#'I think it's time that I decide ; what I've done when I trip and fly'

[darabeatha]

❛ Moctezuma Xocoyotzin (and referred to retroactively in European sources as Moctezuma II), was the ninth Emperor of the Aztec Empire (also known as Mexica Empire), reigning from 1502 or 1503 to 1520. The first contact between the civilizations of Mesoamerica and Europeans took place during his reign, and he was killed during the initial stages of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, when conquistador Hernán Cortés and his men fought to take over the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. (...)

(...) Depictions of his person among his contemporaries, however, are divided; some depict him as one of the greatest leaders Mexico had, a great conqueror who tried his best to maintain his nation together at times of crisis, while others depict him as a tyrant who wanted to take absolute control over the whole empire. ❜ [s]

[pinkanonwrites]

Repaying The Favor

G1 Rumble/ Mechanic Reader - 4600+ words NSFW, Valveplug, Miscommunication, First Time, Oral Sex, AFAB Reader - They/Them Pronouns for reader

The sequel to "Oh! That's What That Does?!" is finally here! Same reader, same Rumble, same trying to figure each other out, only this time they get to slam down crazy-style about it. When will Frenzy get his turn in the spotlight? Eventually, I think! Maybe once I've finished a few other pet projects.

NSFW WRITING BELOW THE CUT!

It had been exactly fifteen days since you had last heard from Rumble. 

Not that you’d been counting.

Sure, the cassettes probably had more important things to do than lounge around your workshop waiting for your attention, but that's exactly why it was so odd. They always had better things to do, things that they were pointedly avoiding doing by barging in on your work and taking up what little free space the shop had remaining. But since your little tryst with Rumble, you hadn't seen armor nor optic of any of the usual cassette bot suspects.

Maybe you'd broken some sort of ancient, space robot taboo that you'd never heard of. Or maybe Rumble was just embarrassed that he jizzed all over your jumpsuit. Either way, it wasn't like you had any way of getting ahold of them besides them dropping in, so there wasn't much to be done about the situation but wait.

You were leaving the corner store when you heard it, the cacophonous boom of a jet flying far too close to the tips of the skyscrapers overhead. The sound sent you reeling, bags crumpling to the sidewalk as you hurried to cover your ears. Down the street you could make out the screech of metal smacking against metal, see the flailing limbs of two massive robots staggering clumsily through the street as they traded blows with each other. Neither of them were one you recognized, the red Autobot with the oversized chest window wrestling one of the identical jet Decepticons into a clumsy headlock. As they stumbled about one of them trampled on a car parked along the curb, and you winced as the metal shrieked and crumpled under his massive foot.

Yeah, time to get out of here. You gathered up your bags and ducked into the alley between the buildings, slipping past trash bags and old graffiti, trying not to tread in any unidentifiable puddles. Off in the distance you could hear an emergency siren start to wail, hopefully signaling that whatever the space robots were quarreling over this time would be settled sooner rather than later. All you really wanted was to get back home without any further interruptions.

But as you emerged from the back alley entrance and found yourself hoisted into the air by two massive metal hands around your waist, you'd decided to kiss that chance goodbye. Your bags clattered to the ground once more, bread and fruit and canned goods spilling out around a familiar pair of pedes. When you glanced up to his faceplate, the glow of his visor was nearly enough to blind you.

“Rumble?!”

His visor dimmed enough that you could see his intake, which had just before been pulled into a maniacal grin, drop open in visible shock. Then, as quick as it came, it was gone, replaced instead with a tight, furrowed frown. 

“What’re you doin’ out here?” He barked.

“Buying food. Or trying to, at least.” You glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Ravage pounce on that yellow Autobot with the horns that was always showing up in the news. “You guys having a little play date or something?”

He scoffed out a laugh, quickly stifling it with a clearing of his vents. “Whatsit matter to ya? Didn't think you cared dat much about lil’ old me.”

“Rumble, what…?” Was he seriously pouting? Or maybe trying to guilt trip you? For what, making him cum? “What are you even talking about? I haven't seen you in like, two weeks.”

“Aww, real funny! You know what I mean! I let you poke around in my chassis and run up my charge, an’ after that it's radio silence? Whaddya humans call it… ghosting? Make a mech feel like second-rate shareware, why don't ya?”

You blinked at him once, twice, mind spinning as you tried to process his words.

“Are you- are you mad I didn't call you?”

His optic lights beamed as he bristled, armor flaring with a hiss before clamping tight back to his frame. “I told you to comm me!”

“Rumble, I don't have your number! I couldn't call you even if I wanted to!”

His grip went slightly slack as he stared at you, leaving you dangling from your armpits like a cat. 

“I… I hailed you my frequency. In da EM field.”

“Humans don't have… whatever that is. Do you have a phone number?”

He stared at you again, much longer this time as the discordant crashing of giant metal men continued in the background. Then, with a sudden jolt, you were slipping free of his fingers as he dropped you unceremoniously to the pavement. It wasn't a far fall, just enough to make your feet tingle upon landing. When you looked up you saw he had both servos covering his faceplate, a string of muffled curses eking out between the digits.

Your mind was reeling. He actually wanted you to call him? To… repay the favor? Heat pooled in the pit if your stomach as your mind conjured up wicked memories of his stifled gasps and whimpers, how he’d squirmed beneath you as you prodded around his spark chamber. How behind all the billowing and smashing and Brooklyn-accented bravado, when you got down to the core of him, he was actually kind of… cute.

“You- just- I don’t- Get outta here! Go on, scram! Before you get stomped on or somethin’!” His face plate was flushed and glowing as he shooed at you. You would go, that was certain, you really didn't want to get stepped on after all. But first you were going to say something potentially risky, deeply embarrassing, and undoubtedly very, very stupid.

“Come over.”

His optics shuttered, flickering for a moment as he stared down at you, frozen.

“What?”

“Not right now. Tonight. When you guys are done getting wailed on? Come over.”

He opened his intake, then closed it. When he opened it a second time you caught a wisp of steam slipping through the gap in his dentae. He swallowed, hard. He never stopped staring at you.

“...Y-Yeah. Yeah. Awright. I'll be there.”

“Cool. Watch out for the yellow guy.”

“Huh-HGGRRK!?!” You stumbled back a few steps just in time for the Autobot to chuck Ravage directly into Rumble’s helm, sending him crashing into the brick wall beside you.

“Sorry! Are you alright?” The little Autobot called. “You should probably get out of here!”

He didn't have to tell you twice.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The news was just wrapping up their coverage on the ‘latest Decepticon assault’ when you heard a rap on your warehouse’s roll-up door. There wasn't much to see peering out the window, the street only haphazardly illuminated by old street lights. Not that you really needed to look, there was only one guest you were expecting at this time of night anyway. 

You'd stopped at home first, mainly to take a shower and put on something that wasn’t a pair of mechanic’s overalls. But for some reason the nerves hadn't hit you until right now. You clamped down on the prickle of… anxiety? Excitement? Somewhere between the two? As you pulled the strap at the base of the roll-up, the groan of shifting metal slowly gave way to reveal…

“Are you wearing a bowtie?”

“Not bad, eh? Don't say I never cleaned up or nothin’. Here.” As Rumble stepped from the dark street into the light of the warehouse he pulled something from his subspace: a large, green bottle that he offered to you pinched between two fingers. A bottle of wine. Judging by the label, an expensive bottle of wine.

“Where did you get this?” You turned the bottle over twice in your grip, scanning the details on the back. French Merlot, aged… fifteen years? Holy shit.

“Dat fancy Italian place on the corner of Fourth and Vine! What, ya don't like it?”

“I didn't say that!” Rumble positively beamed as you clutched the bottle. “I just didn't expect it, is all. Are you… wining and dining me right now?”

“Is dat a good thing or a bad thing? Your human movies said you’re ‘sposed to bring a little somethin’ somethin’ before, y’know,” There was a sly, lopsided charm to his grin as he pulled the roll-up back down with his pede, clanking shut behind him, “Before you let me run your charge for a change.”

“You know, you don't have to try so hard to im…press… me.” You trailed off, staring down at the bottle in your hands, then back up to him, then back at the bottle, then him again. When you made eye contact with him the slyness seemed to falter a bit, leaving behind something softer in his smile. Something a little more vulnerable.

 How did it take this long for it to click for you? He was wearing a bowtie, for Christ’s sake. 

“Oh my God you're trying to impress me.”

“Eh?” A fidgeting servo tugged at his bowtie- which appeared to be made of… an old seatbelt? “Nah, you're crazy! Dis is jus’ what humans are ‘sposed to do!”

“Oh my God you are!”

“H-Hey, what'd I say about you and gettin’ big ideas?” He tried to deter you, but your mind was already racing a mile a minute. 

“Do you actually like me? Like, want to date me? Do alien robots even date, cause I didn't know th- MMPH!”

With a massive metal palm pressed to your chest, Rumble pushed you back into your adjustable work table, still sitting at a mostly upright angle from the last time you'd repaired him. The table against your back was cold, a sharp contrast to the radiating heat from his servo as he pinned you in place with his hand. His face was inches from yours as he leaned over you, visor now gleaming with frustration and embarrassment.

“You can't get enough of dis, huh? Like pushin’ my buttons so much?” His servo pinned you down just a touch harder, forcing the air from your lungs in a breathy wheeze. “‘Oh, it's so fun to get Rumble all flustered! Lemme mess wit’ his head a lil more!’ Well maybe it’s Ol’ Rumble’s turn to do da messin’ around, huh? See how you like it when someone’s toyin’ with your sensitive bits.”

He bared his dentae as he spoke, another hiss of steam curling around your cheeks. It made your hair stand on end. A hot thrill ran through you, and you fought the urge to let your knees knock together, confident that Rumble would be able to keep you in place with brute strength alone. You could feel his thumb smoothing back and forth across your shirt, and as he glanced down at his servo the glare of his visor lessened slightly.

“...Why’s your fuel pump goin’ all crazy? You scared or somethin’?”

You swallowed a mouthful of saliva, willing your foggy mind to function. “Not… Not scared, exactly.”

There were a few seconds of tense silence, before the wickedest, prideful grin crept back up across his faceplate. 

“Oh? Is dat so?” His other servo rose to grip the top edge of the table, fingers molding to fit the dent he’d left there previously as he loomed over you. “Well maybe we oughta do somethin’ about tha- SCRAP!”

His flirtations were cut short by the sharp SNAP of the stabilizing lock on your workbench failing under Rumble’s weight and flipping 180 degrees over. The world pitched and spun as you tumbled backwards, yelping as the table flipped and deposited you upside-down on the floor, legs sticking akimbo in the air. From between your dangling feet you could see Rumble peering over you with his sly expression wiped off his visor by one of concern.

“Slag! I didn't crush your little pedes when you flipped, did I? Cause I don't no nothin’ about fixin’ up injured squishies.”

Miraculously, you had managed to make it through that ass-over-elbow fall without hitting your head on anything, or Rumble accidentally pinning your legs in place between his bulk and the table frame. “I’m alright! Just didn't expect it, I’m okay.”

“Dat’s good. Here lemme jus’-” You felt a servo close around each of your ankles. With an effortless tug Rumble dragged you back up, tabletop tipping with you as it clunked back into its standard, flat position. Of course, this now left you with your ass and legs dangling off the edge of the workbench, Rumble standing between them with a servo resting on each knee. “Better?”

You sucked in a breath, trying desperately not to look overeager. “Better.”

“Ah, slaggit all…” But instead of putting his servos back on you (where you most certainly wanted them) Rumble began to scratch at the back of his neck, failing to meet your gaze. “Guess I ain't really cut out for all this… whaddaya call it? ‘Winin’ and dinin’?’ Can't even get my servos on ya without fraggin’ it up.”

“Hey, I’m definitely not complaining.” You attempted a jokey tone, but it didn't seem to do much to dampen Rumble’s current self-deprecation. You let the playful edge fall away as you dropped into something a bit softer. “I mean it though. You don't have to try to impress me. I mean it's appreciated! But, y’know, I wouldn't have agreed to this if I wasn't already happy with the bot I was getting into it with.”

“Heh. Even if I end up crushin’ you a bit?”

“That's a risk I'm willing to take.”

He barked out another laugh, accompanied by a coil of thin steam hissing through his gap-dentae. “Well I guess I better make it worth da risk, shouldn't I?”

He snuck a servo under each of your knees, pushing them apart as he rocked his modesty panel against your clothed core. You stifled a gasp, the ridge of sturdy metal almost hot against you, even through layers of cotton and denim. The slow roll of his hips made your own stutter up off of the table, desperate for further friction.

“Cute. You like grindin’ on my panel? Should I make you bust jus’ like this?”

Despite the warm curl of arousal pooling in your stomach from the feeling, you knew this wouldn't be enough to get you off. Rumble seemed to know it too, letting out a low, pleased chuckle at your desperate expression.

“Jus’ yankin’ yer crankcase, sweetspark. I got somethin’ a lot more fun in mind for tonight anyway. Dat is, if you'll start gettin’ dese off.” He hooked a digit through your belt loop and gave them an experimental tug.

“Mmh, what, you don’t want to take them off yourself?” 

“Oh, I’ll gladly take ‘em off ya. Just figured you’d take care of dis part here…” His thick digits slid inward, ghosting over the button of your jeans. “So I don't gotta rip ‘em off ya instead.”

You weighed your options. On one hand, the image of Rumble tearing denim apart with his bare servos as if it was no more than wet tissue paper was far more appealing to you than you would have originally expected. On the other hand… well, they were new jeans.

“I got it.” You mumbled, quietly filing the image away in your brain for later use as you undid your button and zipper. “Careful with th- Oh!”

With a sharp yank, Rumble tugged your jeans and underwear off your legs and let them crumple onto the floor. Shoving himself into the space between your knees, you could only barely make out the top of his helm over the slope of your stomach as he knelt before you, spreading your folds with two digits and… staring.

You waited for a response, a quip, the slow drag of metal over your slick hole, but were instead greeted with silence. Something prickled in the pit of your stomach as you fought the urge to squirm. In the back of your mind you vaguely remembered that you hadn't really gotten to see what Rumble was packing, and only now were you grappling with the truth that you were trying to have sex with a truly alien being. Would your bodies even be compatible? Was he weirded out right now? You tried to pull your knees together, only to be stopped by a rough servo shoving them back open.

“...It's rude to stare.” You muttered.

“EY! I ain't starin’! I'm, uh, admirin’. Dat’s it.” There was a similar tightness to Rumble’s voice. You shuddered as a thumb stroked the crease of your thigh. “Soft… An’ it's supposed to be dat pink?”

“Y-Yeah… that's, mmh, normal.” You shuddered at a wave of steam curling over your sensitive heat as he spread you again, visor locked on your twitching entrance.

“Primus. And you're really gonna let me spike ya in this tiny little hole?” You could feel his thumb just brushing the rim and stifled a groan at the sudden, aching emptiness, the demand to be filled. “I don't wanna tear you in half or nothin’.”

“It’ll fit.” You whined, core tensing around nothing. “We’re, unh, we’re pretty flexible. C’mon, Rumble…” You forced your knees further apart, pushing your hips up into each of Rumble's far-too-light touches. His motor snarled in response, a massive hand gripping the inside of each of your thighs.

“Slag. You're really achin’ for it, aren’tcha?” His voice was lower than you'd ever heard it before, deep and resonant and primal. “But I ain't gonna give it to ya dat easy, doll. Gotta make sure you can take it first.” 

He raised his helm for just a moment, just enough for you to get a peek of his beaming visor and his wicked, gap-toothed grin between your legs. Then he descended, lathing his thick, hot glossa up the length of your cunt. You choked on a gasp, his servos the only thing keeping your hips from rabbiting up off the table. It was hot, his glossa thick and sturdy and drooling with oral lubricant, a thin layer of silicon over sturdier metal mesh dragging up through your folds.

“Easy, sweetspark…” You weren't the only one enjoying themselves. Rumble's low, rattling groan pulsed through your cunt. You swore you could just barely make out him groaning your name but it was lost, muffled as he pressed his faceplate further between your legs and his servos shivered where they gripped your thighs. He was messy and all too eager, arousal and oral lubricant spilling down his chin as his glossa stroked you; slow, deliberate drags up your folds until you were left dripping. At the apex he found your clit and took it between his dermas, a teasing hum rattling throughout his engine that had you gasping, thighs clenching around his thick helm. Your legs jerked as warmth bloomed outward from your core, hips writhing against the onslaught of pleasure. Dragging across his back your heel caught in a rounded divot, pulling a raggedy vent through Rumble’s dentae as his frame twitched.

“”Mmpfh!~ E-Ey, watch da spindle. It’s sensitive in dere…” He groaned, face still pressed into your cunt, servos only dragging your ass further off the table in his efforts to get somehow even closer to you. But instead you dug your heel in harder, pressing into the ridged divot and twisting your leg. The internal ring jerked with a sudden CLICK CLICK CLICK, each pop of noise making Rumble’s frame spasm like he'd just been electrocuted. “FRAG! Primus, that’s- ghh!~”

“Feel good?” You teased, breathless. His optics beamed back up at you, an oscillating, glistening red as you caught another peek of his gap-toothed grin from between your legs.

“So dat’s how you wanna play dis? Don't say I didn't warn ya, doll.” 

You barely had a chance to respond before the noise was punched out of your lungs in a sharp whine as Rumble shoved a thick, metal digit into your drooling cunt. Achingly hard, unrelenting, he flexed it against your rippling walls as his dermas nestled themselves snugly around your clit. The hum reverberating through his frame coursed through your body like a wave, hands scrabbling desperately at his helm as the twinge of pain at the sudden intrusion melted into thick, syrupy pleasure. 

“A-ah, fuck! Rumble, Rumble that's good, that's fucking good.~” Metal clanged as you lolled your head back against the table top, no longer able to keep it upright. Each drag of his digit, textured and ridged and unrelenting, sparked euphoria behind your eyelids. You felt every muscle in your body starting to prickle with pleasure, radiating outwards from your cunt and pooling in your head, your stomach, the tips of your toes…

You all but whined when he drew his digit away, dermas releasing your swollen clit with a slick pop. “C’mon! Rumble!”

“You want it dat bad, huh?” A shadow cast over your rumpled form as Rumble rose to his full height. From between your legs you could catch a glimpse of silver and blue panels fluttering and folding away, one of Rumble’s servos hiking the underside of your knee and the other stroking the gap between his thigh and pelvic armor as his spike rose to full attention. Christ, he was huge, the thick metal rod draped across your lower stomach as he rocked experimentally against you. Each thrust had the tip drooling a translucent, pinkish fluid you remembered scrubbing from the back of your jumpsuit, hot and vaguely smelling of well-oiled machinery and pooling across your bare stomach.

Rumble, for his part, seemed to be as entranced as you felt, visor vibrant and flickering as he stared down at the place his frame rubbed against your soft, supple body. A harsh ex-vent punctuated each roll of his hips, steam coiling around the corners of his slack, open intake as he pulled back, letting the tip of his spike slide wetly through your folds.

“Dat’s it, doll… You're gonna get exactly what you want. Gonna get you bouncin’ on dis spike, jus’ beggin’ for it…” His tone was low, entranced, just barely tinged with desperation. He dragged his tip through your folds again, and again, covering your cunt with his thick transfluid, making your breath hitch whenever he slid over your clit just right. You angled your hips up, guiding it right over your entrance, toes curling at the promise of pressure. 

But before you could utter his name again, or any other placation or demand, you felt the heavy press, the slow, aching slide as he entered you. It teetered just on the edge of pain, muscles twinging at your inner thighs as you forced your legs wider to accommodate his bulky armor. And his spike offered just as little give, covered with a thin layer of silicon like his glossa but still distinctly sturdy, inflexible metal. Your walls rippled helplessly around the intrusion, stretched to a delicious degree as he bullied his way inside you.

About halfway to being fully sheathed in your heat he paused, visor hazy and unfocused, intake still hanging open as he vented steam. A servo was resting on each of your hips, but while one stayed in place the other slid up, up, bunching your shirt around his digits and shoving it up above your chest. There his servo paused on your side, his massive thumb stroking back and forth over your nipple, quickly pebbling under the cool metal.

“Primus.” He breathed, distinctly softer than you ever remember hearing him before (and oh, if that didn't do just as much for your arousal as everything else). Finally, his hips began to move again, that intoxicating ache only beginning to border on near-unbearable when you could feel your ass and the backs of your thighs smushed against his pelvic armor. For another moment he paused, one servo cradling your hip and the other your chest.

Then he drew back, and thrust home.

The first thrust forced the air out of you in a desperate, sharp wheeze. This didn’t slow him, not in the slightest, digits sinking into the plush meat of your hip as he jackhammered into you. Each thrust had the entire table rattling, the sharp clang of metal against metal where his thighs hit the dented table’s edge. His quiet reverence had given way to an onslaught of erotic babble, visor locked on your face as it twisted and furrowed in pleasure.

“Takin’ it so fraggin well… You’re just made for takin’ my spike, aren’tcha?” He scooped his servo under your hip and lifted you further up, all but folding you in half as he loomed over you. His dermas brushed the curve of your jaw, just below your ear, and you could feel the heat of his ex-vent making your skin tingle. “You’ve jus’ been waitin’ for me to frag you stupid, plug up that achin’ valve til you can’t think of nothin’ else.”

“Mmmh…~ It’s so big.” You slurred, thighs slick with sweat and slipping on his plating as you struggled to lock your ankles in the small of his back. His frame shivered like an electric current ran through it, clutching you somehow even closer to his massive chassis.

“Nghh…~ Yeah? You love dis fat spike, don’tcha? Say it.”

“I love it!~”

“You want me to spill my load in this tight little valve, don’tcha?”

“Please!”

“Aghh, slag! Y-You’re gonna get it, sweetspark. You’re gonna take it all, j-just-mmfh!~” His vents were ragged and desperate, thrusts stuttering as he neared his release. You squealed as his thumb found your clit, rubbing the swollen bud in rough, tight circles. Euphoria was buzzing throughout your body, the ache of your lower back buried beneath the onslaught of pleasure and heat coiling in the pit of your stomach and blooming out through your limbs, legs shaking, hands trembling.

Sparks exploded behind your eyelids as your orgasm washed over you, hips jerking weakly against Rumble’s. There was no give to his spike at all, thick and steady and unyielding as your pussy squeezed and pulsed around it. You felt a flood of something molten spill into your core, filling you nearly to the point of aching as it spilled out around the tight ring of your hole around his base. Rumble’s frame stuttered, jittering, a harsh crackle of static and mechanical chatter pouring from his drooling intake where it was still buried in the crook of your neck. Finally, finally, his frame grew still. The only noise between the two of you were your shared, harsh breaths and the low churn of the occasional car driving past outside.

“Mmmmnnghh…” Rumble groaned, shifting his hips to pull his shrinking spike from your core as he rose unsteadily back to an upright position. You could feel transfluid dribbling from your hole as he tucked himself back away- thick, translucent globs spilling down the insides of your thighs and hitting the floor with a splatter. His engine gave a little, stuttering snarl despite himself as he dragged his digit tips through the shimmering line along one of your inner thighs. “I oughta take a picture of dis…”

“Don’t you dare.” You kicked weakly at his servo, legs now tingling with static as blood rushed back to them. He barked out a sharp laugh, effortlessly batting your foot aside. His servo rested atop your lower stomach and gave a teasing press, and you shivered as more globs of thick transfluid drooled from your cunt. “Jerk.”

“Eyy, you love it!”

“Unfortunately.” There was no real bite to your tone, you could tell by the way Rumble grinned. “Think you can give me a hand getting over to the bathroom before my knees give out?”

“Depends. Does dat count as you owin’ me a favor?”

[enviedear]

i've been going solo now ⟶ ben solo

description ⌙ when you get a distress signal from your dad and his life-long goon you're quick to try and come to their rescue. only problem? so is ben solo.

pairing ⌙ smuggler!ben solo x f!reader

warnings ⌙ childhood crush/frenemies turned adults with horrible communication skills, reader is the daughter of lando (biologically or not you decide), ben is a jerk, reader is a brat, petty arguments, forced proximity trope, inner conflict all the time, han and lando are just two pals getting into serious issues that their kids have to fix don't mind them (they're just mentioned), most likely incorrect knowledge of the falcon & starship parts, smuggler!ben solo au because that's canon to me, ben calls reader kid (affectionate, kinda), typos probabaly

word count ⌙ 4.1k

— request | masterlist

i just think ben solo is very much solo by future coded and i wanted to write about smuggler!ben and his smug attitude. special thanks to @crucifiedfaerie for letting me gush over this idea constantly in our dms <3

you never had the stomach for killing— the thought of it or the act itself. the notion of ending someone's life has always been abhorrent to you, leaving a sour sensation in your mouth that lingers long after the deed is done. but right now, you sit, filled with a growing and seemingly unstoppable rage that practically demands blood.

"don't even think about jumping into hyperspace, solo!" your voice is loud but erratic.

the black-haired man piloting the ship gives you a side eye, "and waste hours getting there? sure thing, kid."

you grip the co-pilot seat as hard as possible as he sends the absolutely geriatric ship into lightspeed. the force of it sends your head back onto the headrest, and you screw your eyes shut until the motion of the ship stills.

you've been flying with ben solo on the millennium falcon for a day and a half now, and this isn't even the first time you've wanted to kill him.

no, you'd harbored a hatred for ben solo for as long as you could remember. when you were little your father frequently left you in the care of the organa-solo's. any trip too risky for you to follow him on had you spending time on chandrila han and leia— and ben.

he was a few years older than you and so insufferable - spoiled rotten and full of mischief. the two of you would inevitably end up in scuffles over something, whether it be who got to shower first or which holovid show to watch. you often wondered how your father, han, or leia had managed to handle both of you. a hardheaded pair of troublemakers that needed little excuse to start bickering with one another.

but beneath it all, there had been another layer to your complex relationship with ben solo. even though you feigned anger whenever near him, deep down there had been an admiration growing since those early days spent together. your naive heart fluttered when he would absentmindedly flash his ever-present smirk in your direction. but you'd never admit or act upon any such feelings.

naviagting your crush had been difficult at first. especially having lando calrissian as a parent. you were forced to spend weeks around the source of your teen angst because of your father.

what use is a dad that can sweet-talk a jablogian if he can't fix your unwanted crush on his best friend's son.

you've cursed at his image in your mind every time you look at your ridiculous companion. if not for him, you wouldn't be with ben right now— you'd have never had the displeasure of his company.

you got away from the young solo, and most everyone else, for a good five years, hopping from planet to planet, picking up any honest work. which usually meant boring work— factory jobs, service stuff, a few instances of babysitting.

your life without ben solo is predictable and a little boring.

but you'd rather be bored than deal with the recklessness that becomes your life every time you see the smuggler.

but here you sit beside him, forced to spend an unknown amount of days with him until the both of you find your idiotic fathers.

you had gotten a rouge comm-link message from your dad just days ago. he sounded fine, voice still leisurely and warm, but it was his words that were worrisome, "han's got us in a bit of trouble, little star. would you mind coming to help your old man out? we're somewhere in the trilon sector— i'd try batuu first!"

when you got the message, your mind had gone into autopilot. you had rushed to comm leia, which had been a fatal mistake, as she had ordered her son to pick you up and accompany you. so now you're here, stuck with ben solo and his frightening flying.

"you know, dad should have warned me i'd be flying with a coward." ben's lips are curved into a grin, as usual with his teasing.

you whip your head in his direction, eyes ablaze, "well my father should have warned me that you've gotten even more annoying, somehow."

ben narrows his eyes, a stupid smirk still plastered to his face, "whatever you say, kid."

you feel your blood go hot, why he decided to start calling you kid, you didn't know, but you do know you hate it.

ben's barely your senior, only twenty-three years of age in comparison to your twenty. besides he behaves like an out-of-hand teen away.

"stop calling me that." you groan.

ben chuckles, "aw, what's the matter, kid? tired of following orders already?"

you grit your teeth, the way he talks down to you will forever get under your skin, "i don't take orders from you, solo."

"sure you do. you're on my ship, remember?" ben retorts, his eyes focused on the coordinates displayed to his left.

you cross your arms over your chest, "we're supposed to be working together to find han and my father and get them out of trouble, not bickering like children."

ben rolls his eyes, "it's not my fault you're so uptight."

you take a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down. you can't afford to lose your temper and start a fight, not when you're relying on him to get you to your destination safely. so, you force a smile, "look, can we just be civil? we're both here because we care about our dads and want to help them."

ben's expression softens a little, "fine. but if you start nagging at me again, i can't promise i won't call you kid."

you roll your eyes, "deal. now, can you tell me more about what's going on? my dad was pretty vague in his message."

ben hums, "same with mine. all i know is that lando got mixed up in some kind of shady deal, and now he's in trouble with a gang of criminals called the ninth sun. my mom's been trying to negotiate with them, but they're not ones to bend the knee."

you groan, "of course not. what's the plan?"

he shakes a stray black strand of hair from his eye, "no plan, just find them and go from there."

"lovely, that's totally going to work," you bite your lip, "oh and, it was han who made the sketch deal, not my dad."

ben shrugs, "and who told you that?" he rests his elbow on the armrest and brings his hand to his chin, "lando?"

you clench your fists, "let's just focus on finding them. no need to dwell on the semantics."

ben glances at you and for a moment, you swear there's a flicker of something in his eyes. something other than his usual teasing, mischievous demeanor, but it's gone as quickly as it came and he turns back to the console.

the ship hums steadily beneath you, and the silence between you two stretches on, broken only by the occasional beep from the controls. you fidget in your seat, uncomfortable with the unfamiliar hush. you've never been around ben so long without saying anything, and you're about to speak up before he interrupts you.

"we'll have to make a pit stop, i need to refuel." his voice sounds tired.

you nod, "alright. any nearby planets we can stop at?"

ben checks the navicomputer, "yeah, there's one a couple of light years away. i've been there before, it's not too bad."

"okay solo, lead the way." you say, leaning back in your seat.

as he pilots the ship toward the destination, you can't help but study him from the corner of your eye. he's changed since the last time you saw him. the boy who used to pull your hair and steal your toys has grown into a man. he's lean and toned with longer hair, still as sable black as ever. it falls into his eyes, despite how much he wills it not to, giving him a slightly disheveled look that you can't help but find attractive.

you rue the thoughts plaguing your own mind.

the embarrassment you used to feel over your crush has come back ten-fold. the feeling shocks you. he's trying to act all suave and mature, but you know deep down that he's still the same old ben who annoyed the life out of you. you can feel the familiar tug in your heart every time he speaks, and you know he can't have changed much over the years. not when he's making you feel just like you're fourteen again.

but there is something different about him now. maybe it's the way he pilots the ship with ease– no longer the boy who'd cover his ears ar take off, or maybe it's just the way his muscles flex under his tight-fitting shirt. he's almost mesmerizing.

it's clear that he's been doing this for a long time, navigating the stars all alone with nothing but his shitty attitude and perfect hair. you find yourself marveling over him, sure and smooth, his hands deftly moving over the controls.

ever the realist, you try to shake off the feeling, but it's proving difficult. you feel a strange urge to preserve your current addiction.

as you watch him fly, you feel a fixation building within you. it's a sentiment you haven't felt in years, not felt since the last time you saw him.

you try to push the feeling down, knowing that it's not the time to have those kinds of thoughts. you're supposed to be focused on finding your fathers and not getting killed by some lethal syndicate, not lusting after your childhood nemesis.

you feel wrong stealing glances at him, trying to understand what's changed and why you're feeling this way. you're towing a dangerous, line. especially if those feelings are inspired by ben organa-solo.

finally, after what feels like hours, you arrive at the refueling station. as soon as ben lands the ship, you stretch your legs inside the falcon, looking out at the new scenery. the planet is bathed in the evening light, and the scene around you is wide awake. the station itself is a bustling hub of activity, with all kinds of alien species milling about.

ben leads the way to the fueling station, where he begins filling up the ship's tanks. you stand by the ship's entrance, people-watching. your eyes find ben's figure again, and you let them stall. when he looks your way, you advert your gaze and step out of the falcon, swiftly approaching him.

the evening air is cool as it hits your skin. this planet is a strange one, with vibrant purple plants and thick, white fog swirling around. but you don't pay too much attention to it, your eyes are locked on ben.

he's leaning against the ship, checking over the fuel meter with a frown on his face. you walk over to him and clear your throat, expecting to get his attention.

he looks up at you, eyes meeting your own. you feel your heart skip a beat, and you curse yourself for being soft for him.

"you know, you didn't have to follow me out here." he mumbles, hand coming to brush the hair from his eyes.

you hum, "i didn't have anything better to do."

he ignores you and looks back at the fuel gauge, his eyebrows furrow, "i found something for you to do." his voice is monotone, but you're all too familiar with the subtle cut of annoyance within.

"what does that mean?" you own voice comes out a bit too anxious.

ben groans before looking at you, "one of the damn tanks has a leak— i told chewie to fix that weeks ago." he follows up his words with a few curses before kicking the faulty gas tank.

you roll your eyes, "can't we just get another one? i'm sure if we go inside someone would know where we could get another one."

"the problem isn't finding one," he tsks at you, "the problem is that this tank has been leaking fuel into the beacon finder. without that, we're never finding our dear old dads."

your heart sinks. you had been so sure that you would find your dad quickly, but now it looks like that might not be the case. "so, what do you suggest we do?" you ask, crossing your arms over your chest.

"i'll have to fix the beacon," he sighs, "luckily i have the tools for it, but i need to find one more part, and with the sun setting soon…" he trails off, letting his silence complete the sentence for him.

you take in a deep breath at his implication. you can tell what he is suggesting without explicitly stating it.

you will be stuck on this planet with him tonight and forced to share the same cramped room. you thank god for separate cots, at least.

you try to ignore the warmth creeping up your ears, but you know that it's a losing battle. you haven't shared a room with ben solo since you were kids, endless unwilling sleepovers at each other's houses. but those instances were filled with innocent pranks and arguments, not the tension and longing glances you've found yourself giving him.

"alright," you say, trying to keep your voice even, "we'll just get the part and fix the beacon. the faster we fix this, the faster we can find our fathers and get back to our lives." you move towards the entrance of the fueling station, wanting to put space between you and ben.

"you mean so you can get back to your life." he calls out to you, and you look back at him only to be met with contempt in his brown eyes, "the one where you avoid me."

you give him a sharp eye roll before making your way toward a small gaggle of vendors, much more interested in finding this part. ben follows closely behind you, and you can feel the weight of his stare on the back of your head.

you're at a loss as to why ben solo would ever care that you've been avoiding him for the last five years. the ben you remember would've never batted an eye. when did that change?

you find a vendor selling the part that ben needs, and you both split the payment before heading back to the falcon. ben sets to work on the beacon, and you sit nearby, supposedly looking over the coordinates but mostly watching him work.

there's an abnormal sense of calm that fills you as you watch him. concentration is etched on his face, lips bitten bright red. you can't help but admire him, not for the sake of not trying.

you're brought back to reality when he starts cursing under his breath, "what's wrong?" you ask, moving closer to him.

"this damn thing won't budge," he grunts, trying to pry apart two pieces of the beacon.

you move to his side, peering down at the device. his breath is hot on your cheek, and you feel an urge to shiver. trying to focus on the task at hand you take a few breaths.

your eyes keep drifting to his lips, the way they move when he curses. you shake your head, trying to clear the inappropriate thoughts from your mind. "let me help," you offer, reaching for one of the tools he's using.

he hands it to you, and you lean in closer, your sides pressed together as you work the tool. you can feel his heat exuding into you, a warmth that isn't just from the planet's humid air. you try to focus, but it's becoming increasingly difficult. every time he moves, you catch a whiff of his scent, musky and rich, and your mind starts to wander to places it shouldn't.

finally, after what feels like an eternity, the piece pops free, and ben lets out a sigh of relief. he turns to you, a small smile on his face, and you can't help but smile back. his eyes lock onto yours, and suddenly, the air between you is charged with something foreign.

you let your tone come out sardonic, "looks like i saved the day. you're welcome, solo."

ben tilts his head, eyes narrowing, "you're a brat, kid."

"i thought i told you to stop calling me that." you want to hit him.

"i said i had a condition," he pauses, arms coming to either side of you, palms pressing into the falcon's floor, effectively trapping you against him, "a condition you just broke. so you're back to kid, kid."

you feel your resolve slipping, "you're the worst. you always have been, and i can see now that will never change."

he has the audacity to let out an amused breath, "if you're going to say shit like that, at least mean it."

your brows furrow, "pardon me? as if i don't mean that."

his hands creep from the ground and to your hips, you gasp as he pulls you in closer. if he were anyone else, you'd expect him to kiss you next, but he's not anyone else. so instead, he cranes down and whispers in your ear, his breath hot against your skin. "i know you want me," he growls, his fingers digging into your clothed flesh. "don't act like you don't,"

you're completely caught off guard, and before you can respond, he's pulling away from you and grabbing the beacon. you watch in silent horror as he makes for the falcon's exit, leaving you confused on the floor.

you sit there, rooted to the spot, your mind and body in turmoil. you know if you follow him you'd just be throwing yourself into a petty or embarrassing altercation.

what did he mean by that anyway? how could he possibly know?

taking a steadying breath, you turn away from your seat and make for the other side of the ship. you need to keep yourself busy until nighttime, and you know that there's some maintenance to do on one of the storage bays. when you get there, however, it's already been taken care of. your fists clench in frustration as you realize ben must have done it earlier.

you start searching around the ship for any other tasks that might help keep your mind off things and pass the time more quickly- checking cords, tidying up shelves or going through supplies lists so nothing gets low.

the hours seem to stretch on endlessly despite how much work you manage to do, and all too soon darkness begins to fill the sky outside of the cockpit windows. with a heavy sigh, you head back towards where you and ben had been working earlier. he's back now, tinkering away with the beacon as if nothing had ever happened between the two of you earlier— as if his words hadn't sent a tremble down your spine and confused the emotions tumbling through your mind.

you catch an expectant glance from him when he finally notices your presence. you're sure he's expecting you to say something to him. maybe he wants you to yell.

you don't say anything though, instead offering only a terse nod before checking the endless cords around you.

your fingers move quickly and expertly over the tangled cords, your mind too preoccupied to focus on anything else. but you can feel his gaze on you, burning through the back of your skull like a branding iron. his presence is suffocating and you know that if you don't get a handle on your emotions soon, you'll combust.

eventually, you're so lost in thought that you almost miss the soft footfalls approaching you. you turn to see ben standing beside you, his eyes locked onto yours. the air between you is thick with strain, unspoken words, and feelings. there are so many things you want to say to him, but you don't know where to begin.

"so," his voice breaks through the silence like a blaster shot. "when are we going to talk about it?"

you hear the depth in his baritone voice and it's all you can do to keep your face neutral, your thoughts collected, "talk about what?" you ask, even though you know perfectly well what he's referring to.

"about me and you," he says, voice low but insistent, "or we can just keep ignoring it. the tension seems to be getting us pretty far."

your expression shifts as you take in his words, the longing that had been coiled in so tightly before now coming to the surface. you can feel yourself flustering under the intensity of his watch but you refuse to look away, instead lifting your chin higher and narrowing your eyes.

"there is no us, solo," you say firmly, though your voice is riddled with a hint of something else entirely, "there never has been, and never will be."

ben seems unfazed by your words, his eyes steady and intense. "you say that," he says, his voice softening. "but i know you better than anyone else. and i know there's some part of you that actually likes me. i bet it pisses you off, doesn't it?"

he's right— it does piss you off that your heart can't seem to let him go. no matter how annoying you find him, he's beautiful and confident. and he does know you better than anyone. he knows what buttons to press and how hard. with ben, there's always the thrill of how perceptive he is— that he can see through the walls of anger and indifference you try so hard to build up around yourself.

you can feel your will crumbling under his words, your heart throbbing in your chest, but still, you push back, "even if there is something there, solo," you say, your voice shaking slightly, "it doesn't change anything. we're two different people living two very different lives."

ben smirks, "you don't know anything about my life."

you let your eyes roll, "as if the life you lead is some kind of mystery," you take a deep breath, "i mean, what's to know? you fly alone, smuggle, and rack up credits. that's your life, solo."

he hums, right hand finding a home beside your head on the wall, "you know me so well, kid. you should write a book."

you feel inexplicably hot, "maybe i will. a long book of all the reasons you piss me off."

he doesn't respond, just looks down at you for an uncomfortable amount of time. he pushes himself from the wall and you, twisting and letting his back hit the durasteel wall. his face is turned to you, eyes downcast.

"you know," he says finally, breaking the silence, "i remember when we were kids, it was always you who used to be the one to instigate. you probably don't remember it that way, but i do, and i loved it. you never hesitated. you were fearless."

you look at him incredulously, wondering what this has to do with anything. but he continues, "you were the only girl that would play with me, and not just that, the only one that could beat me. but then one day you just stopped. you ignored me completely."

you stiffen, unwilling to admit even through body language that he might be right. a pre-teen you found avoiding your ben sized crush the most viable option. you just never thought he'd care.

he continues, eyes unwavering from yours, "you used to look at me like i was the only person that mattered. and then, you just stopped. it's was like… like you had something to hide."

it's like he can read your mind because he reaches out and grasps your wrist in his hand. his touch is nice against your skin, sending a comfortable feel through your veins.

"i miss you, the girl who wasn't afraid of liking me," he whispers, his voice low and husky. "and i want you to admit that you miss me too."

you struggle to find words, to make sense of everything inside of you, but before you can speak, his lips are on yours. his kiss is hot and demanding, and instinctively lean into him, body melting against his in perfect harmony. his hands slide around your waist and hold you close as the kiss deepens, and you can feel all of the frustrations of the past slipping away. when he finally pulls back, his eyes are bright with emotion and a hint of a smile graces his lips.

he looks down at you for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "you want me to do that again?" he steps closer to you and cups your face in his hands, his eyes twinkling with amusement. you can feel the warmth radiating from his body and if it weren't for his strong arms around you, you would have melted into a puddle.

you nod slowly in agreement, too lost in the moment to say anything else. he leans down and brushes his lips against your cheek before pulling away completely, "then be honest. right here, right now. you like me."

you screw your eyes shut, basking in the shame of being found out, "i like you, solo. i like you a lot, but if you don't get off your pedestal and kiss me again i'll withdraw the opportunity."

he gazes down at you with an expression that's tender yet mischievous all at once. "i like you too," he whispers before chuckling lightly, you open your eyes to see.

his dimples are on full display, and for a second, he's the spirit of the little brat you fell in love with all those years ago. "c'mere, kid." his voice is soft as he pulls you back into him, lips meeting yours.

[foureyedfella]

☆I've gotten the case of a little art block so I'm sharing my headcanons on what I think the biggest injuries each fighter has had (apart from bring in the ring!)

Glass Joe

☆man what hasn't happened to Joe it's hard to pinpoint his biggest injury 😭 his biggest was probably a combo: twisting his ankle and then falling down the stairs due to said ankle. While trying to get him on a leveled area, Disco Kid and Bear Hugger drop him (butter fingers). Several bones broken and a concussion 😞

Von Kaiser

☆ Prank gone wrong.

☆ His students tried setting up like a Kevin McCallister home alone prank, miscalculated how bad the punching bag would swing, sent Kaiser FLYING-

☆If anyone wonders why the boxing schools' water fountain is snapped off the wall, it was him

☆ Dislocated his jaw, and if he is still or resting he can still feel the lower back pain from the incident 💀

Disco Kid

☆ He was in a paired up dancing competition, and his partner was NOT locked in 🙏

☆ During the climax of the dance, Disco Kid needed to spin mid air and get caught by his partner. His partner did not catch him.

☆Cracked his skull, but was more upset to find out they would have made it to qualifiers if it weren't for the infraction

King Hippo

☆Rogue Coconut.

☆This in itself isn't terrible, but it KEPT happening on the same spot on his noggin.

☆Severe concussion, can still hear the coconut conk when its quiet.

Piston Hondo

☆ He is honestly pretty careful and mindful when doing stuff so he probably has not had anything catastrophic happen to him

☆Unfortunately his carefulness does not account for those around him. He was caught in the Bear Hugger Fishing Fiasco.

Bear Hugger

☆The Fishing Fiasco.

☆Was on a fishing trip with Hondo, decided to try to get all fancy with his cast.

☆To be fair, the motion of his fishing line was cool- unfortunately a badly timed sharp swing while the fishing hook was still swinging behind him sent the hook straight across their backs

☆Both got stitches done

Great Tiger

☆ To the surprise of no one it would be Aran to cause his demise 💀

☆ He was doing an eye coordination test on Aran with his clones, with the goal being that Aran can still spot him after shuffling between the clones.

☆What he did NOT expect was for Aran to just lunge at him AND his clones at once, safe to say he found the real Great Tiger

☆Fractured neck, for the 2 months he wore a neck brace, he made sure to not leave Aran alone about it

Don Flamenco

☆ His heart 😢 por Carmen 😢

☆I'm lying, he was drunk one night doing the bachata on a flimsy table, it quite literally folded on him

☆ Everyone was too drunk to take anyone anywhere, so he just woke up the next morning in agony 😭

Aran Ryan

☆ Tried getting into a classic bar fight like he was back in the grand city of Dublin at the pub, except he's not and he was in America

☆Definitely got shot, but it grazed him so he clowned the guy on his way out for not getting the job done right, passed out after the adrenaline rush

Soda Popinski

☆ Also incredibly drunk one night, decided to put his juggling skills to the test with more and more stupid objects

☆ Curse whoever recommended him knives because he did just that

☆Several hand stitches, claims they're from boxing so he doesn't have to bring up how he actually got them

Bald Bull

☆ Early in his career when he was setting his persona straight, his manager was pretty adamant on having bull tied into it

☆ Did this really need to involve actual charging bulls at him? No, not at all. Was he doing pretty good wrangling them? Yeah honestly but you can only do so much with so many bulls

☆ Got rammed. Broken ribs, and a fired manager

Super Macho Man

☆ Unironically got into a "how much you bench bro" squabble with some other meathead at the gym

☆ He did NOT have the physique he has now so idk what he was thinking actually

☆ Tore his chest muscles, devastated that he ruined his precious pecs 😞

Sandman

☆ Actively chooses to gatekeep this information. Never shares it

☆ (but between you and me, he absolutely snapped his arm in an arm wrestling competition when he was younger.)

☆ It took way too long to heal and it pisses him off when he thinks about it now

☆ Little side note, but the punch out community has been so awesome here, I was surprised to find such a nice community when I started posting you guys have been so awesome 😁

☆ I love that everyone has such differing opinions from eachother and we're all like "👍" I love hearing everyone's headcanons

[thewritingofspencerrose]

Crumbling Down

carlos sainz x Piquet!wife oc & secret family

this is meant with no real negativity to cs55's girlfriend rebecca, and only discusses her in a slight poor light due to plot reasons.

Private Account

verity.sainz a perfect break with my whole world before flying is restricted once more by baby #4 🤍

carlossainz55 mi corazon ❤️

f1wags and we're back to race week with the first public appearance of Carlos Sainz's new girlfriend!

fan1 WHY DOES HE HAVE HIS EYES OPEN WHEN THEY KISS?

"Carlo," I can't help the crack in my voice when I say his name, "You said you would say no to them. You said you wouldn't abuse our desire to keep our private life private like this."

"Mi amor," The pet name hurts, something that used to make my body buzz with joy making me want to cry harder as I wrap my arm around my rounded stomach. "They were insistent, I've never had a woman come to the paddock outside my family and they say I needed to change that."

"You haven't gone with a woman because we decided to remain private! We didn't want to pressures of the world! So we got married, and then we had Carlos and Junie and then they were each too young to go, and just as we were about to announce the family, I got pregnant with Flora and now with Tilly-"

"Tilly? As in Matilda?" He asks, interrupting my emotional rate with a tone that is too close to joy. "You found out the baby's gender?"

We had picked out names. This wasn't how he was supposed to find out.

"Yes, she's a little girl," I admit, "The kids and I had a whole plan how to announce it once you got home."

"I can't wait to see what you have planned," Is his answer, the sounds of the garage around him getting slowly quieter as I can only assume he moves towards his drivers room.

The idea of him coming home after kissing her to kiss me, to kiss our children's foreheads, makes me want to be sick.

"At the moment Carlos, I can't promise the kids and I will be here when you get home," I whisper, the truth slipping out like razorblades. "I think we're going to go see my parents."

"Vera, you're not meant to be flying. We were cutting it close with out trip as it is," He answers, voice strong and commanding.

"That's what's upsetting you? The fact that I will be traveling and not that I've just told you that your wife and children won't be home to greet you when you return because you're parading around another woman? Because when Carlos and Junie put on the race to see their father they'll see her name with yours underneath?"

"Verity, you know that's not what I want-"

"Then why did you agree? Why did you agree after I cried to you about how the idea of you with another woman made me ill?"

"It was for a good reason," His answer is hesitant, and you can tell he doesn't mean it.

"I hope the reason was enough for you, Carlos, because I can't keep letting you love us in the dark. We'll be with a friend since you're so concerned about me traveling." He did have a good point on that matter, but I can't help but say it before hanging up, not giving him a moment to respond as I waddle my way to the living room, dropping myself on the couch.

"Mamá?" Carlos III's voice calls, his head of hair like his fathers sticking out from behind the hallway wall, "Que occure? (What happened?)"

"Oh my baby, nothing happened," I try to assure, attempting to get all the tears off my cheeks before he can really notice.

"Mamá," He prompts this time, sounding entirely fed up with my response as he moves into the room, such a serious look for a seven year old. "I heard you on the phone with Papá. What has he done?"

"Something that you do not need to worry yourself about mi mundo (my world)," I assure, pulling him into my side as he gets close. He curls into my side, hand resting on my stomach as he's done with his other sisters.

"Hola Tilly," He greets her, placing a quick kiss to where he feels her kick before looking up to me, his father's spitting image. "We're going to stay with Grandma and Grandpa?"

"No, you're father made the point that I can't travel anymore, so we're going to go see if tia Kelly and prima Penelope are up for some visitors, yeah?"

"I'll go get my suitcase and start packing," He agrees, giving me a small smile as he moves to get up. I know I'll have to repack his suitcase later, but as he runs off, all I can be is grateful for this little angel who blessed us when we were young and unprepared, much to my fathers chagrin. But my kids are who keep me together as I dial my sister's number, tears coming to my eyes when I hear her voice.

"Vera? Honey are you crying?"

"Kel, can the kids and I come visit?"

"Always. P will prep her toys and I will prep the guest rooms."

"What the fuck were you thinking," The angered Red Bull driver shouts across the paddock, storming towards the Ferrari drivers who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Max, what's-"

"This doesn't involve you, Charlie," The Dutchman silences, eyes blazes of fire as they move to the Spaniard who's practically his brother-in-law. "You brought your girlfriend to a race and expected that to go well with your wife? The mother of your four children?"

"Tell me you did not," Charles chimes in, unable to keep the words from slipping out of his mouth at news. He had seen Carlos with a woman earlier, but had only assumed her to be a new member of his media team.

"It is none of your concern, Verstappen. What happens between my wife and I is just that."

"And I'll respect that when your actions aren't broadcasted to the entire world and having Vera call Kelly sobbing saying she's packing up the kids and leaving," Max fumes, Carlos's expression dropping at the knowledge. He had known that she was upset, that she had threatened to leave, but he thought it was just that, a threat. Not that she would actually leave the home they had designed together in Nice.

"After this race you better fix your fucking mess, because I will enforce whatever Verity wants, whether that is keeping you away from her and the kids or not."

And the Dutchman storms off, not waiting for a response.

"Kelly, I am only here to see my family."

"Carlos, you've been in our family for nine years, by law seven, but I can promise you that if Vera doesn't want you here, you will not be entering this apartment," The elder Piquet daughter warns, eyes angered by the mans simple presence.

"Kel, can I come in?" Max questions, not wanting to answer her more but also hoping to embrace her and Penelope, any week without them feeling too long.

She smiles at him, having missed him as well but her expression quickly steels. "Not if you are bringing him in with you."

"Kelly," I finally interrupt, having enough of seeing her scold my husband through the door as I breastfeed Flora. "You can just let them in, but please warn Max that I'm feeding Flora," I request, hating the idea of making the man uncomfortable in his home.

"You're okay, Ver," Max offers, his eyes immediately meeting my own and not leaving as Kelly opens the door, him and Carlos entering. "Kelly and I are actually going to go say hi to the kids, I've missed P and all of them," he says, kissing my sisters lips in a quick peck.

"Is Flora done? We could take her with us?" And it's like Flor could understand her aunt's question, because she's unlatching on cue, allowing me to pull up the piece of my top to cover myself and nod to Kel.

"Would you please? She just needs to be-"

"Burped," Max finished, taking my current youngest into his arms, kissing her head as he moves her to his shoulder. "Between P and my nephews, we've got this covered. Just let us know when you're done," He offers, kissing the side of my head.

"Thank you."

"Anything for family," He just smiles, the expression falling when he turns to Carlos who has been frozen in place. "Say the wrong things and your ass will be on the street before you can say forza ferrari."

"Sí- I mean, yes, of course," His eyes meeting mine before his next words leave his mouth. "I just want to talk apologize my wife."

"Right then, let's go say his to the kids," Kelly prompts, the two walking out with Flora in hand, the cheers of the kids upon seeing their uncle and P seeing her father figure making my heart warm.

"Mi amor, you have no idea how sorry I am for agree to the teams request for even a moment," Carlo apologizes, his body moving towards mine, taking the spot beside me and my hands into his own. "I went back to the team, they've posted an announcement saying that Rebecca and I are not together, and I gave them a photo of us from our wedding."

My heart beat fastens, his eyes meeting mine as his fingers start to fiddle with my wedding band. "Why would you do that?"

"I am having it announced that before my start in formula one I have been madly in love with you. That over those years we have married and created a family in private that I love," He explains, a hand coming to cup my cheek, running his calloused thumb to wipe away the tears that have begun slowly running from my eyes. "I no longer want to hide you. We can keep the kids to ourselves until they're older, but now everyone knows I am taken by the love of my life."

"Carlo," I can't help but whimper, flinging myself at him in a hug. "Te amaré hasta que ya no respire (i will love you until i am no longer breathing)."

"And I, you, mi amor," He assures, kissing the top of my head. "I am more sorry than I could ever put into words."

"You've fixed the situation, Carlo, we can work from this," I smile, little giggles alerting us to our observers.

And wrapped around the corner, piled on top of each other, our children's heads and niece's head are stacked, Junie's under her brothers and Penelope's in between. It's only a moment later thought that Flora appears to be floating on top of Carlos III, Max and Kelly's heads slowly appearing as well.

"Estan bien mamá y papá? (Are you okay mama and papa?)" Juniper questions us, Carlos III placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Sí," Carlos Jr answers, pulling us into a sitting position. "Ven aquí nuestros amores (Come here our loves)." Their little feet carry them strong and fast towards us, gently climbing on top of us, minding my stomach as Kelly approaches us, now holding Flora and resting her gently against my chest with a smile. "We are okay, Papa made a mistake but he has started fixing it and I will be working to so for a time."

"As you should," Carlos III digs, making me smile slightly.

"We love you all," I remind, kissing eaches head, including Penelope. "And we love each other. No matter what, things will work out and we will love you all," my little girl giggling brightly.

"Nosotros tambien te amamos mama (we love you too mama)."

[starlit-crossing]

A Ghost of Yourself Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Flying Solo

---

Danny had lost track of the time quickly after beginning to fly, his stress ebbing away with the landscape that spend by. He tried to focus on the grass, the roads, the horizon, anything but what had just transpired. Every time his mind wondered; he would be reminded that he needed to not feel. His friends' face as he took off — nope, not thinking about it. How worried Jazz would be — what a really cool tree I just passed. His parents’ confusion and not getting to say goodbye to anyone — that is a lot of white vans up a head. Wait… Danny stopped midair above a state highway. Similar to a police barricade, white vans, jeeps, and motorcycles were stationed in the middle of the street. Guys in White were stopping the passing cars, scanning them, then letting vehicles through the state border. Lines were beginning to form and angry honks floating up to him. This isn't good… Danny fished for his burner phone, feeling for the metal at the bottom of his backpack. Digging it out, the clock read 12:45. He had left Casper high during lunch, which had been around 11:30, and he had left Amity around 11:40. Good to know it takes less than an hour for the Goons in White to make a move. He floated closer to the cars to see if anyone had a Wi-Fi spot open. I should've grabbed the Fenton GPS from the emergency OPS center, finally a Wi-Fi signal popped up under the name __Not_The_FBI__. Danny choked on a laugh as he pulled open his map app. He was going to need to avoid every joke and pun on this trip, or he was a dead man. Well, a deader man… wait! Bad brain! He yelled at himself. He had to be less than a five-minute flight from Chicago. Zooming in, he looked for a train station or a ferry… and there was a train station used for hauling cargo from the US into Canada.

“Perfect!” Danny exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air, only to hit something metal. Turning, Danny watched as a pristine white drone steadied itself in the air. Its camera focusing on him.

“Shit.” Danny turned to watch as the men below froze, then look to the sky. Spotting him immediately, he just waved as they began to take aim. Turning invisible and speeding away as round after round of ecto blasts lit up the sky. Nice going Fenton, he berated himself flying towards Chicago; I have two things I can't do: express emotion and use powers publicly. I've already done both! Like he thought it hadn't taken long to reach the station, gravely rails and signs directing conductors were sprawled throughout. He found an empty car, checked for any passerby, and phased inside. A flash of light leaking through the cracks as he returned to his human self. The darkened car was cold, with metal walls and doors. The floor was a kind of embossed metal, a crisscross pattern embellished the sheet metal.

“I should've brought a book or something.” he laughed tiredly to himself… “Damn it!” Danny yelled, banging his head on the car wall. It's probably best if I just sleep, I'll be over the state border by the time I wake up. He thought to himself, settling into a corner. Propping his backpack to use as a pillow, the cold had no effect on him as he drifted to sleep.

---

It had been a little over an hour since Danny had gone on the run. Sam and Tucker had decided to skip what was left of school and head straight home. It would be difficult to catch up with him, but they had to at least try, and every second that passed was a second wasted. They didn't have anything in mind for Danny being tracked so easily, but they would figure something out. They had to.

When Sam got home, her house was surrounded by GIW agents. Her parents stood at the door listening to a panicked Jack and Maddie. As she pushed her way to the front, she was able to make out some of what Danny's parents were saying.

“Please! Just let us make sure Phantom didn't leave anything here. Anything could be a clue to where he took Danny!” Maddie cried, Jack stood by her as she pleaded, an arm around her shoulder. Her parents shared a pained look as they tried to decide what to do.

“Maddie, we know your situation with ghosts is important. To your career and with your family,” her mother started softly, remaining in her polite and cheery tone. “But we can't risk involving Sammikins more than your son already has.”

“Not to mention when we let you search our home earlier during that wild goose chase! Left a large mess that our house cleaner had to pick up.” Her father chimed in, annoyed.

“We understand that, but we need every clue we can! Sam!” Jack shouted, seeing her as she entered the path leading to the door.

“Sammy get inside! You don't need to be pestered by agents as well.” Her dad called, ushering her inside the large house.

“Same, please! Have you heard anything from Danny? Is he with Tucker?” Maddie called, fighting the door as her mother tried to close it. Sam tried to calm down, closing her eyes and slowing her breath. Key word being tried.

“No! I haven't and neither has Tucker! So just leave the two of us alone and don't you dare try storming his house too!” she hollered, shoving the door fully closed. She sighed back sliding against the door.

“That's right Sammikins! Just because they risked their family with ghosts doesn't mean they can risk ours!” Her mother cheered.

“And sorry, Sammy, the house cleaner couldn't get to the second floor today, so your room's still a mess.” Her dad added.

“It's fine, dad. I'll clean it myself. Can I… Can I just be alone for a bit? Stressful day and all.” Sam mumbled, making her way upstairs.

“Of course, sweetie!” they answered, leaving Sam with herself. Once her parents were out of sight, she ran up the stairs. As she entered her room, she looked at the damage caused by the aforementioned goose chase. It looked like a storm had blown through, her bed and desk had their contents thrown about. Anything related to Danny had been pulled out. Ignoring the mess, she pulled over a chair to her closet and felt for the backpack taped to its ceiling. Once down she poured out its contents mentally checking everything was still there. Her clothes? Check. Money? Check. A letter? Sam pulled out the simple envelope that made an appearance in her bag. It was addressed to her, the whole thing crisp and clean. Inside a piece of notebook paper full of Danny's handwriting, nothing looked rushed, and it seemed he had prepared these in advance.

*Ring* *Ring*

Tucker’s face lit up her phone's lock screen, she answered the video call while reading the letter.

“Sam! Did you get home safe? I heard the GIW were swarming your house. Did you find a letter?”

He blurted, the room behind him burring as he moved.

“I'm fine, and I did. Did you get one too? Why would Danny write these?” She flipped the page to see if there was more, a hint to what he was thinking.

“I did, that was why I called you. Does yours say the same thing. Well, maybe not the exact same.” He rambled, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Shut up, Tuck! He wants us to stay in Amity? To abandon him and protect the town that barely cares he's here?” She exclaimed. Tucker nodded along from the camera.

“I know right? He's our best friend, we can't just let him be on the run!” Tucker ranted, “Can we? I mean, I know where he's coming from. We can't really trust his parents or the GIW to keep ghosts out. Valerie can handle her own, but she still hates ghosts. It will be hard for her to leave the neutral ones alone.”

“I don't know, Tuck, Danny even said we could tell Valerie his secret if things got out of hand and became too much for us and Jazz. I don't think he plans on coming home, at least not anytime soon.” she contemplated; there had to be something they could do. “What about other heroes?”

“What? What would they do?” Tucker asked.

“I'm not sure, I know we don't really keep up with stuff outside of Amity, but the Justice whatever works with the government, right? We could tell them our local hero is being unjustly hunted.” Sam suggested pacing the room.

“Sam, what will they find when they look into Phantom? That he's a wanted criminal, robbing banks, and threatening mayors? The media doesn't shine Danny in a good light.” He countered.

“But those can be explained, the GIW have files on Freakshow.”

“Didn't Danny wipe his memories with the Reality gauntlet? They couldn't get the whole truth, or they would learn his brain has been messed with through magic or martians.” They went back and forth.

“Then what do you propose we do? We can't track him down without others noticing.” Sam huffed in defeat.

“We'll just have to do what he asked of us. We'll watch over the town, if Valerie gets out of hand, we'll offer our help first. Say we helped Phantom with ghosts, Danny included. We can say Danny is protecting Phantom even now, and it will buy us some time to see if she can handle Danny's secret.” Tuck finished.

“She trusts Danielle, right? We might be able to convince her.” A moment hung in the air between the two friends. The reality settling in that they may never see their friend again. “Where is Danielle? She might get caught in the crossfire of this, being a clone and all.” Sam wondered.

“She's in Italy last I checked, I'm glad I gave her one of my old phones before she left the US.” Tucker answered.

“That's good… Which of us is telling Jazz?"

---

The train started to move shortly after Danny fell asleep. Four hours passed before Danny's body forced him awake, ghost hunting had ruined his sleep. He could hear Jazz's voice in his head talking about the importance of sleep for teens today. He checked the burner for the time and saw the numbers 6:05 glowing back at him. Pulling open the map he saw he had made it to Indiana, finally.

“Time to get moving, I guess.” As he spoke, he focused on keeping his voice even. The events of earlier, still fresh in his mind. The sound of the car's rolling wheels echoed in the empty car as he stood. Stretching to pop his back. He stuck his head invisibly through the train door, seeing the cargo station grow closer. Bringing his head back in, he readied to slip off the train. Steadying himself as the train arrived, opening the door, and running through the train yard as fast as he could without getting caught. It had been easier than expected, no one cared, as the teen bolted through the gravel-filled rails with ease. Once outside, he went searching for food. A mini mart was on the corner and a King Burger across the street. He couldn't risk lingering, so he made way for the minimart. The convenience store felt dated with white walls and neon signs, the floor was black and gray checkered tiles. Grabbing some water bottles, bags of jerky, and some premade sandwiches. The many sweets and freezy drinks were tempting, but the longer the food could last, the better. The place was deserted, only the clerk scrolling on his phone could witness he was ever there. After finishing his resource gathering, Danny went on the hunt for a gray hound bus stop, it would be the easiest way to get around without drawing too much attention. Looking for the longest possible route to the East Coast, he was left with two options: Gotham or Metropolis. Both had international ports and superheroes that protected them. He had always meant to look into other heroes more, find some inspiration or role models for hero work, but with ghosts constantly attacking the town and homework, he just didn't have time. Mr. Lancer tried to keep class interesting by referencing the things happening on the global news. Now if he could only remember what he had said about the heroes protecting the cities. Danny had actually perked up when Lancer mentioned that one was an alien with super hearing and other abilities. Aside from that, all he could remember was their names, Batman and Superman. I'm feeling a lot better about my hero name. He would have to give Amity News a break about Invis-O-Bill. Between the two, he was pretty sure Superman was the alien. Sam had done a report on meta-human rights and had gotten very passionate when she discovered that they didn't reference the ecto acts whatsoever. She had been so sure that someone would shed light on the act, accounting it to being unknown meta-humans being unjustly removed of their rights. A point she got stuck on was that Batman had all but banned metas from Gotham. Stating they should seek sanctuary elsewhere due to the antics of his villains. It had something to do with gas, scarecrows, and clowns? So, he could either go to the city where no powers were allowed, or the city protected by a super-hearing alien. The GIW might expect him to go to an alien for sympathy or to overshadow him in a power grab. Gotham seemed like the safer choice, even with the high amounts of criminal activity they seemed to have. He would be able to fight off most thugs without causing serious damage, humans can't normally through a guy through a brick wall like ghosts can. No one would question him being alone and sneaking around, he'd use his powers to get on a boat for Europe and keep a low profile while he searched for Danielle. He'd fill her in on what was going on, send a message to Sam and Tucker that he was safe, and wait to hear what was happening in Amity. So, Danny waited in line and got his ticket for Gotham. The bus was crowded full of people trying to do the same as him; to take a bus as far from one's old life as possible. He was able to grab a seat towards the back, settling into the stained fabric seats. His backpack between himself and the wall of the bus window. Settling in for the longest stretch of his journey out of the country.

Hello and welcome again! I hope everyone is enjoying the story. It’s been very exciting getting to see everyone’s comments and enjoyment for the fic. Don’t worry about the lack of Bat family, I am getting their as fast as I can. I wanted to revisit Amity a little bit to wrap up a few loose ends. I’m not sure at what point in the DP timeline I am placing this, but it will most likely either be prefinal of the show or post A Glitch in Time. Two very different time periods but both work with the general DC timeline I am using. As for the Bat family I’m more familiar with the characters themselves than the canon timeline. So, I’ll primarily be referring to the Batman: Family Adventures for the family and Young Justice for world events such as meta-humans.

I spent a lot of my time working on this listening to the Epic: Underworld Saga musical concept and got stuck on the song No Longer You. It’s so good and feels like it could fit Danny in some aspects if you go for a post A Glitch in Time ghost king Danny. Might draw something if I got time.

See you next week, byee!

Master post - Chapter 2 Prev. <<< Next >>>

[bumblesimagines]

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just the friend who's been pushed aside for someone new."

"You're always on their side, even when they're clearly in the wrong."

- Sarah Cameron

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just the friend who's been pushed aside for someone new."

"You're always on their side, even when they're clearly in the wrong."

pronouns:

After one hell of a chaotic year, it felt oddly good to attend a party on Figure Eight, especially after finally graduating school. The party felt more vibrant, more lively. Graduates eagerly drank, smoked, and danced the night away while the freshman's and sophomores talked about their future graduations.

"You applied to Brown?"

"And Dartmouth! My parent's are legacies from both schools so they said they'll help me get into whichever I want." The girl shrugged and took another swing of her drink, crinkling her nose at the taste and shivering. "What about you?"

"I was thinking Chapel Hill."

"Ah, close to home then?"

"Yeah-"

"Well, if it isn't the almighty (Y/N)! You are a hard person to reach nowadays." You pursed your lips as a rather drunk Sarah staggered up to you, squeaking softly when she nearly tripped over her untied shoe laces. She giggled under her breath and brushed her hair out of her face, lifting her head to look at you and the girl. "Oh, don't mind me. I'm just the friend who's been pushed aside for someone new it seems."

"You're drunk, Sarah." You sighed and set your cup aside, taking the blonde's own cup from her hand and dumping its contents in the nearby plant.

"No, I'm fine! I've just been wondering where the hell you've been!" Sarah staggered again and you quickly slipped an arm around her waist, dismissing Topper's offers to help and leading the girl outside despite her protests.

"You're making a scene, Sarah. Where's your phone?" You sighed, letting the girl slump on a chair on the porch and picking up her purse.

"It's the only way to get your attention." She spat angrily, stomping her foot on the wooden porch and leaning back in the chair. You shuffled through her belongings and tossed the purse back on her lap once you got her phone.

"I'm gonna call Kiara-"

"Why can't you take me to John B's yourself? You don't even make time for me anymore! I got back after being gone for a month stranded on an island, and not even a word from you." Her eyes suddenly filled with tears. "I needed you-"

"Big talk from someone who ignored me so she could spend time with a boy." You snapped and she jerked back, tears tumbling down her tan cheeks. "Everything you've done since getting with him has been for him. Your whole world spins around that dumb as rocks Pogue! I needed you and you weren't there. And then when you were there, you didn't give a flying fuck what I thought. You're always on his side, even when he's clearly in the wrong. So, yeah, Sarah.. I decided to put myself first."

"I-"

"I don't care if you're sorry or if you think you were right for whatever you've done so far. You made your choice, you've picked your real family. Even if all they did before you joined them was talk shit about you and get high. I'm done, Sarah. Stop bothering me."

[the-everqueen]

5 - Corinthian, Rose Walker, Desire of the Endless

9 - Donald Pierce, Ty Shaw, Steve Murphy

5 - go on a six hour road trip with (no car radio, you choose who drives), sit next to on a six hour plane flight, sit across from on a six hour train journey mm...once i placed the Corinthian i felt good about deciding the other two. CLEARLY gotta get in a car with the Corinthian. will that road trip end with me dead? yeah, probably. BUT i think he'd have a fun phone playlist. also he'd be the one driving, most likely, not because i can't but because i assume he'd have a much cooler car than i ever will. ideal road trip partner, imho. Jed obviously had a fun time!

Rose for the flight. i HATE flying, esp. "long flights" (for me, that's anything 4+ hours), i usually get red-eyes when possible so i can sleep. so i trust that either Rose and i could politely do our own things for most of the flight (also we're both on the petite end - VERY handy because, uh, sorry to her but she will be in the middle seat because i always get a window seat but at least we won't be cramped like every time i end up sitting next to a dude who's 6 ft and miserable). OR we could talk about books/whatever she's writing. i'd happily rubber duck for Rose Walker. if the flight is 6 hours, are we going to the UK? i'd have a bunch of questions for her if she's going for family history stuff, so long as she's cool with that.

Desire for the train. this is mostly because i assume any sort of extended trip with Desire involves sex and i'd be less squicked out about that in a train bathroom vs a plane bathroom. i do NOT trust Desire's taste in music, so no car playlist privileges. we'd have fun gossiping about the other passengers. if this is a six hour train trip through some part of the U.S., they'd be a fun distraction from All Of The Farmland (inevitable).

9 - watch a soap opera with, go to a play with, watch your favourite movie with soap opera goes to Pierce. that bitch loves a good telenovela, i'm sure. we could make it a weekly thing. he's got theories about where Vanessa's arc is going, i've got the latest chisme on his coworkers. win-win.

Steve Murphy is so...old-fashioned, in some respects, that i'd want to go to a play with him. OBVIOUSLY it would be something queer (maybe we just go all out and see "Angels in America"). unlike Pierce, he doesn't gab the entire time, and he buys me a drink at intermission. he's quiet and profoundly, visibly uncomfortable the entire time. afterward we go to the nearest diner and he makes awkward comments on the parts he thinks were done well. i eat a stack of pancakes and stare at him.

(even more ideal than a play...a musical. i DO think Steve Murphy would low-key enjoy a musical, even if he pretended it was silly. what musical would i take Steve to? the 2023 revival of "Merrily We Roll" or maybe a Dave Malloy thing)

i'm trying to decide what my favorite movie is in this context but regardless it goes to Ty Shaw. if it's something overwhelmingly sincere, like LOTR, he's definitely already seen it and goes into the rewatch with sweet enthusiasm. if it's something in the vein of "made just for me, horse," i.e. The Social Network or Challengers, then we end up having really intense sex somewhere around Act 2. either way, he brings beer/popcorn and i either bake cookies or smuggle a bunch of candy into the local theater.

send me a number and three names

[eaymtb]

To extend a metaphor: Writing for me is going on a road trip. The Plot/Plan/Research part of my brain is in the passenger seat with a stack of pamphlets and an itinerary of major tourist destinations we Definitely Have To See along with a secondary list of sight seeing stops along the way. Write, meanwhile, is in the driver's seat and is navigating purely based on the vibes. Oh, Plot can point Write in a direction, that's easy enough, but Write is figuring out how we get there as they go, taking detours and back roads to admire the scenery. And they actually work pretty well together. Write creates problems sometimes, getting a bit lost maybe or going out of the way to explore something interesting, but Plot really enjoys solving problems anyway, so even when Write takes the story somewhere unexpected, Plot can work with it and still keep us headed in the general direction of the next major destination.

Right up until these last two chapters. I'm not mad about it. Okay, I was for a hot second when I realized what I'd done and then realized that the next major destination isn't plausible anymore. I spent a week seriously considering re-writing one or both chapters and ultimately decided not to. And then I had to spend a bit of time being sad about not getting to go to this next destination. And then I decided it, fuck it, I'm going to figure out how to make it work anyway, and then I had to come to terms with realizing that, no, actually, I can't. Not and still write a good story that makes sense.

Which, that's the thing. Write knows what it's doing, more or less. It's heavily intuitive and I can't articulate the process for shit, but relying on it always takes me somewhere good, even if it's not where I thought I wanted to be. Where am I now is where I think I need to be for the characters and therefore the story and that's one of my key rules: The characters dictate the plot, never the other way around. And if that means killing this one particular darling plot destination that I've been hoarding since almost the beginning, then, well. It's going to have to die.

I sort of have EaYMtB arranged into loose arcs in my mind. The first arc had two major destinations. One was to confront Genesis with a Consequence that would thoroughly shake him out of his self-righteous self-pity. I had the events of chapter 10 in mind from the very beginning. The other was getting Cloud and the kids to Wutai. That goal, on the other hand, I didn't initially have any clue how I was going to accomplish, never mind what the destination was going to look like when I got there. It required some very intense days spent with maps, measuring tape, calculators and just so much research on various vehicles speeds while I figured out a route, but what that route ended up looking like in prose comes entirely down to Write figuring it out on the fly. 'They take a charter boat from Mideel to the Gongaga coast' became Smilin' Joe as I was writing Chapter 4. I had a day of pure panic towards the end of that arc when I thought for a minute that I'd written myself into a position where Cloud and the kids couldn't actually plausibly escape the Turks. Plot solved that dilemma by deciding 'Cloud has a PTSD trigger' and Write successfully took that and ran with it because not only did it solve the immediate dilemma I was having (that Cloud didn't know they were being hunted and would therefore have no reason not to stick with the original plan of sleep until morning and then bribe or threaten a fisherman into taking them across to Wutai, at which point all the Turks would have descended on the coast) it also added to the idea I wanted to build that Cloud's mental health maybe wasn't as stable as everyone would like to think.

The second arc had one primary goal and one secondary goal. The secondary was to get Genesis and Sephiroth together romantically in some clearly stated way. I had no idea how I was going to accomplish that either, to begin with, and figured it all out on the fly, too. The only part of that development which I knew I wanted to incorporate from early on was the conversation about Loveless and how winning the love of a goddess is easier than the love of a parent. Not a major plot goal, but an important character note I wanted to make sure I struck. The primary goal, however, was the confrontation at Fort Tamblin and I had been sitting on that one line, 'The only thing heroes do is die.', since the beginning, as well as the aftermath of that being the very first time Zack gets a POV. Getting there though, that was all in Write's hands once again. Plot had some notes: develop Cloud's relationship with the kids, continue developing the kids as independent individuals distinct from Sephiroth, etc. 'I want Cloud to encounter a language barrier' became Izayoi literally as I was writing that paragraph in the town square. I went back and did some research in order to name her after she mimed giving birth to Sasame. (Write gave me an amazing character with a small problem: what's her name. And plot figured that out in a way that ties them into some of FF7's development lore).

So I'm in arc three now, of what should be (might still be?) five plus an epilogue. Except, obviously, I've blown up the destination plot goal of this arc. Gone. Doesn't work. This darling is dead. And I've accepted that, it's fine. The problem I now have is that this arc destination was going to be the culmination of several things, not least of which was setting Lazard and Veld up for their roles in act four. Okay, maybe I'm not as good with this as I want to be just yet. It's, just, it was so much. I've been building up to this the entire time and now... Now what I have is a bunch of plot stuff that I know how works in theory. I have the lore developed behind it. I know exactly what's going on with Angeal's sword, for example, down to the why and how, which is also the safest example I can give because everyone knows there's something weird going on with it. But also the call to reunion is obviously going to be A Thing. And Hojo is up to some shenanigans, that's hardly a secret. But the itinerary is now in tatters, I've gone off road, the compass has broken, et cetera, et cetera. Just to really drag the metaphor out on it's last legs. (It can die out here in the desert with me).

Okay, I'm done with the dramatics. I'm not a huge fan of continuing without a solid itinerary of plot destinations. It's kind of scary! I don't know any more how I'm going to tie everything together. But it's also maybe a little exhilarating. I spent yesterday working out the immediate problem of What Happens Next. And I have the bare bones of the next handful of chapters. I'm also thinking that, maybe, I get to expand outwards again. Everything recently has narrowed down to Wutai, to Cloud and the kids and the Firsts. The confrontation and it's immediate aftermath. But maybe now I have a good reason to expand back outwards. To reintroduce the Turks in a more active way again. Maybe find a way to integrate some of the other characters like young Cloud, who wasn't supposed to be a thing until halfway through arc four, but now. Now I might have an even better way of introducing him. A way that I'm kind of excited about. Does it screw up some things I thought I was going to do? Abso-fucking-lutely it does. But maybe this is good, maybe this is better.

And, oh, oh fuck, I just had an idea that literally had me run from one end of the house to the other making squawking noises. HA. Okay, well, mission accomplished with this post. I was trying to get to a point of hyping myself up for the possibility of actually pantsing this for the time being. Seeing what happens a handful of chapters at a time. Reframing the plot stuff I have from 'I'm about to resolve some of this' to 'I have these in my back pocket, now let's see how I can use them.' (Terrifying. Terrifying. But exhilarating.)

[maddiehu7]

A New Chapter | Spencer reid |

Chapter 3

~~~time skip~~~

It's been a couple weeks since I've been working for the fbi it's been good I've got really close with the team...except Spencer of course I don't know what I ever did to him but he's acting like I killed his family Rossi says it's just because I replaced prentiss the girl who died before me but I don't think I deserve to be treated like trash just because I got a job but all that doesn't really matter right now as we're currently being hunted by a serial killer called "the replicator" he hacked Garcias system and knows everything about all of us and has been taunting us with it so the fbi has decided to send us all away on a "vacation" they called it basically flying us to a private place with no technology that no one knows about so we don't get killed by a maniac sounds fun right

"So they've decided we're going to Hawaii to a private villa in Honolulu" hotch says sighing Garcia can't contain her excitement

"Yessss let's get our tan on" she says practically giddy everyone smiles looking at her

"Since we're being hunted we have to leave in an hour and no one you know can know so quickly get home pack and meet back here and please what your backs" Hotch says looking at us expectingly we all nod and get up going to get our stuff I head to my desk to grab my keys

"Hey girl, me and Morgan are riding together wanna join us" Garcia asks smiling but before I can answer Spencer jumps in

"Can I join I left some of my books I want for the trip at Morgan's" he says

"Yeah of course, Annie?" She says looking at me

"Uh...yeah sure" I say smiling at her not knowing if it's a great idea now that Reid's going but agreeing anyway

"Great let's go!" Garcia says smiling from ear to ear walking to the elevator Morgan, me, and Reid following her

We all get in the car and head to eachother apartments each of us gathering are stuff we get to my apartment when I ask Morgan to come help me carry my stuff down

"Yeah sur-" Morgan says but gets interrupted by reid

"I could help you actually...if you don't mind" he speaks up looking at me I stare at him in shock for a second

"Um...ok" I say confused he nods and gets out of the car walking up my apartment stairs with me we get to my apartment and I open the door

"Home sweet home" I say to my apartment it's small but it's home with book cases and books scattered everywhere files spread everywhere books weren't I go to pack shoving everything I could find in the tiny bag, I go out to my living room carrying my bags when I find Spencer checking out my books

"Interesting taste" he says running his hands over the rows of books

"Thanks?" I say not sure if it was a compliment or not

"All fiction hm" he says looking back at me

"Can't help it I love anything not set in shitty reality" I say setting my bags down he looks shocked at my words but ignores it

"I'm the opposite I guess" he says is he....opening up to me? this is weird I think to myself when he turns to me looking awkward

"I wanted to talk...I'm sorry" he says running his hands through his brown curly locks I'm completely shocked as I look at him

"Sorry for what" I say secretly wanting him to feel more embarrassed even though I know that's awful but just being really hurt by the way he treated me

"About...about how I've been to you I'm normally not like this I've just been going through a lot lately even though I know that's no excuse" he finishes looking at me sorrily I think for a minute

"It's ok...now that you've said sorry" I say laughing lightly he smiles I've never seen him smile but it looks cute on him, I go to pick up my bags

"Oh let me get that" he says coming over pick them up struggling a bit I laugh

"What'd you pack" he huffs out

"Never know what your gonna need" I say shrugging he smiles rolling his eyes, once we get to the car Spencer puts my stuff in the trunk and gets in the car next stop Spence's apartment, once we're done with Spence's place we head back to the bau when we get there we all walk in with our luggage going to the meeting room where we meet Rossi, hotch, seaver and some new blonde I've never seen everyone looks shocked to see here Spencer and Garcia running to hug her

"Jj!" Garcia shrieks I look her up and down a little jealous Spencer's so excited to see her.....wait what jealous

"What are you doing here" Spencer asks smiling at her

"Well surprise I'm coming with you guys!" She says smiling back at him

"Seriously!" Garcia says smiling brightly

"Yeah the bau re instated me yesterday" she says looking towards me

"Oh hello I'm jj" she comes towards me reaching her hand out towards me smiling

"Hey jj I'm Annie" I say smiling back shaking her hand

"Nice to meet you Annie" she says I nod back at her

"Well is everyone ready" hotch says smiling slightly which is a new sight

"Yep!" Garcia smiles everyone else nods

"Let's go then" he says with a full smile now everyone smiles at the rare sight we all walk out the door with hotch going to the plane, im getting more excited by the minute

( I took a complete left turn with this story so I'm a little nervous but I hope you like it regardless :) )

[tma-entity-song-poll]

Battle of the Fear Bands B1R1: The Spiral

Red Signal:

"A song about reality just completely falling apart."

Silent Running:

"It's about being lost in the labyrinth trying and failing to find your way out."

Lyrics below the cut!

Red Signal:

Y'AI 'NG'NGAH, YOG-SOTHOTH H'EE-L'GEB F'AI THRODOG UAAAH OGTHROD AI'F GEB'L-EE'H YOG-SOTHOTH 'NGAH'NG AI'Y ZHRO

[Another minute of chanting]

And the walls begin to tear. Not the walls of the train, but those of a false and hollow reality, twisting in its thrall to Yog Sothoth, the key and the gate through whose cascading rainbow being the train has passed. Yog Sothoth who is the Bifrost, and whose dread invocation now shattered, drags them towards the roiling nuclear chaos of the mad deamon sultan at the centre of reality. A billion screaming squamous things approach, oozing and crawling through the shattered tatters of a sane world. All the doors are open now.​

Silent Running:

Stop 'cause you're killing me You brought me back and made me feel free Rowdy waves and your energy You pulled me fragile from the wreckage

Well, I got so lost here Machine assisted, I disappear Into a dream, you don't wanna hear How I got caught up in nowhere again (oh)

It feels like I've been silent running (silent running) Through the infinite pages I've scrolled out Searching for a new world That waits on the sunrise

I'm silent running Run-run-running (oh-oh-oh) Run-run-running Run-run-running Run-run-running (I'll be; ooh)

Run-run-running (back to you) Run-run-running (back to you) Run-run-running (I'm silent running) Run-run-running (oh-oh-oh; oh)

Stop or you'll make me cry (make me cry) I think it's time that I decide (I decide) What I've done when I trip and fly (trip and fly) The wave is taking me (taking me)

There's no way out of here (no way out) In the labyrinth, I disappear (no one here) Into the dark fleet that got me here (underground) How I got caught up in nowhere again

It feels like I've been silent running (silent running; make me cry) Through the infinite pages I've scrolled out Searching for a new world (trip and fly) That waits on the sunrise

I'm silent running-ning-ning-ning-ning-ning Silent running-ning-ning-ning-ning-ning (oh, na-na-na) Silent running-ning-ning-ning-ning-ning (I decide, oh) Silent running-ning-ning-ning-ning-ning (oh, oh) I'm silent running No way out I'll be (ah-ah-ah-ah) Back to you (trip and fly), back to you

I'm silent running Run-run-running (oh) Run-run-running (running, yeah) Run-run-running (back to you) Run-run-running (I'll be)

Run-run-running (back to you) Run-run-running (oh; back to you) Run-run-running (I'm silent running; back to you) Run-run-running (oh-oh-oh)

Make me cry (memories and triumph) I decide (this is the season of madness) Trip and fly, trip and fly, taken Oh-oh-oh Hey, yeah Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh Oh

[sandymybeloved]

we all know all doctors believe they are superior to all other doctors in every conceivable way, but if they had to pick just one quality they are stronger in than any other quality, which would it be

1: 1 thinks he's the sensible one, HE doesn't piss about in stupid costumes like his successors, HE takes himself and his travels seriously, HE doesn't go on stupid trips, it's very important he teaches his companions things and leaves whne it gets dangerous

he is wrong, being sensible is not a quality any doctor possesses in any capacity, hey doctor, remember the time you decided to impersonate a dead guy you found on the side of the road, literally just because you thought itd be fun

2: 2 thinks he's the most personable, the best at making friends, the others are all abrasive and obnoxious and it put the locals they meet off

he is wrong, every doctor both endears themselves to people or puts them off in roughly equal measure, his opinion is coloured by the fact doctors just can't get along

3: 3 thinks he's the biggest pacifist, he would only use violence when completely necessary, he wouldn't hurt a fly and always teaches his companions to prioritise kindness

3 is ridiculously wrong, he works for the army for goodness sake, nobody else does venusian akido at every opportunity

4: 4 thinks he's the smartest, not just among the doctors but among everyone in the entire universe, he's not got an ego, it's just obvious

he is wrong, other doctors have a lot more experience and knowledge to draw on, which is what 4 would consider being smart

5: 5 thinks he has the smallest ego, these other doctors are so full of themselves, not like him, he's so humble, he even listens to his companions sometimes

he might actually be right about this, well done him

6: (I've seen comparatively less of 6 so this could be off the mark but) 6 thinks he's the most pragmatic, he'll do what needs to be done other people's feelings and lives be damned

he is wrong, he is just a dick

7: 7 thinks he's the best at manipulating people, he can observe a situation and get exactly what he wants out of them, and they'll never know he's manipulating them

he's probably right, but do you know something he didn't observe, this isn't a good quality

8: (not into the EU so this is based off the TV movie and night of the Doctor) 8 thinks he's the one who can make the tough decisions when he has to, the other doctors have never had a decision as tough as him they would freeze in the face of serious trouble

so incredibly wrong, I mean really

9: 9 thinks he's the least cocky, he doesn't think he can win every time, the danger he faces is real and can get people killed if he's not careful

he's right about this, and all it took was the genocide of his entire planet

10: 10 thinks he has the moral high ground, he always makes the most ethical decision unlike the other doctors, he won the universe and now he gets to do whatever he wants, and what he wants is always what's best

10 is fucking stupid

11: like 4, 11 thinks he's the smartest, again, not. just. among the doctors but in the universe, but for. different reasons to 4, 11 thinks he's the best at solving puzzles and mysteries

very wrong, he only thinks this because he sees everything and a puzzle and a mystery for him to solve

12: like 5 12 thinks he's got the smallest ego, he knows he's just a mad man in a box trying his best and he shouldn't believe his own hype

he is wrong, being aware you have a massive ego isn't the same as not having one

13: 13 is like 2, she thinks she's the most personable, she doesn't go around implying she's better than everyone she meets because she isn't a dick

is she right? it's hard to say given she's much more focused on the nearest cool thing than the people she meets, but sure why not

[ocshipscanonwaters]

OCxCanon Week Day 3

Two prompts spoke to me on the day! Day 3

Prompt – Out In Nature Nigel Leeds x Isaac Lahey (MTV's Teen Wolf) Nigel looks around, this particular place is unfamiliar to him but it looks and smells safe. The boys have their normal camping spot they regularly use which is why Nigel is a little confused as to why they're here at this new place.

“Does it meet with your approval?” Isaac semi-jokes. Honestly he was a little on the fence about doing this. As resilient and strong as Nigel is, there was a part of Isaac that was concerned that being somewhere unknown may put Nigel on edge. Before they left this morning he accepted that if it did they'd leave and go to their normal camping haunt.

“I'll want to take a quick fly through later on but nothing giving red flag vibes. Here let me help you with that.” Nigel sighs as he watches Isaac try to carry all of their camping gear in a single trip.

Isaac jokingly scoffs; “I'm a big bad wolf remember? I'm tough.”

Nigel shakes his head; “Doesn't mean you got to be silly about it. Here...”

Nigel takes some of the items so they are sharing a more equal load. “There, isn't that easier?”

Part of Isaac wants to admit the truth, it wasn't the weight of the load but the volume of items that had been making things a tad bit more difficult than he was letting on. He doesn't want to admit that though, so instead he offers a lazy shrug. “If it makes you feel better.”

“It does but you're the one who knows where we are going so shouldn't you lead the way?”

Isaac blushes, Nigel is the one who usually leads the way. Not that he forces it, or even insists on it, Nigel taking the lead is just the natural standard they have fallen into. Nodding Isaac starts down what he thinks is the right trail towards the area they will be spending the next two days and two nights.

The spot they end up at is beautiful but it is far from the hiking trails, and the trek to get to the spot isn't fantastic which apparently has helped ensure that they are the only ones around. Isaac suggests that Nigel get them some trout for dinner while he sets up camp.

By the time Nigel comes back with a few trout Isaac has camp set up and is just sitting at the fire, he greets Nigel with a smile. The Jersey Devil stops in his tracks and openly sniffs at the air though he is currently in human. “Do I smell potatoes?”

Isaac nods; “Yeah, got some baking in the coals. They should be done by the time I've prepped and cooked that fish and I have some other greens here to cook in a pan too.”

“Fancy dinner.” Nigel says as he sits down; “I can clean the fish if you want.”

Isaac shakes his head and motions for the fish to be handed over; “I got it.”

“What's up? What's the occasion?”

Isaac sighs; “I was thinking I'd tell you after dinner but may as well talk while I cook.”

Nigel begins to feel nervous. New location, fancy meal, Isaac needing to talk about something apparently important? He can't help but believe that whatever is up it isn't good.

“So...I'm sure you remember when you first took me camping I had to warm up to the idea...”

“But you did warm up to the idea right?” Nigel replies cautiously.

“Oh I most certainly have. That's what I want to talk to you about.” Isaac looks around, really taking in their surroundings. “I never thought it would be possible but I now have a love for being outdoors and nature and...that's had me make a decision.”

Nigel is so lost now, his fears can't figure out how what Isaac is saying could be bad but they are sure it is. “What's that?”

“I've decided that I want to work out here, in the great outdoors, as a forest ranger.”

The relief is almost physically draining for the Jersey Devil; “That's great I-”

Isaac holds up the hand he's wielding the fillet knife with to get Nigel to pause. “But in order to do that I have to do a lot of schooling first, not doctor a lot, but still a fair bit. So I applied to a school that has what I need and I got accepted.”

Nigel jumps up and down on the spot, he's so happy for Isaac. “That's great!”

“There is a catch though.”

Nigel's joy catches in his throat and the fears return. What catch could there be? Does Isaac have to break up with Nigel for some reason in order do this.

“In order to do this. I...and I hope I mean we, have to move to Fresno.”

“Okay and?” Nigel doesn't understand the problem. His worries return and start to grow.

Isaac can see how worried Nigel is becoming, and he feels so bad because he doesn't think there was a way he could talk to Nigel about this without giving the poor Jersey Devil some temporary anxiety in the beginning. It's just how Nigel's past has him act from time to time.

“Fresno's population is about half a mill, a wee bit bigger than Beacon Hills' thirty K and we probably won't be able to head out of town and get away from it all till my program is done...in four years. I know you've had trouble being around the number of people you are in Beacon Hills at times so...if you think it will be a problem it's okay you can tell me. I don't have to do this; I can figure something else out. The last think I want to do is stress you out.” Isaac can feel his dialogue getting away from him, he's starting to ramble and can't stop himself.

“Let's do it.” Is all Nigel replies.

“Really? Just like that?” Isaac asks. He thought that Nigel would have some fear or hesitation.

“Just like that. It's only four years and given that as long as nothing bad happens we each have at least a hundred more years to go it won't be that long at all.”

“So you're gonna be okay probably living in a tiny apartment surrounded by tons of people on all sides?”

Nigel shrugs; “Maybe not at first but I'll adapt. I'll be busy working anyhow so that'll help.”

“Working?” Isaac doesn't understand.

“Well someone is going to have to pay the bills and you'll be focused on your studies.”

“I didn't want to assume.” Isaac actually hadn't thought about how they would pay for everything. He just thought he'd be doing a mix of student loans and living off his father's estate.

“We're mates. I know we haven't had the wedding yet but in the eyes of Jersey Devils you and I are already bonded. Me putting in the work so you can focus on your studies is expected. Just as when the times comes and I try to rebuild my clan it's expected you'll have to shoulder more initially while I focus on that. It's just what mates do for each other.”

Isaac smiles, his chest feels heavy. Having lived with his abusive father for so long, even now the instantaneous support Nigel gives him time and again feels almost overwhelming. There is a part of him, the part created by years living under his father's abuse that wants to have him question how lucky he is, how long it will be till he screws this up, or the other shoe drops and Nigel reveals who he really is. He pushes all those thoughts aside, focusing on the moment.

Isaac needs to distract himself. Turning his attention back to the fish he continues prepping them.“So after dinner I guess we can celebrate the good news?”

Nigel smiles mischievously; “Yeah, once the sun sets we can celebrate. We'll give the stars quite the show.”

Isaac can't tell if Nigel is teasing or telling the truth, either way all the doubts and fears are gone as his mind is now focused on...other things.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fashion – Casual Nigel Leeds x Isaac Lahey (MTV's Teen Wolf) Liam sighs; “Is it just me?”

“No it's not just you.” Stiles reassures the new werewolf.

“Oh not this again. It makes him happy.” Isaac says with a sigh.

“What are we talking about?” Scott asks as he approaches the trio. “Wait it's not the t-shirt again is it?”

Stiles raises a finger at Scott. “Yes! It's weird.”

“It's not weird! It's just a t-shirt! It's cute and he's cute when he wears it.” Isaac snaps.

“Buying your non-werewolf boyfriend a t-shirt with a huge wolf jumping out at the viewer is not cute!” Stiles states.

Scott shrugs with a smile; “It's kinda cute.”

Stiles sighs.

“And it makes him happy. Given everything he's been through since escaping to Beacon Hills...” Isaac doesn't bother finishing the sentence. They all know at least a bit of what the poor creature has suffered.

“It does make him smile and he is cute when he smiles.” Liam agrees. This apparently does not sit well with Isaac who folds his arms and glares at the newest wolf. Liam looks at Isaac with confusion; “What? I'm just agreeing with what you said!”

Scott inwardly sighs recognizing the unnecessary, reflexive jealously that can come with being a werewolf; a jealousy that he himself has suffered from numerous times without realizing it at the time. “Isaac, you're acting like I did when I thought you were into Allison.”

Isaac immediately uncrosses his arms and holds his hands out in front of him as part of a dramatic apology; “Sorry! Didn't realize I was being that bad.”

“I wasn't that bad.” Scott protests.

“Yeah you were.” Stiles nods as he speaks. Feeling a bit embarrassed Scott tries to change the subject. “I thought we were talking about the t-shirt.”

Sensing the chance to have a little fun with things Stiles gives Scott a consoling pat on the shoulder. “Why? It's just clothing buddy.”

Scott is so lost.

[onlyjaeyun]

jjong stupidly decides to "get even" with yn and make her jealous by going on a date with someone else or implying that he had a call girl at his house the previous night and so the tension around the workplace is so thick that the guys notice and even make their visits less frequent, neither want to talk it out because at this point they have had it with each other then one day they blow up on each other's faces screaming that they can't take it anymore (a few i hate you's thrown even though they don't really mean it) and just when you think things will go back to normal, NO, by some silent mutual agreement they decide to speak to each other only when necessary (jjong even starts shutting his door 😔💔) this continues until they need to fly to a different country for a business trip and later after a successful day, where he was able to strike some incredible deal or whatever, they're winding down in their hotel room balcony, drinking wine and the feelings (real this time) start to pour out and yn is like let's not go there, we agreed to be amicable for this trip only the distance between us was needed it's better this way and jjong is like it's not I've been a coward from the day that I met you and I can't stand the sight of seeing you with someone else and I find that the only reason I wake up in the morning or do my job well or stay in line is because I think of how I don't want to disappoint you (odd since she's the one w the praise kink but I think it still fits) so please give me the chance to do what I should have done months ago

but she's hesitant, she thinks he's only saying this because of the wine so she gives more excuses and he's like okay and in his mind he thinks that's literally the end of it, he had his chance and he's lost it forever, she says goodnight and they go to their separate rooms (you could make it a joint balcony so that it makes more sense) but she can't sleep, she replays the conversation until she can't take it anymore, she gets up and knocks on his door and he answers thinking she forgot something and she stands there looking at him with pleading eyes and decides that she should give them at least one chance even if it was for just one night before they go back to their "strictly business" relationship and BAM he pulls her into his room and kisses her and the rest is history 😁😁

-🩷

my dear pink heart nonie your asks have always been so well thought through and i wanted to indulge in this one so bad yet i decided against it last minute (but most of the chaps are inspired by it so thank you so much) and ngl i think if i went with this things would have been a little spicier 🤕 BUT i will absolutely take more inspo from your asks like how do i even thank you enough your brain is so big and sexy i wanna give you the fattest kiss pls accept

[bikepackinguk]

Day Twelve

It's been another long and amazing day!

Woke up early in another corner of a field just outside of Mappleton, with the morning mist rising all around. After a quick bit of getting ready, I got myself in to Hornsea before rush hour hit to be able to take in the seafront and head to Hall Garth Park to cook up some breakfast and wait oit rush hour.

I was joined by a very lovely old guy walking his dog in the park who also used to ride a lot, so had a great start to the day trading tales and watching his dog try and catch the house martins flying around the park.

Then it was back on the road, managing to dovert down some country roads to avoid the worst of the run up to Skipsea.

Unfortunately there isn't any other route in to Bridlington from the south so I had no choice but to head up to the A165 and slog it along in heavy traffic.

Oddly enough, it still felt safer than riding around Hull.

Thankfully Brid was reached without further incident, though I did have a brief stop for a nice chat with a guy on a very awesome recumbent bike on the cycle paths.

I was tempted to keep on with the next leg at this point, but decided to take the extra 12 mile round trip and hefty hills to head out to the lighthouse at Flamborough Head. And I am so glad I did.

An absolutely glorious view over the cliffs into the bay, on a truly beautiful sunny day. And I even got to see some seals playing down by the beach! Definitely a highlight of the trip overall so far!

After having a good cup of tea and resting the legs a bit whilst taking in the view, it was time for the next run. For most of the journey so far, the coast has a real lack of proper cycle routes along it, and I've been forced to make a lot of headway down fairly major or busy roads. It means making great speed, but isn't the most enjoyable of pastimes.

However, from Bridlington, NCN Route 1 coming up from Dover finally meets the east coast proper. I've been able to dip onto small parts of it previously, but from here it keeps pretty close to the coast all the way up to Inverness! So I shall be following that for a good while now.

That's not to say that NCN routes are easy riding, or without cars, and they do tend to meander somewhat meaning plenty of extra miles needed to go any distance. But what they do tend is to route along much quieter roads, through prettier scenery, and try and avoid the worst of the hills.

Whilst Yorkshire is very pretty, it is certainly not without hills, and despite the cycle route there were some real beasts of hills today. Some were gradual and just looong, that can be slowly slogged up in the low gears. Others are sharper and I have definitely not been too proud to get off and push when necessary!

Though there was quite a reward for all the alugging up hills today - going down White Gate Hill out of Hunmanby. One hell of an effort getting up it, but coming down the other side...

I think I swore a gooid dozen times in the descent, and that again once levelled out below. It might be the steepest hill I've ever ridden down, even more than the one in Scotland where I hit around 45mph. DAMN that was a ride!

whilst still on the adrenaline high, I carried on the route into Scarborough. Sadly I was mistaken in thinking that the hills for today may be over, as they continued eight the way into town.

By that point, dusk was approaching and I was getting into a bit of a flap for where to sleep the night, as big towns aren't exactly full of quiet hedges and fields. So I decided to say hell and book a very cheap hotel room, literally advertised as a single bed with no window.

I'm not sure what I've done to deserve this, but it does look like they were overbooked and for the next 12 hours I have a gigantic superking bed with a view over the town centre and sunset, as well as a JACUZZI BATH! AHH!

I'm typing this up from the bath currently. I may be here a while. Damn this was a good idea.

[laurentrvls]

My First Disaster

It was 2013, the year before I was talking to this guy who ended being the human embodiment of trash — putting it as kindly as possible. My friends at the time were in their final years of college and looking for postgrad institutes. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do anymore and had dropped out of college to figure it all out. I was working two jobs since I wasn't doing anything else, might as well make that bag! While in my self- discovering- longer- than -usual -gap- year I started running. I would run 5k's, 10k's, found local hiking groups. I was vegetarian since 2008 and started watching Vegan youtubers. I had a different Tumblr account at the time and I connected with a few people that were Vegan, Runners, and overall pleasant people. I started connecting with people all over the country comparing Farmer's Markets and asking for recipe advice sprinkled with vegan memes.

One of the people I connected with was a person from Los Angeles, California. A place I've always wanted to go to. After months of messaging back and forth the idea to visit came up in conversation. We had a lot in common and the vegan scene in LA was a decade ahead of the east coast at this point. So we decided to meet up.

(HOLD UP: PAUSE: I truly think that I am AMAZINGLY LUCKY to be here today. Meeting a stranger online was easily the dumbest thing I have done in my life (and I hopped on a random bus in Mexico not speaking any Spanish so I know dumb — yes I'll post about that incident as well) I AM NOT recommending anyone fly across the country to meet someone online, ever. Back in 2013 I believe I did everything I could to make sure I would be safe as a 21 year old women. We talked for months, Video chatted frequently, we sent each other pictures of our ID's I actually called the University they claimed to go to posing as an employer to confirm they were a student there. I selected a hotel and place to meet that was public and not far from a police station, Etc. Even with all this I still think it was a really dumb thing for me to do looking back on the situation now. Again, I am very lucky that the person I was meeting was not crazy and still call them a friend today. Please read my blog entries as entertainment and NOT an instruction manual)

So, we met up in November, I arrived at LAX and got off the plane. We met up and they offered to drive me to my hotel in downtown LA. When I got out of the car I checked that I had everything.

"I can't find my wallet"

"It's got to be here somewhere"

We spent the next 10 minutes ripping apart this car with no luck.

"Wanna go back to the airport?"

*feeling like the biggest burden on the planet*

"Nah I'll just explain what happened"

"You're oddly calm about this"

I go inside realizing the only thing that even has my name on it is my luggage tag. I go to the reception desk and explain my life story to this poor guy who can see that I'm trying to stay calm and says "I'm sorry that happened, I just need a credit card to have on file in case of incidentals."

I call my mom and tell her the situation. Geeze can you imagine your child is across the country and has no money, no ID and calls you freaking out that she's going to be forced to sleep outside in downtown Los Angeles. I call her also not realizing that she's three hours ahead of me and trying to close the store since she is a manager. I tell her she needs to fax a credit card to the nice hotel man and I can go to my room. She then let's me know she's A. trying to close a store and send associates home. B. doesn't know any place open that could fax something. C. Now has to figure out how she's going to send me my passport (For ID) and money overnight to California. The Receptionist takes the phone and said since we were members of the hotel chain he would get approval to just take her card over the phone.

I was fortunate that my mom was able to overnight my passport and a $300 Visa Gift card to my hotel so that three days into my trip I could do things that weren't free. With my laptop I was able to look up free things to do in LA like go to the public library which is was more elaborate than my local library. I randomly found a handful of quarters in one of the suitcase pockets and purchased those dry as heck granola bars (I think it had honey in it but I was desperate) My friend would visit and pay for lunch/ dinner all while attending school. Obviously when I got some money I treated a few times and ended up giving the remainder to my friend when I was dropped off at the airport. I went home and now had to replace all my cards, my ID, I had over $600 in cash, gift cards, even my SSN card and a blank check because I got direct deposit a few weeks before my trip!

So I get all new cards, curse the heavens that I lost the money. As soon as I get home I call my best friend and we meet the next weekend to plan our trip to LA together during his spring break in March.

Months go by, life's pretty much back to normal. My friend and I are planning our trip to California together when my mom texts me "Postcard on fridge for wallet". I was so confused. I was at work, I call "What about the wallet??" She responds "I dont know you got a postcard that says to call about your wallet". Funny thing was I didn't know if I should be excited, I already replaced everything, No way my money could be in the wallet. I thought, most likely they are just letting me know that they did their investigation and couldn't find anything after so many months of looking. I get home late at night no further details on the postcard that came from Texas.

The next morning I call. They confirmed they had a wallet that matched the description. They wanted me to list everything I could remember being in the wallet. I did not mention the money at first since I knew with all my heart that it was gone. I listed Gift cards I remember having, told her about the blank check and SSN card, "okay yes and what else" I listed all my credit cards, school ID, fortune cookie fortunes I had saved, "did you have any currency?" No. Way. "yeah I assumed it's no longer in there", "There is cash in the wallet, do you remember how much it was?" My mind went fuzzy, 'what is money?' 'did the planet start spinning faster?' I contemplated before saying "$658?". She confirmed that I was close enough to know it was in fact my wallet and asked for my address. I proceeded to tell my friend from California, my friends and family and no one could believe it. Probably should of gotten a lottery ticket that day.

I do still considered myself cursed even though the wallet was returned to me 120 days after losing it. When people start prying into my travel history they are bound to ask "what's the craziest thing to have happened to you while traveling?" Until very recently I would always tell them this story.