#but I do admit that her britney spears candy pop look

[randomvarious]

Cathy Dennis - “Touch Me (All Night Long)” Dance Mix USA by Markus Klinke, Rawle James, Rob Rettberg Song released in 1990. Mix released in 1994. Dance-Pop / House

Found a really good article in The Guardian from 2008 that tracks the career of Cathy Dennis, a brief, early 90s UK pop-house princess who was shaped in a similar mold to Kylie Minogue, and then went behind the curtain to become one of the most successful and prolific pop songwriters of all time:

It is a measure of how disposable pop music is and how fickle listeners are that Cathy Dennis is, for many, only half remembered. We might struggle to think of one of her songs, only vaguely recall what she looks like. Yet, she was a star: she had 10 consecutive UK top 40 hit singles in the 1990s and was even more adored in the US and Japan.

For anyone still trying to remember, the lyrics "hold me baby / drive me crazy / touch me / all night long" should ring some bells.

Today she is one of the most important women in the pop industry, as one of its most prolific songwriters. She went into the history books when the song she wrote for Katy Perry, I Kissed A Girl, recently became the 1,000th number one record in the Billboard US charts. Last Sunday the single reached number one in the UK charts and has become one of the songs of the summer. Quite simply, without such talented writers as Dennis the whole mad pop machine would fall apart.

The number of pop songs that Dennis has had a hand in is staggering. To name but a few: Toxic by Britney Spears, Never Had a Dream Come True by S Club 7, Anything is Possible by Will Young, About You Now by the Sugababes, Sweet Dreams My LA Ex by Rachel Stevens, and on and on.

But there is one song she co-wrote, with former Mud guitarist Rob Davis, that will be the subject of pop culture essays for years to come. Not only did Can't Get You Out of My Head rescue Kylie Minogue's then floundering career in 2001, it is, for many, one of the greatest pop songs ever.

You get all that? This pop singer that most people thought had just faded into obscurity (including you, admit it!) is behind "Can't Get You Out of My Head," "Toxic," and "I Kissed a Girl." And so much more, actually. Those grafs don't mention it, but Dennis has worked very closely with Simon Fuller throughout her entire career. If you don't know who Simon Fuller is, I wrote very cynically of him in a long post about S Club 7 during quarantine. When Fuller discovered Dennis when she was just 17, he was the manager for Paul Hardcastle, who at the time had recently triumphed with the 1985 anti-Vietnam War UK megahit, "19." But throughout the 90s, Fuller managed to manufacture and amass himself a British pop music empire, and Cathy Dennis was alongside him in some capacity just about every step of the way.

The Spice Girls? That was Fuller's invention. And guess who wrote the B-Side for Wannabe? Cathy Dennis. S Club 7? Another Fuller project. Guess who wrote a bunch of their songs? Cathy Dennis. Pop Idol and American Idol? Guess who wrote their theme songs? Cathy Dennis. Winners of those contests, like Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken; guess who wrote some of their songs, too? Cathy Dennis.

You've heard so much more Cathy Dennis in your life than you probably thought you actually ever had. And that's not an exhaustive list either. She's also written songs for Celine Dion, P!nk, Ariana Grande, Christina Aguilera, Little Mix, Carrie Underwood, and David Guetta. And she's worked with Mark Ronson and has written with Primal Scream, too(?!).

So, here's the song that really set things off for Dennis: "Touch Me (All Night Long)," a marimba-laced sonic piece of cotton candy (it's light, fluffy, and sugary!) that was able to keep her on the dancefloor while also occupying the top 40 airwaves, and charted high across multiple continents. Co-produced by the one and only Shep Pettibone, this new and improved cover of a mid-80s electro-freestyle-post-disco tune by Wish and Fonda Rae has found ways to remain on gobs of early 90s playlists and mixes throughout the years. It's not an earth-shattering song in and of itself, but there is something to be said about its overall ubiquitousness. "Touch Me (All Night Long)" had very broad appeal. It fit on a wide range of radio formats, all the way from adult contemporary to contemporary dance. And there's really not that many songs out there that have had that level of versatility, much less in 1991. That's ultimately why this thing smashed; it's an inextricable piece of the early 90s, both as just straight-ahead radio pop and also for the clubs; a song that youthful dance hedonists and their fuddy-duddy parents could both find ways to enjoy. Kind of remarkable, no?

Warm, bouncy bass stabs, sets of dreamy strings that float and soar, perpetually ticking hats, a dash of wah-organ stabs, that aforementioned marimba, and a catchy, singalong pre-chorus and chorus. If I was writing for some music publication about this song when it came out and "Can't Get You Out of My Head" somehow predated it, and if I was also a really corny fuck, I might say something like, "this is a song that we just can't get out of our heads, either!" But none of those conditions I just made up are real, so I won't do that to you 😁.

#dance pop #house #house music #dance #dance music #pop #electronic #electronic music #music #90s #90s music #90's #90's music #90s dance pop #90's dance pop #90s house #90's house #90s house music #90's house music #90s dance #90's dance #90s dance music #90's dance music #90s pop #90's pop #90s electronic #90's electronic #90s electronic music #90's electronic music

[unhingeddumbass]

Personality traits that I think the Ben 10 trio may have. (invented by me, but based in what we know about the characters)

THIS IS, AGAIN, HYPOTETIC AND OUT OF MY IMAGINATION.

Gwen has a strong bond with her aunt Sandra (Ben's mom). I think this might be true because Ben's mom is a pretty laid back woman, she doesn't hate/dislikes aliens, and because she's kinda the naturist kind of woman, maybe into herbal medicines, healthy living, alternative medicine (OFC NOT ANTIVAXXER) and gardening organic food. Example :in the episode Hit em Where they Live, Sandra says she's not into processed sugar aka the cotton candy Gwen was eating, and she also complimented her "good spirit") that's why I think Gwen's closer to her. I imagine them gardening together fruits, vegetables and herbs Gwen could use to practice her magic, making some potions or spells.

Kevin is really close and protective with his mother, even when she isn't in any danger. I think this might be because she's the only blood parent he has, so he doesn't want to lose her. I imagine him being kinda paranoid about simple stuff like a small paper cut, cooking accident or her going out to do chores. Also I think he'll try to handle anything that may result in injuries, like repairing, moving heavy objects, etc. And with Harvey (stepdad) he might be learning to tolerate and even could try to get along (maybe because Gwen asked him)

Ben has a weird kinda unhealthy diet. He only might eat healthy at home, because of his mom being very into organic and unprocessed foods. I don't think they forbid him to eat junk food but they might not have anything at home less than healthy. When he can eat out or he's alone, he goes for the cheesiest, greasiest kinda food which might've sent him to the hospital for checkups to see if he's not sick.

Gwen's parents are into the upper class type of family, Kevin's into the middle- working class and Ben's into over the average/middle but not exactly upper. I deduce this by the houses they have (Gwen's is a two- floor house, Kevin's a regular one and Ben's too) and the schools they go (Gwen's school is private, Ben's public).

Ben and Kevin are dog persons, but Gwen's slightly into cats or cute little animals like hedgehogs.

Gwen's mother might be a Karen type of woman. She looks and sounds entitled, she doesn't like anything that's not "normal" (like Tennyson's family, aliens, powers, etc). Also I think she'd be extremely against Kevin and their relationship but puts up with it because of Gwen. Gwen's dad seems like the strict dad but also flexible and nice. He might still see Gwen as a little girl but doesn't try to cut her freedom like her mom.

Kevin's favorite music is indie, metal and rock. But he's also into trap/hip hop music sometimes. Also has some guilty pleasures like pop because of Gwen, maybe some Billie Eilish and/or Lana del Rey too.

Ben's music is mostly pop and rock, having a secret crush and guilty pleasure on Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. (Idk, I just think it's funny)

Gwen is a bit into classic music and teen pop. She loves Taylor Swift, specially her cheesiest songs, but she'll never admit it. On the nights she's alone in her house, she basically becomes the You Belong With Me music video because of her awkward dancing to TS songs.

Ben has nightmares often and his parents take him to the psychologist even though he's embarrassed by it. He might take some sleeping or calming pills. He could be developing some kind of illness because of the trauma, but he tries his best to handle it. Gwen's his confident and help when this happens, he also calls Julie but her parents have strict curfews so she's only there by call/video.

Kevin works out a lot when he's stressed or angry. Imagine a full sweaty Kevin, with a really angry face and blasting metal or hip hop while doing push ups in the garage. He might also have a punching bag. *sorry for the kinda hot image, brb drooling 🤤*

Gwen has anxiety or OCD. Mostly because of her mother's constant pressure to be perfect and the trauma of near death experiences in alien fighting. Also nightmares, and when that happens she calls Kevin and they take a ride in the car/go to the beach and then they cuddle up in his bed, that makes them both sleep better.

Kevin is a very romantic boyfriend when he's alone with Gwen, but he has the lowest self esteem and he's kinda depressed. He might have struggled with suicide attempts, alcohol or self harming, so it's kinda hard for him to really believe that he's loved and he's worth it. He thinks she's too much for him but he never tells. He tries to never let Gwen see him cry but has broken down a couple of times in front of her.

Ben's the type of son that doesn't do any chores, therefore he basically doesn't know anything less than frying an egg. (Please don't hateeeee, I'm not saying this to be mean to Ben)

The plumbers get paid, p e r i o d. They're interstellar police, I'm sure they get paid by the government or the different planetary governments. So, the trio has a little money for each of them every month XD. Kevin spends it with Gwen or the car, mostly the car. Ben spends it on food and comics/video games and Gwen saves it for college or for an emergency.

That's all folks. Hope you like it! 😂💕

#ben ten alien force #ben ten ultimate alien #ben ten omniverse #ben tennyson #ben 10 #gwendolyn #gwen tennyson #gwen #kevin levin #kevin #gwevin #plumber

[2old4kpop]

15 Underrated Girly Kpop Songs That Make Me Go Absolutely Feral

When it comes to girl groups, more than anything I am a Blackjack and Blink. I like to listen to girl songs that make me want to murder men (and believe me, that blog post is in the works). But I’m also a ONCE, as TWICE are my sweet darling babies, but they’re about as girly as I can tolerate. I’m not one for the super girly concepts. I mean, did you guys ever see MINX? Occasionally I ironically jam to Shakey Love Shakey Shakey Shakey Shakey Love, but it was an absolute blessing from the K-pop gods to rebrand them as Dreamcatcher. It’s really only the A-list girly songs I tolerate, like GFriend or Oh My Girl. Everything else below them just seems really cringy.

Except for a few chosen few that are so good that they make me absolutely lose all of my shits. And I’m talking about songs that nobody seems to know like at all. Either these songs came out when the groups were still under the radar, before they had their big smash hits, or they just never seemed to rise to the top. But they are still valid and important. Videos are linked in the song names, since Tumblr won’t let me add more than five videos, but here we go.

15. April- Dream Candy

April is one of those rare groups that pull off the girly concept so well but don’t ever seem forced, like they are just truly naturally sweet and pure and precious. Honestly all of their songs are great, and it’s tragic that they haven’t had a comeback in 2019. But their debut, Dream Candy, is the one that really gets deep in my soul to that animal part of my brain that makes me scream this god damn chorus. But only really at the end. I never really listened to this song until it came on shuffle one day when I was walking home in the rain, and thought, why not listen to this awkward girly song, and then the last chorus hit and OH MY GOD. It’s a good one guys.

14. Momoland- Jjan! Koong! Kwang!

So this song comes out by some unknown group called uh, Momoland?, with a title that is just a bunch of sounds that don’t exist in English, and I felt like I was the only one on Earth that was like, “This is fine.” I was honestly in some I Am Legend universe where instead of me being the only living person on Earth, I was the only one that liked Momoland’s debut. As time went on Momoland started putting out what is pretty much some of the worst K-Pop that exists (I mean, have you SEEN the video for Wonderful Love? Try not to cringe challenge) and sadly enough this group just faded into obscurity and never had any huge, Earth shattering hits or anything. 

13. DIA- My Friend’s Boyfriend

On paper this song is awful. I mean it’s a song about being a petty bitch who has decided to steal their friend’s boyfriend, hence the title. Also the song ads cute little quirks like *squints eyes to read this metaphorical paper closer* coughing. Also the video has an unnecessarily long intro. But believe me when I tell you that this is an absolute slapper.

12. Gugudan- Wonderland

It’s a crime that Gugudan has never really hit it off, even with two I.O.I members. Their debut has this amazing Little Mermaid concept and believe me when I tell you that this chorus is best when screamed at the top of your lungs. After all the screaming I am basically in a manic state by the la la la’s.

11. LOONA 1/3- Love&Live

You’ll notice that the main theme of this list is that the choruses are absolute fire. But this one comes in and basically knocks the wind out of me with sweetness, like some kind of aegyo Kool-Aid man. It’s really the music that does it for me in this one, along with the melody, along with Heejin’s perfect high note. If this song doesn’t make you smile then you are a robot, like ViVi. 

10. Shannon Williams- Why Why

If Ant and/or Dec were here, they would hear this song and definitely say that Britain’s Got Talent. Shannon is the British IU,hands down, undeniably, I will not be taking questions at this time. But it’s very sad that her career was nonexistent after this came out. Was it the fact that this features a sixteen-year-old grinding against faceless boys? Or that this video widely revolves around her intensely stalking someone? It can’t be the song because that is perfect. 

9. AOA- Bingle Bangle

Okay so some history for those non-Elvises out there. AOA was THE HOTTEST girl group for a good minute, with so many timeless collaborations with the Brave Brothers that really changed the shape of female K-Pop for a while. And then ChoA left the group. And without the only member who could actually sing the face of the group, AOA kind of went quiet, save for a few Jimin solo songs. Then AOA came back with a new sound, and while everyone else thought it was terrible, I thought it was a bop! And I love the video and the concept! And the dance for this is so fun. Bingle Bangle is a real yes for me dawg. It’s only too bad that they lost yet another member and their concept was handed off to FNC’s new girl group. Speaking of which...

8. Cherry Bullet- Really Really

Yeah so they literally gave this entire “girls in a video game but it’s fun and cute” concept to Cherry Bullet, and they hit the ground running with it. This comeback in particular is my favorite of theirs because it hits one of my favorite pop music tropes: Having A Funky Instrumental Chorus, Only At The End To Put Words Over The Music. It ticks all my boxes.

7. Rainbow- Whoo

If you ever wanted to hear a song that made you scream “RAAAAIIINBOOW AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” then this is it. At this point in this list we start to hear the songs that make me truly insane, and this song absolutely destroys me. It’s really sad, however, that this is basically Rainbow’s swan song, as it was their last song before disbandment. 

6. Matilda- Macarena

I bet you haven’t even HEARD of Matilda. I bet you didn’t even KNOW that MATILDA just DISBANDED a FEW MONTHS AGO because ALL THEIR SONGS WERE BAD except for THIS ONE which is just full of CHAOTIC GOOD ENERGY and if you don’t ENJOY THIS then GET OFF MY LAWN. 

5. Berry Good- Angel

Berry Good was destined to be one of those girl groups, like Matilda, that came from a tiny company and was just given bad songs and were set up to fail. So they crowdfunded, and somehow made two incredible comebacks, Don’t Believe (which is a whole other story that we won’t get into today, but it’s an amazing song that you should check out) and prior to that, Angel. I don’t even know where to begin with this song because it literally makes me forget who I am and why I exist. It’s a banger?? This song starts off so soft and pure and jumps right into a chorus that makes you bang your head and scream “I TAKE A CHANCE, YOU NEVER KNOW” as loud as possible. And right when you think you can’t take it anymore, that you are gasping for air because you are drowning in perfection, THEY GO EVEN HARDER. Like, girls, you did not need to go that hard. Holy shit. They go full IU in Good Day. I don’t know why we were blessed with this, especially since after this all their other songs have been garbage, and they’ve been so unsuccessful that they lost their strongest member and they’re heading for disbandment. But we have this gem, and I’m thankful for it.

4. 4Minute- Heart To Heart

Back when 4Minute was just another 2NE1 clone, trying to compete in the market of “Girls Who Look Tough But Are Actually Sweet” 4Minute, aka The HyunA Group, put out this. Third Geners, this is what Second Gen was all about. This is the meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown. This song is everything. It’s perfect. And it’s too bad that 4Minute didn’t really stick with this sound, but also not, since with their more mature concept they wound up getting pretty famous once Park Bom... I mean, we’re not gonna talk about it. 

3. Hyolyn- Bae

Okay so I know that Hyolyn as an entity is not technically considered underrated, but her entire solo career is being slept on and I don’t understand. With Sistar gone, and now Red Velvet carrying the torch for summer anthems, Hyolyn doesn’t necessarily have to give us one of the best summer songs of all time but she did. Every second of this song to me is perfect. And yeah okay I’ll admit it, I am a Gay, I am attracted to women, and Hyolyn is a lot of. A lot of wow. She and HyunA are exactly my type, and this video is a lot. But the SONG you guys. It’s so much that I told even regular people who listen to English music to listen to this song. They didn’t, of course, because the world doesn’t appreciate Hyolyn like I would, I mean like I do as a fan and nothing else. This song was my summer anthem in 2018, Power Up wishes it was this good.

2. BESTie- Thank U Very Much

One of the things that really got me into K-Pop during the Second Gen was that it sounded so much like pop music from my youth. This is gonna sound weird, but I grew up in a Wiccan Neo-Pagan household where 90% of the music we listened to was traditional Celtic or New Age, and if it was ever anything else it was like The Beatles (my Mom and her sisters were one of those screaming and fainting Beatles fans, the trait that was clearly passed down to me, based on what happened when I saw G-Dragon live, but that’s another story) or ABBA, or any kind of British/European pop/rock from the 70s or 80s. So once I was old enough to really find out what kind of music I liked, I dived deep into cheesy pop songs like S Club 7, Britney Spears, and the like. But I always had a soft spot for ABBA. The melodies, the music, the strange lyrics that didn’t really make sense or weren’t quite grammatically correct but it worked. I feel like that love for obscure pop, along with the 90s and early 2000s bubblegum pop, pushed me right into the K-Pop scene. And this song is the best example of that kind of weird melody with oddly used English words, but it works in the best way. The chorus of this song sounds like it was written by ABBA. The ending of this song is transcendent. Tell me you can’t picture a Korean Meryl Streep in overalls singing the ending of this song while dancing on a beach. This song makes me lose all my shits. But I do have to say that this video is uh, Not Good, especially compared with how amazing the song is. But these underrated bottom of the barrel groups don’t have much to work with in the first place, so we can’t really fault them. This song holds up, and is going to hold up for a very long time. I stan.

1. Laboum- Shooting Love

So like I said before, I don’t typically like the super sugary, super tacky, super girly girl concepts. BUT I LOVE LABOUM. ALL their girly sweet songs are AMAZING. They somehow get everything right, in their own unique way. They’re not at all like “Oh, they’re like GFriend”, “Oh, that’s like Lovelyz” or anything, if you get what I’m saying. Laboum had their own cheesy yet perfect style of girly. Aalow Aalow: A CLASSIC. Journey To Atlantis: A CLASSIC. Hwi Hwi: A CLASSIC. Only U: YES YOU GUESS IT, CLASSIC. Sugar Sugar: DON’T MAKE ME SAY IT AGAIN. I could have made this whole list with just Laboum songs. So I made myself pick one by listening to as many old Laboum songs as I could before I would become an absolutely menace to society, as I am not responsible for my actions after listening to so much girly perfectlon at once. If I was arrested and went to court for I dunno, causing distress and mayhem to the citizens of my city, my lawyer would call it “the Laboum defense.” “You see, Your Honor, my client listened to a lot of Laboum songs, and lost control of themselves and became an entity, a ball of energy, a comet destroying everything in its path while screaming cheesy Korean lyrics.” And I would be set free, of course, because who wouldn’t lose themselves completely to the power of Laboum? But anyway I picked Shooting Love, as it puts me in a manic state from the very intro until the last second. And let me just say now that I deeply mourn this old Laboum, as they came back in 2018 with a new concept that makes them sound lobotomized compared to their old sound. Like slow R&B is fine, but compared to this it’s drab and slow and dull and I hate it. I Hate It. Bring back cute Laboum in 2020, or at least study Apink if you want to see how to properly change an aging cute group into a mature group. I could go on, but now I have the urge to listen to more Laboum. You’ll see me on the evening news tonight, I’m sure.

anyway 안녕

#kpop #laboum #loona #hyolyn #aoa #momoland #A List

[yeshawrites]

4.

AGENCY, CHAPTER 4. You can find all other works of mine here. NOTES: This story is not always friendly. It contains some graphic content, brief mentions of non-sexual nudity, murder, death, and plenty of language. Please be advised before you read it. Some upsetting content is in this chapter.

Dahlia sat perched on the edge of her bathroom counter, teasing her bubblegum pink, short hair just so. Peering intently into the mirror, she dragged a finger slowly downward under her eye, poking at the skin. Bags? Oh no. That would simply not do. She turned to the left, unlatching a multi-tiered box and sliding the trays out one by one. Pots and pump bottles and lotions of all sorts sat in the bottom, eyeshadows stacked neatly on the second row and more lipsticks, mascaras, and eyeliners than were necessary piled together in the third. Teasing her favorite face cream out, she pumped a dollop onto her finger and set to massaging it in. Exactly two minutes, she reminded herself, then let sit for two minutes. That was what the sales rep said. Makeup had come so far.

Technology as a whole, she mused absently, had come even farther. How long ago was it that they were using telegrams? Now you took a picture on your phone and it was global in mere seconds. It excited her something terribly, but even her exuberance at the newness was tempered with caution. Better technology meant better cameras and heat sensors and traps and communication. She supposed even Jason Voorhees might have been stymied by kids who thought to SnapChat him. But that was where knowledge came in. As quickly as technology had sprung up, her knowledge was still a vast pool, a shark in the water. Cameras were fallible, and heat sensors could be tricked. People made mistakes. Traps sprang without their prey. It was just a matter of patience, caution, and knowledge. Dahlia inspected her skin tone and spread a light color correcting creme over her face, applying a layer of foundation after. Touching up with a hint of blush, she combed her wayward brows and plucked them to perfection. Out came her eyeliner. Oh how she loved eyeliner; back in the day she used so much that these modern sticks would never have lasted her. Now she preferred to keep it simple. She coated her eyelashes with a layer of mascara and applied her lipstick: bright, vibrant pink. Too much pink? She asked herself. No. Never too much pink. She hopped from the counter and pranced through her sunny pink-and-white bedroom, candy cane stripes on her wall and plush pillows on her bed and billowy, pink curtains drawn over long windows. Delving into her closet, Dahlia pried out a pair of jeans and a white top, throwing on a pink necklace to match her sparkly pink nails. She appraised herself in the mirror and blew herself a kiss. How she had ever thought to go out in public before makeup was a continual source of wonder and embarrassment for her. “I’m lovely.” She smiled broadly at herself and did an experimental twirl. Now for shoes. Reaching under her bed, Dahlia pulled out a steamer trunk overflowing with them. She positively, absolutely adored the things. Heels, flats, boots, platforms, wedges--anything was good by Dahlia so long as they were cute. She’d once picked a fight with a Seraph after he broke one of her favorite heels. It had not gone well for her--but it had not gone well for him either, the smug, suit-wearing bastard. Rifling through the packed case, she pulled out a pair of three inch, strappy bubblegum heels with a large stone set on the front of them. How perfect--a perfect outfit for a perfect day. She pulled on her purse and hopped down the stairs two at a time, never afraid of falling. Jangling her keys about in a hand, Dahlia stepped into her living room (also decorated mainly in pink, grey the compliment this time) and peered through the French doors into her dining room. “I’ll be back!” Wiggling her fingers in a wave, she gave a sad smile to the man duct taped to her dining room chair. His eyes were huge with horror, sweat rolling in beads down his forehead. “Now now, don’t sweat all over that chair. It’s an antique, I’ll have you know, straight from Russia. You stay put right there until I get back.” The man had no choice. He tried to say something, but it came through the tape as only a muffled mmmmmmph. “What was that? Oh, I’m sure you can tell me all about it once I come home and deal with you. Toodles!” Popping her pastel pink earbuds into her ears, she turned up her music and bounced out the door, locking it securely behind her. --- Click click click click click click click click click-- Tiffany rested her head against the window, staring directly at Jeremy, wondering when he would turn the damn blinker off. It had been on for the better part of two miles and no sign of stopping yet. Midlothian Turnpike was hell enough without the infernal noise. Click click click click click click click--He hummed something absently and she wondered if he even knew it was on. “Blinker’s on,” she announced finally. He gasped as if shot and smacked it down. “Well that’s embarrassing. I’m becoming an old man.” “You’re twenty-two.” “I’m aaaaancient.” She rocked her head back against the window and stared outside at the yellow street lights flickering by. The sky was an inky black bleeding into blue, the headlights carving a path through the deserted streets. Night shifts sucked, especially in the Midlothian area. At least there was something to look at in Richmond; up in the suburbs, there was nothing but fast food and grocery stores and banks and dentists. They passed a 7-11 converted into a pizza place and Tiffany wondered why it was that the convenience store did so poorly around here. She assumed it had something to do with all the rich people. “You aren’t mad at me or something, are you, girl?” Jeremy asked anxiously. “Huh? No. No, why?” He heaved relief. “Oh, good. You were just quiet is all. I was worried you were annoyed with me or something.” “Over the blinker? Sure,” she joked. “But no. We’re solid. I’m just tired.” “Yeah.” Nodding sympathetically, he took a turn past the gym. “You work hard, lady. You should take a break from that restaurant every once in a while.” “Nah, ‘cause then my parents will really think I’m not doing anything.” “Oh God. Are they still hounding you about college?” “Yep,” she sighed. “I tried to tell them I wanted a year off before I committed.” “Didn’t listen?” “Nope.” “Aw. I’m sure they’ll come around. They love you no matter what.” Tiffany side-eyed Jeremy and wondered what he meant by that. His parents no longer spoke to him. Apparently accepting their daughter as a son was not possible.

“Do you want to play some music?” He offered. “Oh, come on. We never agree on music.” He wrinkled his nose. “Yeah. That’s right. I mean, maybe you’ll like The--” “--If you say ‘Decemberists’, I’ll kindly remind you we listened to that the last six times you were trying to come up with a compromise.” “Two times.” “Two times,” she admitted. “You get what I’m saying.” “Well,” he started slowly. There was a cop ahead of them. Even though their plates would come up with special privileges, Jeremy slowed on instinct. “We could just pop on the radio. It gets dull if no one is talking.” Tiffany thought about it and mentally agreed. They needed something going. Once midnight hit it would be twenty hours awake for her, and she was ready for bed. She punched the radio on and ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears filled the cab. Her laughter intersected with Jeremy’s squeal of delight. “Oh come ON. You, the hipster king, like Britney Spears?” “I don’t think you understand.” He held up a finger while taking the u-turn near the YMCA, heading right back the way they came. “This was my middle school-slash-high school jam.” “Jer, could you get more stereotypically gay right now?” “I’m pretty sure ‘Toxic’ is a baby gay rite of passage,” He joked. “Anyone who says they didn’t like ‘Toxic’ but still like it up the butt is lying to you.” “Jeremy David--!” The sensor box mounted on the dash glowed fiercely blue, warped into purple, tried to force its way back to green and began squealing. Jeremy stomped on the brakes, the Lincoln screeching to a halt the same time that the sensor outright exploded, bits of wire and plastic casing spraying them. Tiffany screamed and shielded her face, drawing her knees up protectively as Jeremy dove for cover. A moment of silence as the pieces rattled to the floor like hail, and they both surfaced tentatively to inspect the damage. “What the hell was that?” She asked shakily. “No fuckin’ clue,” Jeremy managed. Together they stared out the windows at their surroundings, nearly forgotten in their conversation. To the left, a lake on the edge of an apartment complex lapped silently at walking trails. As one, their gaze shifted slowly to the right and to the mass of trees, a parking lot to a series of pathways leading into pitch blackness under the boughs. “Not the Coal Mines?” Tiffany moaned softly. “Might be.” He reached unsteadily for the radio mounted on the dash. “I’m calling this in.”

#Writeblr #Agency #4. #My writing #original fiction #Jeremy #Tiffany #Dahlia #monster of the week story

[queen-of-the-merry-men]

The Pill {Planted in Pain verse}

Written for day 2 @oqpromptparty, is based off prompt #236 where Regina sneaks their daughter birth control pills and Robin finds out.

Read at Ao3.

————————–

“We need to talk.”

Regina sighed unclipping her hair from the bun she’d thrown it into for work. It was a Wednesday afternoon and she came home to find Robin waiting for her in their bedroom. A sight which might’ve excited her had it not been for the look on his face and the fact that she’d just spent the last 9 hours dealing with 30 middle schoolers still riding their sugar high from leftover halloween candy. Honestly, she was dead tired and simply looking forward to a night where she could just pop a frozen lasagna into the oven and relax with her husband and daughter.

So imagine her disappointment when she came home to find him waiting for her, still dressed in his uniform and clearly ready to thrown down. And not in a good way.

“Can it wait Robin, really?” she begged, slipping off her heels. “I’ve had such a long day and I’m sure whatever it is can be talked about in the morning.”

Normally she wouldn’t be so nonchalant with him but she was tired. Besides what could he possibly have to be so upset about. As far as she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong.

“No it can’t wait until the morning,” said Robin, standing from the bed. “I’ve got something I need to discuss now.”

Blowing out a tired breath she raised her eyebrows at him. “Fine. What is it that’s so important?”

He stared her down. “I stopped by the pharmacy today.”

Oh shit.

Regina straightened her back as she realized just why he was so upset. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Robin nodded at her. “I called in a prescription this morning, my back was acting up again. Funny thing though when I got there to pick it up, they mixed up my order. Turns out there was another order put in a little while ago under the name Locksely. A prescription for birth control.”  

Regina shut her eyes. Jesus Christ.

Crossing his arm, Robin continued on. “Now unless I’m mistaken you haven’t been on any birth control since we found out we couldn’t conceive. So either you’re hiding one hell of a miracle from me… or it’s the worst case scenario.”

“Robin…”

“Because the only other person in this house who could possibly need those is our fifteen year old daughter,” he bit out, with flares of anger in his eyes. “So Regina… please tell me there’s a secret miracle.” 

She took a deep breath before planting her hands on her hips and looking him in the eye. “Robin… Lizzy came to me a few weeks ago…”

“No…”

“We sat down and had a talk…”

“C’mon….”

“And we decided that she should go on the pill,” finished Regina. Ignoring her husband’s indignant moans, she pressed on. “So I took her to the doctor and got her a prescription.”

“Are you kidding me? Behind my back?”  

“Only because I knew you would react this way,” she pointed out.

“How else am I supposed to react? She’s fifteen years old!” he replied, raising his voice an octave. Nervously tapping his police belt, he sucked in a sharped breath. “Is she… I mean has she ever…?”

He trailed off, unwilling to finish that sentence, unwilling to imagine his little girl even thinking of doing such things. She was so young, too young. She didn’t even have a boyfriend goddamnit! At least not one that he knew of.

A relieved breath left him when he saw Regina shake her head.

“No she hasn’t,” she mumbled, crossing her arms. Her eyebrows knit together. “A least I don’t think so.”

Robin’s eyes went wide. “You don’t think so?”

“She said that she hasn’t and I believe her,” clarified Regina. “Our daughter keeps many secrets Robin but she’s not an outright liar. You know that.”

“God,” he sighed, stressfully running his fingers through his hair. He was sure this conversation alone would give him two more patches of grey.

“Fine if she’s not having it then why does she need the pills?” he stressed.

“I don’t know that she actually needs them Robin. I think she just thinks that it’s best that she have them,” explained Regina as gently as possible. “She wants to protect her body. She’s just trying to be proactive.”

“Proactive,” scoffed Robin. “Who needs to be that proactive?”

“Our daughter,” Regina forcefully drawled. “Remember the one who wrote out a meal plan for the first three weeks of kindergarten?  And who asked for two raincoats in the fourth grade, just so she could keep a spare one at school just in case? She’s just trying to think ahead. And you know what? After what happened with Roland maybe that’s not such a bad thing.”

He lifted a dissenting finger in her direction. “What happened with Roland was… well I don’t know what happened there but it wasn’t the same as this. Lizzy isn’t Roland.”

“No she isn’t,” agreed Regina. “Because Lizzy is a girl and has a lot more to worry about than the boys when it comes to sex.”

“The hell she does,” Robin humorously chuckled. “She has nothing to worry about because it’s not happening. Because she’s not getting those pills.”

Regina threw her head and groaned. “Robin…”

“I mean it Regina. I’m putting my foot down.”

His wife tilted her head at him, a fire suddenly lit behind her brown eyes as she stared up at him. “Excuse me Robin? You can put your foot down all you like but I am not gonna allow you to micromanage our teenage daughter’s body like you’re a fucking member of congress. She asked for the pills, she’s getting them. End. Of. Discussion.”

Before he could even think of a response she spun on her heel and marched into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

So much for a relaxing evening.

————————

They say you shouldn’t blink when you become a parent. You blink once and you’ll miss your kid’s whole childhood, it’ll whizz past you in a flash, leaving you in an empty house wondering where the hell all the time went.

Robin used to roll his eyes at that sentiment. He’d been so arrogant then.

It seemed like only yesterday he was chasing after his kids, changing their diapers, making sure they didn’t fall down the stairs or get into messes. With all three of them it felt like those days would never end.

Then he blinked.

His kids grew up. Henry and Roland were already gone, the former only two months away from getting his bachelor’s degree and the latter, half a world away traveling through Europe. The only one left was Lizzy, his princess. And even she was slipping through his fingers.

He knocked on her door later that night and slipped into her room while she was studying. Looking around he sighed. When they’d first brought her home the walls had been pink, there were stuffed animals everywhere and a bassinet against the wall. He’d used to spend long nights sitting in a rocking chair next to her closet singing old Britney Spears songs to get her to sleep. Things had transformed quite a bit since then. The bassinet was replaced with a full size bed. The pink walls were gone painted a painted a cool green when she was in middle school and plastered with old posters of role models and movies she’d picked up on the way. It was a young woman’s room now.

Looking up from her book, she eyed him suspiciously as she took a seat on the side of her bed.

“Hey daddy,” she drawled, narrowing her eyes. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” he lied, shrugging his shoulders. “I just wanted to check in on you. Feels like we haven’t had any alone time in a while.”

She tilted her head at him. “Okay…”

“So… what’s new?” he ventured.

Lizzy searched his face, her blue eyes scanning him for five seconds at most before she rolled them and reluctantly set her book aside. “Mom told you about the birth control, didn’t she?”

No one in the house had ever been able to keep a secret from Lizzy, yet somehow it always took Robin by surprise how quickly she was able to cut through the bullshit.

He hesitated as she looked at him expectantly, crossing her arms as she did so. Finally, he sighed and came clean. “She didn’t tell me. I found out on my own,” he revealed. “You’re not the only one who can sniff out a secret around here.”

“True,” she said, nodding her head appreciatively. Looking away, she mumbled, “I didn’t want you to know.”

“Well, I do,” he replied. “And I got to admit, I’ve got some concerns.”

Subconsciously she tugged on on the end of the braid that fell over her shoulder. “Are you mad at me?”

“No,” he immediately assured her, reaching out to give her hand a squeeze. “I’m not mad, bug. I promise. I’m just confused, and a little worried about you”  

Lizzy let out a reluctant huff. “Well you don’t have to. I’m not having sex Dad.”

Despite his relief, Robin still tried not to wince at her bluntness. “Then why do you feel the need to take the Pill? Are you thinking of… it?”

“No!” she, said twisting up her face. “It’s not like I even have a boyfriend to do it with.”

Before Robin couldn’t even relish a second of relief she added, “But I might… someday soon. You know the guys at school aren’t great but one of them might mature enough for a second look.” Nervously averting her gaze she continued. “Dad I’m just trying to be responsible for me. You know I talked about it with Alice the last time I saw her and she thought it was a good idea.”

Robin’s eyebrows rose at the mention of Lizzy’s birth mother. “Alice suggested you get on birth control?”

“Well, yeah,” said Lizzy, as if it should be obvious. “C’mon you really didn’t think it was Mom, right?”

“I had a feeling it wasn’t,” he mumbled, knowing he’d probably have to eat crow for his wife over the next few days. He’d also need to have a serious conversation with her birth mother about boundaries.

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” said Lizzy, shaking her head. “You gave Henry and Roland condoms when they were my age.”

“No I didn’t.”  

Lizzy sent him a disbelieving look identical to Regina’s. “Dad… you put them under the sink in the bathroom… that I use… two inches away from where we stored the spare toilet paper. I saw them every day. Did you really think I didn’t know what they were?”

Robin cursed under his breath. He’d warned the boys to be stealthy about where they kept the box. “Well… that was different.”

“Because they’re boys?”

“No because… they were dating,” he floundered. “And you aren’t.”

“Oh,” she sarcastically drawled nodding her head. “So if I did get a boyfriend, then could I have birth control?”

Robin sucked his teeth, clearly uncomfortable with the turn of their conversation. Lizzy just grinned at him triumphantly, always pleased to needle her father with the flaws of his own logic.

“Going through all these hypotheticals isn’t going to get us anywhere,” he deflected. “I just… I’m not so sure that I’m comfortable knowing that you’re taking them, right now.”

Lizzy sighed, annoyed. “Does it really bother you that much, Dad?”

“A little bit sweetheart,” he admitted.

“Fine,” she said, shaking her head. “Then I won’t take them.”

“You won’t?”

“Nah,” she mumbled. “It’s not like I really need them, right now anyway. I just wanted to be extra careful. It’s not worth it if it’s making you act all crazy.”

“Crazy?” Robin twisted up his face indignantly. “I think I handled this fairly calmly, thank you very much.”

Lizzy snorted, sarcastically nodding her head. “Yeah, you were super chill. Not at all crazed.”

Robin sent her a small smile. He wasn’t naive enough to think she wasn’t disappointed but he still felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Sighing, he reached out to pat her leg. “Listen bug… you know I just want you to be safe, right?”

“I know,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

“You’re only fifteen years old, you’ve got other things to worry about and I just don’t see the need to pile anything else on to that,” he tried to explain. “Especially things you’re not ready for.”

“You mean sex.”

Again with the bluntless. “Yes I mean sex,” he sighed. “You don’t have to say it.”

“Feels like I do,” she laughed. “It makes you blush dad.”

“I’m not blushing.”

“You are,” she said, smirking at him with a chuckle.

He smiled at her before standing from the bed, and giving her a kiss on the top of her head. “Love you, bug.”

“Love you Dad.”

—————————-

Almost sixteen years ago Robin confronted a teenage girl who followed him home one night. She’d ended up giving him her baby.

Though they’d always left the door open for her, Alice had always left a wide berth between herself and Lizzy. At least initially. She’d always stood on the other side of the door, happy to remain there with nothing but the rare letter and yearly photos. Six years ago, Lizzy had walked through the door herself, showing up at Alice’s home without so much as a warning or a heads up.

It could’ve been a clusterfuck, blunt and painful with his daughter’s birth mother saying she wanted nothing to do with her. Robin would always be grateful that it went the other way.

Alice had welcomed Lizzy with open arms. Answering all her questions, reminding her that she was always loved and free to see her whenever she liked as much as she wanted. It was the best thing that could’ve happened.

And Robin tried to remind himself of that when he showed up to see her the next day.

He didn’t know why he’d come to see her. He’d already laid the issue to rest the night before, not that Regina was too pleased to hear about it. Yet, somehow he found himself heading downtown on his lunch break and pulling up to the building where Alice she taught life painting.

It didn’t take him long to find the right classroom, Lizzy had taken a class their last summer and the number hadn’t changed. He’d slipped into the back just as she was finishing up with a class, all her students, young and old, setting aside their canvases for the day and heading out of the room.

She looked up in surprise when she saw him standing there but a smile quickly appeared on her face - wide, eager and unsuspecting.

“Robin hi!” she said, greeting him with a warm hug. “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” he muttered, forcing a smile on his face.

Robin liked Alice. It was hard not to, knowing what she’d given up to make sure Lizzy had a good home.  He knew she was a good person with a sweet heart. She’d come a long way since that night when she’d asked him to take her baby. She was older and happier now. Smiled a lot more than he’d remembered and no longer dressed like a runaway. Thirty three years old she was Lizzy’s mirror in almost every way except hair color. While Lizzy’s hair was a deep chestnut brown, Alice’s was golden blonde. It made her easy to spot in a crowd.

“What are you doing here?” she curiously asked. “Is everything okay with Lizzy?”

“Everything with Lizzy is fine,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “It’s just that I had a talk with her last night about birth control.”

He didn’t know what type of reaction he expected from her. Maybe something apologetic or nervous. Or maybe just something more than the nonchalant shrug that she offered him.

“And… are you putting her on the pill?”

“No,” he said. “We decided against it.”

Alice nodded her head, thoughtfully, before turning back to her student’s area. “Okay. Well I’m sure you know what’s best.”

“We do,” he said, more forcefully than intended, following her as she picked up the stray paintbrushes her students left behind. “The problem is when I talked to her about it she mentioned that you told her that she should get on the pill. Is that true?”

“It is,” she said, plainly turning to face him, her eyebrows raised questioningly as she stared at him with innocence in her eyes. “Problem?”

Robin took a deep breath trying to control the flare of irritation he could feel rising inside him. “Alice… Regina and I love you.”

“I know.”

“We’ve always been willing to let you have a place in Lizzy’s life.”

“I’m aware.”

“Ever since she found you we’ve always done our best to make sure that the two of you know each other in a way that we’re all comfortable with, especially now that you and Robyn J. have April. You are an important part of my daughter’s life and I don’t want that to change.”

Alice sucked in a deep breath, knowing what was coming next. “But…”

“But you’re not her parent,” Robin gently explained. “Regina and I are her mother and father, and that means that there are certain topics and boundaries that belong to us.”

“Like birth control and sex?”

“Like birth control and sex, yes,” he repeated. “I can’t have you contradicting the things that we say and the values we’re trying to instill in her. Regina and I already spoke to Lizzy about sex and the fact that she’s not ready for it, and probably won’t be for a while.”

Alice crossed her arms, letting out an indignant huff. “Oh yeah I’m sure, you gave her an excellent talk about waiting for love and marriage. My dad gave me a talk too. It was super effective, clearly.”

Clenching his jaw he bit out. “This isn’t a joke Alice.”

“I never said it was,” she replied. “Trust me I know how real this is Robin. If anyone knows how real it is, I do. Especially since I was only two years older than her when I had to shoplift my pregnancy test.”

Her voice started to shake and she pressed her lips together, sucking in a deep breath.

Robin remained silent, thrown by her sudden show of emotion.

“What was I supposed to say to her Robin?” she mumbled. “‘Just don’t worry about it Lizzy. I never did and things turned out okay.’”

Regret filled her eyes as she looked up at him. “I just wanted her to know that she had a safety net. Something that could save her if she fell down my path.”

“Lizzy is not gonna fall down your path,” asserted Robin. “She’s not… you.”

Alice smiled, not even a little offended. “You’re right, she’s not me. She’s smarter. She reached out. She came to you. Which is all I wanted her to do anyway.”

“Really?” said Robin, suddenly feeling sheepish.

“Yeah,” said Alice. “I only told her that if she really felt worried she should talk to you guys about getting on the pill. Not go off and get it by herself.”

“Oh,” drawled Robin. Sighing, he leaned back against one of the student’s desk. “Well, now I just feel like an ass.”

Alice let out a chuckle, shaking her head. “You’re not an ass Robin. You’re a concerned dad, one of the best concerned dad and I should know that. I picked you.”

Tapping his fingers against his belt he shook his head. “I just feel like she’s too young for all of this.”

“You’re not wrong,” replied Alice. “She’s just a kid but, and I hate that I can say this, she’s not wrong to be thinking about protecting herself. I mean… I had friends who were having sex at her age.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Wish I was,” sighed Alice. She turned to him skeptical. “C’mon you must’ve known kids in high school who’d done it when you were her age.”

Robin scoffed. “I knew guys who’d bragged about it but I just always assumed they were full of shit.”

“Well some of them probably were, some of them probably weren’t,” she said, tilting her head back and forth. “I waited ‘til I was 17 and I had people screaming at me that I was prude.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“That’s high school,” she laughed. Throwing her head back she groaned. “God, April’s only three I’m dreading the day I have to send her.”

“You’ve got eleven years. You can stretch ‘em out,” joked Robin. “Worst comes to worst just homeschool her.”

Alice offered him a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry if I crossed a line for you Robin. I really am. I just want her to be safe.”

Robin nodded. “We both do.”

————————-

He’d been getting a chilly reception from Regina ever since the whole pill debacle had come up. By the time they got into bed that evening, she still hadn’t warmed to him not that he expected her to. When his wife took a stand she tended to dig her heels in, especially when it came to their children.

Putting on his pajamas he climbed into bed next to her, staring at the profile of her face as she read one of her novels. Nudging her arm he whispered, “Can I ask you a question?”

She hummed affirmatively, not looking up from her book.

“How did you lose your virginity?”

Regina’s head whipped toward him, her attention captured. “What?”

Robin shrugged his shoulders. “I just kind of realized that we’ve never really told each other about our first times.”

“We’ve never really had a reason too,” she softly replied, closing her book.

Leaning back against their headboard, Robin sighed thinking back to his college days. “My first time was with Marian.”

Regina nodded her head, unsurprised. “I figured.”

“Yeah, I was 20 years old, we’d been together for four years by then.”

“Four years?” repeated Regina, clearly incredulous.

Robin turned to her and smirked. “What can I say? I was a gentleman.”

Regina let out a sharp laugh as she rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll pretend to believe that.”

“It’s true,” he said. “I never wanted to push her, or make her uncomfortable. I’d known her my whole life, was afraid I’d lose her if I screwed things up.” He paused. “But then she came to me, said she was ready and we spent the night together in my dorm room.”

Regina hummed. “I feel like I’m gonna regret asking this but how was it?”

Robin shrugged his shoulders. “I thought it was okay at least. Not sure the same could be said for her because three weeks later she told me she was gay.”

Her eyes widened. “Three weeks later?”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding his head acceptingly. “I’m pretty sure I was the final nail in that coffin.”

Regina couldn’t help the giggle that fell from her lips as she reached out to comfortingly run her fingers through his hair. “Oh Robin… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he said, shaking his head. “It was what it was and I don’t really have any regrets about it.” Again he nudged her shoulder. “What about you? What was your first time like?”

Regina licked her lips, hesitant before speaking. “It wasn’t great,” she admitted. “I ended up doing it with my next door neighbor, he was a year older than me. Said he liked me and I felt flattered by that. He was nice boy, kind of awkward but sweet. He asked me on a date one day and I said yes. So I lied to my mother told her I was working a double shift at the mall but I went to the movies with him instead. Then we ended up doing it in the backseat of his car.”

They way she spoke about it, so deliberately steady and emotionless, tugged at Robin’s heart. “How old were you?”

“Sixteen,” she said, regretfully. Pressing her lips together she thought back to that day. “I remember that I was the one who brought it up, made sure he had a condom, checked the expiration date and everything. Even after all that I was still terrified that I was pregnant.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t relax for weeks. It felt like I was walking on a tight rope and someone was waiting beneath my feet for the chance to trip me.”

“That’s awful,” mumbled Robin.

“It was what it was,” she said shrugging her shoulders. “It wasn’t great but I think the worst part about it was that while I was freaking out I felt so… alone. Zelena was off at college. And I sure as hell wasn’t gonna tell Cora. I knew she’d crucify me. I just wish I’d had someone I could’ve reached out to. It would’ve made things a lot easier.”

She looked over at him with her dark brown eyes and he sunk into their sheets letting out a deep breath as he did so. “You still want Lizzy to go on the pill.”

Regina paused, carefully thinking over her answer. “I want Lizzy to feel like she can come to us about anything, especially the big stuff. I don’t want her thinking that we’ll condemn her or judge her for any of it.”

“I wasn’t trying to make her feel judged,” stressed Robin. “I just didn’t want to feel like I was giving her the greenlight to start doing stuff that she’s too young for.”

“It’s not a green light Robin. It’s a sign of trust,” she explained. “Not just from us to her but from her to us. She’s including us in her decisions because she trusts us not to freak out about it.”

“Trusts you at least,” scoffed Robin.

Regina rolled her eyes. “For the sex stuff maybe but I remember being pretty low on the list when it came time to started thinking about what colleges to go to.”

Robin chuckled. “That’s because you always go overboard with college research.”

“Because I’m the only one who knows what to look for,” she said. “But that’s not the point. The point is I want us to continue being in the  loop with her. I don’t want her to feel like she has to deal with these things without us. Especially not now. I want us in her loop.”

“But we weren’t in her loop,” said Robin. “You were. And Alice was and Lizzy was. The only person who wasn’t in the loop for this was me. I was excluded. And from what I could tell nobody had plans to change that.”

Regina knit her eyebrows together, finally picking up on the fact that he was hurt that she’d kept this from him.

Robin sighed. “I know you thought I wasn’t going to react well, and maybe I proved you right, but that doesn’t mean you get to keep things about our daughter from me.”

Regina nodded understandingly. “You’re right and I’m sorry I left you out. That was unfair.”

“Thank you,” he replied, satisfied with her apology. “And for the record, I’ve given it some thought and I think you should go ahead and give her the birth control pills.”

Regina raised her eyebrows surprised. “Really?”

“Yes,” he reluctantly. “I still think she’s too young for all of this, she’s just a kid. But I realize that kids can sometimes make bad choices. Hell, kids making bad choices is how we got our daughter in the first place. And as much as I trust her to know better… if she wants to have a safety net then I think we should let her.”

Regina tried to hold back a smile. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” he said. “So long as I get to stay in the loop.”

#oq ff #regina mills #robin hood #outlaw queen #alice jones #curious archer #oq prompt party

[pilawforhire-archived]

🎃Someone thought it would be a good idea to fit their head inside of a freshly-carved pumpkin, but needless to say, it was not their best decision.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“N—”

“Too bad, Roo,” Ace chirped, sounding a little proud of himself. “Already well ahead of you.”

Before Law could protest any further, Ace disappeared into the kitchen and returned with one large pumpkin carried in his arms. He set it down on the dining table with a thud. Seconds later, Ace strode out with another pumpkin and smacked it down in front of Law. Ace snatched the hardcover out of Law’s hands like it was crude pornographic material and threw it over his shoulder in sharp disapproval. CRASH. A vase cushioned the hardcover’s fall — only for a split second before the vase shattered into smithereens.

“…I was reading that,” Law muttered, widemouthed in disbelief. His eyes flicked to the pumpkin and then back to Ace. At that moment, Law felt like the sulky and grouchy spoilsport father that told their kid ‘no’ to every single request, no matter how trivial. Even Law would tire of saying ‘no’ all the time and of being a generally stuffy person. Besides — the corners of Law’s lips curled downward slightly in defeat — how could he refuse Ace when Ace had that ‘excited puppy’ face?

Less than ten minutes later, Ace and Law were seated at the dining table, busy at work cutting a lid from the pumpkins before they scooped out the filling into a bowl.

“Why?” Law asked.

“Why? Why, Roo?” Ace repeated, as if Law had asked the dumbest question in all of existence. “Because it’s Halloween? Do you need a better reason?” Ace gesticulated wildly with his hands, inadvertently waving the knife in all directions.

“Hmm…” Law put down his knife and pressed both hands to his temples. “I’ve not consulted the Ouija board but I’m fairly certain I’ve got a strong premonition incoming… of the night ending with us in the A&E waiting area. Shall we bet on it? Say, a hundr—”

“Jesus Christ, Roo.” Ace gave Law a friendly kick under the table. “Don’t curse me like that! I’ve trained for this night, you know. My stomach’s ever-ready. Take that, diarrhoea.”

“Mmm…” Law tugged at the thick raccoon mascot fursuit he was melting and dying under. “Can I at least take this off…? I’m sweating my balls off. The kids are gonna run soon as they smell me coming from yards away.” Law fanned his neck with his hand. It wasn’t that warm, but he thought he must look absolutely ridiculous, even though he had not worn the costume out the door yet. “How do you manage?” Law swept his eyes over Ace’s flower piglet costume. However, it went without saying that Ace’s costume allowed his skin more room to breathe — his arms and legs were uncovered, for fuck’s sake. Meanwhile, Law was drowning in his own sweat — just a little, but Law liked to overexaggerate his discomforts all the time.

“Peachy,” Ace murmured, fully engrossed in tracing out his designs to be carved. He paid Law zero attention from then on out, while he worked patiently and meticulously on his pumpkin.

From the television, Martha Stewart said, “Pumpkin carving is a fun Halloween tradition that’s popular among both children and adults.”

Law casually and briefly flipped her off before he grabbed the remote and turned off the screen. For the following half an hour, Ace and Law worked separately on their own pumpkins.

“What are you carving?” Law asked.

“A face,” Ace said.

“What face?”

“A pumpkin’s face.”

“…Oh. Jolly good.”

Since his attempt at conversation died remarkably quick, Law concentrated on making his pumpkin the freakiest piece of shit anyone has ever laid their eyes on. He gave his pumpkin sharp jagged teeth, five angry eyes, and a heart-shaped nose, with tons of freckles (read: stab-wounds). On the backside, he carved ‘YOU WILL DIE TONIGH’ and then he ran out of space for the last letter, to his utter disappointment and chagrin.

Oblivious to Law’s brutal disfigurement of his pumpkin, Ace finished his own. In order to show off his design to Law, Ace, very boldly, to Law’s raised brows and unimpressed look, inserted his head into the pumpkin and wore it like a fashionable helmet. Ace straightened upright, and with the pumpkin (finely carved, by the way; expertly carved) over his flower piglet costume, Law snorted and snickered. Law pressed the back of his hand against his mouth to stifle his laugh.

Unfazed, Ace waved at Law in the same elegant manner the Queen would wave to the cameras and reporters and the public. Ace turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees and stood arms akimbo. To Ace’s modelling, Law only stared blankly. Then he clapped twice and turned back to his pumpkin before he reciprocated Ace’s wave.

For the first few minutes, all was good and peachy. Ace didn’t bother trying to remove the pumpkin from his head because it looked extraordinarily cool and amusing. Law finished the sixth eye on his pumpkin before he set down his tools and stood up. Glancing back at Ace, a number of ideas flitted through Law’s mind.

“Eh, might as well have some fun.” Law smiled at Ace, an impish smile. The same smile he pulled just before he would smash cake all over Ace’s face and then lick it up after. “Wait here,” Law instructed, “I’ll be a sec.” Law jogged away, almost cutting his feet on the glass shards of what was once a beautiful vase. He skipped over the mess — someone could sweep it up later — and dug through his room. Law returned a moment later with a bag of candies and his mobile phone.

“What’s that, Roo? You got me candy?” Ace could not see very well out of the pumpkin, but Ace thought he smelled the sweet scent of delicious candy. He could smell it from a mile away, that was how attuned his senses could be, if it was candy.

“Our Instagram’s been lacking,” Law said. “About time we gave our fans some new content, yes?” Law smiled genuinely. He put away his phone first before he reached his hand into the candy bag and grabbed a handful. “Okay, now—” 

Without launching into an explanation of what was going to happen, Law launched the candies one by one at Ace’s head. Law tried to aim for Ace’s mouth, but the carved-out hole in the pumpkin was relatively small, and Law’s aim was not sniper-perfect. Thus, many of the candies bounced off Ace’s pumpkin helmet and fell miserably onto the floor. Naturally, Ace did not appreciate being treated like a dog nor was he pleased by the wastage of precious candy. Law’s game lasted all of several seconds before he admitted it was a terribly bad idea. Instead, Law dug out his phone and snapped pictures of Ace from various and all angles. 

Law climbed onto the table for a bird’s eye view shot; Law laid on the floor for a worm’s eye view shot; Law pretended he was a sniper armed with the phone and shot many pictures of Ace from behind a wall. Finally, Law took numerous selfies with Ace, though his selfie game was disastrous. Most of the selfies had Law’s face cropped out. Nevertheless, moving on, Law made Ace do somersaults and dance moves to Britney Spears and all kinds of pop music while he observed and occasionally snapped a few photos. Law carried out Ace’s guitar and asked Ace to play a song as flower piglet with a pumpkin helmet. It went without saying that Law recorded the entire performance to look back on in future and laugh. Alas, the evening passed in the blink of an eye and the next part of the night would begin: the highlight of Ace’s night, Trick-or-Treating. There was only one problem. Ace was caught in a pickle.

“Uh… Roo?” Ace called out, waving his arms for Law’s attention. “Roo?!” Ace grabbed his pumpkin helmet but it would not budge. “Fuck. Okay, uh, little help? Roo, I think I’m… stuck.” A few beads of perspiration rolled down Ace’s brow, although those could be blamed on the intense workout and song and dance routine Law put Ace through. Ace took a deep breath and tried not to worry — Law was a doctor, after all! He could most certainly help with removing the pumpkin. At the very least, if he fainted, Law would know what to do. He was in good hands; Ace trusted Law. That was his mistake.

Law cleared his throat. He swallowed hard and pinched his lips together to keep from chuckling. “Huh, what?” Law said, feigning ignorance. He struggled to keep a poker face even though Ace could not see him clearly through the pumpkin helmet. “Don’t lie to me, Piglet. Your head’s not that big.”

For the next few minutes, Law bore witness to Ace running around the hall, doing all kinds of jigs in an attempt to get the pumpkin helmet off, to no avail. Ace grunted and pulled. He pulled, he pushed, he whipped his head back and forth, he ran his head under the tap, he pulled and pulled some more, and he twisted, but the pumpkin helmet refused to come off! By then, Ace was the one drenched in sweat. Worrying thoughts flooded his mind: What if he had to miss Trick-or-Treating? Son of a bitch, Law was a goddamned fucktard.

True enough, Law sat with his feet outstretched, lazying on the couch, observing Ace’s distress. Law managed to keep a straight face despite how he entertained and amused himself at Ace’s expense.

“Aren’t we going trick-or-treating?” Law asked nonchalantly. “Shouldn’t we go? It’s getting lat—”

Ace grabbed Law’s shoulders hard and shook Law with desperation. Ace hissed, “I can’t see shit, asshole! Help me, or so help me God!”

“Well, don’t you look handsome,” Law said coolly. He smiled and caressed Ace’s pumpkin helmet. He rubbed the pumpkin helmet like it was Aladdin’s lamp. “I’m sure others would take pity on your predicament and treat you all their candy for your suffering…?”

“I can’t really eat like this, can I?!”

Ace shook Law’s shoulders harder but Law remained unwavering in his decision to be an unhelpful bastard. Finally, when Ace sounded about to cry, Law snapped out of his uncaring demeanour.

“…Hey.” Law reached for Ace’s hand and pulled Ace toward him to sit in his lap. “All right, all right. I’ll help—I’ll call for help. I’ll call the fire department—or maybe the police? I’m sure they can do something.”

“Wh—What?!” Ace exclaimed. “Don’t fucking call the police for something like this! Are you serious, Roo? N—”

Law shoved Ace off his lap. He leapt from the couch and sprinted off into his room. To Ace’s fists banging on the unlocked door, to Ace screaming “don’t you fucking dare”, Law ignored all that racket and proceeded to place a call on his mobile.

“Roo?!” Ace pounded his fists harder into the door. “No, don’t call the police! These pumpkins are stolen!” There, it was out. He had stolen the pumpkins from their sons-of-bitches neighbours who shaved their poodle into a monstrosity. While they did not physically hurt their dog, they had made their dog a laughing stock! Heathens! They deserved to have their pumpkins stolen and their house egged and covered with toilet paper! Indeed, Ace had committed all those crimes, unbeknownst to Law while he napped like the lazy fucker he was. Ace banged his fists against the door until Law opened the door suddenly. Law very narrowly avoided having his eyes punched black and blue as Ace’s fist shot past his temple.

“…Calm down,” Law said, trying to sound as comforting as he possibly can. He failed and sounded indifferent instead. “I didn’t call the police, okay? But don’t you want help? How are we supposed to ever kiss again?”

Ace gave Law’s words some deep thought. Eventually, Ace nodded. “Okay, if the police suspect anything—”

“We kill the police,” Law blurted, finishing Ace’s sentence.

“…Not what I had in mind, Roo. Wouldn’t more of the police just be after us? Then we’d be wanted for murder, besides theft and… only theft.”

“Then we lie.” Law placed a consoling hand on Ace’s chest. “Don’t you worry, you can leave everything to me.”

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Without hesitation, Law went to answer it, and Ace lingered several steps behind.

“Whatever is the problem, lads?” boomed an officer. He had ginger-red hair, a sharp nose, and he wore a pair of tinted sunglasses despite that it dark outside. His partner stood by his side, wearing the most ridiculous afro that was the size of a truck’s tire. Both officers took one look at Law’s and Ace’s costumes and they burst into rambunctious laughter. They guffawed and giggled, they snorted and cackled, they clutched their stomachs, bent over, shoulders tremoring like an earthquake. Finally, they shut up when Law slammed the door in their faces.

Law turned to Ace with a look of regret. “I…” Law frowned, unable to continue his words. He had not meant to hurt Ace like that. It was… a bad joke. Law opened the door again. The two officers were still standing put, although they were both rubbing their noses and glaring.

“Dood, I dink eet’s brohken. Wha the fuck,” grumbled the ginger-hair officer.

“Ya gonna hafta call an ambulance,” muttered the afro officer.

“Call them yourselves.” Law slammed the door in their faces again. He grabbed Ace’s hand and pulled Ace to the living area. Law made Ace sit down on the couch.

“Hold still,” Law said. He grasped both sides of the pumpkin helmet and gave it a simple twist and a gentle pull. The pumpkin stayed stuck. Law twisted it in the other direction. The pumpkin refused to budge. Law mumbled, “Hmm… Hang on.” He jogged away and returned with the serrated knife. Law flopped down beside Ace. “I’ll have to cut it a little. Just sit still, and I won’t slice your throat by accident—It’ll be fine. I’ve done this plenty of times; You wouldn’t believe how often this happens every Halloween.” With that said, Law scooted closer to Ace. He took the knife in his hand and very carefully, he carved away at the pumpkin to widen the opening. Mere seconds later, Law placed the knife down and rose to his feet. He grabbed the pumpkin and managed to dislodge it from Ace’s head without further difficulty.

Law stepped back and let out a breath he had been holding. “…You all right?” He reached out and tousled Ace’s hair. “Sorry about those two… As you’ve guessed, they’re not real cops. Just friends… in costume. Anyway…” Law sprinted off. He came back with a large bag of candy. “So d’you want to go trick-or-treating or stay in and snack on these?”

@pxrtgasdace

#thank you for sending :) #queued #I must really apologise for the OOC on Ace's parts and for the rushed ending ;-; #pxrtgasdace #asks