#I didn’t think I’d like him so much but I was very much proven wrong lmao

[koukouture]

No because Zenos encapsulates the charm of enemies to lovers so perfectly I physically CANNOT bc like-

Everyone else loves WoL for their bravery, for their kindness and courage; but not Zenos. He loves them for the ugly parts. For the blood, the yelling, the catharsis of it all. Like isn’t that so romantic??? People’s admiration is a fickle thing but he loves WoL for the absolute worst of them. There is quite literally nothing WoL can do to make him stop loving them

[vivid-dreamscapes]

Tw; Sexual mentions, cursing, undressing in front of him Themes; Light angst, comfort, insecurity Summery; You feel insecure and anxious about boring your boyfriend, and he reassures you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a tiring yet fun day at the vacation beach house your were staying at with the bakusquad, you had finished a nice, long shower with your boyfriend Katsuki Bakugou.

Bakugou was now sitting on his bed with a towel wrapped around his waist, leaning against the headboard as he looked over at you. You were sitting on the edge of the bed, also only clad in a towel as you looked for something on the ground. “You know where you even put your clothes?”

“In my bag, but I tripped over it and now they’re spewed about.” You said before smirking. “Aha! Found it!” You grabbed some clothes and made a few outfits on the bed. “Alright. Now you pick.”

Bakugou looked down at the different outfits you had laid out on the bed before looking back at you with a small smirk. “Oh I get to pick now? Why don’t I just leave you naked for the rest of the day? That sounds nice.” He said, a hint of suggestion in his tone, not so subtly covering up a more teasing hint.

“Katsuki!”

Bakugou chuckled at your protest—squeal of flusteredness? Or just an irritated squeal?—and rolled his eyes. He had obviously been messing with you, but he definitely would have preferred to leave you without any clothes.

He let out a small huff before finally looking over the clothing options again and taking a good look at them. “Tch, fine I pick. How about this one?” He said, pointing to the outfit on the far right.

“Alright bet.” You said, dropping the towel to get dressed in front of him shamelessly.

His eyes widened a bit, a small blush forming on his face as he looked at the now fully exposed version of you in front of him. “Damn, just gonna drop the towel like that, huh?” He said, his eyes unable to tear away from you.

“I’m not gonna move to a closet or some shit.” You said simply, getting dressed. You had a point. “I would only do that if I didn’t want you to see me naked. And you’ve already seen that so many times.”

Bakugou huffed a bit, he knew you had a point. But that didn’t mean it didn’t affect him each time he saw you drop your towel or be naked in front of him. “Well, yeah I know that, but couldn’t you at least give me a warning?” He said, watching as you began getting dressed in the outfit he picked out.

“Think of this as a way of entertaining you.” You said jokingly, sticking my tongue out at him before pausing. “…So you don’t get bored of me.” You mumbled to yourself quietly, pulling on the last bit of clothes.

Bakugou raised an eyebrow at you when you very obviously purposefully mumbled something quite enough so that he couldn’t hear fully what you said exactly. Yet he still heard it. Because of course he did. “Hah? What was that last thing you said?” He questioned, now looking at you in curiosity. He had heard it, but wanted to know if you’d tell him anyways.

“…if you ever get bored of me?”

His eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise when he heard what you repeat your previous statement, his expression shifting a hint of annoyance to a slight surprise. He had been hoping he’d hear you wrong, but that was proven to be wishful thinking. He knew for a fact that he would never get bored of you, how could he?

“Who said I’d ever get bored of you?” He said, trying to keep his tone from changing too much, and showing a hint of a slight annoyance.

“I dunno. You just might.”

Bakugou huffed at that answer, now rolling his eyes and giving you a small glare. “As if I could ever get bored of you.” He said bluntly, now giving you a firm look. Did you honestly think that he could just get bored of being with you? He was in love with you.

“People say that and still get bored.” You said with a shrug, sitting down in front of our room’s mirror.

You sighed and started going through your usual skincare routine after a shower—an extremely simple one, but still.

The blonde looked at you with a slightly bewildered and frustrated expression as you shrugged and sat down to start you usual skincare routine. He sighed and rolled his eyes before walking over to you.

“Tch, well I’m not like other people, am I?” He said, now standing behind you and looking down at you while you sat in front of the mirror.

“Well…” You looked down as you unscrewed the lid of your moisturizer cream. “…no.” You said after a moment, looking back up at him in the mirror. “But still. What if you get tired seeing the same face, and eating the same pussy/dick?”

Your boyfriend raised an eyebrow at that, an amused small smirk tugging at his lips as you met his gaze in the mirror. “I’ve had the same explosions for years, and you don’t seem to be getting tired of them.” He said, his voice a hint lower as he crouched down behind you, leaning closer against your back.

“Well…” You paused in thought before looking up at him, open moisturizer still in your hand. “Your quirk isn’t the same thing as my dick/pussy!” You said defensively as he almost snorted in amusement, taking the skincare product out of your hand gently.

Bakugou snickered softly against your ear at your defensive response, now grabbing the moisturizer from your hand gently and starting to rub a bit onto his fingers.

“Oh trust me, I know. Believe me.” He mumbled in a deep voice, his body now leaning against your back, his breath hot and warm against your ear and neck.

“Then why compare them…?”

You asked and he chuckled silently against your neck as he began to rub the moisturizer onto your skin, his calloused hands gentle and firm at the same time as they worked.

“Because they have something in common.” He mumbled, bringing his hands down a bit lower as he began to rub the moisturizer on your shoulders and collarbones, now planting a few kisses on the nape of your neck and your shoulders.

“Psh, like what?” You asked, squirming slightly with a smirk and an eye roll.

He was definitely enjoying the reaction as he continued to kiss along you skin, now working his way onto your collarbones as he answered your question.

“It’s simple. They’re both my favorite things.” He stated bluntly, his words spoken against your skin.

[eds6ngel]

Can I request a Steve Harrington fic please?

Him and the reader are always throwing insults back and forth to eachother (enemies to lovers if you will) they’re both at a party, the reader on their own on the couch and Steve comes over to “bother” her. While bothering the reader he sees a girl he used to hook up with but told her that he can’t see her anymore (you can pick the reason why) and he begs the reader to act like his new girl for the rest of the night. He makes her pretend that they’re going up to a room for you know what👀 and the rest is up to you <3

mutual (dis)like ⋆˚✿˖°❀

steve harrington x fem!afab!reader

summary: with yours and steve's feud hitting the four-year mark, what will happen when you have to pretend to be his girlfriend for the night?

warnings: SMUT!! fem!afab!reader. unprotected p in v (pull-out method.) fingering. hickeys. kissing. consent checks. use of pet names (honey, baby, babe.) swearing. alcohol and drug use (everything is still consensual !!) r is 17, steve is 18. some angst and hurt in the middle. fluff and comfort at the end. [3.2k.]

a/n: thank you for requesting, lovely!! sorry it took so long, i experienced some writing slump :') but here you go!! i hope this is what you wished for ♡

To say that Steve and you didn’t get along would be an… understatement.

It all started when you joined Hawkins High in freshman year, Steve a sophomore. Tommy and Carol had decided it would be a fun idea to encourage Steve to target another one of the poor drama students, slowly adding to his ‘King Steve’ status.

However, what Steve thought would be an easy way to keep you down was quickly proven wrong. What he thought would be an easy bully session soon turned into an equal sparked feud.

Every morning at Hawkins High would be Steve turning up to your locker to bother you, you snapping back at him, before you both went your separate ways to class.

Tonight, Tina had invited you over to her house party to celebrate the end of the school year. You were thankful junior year was finally over, and Steve was grateful he actually managed to graduate.

You weren’t much of a partier, so to speak, so Eddie Munson always offered you some weed, which you were very grateful for. It helped mellow out the loud sounds of music and drunken states of sloppy teenagers.

However, like always, ‘King Steve’ (although, he had recently lost that title) came striding over to where you were relaxing on the vodka-stained couch.

“Of course you’re not partying. Why am I even surprised? How much did you suck Munson’s dick to get that bag?”

You scoff, taking another puff of your cig, “Not one bit, actually. Not all guys think with their dicks and some are actually nice around here. He doesn’t need to compensate like you do.”

He whistles as you stand up, smirking as you take a sip from the glass of whiskey in your right hand, “Oh yeah? And what makes you think my dick is so—”

However, Steve falls into a stunned silence as he notices someone very familiar behind you.

“So small? Well, I’ll have you know—”

“I need you to be my girlfriend.”

You splutter on the drink, coughing as you regain your breath, “Fucking hell, Harrington. Are you seriously that desperate—”

“Stephanie,” he blurts out, “She’s my ex-fling and I told her I couldn’t hook up with her anymore as I’d fallen in love with someone else and I need you to pretend to be that someone.”

You shake your head and laugh, “Uh… Yeah, that’s gonna have to be a no.”

About to turn around, Steve grabs your arm at the last minute. Damn, he must’ve really fucked things up for himself.

“Will you just do it? Every other girl in here I’ve either fucked or hates my guts, so—”

“I literally hate you as well, dickwad,” you cut him off, giving him a deadpan expression.

He leans in closer to your face, his eyes pleading as he says in a low whisper, “Yeah, but you’re also the only drama student I know, and if it’s anyone who can help me get out of this situation, it’s you.”

You take a deep breath in, before putting your joint out in the ashtray and your whiskey on the table, “Fine,” you arms flail, “But you better re-pay me for this… What do you need me to do?”

“So, this is the girl you fell for?”

Stephanie was definitely the IT girl around Hawkins. Beautiful blonde perm, luscious lashes, perfectly-shaped nails and an hourglass figure. Her entire outward persona made you feel extremely self-conscious, the whole story becoming even more unbelievable to you.

Steve wraps his arm around your waist, you trying to hide any signs of discomfort, “Sure is. This is my gorgeous girlfriend.”

Stephanie and her friends cackle, almost on level with a witches laugh, “You’re joking. Seriously? This freak?”

That word just made you shrivel up into a ball. You wanted to leave, to run away, to cry into your pillows. You could take insults from the guys, they would never understand what it was like to live in your shoes. But other girls? Women who went through the same universal experience as you living in this century? That stung. That cut deep.

“Steve, just leave it. This is ridiculous—”

But, before you can make your attempt at escaping, Steve grabs tightly onto your upper arm, “Yeah, actually, she is a freak. And for that reason, she makes a much better time than you ever did.”

Stephanie gasps, putting a hand to her heart, “Oh screw you and your shitty girlfriend, Harrington!”

“You know what?” he taps his chin with his finger, “I think that actually sounds like a great idea. You wanna head upstairs, babe?”

You nod subtly, “Yeah. Um… sure.”

“Sweet,” he takes a hold of your hand, “Don’t worry Steph, I’m sure someone else around here will happily take you for a good time.”

He winks, Stephanie scoffing and rolling her eyes, turning her back as the two of you make your way up to one of the spare bedrooms in Tina’s house. Lucky for you, the first room you came across was empty, not having to face the disgusting consequences of seeing two classmates going at it on the bed.

You’ve already parted from Steve, walking over to the other side of the room, hands interlinked behind your head as Steve closes the door.

He tries to make his way over to you, reasoning, “Look, I didn’t know she was going to call you that, I just—”

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Steve?” you yell at him, tears streaming down your cheeks, breaths coming out ragged as you struggle to catch them in your throat.

“How is this my fault? I didn’t call you that! I didn’t know she was going to say that!” his voice rises, matching the volume of your own.

“Do you even know what it’s like to get bullied by someone of the same gender as you? It’s humiliating! If I can’t trust another girl to be nice, then how can I—”

“Actually, I do!”

His statement shocks you into silence. When in the world has Steve Harrington ever been bullied? He’s been king of the school for almost four years now. He was the bully himself.

“Look,” he takes your wrist, guiding you to sit on the edge of the bed, “This whole bullying thing that happened, I…”

He takes a deep breath, afraid to admit the real truth about their ongoing four-year feud.

“Tommy and Carol forced me into it. They told me to target you, and like the stupid person I was at the time, I followed through. But…”

Your eyes are filled with confusion, looking at the brown-haired boy with intrigue, his expressions confusing you, nervous as to what he was about to say.

“The longer it went on, the more I started noticing things about you. I saw the way you would doodle little animals in your notebook in Biology, the way you would always order the same food for lunch, Mac & Cheese, mashed potatoes and—”

“And carrots…” you finish off his sentence, looking at him with pure shock. But, the emotion quickly turns back into that same anger, “But… if you paid that much attention to me, why did you continue to target me? Even when you ditched Tommy and Carol, you still fucking continued—”

He sighs, frustrated and disappointed in himself, “Because… I was frankly embarrassed to be with you, which is 100% a me problem, nothing to do with you. I still couldn’t let go of the fact that I could fall in love with someone who wasn’t ‘popular.’ I kept bullying you in hopes that you would hate my guts so much that even the pure idea of dating you would be impossible. Which is probably true now, so… mission accomplished for me, I guess…”

His hand was holding yours now, you giving it a small squeeze as you replied, “I don’t hate your guts, Steve. I just…”

Always something else. You still hated him. You had to. He convinced himself of that.

“I saw you bully everyone else, and you hurt a lot of fucking people. I didn’t want to let you win. It wasn’t that I hated you, I just didn’t want to let my guard down. Didn’t wanna act like I did with Stephanie down there.”

Steve notices you grit your teeth at that. You were angry with yourself. Angry with your insecurities, your weaknesses, your lack of ability to so easily defend yourself from everyone.

“So… I continued to fight back. I needed to be strong. I couldn’t let myself break after all these years. I would only stop when you did which… I guess is now.”

You look up into his eyes. You don’t know whether he got closer or you did, or maybe you both closed some distance. Maybe your bodies were trying to tell you something your brains were actively fighting against.

“So…” Steve gulps, “You don’t hate me?”

You laugh softly, grinning from ear to ear. Steve had waited to see that up close for years.

“No, Steve. I don’t hate you. I never did hate you. I just rebutted off of your hatred of me.”

He chuckles, “Well, I don’t hate you either. In fact, I think I said a very different word to describe how I feel about you.”

He was the one leaning closer now. His attitude taking more of a flirtatious tone, eyes staring completely into yours, a mood you’d much rather reciprocate for a long period of time.

“You sure did.”

“And you don’t mind?”

“Absolutely not.”

He grins, lips hovering just above yours, “So I assume you wouldn’t mind if I also did this.”

You manage to purr out an “Absolutely not,” before slotting your lips between his.

Your hand naturally went out to cup his cheek, his palms resting neatly on your waist, gripping your dress tightly, wishing to feel your natural skin against him.

The kisses quickly turn desperate, a plea in the form of a whine escaping your throat as Steve takes the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth.

He lightly taps your exposed thigh, “Come on, pretty girl. Get on top of me.”

You turn to putty in his hands, following his exact orders as you swing your right leg over his body, straddling his lap. Both of your hands remain on either side of his face, his hands sliding lower, perching under the curves of your ass.

The desperation seeps from both of you, your teeth and tongues attacking each other’s necks like a dog in heat, leaving love marks on every inch you had access to.

Your hands explore underneath his shirt, feeling the sparse hairs of his happy trail tickle against your soft skin. Steve’s arms are already guiding yours, lifting his shirt over his head and throwing it to the floor behind you.

You can’t help but let your body take over from your mind, your hands roaming completely over his chest, feeling every muscle and curve he had to give. It was yours now. All yours.

Steve had taken his time tracing your thighs in his fingertips whilst you were divulging in his neck, ever so slowly pushing your dress upwards, bunched up against your waist.

“Can I? Will you let me, honey?” he asks, fingers sitting at the waistband of your panties.

“Do what you need to, baby,” you reply in a sultry tone, lips moving to his collarbone. However, as you soon found out, your lips wouldn’t be attached for much longer.

Steve didn’t even need much preparation. A quick slide up your slit, coating his fingers in your juices and he was slipping his middle and ring finger into your hole.

“Oh fuck, Steve,” you moan out, head falling back, eyes closing as you bask in the pleasure.

“Yeah, honey? Like the feeling of my fingers inside you?”

Your nails dig into his shoulder blades, leaving red marks as he pumps his fingers in and out of you. Despite this being your first time together, it feels as if he knows your body inside and out, catching all the right spots to send you to Heaven, fingers moving at just the right pace, curling into the perfect spot.

“Uh huh. You’re so good at this, baby.”

Baby, baby, baby. He could listen to that pet name escape your mouth every single day, especially if it was being whimpered from your vocal chords. The exact throaty strangle he needed to hear.

There’s a sudden curl of his fingers that make you shiver, Steve chuckling as he teases, “Yeah? That the spot, honey? Got you figured out already?”

“Mhm, Jesus, babe.”

“You wanna cum on my fingers, is that it? Fall apart for me, honey?” he taunts, you trying your hardest not to rock back onto them, bringing yourself closer to your release.

“Not on— Fuck, not on your fingers, baby…” Your hand snakes down to the bump formed in his jeans, pressing your palm to it as Steve lets out a groan.

“Oh, you wanna cum on my cock, is that it, honey? Wanna ride me?”

You nod ferociously, “Yeah, yeah. Wanna cum on your fat cock.”

Steve pulls his fingers out of you in an instant, you leaning down to un-do his belt, him shifting the material down his legs along with his boxers.

Your statement about his cock being fat was apparently no lie. His dick hit his stomach, slightly curved to the right, cut, and had to be around 6 inches, a girth of over 5.

You had to contain yourself from drooling, grabbing his dick in your hand and rubbing it against your soaking pussy.

The mere touch of your hand around him had him containing a moan, watching in delight as you lined yourself up above him.

“You good?” you ask him, making sure he’s on the same line of thought as you. This was all so sudden after all, you had to make sure.

“Better than ever, babe.”

You took that as your cue to sink down onto his cock, moans filling the air as Steve gripped onto your ass tighter, ready to guide you if you needed.

“Can I move? Please let me move, Steve. It’s okay, I’m good.”

“Take it away, honey. You can call the shots here.”

“Okay…” you whisper as you lift yourself up, before slamming back down, Steve letting out a choked moan. Soon enough, you begin to find a steady rhythm, your wetness allowing for a ‘slosh’ sound to fill the atmosphere every single time you lowered yourself. With Steve’s balls hitting your ass, it’s like you transcended into Heaven. Why did you ever have meaningless hook-ups when it feels this good with a man who loves you?

Not giving as much as he’d liked earlier, his teeth attack your neck again, pulling and tugging on the skin before soothing it with his warm tongue. His hands help guide you up and down, him trying his hardest not to thrust his hips up into yours. He let you be in control here, and he wasn’t going to take over that unless he needed to.

Your hands come to cup the back of his head, eyes closed as your practically squished up against his face, letting him lean into your chest, feeling his lips press tender kisses between your breasts.

“Ah, ah, ah” is all that can escape your mouth. You’re too far gone at this point. You didn’t even realise the pace of your hips were slowing until Steve’s grunts increased and his cock was hitting a spot so far back that you didn’t know it existed. But, all that you cared is it felt good. Really good.

You could feel the knot begin to tighten in the pit of your stomach, even Steve’s thrusts becoming sloppy, uneven, his cock twitching inside of you, ready to burst any second.

“Shit, gonna cum soon, babe. Where do you want it?”

“I’m close too, baby,” you pant, “I’m not on anything, so my stomach, please.”

“Gonna hold off for you, honey. Wanna feel you tighten around me. Wanna feel you strangle my cock. Can you do that for me? Strangle my cock?”

“Uh huh,” you nod, basically becoming limp in his arms as he continues to pound up into you, your release building and building, before the tide quickly spills over.

“Shit, you’re so tight, honey. Such a good girl for me, fuck.”

Steve is struggling to hold off. The loud noises you are moaning directly into his ear, combined with the tightening of your walls around his cock has him gripping your ass for dear life.

As soon as your moans begin to settle, he quickly pulls out of you, beating his cock until his head is thrown back, four spurts of his cum landing onto your stomach, the rest pooling around his hand and falling onto his happy trail.

You’re sat on his thigh, head leaning against his shoulder as you both pant, his hands now tracing circles on either side of your waist, trying to catch your breaths and enter your post-orgasm hazes.

“Fuck, you’re amazing,” Steve lets out, lifting your chin so he can lean the side of his face against yours, a sloppy kiss being pressed to your cheek. “I love you so much, and I know that’s really soon, so don’t feel pressured to say it back, but… I just needed to say it again.”

“It’s okay,” you nod, “I get it. It is a lot and I’ll say it in due time, okay? And hey… you’re pretty fucking amazing too. But…”

Steve begins to panic at that, but your next words just make the two of you laugh, “The feeling of your cum drying on my stomach is not as pleasant, I’m afraid.”

Holding onto your hips, he stands up, your legs wrapping around his waist as he carries you to the bathroom to clean you up. “Don’t worry honey, I got you. You just relax for me whilst I get you cleaned up.”

“M’kay… Thank you… for everything.”

He smiles at you, wiping the cum from your stomach with some toilet paper before throwing it in the trash can. He looks back at you, admiring your blissed out state. Your make-up was ruined, hair astray, but you never looked more beautiful to him.

He holds your chin as you slot your lips together once again, him mumbling, “’Course beautiful girl. You deserve it, ‘kay? Now… Tina won’t mind us sleeping in here, right?”

You shake your head, “Should be fine, baby. A sleep sounds good right now.”

“Mmm,” he mumbles, lifting you up into his arms from where you were perched on the toilet seat, carrying you back to the bed and tucking you in, before climbing in next to you.

He wraps his arm around your waist, dragging you closer to him as he presses one final kiss to your cheek. “Goodnight, honey.”

“Night, baby.”

taglist: @tlclick73 @joekeerysmoles @ellharrington @agxxb

[gay-dorito-dust]

If you're still taking reqs for TADC, could you possibly write something for on Jax with another member of the circus who is seemingly the only one that feeds into his actions and reacts- leading the two to go back and forth all the time. While everyone (even themselves) believe the pair hate each other, deep down there's some shared feelings!

(Sorry if this is worded weirdly..)

You and Jax were at each other’s throats once again much to the dismay of Pomni and Ragatha, who watched on from afar.

‘Jax!’ You exclaimed, gaining the purple bunny’s attention as he looked at you with his usual shit eating grin with his hands shoved into his overalls.

‘Why isn’t it y/n! Here to accuse me of doing something outrageous again because your undying hatred for me consumes your mind body and soul?’ Jax replied sarcastically, which only proven to make you even more pissed off as you grabbed him by the straps of his overalls, brining him in close.

‘Oh you think you’re hilarious don’t you bunny boy?’ You said through gritted teeth, trying not to focus on the fact that you were mere inches away from each other, mere inches away from touching heads but you were quick to focus back on why you were even confronting him to begin with. ‘I know damn well you put those rats in my room, do you not have anything better to do then annoy me for your entertainment.’ You added.

‘Have they always hated each other?’ Pomni asked Ragatha who was having a hard time recalling herself. You and Jax had always been like this for as far as she remembered, the reason why you both were like this was a mystery to all even Caine, but everyone had soon accepted that you and Jax just didn’t like each other in general. Jax liked to fuck with everyone and you happened to react the most to them, causing him to focus all of his pranks onto you.

‘They entered here at the same time and even then they didn’t like each other at all.’ Ragatha started. ‘Y/n hated how Jax massed with everyone and Jax found y/n’s need to confront him every time he did so both annoying but amusing at the same time. Soon enough all they could focus on was each other, getting on one another’s nerves, almost as though the rest of us don’t exist in their little feud as all they could see was each other.’ Ragatha finished and Pomni looked back at you and Jax, seeing that you were still very much at each other’s throats.

The way you both seemed to unintentionally lean towards each other despite hating the other’s very being, it came across as intimate but Pomni believed that she was looking too deep into things.

‘So do they hate each other, like Properly hate each other? If so why are they always within the others space?’ She asked, a million more questions coming to her head.

All Ragatha could do was shrug her shoulders. ‘I’ve had similar questions before but I’ve just chalked it up to y/n being red with rage that they don’t see how they feed into Jax’s ego, and Jax is far too aware of how he is affecting y/n to the point where he can’t stop himself from messing with them.’ The pair then went back to watching you and Jax as he griped his hands over your own on his overalls, forcing you to stay in close proximity of him.

‘You’re just so reactive to everything I do, even the smallest things tick you off, are you sure you’re not like secretly in love with me or something?’ He teased as he watched your eyes widened before narrowing into a glare again.

‘As if I’d like a chaos causing mischief maker like you in the first place? It’s you who might have feelings for me, especially given how often you keep pranking me and invading my personal space as though it’s nonexistent.’ You spat back as you watched Jax’s smile falter for a split seconds before it came back full force as he scoffs, pulling your hands off of him with ease.

‘Like you said as if I’d ever like a over emotional person like you, who can’t seem to take a joke and overreact to everything I do because everything I do is morally wrong and unjust in their eyes.’ Jax spat back, not wanting your words to get to him as he naturally deflected all of his flaws to focus on yours in retaliation.

‘Can’t take a joke?’ You asked rhetorically, sure your feelings were slightly hurt but you were able to not let it show in fear that Jax would use it to advantage. ‘Can’t take a- what you call a joke is anything but a joke! You just want to make everyone as miserable and as hopeless as you.’ You finished, practically seething as you saw how unaffected Jax was by your words.

‘Nope, wrong as usual. I just want you to be as miserable and hopeless as me sweetheart.’ Jax said almost too casually as he shrugged his shoulders before leaving you stood there in utter bafflement. ‘See you later for the adventure, hope you’ll keep your emotions in check this time.’ He adds with a lazy wave as he disappears from sight.

You knew your relationship with Jax was…complicated to say the least, always hating each other, and getting in the others face for no reason other then to voice your hate for one another in voices barely above a whisper. You didn’t remember when you hated him but soon you felt it shift somewhat the longer you were stuck here with him. You noticed your change of emotions towards his and grew annoyed, which only made your supposed hate for Jax grow to hide the fact that you had grown feelings for the lavender rabbit.

Yet you knew he didn’t feel the same, he hated you beyond words can describe and so instead of forcing an fantasy to become reality, you had forced yourself to accept the reality that you and Jax were meant to be enemies no matter what.

However you weren’t the only one with conflicted thoughts and feelings about this because Jax was in a similar situation. He was supposed to hate you, much like he did the moment you locked eyes but he feared something else blossomed from that first glance, something he didn’t want to admit anytime soon; and so he decided to torment you in order to find things to hate about you to stop thinking about anything else.

Jax wasn’t stupid he knew he liked you but for all he was aware you hated him beyond belief, beyond words even and so he focused on things that he had tricked himself into hating about you and letting himself continue to be your enemy as long as he got your attention, you soul focus on him and only him like he wanted.

You and him were made to be enemies but born to be more but both of you didn’t know how to admit it, not when you thought the other one despaired the other with how hostile you acted towards one another, and yet you craved the others attention in the same breath. You craved and despised each other simultaneously that you had found yourself in a never ending battle of whether you and Jax would ever break from this hatred and actually grow to like each other, but you and Jax both knew that was too much to ask, not knowing that you both indeed did like each other but were just that good at hiding it with mutual hate.

[angstywaifu]

Black Dahlia - 10. Keeping Tabs

A little study time (well, an attempt at it) with Bodhi one night in the quadrant in the lead up to Presentation Day.

Set Pre Fourth Wing/Books

Garrick Tavis x OC (Dahlia Aetos)

Black Dahlia Masterlist | Masterlist

As per usual the library is quiet as hell. The only noise is the crackling of the fire next to me. It wasn’t quite cold enough for a fire, but the temperature had definitely dropped in the last few weeks as we’d entered September and I welcomed any chance to sit by a fire. It was one of the few things that had brought me comfort back in my room.

Most winter nights I would sit in the chair by the fire in my room reading. Something I had missed due to leaving all my books behind when I’d come here. And sadly the small library in the riders quadrant and the scribes only had historical texts. Something I really needed to change as soon as possible if I could. I’d even debated sneaking back to my room to grab some of them, but knowing my father my stuff was long gone.

The door to the library bangs open, followed my some muffled curses as I am pulled from my thoughts. As I scan the bookshelves behind me, I note the footsteps getting closer and closer to where I sit in front of the fire. A few moments later the familiar curly black hair of Bodhi peeks around the edge of one of the bookshelves, a grin forming on his face as his eyes meet mine.

”Knew I would find you here.” He says excitedly as he steps around the bookshelf heading over to me.

”Don’t you usually go to the gym with your two shadows on Wednesday nights?” I ask as I return to my book as Bodhi starts pulling out his from his pack as he sits next to me. ”Watch out Dahlia, someone might think you actually care.” He teases before I throw my pot of ink at him, which he catches easily. Lucky for him it was closed. ”I don’t care.” I say with a smirk as I look up at him.

Over the last few weeks Bodhi had wormed his way through my walls, and I actually did consider him a friend along with Austin and Liz. Between having all our classes together and training together a few days a week after classes, we’d easily fallen into our own little friendship group. Something I had told myself I wouldn’t do and wouldn’t need to get through the quadrant. Something I hadn’t had since that day my mother had died. But here I was two months later, and I couldn’t deny I enjoyed having friends again after all these years. ”You sure? Seems like you’re keeping tabs on me. Or maybe you’re keeping tabs on someone else?” He mocks as he wiggles his eyebrows at me, handing the pot of ink out to me. ”I promise you, I am not keeping tabs on anyone. You three aren’t exactly hard to spot wandering around the Quadrant. Especially with that giant lumbering oaf walking around with you.” I throw back as I take the pot of ink from him. Bodhi just sighs and shakes his head at me. It wasn’t the first time I’d made a stab at Garrick. He’d barely said more than a few words to me since that first round of challenges where I had very much proven him wrong. Something I knew infuriated him. Here and there he’d made jabs at me before I walked onto the mat, or when I’d come to grab Bodhi for training. All of which I had ignored. If he wanted to hate me for my name, then so be it. I wasn’t going to bend over backwards to prove him wrong. I knew my name came with a reputation, as did his. But clearly he didn’t want to overlook it. Bodhi had tried to convince me a few times to give him a chance.

”He’s really not that bad Dahlia.” Trying yet again to convince me to give Garrick a chance. ”Well he has done little to prove otherwise. So unless he wants to pull his head out of his ass, then I will continue to call him whatever comes to mind.” I tell him sternly before turning back to my book.

”You did well on the Gauntlet today.” He says, changing the subject with ease, clearly getting the hint I did not want to talk about Garrick. ”Barely. I fumbled on those damn balls again.” I say as I recall the moment my heart had dropped when I’d nearly lost my grip on one of the balls today. ”And yet you still had the fastest time today. You need to stop being so hard on yourself.”

Easier said than done. Despite Bodhi getting through the walls I’d built up over the years, I hadn’t told him what had happened all those years ago. Why I was the way I was. And why failure was not an option for me. Any slip up was a failure in my fathers eyes, and I prayed no word got back to him today of my slip up. As much as his opinion didn’t matter to me, I wanted to prove him wrong. ”You know I can’t do that.” I say back in what I hope passes as a joking tone. I breathe a sigh of relief when Bodhi shakes his head and laughs at me. “Oh trust me I know. One day you wont though. I’ll make sure of it.”

I can’t help but feel emotional at Bodhi’s words. Just like Garrick he should hate me. Despise me for my father and what he had done. But he didn’t. Since he’d stood next to me in the Rotunda, he had looked right through that. Been able to accept me as someone besides the weight of my last time. Hell even Xaden had somehow. Though it still felt like he was a little cautious of me at times, but I put that mostly down to Garrick who was always by his side. ”Let’s get through Presentation Day and hopefully Threshing first, then you can work on that.”

Presentation day was only two days away. Meaning we were four away from Threshing. Just four more days and I would hopefully bond a dragon. Bond a dragon and become a rider like I always wanted. The last time I had been close to a dragon was that day. Father now allowing me anywhere near one since then. Would I panic and run like I should have done immediately that day? Or even worse, would I meet the fate that was nearly my own that day? No. I would bond a dragon. I would do it.

”I feel like getting you to be not so hard on yourself is going to be easier than that.” He says with a sigh before leaning back in his chair and staring at the roof. “You scared?”

I close my book, finally giving up on studying now Bodhi was here. Which was a regular occurrence if he found me. “You’re probably expecting me to say no, but honestly I’m scared shitless.”

Which I was. Mixed with not knowing how I would react, I was also terrified I would come face to face with a dragon and panic. Become frozen to the ground with fear and become a pile of ash on the floor just like….

”You’re right.” Bodhi says cutting my thoughts off. “Nothing seems to phase you. But I’d probably think you weren’t human if you weren’t scared of facing off with a dragon.”

If only you knew Bodhi.

”What colour do you think you’ll bond?” I ask as I try steer the conversation away from facing a dragon.

”I don’t know. Never really thought about it I guess. I seem to be drawn to Green Dragons whenever Kaori talks about them. What about you?”

”Blue.” I say without missing a beat causing Bodhi to glance over at me. “I’ve always been drawn to Blue Dragons. But they’re incredibly rare to bond with.”

”Xaden said he was the first one in a few years to bond a Blue and the only one in his year as well.”

I nod in agreement. They were very hard to bond with. Blue Dragons had the highest fatality rate for cadets during Threshing. Even Kaori had advised us to run instead of try bonding a blue. Meaning if I wanted to bond a Blue, I needed to be certain of the one I approached.

”Well here’s hoping we bond the colours we want and come out victorious in a few days time.” I say as I look over at Bodhi who is already smiling at me.

”Don’t worry, we will Dahlia.”

@imtoanonymousforyou @simplyme-fornow @omalmal @lalaluch @wolfbc97 @leptitlu @fullmoon-94

[blessedwithabadomen]

in love with the mess - day three

summary : Aubrey is going on tour and, for once, she's decided to focus on having as much fun as possible. Oli can be a little shit but he does nothing short of adore Audrey and... well, maybe Noah a little, too. Noah likes the flirting, as long as no one gets too close, emotionally. But what will happen when the three of them take it too far?

content : fluff, flirting, the slightest hint of something more smutty

length : 3.9k

tags (let me know if you want to be tagged!) : @veronicaphoenix @cookiesupplier @lma1986 @jilliemiw86 @bngurngheart @lacktoesandtoddlerants @narcissisticbehavior81 @flowery-mess @shilohrosechicken @justeli6 @starvingarsyn @floatinglikeaswan @somebodyels3

a/n : hope you'll have fun with this one!! I promise, it'll get into real slutty territory soon enough hehe 💗

•••

day three

With no personal social media to his name anymore (at least none I knew about just yet), Noah had seemingly decided to use my number as an unspoken permission to spam me with photos of his day. It started with a picture of his very sleepy yet very attractive face and a caption cursing out the early bus call. I could only agree, snapping a picture of my own head still half hidden under the covers and sending it back.

Load-in was a tedious task that I only peripherally participated in. Noah seemed to think similarly as a picture of the outside of their bus, cluttered with baggage, followed as well as a “Think they'll notice if I slip into my bunk instead of helping?”. I told him if he did slip away, I'd do the same. Unfortunately it wouldn’t involve the same bus.

“No sleep allowed around here” was next along with a picture of the rest of his band engrossed in a PlayStation game and quite obviously shouting at both the screen and each other. This time I went straight to texting him.

Aubrey No sleep last night either? Jet lag kicking your arse? Noah Jet lag and you Aubrey Excuse me How am I to blame here Noah You really kiss me and then have the audacity to ask that

My cheeks were burning. Quickly looking around the lounge area on the bus, I was glad to see that it was mostly deserted, only the tour photographer was sat across from me, but he seemed busy enough editing that he didn't pay me any attention. My eyes were glued to my phone again the second another message came in.

Noah Still thinking about your mouth

It wasn't just a blush now, it was a familiar tingle between my legs on top of it. Because I'd been thinking about it too. Thinking and remembering and imagining. If I closed my eyes, I could still feel his hands on me, his strong grip, the way I wanted to get his fingers everywhere on my body, his mouth, his tongue, all of it.

Aubrey And that kept you up so much you didn't get enough sleep? Interesting Anything else you did instead then Noah You don't know how tempted I was, darling But I didn't need to subject Nick to that

Right. I forgot not everyone was privileged enough to have Oli Sykes fight to get them their own room without having to share. And having been put up with a roommate several times on tours the last couple of years… It wasn't fun for anyone if someone decided to get off while the other was in the room.

Aubrey Well, you could go be alone in your bunk right now There's another two hours until Birmingham, pretty boy I'm sure your mind will occupy you just fine Maybe let you imagine my mouth a couple or other places

I didn't expect what came next. In fact, his next message took so long I wondered, once again, if I'd taken it a little too far. But once again, I was proven wrong.

The picture was dark, so much that I turned up the light on my phone to even get a hint of what I was looking up and when I saw, I almost threw it across the room. Instead though, I opted for putting it in my lap, face down, making sure that I was still alone with the photographer who was still distracted and no one else could possibly see what I was looking at.

Then I turned it back around and studied what was in front of me. It was unmistakable, really. The inside of a bunk, dark, with the curtain shut. A pair of legs in dark sweatpants, bland and impersonal, without any way to trace it back to Noah. And a bulge in the middle of it, so big and obvious and on show, it was almost obscene.

I didn't know how long I stared at his clothed dick, salivating and getting wetter, but I didn't move eyes away until I was certain I was going to go crazy if I spent one more moment trying to imagine what he would look like underneath the fabric without taking a breath.

Aubrey And you have the audacity to suggest I'm the bad one here

•••

Safe to say, I was in a mood. Noah ceased texting back and I was almost glad because I was sure I'd actually end up brain-dead if he continued like that while I was a whole bus away and without any chance to touch him. The thoughts whirling in my head, though, didn't quiet down at all. Not when we arrived at the hotel and I desperately (and unsuccessfully) tried to get at least a peek at Noah, not when we checked into our rooms, not when Oli texted me that he'd be waiting downstairs and calling us an uber for the shopping trip. I made quick work of changing my underwear, terrified of possibly sporting a wet spot when I was supposed to be trying on clothes, and jumped into the car that seemed to arrive at the same time as I did.

“No fake moustache?” I questioned as I slid into the backseat next to Oli. “I'm devastated.”

“Listen, I tried a filter and, well, ya know,” Oli explained, quickly pulling up the picture on his phone and angling it toward me. I choked down a laugh. He looked absolutely ridiculous, a black comic-esque moustache on his upper lip. It didn't help that the filter had somehow also given him a monocle and an old-fashioned top hat.

“Yeah, that definitely would have drawn more attention,” I giggled. “Pulling the hood of your jacket a bit into your face will probably work better.”

He immediately tried, pulling it down so far he could barely see, and I gave him an approving nod.

“Keep your tattoos covered and you'll be fine.”

It wasn't usually much of a problem, really, going out with Oli. Even if there was one or two people recognising him, everyone usually stayed respectful, got their photo or a quick chat, and moved on. But now Bring Me were playing arena shows and the cities were basically buzzing with fans. We didn't need to cause any sort of problem.

“So why the shopping trip then, eh? Far as I can see you got a whole suitcase full of clothes.”

I hesitated for a moment. Then I figured there was simply no use in not being honest with him. After all, looking down at myself revealed nothing but a plain shirt under a jacket and a dark pair of jeans that could be fitting much better.

“Got sick of looking like this,” I explained, motioning to my outfit. Oli had known me for years - surely he had noticed the change too, the lack of styling, the lack of care in my appearance. I was pretty sure I was wearing hot pants that barely covered my bum and fishnets that had more holes than anticipated by the manufacturer when we first met on one of his tours.

“Why, I think your face ain't half bad,” he deadpanned. I had no witty comeback to this blatant disrespect and defaulted to my standard response of delivering a good smack, but this time I was either too slow or had given Oli too much insight into the way I dealt with things because his hand shot up and caught my wrist the second I lifted it. He gave me a look and then gently put my hand back into my own lap. But he didn't let go of my wrist.

“So, to what do I owe the pleasure of being chosen as your shopping partner for this adventure?” The posh accent he put on almost tempted me to try hitting him again, but his fingers were still tightly wrapped around my skin and I wasn't ready to lose his touch just yet.

“Well, it did seem like a good choice, you know. With the stage fits and your own clothing line and all that.”

Oli hummed in contemplation. “Or maybe you enjoy the idea of me dressing you up a little. Like my personal doll. Wouldn't you like that?”

The way my body heated up and my fingers were getting slightly sweaty told him enough. The smirk that appeared on his face was confirmation. 

“Thought so, doll.”

The uber driver announcing the arrival at our destination saved me from struggling to form a reply.

•••

Shopping with Oli was as chaotic as it was confusing. He constantly pulled pieces from the shelves and rails, holding them out to me or pressing them against my body, pretending to judge what they would look like if I wore them, and I was fighting to see the difference between the ones he thought would actually suit me and those he picked for comic relief. It was a fine line that he was treading expertly.

Still, I ended up with an arm full of clothes. If Oli hadn't sweet talked the employee - which, mind, worked quite well in an alternative store as soon as they recognised who they were dealing with - I definitely wouldn't have been allowed to drag all of them into the changing room with me. Being friends with a bit of a rockstar definitely had its perks, even if they were rather boring sometimes.

I was sorting out the pieces, trying to figure out what to start with and what I needed to take off concerning my own clothes, when a message came in.

Noah I'm at interview 528 of 1244 of the day and I am painfully bored Please tell me you're off doing something more interesting

I shot a quick picture of the mountain of clothes I'd heaved onto the little stool and sent it to him as an answer.

Noah How desperate do I sound if I ask for update pictures on what you're trying Aubrey Just the right amount

Putting on a pair of tight jeans and a slightly cropped shirt, nothing too risky, not yet, I took and sent him another picture before putting the phone away to throw the curtain back and present the result to Oli. Unfortunately, the screen decided to light up with Noah's answer right within Oli's field of views. And he had no sense of privacy.

“Are you texting Noah? Wait, are you sending Noah pictures? We need a fucking group chat.”

Who was to deny Oli Sykes. So, just like that, my shopping trip turned into a fashion show and a photo shoot all at once. It started out with the best intentions, really, Oli continuously throwing new stuff at me, tweaking the outfits, talking about accessories to accompany the looks. But as the pile of “definitely buy"-clothes grew, so did his taste for mischief.

It started with a shirt, black velvet, quite modest really, if it hadn't been for the heart-shaped cut-out on my chest. The pointy end displayed the beginning of my cleavage, not too much, but enough to be a promise. As soon as I let Oli see, a cat-like smile graced his face, obviously happy with this choice. Without any words, he immediately got out his phone again and took a picture, angling it just the way so that my tits looked a little more inviting than they did anyway. 

“Noah's gonna love this,” he cackled to himself. He wasn't wrong - what followed in the group chat was nothing more than a line of hieroglyphs (in the form of emojis) that vaguely suggests he was enjoying the picture very much. The top wandered to the clothes I was definitely going to purchase. No question about it.

The next shorts-and-top combo that Oli prepared for me featured a massive amount of skin on show, I realised, as I turned the top over in my hands only to see its back consisted of not much more than a handful of thick, flat strings that would be spanning over my skin, almost suggesting a little bit of bondage. Oli immediately ordered me to turn around when I stepped out of the changing room, arranging them just perfectly. His fingers kept tracing over my tattoo, once again, and it was just as exhilarating as it had been the first time. I barely noticed him taking another picture. This time I also got a message back privately, outside of the newly-founded group chat.

Noah That the tattoo you've mentioned? Aubrey One of them

I was dying to show him the others. Anything that would cause me to be in fewer clothes around him.

Noah Stunning

I wasn't sure if he was reacting to the tattoo or the news that I had more to show him.

“Here, try this,” Oli's voice came through, followed by his tattooed hand pushing a skirt into my direction without disturbing the curtain too much. I quickly grabbed it and changed once again. It was only when it was actually sitting on my hips that I realised how awfully short it was. Only, it wasn't all that awful. The red tartan pattern was bright enough that it wouldn’t be missed even in dim light. The hem ended just underneath my arse - as long as I was standing upright. It would only take the slightest movement to enter dangerous territory.

Oli’s eyes immediately trailed over my legs as I pulled the curtain back. It was safe to say, he was very pleased with his choice. I did a little twirl for him, aware of the way the fabric was lifting up, exposing the slightest bit of my lace panties.

Oli groaned, deeply. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna work. Not with all the bending down you have to do at your job, right?”

I could see the twinkle in his eyes - but I was sure he could also see the one in mine.

“Oh, no,” I sighed, rather overdramatically. “I guess that might be a problem. Like this?”

Turning around, I quickly checked through the mirror that he was still watching me, and then bend down, pushing my butt in his direction as I felt the fabric lift up so high, it was almost around my hips exclusively. The next few things happened insanely fast - Oli taking a step forward, the curtain being shut again, his hands on my hips, his body pressing into mine. I almost stumbled, quickly placing my hands on the little stool that was still covered in a few pieces of clothing, holding on for dear life as he took the liberty to roughly push his crotch against my ass.

“You’re playing a dangerous fucking game, doll,” he said, his voice lower than I’d ever heard it. I relished in the way the pet name had me squirming. One of his hands moved to my upper back, holding me down, making sure that I knew who was in charge. The other gripped my side so tightly, it gave me an insight to how much self-control he was currently exhibiting in not doing more. “What happened to you, hm? Used to be such a good girl. So well behaved around me. Now you’re just begging for trouble.”

“You did,” I moaned. “You happened.”

It was true. I’d never been prude or shy, really, but we had never been like this. I had certainly never had him push his dick against my arse through a few layers of clothes. I had been crushing on him, yes, but I hadn’t made any moves. Now, everything had changed. The moment I’d seen him again, seen his smile, his physique, the way he behaved around me, something had changed in my brain, fundamentally. It had only gotten worse with every minute I was around him. I wanted and needed him in ways that hadn’t been present before. An overwhelming desire that was begging me to do more, be more assertive, let him know, get satisfied. And he wasn’t refusing me.

“Is that what it is?” Oli teased, the hand that was on my upper back moving again until his fingers reached my hair, grabbing some of it into his fist like a makeshift ponytail and pulling my head up so I’d look at him through the mirror. He seemed terribly pleased at the gasp that left my mouth. “Am I turning you into this? And you love it?”

“Yes,” I replied immediately.

He let go of my hair again and my head almost slumped forward. I watched as he fumbled with the pocket of his trousers, pulling you his phone. He leaned backward slightly, without quite letting go of me, pushing the fabric even higher so everything was on show, his cock still lightly pressed against my almost-bare butt, and snapped a quick picture.

“Can’t leave Noah out of this now, can we?”

Then he was off me and I almost cried out at the loss of his touch. I slowly raised my upper body, just in time for him to open the curtain again and stepping outside.

“Get dressed. We’re buying it all.”

•••

Under immense protest from myself,  Oli did, indeed, buy me basically everything under the guise of “work expenses”. I knew there was no use arguing after he’d already handed over his credit card, the stubborn son of a bitch would definitely not allow me to pay him back in any way, so I wordlessly took the bags from the cashier and followed him to where he called us another uber back to the hotel.

It was dark by the time we arrived, January taking no prisoners as the sun went down. All I wanted was to get up to my room, cuddle up in the massive double bed I’d been given, maybe put on a movie, and enjoy the fact that tomorrow wasn’t an early start since we were already in Birmingham for the show. The hotel lobby was buzzing with people getting ready to go out, but one person seemed a little out of place. Oli and I noticed him immediately.

Noah was sat on an armchair in the farthest corner from the door looking, well, a little rough to be honest. We didn’t even discuss it as we walked over to him, me sitting down on the chair opposite, Oli hovering between us, dumping the shopping bags on the floor.

“Sitting here all alone, handsome?” I greeted him. He gave me a smile, but it was obvious that he was feeling pretty beat. Apparently, a day full of interviews and photos and whatever else had made its way into his calender didn’t work well with the last remaining bits of jet lag lingering in his system.

“I was gonna have dinner with the rest of the guys here at the hotel but then they wanted to go out and I realised I’m just much too exhausted for that,” he explained.

Oli moved behind him, placing his hands on Noah’s shoulders and starting to massage them. Noah briefly tensed up at the physical contact, before relaxing and leaning into it with a satisfied groan.

“So you got stuck in the lobby?”

“Kinda,” he said, eyes closed, already drifting into another dimension from Oli’s touch. I couldn’t blame him at all.

“I hope you weren’t sitting here when I sent you those pictures of Aubrey,” Oli remarked. Noah’s eyes immediately flew open again at the memory.

“I was supposed to be doing a very serious interview, actually.”

“How did that work out?”

Noah gulped. “Not that well.”

I felt a blush creeping up on my face. I hadn’t seen the pictures yet, even though they were readily available in the group chat, but I could only imagine what they must have looked like taken from Oli’s perspective. The idea of Noah looking at them when he very much shouldn’t be, maybe getting a little horny in the process, desperately trying to hide it but still checking his phone for more, was delicious. It was tempting to tease him a little further, but he looked so genuinely tired and when his stomach gave an audible growl, it didn’t feel like the right approach.

“So, we’re all in the lobby, we’re all getting sleepy and we’re all hungry. How does a movie night with room service at mine sound?”

Apparently, it sounded great. With renewed energy, Noah grabbed half of my bags, Oli the other, both of them almost at the elevator before I’d even gotten up from my seat.

What followed was a mad scramble to my room, a fight over which movie to watch (we ended up with Jurassic Park playing, somehow) and a lot of confused talking down the phone to reception, ordering just about everything on the menu. I mostly sat and watched, the way Oli and Noah interacted, the way both of them made sure to keep including me, the way they moved around in my room as if it was their own, confident and self-assured.

I looked back and forth between them, currently discussing the blanket and pillow situation, and found that my heart beat the same. I wanted Oli. And I wanted Noah. In the same way and so differently still. This was quickly moving away from “silly crush” territory and into something much more serious. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it yet, but when Noah gave me a dazzling smile, I decided now wasn’t the time to make up my mind.

An hour later, I was close to entering a food coma, watching Laura Dern be dazzlingly fantastic on screen, and trying not to think about the fact that I was squeezed between Oli and Noah on my bed. My thighs were touching theirs - it was simply impossible for them not to - but I suddenly felt self-concious about taking up any more space than that.

Not on Oli’s watch. “The fuck are you fidgeting for?”

I stilled immediately, feeling awkward at being called out. I genuinely hadn’t realised it had even been noticeable. Uttering a quick sorry I slid down a little further on the bed. It wasn’t any more comfortable.

“Jesus christ, just come here.”

Oli’s voice was harsh, but his hands were soft as he pulled me into him. It took a little bit of wiggling around, figuring out limbs and hair, until I ended up with my head on his solid chest, his arm around my shoulders, mine slung over his stomach. My ear was right over his heart. His heart, which was doing double time, in tune with my own.

“Do you need me to leave?” Noah sounded playful, but even without looking at him from my position, I was pretty certain there was a hint of honest insecurity in his question.

“Mate, we need you to join in.”

And just like that, without needing any more reassurance or invitation, Noah plastered himself against my back, moulding his body to mine, carefully placing an arm over me.

I didn’t miss the way Oli’s hand reached for his.

I didn't know how I'd quite gotten myself in this situation, cuddled up between two men who had me blushing, had my heart hammering, had me craving them. Two men who didn't seem to know what they were to each other just yet. None of us having any idea where this was going. What we were trying to get out of this. But right then and there I decided I already loved the mess we were getting ourselves into.

[astonmartinii]

F1 ASKS!

i saw this tag floating around and wanted to let yall get to know me better since i’ve been doing this a while and have only really spoken in the form of authors notes! also im not going to tag anyone so just do it if you wanna!

who is your favourite driver?

i think for anyone who has read anything i’ve ever written it’s probably a bit obvious but max verstappen! what can i say little me was told we’re supporting red bull and here was this little charmer (emphasis on little who let that child get into an F1 car)

do you have other favourite drivers?

also based on my writing you can probably tell that my top three are max, charles and oscar! however, i will also say that alex is a close fourth for me (he’s also very nice irl). also as for retired drivers i think the mamma mia series is a bit of a spoiler but i love jenson, seb and kimi

who is your least favourite driver?

i used to say i didn’t dislike anyone on the grid - that was a lie. i’ll still write for anyone within reason but you can also probably tell with how in detail the back and forth is on certain pieces that i am really not a fan of sainz, actually people who get yelled at while i write them would argue it’s more than “not really being a fan of” but i am fake and i have maintained that if i meet him at silverstone (which i very nearly did last year) ill tell him im his biggest fan! also not the biggest fan of like pierre he’s just kinda there for me and a wee bit too cringey ALSO what you may not be able to guess from how i write him… im not really a fan of lando! ive really, really tried especially after his win but he just kinda rubs me the wrong way (i was immediately proven right with the trump comments lol). people say i should pull for him cause he’s from bristol which is where i live but he’s from glastonbury babe - also ive done a few swimming competitions at the school he went to a WOAH baby has so much money.

do you pull for drivers or do you like teams as well?

i mostly pull for drivers but like i guess i like red bull? well i did. i love max so i would follow him everywhere but i did like red bull as well as a team (i like alex, danny and checo so that also helps) but this whole protection of christian horner shtick is really disappointing so id say im a driver person.

if you like teams, who do you pull for?

like i said red bull were the team id pick if i HAD to follow a team - i support chelsea so i cant handle even more disappointment if i followed ferrari and also i only like charles there and they’re the source of all of his misfortune so …

how long have you been into F1?

so my family has always been into F1, my cousin karts and my uncle is a mechanic and makes karts on the side but i had always been more into football cause i could actually go to that with my dad - and also for young me who didn’t know what the fuck a strategy was it seemed kinda boring. but i’d say from maybe 2016ish i started watching it more regularly (hence the max stanship). my mum loves it and her first love in the sport was mark webber which is why we like red bull. but yeah i remember watching max’s first win and was like MUM I WANT THAT ONE (and i have technically met him? idk we made eye contact when his taxi nearly ran over my foot)

what got you into F1?

my mum! i love her and she’s just as much a passionate fan (and hater when appropriate) so it’s a nice thing to do together - especially because me and my dad are season ticket holders at chelsea so spend a lot of time together doing that so this is like my sport time with my mum (along with the olympics that’s our shit we’re very excited for the swimming). so i guess it was being around her watching it and listening to her and my dad argue about it! my mum is an ardent seb supporter and my dad is like a twitter account away from being in teamLH so canada 2018 (2019?) was VERY entertaining. also my uncle loves it so he likes that im proper into it (like have a sports journalism degree) and so we always chat about it - he’s trying to recruit me into motogp next

do you enjoy fanfic/RPF?

i mean i’ve written so much i must love it. lol jokes i do enjoy it and i feel like it helps me like people more (case in point: when i was trying to make myself enjoy the lando win i just read my own fics of him LOL)

but also its something fun to do that’s also creative and has helped me make new friends from all over

how do you view new fans?

ugh i hate the hate new fans get like not everyone can be born into loving a sport? if anything the more people that watch and love the sport the more money it’ll make? idk this whole superiority complex some fans have is just so unneeded for the sport and we all know why is majorly directed at girls. i do fear that some of the new fan behaviours could border on worrying - waiting outside hotels and ambushing drivers is stalking actually!

but overall im always happy to have new people in a sport - a bigger community is always good and new fans bring new perspectives which is good as older fans may just be desensitised to “normal” things in the sport but new eyes can remind them - hey halos are the best thing to happen to F1 and red flags in heavy rain are necessary.

if you could take over as any team principal for any team who would it be and why?

i know i previously dunked on ferrari but there needs to be an intervention because my girly max already has three championships and i need charles to get at least one so i can die happy - then ill move to mclaren, kick zak brown up the ass get a piastri championship and bounce (honourary race with willams or whatever team alex is with cause i need all three 2019 rookies to be race winners)

are your friends and family into F1 as well?

i feel like my other answers answered this but yeah! i also recently reconnected with an old primary school friend who is also really into it. i went to a sports uni so basically everyone there liked it as well (which means me and a friend did trek to the F1 arcade at 4am to watch aus 23 where she had a public meltdown over sainz (i enjoyed it)). also ive made a couple friends through working at races!

are you open to talking to other fans/making friends?

i always am! i am a year out of uni and working from home with all my home friends still at uni after taking gap years so i am big time lonely so always feel free to slide into my messages!

[nevaroonie]

Chamomile Daisies

{TW: Curs1ing, Lasko's rants- um.. candle wax.. uh- Lasko gets called airhead like quite a few times honestly- he also gets called airboi huxley and Damien being too cute- ( voice mails ) A tiny bit of yelling (the word murdered) Guy, an unhealthy amount of knowledge about pizza I'm not kidding... and finally I'm not a great writer.. but I'm trying and learning lmfao- Gavin doing freelancers voice mail(do what you want with that information )- I threw in some guy and honey- the blue is Lasko's rambles }

this got very long for some reason

WC: 2022

This is one of the dumbest things you could think of Lasko. And I mean dumb- like it isn’t even scientifically proven to help you with your rambling.. Well, you can’t say that because every person is different... So what affects you could also not affect the rest of the population.. And empowered and unempowered are different entirely so could DNA have anything to do with it? And I'm doing it again..all fuck it I’ll get to 2 of them. 

  Lasko makes his way over to the cashier, maybe this could work. God, he’d hoped it’d work. The first date was already fucked up..he didn’t want to mess up the second one. He pays and walks out of the store. His place was right around the corner.. Maybe the candles weren’t necessary... But Lasko wanted to make sure nothing went wrong this time. 

               Just thinking about what happened at Max’s made him drop his keys. Damnnit bending down to pick them up. He groaned at the thought of a repeat because of anxiety.. Lasko pushed the thought aside and placed the candles on the tabletop. Where did he put his clothes for the night? The airhead sighed and walked into his room. Going through the mess on the floor. Was that it? No, that’s not dark enough to cover stains.. That's not it.. No.. no.. no..no.. YES, that's it!  Lasko smiled as he pulled up a light turquoise heavy shirt! Unbuttoning his grey work shirt, with the same small smile on his face.. Maybe with the help of these candles, he could stop being so nervous and have a nice date with his dear.

Wait what would be the most effective way to burn the candles? Maybe he could melt them down in a pan well.. Rather a heatproof container… let's be real here he’s not gonna wanna clean that... Like you, how annoying would it be? Scraping the sides.. just sounds like too much work. It could stop with burning you know? Perhaps.. What would be the other method.. I could try a microwave.. Of course, I’d have to cut them in half… they're pretty long candles after all… I was thinking to myself.. Did I ever think about what scent I bought..? What if it smells bad?? Dear god, what am I gonna do fuck.. shit .. mother fuc-.. 

Lasko began buttoning his shirt over his white t-shirt. He walked out of his room, walking to the dryer. Now that he was actually in the kitchen and laundry room. He could try on his pants or well put them on he already knew they could fit. Now that he was dressed ( a few hours in advance ). He grabbed a pan, and a heat-proof container (a small one), and he finally opened the bag and looked at the candle. 

Chamomile Daisies that seem like a nice smell.

Didn’t dear say how much they loved the smell of flowers? Or was it the morning dew smell on the flowers? Was that just a them thing or it is because they a water elemental? I mean they never really said anything about liking flowers.. Did I miss something? Wait have they ever dropped any information about liking flowers..? Should I get some flowers? Just in case.. Maybe I should text them.. ? NO surprises are better.. Right? Actually no. The last time I did that I was completely soaked in water… alright.. Pants on.. Stove on..now.. Should I put some Oil in there? No.. I don’t want to clean the pot more than I already have to. 

As the airhead watched and waited for the candles to melt. His phone rang. It was dear.. Why were they calling? What was going on..? WERE THEY CALLING TO STAY THEY CANCELED?  No silly Lasko. LASKO PICK UP THE PHONE DAMMIT! Right. Right, answer the phone! 

‘’ Hey Dearie! I was just checking up on you! ‘’

D-d-dearie?! That’s new!? 

‘’ H..Hey Dear-r! I'm doing fine! ‘’ 

‘’That's great to hear! I can’t wait to see you, I just wanted to make sure you’re not overworrying… you’re not right? ‘’ Dear asked waiting to hear his response 

‘’ y..y-y-..yea! I'm o-..okay! N-..not worry-ying! A-at all! ‘’ his voice was a dead giveaway. Dear sighed on the other end of the phone. ‘’

'' Dearie..no..Lasko please don’t worry yourself too much.. Alright?’’ 

‘’ right.. I..-I’ll try..my dearest..’’ Lasko looked at the boiling pot on the stove.. The wax was red with light blue accents.

‘’ Lasko? You there?.. Lasko…?? LASKO!! ‘’

Dear’s yell caught poor Lasko off guard. He dropped his phone and in that moment our dearest Lasko forgot that he was an air elemental or at least for the right objects. See he used his magic to catch his phone just before it hit the stove? Wait, where was the candle wax? As Lasko looked up. Dear still on the phone trying to get his attention he saw the pot of wax fly in the air. And practically in slow motion watched it fall landing on the counter, wall, and the floor it also landed on his shirt…His shirt!?. Wait.. his.. His.. his what..HIS FUCKING SHIRT! SHIT..SHIT..SHIT.. THAT’S NOT GOOD

‘’ HEY DEAR I..-ILL C-..C-CALL YOU B-BACK! ‘’ as much as the poor airhead wanted to answer his Dear’s questions. He hit the red button faster than normal. 

Good job Lasko.. Now Dear is more than likely upset with me. And now I have to deal with all this wax. I knew I shouldn't have brought those damn candles! But No.. Lasko wanted to be calm..But NOOO Lasko wanted to do this and that!.. Goddamnit.. I’m like this because I wanted our second date to be better than the first one.. Fuck.. maybe…perhaps freelancer.. Would have any idea of removing wax..from he looks around everything.. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm.. Afraid my deviant..~ can’t make it to the phone right now~~ They’re busy at the moment.~~ But please.. Leave a message..~ make it worthwhile..~~ 

‘’ hey Freelancer.. When you get the chance.. Could you um.. Call me back.. i .. m-..may or m-..m-may not have gotten.. W-wax on my c-clothes.. ..f-f..or my date.. Please ca-call back! ‘’ 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry Dames! Huxley Just record the voicemail, please!.. Right, right! Sorry Dames and I can’t come to the phone- Leave a message and Dames and will get back to you! HUXLEY IT'S YOUR PHONE!! An-  

‘’ Hey Huxley.. Um- whenever you g-g…get the chance.. Could you um.. Call me back..I need some help..I may have or hav..have n-..not gotten wax.. everywhere..? ‘’ 

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s Daimen. I'm afraid I can’t answer the phone.. Leave a message.. Not a long one.

‘’ o-oh.. Straightforward.. U-uh… um. I- I need some h-help with a.. Waxy situation.. ‘’ 

~~~~~~~~

Well as another hour passed, no one seemed to get back with him, well Damien sent him a text about wondering what he meant by straightforward. Lasko tried to explain it.. But Damien didn’t understand how it happened.. But tried his best, to help.. Thanks to his help he got the dried wax off. But the shirt itself was stained.. The red on the shirt made him wanna cry. Red is already a hard color to get out of clothes, and his shirt being blue did not help.. Honestly, it looked like he murdered someone- not the point! He frowned and picked up his phone again. Dialed a number and sighed..it rang once.. Then twice and then eventually someone picked up. 

‘’ Lasko what happened earlier!? You hung up so fast..I thought I did something- ‘’  Dear sounded sorrowful and it hurt Lasko a little. ‘’ No dear, you do anything.. I.. may..have messed something up.. ‘’ that last part left the Airbois mouth almost inaudibly.

‘’ messed what up Lasko? ‘’ it was dear’s turn to be concerned

‘’ Well..I wanted today’s date to go smoothly and not a repeat of what happened at Max’s..’’ dear cringed at the thought.

‘’ yes..what happened..? ‘’ 

‘’ a-and.. we..ll I heard- ab-about.. the-these..ca-calming c-candles..an..d ki-kinda.. Spilled.. The w-wax.. Ev-everywhere.. in-.. Including the-..the shirt.. F-for t-tonight..’’ Lasko managed to stutter out. 

‘’ Lasko.. Dear.. y-you did…wh-at..? ‘’ dear said holding in snickering

‘’ Are you laughing right now!? ‘’ Lasko seemed more shocked than surprised. 

‘’ AHAHAHAAHAAHAHAAHAHA Lasko im sorry! I-..Just.. I ‘’ Dear could barely hold in their laughs. And Lasko entirely lost his nerve and decided to join in the laughing. 

‘’Lasko.. Listen I’ll cancel the plans and you can just come over here.. ‘’ Dear says small giggles in their sentence. 

‘’ Dear! I couldn’t just, didn’t that.. Like I already messed up the first date and now I'm ruining another one! And I just don’t think it’s fair.. That you have to cancel our plans- ‘’ Lasko attempted to ramble on but dear interrupted him. 

‘’ Lasko Dearie.. I love.. That you don't want to quote on quote to ruin another date.. But I just want to spend my time with you.. So come over and bring the shirt.. ‘’ though Lasko couldn’t see his dear’s face he knew they were smiling.. And smiling hard. 

‘’ fine.. I’ll be over in a few ‘’ Lasko responded.. Giving in. Perhaps this is better than embarrassing himself at another restaurant.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And I know I feel so bad because I ruined our first and now the second date! I just don’t know how I let this happen. Dear, I feel so bad.. Like really bad.. Maybe I shouldn’t have come over.. Look Dear, I'll just put the shirt in the wash and I..i- Lakso stops mid-sentence losing his train of thought.. His dear looked so nice.. They always looked nice whether it was nice clothes or just a plain T-shirt and shorts. Like what they were wearing now, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. 

‘’ well, Dearie! Your shirt is in the wash! I used a little magic to make sure the bleach didn’t ruin the whole shirt. ‘’ his dear smiled pulling out their phone. 

Lasko rubs the back of his neck, chucking ‘’ well I could leave once it's washed.. ‘’ Dear glared back at Lasko.. Scarying the power airboi- ‘’ w..w-w.well..i-i..cou-could..j–just s-stay! ‘’ Lasko stuttered out.

‘’ well good! I'm ordering some pizza for the night.. Lasko was a little nervous, but for once his poker face held. Theirs no way it could be the same waiter from before right?

~~~~~~

‘’ hey the pizzas here! Do you wanna go get it? ''Dear looked at Lasko with puppy dog eyes. As if begging him to get the pizza. Lasko wondered who taught them that as he went to open the door. 

{ Lasko is about ramble about the preparation of pizza feel free to skip- }

It. Was. The. Same. Guy.         

  Fuck

‘’ um.. Order for a D- oh.. It’s you- ‘’ guy started with a faint laugh

‘’ Y-Yea.. Haha me woo! ‘’ Lasko was losing him as he grabbed the box of pizzas. 

Did you know pizza could be sold fresh? HAh.. it’s a really funny process actually.. You can even get it whole or portion slices. Though the methods vary. That and have been developed to overcome challenges! Like preventing the sauce from combining with the dough! Because who the hell wants soggy pizza am I right?? HAhah, dealing with eh crust is another hard thing to deal with! Like the methods had to change often because the crust… could become rigid and who wants that? Not me and I'm sure not you! H-h-ha that’s even if you like pizza- l-..like a lot of people who work at their job d-d..-don’t like what they do..l-l-l..like there are a lot of things i..-I don’t like about my job but..but it’s a job you-..you know.. Haha?  

Dear taking notice of the situation.. Giggling a little and going to interrupt Lasko and the pizza guy. 

‘’Lasko go put the pizza on the counter please. ‘’ lasko sighed in relief before disappearing into the other room. 

‘’ sorry bout that- here take this for your troubles..’’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘’ HONEY GUESS WHAT I GOT TODAY!!!! ‘’ Honey turned around to greet their very happy lover tonight.. ‘’ Yes Guy ‘’ 

‘’ I GOT A 150$ DOLLAR TIP ‘’ honey nearly spit out their drink

(@laskosprettygirl this is the Fic.. I hope it was worth the wait- )

once again my Adhd brain made this take harder than it needed to- I hope this lives up to expectations! and have a good day or night!

[anthropologyruinseverything]

Updating the fanfic time!

“Got You” part 2 - 4k words

Jey Uso x mixed race FMC

Minors DNI 🚨 Mature content ahead! 🚨

See here for part 1

Chapter 3

Aurora POV -

I didn’t mind biking the thirty minutes from the trailer park where I lived to the nice suburb. Being alone with my music and a direction was meditative. This morning however it wasn’t as nice as usual. Unable to stand for leverage I was moving slower than usual, my injured right side making the whole process more difficult.

Janine’s latest catch, ‘Paul’, was becoming increasingly violent. I did my best to stay out of his way but the two bedroom single wide trailer was tiny, cramped and rundown. Most of my time at home was spent locked up in my bedroom, venturing out only to fix everyone dinner or use the restroom.

Not long now and I would be able to afford a deposit for a room somewhere. I let daydreams of the day I left that place forever fuel me through the pain in my ribs and ankle. I’d gotten distracted, inadvertently letting the dinner pot boil over. Paul took offense and sent me to the floor with a nasty shove before a swift kick to the ribs. I’d scrambled to my feet and limped to my room, slamming the door shut and locking it behind me. A fresh wave of anxiety shuddered through me.

I planned to ask Josh today if he would show me a few things I could do to be stronger and defend myself better. It might rouse his suspicions but I was just going to tell him a half truth, I wanted to be safe when I returned to campus someday. That was a safe and believable excuse in my mind.

Taking a deep breath I tried to force myself to walk normally in spite of the sharp pain that came with each step. Maybe I was naive to think I could disguise my injuries but I was going to try.

Answering the door rather quickly he welcomed me in and our day progressed as usual. Fortunately for me Josh had to tend to those cancelled meetings and would be busy until lunch time. I thought I had it under control with some Tylenol but was proven wrong.

Jason wanted a specific shark cup and plate set that was stored on a high shelf. Normally pulling out the little step stool and grabbing those things wouldn’t have been an issue.

Normally.

When I tried to put weight on that right ankle it gave and I yelped, falling backwards fully expecting to land hard on the kitchen tile.

Instead a strong pair of arms encircled my middle and I made contact with a hard, warm chest instead of cold, unforgiving floor. The pressure on my ribs hurt and I gasped, clutching at Josh’s forearms.

“Rori!” Jason’s alarmed voice hit my ears and I immediately tried to right myself and go to him but struggling against the hold hurt too much.

“It’s okay kiddo, I got her. Where are you hurt? Other than your foot?”

“Ribs.” It hurt to take in a breath to speak.

Nodding he maneuvered one arm under my knees and one under my shoulders, easily hefting me up into his arms. “I got you.”

I wanted to curl into a ball and never look at him again, this was too embarrassing. Settling me in a chair at the kitchen table he took a very clinical approach to examining my ankle and ribs. If I hadn’t been so upset the feeling of his fingers dancing on my rib cage would have made me dizzy. He let me catch my breath before asking the dreaded question.

“What happened Rori?” Josh sounded calm and collected as he went to retrieve an ice pack. Passing it to me he set about fixing lunch while waiting patiently for an answer.

“I tripped walking up my steps last night and fell. Nothing major, just some bruises.”

“You’re lucky they’re not broken.” My stomach dropped. It sounded like he was scolding me.

“Rori okay?”

“Yeah little man, I’m all good! Just an accident, no big deal!” I raised my hands in the air and smiled at Jason who looked relieved before going back to playing with his toys.

Josh set lunch on the table, ravioli, before collecting the little boy and depositing him in his booster seat next to me. Sitting down on my other side all of his moments were stiff. “You wouldn’t lie to me would you?”

My palms went sweaty and my heart pounded. I hoped my panic didn’t show on my face. Not trusting my voice I shook my head no and stuffed a piece of pasta in my mouth, making a pleased sound. I swallowed the food and the emotion all in one go. “No. I’m so sorry. It shouldn’t stop me from what I need to do again.”

“It’s fine. You rode your bike here yeah?”

I nodded and shoveled another bite in my mouth to avoid talking.

“Me and Jason are gonna drive you home this afternoon, once my meetings are done.”

A fresh wave of panic rolled through me. “No-no, please you don’t have to do that.”

“You’re in no shape to be riding your bike anywhere.” His voice was so cold. It made me want to cry.

“I don’t want to be a pain. I can ride the bus-“

Jason and I both jumped when Josh slapped the table. He seemed to catch himself before slamming it with full force but still made a loud noise. Quickly he looked at his son with a grin to ease any fear the little boy had.

But when he turned to me I could see it didn’t reach his eyes. His expression flattened out and it was like he was reigning himself back in.

I squeezed my thighs together as a confusing rush of emotions hit me. Fear of the consequences since I’d angered him and a strange flash of arousal that felt out of place but there it was all the same.

“Don’t argue with me.”

“Yes sir.”

—

Jey POV

Sitting through these afternoon meetings around the new Bloodline merchandise was torture. I’d never been a fan of this side of the job anyway and whatever was going on with Aurora was eating at me. Had I been a little bit of a bully and let my anger win for a minute? Absolutely but it will get me what I want which is some more information.

I was pretty sure someone was hurting her at home or she had a boyfriend. Thinking through my options I texted my twin who was also on the zoom call looking like he’d rather eat a shoe than look at yet another piece of concept art.

‘**Can yall take little man this weekend?**

I watched him respond on the call.

**’Yeah, you got something to do?’**

**Yeah**

It wasn’t often that I hid things from Jon but he didn’t need to know I was planning on essentially stalking my barely legal nanny for a couple of days. I sure as hell didn’t want to see Trinity’s face if she found out. But I had to know what was going on and figure out how to help her.

As of right now my plan was little more than to storm in, beat the ever living shit out of whoever I needed to, sweep her up and move her into my home and bed permanently. Far from foolproof but it was a work progress.

Finally the meeting came to a close. Heading downstairs I took a few deep breaths to make sure I had my temper fully back under control. It had been hard not to shake her by the shoulders and demand she tell me the truth so I’d settled on slapping the table for emphasis. I’d instantly felt like a jerk when both Jason and Aurora jumped in fear but we’d recovered.

The sounds of their laughter came from the kitchen, she was letting Jason ‘help’ her make pizza for dinner. Looked more to me like she was chasing the veggies he threw every which direction except at the dough in front of him but I enjoyed watching them together all the same. She genuinely seemed to enjoy spending time with him and he loved her already, taking to calling her “my Rori”. Clearing my throat to announce my presence I felt a stab of regret when anxiety fell over her face and she quieted instantly. Jason on the other hand clambered down from the step stool and rushed over, arms outstretched.

“Daddy! Look, making pizzas!” He waved excitedly towards where Rori leaned against the counter next to the bowls of ingredients. I tried to smile reassuringly at her but she just ducked her head, hiding her face with her hair.

“Nice, want some extra help Rori?” Jason was already trying to get down and back into the mix so I let him. It wasn’t the nicest thing, forcing her to talk to me, but she’ll learn to speak up for herself in time.

She would have to as my woman. I don’t know exactly when I decided that was going to happen but here we are.

Finally glancing up at me she bit her lip nervously. “Yes sir.”

An image of her doing that while on her knees in front of me flashed through my mind. I liked that a little too much, liked this oddly submissive behavior. It told me a lot to, her response to my anger. Fawning is what they call it, if I recalled the therapist correctly.

I stepped into her space deliberately, causing her to shy away from my hand. Persisting I gently caught her chin with my thumb and forefinger making her eyes go wide. Tempting as it was to push further and run my thumb over her abused lip I settled for making her look at me.

“M’sorry I scared you earlier.”

She blinked, her eyebrows drawing together in confusion. “You’re what?”

I snorted. “Girl I’m tryin to apologize to you. Pay attention.”

To her credit she recovered quickly. “I’m sorry, I am. I - it’s okay. Let’s get these pizzas in the oven.”

She pulled away but before I saw her pulse pounding in her neck and her eyes dilate. It was obvious she was into what I was doing. Perfect.

A little over an hour later found us loading up her bike into the back of my truck and heading down the highway. It never ceased to amaze me what being on either side of the highway could look like. Some trailer parks were nice with well kept homes, flowers and friendly neighbors. Some were like ‘Martin’s Cove’ complete with meth trailers, cars on blocks and folks toting guns in the waist bands of their jeans. I bristled at the thought of leaving her here but dutifully got out to retrieve her bike once we’d pulled up to #37.

An ugly white man stood on the porch with a stupid look on his face. I hated him. Rori’s face showed a flicker of fear when her eyes landed on him and I wanted to kill him. I had a feeling I knew who was leaving the bruises. I held onto her bike when she went to take it from me.

“Uh, Josh? I got it. Thank you so much again.” I could feel my blood pounding in my ears. The man hadn’t spoken but hadn’t looked away from Aurora either.

“Promise to call if you ever need help.” She tilted her head but must have remembered earlier today.

“Okay, I promise.”

I nodded. “I’ll pull up at eight.”

It made me physically sick to let her walk away but I did it. Once they’d both gone inside I pulled away. Jason fell asleep before we made it home so I got him tucked into bed and set about putting a bag together for his stay at his aunt and uncles this weekend.

I was too worried to sleep well, knowing full well she could be in trouble. Instead I found myself praying whatever gods or ancestors might be listening. The morning couldn’t come soon enough.

Chapter 4

Aurora POV

I stood on the embarrassingly cluttered porch the following morning at 7:30 A.M. Janine and Paul were still in bed. Much to my surprise they hadn’t questioned me in depth, instead disappearing into her room after I made their dinner. I checked the calendar, it was the third.

Ah, her disability check had come in. They’d be flush with drugs for a couple days.

Great, that usually meant they’d leave me alone. And they had. Looking back at the front door yet again, it felt as if it were going to open and swallow me. That’s how it felt to walk into this house, like I was being eaten by a beast snd may never claw my way out.

Turning back I settled on the steps, flipping through my music. “Dirty Thoughts” started playing and I felt a flush start up my neck remembering what I’d done listening to this song last night. After securing my door that lacked a proper lock I’d lain in bed playing my interactions with Josh over in my head. Mostly the feeling of his thick arms and hard chest and calloused hands.

Only a few times, mostly due to lack of privacy, did I indulge the growing heat between my legs. Thinking about Josh had made the throbbing ache there unbearable and when I slid my fingers below the elastic waistband of my underwear I found myself soaked. While still very much a virgin I’d read enough romance novels to know what my body wanted from him. My heart and mind did too but they were a lot harder to make happy.

Carefully I’d started to feel myself, fingers dipping into my wet slit to awkwardly circle my clit while my other hand cupped a breast, lightly playing over a sensitive nipple. My inexperience was a pain though and after a few moments of awkward strokes I was worse off than before I started. Annoyed at myself for struggling I switched tactics to what I knew would provide at least a little relief.

Grabbing my ancient pillow I shoved it between my legs, balled up and pressed tightly to the small bud I was struggling to figure out. Closing my eyes I’d imagined sitting on his lap, straddling one of his big thighs while his hands cupped my bottom and his voice, deep and husky with want, encouraged me to move.

“C’mon girl, that’s it. Move for Daddy.”

It shamed me to think of him that way but I was so lost to the feeling it didn’t stick. Doing as imaginary Josh instructed I ground against the pillow, desperately seeking the short but intense flashes of pleasure it brought. If I did it long and hard enough I’d get a sharp spike that would somewhat ease the tension filling my body. It was nothing like “rolling waves” I read about but it did the trick and wore me out enough to sleep.

The sound of his truck rumbling up pulled me out of my memory and I stood, checking the time. 7:40 A.M., he was early. I needed to get myself under control, this crush was a distraction I didn’t need. What I needed was to get the hell out of this place before things escalated further and finish my degree.

And yeah I wanted kids and a husband and all that lovely stuff but I wasn’t naive enough to believe that Josh was the guy. He smiled at me, opening the passenger door and ushering me in. My heart did a cartwheel in my chest.

He had his choice of anyone. It would never be me and I was alright with that.

It didn’t stop me from wishing it were though.

“My Rori!” Jason’s voice was music to my ears. It wasn’t just Josh I’d fallen hard for after all. The toddler waving happily from his car seat in the back lit up my world and motivated me to get out of bed some mornings when I was depressed.

“Hey little man!” I smiled at him before turning to Josh as he pulled out of our driveway. This felt so normal and nice it was almost enough to make me forget where we were driving away from.

“Mornin. How was your night?” I noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

I blushed in spite of myself. “It was good. How about you?”

Josh raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on the red in my cheeks. “S’fine.”

I mulled over my idea about asking for his help while chattering along with Jason. I’d couched the idea when he was so stern yesterday but he didn’t seem angry any longer and had apologized after all. By the time we pulled into the driveway I’d made up my mind. I spoke before he could open the door.

“Hey, Josh?”

“Hmm?” He tilted his head my way.

“Could-is it okay to ask- because if not I understand-“

“It’s fine just ask your question baby.”

My brain shorted out for a split second. He’s tired, don’t overthink it.

“Can you show me how to like, get stronger? And maybe how to, ya know, throw a punch? For when I go back to campus.” I bit my lip nervously, his expression was so neutral it was impossible to know what he was thinking.

Josh reached over to give my knee a squeeze and my warmth flooded through me. It was so quick I wondered if I’d imagined it but the genuinely warm half smile said otherwise.

“Hell yeah I’ll show you some stuff.”

My heart pounded as I followed the boys inside. I have to get a grip, he’s just being nice. A single quick squeeze doesn’t mean he’s into me.

I noticed the bag of Jason’s things on the couch and my heart dropped. If he was going somewhere else I may not have work for a while.

“Is little man going somewhere?”

“Yeah, my brother’s coming by to get him later, just for the weekend. I’m gonna get some sleep but we can workout some this afternoon, if you’re up for starting now. Just have to work around what’s hurtin.”

My heart soared. “Great, thank you so much.”

——

Jey POV

It was easy to sleep knowing she was safe downstairs with Jason and I made up for what I lost the night before. In my dreams Rori was beneath me, writhing in

pleasure while her fingernails dug into my shoulders and her lips whispered my name over and over like a prayer. Her voice got louder the closer she came to orgasm and I ground into her harder and harder.

“Josh…Josh…Hey Josh?”

Her voice went from thick with pleasure to confusingly loud. Slowly I became aware of someone shaking my shoulder.

“Huh?”

There was a soft giggle from next to me as the bed dipped a little. I realized the object of my dreams was sitting next to me nudging my shoulder. At the same time I realized I had a raging hard on.

“Jon’s here, figured you’d want to say bye to Jason before they took off.”

Shit was it after five already?

I had to get rid of her so I could get this under control. “Yeah. Be right there.”

When I didn’t move immediately she jumped up and ran like she’d been scalded. Maybe she realized she may have crossed a line coming in here, even if it was to get me up for something important.

I couldn’t wait to cross a hell of a lot more lines with her in this room.

But right this minute I needed to get myself presentable, something easy enough to achieve, at least temporarily, with a few deep breaths and splashing some ice cold water on my face.

Loading Jason into the car didn’t take long, he always loved staying with his cousins. Hugging him one last time I stepped back. My brother looked at me from the drivers seat, clearly wanting an explanation. Clapping his shoulder I smiled. “Thanks, got a leak and it’ll just be a lot easier to have guys out to fix it without him under my feet.”

The suspicion in his face melted away and we said our goodbyes. I’d miss Jason but I was excited about “working out” with Aurora, all alone. Not to mention I’d finally have a good chance to question her some. She stood in the kitchen tying up her hair when I walked back in.

“You ready?”

Aurora swallowed but nodded and I noticed her eyes flicker over me. My cock twitched, it was hot thinking she wanted me too. I still needed to clarify whether or not she had a boyfriend and while I couldn’t be certain it was that weird guy at her house who was hurting her I was pretty confident that was the case.

“Good, c’mon.” Leading her into the gym I flicked the lights on.

About 45 minutes later and she flopped on the floor, panting but smiling. Turns out she could throw a decent punch already. Settling behind her on my knees I let my hands fall on her shoulders and waited to see what she would do. Aurora stiffened but didn’t pull away so I slowly began to knead the muscles.

“You did good.” I don’t know if it was my fingers or my words that did it but she moaned softly, her cheeks blushing.

“Thank you.” Her voice was soft and shy.

Continuing up her neck I was gentle as I worked the tension there, surprised at just how tight she was. I decided to get down to what I wanted to know. “Got a boyfriend Rori?”

She blinked her pretty hazel eyes before huffing out a nervous laugh. “A boyfriend? No.”

Relieved, I let that concern go. “Aight. I didn’t think that guy in the porch yesterday was him but ya know, wanted to make sure.” I dug my fingers in a little harder and she drew in a breath with a gasp. My thumbs worked their way down her shoulder blades and her eyes drifted closed. Her muscles quivered under the threadbare tshirt she wore but my eyes were trained on the wet skin of her jaw and neck. I imagined what it would taste like to run my tongue along them in a long stroke.

“Nah, that’s just my mom’s latest boyfriend.”

“Latest?” I didn’t like the sound of that and based on where they lived I doubted these were high quality men drifting in and out of their lives. Already I hated this woman for putting Aurora in danger.

“Yeah, she’s just…I don’t know. She’s got some issues.” Aurora trailed off and I debated how hard to push. This was more than I’d gotten out of her before but I didn’t want her to shut down if I asked the wrong thing. I kept massaging her neck, working my way a little lower to her collar bone and she didn’t resist.

“How’s that feel?”

“Mmm, good.” Just when I thought she was really going to relax into me her phone buzzed. I hated the way she looked panicked when she opened the message. “Oh no, it’s getting really late, I should go.”

Reluctantly I let her stand and got to my feet as well. “C’mon, I’ll take you home.”

Her nerves seemed to get worse and worse during the car ride. Every instinct in me screamed to make her stay, to not drop her off at that trailer. Something bad was going to happen and I knew it.

This time, I reached over her to stop her from opening the door with one hand and grabbed her knee with the other. “Aurora look at me.”

She was startled but did as I asked.

“You don’t have to get out of this truck. But if you do, just promise to call me if you’re in trouble.” For a second I thought she was going to stay or maybe burst into tears. Instead she took a deep breath and smiled at me but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“I promise. Again.”

I squeezed her leg one more time before sitting back and letting her go. Something screamed at me to stop her but I didn’t.

I’d regret that sooner than later.

[queenwille]

IDF: Israeli Defense Forces

Defending themselves from what? Displaced Palestinians hiding out in buildings? The children?

Cause last I saw, Palestine weren’t the ones with white phosphorus missiles bombing Israel every other day and wiping out the population,

wait wait wait, let me start at the very beginning- your question about what does israel have to defend itself a is joke, right…? please tell me you did not come in here to waste my time without doing the bare minimum and research something. you owe me that much if you’d like me to take you seriously.

look, idk at which point did you tune into the west’s favorite reality show which is the middle east crisis, but i honestly don’t have the time nor the patience to catch you up in all of the episodes you’ve missed up until now and that’s even if we only focus on the gaza area. what can i say, some of us were just lucky enough to be born into this. others, such as yourself, have the world wide web for free, go wild.

mmm values. that’s the thing, all those spicy stories you’ve mentioned there? y’all know about them, but you people never catch up about how the IDF took them one by one to military trail for misconduct. nah, why should you care about that part? it ruins your whole immature narrative about the bad guys, huh? y’all would rather stick to the pathetic narrative where this is a fairytale where there are big bad IDF monsters and poor little princesses to save. well, sorry, but life’s more complex than that. yep, the good guys can do bad things and the bad guys can actually not be just bad. it’s called real life. not one angry anon, like yourself, has ever asked me, or any other identifying zionist, what we think about any of those morally questionable issues, y’all just keep assuming what we think and dehumanizing us, but somehow we keep being labeled as the bigots over and over again.

i’m glad you’ve mentioned those tiktok dances because those are usually soldiers who don’t even fight in combat and y’all like to attack them online so much. many of them are not even armed. you know which other soldiers were unarmed? the female soldiers murdered (16, one of them by a doctor in captivity in gaza) or taken hostage (7, one rescued, one murdered, 5 still held hostage to this day) on october 7th. shocking, i know, but not all IDF soldiers are armed. did it matter?

me signaling? do you see me giving out random twitter posts by FUCK KNOWS WHO as valid sources? no? so no, i don’t take it as a valid source. sorry, friend. and my best bud al jazeera? besides the fact that they’ve been proven and, i believe, even admitted to exaggerating with their death tolls, they’re funded by the qatari government. i’ll let you google who qatar used to house before israel —— him and who else it supports financially (spoiler: both start with H). other than that, for good measures, when i’d like to give out a source, i usually avoid using, not only israeli sources, but also jewish ones. just looking out for all of my antisemites out there. 🫡

when did i call it an accident? find me one time time i referred to a palestinian death as an accident. go on, i’ll wait. that’s right, i didn’t. there is though, a difference i make between the people massacred on october 7th and people who get killed as a result of war and y’all never seem to like that. don’t get me wrong, i find both to be horrific, but there’s a very clear difference between being gunned down, raped, abused, mutilated, tied down with cables and more to getting hurt/killed as a result of being unfortunate enough to live at an active warzone. i say this btw about israelis who, unfortunately, got killed/hurt from the missiles fired from gaza during this war as well… and soldiers. it’s just not the same, i’m sorry. what happened on october 7th was purely dystopian and the fact that so many of you keep trying to deny/ignore/justify/compare it to anything else, despite hamas (unlike the nazis) not covering even one drop of blood shed or even part of their intentions, is really baffling. even more so in the 21st century when literally everything is at the palm of your hands. it truly is amazing how much you’re willing to ignore just to feed your white savior complex by patronizing and forcing your western white ideology on terrorist organizations such as hamas.

never have i said to mind your own business. i personally believe that it’s important to be informed and get engaged outside of your very own bubble. hell, i’m a SW student who majors in community work/activism. i do have a few questions though. do you do it cause you’re entitled to? i mean, because your taxes paid for it? so like, you paid a ticket for the show and now you deserve in? like when you vote for your favorite singer on the the voice? that’s the thing, many of you come in here, wanting your slice of the matter, while thinking that reading a little on social media is enough. it’s not. be respectful.

[mistresslrigtar]

DTIYS for @bahbahhh's 1200 follower prompt

As always, there's a song that inspires my writing. Today I share an oldie, but what a goodie.

Where Do I Begin - love theme from "Love Story"

Where should I begin? 

The story of our love is older than the Calamity. My memories of when we first met are foggy at best, but it wasn't pleasant from what she related to me. She told me once my silence drove her crazy, and apparently, my excuse was that wielding the Master Sword was the root cause of my quietude. I was a liar. That may have been the reason before she entered my life, but if she had any effect on me then as she does now, the truth is, she left me tongue-tied. I must have known then what I know now, that she was the only one for me. 

Sometimes, I imagine those star-crossed lovers felt as I do now when they realized their time was running out. 

Does it seem strange to you for me to think of them as entirely different people? It shouldn’t. Neither one of us was the same after one hundred years. I had no memories save the ones she spoon-fed me, and she was no longer the naive girl who had held Calamity Ganon at bay, waiting for me to awaken.

Ah, that’s difficult to think about. 

The guilt that consumes me knowing I wasn’t strong enough to save her then or now, is insurmountable. She’d had to fight alone. All those naysayers, including her father, who belittled her, were proven wrong. Without her, Hyrule would have fallen one hundred-ten years ago. Without her, Hyrule would have collapsed when Ganondorf returned from the dead. 

Without her, I’m nothing. 

People call me the savior of Hyrule when, in all honesty, I had very little to do with it. Hyrule’s salvation floats, unseen above our heads, endlessly circling, searching for what she’s misplaced. 

Something of her spirit must remain. I refuse to believe Mineru’s last words, that my Zelda’s mind and soul are forfeit to the cosmos. If that were so, she’d never have swooped in and saved me from the jaws of the Demon Dragon.

Why’d we go beneath the castle? 

If I could take it all back, would I, knowing what waited in the depths? Perhaps we could have lived to the end of our days in blissful ignorance. Had the children we’d only just begun to talk and dream about. We deserved that, didn’t we? We’d already sacrificed twice for Hyrule. 

This isn’t how it was supposed to end. 

I try not to curse Hylia, but my heart has hardened, and faith seems unobtainable. Zelda wouldn’t like knowing I feel this way. She’d had faith I’d save Hyrule and had sacrificed her mortal soul to ensure my success. 

I had faith—in her. Now, I’m lost in a void of moments when we lived and loved for a brief while. How can I move on? When all the best of me was lost when she sacrificed her beautiful soul in the hope that I’d triumph. 

The cost was too steep, Zelda.

It’s been over five years since she fell into the chasm, disappearing in the blink of an eye. I never saw her again, the love of my life and my only reason for being. I can’t escape her memory. Her ghost remains everywhere I go, to haunt me by day and my dreams by night.

I can’t stand to linger in Hateno longer than necessary and never set foot in the house. It takes all my willpower to descend the ladder to her well to collect the few brightblooms that sprout there. 

The home I began building in Akkala (back when I still had some hope that she’d return to me) is a complete lost cause. I haven’t visited there since the end. Seeing the empty study and gallery I built for her is too much to bear. The last letter from Hudson asked what I intended to do with the home. I told him to repurpose it into a school for Tarrytown. 

She’d like that.

Shielding my eyes, I look to the sky in search of her. There she is–the Light Dragon. She drifts above me, her legs endlessly swimming in the air, and the crystal green eyes I love so much gaze back at me.  

She’s still the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen, and I’ll always love her whether she’s a human or a wyrm. There’s an old song that asks the question, how long can love last and be measured? Surely not by the hours in a day or a lifetime even. My devotion to her transcends time, space, and physical form. I’ll chase her, search for her, and cherish my Zelda until the stars burn away. 

It’s my turn to rescue her, even if that means I die trying. I’ve scoured all of Hyrule and the Sky Islands, searching for a way to reverse her terrible fate. There’s only one more place that remains. If the answer to the riddle of how to save her is anywhere, it’ll be in the depths.

I’ll spend the remainder of my days searching for a way to save her. Because in the end, it’s always only been for her.

“Link!” Tulin’s voice, carried by the wind, breaks my reverie. 

Glancing over my shoulder, I see he’s heading toward me. He nearly knocks us down with a bear hug when we collide. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, and as he backs away, I realize he’s as tall as me. 

He sees that I’ve noticed and smiles, turning his head. “Check this out! My braid is long. Kind of like yours. Looks cool, right?”

Yeah, it does, Tulin. He reminds me so much of Revali without any of the pomposity.

He’s the one I’ll miss the most and who will understand the least why I have to go. He’ll want to follow me if I tell him, and I can’t have that. He belongs here, in the sky, touched by the sun and moon. I can see his future, and it’s bright. 

Before I go, I must spend these last few days with him, building brotherly camaraderie and making memories. Hopefully, he’ll fondly reflect on our time together and forgive me for leaving. 

Pulling out my paraglider, I put on a happy face for him. 

Race you!

[onelinemanytimes]

The “Protagonist” of Underverse 0.7 (Part 1)

Now, this is an interesting one. This is also a hot take, potentially, and maybe a bad choice of words- “protagonist” typically suggests a main character and Underverse is a series where a true one main character is hard to pin down. I’d say Protagonist is definitely the wrong word actually, thinking about it- but I’m not sure how else to phrase this…

Maybe it’d make more sense to call them the battle perspective. That is, the person you’re meant to be rooting for in this battle, and the person who’s side is followed closest throughout the conflict once it gets rolling.

Let’s talk about why in the WORLD I would think the character in this role is FRESH, and not Ink. 

LET ME ALSO MAKE IT CLEAR NOW. I’m not about to suggest Fresh is the next main big character in Underverse or that he’s going to be saving the day or anything of the sort. If anything, I think now, he’s basically going to disappear until maybe the very end to show up in a final shot of some kind exactly the same as he was. (I would love to be proven wrong about that but I doubt it.)

I’m talking exclusively about the second half of Underverse 0.7 Part 1 that takes place in the Antivoid/Doodlesphere, specifically the conflict that happens in the doodlesphere. So just the parts Fresh is there for. Everyone clear on that? Yeah? Alrighty.

So, how could I possibly think FRESH is the main perspective on this battle and not Ink!?? Ink is present for all the conflicts much more directly as the focus, is the one who has a character arc in the episode, and has been super important for basically the entirety of underverse what with his connection to X Gaster and everything else. Ink’s TOTALLY main character material while Fresh is super background!! Surely this is me actually being out of my mind right?

Maybe. But hear me out, because I’ve got some interesting evidence for this.

Point 1: How Fresh arrives

Fresh shows up to the scene as one part of a duo with someone who is undoubtedly a main character, Cross. This still signs him up as a sidekick more than anything, on its own, but there’s more to this than that. Specifically; The Gift. AKA, Fresh’s Payment for the favor he did Ink, something Cross doesn’t know about, but has been used in promotion and as a symbol of this episode for a while now.

That Gift has so little to do with Cross that he didn’t even get told what it was in vague terms by Core, all Core said was “Don’t worry about it, just go,” even though Core could have answered that Cross was going with Fresh of all people because ink gave him a promise, or a gift, or a favor, or something of the like.

Cross is also kicked off into what we find out to be Aftertale within the first few minutes of showing up- I think it’s safe to say that for this episode, Cross is not a focal point for the part of the video I’m focusing on here.

There’s also what Ink is doing when they show up. Besides, y’know, being thrown around like a wet sock by Error.

He’s holding the gift and looking for Fresh.

He’s PROTECTING that gift very very hard. To the point of when error was throwing him around, his focus was on making sure he did not lose that gift, even despite losing his vials in a blast soon after this. Ink didn’t remember what it was initially! But when he realized that was singularly his focus; Get this gift to Fresh.

Error is obviously an antagonist here who is preventing Ink from delivering that gift to Fresh. Also not consistently present- definitely showing up multiple times, but not there the entire time. You love to see him throwing a fit about the lack of spotlight only to hilariously still be losing the spotlight to, of all people, Fresh.

We can tell that everything here is centered around Fresh and ceases to function without him here, but there’s a much more compelling reason why I think Fresh is meant to be the focus here and the lens through which we view these battles.

Point 2: The Vials

These are Ink’s Vials! Yes, I can hear the confusion starting again. These Vials, however, are what keyed me into the fact that Fresh is the one we’re watching, not Ink. If this graphic hadn’t existed then I wouldn’t have realized it myself- but they work in a very peculiar way in this fight/chase sequence.

Fresh, currently, has all the vials. He’s playing a game of keep-away with Ink, skateboarding away with them to keep them out of his hands, meanwhile Ink is trying to attack him to get them back, and drink them.

This graphic is pretty unnecessary if it was solid. You can know the colours of the vials if you look at inks design, so it’s purpose isn’t apparent until a few moments later, when Fresh tosses out the Green and the Yellow, which are then caught by Ink…

Who drinks them. Regular Ink behavior- but now we see what the vials are there for! Ink drinking them emptied them, marking them as no longer a piece in play, completely greyed out.

…That doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?

Ink is trying to get the vials back from Fresh. If the visual was trying to keep track of how many Ink had gotten back, then all of them should be unavailable until Ink has them. Especially given at this point, Ink is being actively taunted about a variety of things I’ll dig into more in other posts- but that needless to say are encouraging him to magically pursue Fresh. 

Perhaps they’re simply keeping track of how much material is in each vial..? But that would also be odd, wouldn’t it? Why would Ink need to keep track of which vials are full or empty? His magic isn’t tied to the colours he has access to, and the vials don’t change when magic is used by Ink, just when they’re drunk. Not to mention, Ink doesn’t have those vials yet- Fresh has them.

And you know who would profit from keeping track of their volume, and which ones have been consumed? Fresh would. It's VERY important that Fresh keeps track of which ones Ink’s drunk, for reasons that are made clear later. HE is the one that is making that visual matter- and it’s tied to HIS goal, not Ink’s. We’re seeing his side of this battle, the side where he has to know which vials are empty for the last part of this battle.

When the vials are no longer a checklist. They’re a timer.

These Vials, in the latter half of their fight, become a timer that goes down at a steady rate over the next few minutes. This timer is very very obviously for Fresh specifically, marking how much time he has to be in control of ink’s body. Anything he wants to do, he has to do it before he runs out of the material now in those vials- making this graphic undeniably one that applies to Fresh specifically, not Ink.

Why does this matter? What’s the point of knowing who’s perspective we have on this battle when we’re watching from the third person anyways? Well, for one it’s cool as heck to see this and ponder it, but for two; it’s so that the shift to Fresh!Ink isn’t that strange or jarring. Having Fresh take over the main character and perspective of the battle would be odd, and would mean forcing your main character to take a back seat. It’d mean Fresh was actively uprooting something planned and prepared before and causing a disruption.

That’s no good! But that problem goes away if Fresh was always the focus. No need to shift perspectives, no need to see how Ink feels while being possessed, none of that. Fresh is the one who’s in the spotlight- and this is further accentuated by how he acts while possessing Ink. He’s not talking to Error, that’s for sure, and he’s at best kind of talking to Ink, maybe.

That’s not actually it though. No, he’s talking to us, full on PSA mode, turned towards the camera and giving a guide on how he plans to win as he proceeds to. The spotlight on him makes overwhelming sense, with that- and it’s EXACTLY the kind of thing he would want, maybe even fitting payment that he decided to take for himself when Ink’s gift was so sub par.

He wants us to pay attention to him. He wants to be seen, to be remembered, to be adored and to exist without question. Because that’s what it means to be a character. That’s how you continue to be there, how you keep from fading away into irrelevancy- how you end up getting replaced, and written out of your own life.

And he is terrified of being replaced. He would do anything to keep himself important enough for us to care about.

Maybe the gift was the funniest thing in the multiverse after all. An opportunity for Fresh- ridiculous, overshadowed, often misunderstood and ignored Fresh- to temporarily take the biggest spotlight possible from one of the main characters of the series, asserting himself in legendary, radical fashion as an essential part of this otherwise very serious high stakes story that cannot be overlooked or replaced. Because you have to admit, THAT is hilarious.

[tnystrk-exe]

Covenant and Devotion

Papa Emeritus IV x Reader

Summary: “I ask for so little, just let me rule you and you can have everything that you want. Just fear me. Love me. Do as I say and I will be your slave.”

Warnings: 18+ Oral m receiving

AN: I’ve been obsessed with the dynamics with the guys for a while. After sitting on it for the longest, I figured why not just write it. Forgive me if I’m a bit rusty.

AO3 Link

“I ask for so little, just let me rule you.”

It had been days. Days upon days of hearing he wasn’t good enough. This position wasn’t his birthright. Luck of the draw. A rat that scurried to chance the second it presented itself. 

So what if he had?

He did the work. 

Poured the very fiber of his being into this ministry and earned it more than anyone before him had. 

No. “Lucky” was something he never was. Who could look at the way his life started and claim such a thing. He wasn’t born and immediately given opportunity on the simple chance of existing within the right circumstances. 

For years he dedicated his life to the dark lord. It was only right he’d be rewarded for his efforts. How could they ever question Him? He knew of Copia’s coming. Each and every year crawled this miserable church to the true hands it belonged in. To someone who truly respected it and didn’t use the position for pleasure alone. This was his right. 

Who were they to question what Satanas wanted? Traitors, the lot of them.

He never mind time in the confessional. Being a good Papa to the congregation that he’d been asked to protect and guide was more than important to him. However, sitting here to stew in his thoughts between people was a bitch to say the least. 

There was no such thing as luck in this world. They’d be proven wrong. Then punished by Him for ever doubting his lead.

A soft knock against the confessional brought him out of his thoughts. 

“Il Padre, il Filio, et lo Spiritus Malum,” he heard you begin.

“Tell Papa your sins, Sorella. Let us rejoice in them.”

Taking a deep breath he reveled in the scent of your perfume. Had your voice not given you away, surely he would have recognized you on the smell alone. It invaded his senses. The memory of it made him weak on nights where he was too busy to look for a partner. 

“I’m afraid there isn’t much to tell,” you sighed, the soft click of prayer beads filled the air as you toyed with them. “You, Papa?”

He chuckled at your shyness, “I’m here to praise you, little one. Not the other way around. There must have been some thought floating around in your head, tempting you.”

“Well…”

“Well…” he urged you, “Come, tell Papa your secret. I ask for nothing more, only to be let in.”

“I-“ 

The warmth that must’ve been flooding your face was easy to imagine. He was much the same when he was younger. Though Nihil was usually guaranteed to be drunk or high so after a while such things were easy to shake off. Now? Everything he’d done on stage hardly left any shame. It’s been a while since he blushed. That was a shame. In the correct situations, it wasn't the worst feeling. 

“We don’t have to talk about such things if you’re not ready. We can have a simple conversation.”

“No. No, I can do it,” you insisted, “I’m just… embarrassed. It’s so typical.”

He mulled over what to say for a second. “Many have existed, you know, I’d like to think there’s some comfort in that. No matter what. Someone’s probably had the thought. You’re not alone in it.”

You laughed, the sound of it making him smile. “I’m certain I’m not.”

“If you tell me, I can tell you if we have something in common.”

“Tricky,” you chided him before taking a deep breath, “Eucharist.”

“What about it?”

“Fuck, if there’s ever a time to say something,” you whispered to yourself, “I can’t shake it. No matter what I try, I think about it… Kneeling in front of you, the taste of your glove on my tongue, your grip on my chin to ensure I looked in your eyes as you gave me wine.”

He felt himself stir in his pants. Of course there had been motives to those actions. Pretty images to lock away for himself later, not that he’d assume you’d reciprocate. His finger ghosted over the growing bulge. 

“I see… Can’t say I’ve ever thought of a Papa that way. Have you done anything to remedy these thoughts? There’s been many times you’ve taken the Eucharist.”

“That's why I was late today. The usual dream woke me up at night and it felt so real I needed to finish. Lost track of time and well you know.”

“Such a needy thing for your Papa.” He smirked at the quiet sound of your whine. “My poor little lamb. Did it feel good imagining it was my fingers ruining you?”

“Papa…” 

He chuckled, “Perhaps, I have my answer. I always wondered why you’d only take Eucharist from me. Though, I simply assumed you were intimidated of Terzo. Che ragazza leale, you knew who your true Papa was, didn’t you? Even when he was nothing more than a Cardinal. Che bravissima ragazza sei stata.”

“You’re being mean,” you whined, voice doing little to hide your embarrassment. 

“No. No, tesoro, never to you unless you asked for such treatment. I took note of how easily you called me Papa while others still stumble over it years later. Cardinal,” he scoffed, “I’ve ascended. Changed. He’s no longer me. No. But you, Sorella, you took to your Papa so beautifully. Why don’t you come to me? Receive the Sacrement you truly long for.”

You said nothing. The door shut. Fuck, he may have ruined this by pushing. Maybe all you wanted was to take the thought out of your head and he misread the situation. If he had to get a new assistant he understood that, but the idea of upsetting you shrouded over everything else. 

Though all those worries washed out when you opened the door and immediately settled yourself on your knees in the cramped space. He closed the door, spreading his legs to allow you more room. His finger traced along your jaw. 

“YN, answer me honestly. Copia right now,” he stated, the usual thing to say when you were on equal footing, “Is this what you want? Nothing has to happen. We see each other in the morning, same as usual.”

You grabbed his hand, pressing a soft kiss to his gloved hand. “I want this, Copia, I want you. Let me worship you for all the good you do. You do so much and never get anything in return.”

For that he couldn’t manage a sentence. His brain nearly imploded at the thought. Instead, he merely motioned to the laces that we’re keeping you from what you wanted. 

He hissed you palmed him. Being reminded when he saw a mischievous glint in your eye that despite the initial bashful demeanor you were still a sister of sin. The only thing that betrayed any of your earlier emotion was the slight tremble of your hands as you undid the laces. Chuckling quietly when you groaned in frustration at how tight he had tied it.

“Hush, sweet girl. Don’t want to be caught, do you?” He asked. Though if he could have it his way he’d have you moaning to the heavens so everyone would know who you belonged to. You tugged at the string making a disappointed sound once more. “Such an impatient thing aren’t you? Open.”

Your hands didn’t leave his lap still fumbling, but you looked up at him immediately obeying his command. Eyes looking at him with an innocence he knew you didn’t truly possess. All the same he twitched against the strained fabric. 

One hand gripped your chin, squeezing your cheeks roughly. “What was it that lingered? The taste of my gloves?” He nodded your head for you. “Yes, I see.”

Two of his fingers traced your bottom lip. 

Today's choice of gloves were the skeleton ones. The bumps and ridges on them were subtle in the light, but you’d feel them well enough if you allowed him to return the favor after his turn. He wouldn’t take you. Not here. Not yet. When he did that he’d savor it. There would be all the time in the world to learn the secrets you had. 

His fingers thrusted themselves against your tongue. Your mouth closed around them, hands stilled as you looked at him docile as ever while he did as he wished. A content hum signaling you were more than pleased with the situation. With his free hand he took care of undoing the laces. Grabbing one of your hands he wrapped it around himself, moaning his approval as you pumped him. The warmth of your mouth sunk into the glove, making him impatient to experience it first hand. 

“Come, cara mia, receive the gift your Papa wants to give you.”

You whimpered as he withdrew his fingers. Wiping the spit off of them on your cheek. An adorably furrowed brow at him, but otherwise no response. What use when you’d be covered in your spit in a moment anyway?

With a hand at the base of your neck, he led you forward. A grateful moan slipped past his lips as you licked off the precome that was making its way down the shaft. The tip received kitten licks. He leaned his head back and eyes closed as you took your time. It had been a long time since he cared to have a partner, but there was no need in rushing this after he coveted it for so long. He couldn’t help tugging at your hair as he kept himself in place. 

Eventually, you let him into your mouth. The feeling of it was near damning. Tongue swirled making sure no part of him was left untouched. 

“Lucifero mi ha benedetto con te. Una bocca così dolce per tuo Papa.”

It was embarrassing how quickly this would be over. Maybe that was a plus side to sleeping around, he would’ve been allowed this longer. Before he could give it much more thought you suddenly slipped him in as deep as you could manage. Making him choke out a loud groan as you gagged around him. Selfishly, his hand kept you there, hips giving shallow thrust to get just that much deeper.

“This is what you wanted, eh? Your Papa’s cock in that little throat. Perfetto. Mi prende così bene. Non vedo l'ora di scopare quella figa così come questa gola.”

You made a soft noise, blinking away tears from your eyes, but you didn’t struggle against the on slot. More so welcoming the invasion as you braced yourself against his thighs. He muttered out more strung out thoughts. None heading anywhere other than how good he felt or what he’d do to you later. 

Taking some mercy, he finally allowed you to breathe. He almost felt pity as you took deep breaths through coughs, but the fussed make up didn’t let him feel that bad. You didn’t seem to feel so bad either as the second you felt okay again you were back on him. Lavashing a vein with sweet kisses. 

Running a hand through his hair he tugged at the strands. Needing something to ground him. 

“You look so pretty, Copia,” you said quietly. 

“Cara,” he groaned, feeling the warmth rise to his face. “I need you. Ho bisogno di te. Mente, corpo, e anima. Tutto quello che devi dare per me solo. Let me keep you. Be mine. Take what I give you.”

Pulling your head back, he laid his head against your tongue. Hand fisting himself away as he pushed himself closer to the edge. It wasn’t long before he finished. His cum a mess in your mouth and around it as you made a show of swallowing it down for him. Using a finger to wipe the rest, put it on your tongue to clean off the mess. 

Grabbing the handkerchief from his pocket he cleaned you up properly. There would still be evidence that you’ve done someone but it was as clean as he could manage at the moment. Helping you from your cramped position, he sat you on his lap. 

“May I kiss you?” 

It felt a bit ridiculous to ask all things considered but he asked anyway. 

“Please, Copia.”

Closing the distance, his hard work to clean you was ruined once more by paints. Oh well, he intended on making you his anyway. His hand slipped into your waistband, slow enough to give you time to deny him. When you did nothing he ventured further, finding the mess there. All from touching him alone. 

“Che brava ragazza sei per me.”

A knock interrupted the environment. 

“Il Padre, il Filio, et lo Spiritus Malum,” the man started, “I’ve partook in the act of lust.”

Copia’s hand didn’t stop what it had set out to do, the free one simply opted to preoccupy your mouth to help muffle out any noise you’d make. 

“How delicious. And who has been the object of your desire?”

“Sister YN, Papa, I can’t get her out of my head.”

When you went to sneak a peek out of curiosity he drove his fingers harder into you. Relishing in the way you gripped at his dress shirt the muffled vibration of your moan against his palm. 

“What a pity that is.”

[asoundofdrop]

Coolness

A/N: Trying to write Aventurine on top of a very energetic OC for the first time was... an experience LMAO. If you happen to enjoy this work, thank you very much. CW: Xiwu gets hit by a car but it's all dandy, brief mentions of alcohol, OOC-ness and not beta read, pre-2.2 release

Before coming to Penacony, Xiwu had no idea that price tags could be so long. But then again, a lot of these clothes and accessories were shinier and fancier than what she normally saw. Such a thing couldn’t be helped, she supposed, though it did make her think about how many centuries of saving credits it would take before she could afford a piece.

What was it that March said? Something like, if it was made completely from scratch, it was bound to be expensive because it means they were… they were… “hot culture”? Sounded close enough. But aren’t all things made from scratch? What’s the difference?

She couldn’t remember how the conversation continued from there.

“Ms. Xiwu?”

“Hm? This voice…” She turned around, and was met with a blonde man wearing a fancy blue-green suit and a pair of gold-rimmed shades. With a cheery grin, she greeted, “Mr. Jinkou!”

The man blinked and awkwardly laughed.

“Ah… pardon?”

Xiwu hadn’t intended to blurt that out. She corrected herself, “Um… Mr. Aventurine!”

With how purposefully she said it, he wondered if “Mr. Jinkou” was his designated nickname… Perhaps he should ask later how she came upon it.

“I didn’t think I would run into you here,” she remarked.

“Neither did I, my friend.” Aventurine then noticed the mess of ice cream at the corner of her mouth. “Maybe I should have expected that even a doctor cannot resist Penacony’s finest treats.”

Seeing her confusion, he tapped his own face with a finger.

“Ah…!” Xiwu hurriedly swiped off the mess with a thumb and cleared her throat, pretending her face wasn’t flushed with embarrassment. “Ahem… so, what brings you here?”

“It seems, after completing my mission, the IPC saw fit to give me the next few weeks off as vacation. I thought I’d start off by visiting the boutiques here. The watches they sell here are one-of-a-kind, or so I’ve been told by many.”

She gasped. With a hand to her mouth, she panicked, “Watches? Is yours broken? We didn’t break it earlier, did we—?”

Aventurine chuckled and waved it off.

“You’re working yourself up over nothing, my friend. It’s still perfectly fine, which is rather lucky with all things considered. But… it doesn’t hurt to add to my collection.”

“Ohh, I see.”

Xiwu sighed in relief.

Her relaxed cheeriness immediately came back, as if their “fight to the death” in the plaza never happened. Aventurine approached her with the expectation that she would warily watch every move he made. Even if she wasn’t the particularly cautious type, she knew nothing about him.

So to be proven wrong like this… was a strange surprise.

“Say, how about you join me for today?” he suggested.

“Hmm…” Xiwu tilted her head as she contemplated the choice. “I’m happy with the offer, but I don’t really know how to… what’s the word… appraise? I don’t really know how to appraise these things. Maybe someone else from the Express could make better company for this.”

“That’s perfectly fine,” he assured her. “I wanted to invite you specifically to relax and chat with me. Such opportunities are rare in this line of work anyway, especially in my position.”

“When you put it that way, sure! I’ll come along.”

With her hands tucked behind her back and large exaggerated steps, Xiwu followed beside him. Her head constantly turned as she looked at the displays. On the other hand, Aventurine seemed much more accustomed to the scenery.

She began to wonder if he was bored already.

“You’re staring at me,” he playfully said. “What’s on your mind, dear Nameless?”

“Oh, well, it’s just that you don’t seem very impressed. I guess when you’re so high up with a company like the IPC, you see these kinds of sparkly things everyday.”

“Perhaps. It’s certainly important to be knowledgable and well-acquainted with the finer things in life to establish relations with the wealthy,” he agreed. “But it’s not like this is all I surround myself with. I did agree to a friendship with you and the Express, didn’t I?”

“That’s true, even if it’s difficult to imagine you… well, somewhere else.”

“Haha! I suppose that’s a compliment.”

Before Aventurine could continue, Xiwu suddenly stopped in her tracks and pointed past him: “Ah! Look at that!”

“Huh?”

She approached the display, hovering so close that her breath left a light fog on the glass. The Stoneheart stood beside her to take a closer look.

“I suppose the craftsmanship is decent… Though I’m surprised something like this caught your eye,” he said.

“Cause it looks like the one you wore when we first met.”

Aventurine inspected it again. It was a dark blue top hat, most likely made of satin—he assumes. The black band was decorated with a matching half-ribbon, a buckle embedded with a bright blue jewel, and two overtly large feathers. Goose feathers? He couldn’t help but wonder if Xiwu rarely saw such hats before to immediately compare this to his.

“Doesn’t it?” she pressed, her eyes large and expectant.

“Ah. I’m… flattered.”

And certainly, there was… some respect, if that was the word he had to use, to be had for how Xiwu could turn conversations as she pleased.

“Why don’t we look inside this one?” she suggested. “Maybe we’ll find a good watch for you!”

She was already running into the boutique, not that Aventurine had a particular reason to refuse. As soon as the store worker noticed the Stoneheart, he quickly bowed low and eagerly greeted, “Welcome, esteemed guest! Please feel free to ask for assistance!”

Of course, Aventurine saw how the worker eyed his accessories so closely. No one could miss such a flagrant flash of gold.

“Certainly,” he said as he nonchalantly handed over a wad of credits.

He didn’t keep exact count, but it was somewhere around ten thousand credits. That was the amount he usually passed out as goodwill.

“Mr. Aventurine, look at this!”

Xiwu gestured at him from the back of the store, where they kept the array of watches for sale in a glass case. Her eyes were focused on a pale yellow watch with green-tipped feathers—thankfully not too bright to look at for a long time. Though if Aventurine had to comment, he was beginning to think that she had come to associate him with all birds regardless of the kind or color.

“An ordinary watch, it seems. Or rather…”

The store worker from before shuffled over to assist: “The madam has a wonderful eye! You see, our Dreamscape watchmakers took inspiration from the Origami birds that helped build Penacony. This watch can be folded and tucked into any place for safekeeping.”

He was watching them like a hawk.

Aventurine redirected his attention to the watch. It wasn’t cheaply made, to be sure, and Xiwu seemed so proud of her find.

He eventually settled with: “A kind suggestion, Ms. Xiwu, but I’m not particularly concerned about misplacing my things.”

She took it well in stride and nodded. She then furrowed her brows as she continued looking over the display, while Aventurine kept her in his peripherals.

The Stoneheart definitely had his fair share of people kissing up to him, hoping for a chance to borrow or even take some of his influence. With those years of observation, he could only say… Xiwu’s attempts, if it could be called that, are comparably… earnest. Why? What was the point of it?

“What about this one, Mr. Aventurine?”

“Which one?”

The store worker realized which one Xiwu had been pointing at and spoke up, “Ah, another excellent suggestion from the madam! It is made to reflect the wearer’s mood, you see. This is a feat that only Penacony’s finest watchmakers can achieve!”

“That sounds cool, doesn’t it!” Xiwu asked, rather giddy.

“Why don’t you try it on for yourself?” the store worker suggested. “Perhaps the madam can go first?”

“Sure!”

The store worker took the watch from the case and adeptly tied the band around Xiwu’s wrist. Within seconds, the case changed colors and the band became sparkling gold.

“It appears that the madam is quite happy,” he announced.

“Whoaa! Mr. Aventurine, look, look! I wonder how they did that… C’mon, you should try it too.”

“Well, I can’t possibly refuse such enthusiasm. If you don’t mind, sir.”

Aventurine himself was becoming curious what the watch would sense in him. He held out his own wrist and the store worker quickly transferred it over. Suddenly, the seconds felt like minutes as he stared at the case intensely. Surely it would say the same thing as it did for Xiwu…?

The case grew dark and the band became a dull silver. As if that wasn’t enough, it felt as though the small clock hands were trembling within the case.

“Ah, um… it appears the esteemed guest is feeling anxious,” the store worker announced after checking several times.

“Hm? Anxious…?” Xiwu repeated.

Laughter filled the corner of the boutique as Aventurine swiftly took off the watch and returned it to the store worker’s hands.

“Perhaps there might be a manufacturing error,” he said. “Either way, it would be much more easier if I were to just switch out my watches.”

“That can’t possibly—.”

Aventurine placed a stack of twenty thousand credits in the store worker’s hands. Yes, that had to be the explanation, he was sure of it. What could he be anxious about in this moment? There was nothing at stake, nothing to be gambled for. The watch had to have been broken someway somehow.

“Thank you for your service. Hopefully, you will re-examine the watch in a timely manner, and I just might return to this lovely establishment another day.” He then faced Xiwu and gestured towards the door. “I’m feeling a bit parched at the moment. Why don’t we go for some refreshments before we continue?”

Xiwu blinked, confused at the change of pace.

“Oh um, okay.”

Aventurine was quiet as they stepped out. His face hadn’t changed at all, but Xiwu couldn’t shake off the possibility that he was displeased.

Could it be…? That she wasn’t a good enough shopping partner?! That had to be it, it must be because her choices were so awful that his mood had been horribly soured beyond repair! He was only saying all those things to be polite! This wouldn’t have happened if it was Mr. Yang or Ms. Himeko! Quick, how would they help him feel better?

“Um… uh, so where did you want to go for refreshments, Mr. Aventurine?” she sheepishly asked.

He must have been deep in thought. It took a while for him to answer.

“There’s a small bar in Aideen Park. I’m sure you’ll enjoy their selections.”

“Oh… bleh, beer.” Xiwu realized what she had said aloud and backtracked, “I mean! Um… it sounds like a… very sophisticated place to be…?”

Aventurine chuckled. It was still difficult to gauge his mood, but maybe he wasn’t as angry as she initially thought.

“You have no need to worry, my friend. Bars don’t only serve alcohol, especially the ones here in Penacony. They’ll hardly mind serving you SoulGlad straight from the bottle.”

He caught onto the way she tried to tiptoe around him. She must still be wary from earlier as expected, and she was only trying to stay in his good graces out of caution.

“Wait, Mr. Aventurine.”

But then again, as he thought back on it, she didn’t look that terrified during the confrontation… How much did it really weigh on her mind?

“Mr. Aventurine?”

Understanding each Express member will help in future collaborations, certainly, but two of the members thus far have proven to be slightly more difficult than Aventurine anticipated.

“Mr. Aventurine, move over!”

He was jarred out of his head when he was pushed forward. He quickly regained balance, but he heard a loud yelp and honking from just behind him.

“M-Ms. Xiwu??”

By the time he turned around, Xiwu was already on the floor. The vehicle swerved around her fallen body and drove off without losing speed. Before he could reach a hand out, she sat up with large tears welling up in her eyes.

“Owww!! That hurts a lot!!” she cried.

“Apologies, my friend. I was… preoccupied and…”

Xiwu gingerly rubbed at her hip for a few moments. She then blinked and slowly stood up, her tears disappearing just as quickly.

“Oh, right… They said things don’t really hurt in this dream world. Phew, but that was a bit scary. At least it wasn’t that big of a car.” She looked into Aventurine’s eyes, so directly he was nearly startled, and asked, “What about you? I didn’t push you too hard, did I?”

“No...? You didn’t.”

“Okay, back to Aideen Park then!”

A genuine burst of laughter unexpectedly left Aventurine’s mouth, earning a stare of bewilderment.

“You’re too funny, Ms. Xiwu! I wasn’t expecting your concern was… for me, I suppose. And I must say… how should I put it? You certainly have a talent for brushing things off.”

Xiwu puffed up her chest as if she was rather proud. Mr. Aventurine wasn’t angry with her after all! Or if he was, he certainly isn’t right now. This made her quite relieved.

“Hehe! I’m very mature like Ms. Himeko and Mr. Yang, right? You see, with age comes wisdom!” she said. “ ‘You mustn’t let grudges ruin the beauty of flowers’! Or… uh, wait… that line didn’t come out right. How did they say it in the drama… Mrgh… I can’t remember…”

Wait... with age? Aventurine repeated to himself. He had no time to properly ponder this new piece of information.

She grew embarrassed again as she struggled with her memory. To fill the suddenly unbearable silence, Xiwu started tugging on his sleeves forward—which he had to note, was not in the direction of Aideen Park.

“Anyways! Let’s go, Mr. Aventurine! Some ice cream will make anyone feel better and then we can go back to shopping until you find something you like! And then your trip won’t be a waste and you won’t regret hanging out with me!”

“Wait, wait, Ms. Xiwu! You’re stretching the sleeve!”

[deltapng]

this was meant to be angst but then it just turned into Lukas' POV of the scene where they get the last people back to their homes in S1 EP8

so yeah have this silly ramble

There is redstone in his eyes and it burns.

Lukas cringed at the burning sting. Ever since their adventure in Crown Mesa where he got chipped and subsequently freed, his eyes have been aching. Not in a ‘I need to cry’ way, but in a ‘there is something physically wrong’ way. 

He wouldn’t be surprised if something was wrong. He barely had time to recover from the whole PAMA ordeal, immediately going along with Harper and entering The Games to find a way home. And even then, it became another thrilling adventure where they almost died (well, he and Ivor did actually die but it wasn’t permanent and, therefore, irrelevant), Jesse once again somehow pulled through, and kicked some butt. Now, they were in the portal network getting the people who were trapped in The Games home.

“--and that's when I yanked PAMA's redstone heart right out, hragh! And the whole thing shut down!"

He winced and glanced at Jesse up ahead. His hands were waving about as he told Axel and Olivia about all the adventures they missed while they were at home. As much as he’d like to chime in, he didn’t really want to talk about or be reminded of PAMA right now. Especially considering he was, well, still in pain from it.

“Man, you guys have had some crazy adventures.” Axel sounded envious. “So many people trying to kill you.”

Understatement of the century, Lukas thought. It was nearly unbelievable, the amount of trouble they always got into. It was almost like they were drawn to it. Or the other way around. Danger was attracted to them. It wasn’t a very comforting thought. Honestly, Lukas would like to settle down and lay low for a while. It’s been at least a few weeks (maybe even a few months; it’s hard to keep track of time in the portal hallway when every different world had its own flow of time) since he’d been home.

“Goodbye, Jesse! Goodbye! Thank you!”

“That all of them?”

Wait a minute. He’s not been home for a while. Which means no one’s been in his house since it’s not in Beacontown. It’s at the edge of the woods. Which means-

“Everyone that wants to go home, anyhow. Except you folks, that is. Can’t believe how many competitors actually want to stay and keep playing the games.”

Dewey, his mind hissed. How could he forget? The poor ocelot must have been lonely. He wasn’t too worried about Dewey starving, however, as the ocelot has proven time and time again that it was very much capable of hunting its own food. But then again, Dewey might have torn the place apart looking for him.

“Thanks to you my intrepid new friend, I can actually work on making them FUN again. Very exciting. It’ll be more challenging just by myself… But a good challenge.”

“It’s what I do - exploring new worlds, helping people wherever I go… I was happy to help.”

A wince. He brought his hand up to rub at his eyes. They come back with traces of redstone dust.

“And I’m gonna help too. You taught me a lot about fairness, Jesse, and I’d like to use that new knowlegde for something good. And speaking of fairness… I think this is yours.”

Lukas blinked up at Slab before he looked at what was being offered to him. His eyes widened; it was his journal, “Oh, man!”

“There was some good stuff in there. I was really moved,” He was barely listening as he flipped through the familiar pages.

“Awesome,” he smiled up at the giant man before he pocketed the book, waving when Slab started making his way elsewhere.

“Huh. Guess he wasn’t so ‘immovable’ after all.”

He couldn’t wait to get home.

[dead-leavez]

Hungary 2024. Well, what a race that was.

To put this as an eventful race would be putting it mildly, frankly. 2024 really seems to be leaving us spoiled with exciting races, but I feel – as a Lando fan (and Oscar enjoyer) – this one just might take the cake for me. Seems like Nico’s curse has taken a new method of execution, because that was Lando’s race to win in the 3rd stint.

Now, I am not a huge fan of McLaren as a team, I will state. I didn’t like how they treat their drivers even before this (see Arrow McLaren in Indycar, and Danny Ric in 2022) but it seems to have finally hit the 2024 F1 grid. Silverstone feels more like a forewarning now, with their poor pit timing, alongside the poor tire strategy and imbalanced reliance on their drivers for strategy calls. Now in Hungary they’re really made this obvious with fucking their own strategy and pushing a team order they themselves destroyed.

In hindsight on a second watch, it becomes very obvious that the plan all along had been for Oscar to win. We can see this as far back as when Lando was told his race was with Max and not Oscar, and then further along in Lap 39 with the permission to race between the McLarens only lasting until the mid 40s. Now of course, this is F1. Team orders do happen. Personally, I would rather see the drivers actually compete with each other for the win, as I find that it’s a more satisfying race to watch (and I’d assume to win as well) and therefore I’m not big on team orders. Despite this, I can understand a team orders with strategic purposes, such as securing points for a driver in contention for the Championship title, eg: Lando. One would think this would be priority, especially seeing as we’re very close to summer break already.

What I don’t like is a team order that seemingly came down from upper management solely to give a driver his first win.

Personally, the only thing I can think of for reasoning besides simply getting Oscar his first win (whether to make McLaren look good, to please people or keep them happy, etc.) is just little, like how Oscar would be the 6th maiden win at the Hungaroring. I don’t see any reason why this was a call made outside of that, especially so early. If this were made just before their 1st pits I’d be more understanding, as it’d be a judge of race pace at the time and then holding that 1-2 from there. Unlike this though, the order was already established before that, in the morning before the race if you’re to infer from certain radio clips between Joseph and Lando later in the race.

This is where McLaren’s strategy comes more heavily into play, and by that I mean that they once again botched the pit stops. It’s obvious that the team order came from higher up, but the pit stops was all on them. This will be the 2nd race in a row they’ve butchered Oscar with a bad pitting strategy, and it’s really disappointing to see. They were overly conservative at the cost of the driver they were trying to give the win. As F1TV had put it, it was messy. They should’ve pitted Oscar earlier, a lap or two before would have been fine. They threw him under the bus directly against their own plans. Lando has an attitude to him at times, and I understand some people hate it, but he’s not wrong. They should’ve put Oscar first if they wanted these team orders to go through nicely. They were not in danger in the way McLaren acted their were.

With that butchering, I’d almost be delusional enough to think that the team orders took enough of a hit that they should’ve been allowed to race properly. The strategists should be taking that fall from the higher ups, as it was in fact their fault. But this was not the case.

I would argue that it should have been handled much like it was originally told to Lando on the radio, after Oscar’s botched pit: If you can get to him, you can swap. As much as the pit stop is what fucked over Oscar, I thought he should be bringing himself to a spot where he’s proven he is worthy of that win, which would be done by working on closing that gap to Lando. This is not to say he’s unworthy of wins, that’s not at all true. He’s a very talented driver and I do believe will be a World Championship within his career, possibly multiple times. The fact is that Lando had the pace over Oscar in the 3rd stint, making as wide as a 5 second gap at one point. Judging by the progress Lando had been making on Oscar as well as Lando’s talent for pulling in fastest laps where it counts, I believe he would have won the race even if they had pitted in a sensible way and put Oscar first.

All-in all – biases aside – I do think that was Lando’s race to win after McLaren fucked up the pit stops. I’d say before was a decent balance between being Oscar’s and Lando’s, seeing as Lando was around equal in pace to Oscar into the 30s, but those team orders shouldn’t have been used, or at least not have been so absolute. It’s cruel to Lando, and gives Oscar such a dirty race for a first win. Simply boxing Oscar first would have made this simpler, cleaner, and a much nicer race to watch.

While I don’t think there will be any animosity between Oscar and Lando, there’s definitely already some awkwardness. The cooldown room can show that, as where Lando usually turns into a pretzel in his chair with worst posture then I have, he stood opposite to the chairs in the room with eyes mostly on the screen. The same can be said at the champagne, and at Park Fermé.

I can only imagine a world where we truly had a Multi 21 scenario, and Lando disobeyed the team orders. What the retaliation from team management would be, the consequences for Lando, and the effect on the McLaren drivers’ relationship as teammates.

This was just handled horribly, and sadly, that tracks with McLaren. Lets hope they can learn from this mess and do better, because they need to, and soon.