelled his hips to try and persuade them that it was a good outfit, but Charlotte was inclined to strongly disagree. "Uh-uh. Uh-uh."
Thankfully, Jasper's swimsuit didn't stay the topic of conversation for long as Piper and Mr Hart burst through the door, shaking from the battering winds outside. 
"And look who's back! It's me and Piper!" Henry's dad announced, even though everyone could see that it was them. Oh, good, how would he react to seeing Ray flirt with his wife? 
"Dad, please don't make a big deal." The little girl sighed, wishing that she could just go up to her room for some peace and quiet, but it seem like half of Swellview were in her living room.
"Hi, baby! Guess what we're having for dinner tonight! Lobster balls and fofu!" Mrs Hart grinned at her daughter when she gasped in excitement at the sound of her favourite meal. Oh, wow, she was really being spoiled tonight.
"Seriously?!" Piper yelled and ran over to her mother. She was certainly a sweet girl at heart and could be adorable when she wanted to be, especially when she ran to embrace her mom.
"Wait, what is fofu?" Henry asked. It sounded weird and trendy, which was probably why Piper liked it. That and it was the kind of gimmick that tricked nearly everyone into loving it for no good reason. 
"Well, it tastes just like tofu."
"But it's made with meat." Mrs Hart and Piper explained together, making everyone nod in understanding. Meat that tasted like fake meat that is meant to taste like real meat; what will they think of next?...
~
Well, dinner was...interesting. The teens amused themselves, thinking that sitting and eating dinner properly with the grown-ups was boring, so they were scattered throughout the kitchen picking at their food and doing god knows what else. Meanwhile, Ray and (y/n) were sat at the table with Mr and Mrs Hart, only it didn't feel particularly sociable and friendly since every little thing Ray did or said was like torture for (y/n). It was like he didn't see her, only the ever-lovely Kris.
"Ray...would you like to try a lobster ball?" She asked him politely, offering him the food she'd cooked like a good hostess, but the large man couldn't help but switch on the charm.
"Would I like to? Oh, yeah." He answered, causing (y/n) to tear up and slowly chew the now bitter-tasting food in her mouth as he leaned an elbow on the tabletop to get closer. He promised he would change and now she felt like a fool; a stupid, gullible fool who'd fallen hook, line and sinker for everything he promised her. "But I'm on a strict PEP diet, so..." 
"Oh, you mean the pumpkin eating plan?" Kris questioned, opening up a whole new conversation/flirtation point for them to explore.
"You really get me." Ray sighed and plopped his chin into his palm as (y/n) placed her fork down angrily. Now, she was just being played like an idiot, sitting there as her boyfriend cooed and made another woman blush, and she decided that she couldn't eat anymore.
"What was that, Henry? Coming..." She excused herself and scraped her chair backwards so she could escape to the island counter where Henry and Charlotte were eating. Ray could flirt all he wanted, just not when her heart was around to endure it and crack under the pressure. She joined the teens by the sink and daren't look up to see what her boyfriend was saying or doing now, she just wanted to go home, the place where he'd act like she was the only one he wanted because there was no one else to outshine her.
"Hey, you okay?" Henry asked her in a hushed tone as she pretended that she was having a perfectly normal conversation with him. The fruit bowl was particularly interesting.
"Not really. I want to go punch him in his stupid face, but apparently, I'm invisible tonight." She muttered, glancing over to see Mr Hart say something that didn't impress Ray. Maybe he told him to back the fuck up from his wife and pay attention to the woman he'd was actually dating. 
"I'll do it for you," Charlotte said, glaring daggers at her boss who could be so pig-headed at times. She couldn't understand him, he'd whined and longed for (y/n) to like him for years, but now they were together and he had everything he'd ever wanted, he was...careless, moronic, foolish. 
"Thanks, but you need to make it look like we're having a good conversation because he's looking this way." She suddenly hissed and broke out into a nervous laugh when she saw her boyfriend glance over to see what they were doing. Aw, sweet girl, talking to the kids, cute.
"Mmmmm, this fofu really does taste like meat." Henry quickly said the first thing that came to his mind and that was the bizarre food that he was nibbling on. 
"Yeah...but not the good meat." Charlotte gagged at the gamy, slimy yet chewy texture and Henry knew what she meant. Yeah, fofu wasn't good, but thankfully, the doorbell went and they were able to put down their forks.
"Hmmm, doorbell, I guess someone's at the door." Mr Hart pondered, making Ray look at him with a perturbed face. What did Mrs Hart see in this guy? Not that he cared, he didn't feel anything towards Henry's mom since he was more than happy with everything (y/n) gave him, not that he was showing it that night.
Henry opened the door to see that it was some dude with an immensely adorable pony and a wide grin on his face. Okay, this felt surreal, there was a horse on his porch. 
"Uh, hi," Henry said, not knowing how else to react. 
"Hello." The man replied and scratched his four-legged friend behind the wars when it seemed to snort a greeting too.
"Did someone order a pony?" Henry called out to his family and friends, prompting Piper to gasp and sprint across the room to see the pretty pony, an animal she'd wanted since she was a child.
"Wow...I wonder why there's a pony here." Ray commented in a faux-surprised voice, telling his work colleagues that it was him. He was the reason the pony was on the porch. 
"Please tell me you're not responsible for this." (y/n) whispered, attempting to get close to him by carefully reaching for his hand, but she shrank back when he put his hands on his hips. Perhaps not. 
"Uh, it says here...this beautiful pony is a present for Piper Hart." The man read from his delivery sheet, making all of Piper's dreams come true. They had nowhere near enough room for a goddamn horse but seeing her so happy...
"A present for Piper? Gosh, Piper, you must be so excited and happy." Ray prompted her, making (y/n) slap his arm since he was being deliberately so cruel. She could take it, but she would let him hurt a kid like that.
"I am!" Piper shrieked, shaking from the joyous exhilaration of it all. 
"Okay, little girl, here's your--wait, how old are you?" The pony delivery guy suddenly changed his words, making team Henry suspect that here was the sudden, harsh twist of fate.
"I'm eleven," Piper answered honestly, making the man's happy face drop and subsequently hers. That didn't sound good, especially when Ray joined in for effect.
Yeah, sorry, kid...ya gotta be at least thirteen to get a free pony." The man shrugged and left Piper and Henry gawping at the front door whilst he lead the pony away, probably to another girl who was thirteen or whatever. Oh, that was mean, very mean. 
"But...what?...That---that jerk just took my pony away!" Piper yelled, trying to keep control of her temper, but it was just so hard.
"Uh-oh, I think someone's about to get angry," Jasper smirked, making Charlotte signal to Henry to use the special hand pump thing that was attached to her collar. The boy squeezed it a few times, releasing the aroma gas as Piper screamed.
"Yeah, I'm about to get angry. I've wanted a pony since I was three years old. Do you understand what's it like to have...that's a nice lookin' swimsuit." Well, that gas was highly effective. Ray and Jasper frowned as all of Piper's anger was just washed away and she was left tame and mild-mannered, friendly even. 
"It is?" Jasper questioned nervously, feeling weird at how nice the normally terrifying girl was being.
"Oh yeah, It makes me happy. Like (y/n)'s dress, which makes her look so pretty. Mr Ray, doesn't your girlfriend look pretty?" Piper tilted her head at the man and the blushing woman next to him, making them glance at each other shyly. 
"Uh, yeah, she looks...very pretty." Ray agreed, not knowing how to respond to the sudden statement, other than to wholeheartedly agree. His girl looked fucking gorgeous and he realised that he hadn't said it enough that night.
"I'm gonna have some more fofu." The girl went back to her seat and began to heartily eat the food her mother had prepared, causing Ray to glare at Henry, Charlotte and (y/n) as they looked at him with success. They wouldn't let him break Piper that easily, not on their watch. 
~
"So, (y/n), how long have you and Ray been dating?" Mrs Hart asked the younger woman kindly as they resumed eating. Even if the fofu was disgusting, (y/n) found herself rather hungry after calming her jealous anger and returned to her lobster balls and corn.
"A few months. We were best friends for years and then, we just sort of, got together." She answered, skirting around the tedious facts that they'd been obliviously ignoring the truth on how they felt until they had no choice but to admit it. 
"Oh, well, that's nice. You make such a lovely couple. I'm sure you're both very happy together." Kris smiled over her plate, making (y/n) relax, even though if she was anyone different, she would have probably labelled her as an enemy. She was blind to Ray's flirting and was just as friendly as he was, which was both comforting and worrying. Mrs Hart was kind and pretty, just Ray's type and sometimes (y/n) wished that she'd be a bitch so she could have a reason to hate her.
"Yes, very happy..." (y/n) agreed, looking across to smile at Ray with the hope that he'd agree too, but he seemed to be distracted and clearly hadn't heard a word that had been said. He was too busy signalling something to Jasper. They were happy, right? It wasn't just in her head?
Jasper copied the signal and stood up from the kitchen bar as Ray returned to picking at his food, ignorant to how dejected his girl was.
"Ooo! Henry and Charlotte, I gotta show you guys something really cool! Come on!" Jasper told his friends excitedly, making them groan but follow him anyway. Perfect, Ray knew they could never tell the puppy-like boy no, and it played straight into his hands. 
"Uh, so...I have to go get something from my car...outside..okay." He leapt to his feet suddenly, the clattering of his fork on the table adding to the awkwardness, but he ran away before anyone could ask who, when, what, why or how.
"So, I, uh, need to...supervise him, because he...gets nervous around cars." (y/n) chuckled at the husband and wife, getting up from her chair just as suddenly and running to the porch after him. She wanted some answers, for more than one thing.
"What are you doing?" She asked her boyfriend as they stood together on the blustery porch, him looking around to see if anyone was mad enough to be outside in the treacherous weather apart from them.
"I'm about to win the bet, sweet girl." He smirked at her, circling around her with his hands in his pockets, but she was certain he wouldn't be grinning in a few moments. This took all of her courage.
"I don't mean the damn bet." She snapped, making him stand still at her sudden, sharp voice. Ray didn't like it when she was angry, not like this, especially when it was directed at him. It told him she was hurt or upset and he wondered why.
"Wha--? Sweet girl, I don't understand." He looked at her flabbergasted, feeling his stomach twist when she refused to meet his eyes and swallowed to keep her voice level.
"You promised." She sighed, running a hand through her hair as she tried to stay reasonable and calm, despite her brain and heart screaming at her to just cry or shout or do something she'd regret later.
"Wha--I don't see--" He frowned, wondering what she was referring to. He thought they'd been going good recently, no hiccups or arguments, no disasters or meltdowns, just their love growing each and every day.
"No, that's the problem, Raymond. You don't ever see, you never see." She hissed, clutching her forehead to massage her temples before carrying on. 
"You tell me one minute that you love me and I'm the only one you've ever loved. But then the next minute, you're all over another woman, telling her that she "gets you" and you hardly speak to me all night." (y/n) stressed, looking up at his face and seeing how he was piecing together all of his mistakes.
"Shit--shit, I--I'm so sorry." He sighed, screwing his eyes up as he realised that his old habits had led him into murky waters once again. It was like he didn't even know he was doing it sometimes and cursed himself for not doing more to stop it.
"Look, maybe you were right. Maybe people never change. Maybe you'll finally get Mrs Hart to like you and maybe one day I'll get over it and be able to deal with the pain but..." Her eyes became misty and melancholic at her darkest thought. She never would, but her imagination couldn't help but wander and neither could his.
"But what?" He asked, his fingers twitching to reach out and brush against her cheek, but he resisted the urge. It might scare her away.
"But right now, I hate feeling like this. Like I only get to love you behind closed doors and not when you're faced with a pretty girl. I don't want to be your girlfriend--" She confessed, but the air was stolen from her lungs when the seven words Ray never, ever, not even in his deepest, darkest, cruellest dreams, wanted to hear were spoken. She hadn't finished the sentence, not even close, but he'd heard enough and seized her body and held it to his like a child squeezing their favourite toy, terrified that if he let go, she'd walk away forever. 
"Don't break up with me, please. I'll change, I swear, just please, don't leave me." He begged, nearly sobbing into her hair as she struggled to process what had happened so alarmingly fast. Her boyfriend was crushing her in his hold, tearful and screaming in anguish in an attempt to stop her from breaking up with him. This wasn't how she'd expected the night to go.
"Ray, I'm--I'm not breaking up with you." She soothed him, running one hand up and down his back as the other tangled in his hair, which made the quiet hiccups in the crook of her neck quieten down.
"You're not?" He asked and pulled back so his red, puffy eyes could look into hers, shocking her from how upset he'd become in mere moments. Normally, she was the one crying, not him. 
"No, I'd never...I love you. Always, remember?" She told him gently and moved the hand on his back so she could cup his cheek. He leaned into her touch and loosened the arms around her body, letting her soft body press against him on its own since he knew that she wasn't about to run a mile.
"I love you, I love you, I love you, my sweet, darling girl, who I don't fucking deserve because I'm a massive, stupid idiot." He sighed, looking down like he was ashamed and guilty for what he'd done. It felt selfish to have someone as perfect as her and flirt with another, even if his dumb brain did it without him realising.
"You're not an idiot. You're just a doofus." She sighed, resting her forehead against his as they took a moment to think about everything. 
"Do it again though and I'll cut your balls off." She mumbled, making him chuckle against her lips and he briefly thought about kissing her but refrained when he decided that her comfort came first. He got his wish though, when (y/n) closed the gap and enjoyed the feeling of feeling secure in their relationship again. 
"We good?" Ray asked her once they broke apart, making her roll her eyes with a giggle. She thought that was obvious.
"Yeah, we're good, doof...what are you doing?" She grinned, which turned them into confusion when she watched him dig into his pockets, pull out his glowing gum tube and pop a piece of gum into his mouth. Ray leaned cooly against the wall so he'd be shielded from most of the neighbourhood's watching eyes and blew a bubble, just as Henry opened the door. He must've been looking for them.
"Ray? (y/n)?" He gasped as he watched his boss transform into Captain Man and then crack his neck in a cocky manner.
"Oh, hey, Henry." He replied, smirking at his girlfriend when her eyes darkened at his powerful persona and the undeniable sexiness he brought to it.
"What are you doing?" Henry asked in suspicion, getting the feeling that he had something sneaky up his sleeve, he just couldn't place his finger on exactly what it was.
"Nothin', I'm just--" Ray replied, but was interrupted as his PearPhone began to ring on his belt. Someone was popular.
"Schwoz?" (y/n) frowned as she stepped over to check the contact flashing on the screen. They'd given him the task of collecting some more pumpkin's for Ray's diet and she'd bet anyone ten dollars that he'd cocked it up in some way.
"Hey, Schwoz, you get my pumkins?" He answered it cheerfully, but the terrified screams that Henry and (y/n) could faintly make out were something he obviously didn't want to deal with. "Uh, I gotta go make a little girl mad...uh, I'm at Henry's house and I gotta go!" He abruptly ended the call and tried to go into the house.
"What are you gonna do?" Henry asked, blocking him from entering since he wanted to know what he was up to.
"I'm gonna go win a bet so that you, Charlotte and (y/n) have to eat pumpkins guts." He bragged, making (y/n) step in front of him too as her competitive side flared again.
"Raymond...kiss me." She tried to distract him, but even her best pout and puppy-dog eyes couldn't sway him from his mission, despite his want to do just that.
"Step aside, sweet girl." He moved her to the side and burst into the house with his usual Captain Man authority and drama, stunning those inside the house.
"Hello, everyone! It's me, Captain Man!" He announced in his superhero voice, his sidekicks following behind him with stony faces as he strolled in with the sole purpose of building Piper up to just rip her back down.
"Captain Man!" She cried as she ran over to him, drawing a terrifying look from Charlotte as she got the message that Captain Man was here with very bad news. "Ah, geez."
"Wow, Captain Man! What are you doing here when there's nothing here for you to do, you probably should be leaving, maybe?" Henry suggested awkwardly, making sure to seem distant and nothing like Kid Danger.
"Yeah, why'd you come here?" Piper added, also finding it weird that the city's best superhero had just rocked up to her house when the weather was like shit. Didn't he have a girlfriend, Miss Danger, right?
"Well, you're the president of my fan club, aren't ya? The Man Fans?" He asked, smiling brightly at the young girl, who felt all tingly and special since Captain Man knew who she was.
"Yeah, I am!" She grinned, looking at (y/n) happily since she always believed that it was her who helped her get the role since she was the one who took her to the cinema two years ago. She liked her for a reason and that was it.
"Or maybe not." His smile suddenly fell and he started to pretend that he was in deep thought, prompting Piper to lose her chirpiness too.
"Captain Man, what do you mean?...Piper's a great president." (y/n) told her secret superhero boyfriend through gritted teeth, putting her hands on the girl's shoulders in an attempt to keep her calm. 
"Uh...I'm sorry...very pretty lady, but to be president of the Man Fans, Piper had to be at least four foot, ten inches." Ray bent over so he was on her eye level and (y/n) brushed over how he was flirting with her so no one would question it.
"Piper is four foot, ten inches." She replied, smirking since he knew that her math was never wrong, unlike his, which usually was.
"Yeah, I am four foot, ten." She agreed, which made Henry snort and giggle until she glared at him. If she said she was four ten, she was four ten, no questions asked, or did he want to lose the bet?
"Sorry, I coughed." He excused and lamely cleared his throat before Ray carried on, this time switching tactics.
"Yeah, you--you know what? Actually--pfft, what I meant to say was, uh, you can't be president of the Man Fans if you're four foot ten, which apparently you are, so...sorry." He awkwardly rubbed his fingers together as everyone voiced their disgust with his stupid decision.
"What?!"
"That is so dumb!" Piper and Mrs Hart protested, but Ray wasn't going to back on his word, not when it made the little girl go a delightful Fuschia shade.
"Hey, I don't make the rules." He shrugged, not wanting to have the blame pinned on him.
"Then who does?" Mr Hart asked, wanting to know so he could find them and give them a stern telling off for upsetting his little girl in such a mean fashion.
"Miss Danger," Ray smirked, making (y/n)'s eyebrows fly to her hairline as he landed her in the shit. And the cherry on the cake was she couldn't say anything, because then the secret would be out. Oh, what a sneaky little...
"This is insane!" Piper screamed, making Henry jump in alarm. He needed her to calm down in the next ten seconds.
"Piper, remember your--squeeze your bulb, squeeze your bulb--" He tried to remind his sister of what she had learnt in her JAM Class session, but she didn't want to relax, she wanted to scream and shout and let it all out.
"NO! I got elected president of the Man Fans, fair and square!" She yelled, her face turning a deep red colour, similar to the one on the costume of a certain, bemused hero.
"Yeah, but that was probably back when you were four foot nine, so..." He replied and backed off before she could strangle him for delivering the bad news. Shit, she was getting really angry.
"Here, let me squeeze your bulb for you." Charlotte offered, dashing to the little girl's side to try and release the aroma gas, but she swatted away her hands with a yell.
"NO! Everyone, get away from me and my bulb!" She shouted, meaning Ray saw his work as pretty much complete, so he took a seat on the couch and leaned back to watch it all unfold. Oh, how he wished he could have his girl tucked into his side right now...
"Okay, I'm really mad...but! I'm not gonna lose my temper, because I've learned that if I do lose my temper that---" Oh, dear, sweet Piper, she was doing so well. Her anger was pushed down and leashed so well...until that fucking moron of a genius that the Man Cave team knew as Schwoz came crashing through the roof and KO'd her.
Schwoz and Piper stood up gasping and aching, but all Henry, Charlotte and (y/n) could focus on was the fact that the impact had shattered the buckle on her aroma collar, meaning it fell to the floor. 
"Do I smell lobster balls?" Schwoz asked, sniffing the delicious smell in the air and followed his nose to go and chow down on Piper's celebratory dinner, which didn't go down very well with her. 
"Who is this man?!" Mrs Hart exclaimed, baffled that her family dinner had turned into a farce and now, she had a little weirdo scoffing away at (y/n)'s and Ray's plates.
"Uh, guys. Piper's collar broke and fell off." (y/n) pointed out, making everyone who wasn't on team Ray gulp. That was their safety net and now, it was gone.
"P-Piper, come on now. There's no reason to lose your temper or anything. It's--It's all good---" Henry tried to soothe his sister, but she was like a volcano and it was Piper Eruption Day. Yay.
"NO REASON?! I had a pony that was repossessed! I got fired from the Man Fans because of my height! And then, some insane man just fell through our roof and is eating all our lobster balls!" She shrieked, taking a few steps up the stairs with every recollection of everything that had gone wrong for her.
"But-But...y-you like Jasper's new swimsuit! And! (y/n)'s pretty dress!" Charlotte suggested, trying to grasp onto the last little shred of hope in her heart that she wouldn't be eating the pumpkin guts later. 
"Yeah! You said that his new swimsuit made you happy and (y/n)'s dress made her look pretty!" Henry jumped in, also trying to salvage the bet for their team.
"Well, I changed my mind!... I am not okay!" She screamed, running down the stairs, ripping Japser's trunks from his body and then running upstairs in a tantrum. Shit, team Henry had lost. 
"Ehhhh...I'm okay." Captain Man sighed as he smiled at the sweet taste of success. Oh, how he loved rubbing this in.
~
Fun fact, pumpkin guts are disgusting. Actually rancid, cold and slimy with a terrible taste. Good thing Henry, Charlotte and (y/n) had three huge bowls all to themselves.
"Come on, Colin, eat some more for mommy." The young woman tried to offer some of the fleshier bits to her sweet lil' bunny as she cradled him in her arms, but even he turned his twitching nose up at the string ickiness.
"It's better than fofu." Charlotte tried to make it seem better, but nothing could make the stinking bowls any nicer to see, smell or taste. 
"No, it's not." Henry sulked and shovelled another mouthful of the slime into his mouth. If he pinched his nose, the taste was nullified, but not the texture. Nothing could change that, it was the worst part.
"I know." Charlotte sighed, dropping her optimism and accepting her fate. They were gonna be puking after this, but at least (y/n) had Ray waiting for her. He'd definitely know how to perk her up after a long, weird day.
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Teen sole who straight up disappears for days at a time,at random times. One day they go up to a companion and is like “I have some thing to show you” and it’s a giant building with flowers of all types,like bright,busy and really present to look at stuff
Yay! Thank you Darling for this request it was so fun to write!!! Sorry for the wait, but here you gooo!!! 💖💖💖
Sole had been slipping off for hours at a time for weeks, with some of her companions noticing her absents and others not so much. One day, Sole walks up to them with a proud smile and asks them to follow her. She leads them to a previously empty and abandoned building, now completely decked out in flowers of all colors on and around it.
Nick Valentine: He notes to himself that young Sole has a habit of disappearing for lengthy periods if time, but he figures that as long as she doesn't start acting strange, it should be fine. When she finally gets around to showing the Detective her fine creation, it leaves him utterly speechless. He can recall the old Nick going to public gardens and seeing such pretty flowers, but he never thought that he would get to see such a thing. Nick gives her a gentle pat on the back and a fond smile, remarking that this will be a fine place to kick back and unwind with a good book.
Piper Wright: Notices her Little Blue sneaking away at odd times, but when she brings it up Sole refuses to tell her anything but “Soon.” much to the reporters annoyance. FINALLY, after weeks of going back and forth like this, Sole drags Piper to show off her masterpiece of a creation. She just wanders around it with her jaw dropped in awe, wondering how the young kid could come up with something so remarkable and dreamy. She ends up taking lots of pictures with her camera while bombing Sole with questions and complements.
Codsworth: He swells with pride when his young mistress shows him what exactly she has been doing when she slipped away for weeks. He goes off on the complements, stating that her parents would be proud that their daughter had managed to create something so beautiful in such a bleak world. He takes great pleasure in maintaining the garden, trimming and watering the flowers as often as they need. Also making sure that no one dares to even think about destroying such a wonder of place, unless they want an angry Mr Handy chasing them with a pincher and flame thrower.
Preston Garvey: Takes off his hat while gasping in awe at the sight of the building dressed up in flowers of all sorts of colors and types. He asks jaw dropped how young Sole managed to pull off such a thing, stating that this would be a great place for settlers to come and enjoy the scenery. During his down bleak moments when he recalls Quincy and the fall of the Minutemen, he finds himself walking or sitting in the peaceful garden to remind himself that there is still hope for humanity.
Curie: Squeals with pure delight at the marvelous sight of the building decorated head to toe in flowers, putting a hand over her mouth. She smiles brightly at Sole, asking where she even managed to get the seeds and find the time to plant all of them, in which Sole only smiles and winks. Curie takes out a pen and pencil, determined to write down every detail on each plant she visits. She makes little labels for each type of flower with its name and information on them so other people can learn more about each flower.
Cait: Clasps young Sole on the shoulder at the view of the giant building completely covered with flowers and asks if this was what she has been up to during her sneaky escapes. Cait questions Sole on how the hell she even managed to do all of this on her own without any help, but she only receives a smirk in response. She lets Sole drag her around the entire building and ramble about the flowers, not understanding half of what the kid says as she carefully strokes each soft flower they come by. She wont admit it, but this is now her favorite location in the entire Commonwealth to hang around and admire the ever so rare beauty.
Deacon: He totally notices young Sole disappearing for hours at a time, but he choses not to follow her when he realizes that she is working on something special. Upon being lead and seeing such an incredible sight by Sole, he pulls off his sunglasses only to have another pair underneath. (much to Soles annoyance) The spy immediately starts going around and naming off every flower as if he knows exactly they are, even though he is totally wrong and annoying everyone else in the garden. Later on, he comes back dressed as a flowered bush to blend in and wait for someone to pass by so he can scare them.
Danse: Completely wide-eyed and dumbfounded when young Sole brings him to show off all her hard work with a wide grin. “Outstanding.” is all he can mutter in shock while strolling through the lines and admiring the bright beautiful flowers. Danse makes sure to pay full attention to Soles explanations and asking her thoughtful questions about the process of creating such a place. He finds it quite a peaceful place to take a walk after a long mission, that is until a bush jumps out at him with a shout then runs off laughing hysterically.
Hancock: When he follows young Sole to her secret project, he freezes and states that he must be high because there is no WAY that something that colorful and magnificent could exist in this world. Once Sole assures him that its real and this isn't in fact a trip dream, he pats her shoulder with a string of complements on all of her hard work. He even asks if she would be willing to pull something off like this in Goodnieghbor after she gives him a full tour of the place, the old town could use something to brighten it up afterall.
MacCready: Lets out a loud impressed whistle as he follows young Sole up to the building. He asks if kids her age did this all the time during the prewar days or if she was just the weird one while touching each bright flower he comes across. Sole just laughs and gives the sniper a full tour of the entire giant building, with him only half listening to Soles ramblings about the flowers. He ends up sitting on the very top floor with a comic book in hand and back against the wall, taking in the sweet flowery scent around him.
X6: He had been tailing young Sole whenever she snuck away to work on her project, but the Courser never took a good look at what she was doing. He was only there to ensure her safety from anything undesirable that might sneak up on her, so what she was doing was of no concern to him. Once Sole finally got around to leading him over, he could only stand there still as a statue for a few moments. Never did he think that Sole was making something as beautiful as THIS during her away times. He just follows her around as she excitedly chippers about the flowers, an ever so small grin on his face.
Strong: Lumbers around the garden staring at the flowers with an unimpressed look, grumbling about humans wasting time on puny things that could easily be smashed or blown away by a mere Radroach. (Party Pooper)
Dogmeat: Barks happily when he sees such pretty flowers, sniffing each and every one of them while Sole giggles. He knows that such sweet smelling things weren't here before, and with how happy his human is with them she must be the reason they are there. So he takes great pride in strolling between the walls and rows of flowers with a flower crown on his head that Sole made for him.
Moral Of The Story: (My brain is not working, I cant come up with one for this one sorry. Send help plz)
Bonus: (I just had to add this, it was perfect for my OC)
Jasmine: Gasps when she sees all the bright pretty flowers all over the towering building, putting a hand to her cheek. The girl slowly walks around in a daze, almost recognizing each and every flower on and around the building. She quietly asks Sole if she has planted any roses after a moment, in which Sole proudly shows the other teen several rose bushes of many colors. Jasmine walks over to a pink shrub, leaning over a rose and inhaling the familiar scent with tears in her eyes.
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ispybluesky · 1 year
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this is driving me fucking crazy i CANNOT find that video that’s like ‘pov you pirated disney plus’ or whatever and its first person camera you tied to a chair while a guy in a mickey mouse hat talking in a mickey mouse voice is like ‘somebody hasn’t been paying the piper’ and like ‘how many disney shows have you watched without paying me a cent?’ and at some point he goes ‘oh toodles!’ and a hand reaches in through the door from outside and hands him a crowbar??
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maple-writes · 10 months
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WHG 20 - The Chariots
WHG tag list: @concealeddarkness13 @ratracechronicler @pen-of-roses @grailfish @forthesanityofsome @pied-piper-of-hamlet (let me know if I forgot anyone! and no pressure_
--
The escort had to shake me awake when we got to the Capitol. “Wake up, we’re here!”
I sat up, still on the couch. How long had it been since leaving home? Since the dealings with the god inside Ares? I rubbed at my eyes and groaned at the ache in my muscles as I hauled myself to my feet. My head spun as dizziness swirled in my head. I stumbled and the escort caught me by my arm, shimmering glitter covering my shirt as soon as he did.
“Steady steady!” He held onto me a moment longer until I got my balance again. “Follow me, your friend’s already out there.”
Oh, really? I followed him without thinking. My shoulders ached and I reached over to try and massage the stiffness out, not sure if it was from sleeping on an expensive couch, the exorcism, the stress of yesterday, or maybe it was all of it. My stomach growled. How long had I been asleep?
Chatter and noise caught my attention as my escort escorted me out of the train and into a huge, hangar like spaced filled with tributes and stylists and make up and costumes. I stopped, stunned in the doorway. Colours everywhere, bright and glaring against the grey walls the grey floors. Noise and clatter from tools and sewing set ups and teams laughing and cheering over a successful job.
My escort nudged me along. “Most teams are already finishing up. Sorry I didn’t realize you were still sleeping back there but when they told me you weren’t here I knew I had to come find you. Didn’t want you missing out and all.”
He led me out of the train, weaving between groups crowded around unsuspecting tributes, several of them in the stages of arguing, struggling, or otherwise resisting anything their teams tried to do to them. Looking at some of the outfits they were presented with I couldn’t blame them.
The escort presented me to an overdressed team with a wave of his hand. “Here he is! He’s all yours.”
“About time!” The tallest, or maybe just the one with the tallest hat, pulled me forward by my arm. “Come on sit down we have a lot of catching up to do.”
She sat me down on a tall stool and stepped back, face scrunching as she looked me over. The escort vanished off somewhere and one of the styling assistants picked at a strand of my hair. I swallowed and kept still. It wouldn’t do me any good to fight with them about this, and my head still moved slow from sleep.
“You know what, I think we might be able to pull this off.” The head stylist waved to one of her assistants. “Might not even have to chance the colour schemes all that much, maybe just the sleeves.” She turned back to me, grinning. Her canine teeth were all dyed bright pink. “Sounds like our other team had some trouble with your partner so we were worried we’d have to overhaul our side too.”
“What kind of trouble?” I sat up taller, craning to see if I could spot her in the sea of tributes and teams but couldn’t spot her. “Is she okay?”
The stylist shrugged and started gathering her materials. “Well, physically. She’s awfully defiant though. Might be something wrong with her that way.” She clapped her hands together. “Now usually I like to spend more time but with the late start we’re going to have to work pretty fast.”
She and her team jumped straight to work, pouncing on me and their make up and supplies as they had me change from my clothes to theirs. They styled my hair, dyed the front strands a bright fiery orange, trimmed rough edges, rubbed expensive foundation into my face, darkened my eyelids, painted my nails a shimmering black. They dressed me in a tight dark shoulder-less shirt and pants, with some kind of orange and yellow netting running up and down my sleeves, and a thick, shiny leather falconer’s glove with orange stitching on my right hand.
“Sorry, no time for a grand reveal,” The stylist gently shoved me towards the waiting chariots. “Show’s about to start, off you go.”
I stumbled at the push, then wandered stiffly towards the first chariot. The pants were tight on my legs, restricting the movement and making it feel like I was walking with stilts instead of legs. Ares was nowhere to be seen yet as I leaned against the side of the shining chariot. Maybe it wasn’t just the peacekeepers that didn’t like her if she gave trouble to anyone who tried to control her.
Most other tributes were already here and waiting, clustered around their chariots. Most looked out of place. Even without knowing them, almost none of them seemed to be dressed in a way that was anything near natural to them. Except for one. A tall woman with a large-brimmed hat and a long coat stood talking with a man who didn’t look like he had decided yet if he wanted anything to do with her. Right. There was something to making an impression with the others, wasn’t there? I bit at the inside of my cheek. I’d have to decide how I wanted to come off, wouldn’t I? Was there merit to being friendly, or would it be better to come off as a threat?
Ares stormed over, slumping against the chariot beside me hard enough it rocked a moment before stilling. “They figured out I don’t exactly have magic anymore.”
“Already?” I frowned. That was fast. Then again, I hadn’t seen her here while everyone else was getting prepared. Maybe they’d taken her somewhere else, somewhere with a specialist.
“Yeah, they said I had to be a phoenix for the costume, and I refused because I didn’t want to, but they tried to force me to transform, so when that didn’t work, they figured it out.”
I frowned, glancing down at my glove. They wanted to make her out as my bird? They wanted to present her as something that I commanded? I’d heard of situations before where one tribute was presented as the better of the two, the more capable, at the expense of showing the other as weak, as lesser. I swallowed, unease rippling through my gut. Why me? What was going on that I would be slated as the powerful one?
“I…” I frowned deeper, looking her up and down. “I’m not sure they know what birds look like.” They hadn’t even done a good job on her. Was that intentional?
She smiled though. “I wouldn’t stay still for them to actually make me look like a bird.”
“Oh.” I nodded. “That… Makes sense.” I probably should have thought of that first.
A lull fell between us and I eyed the chariot, fidgeting at the cuff of my sleeve sewn tight enough my hand was starting to tingle. Each was tall, with large wheels and not a lot of standing room. “Do you think anyone ever falls off of these?’
Ares shrugged. “I’ll keep you steady. But probably not. Knowing the Capitol, they make some way to keep tributes from doing that.”
“That’s good.” My shoulders fell, relaxed just a little. Maybe I had managed to make one ally at least, if she was so quickly willing to offer me help. “I don’t have particularly good balance.”
“I learned good balance, so I’ll keep you steady.” She smiled. “Showing camaraderie would confuse the Capitol anyway.”
Camaraderie? She must have considered me someone to trust, someone she would side with then. Even if it was only to spite the Capitol having her on my side eased some of the nerves coiling through my body.
I smiled. “It sure would, having the bird direct the,” I raised my hand, air quoting, “falconer.”
The less I had to play into their manufactured imbalance, the better.
“They wanted me in a cage, but I think this works better, don’t you?”
I nodded, laughing a little despite the pounding of my heart as the doors opened at the end of the hall. “I don’t think I could have held a cage up that long anyway.”
“Good I wouldn’t have let you.” She clapped my back hard enough I stumbled, surprised, as she jumped up onto the chariot and offered me a hand up.
I took it gladly, gripping the railings with my gloved hand to haul myself up. “Thanks.” The chariot swayed as I climbed. “Can’t wait until this is over.”
Ares wrapped an arm around my shoulder to steady me as the chariot started to move and rattle. “Me too.”
I gripped the railing with both hands as it lurched into the light, bright and blinding. My stomach knotted and my legs trembled. There were people, crowds of them, standing around us and cheering and shouting and looking. Look at us. At me. At home, were they watching too? Watching me cling to the railings? What were we supposed to do?
“What do you think, wave or no waving?” I glanced at Ares. She seemed to know better how to make an impression.
“Fuck them. I’m not giving them shit.”
“Good call.” I didn’t want to let go of the railings anyway.
The sun burned hot on my back, the air dusty and drying through my nose. The crowd roared, all one sound, loud and inescapable surrounding us. Horses and riders set loose from their chariots raced haphazard around the circle like heralds. I frowned. That woman with the hat again. She raced her stolen horse alongside another tribute with bright green hair. If they were bold enough for this, what would they do in the arena? I didn’t want to find out.
They sped past and I followed them with my eyes until I fixed on someone, familiar in the crowd. Cirrus. He stood front and center in the stands, blending in just a little too well with a sheer white button up and shimmering blue-grey vest. I couldn’t help but smile. He’d even fucked up his hair to fit in, intricately braided with strings of pearls weaved throughout. He met my eyes with a quick nod before the woman next to him laid her hand on his arm and leaned in for his attention.
“Can I ask you a favour?” I turned to Ares, voice soft. “If a bird taps on any of the windows where they keep us, can you open it?”
She nodded eagerly. “If I can turn into a phoenix again by then, can I talk to it first before it goes to see you?”
I shrugged. “You can try. He might be a bit of an ass though.” I almost wished I could be there in the air with them to hear what Cirrus would say. And what Ares would say back.
“I’m a bit of an ass too.”
“Then you should be fine.” I smiled, tension easing from my shoulders as the chariots stopped.
I leaned against the front of the railing, resting my elbows on the brass and finding Cirrus in the crowd again, distracted by the pretty Capitol woman beside him. He said something and she giggled, blushing and leaning up against him and I rolled my eyes when he looked back my way.
Maybe he wouldn’t be up to see me quite so soon, but he was here. Ember must have told him and he must have flown straight over. Even if he couldn’t help me get out of this he was here.
I hadn’t noticed when the speeches ended until the chariots moved once more, taking us back into the hanger.
--
They ushered us quickly from chariot to the tower we would be kept in for the next week. The escort chattered on and on about our performance, surprisingly pleased with our show of solidarity together. When we reached our floor he gave us each a pat on the back, then nudged me towards the living area.
“You’ve got someone waiting for you.”
I frowned. No way Cirrus was here already. I knew him better than to think he would come straight here while that girl was practically pawing at him.
My shoes clicked on the tile floor as I rounded the corner to the living room and found Ginger sitting on one of the couches. She stood as soon as she saw me, blond hair tied back and pink velvet hoodie cast aside on the table. She was here. She was here too.
“What are you doing here?”
She rounded the coffee table, pulling on her white leather gloves before gently gripping my bare shoulders. “I couldn’t let you come here alone. Whoever they assigned to mentor you wouldn’t know enough to help you.”
I melted, leaning into her shoulder careful to avoid the exposed skin on her neck. She didn’t have to do this. Not for me, not for anyone. She didn’t have to get involved. How many things had she needed to postpone, to rearrange, to follow me here?
She continued, quieter. “I don’t know if I can save you, but after all you’ve been through, and all you’ve overcome, I’m not about to let you face this on your own.”
She’d done more than enough already for me. She didn’t need to do this too. I swallowed, tears slipping down my face and soaking into the fabric of her shirt. She could have, maybe should have, given up on me time and time before. She’d sacrificed days, weeks, months working with me, patient as she guided me back to myself.
“Get some rest,” she gently nudged me back. “Take the afternoon easy today. Training starts tomorrow.”
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