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rose-tea-and-strawberries · 5 months

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Taking Deuce To Build-A-Bear

Reader/Yuu is female

Masterlist

“Come on, handsome,” you beam at your boyfriend, laughter lacing your words as you tug his arm forwards into the mall and lead the way to your mystery location. Deuce chuckles fondly at your enthusiasm, finding your youthful joy absolutely adorable. The pure elation glowing on your countenance makes it impossible for him to even think about suppressing his smile (not that he would ever dare to).

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” he smiles back at you, letting you drag him around your homeworld without a care in the world. Right now he’s too busy relishing in the fuzzy warmth that the comfort your hand clasped in his brings. He did ask you where you were taking him when you had first started this outing but your only reply was a cheeky grin, placing a finger on your mouth as you mischievously whispered, “it’s a secret.”

He didn’t really care where this date was, honestly. All he knows is that if only the thought of it makes you this happy then he can be patient. With that lambent smile, you could push him off a cliff and he’d die a happy man.

“Alright,” your voice cuts in through his thoughts. He looks at you and sees you buzzing with excitement, bouncing on your feet as your eyes sparkle with eagerness, “we’re here. Ta da!”

His eyes follow the length of your arm to see what you were gesturing towards and he finds himself looking at a technicoloured store with vibrant crimsons and sunflower yellows dancing along the exterior. Inside of a large, brightly lit window, he could see a display table exhibiting an array of smiling stuffed animals all dressed in colourful clothes. With its lively music, toddler picture book-esque vibe and majority population of children that appeared to be under twelve, he had the feeling that this wasn’t the type of place two teenagers would go on a date.

“Is this,” he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, looking at your still beaming face with the expression of someone who hadn’t quite caught on the punchline of a joke, “are we at a toy store?”

“‘A toy store?’” you repeated with mock outrage, “it’s not just ‘a toy store’. It’s Build-A-Bear Workshop! Where best friends are made! I’ll have you know, handsome, that in this world, entry into such a respected and renowned institution is a rite of passage, a coming of age if you will.”

He couldn’t help but feel amusement at your giddiness and he didn’t even think about resisting the urge to wrap an arm around your shoulder and bring you closer to him so that he can press a loving kiss onto your forehead, the giggle he receives in return makes him want to do it again but, with all of the willpower he can muster, he says, “Alright then. So I guess this is where our date is then?”

“Yep,” you respond with a chirp, “I thought that it would be really cute if we made teddy bears and dressed them up. I passed by here the other day and I thought of you. So, do you like it?”

“To be honest, I’m not really sure what ‘it’ is,” he admits with an embarrassed smile, “but if it makes you happy then it makes me happy.”

The resolution in his words made you smile and you pecked him on the cheek. After taking a moment to appreciate the pink that blossomed across his face, you took his hand and pulled him into the store.

“So the point of Build-A-Bear is to choose a teddy that you want, make it nice and cuddly and fluffy, take part in a Frankenstein-esque reanimation ritual and then name it and dress it up so it’s nice and warm.”

“Alright,” he nods once and then pauses, “wait, what was the one in the middle?”

“Make it nice and cuddly and fluffy,” you respond, “now, here’s our selection. Do you have any preferences?”

He surveys the wall in front of him, taking in the sight of smiling stuffed animals and the rows of unstuffed plushies that filled the baskets, “I’m not really sure.”

“That’s alright, we’ll figure it out,” you say, “did you have any teddies when you were younger.”

“Well,” his cheeks darkened as he looked away from your expectantly smiling face, “I had a stuffed white rabbit when I was little but I quit playing with it when I was like seven. To be honest, I kind of like those big stuffed animals you get in toy stores but I’ve never really been able to ask anyone.”

You make a mental note to ask his mother to send you as many baby Deuce pictures as she can and then you also make another one to take this boy to IKEA so that you could introduce him to and purchase the perfection that is the blahaj™.

“Well, the ones here are all the same size but the rabbit thing I can work with,” you reach into a basket and take out some fleecy brown cloth, “the brown bunny is a classic. What do you think?”

He held the tan material in his hands, letting the warm and fluffy fabric gently rub between his thumb and fingers, and glanced at its stuffed counterpart on the display shelf. It was so soft and loveable, so much like you that he had to accept it, “I love it.”

“Perfect,” you grin and take another for yourself,“now, onwards, to the hazing.”

“The what?”

You bring him to the next station where a lady wearing a white shirt and cobalt blue apron with a cartoon bear on it was sitting beside a large blue and yellow machine with a big window showing heaps and heaps of fluffy white stuffing getting churned around and around.

“Hello there,” she greets you amiably, “will it be just these two then?”

“Yes, please.”

“Wonderful. Now can one of you just hop on over here and step onto the pedal so we can get your new friends stuffed?”

To show Deuce how it’s done you step forwards and step onto the black pedal in front of you. You watch his eyes widen as the woman attaches one of the bunnies to the pole sticking out of the machine and it plumps up to full huggability. When she calls him over for his turn, he turns to you and you just smile supportively, give his hand a squeeze and gesture to where you were standing.

Next, you take two small red material hearts from the heart shaped box attached to the side of the stuffing machine and pass one along to Deuce, who has finished getting his plushie filled, before eagerly asking the lady manning the station, “can we do the heart ceremony, please? It’s my boyfriend’s first time.”

Her eyes glitter as she nods her assent, clearly excited at what’s to come. Knowing what was going to happen next, you place your phone on the honey coloured apparatus opposite you, propping it up so that you and your boyfriend are distinctly in the frame of your recording camera.

Deuce looks at you curiously, cheeks still a little rosy from hearing you call him your boyfriend, and notices your suspiciously playful smile, “what are you recording for?”

“For memories” is what you say.

‘To send to your mother’ is what you mean.

Okay both of you,” the employee said brightly, “first I need you to warm up those hearts so they’re nice and warm and toasty.”

You enthusiastically complied, rubbing the crimson fabric between your palms as the older lady demonstrated. Beside you, Deuce did the same but with his eyebrows pinching slightly in confusion.

“Now rub it on your heart so it's full of love,” she continued.

You both did what she asked and your smile did little to hide the laughter that was threatening to burst out of you at the cautious and tentative expression on his face.

“Now rub it on your cheek so it’s always smiling.”

You figured she was also getting a kick out of Deuce as well and you wondered what it would be like to be paid to mess with people.

“Now rub it on your arms so it’s as strong as you.”

“Hmm,” you muse innocently, “I don't think my arms would be strong enough.”

Deuce goes pink when you then turn to him and rub your heart on his bicep, “that’s much better.”

“N-no way,” he stutters, completely flustered, and in retaliation, he rubs his heart against your forearm, “you’re one of the strongest people I know.”

“You can carry more than double the weight I can,” you counter.

“I’m not talking about physical strength,” he shoots back, his cerulean eyes looking deep into yours.

Now it’s your turn to get flustered as you simply mutter, “oh.”

The employee claps her hands, instantly snapping both of you out of whatever was going on, “Alright you two, now hold them in your hands, close your eyes and make a wish.”

You clasp the little heart between your hands and do just that, your mind drifting off to thoughts of Deuce and his kind eyes and warm smile, before you open your eyes and look back at your boyfriend.

Once the both of you are looking at the lady for the next instructions, she concludes with, “now, finally, give it a big kiss so they know you love them.”

You kiss yours and then Deuce tugs on your sleeve and shyly hands his over to you with an expectant smile, so you look at him knowingly and press your lips against his heart as well before the both of you give them to get inserted into your plushies.

As you stop the recording on your phone and both of your hearts have been placed inside your bunnies, the employee swiftly stitches them up, nice and tight, before handing them back to you with a smile and a cheerful “enjoy yourselves.”

The two of you thank her before you turn around and grin at Deuce, “okay, clothes time.”

With one hand hugging your new companion protectively against you and the other clasped in your boyfriend’s, you drag him towards the clothing section before gesturing to the miniature garments.

“We need to dress them up now,” you explain, “why don’t we look for something together for your little guy first?”

“Alright,” he smiles back at you, “I don’t really know what I’d want though.”

Your eyes scan the hangers in front of you, “well, there’s got to be something - ah ha!”

You reach over to grab a hanger and excitedly present it to the dark haired boy. On it was a black leather jacket, very reminiscent of the one he’d drape over your shoulders whenever you visit his hometown, “look! Doesn’t it look a lot like the one you have?”

Admittedly, the thought of the adorable smiling bunny in his arms donning such an outfit was a funny one but his nose wrinkles in distaste, “well, yeah, but I don’t think I’d want this little guy to wear something that has such bad ties to my past.”

You lower the hanger, your smile decreasing ever so lightly. You should’ve known. You were aware of Deuce’s self-loathing for his past and he was forever thinking back on the shameful actions of his younger self with disgust and guilt and you saw how the weight of trying to redeem and prove himself would rest heavily on his shoulders. You’re always ready to talk about his insecurities, to comfort him and to show him how much you care for him and your love for him was because of his past, not in spite of it. Instead of addressing his regretful look like you usually would do, seeing as such a deep topic shouldn’t really be done during a cute date in a very public Build-A-Bear, you simply place the jacket back where it was and let another outfit catch your eye, one that you were sure that he would definitely like.

You immediately unhook its hanger from the rod and show it to him. At the sight of the three piece police uniform, consisting of a smart light blue shirt and tie with a dark blue tie that was paired with navy trousers and a police hat, his eyes brightened, “is that a-?”

“A police uniform?” you happily supplied, “yep, it is. Since you told me that it was your dream to be one back during the Starsending event, I figured it would be nice for your bunny to share the same goal and to remind you that I know you can achieve it.”

Deuce looks at you with an expression you know you will be unpacking late into the night, his eyes filled with wonder and reverence as he stares at you as though you’re something impossible, something he’s never seen before.

You swallow and look away, once again reminding yourself that you are out in broad daylight and that you don’t think the young mall-goers or their parents would appreciate the two of you doing what you reserve for closed doors. Beside you, you hear Deuce clear his throat before unsubtly suggesting, “why don’t you get that one?”

Your eyes trail to where he’s pointing and land on a shimmery white angel dress, complete with silver wings and a halo, and you can’t help but chuckle to yourself.

“What?” he reacts to your fond laughter with a look of both confusion and defensiveness, “I think it fits you perfectly.”

“In your eyes maybe,” you respond, “mine, not so much. How about something a bit more-oh my days, no way!”

Instantly, you get drawn towards something peeking out of the clearance bin and you find yourself holding the Holy Grail. In your hands lies an Alice in Wonderland themed dress with a rounded checkered pattern collar with a black bow in the centre, glittery black spades running down the middle of the bodice and glittery black and red card suit symbols that ran along the bottom of its sparkly blue tutu-like skirt.

“It’s perfect!” you exclaim, looking eagerly to Deuce who watches your joy with fond amusement, “and they’re both blue as well so we’ll have sort of matching outfits.”

He nods, smiling adoringly at you, “that’s great!”

After you get some black trainers for Deuce’s bunny and some glittery black flats to match the sparkly black bow that came with your dress (you also grab a jacket and a cute pair of wellies that you just couldn’t not buy for Grim) you make your way to the naming station. You then print out your certificates, pay for your items and happily leave the store, one of each of your hands clasped together and the other one swinging a bulky white cardboard cub condo.

“So~” you stop him near the entrance with a hopeful lilt in your voice, “what do you think?”

“I loved it,” he tells you, smiling radiantly at you, “definitely one of the best dates we’ve been on.”

“Well, I’m glad that you enjoyed yourself. I certainly did. And now you’ve got your own little police guy to cheer you on,” you jerk your head towards the box in his hand.

“Actually,” Deuce’s face was pink as he smiled at you bashfully, “do you mind if we switch?”

“Hmm,” you look at him perplexed.

“Well, I was thinking that maybe, it might be a cute couple thing if we had each others’. We don’t have to if you don’t want to but I thought it might be a nice thing to have to remember each other by since we don’t really see each other that often.”

Without a question, you hand over your box to him, “I think it would be nice as well. Got to admit though, what are you going to tell Ace and your dormmates once you show up to your dorm room with a toy bunny wearing a sparkly dress.”

“That my girlfriend gave it to me on a date,” he answered resolutely as he traded his box for yours, “besides, she’ll fit right in at Heartslabyul - she’s already dressed like us.”

“True. Well, I certainly feel much safer now that I have a Deuce made and approved police rabbit to protect me. Thank you, handsome,” you smile lovingly up at him and peck his cheek. He slings an arm over your shoulders and pulls you against him in response, letting your head rest against him as you both walk onwards, “Alright, next on my list: food. Come on, let me introduce you to the delights of my world’s food courts.”

#twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #deuce spade x reader #fem reader

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tybaltsjuliet · 2 years

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must see horror movies?

the cabinet of dr. caligari (1920). the first cult film. the first horror film. the sets! the somnambulist! the cultural debts we owe this movie will never be repaid.

häxan (1922). a folk-horror fantasia. i've been thinking a lot lately about that teju cole quote about how fiction and nonfiction is not a natural way to split up narrative experiences, and this is a wonderful example of that.

frankenstein (1931). and, really, all of the universal horror movies. but to get your foot in the door at the monster mash, this one is the way to go.

the night of the hunter (1955). robert mitchum as the most sinister of ministers. you can argue that this isn't a horror film per se, but i'll argue harder. one of my favorite pieces of southern gothic, too.

(horror of) dracula (1958). the best of all dracula films and the place to begin with hammer horror. (the sequels get mad campy. but no less entertaining.)

psycho (1960). you don't need me to recommend psycho but i'm doing it anyway and i am doing it for anthony perkins, who deserved a goddamn oscar for this.

night of the living dead (1968). dawn and day are equally worthy for different reasons but nothing beats the locked-down nightmare that started it all.

ganja & hess (1973). this is the only gothic vampire romance that matters. like so much great horror (see: the night of the hunter, above), and especially great horror by marginalized creators, this was rightfully vindicated by history and yet still deserves to be vindicated harder.

the wicker man (1973). summerisle's got everything: christopher lee; bawdy folk songs; phallic maypoles; the battle between christian law and order and the old ways' rights and rites; A CHILD. if you've gotten this far in life without knowing the ending, go watch this immediately before that can change. not only the best folk horror movie of all time, but possibly one of the best movies of all time, period.

the texas chain saw massacre (1974). i didn't see this till 2020, somehow. i thought i was desensitized to whatever it might throw at me after spending my adolescence bragging about getting through a serbian film and thinking house of 1000 corpses was the funniest thing i ever saw. i was dead fucking wrong and i'm so glad i was. every now and then you come across a movie, new or new to you, that reminds you why you're so in love with a genre and revitalizes your passion for it. texas chain saw did that for me.

the omen (1976). my favorite religious horror movie of all time, even more so than the exorcist. also has what i personally consider the scariest scene in any horror movie (the graveyard sequence). gregory peck having been a lifelong devout catholic really adds a certain je ne sais quoi to his performance as the father.

halloween (1978). what is horror without the slasher, and what is the slasher without halloween? i really don't care about your freddys and your jasons. michael myers is where it's at.

hellraiser (1987). like texas chain saw, one of the classics that really puts the horror back in horror. a complete fucking nightmare from start to finish, and the cenobites aren't even the worst of it.

event horizon (1997). yes, see alien. yes, see annihilation. but don't neglect this (literal) hellscape of an outer space horror movie. it is neither glossy nor groundbreaking but it is deeply committed to being horrifying and it succeeds.

el laberinto del fauno (2006). nothing like a fairy tale about a princess of the underworld set against the backdrop of franco's spain to remind you that no one is doing the blending of fantastic horrors and very, very real horrors like guillermo del toro. not to mention that the creature designs in this movie are off the charts - the faun is the most beautiful being i have ever seen.

over the garden wall (2014). (not technically a movie but watched all together it's only about two hours and this is my list, so.) don't let the cutesy old-fashioned cartoon style and jaunty songs fool you. what starts off as charming, if unsettling, folksy quirkiness quickly gives way to another terrific fantasy horror. i watch this annually at halloween and it fucks me up every year.

last night in soho (2021). i hesitate to put something with a plot pretty much entirely revolving around rape and SA on a "must-see" list, but if that is subject matter you're not highly sensitive to, this is a terrific angle on the rape revenge horror movie. not as crass as the, uh, classics of the subgenre, but not defanged to the opposite end of offensiveness like a certain other blonde-led "revenge" movie i won't name. another one of my personal favorites.

#i suspect this is a very eccentric list but i hope it gives you some watchlist material anon!#;ask me your questions and get some answers.#;we have such sights to show you.

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